I, the screenwriter, have experienced a resurgence of inspiration.

If a staff member from a certain Weibo account could speak up, the entire Weibo page would be filled with comments like "I want to die" right now.

It's not even a trending topic anymore.

Weibo crashed completely, and users couldn't log in for half an hour. Once logged in, the backend was full of red "99+" messages.

#People Missing in Multiple Locations in Ontario#

#Enter the Wishing Livestream at Your Own Risk#

#Official Announcement from the Special Investigations Division#

#It seems like the spirit energy is really about to revive#

#Major Heinous Missing Person Case in Ontario#

#Official Announcement Strictly Prohibits Contact with Paranormal Phenomena#

#MouseLivestreamWishingLivestream#

A dozen or so entries were displayed, followed by the bright red word "Explosive".

The hype continues to surge.

Regardless of netizens' speculations, the official response was eventually given.

A joint announcement issued by the Ontario Emergency Management Authority and the Jiangcheng Police Department.

Safety Alert Regarding Recent Missing Persons in Our Province

Dear citizens:

Recently, several cases of people going missing without cause have occurred in some districts and counties of our city. The missing persons come from different ages and professions, and there is no obvious common pattern.

According to preliminary investigations by the public security department, some of the missing persons had clicked on an unknown web link called "Wishing Live Room" before they disappeared, and some of the missing persons' locations had abnormal traces that could not be explained by common sense.

To effectively protect the lives and property of the general public, prevent unknown risks, and maintain social stability, the following safety reminders are hereby issued to the general public:

First, raise awareness of cybersecurity and never click on unknown web links, pop-up ads, or private messages from strangers.

Do not scan unofficial QR codes, and do not download apps from unofficial app stores to avoid falling into unknown traps.

Second, minimize unnecessary outings at night and avoid going to remote streets, abandoned buildings, suburban wastelands, uninhabited mountains and forests, and other sparsely populated areas.

When traveling at night, please try to travel in groups, inform your family of your itinerary in advance, and keep your communication channels open.

3. If you discover any suspected supernatural or unusual phenomena, strange or unfamiliar scenes, or unusual noises or smells from unknown sources, please be sure to adhere to the "three no's principle":

Do not approach, touch, or linger. Immediately evacuate to a safe area with dense crowds and call 110 or the special incident reporting hotline - ***5432 to report the incident.

Fourth, cultivate rational understanding and never believe false claims such as "wishes come true," "get rich overnight," or "coming back to life." Do not attempt any unverified rituals, paranormal games, or online summoning activities to avoid endangering your life.

Fifth, we urge all citizens to consciously abide by laws and regulations, not to believe, spread, or create rumors, and not to fabricate or disseminate unverified false information, so as to jointly maintain a clean cyberspace and normal social order.

6. If you come into contact with a "copy", please immediately call the Jiangcheng Special Investigation Department's special incident reporting hotline: ****5432.

Please refer to official announcements for the most accurate and reliable information.

Currently, the relevant investigation and handling work is being carried out in an orderly manner in accordance with the law, and further progress will be released to the public in a timely manner.

We urge all citizens to raise their awareness of risk prevention, take good care of their own safety, and work together to maintain a safe and stable social environment.

Ontario Ministry of Emergency Management

Jiangcheng Public Security Bureau Special Incident Investigation Bureau

[Date: Month X, 202X]

……

……

……

The comment section below the announcement has already received tens of thousands of replies.

There were all sorts of sounds; it was a complete mess, like a hodgepodge.

[@EvenIfTheWorldIsAboutToFallIntoLove: Huh? What does "don't get involved with the supernatural" mean?? Mom, say something! Mom, say something! Don't do this, I'm scared!]

[@TodayIWillEatThreeBowlsOfRice: What's going on? I woke up to a changed timeline? What is the Special Investigations Department? Is this a real-life version of the Dragon Group?]

