I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

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As a creator, finding inspiration is crucial. Before you begin creating, explore the wider world.

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As the black lead characters emerged, three oil-painted doors suddenly appeared side by side in the script in Lu Ban's hand.

"!"

These doors, seemingly made of bronze, are heavy, rusted, and cold, exuding an ancient aura. They are half-open, as if they could be pushed open with a single hand.

This is clearly only on paper!

Through the crack in the door, Lu Ban could see colorful mist, deep and obscure darkness, and chaos that twisted everything.

At this moment, Lu Ban felt the hustle and bustle of the film studio fading away from him, and the surroundings became as quiet as a dream. Only those three doors attracted all his attention.

He stared intently, and three passages of text appeared on the door.

Fellow travelers

Do you feel lonely on your way home at night? Don't be afraid, I'm here with you.

These are the words on the leftmost large door. The door is a deep, dark color, and thick black shadows seep out from the cracks. The ink is like a tide, slowly pounding against the door.

Lu Ban looked at the middle door. This door gave people a twisted and eerie feeling. Just by staring at it, he felt that the messy and complicated decorations on the door were writhing.

[Friends Under the Bed]

After living together for so many years, say hello to your good neighbor—I'm talking about the one under the bed.

The text on it reads like this.

As for the last door, shrouded in gray mist, yet overflowing with rainbow-like radiance from its half-open opening, it became the most normal of all the doors.

The alleyway from which there is no turning back

Legend has it that in this bustling neighborhood, there's a one-way alleyway from which there's no turning back. Be brave and walk through it!

"?"

A question mark appeared above Lu Ban's head.

Something's not right with your system.

Chapter 002 [The Friend Under the Bed]

These three paragraphs provide the only explanation, without any further details.

To Lu Ban, those cold words carried a chill, unlike any welfare system, but more like a warning sign in a horror movie.

"Is this a system task?"

Lu Ban roughly guessed what the three doors represented.

Each description is somewhat eerie, making one hesitant to choose.

But Lu Ban had finally obtained something that could change the status quo, so he was still curious and wanted to try it out.

Curiosity drives both human recklessness and progress.

"【Fellow Traveler】 and 【The Alley Where You Can't Turn Back】 seem to be going outdoors, while 【Friend Under the Bed】 is probably indoors?"

Lu Ban pondered to himself.

According to the system's assessment, my physique, strength, and agility are all at a normal level, only my appearance is passable. If I want to complete the system's tasks, wouldn't it be easier to do them indoors?

With so little information, Lu Ban was unable to extract much useful information from these few words.

After thinking about it, he decided to start with his home.

It wasn't for any other reason, but simply because he was too lazy to run.

Besides, you know your own home best. You can't expect a Kayako to crawl out of the covers and scare you to death, can you?

Lu Ban gently placed his finger on the large door in the middle, and saw that the strangely twisted door seemed to be pushed open slowly by his finger. He could even hear the creaking sound of the door opening.

Everything vanished like smoke, leaving only neat lead type on the script, appearing one word at a time as if typed by a typewriter.

[Friends Under the Bed]

Are you curious about what's under your bed? Those scratching sounds in the middle of the night, the occasional clatter of marbles—among the clutter and dust, something else might be lurking?

[Task Difficulty: Mortal]

[Task Requirements: At midnight tonight, lie down on your bed in complete darkness, close your eyes, and after your heart has beat 500 times, open your eyes and look under the bed to complete the task.]

"After living together for so many years, say hello to your good neighbor. I'm talking about the one under the bed."

Upon seeing these words, Lu Ban instinctively hissed.

"What the hell kind of horror game is this?"

This kind of description, which looks like a supernatural game, usually marks the beginning of a dangerous situation in horror movies.

He took out his phone and typed in the search results for the game described, but found nothing.

It seems this game isn't very well-known, or...

Those who have played it are speechless?

Banishing the unlucky thought from his mind, Lu Ban stood up.

