Xiao Hei zipped over to Jin Qiang's cursed phone, which now displayed the haunting event that was scheduled by the system.
[🎥Next Haunting Event: Playground of the Forgotten - 15:52:01 - ]
Jin stared at the countdown, feeling a bead of cold sweat roll down his temple, and his heart thumped at the name, "Playground of the Forgotten… That sounds... great. Definitely not cursed at all…" He said as his voice cracked a little at the end.
"So… uh... what's the deal with this place? You know, just for mental preparation." Jin asked, trying to sound casual.
Xiao Hei hovered on the phone screen like a smug little shadow, with his arms folded behind his back. "Ohh~ Nothing big… Just an abandoned playground on the outskirts of town that used to be part of a community center a few decades ago. It closed down after a series of accidents, like kids getting hurt, and weird disappearances... You know, just the typical haunted location stuff."
"Typical??" Jin repeated, his voice cracking slightly.
"Relaaax ~ It's nothing you need to stress about!" Xiao Hei said, patting the nonexistent air on the phone screen like he was physically pushing Jin's panic back into his chest. "It's an entry-level event, so you should be fine~. Anyways, we'll find out the haunt index and your mission when we arrive at the location tonight… Let's see… now, you have about—" he peeked at the timer, "— less than sixteen hours left to mentally prepare… So, try to get some more sleep and eat a decent meal, and then maybe scream into a pillow. It might help calm the nerves a little hehe~"
Jin gave a weak laugh. "Haha sounds... comforting."
"Glad to help~ hehe~ Right then, I just want to remind you again, to not do anything stupid, okay?~"
"....." Jin Qiang just stared at him on the screen, and swallowed a bit of his distress.
Xiao Hei floated closer to the screen until his grinning face took up most of the space, and then lowered his voice dramatically as he said, "Like, if you skip out… remember, the system will send a replacement host to visit you, and trust me, you don't want that… although that would be fun to watch too~ Hehe~"
A shiver ran down Jin's spine at Xiao Hei's friendly reminder, and just nodded in agreement.
"Oohhh~ Look look!!! The viewers are looking forward to tonight! They're rooting for you Qiang-ge~" Xiao Hei snapped his fingers, and the phone screen changed, bringing up the Livestream overlay.
The camera footage showed Jin's miserable, exhausted face, and on top was the countdown to the haunting event.
The split live chats were both pouring in with mixed reactions of excitement, support, skepticism, and a bit of teasing.
[Alive – Live Chat]
[🧢CapKing: LOL 😂 He looks like he wants to cry.]
[🎮GameKnight: Playground of the Forgotten? Sounds like a death sentence.]
[🍬Candy999: This sounds terrifying, lol. Poor Jin!]
[🌟StarChaser: This has gotta be fake. Right?.]
[Dead – Live Chat]
[🦴BoneZapper: Entry-level my ass, that place still has teeth. 💀]
[🍒CherryGhoul: He's cute when he's scared 🥹]
[💾Gh0stByte: RIP Jin Qiang. It was nice knowing you lmao.]
[🌑VoidFang: LET'S GOOOOOOOO!! First blood incoming?? 🔥]
Xiao Hei snickered as he read the comments. "See? Your viewers are excited too~."
Jin stared at the scrolling comments and then noticed the viewer count below, which kept ticking up.
[👁Viewer count: 4,651]
[1,166 Alive | 3,485 Dead]
His heart pounded harder with every second, and he wasn't sure if it was from a fleeting excitement of delight or a rising dread of fear and worry, but before he could figure out which one it was, a fresh wave of unease washed over him, as a realization hit him all at once.
"Wait... Why….. Why is the stream still running?" he asked, looking at Xiao Hei, who was hovering at the bottom right and was enjoying himself as he read the comments.
Xiao Hei then looked back at him and blinked as if he had just remembered something crucial.
"AHHH~ Right! My bad~ hehe~ I seem to have overlooked a rather significant detail." He said lightly and then cleared his nonexistent throat. "Qiang-ge ~ You're live 24/7 now!! That is, until you upgrade the system and unlock the permission to turn it off, the camera's always rolling! Hehe~ surprise!"
Jin froze and stared at him in absolute horror. "You're joking... right?"
"Nope!" Xiao Hei spun happily. "Think of it like one of those reality shows! Except worse. Much worse and more fun!~hahaha~"
The split chat then exploded with laughter.