[@MilkTeaHalfSugarNoIce: A few days ago, my best friend told me about a live stream where you could make a wish to get your ex-boyfriend back. I thought it was a new kind of scam, and she almost made a wish... Luckily, I stopped her.]

[@OldWang'sRetirementLife: Stop exaggerating, okay? I think this is just a new type of telecom fraud. The authorities are making a mountain out of a molehill, calling it supernatural. It's hilarious.]

[@Anhui University student: It's true! Many students went missing from our school before, and the school was even sealed off.]

[@鹹鱼阿凯: LOL, supernatural phenomena? Don't they know that supernatural beings are forbidden after the founding of the People's Republic of China? This is just something made up by marketing accounts to grab attention, and even the official authorities are joining in the fun.]

[@MoonNeverSleeps: But I haven't seen any official announcement... Could it be true? I'm getting goosebumps.]

[@ProgrammerXiaoZhang: No, Mom, tell me, what is a "copy"?! What does it mean?!]

[@WorkingIsImpossible: Reduce nighttime activities? What about us night shift workers? Will the company give us a raise? It's easy for you to say that when you're not in my shoes.]

[@XiaotaoSparklingWater: Can you stop arguing upstairs? The official is giving a friendly reminder; whether you listen is up to you. If something really happens, it'll be too late to regret it.]

[@YangChaoyue'sWishIsTrue: Wait... a wishing livestream? Can I really make a wish? I want to wish for my parents to be healthy, can I try?]

[@TodayIsAlsoSlackingOff: What a load of crap! Didn't you see that all the missing people clicked on the links? They disappeared as soon as they clicked! Making wishes? They'd be dead by then.]

[@Gossipmonger #1: Does anyone have an inside story to tell us what exactly happened? Is it really a paranormal event? Or some new type of crime?]

[@Partners of Justice: Don't spread or believe rumors; wait for further official announcements.]

[@OldStoriesOfSouthCity: My home is in the suburbs. For the past two days, I've been hearing someone walking around in the living room every day. When I turn on the light, there's nothing there—but the floor is spotless, like it's been licked clean.]

[@Are you kidding me?: What kind of weird thing can clean your house? Is it some kind of fairy godmother?]

[@CultivationMasterBrother: The revival of spiritual energy is confirmed! Is it finally my turn? Does any expert know how to cultivate?]

[@OrdinaryCitizen: Regardless of whether it's true or not, it's always better to be safe than sorry. Try not to go out at night. I hope everyone stays safe and sound.]

[@InsultingMeForPlayingKingofGloryIsInevitableToLose: Seriously, how come you guys are all missing the point? The word "dungeon" appearing in an official announcement is just ridiculous!]

[@StopCriticizingButIStillHaveToGoToWork: This is outrageous, but tomorrow's not a day off. If it's aliens, they should just invade already. I don't want to go to this stupid job even once more.]

……

……

……

Jiangcheng Special Investigation Department, Underground Laboratory for Special Events.

The cold, white lights in the sterile laminar flow room reflected a deathly gray light onto the tissues inside the glass cases.

The experimental area has three underground floors and the highest level of security.

The entire room is made of explosion-proof glass and alloy walls.

24-hour air filtration ensures that not even a fly can get in.

In the center of a laboratory, there is a reinforced glass box as tall as a person. The box is sealed and filled with inert gas.

The bottom of the glass box was lined with sterile medical cotton pads, and a piece of human tissue was placed on top of them.

Calling it "one piece" is actually an exaggeration.

It's about the size of two adult palms, and it's the area from a man's chest to his neck.

Its skin was a deathly gray color with jagged edges, as if it had been torn off by sharp claws.

The skin and flesh at the wound were rolled up, stained with dried, dark brown blood.

A few black, coarse cat hairs were embedded inside.

If that's all there is to it, then it's just an ordinary piece of body parts belonging to player Lin Hao.

Oh, or rather, "once belonged to".

But what truly kept the researchers in the lab up for three days and three nights was the thing attached to the severed neck.