The script was restored to its original state, and a great masterpiece from another world lay inside, unknown to anyone.

He glanced at his phone again, and a thought struck him.

The text on the phone screen was distorted and turned into system content.

[08:40:33 remaining until mission starts]

It looks like this mission will begin tonight.

"As a beginner's quest, it shouldn't be too difficult..."

Lu Ban didn't know whose surname the system belonged to. After thinking for a while, he didn't go straight home, but went to a large supermarket near his community first.

Lu Ban bought a bunch of random things: flashlights, emergency lights, cross toys and ornaments, garlic, salt, and other items used for exorcising evil spirits in movies, rumors, and stories.

For some reason, they also prepared a crowbar.

The crowbar felt quite handy in my hand.

Amidst the curious glances of the children nearby, Lu Ban paid the bill and carried his bags back to his rented room.

Room 1304, 13th floor, Building 4.

Because the floor and room number are considered unlucky, this one-bedroom apartment is very cheap to rent.

After putting down his bags, Lu Ban ordered takeout first.

While waiting for his takeout, he disassembled the emergency light, placed it on his bedside table, and then took out the bunch of garlic.

"Speaking of which, should we crush the garlic used to ward off evil spirits?"

He hesitated for a moment, but in the end, to avoid trouble, he simply hung it at the foot of the bed.

He had just hung up the garlic and was about to go get the salt when a sudden inspiration struck him.

"They said the mission wouldn't start until midnight, so what's under the bed right now?"

The underside of that inexpensive IKEA-style wooden bed was shrouded in shadow.

Lu Ban hadn't really looked under the bed properly since moving here; he'd only swept the edges with a broom.

That's just how artists are; once inspiration strikes, they can't stop it.

Lu Ban felt a strong sense of curiosity and wanted to see what was under the bed.

"I hope you're alright..."

He knelt on one knee, bent slightly, held onto the edge of the bed with one hand, supported himself on the ground with the other, and moved his head down.

hum-

It was like the sound of a marble hitting the ground and bouncing up that suddenly rang out in the room.

Lu Ban paused.

The sound didn't seem to be coming from the ceiling; it sounded more like it was coming from under the bed.

He became even more curious.

My gaze went down, disappearing into the shadows under the bed.

stab-

A sharp sound, like fingernails scraping across a blackboard, reached Lu Ban's ears. He felt a slight ache in his teeth, but his gaze had already swept under the bed.

He saw it there, deep in the shadows, a pair of eyes staring at him!

Lu Ban's heart skipped a beat. He quickly took a picture with his phone and realized that it was a tattered Lanlanlu rag doll that someone had left behind.

He reached out and took out the dusty doll. The doll's mouth was wide open, as if it were mocking Lu Ban's overreaction.

Ding ding ding ding—

Suddenly, a loud noise erupted, and Lu Ban shuddered, nearly dropping his phone. He instinctively tossed aside the plush toy and looked at his phone screen; the caller ID showed it was a food delivery service.

"Hey, oh, coming, coming."

Lu Ban opened the door, thanked the delivery guy several times, and placed the Shaxian shredded pork and egg fried rice on the coffee table in the small living room. He then turned to pick up the Lanlan Road doll.

But when he looked at the bedside again, he found that the doll had disappeared at some point.

Lu Ban peered under the bed and saw Uncle Lanlan's rag doll staring at him through the thick layer of dust, its large, heavily made-up eyes wide open.

"...Is this reasonable?"

Lu Ban's heart sank. He took out the doll, placed it on the table, and weighed it down with a copy of "The Stars of Humanity".

After that, instead of eating first, he sprinkled salt under the bed, threw in a bunch of garlic, then threw in the toy cross he had bought, and finally placed a hundred-yuan bill to ward off evil spirits.

Turning around, the doll was obediently pressed under the book, as if it were an inanimate object.

"Could this be the friend you're hiding under the bed?"