[Alive – Live Chat]
[👟FastFade: HE DIDN'T KNOW?!]
[👓ThirdShift: This is the funniest thing ever. Look at his face.]
[🎲DiceyMoves: Wow! If this is scripted, then he's a great actor! If not… GG! HAHAHA]
[Dead – Live Chat]
[🩺Still_alive?: Congratulations! Host Jin~. You have been cursed with unlimited screen time.]
[👹RedWarden: Someone pass the popcorn. 🍿 This meltdown's gonna be delicious.]
[🍋SourSoul: He's so clueless omg~ I wanna squish him~ 🥹]
Jin Qiang saw the comments flying and felt like a chunk of his soul physically left his body. "Twenty-four... seven?" he muttered to himself as the thought alone was exhausting.
He then got a glance at the time on his phone and saw that it was past 7AM.
He had a few hours before his part-time delivery job at 1 PM, and he desperately wanted to use that time for a nap... But could he even sleep after all this?
Groaning, Jin slumped on his bed and then caught a whiff of himself.
He looked down, and the sight made him cringe.
He forgot that he was still wearing the same clothes from last night. Which were now rumpled, covered in dust, and undoubtedly smelled of… sweat, mud, and yesterday's regret.
A shower.
That's what he badly needed right now.
As he thought of taking a quick shower... Jin Qiang suddenly froze, as he remembered what Xiao Hei had just said.
Right now.... He was live….
And there was no way he could strip his clothes off in front of the camera. Not unless he wanted to turn the livestream into something... He didn't even want to think about it.
"...Guess I'm showering with clothes on…" he muttered with a sigh of utter defeat as he dragged himself to the bathroom, turned on the showerhead, and stepped under the freezing water fully clothed. The heavy, wet fabric clung to his skin and was an exercise in awkwardness and discomfort.
It was the most miserable shower of his life.
Meanwhile, the live chats exploded.
[Alive – Live Chat]
[🧽SoapLover: Efficient! Shower + laundry = time saver!]
[🚀RocketXan: Is he REALLY going to shower in his clothes?!
[🖐️WaveCheck: OMG he's showering with his clothes on! 😂]
[Dead – Live Chat]
[🧼CleanseMePlease:Jin's new fashion line: Shower Chic. 🌊]
[🍩DeadDonut: Awww, poor Jin. It's kinda cute how he still doesn't get it…]
[🧟LateWatcher: It's like watching a puppy drown in the deep end of his confusion. 🐶10/10 would watch again]
After his bizarre shower, Jin surveyed his small, cluttered room.
Usually, he'd let things slide, as he wasn't the type to care about appearances, but the thought of his messy space being broadcast, to who-knows-how-many people and with literal ghost viewers judging him, he felt weirdly self-conscious about it, and spurred him into action.
Once he was done, Jin went out to the nearest convenience store, bought a cheap, packed meal, and decided to sit at a bench to eat his meal, wanting some time alone to gather his thoughts a bit.
But even in public, as he ate his meal mechanically, he felt a feeling of unseen eyes weighing on him.
His phone then buzzed from his pants pocket.
When he took it out to check, he saw Xiao Hei's profile avatar pop up on the screen. He had sent a private message.
[🕶️XiaoHei (Mod): Qiang-ge~ You look so tragic right now… Like a lost little ghost begging for food outside a temple~huhu~]
Jin sighed and shoved another bite into his mouth, refusing to dignify that with a response.
After eating, he managed to crawl back into bed, and despite everything, he somehow fell into a light, exhausted sleep.
RING~ RING RING~ RING~
The sound of an alarm rang through Jin's room. Which woke him up.
The afternoon light filtered through his window, and made him yearn for the normalcy of his old life.
As he turned off his phone's alarm, silence fell… and for a blissful moment, he thought…
(Maybe it was all just a dream?)
"Good afternoon! Rise and shine Qiang-ge~!" Xiao Hei's cheerful voice shattered the illusion. The small, spectral figure hovered on his phone, a disturbingly bright smile on his face.
The dread returned immediately as the reality of his situation crashed down on him.
Jin sat up, clutching his head.
(It was real….)
(All of it was real….)
Fear slowly seeped into his bones, like sticky, cold syrup.
As the timer kept ticking down.
[🎥Next Haunting Event: Playground of the Forgotten - 11:00:01 - ]