One umbilical cord.

It is deep purple, about the thickness of a thumb, with a smooth surface and a sticky, mucous membrane-like sheen.

It would twitch slightly every three or four seconds, like a hibernating worm, or like it was breathing.

The umbilical cord is connected to human tissue, yet it presents a strange condition:

Even if only a piece of meat is left, the cell activity is astonishingly high.

"Academician Li, the latest monitoring data is out."

The researcher walked over with a tablet computer:

"The cell apoptosis rate in the human tissue hasn't decreased, it's like 'it' is still alive, but this umbilical cord..."

She paused, her tone filled with undisguised disbelief:

"The cell division rate in the umbilical cord is accelerating, 17% faster than yesterday."

Moreover, it actively absorbs surrounding free energy—what we call "psychic energy"—but its efficiency is not high.

Academician Li squinted and leaned closer to the glass box, carefully examining the umbilical cord inside.

When he first saw this thing, the old academician, who had been a lifelong believer in materialism, stood in front of the glass box in silence for a full half hour.

My worldview is completely shattered.

But the facts were undeniable, leaving him no choice but to believe them.

"What about cell testing? Or human genetic testing?"

Academician Li spoke, his voice deep and resonant.

"We've done three gene sequencing tests, and they're all human genes, indicating a blood relationship with the DNA in this human tissue."

Researcher Zhang frowned:

"But its cellular structure is too strange. It has a strong phagocytic and regenerative ability, unlike normal human cells. It's more like... some kind of parasite."

A living umbilical cord that parasitizes the dead.

She is also related to Lin Hao by blood.

This statement alone is enough to overturn common sense.

The seven or eight researchers surrounding the glass box remained silent.

They are all elites in their respective fields.

Faced with this supernatural creature, everyone was like a primary school student just starting out, completely clueless.

Everything starts from scratch.

……

"Has this person's identity been confirmed?" Academician Li asked again.

"Confirmed."

A young researcher next to him flipped through the file in his hand, "It is a registered 'player' named Lin Hao, male, 25 years old."

According to other survivors, the umbilical cord was a curse he brought out of the Taiping Cemetery.

"Player..."

Academician Li repeated himself, his brow furrowing even more deeply: "So, this umbilical cord might be a duplicate?"

"It should be."

Researcher Zhang nodded and sighed:

"This time the raid is large-scale, with more than thirty people missing at once. It looks like we can't hide it anymore."

Not only can it not be concealed, but the authorities must also publicly acknowledge the existence of the "copy".

Otherwise, the death toll will continue to rise.

More than 30 people went missing at the same time, and no matter how hard we searched, we couldn't find any clues.

It wasn't until the survivors were teleported out and landed in different places, and passersby called the police, that the official team pieced together the "Huang Laotai's Birthday" instance.

Even more bizarrely, there really is a Wenshan Village in reality, and there really is an elderly person who was tortured to death by their son.

Although it happened more than a decade ago, several of Huang's sons died one after another after the dungeon appeared.

Everything was too coincidental.

Official speculation suggests that the appearance of the instance is inextricably linked to the deaths of the four Huang family sons.

……

……

"How are the other survivors doing?" Academician Li straightened up and stretched his stiff back.

"They are all in the observation room upstairs, where in-depth psychological intervention has been arranged."

Researcher Zhang reported in detail, "There are a total of nine players who survived intact:"

Su Ya, Yang Asha, Lin Jianguo, Yang Hexuan, Zhou Hui, Ouyang Qiu, Wang Lei, Jiang Chen, Kang Xiaojia —

Oh no, nine living people, plus Lin Hao's organization, making a total of ten survivors.

She still doesn't understand the mechanism by which the instance determines a player's survival.

Lin Hao is just a piece of rotten flesh left, how can he still be judged as "surviving"?

Surely this thing can't turn back into a human, right?

Then all the world's biological scientists should stop researching the mysteries of life and just focus on studying this piece of meat.

"Of the nine players, three claimed to have awakened their 'class'."

A fifteen-year-old Miao girl named Yang Asha is a swordswoman. She is incredibly strong and has a reaction speed far exceeding that of ordinary people.

During yesterday's test, she broke a 20-centimeter-thick solid wood table with a single blow, and she was completely unharmed.

"The second one is Lin Jianguo, who awakened the 'cowherd' profession and can briefly gain the vision of cattle."

"Another one is Kang Xiaojia, who said that she made a wish to enter the dungeon because she was bullied, and awakened the 'Healer' profession."

Her palms possess self-healing energy; minor wounds, after her treatment, can scab over and heal within minutes, dozens of times faster than normal healing.

We have already arranged for a medical team to conduct detailed testing.

……

Occupation.

skill.

Points Shop.

These concepts, which originally only existed in games, are now vividly appearing in reality.

The lab was silent for a few seconds.

Someone murmured, "It really is like a game... Does that mean we can level up, fight monsters, and get equipment later on?"

What will the world look like in the future?

Whether it's true or false, we'll have to investigate further.

Academician Li said in a deep voice, "Don't just be surprised, first figure out what's going on in front of you."

He pointed to the umbilical cord in the glass box:

"What's the current status of this person, Lin Hao? Is he alive or dead?"

No one answered.

From a biological perspective, it should be dead.

But cell viability data contradicted all of this.

And then there's the umbilical cord that's related to him by blood—nobody can really say for sure what it is.

"I don't think I can be considered a living person anymore."

An older researcher spoke up, his tone grave:

"With so little left, even if the cells survive, the person can't come back to life. You can't expect cells to think and speak, can you?"

"That's not necessarily true."

Another young researcher countered, "If he has supernatural powers, what's impossible? Maybe the umbilical cord is his true form?"

"The main body is an umbilical cord? What does that make? An umbilical cord that has become a spirit?"

The debate was hushed, tinged with confusion and helplessness.

A group of people who have dedicated their entire lives to scientific research have never felt so powerless.

There was no theory, no formula, and no reference material.

You have to figure everything out on your own.

It's like walking in the dark, not even knowing if there's a path under your feet.

"Look!"

Suddenly, a young researcher standing in front of the glass case exclaimed in surprise, his voice trembling slightly:

"Look at this umbilical cord! It...it's changed!"

Everyone's hearts tightened, and they immediately surrounded them.

Under the cool light, the deep purple umbilical cord in the glass box did indeed look different.

The umbilical cord, which was originally of uniform thickness, suddenly bulged in the middle.

It looked like it had swallowed a marble, or like it was pregnant; it was slightly swollen and thicker than its ends.

The surface mucous membrane was taut and shiny, and something seemed to be slowly wriggling inside.

Moreover, its twisting frequency has obviously increased, contracting and relaxing, like breathing, or like digesting.

The swollen part is still growing at an extremely slow rate, while the surrounding meat is slowly losing its vitality.

The entire laboratory fell silent instantly.

Everyone stared at the umbilical cord, their expressions slowly shifting from shock to solemnity, and even a hint of fear.

Under the light, they could see an embryo gradually forming inside the elongated umbilical cord.

An embryo "developed" from a ghostly thing that parasitized a corpse and was brought out of the dungeon.

Is it rebirth or destruction?

The cold fluorescent lights remained stark white, and the monotonous beeping of the instruments echoed in the laboratory.

Everything has just begun.

Meanwhile, the city above ground remains bustling with traffic and people.

Most people are still immersed in their ordinary daily lives, completely unaware of the mind-blowing changes taking place deep underground.

Little did I know that the peaceful days were already on a countdown to their end.

……

……

In the rented room, Song Mo, who was eating hotpot and singing, sneezed, and the words under his palm fell to the ground like flowing water.

[Limited Script: The Irish Banshee]

[Limited-Time Dungeon: Neon Jorogumo]

[Limited-time event: The Ghost Subway in London]