Observation Chapter 3
Previous Chapter|Index|Next Chapter
Chapter 3: A Dream Resembling Reality (3)
Lin Qian was quietly rejoicing in his heart. Just as he was planning to head out to scout out the situation, suddenly a girl’s voice resounded through the storage room!
“Lin Qian, the only place I can smell your scent is in this room~”
“Let me guess, which cabinet are you hiding in?”
“How about we play another game? I’ll now open three cabinets… If I manage to find where you’re hiding, it’ll be my win and your loss~ From this moment on, you’ll belong to me. But if I lose…”
“I’ll deliver myself to you. From now on~ you’ll still belong to me.”
“…”
‘Damn it, what kind of twisted agreement is that? What sort of education did this psycho receive?‘
Despite harboring such thoughts, Lin Qian kept them to himself. He dared not make the slightest noise, for fear that even a single sound could give away his presence; In that moment, all he could do was tremble with apprehension while hiding inside the cabinet.
In the lecture building earlier, he had attempted to confront his opponent directly.
He had no idea what freak of nature this woman was, but she had taken him down in less than 5 seconds.
It was only after he had exerted a great deal of effort that he managed to barely escape from there.
As a web novel author, he didn’t engage in much physical exercise in his everyday life and had a relatively weak physique.
Even so, it was highly illogical for him to be taken down by a girl who seemed to be around 17-18 years old. This was not some fictional story, and the girl was certainly not some invincible Mary Sue high schooler from a ‘certain’ country.
Just as Lin Qian was in the midst of his thoughts, a gentle clanking sound resounded.
The drawer to his left had been swung open.
The mischievous voice of the girl echoed once again. “Not here, huh… Then…”
“Guess that’s one of my chances gone… Lin Qian, can’t you come out willingly?~ I won’t do anything to you… I’m actually a very gentle girl~ Just spend some time chatting with me, and I’ll let you go~”
Her gentle voice carried a hidden undertone of resentment while evoking an uncontrollable surge of pity, causing one to have an irresistible urge to embrace and take good care of her.
‘You expect me to believe that you’ll let me go after a chat? I’d sooner believe that pigs can climb trees than trust your words.’
Lin Qian remained unmoving, as he tightly held onto a wooden stick he had found in the corridor earlier.
“In that case, I have no choice but to find you~”
The sound of yet another drawer being opened resounded in the air.
The drawer on his right side had been opened.
“Oh? You’re not here either?”
“…”
Lin Qian’s complexion was extremely unsightly.
It was highly likely that she had already discovered his hiding spot.
And was merely toying with him!
‘At most, we will perish together in a life-or-death struggle. Do you really think you can mold me like clay and crush me as you please?’
“In that case, I’m going to…”
The girl eventually extended her hand towards the cabinet door right in front of her, where Lin Qian was hiding.
Suddenly!
‘Clank!’
The cabinet door swung open, and a figure abruptly dashed out.
It hurtled toward the girl’s body.
After realizing that his plan had succeeded, the corners of Lin Qian’s lips unconsciously curved up in a smile.
Even a normal person would be disoriented and unable to get up for a while after such a collision.
Once that happened, he would be able to escape.
With this thought in mind, Lin Qian focused his attention on the girl.
“!!!”
Lin Qian found himself momentarily taken aback in that instant.
The girl’s arms were fully extended, with a strange smile gracing her face and her eyes forming a pair of arcs.
It was evident that she had long been prepared for this.
‘Was she waiting for me?!’
The expected sensation of his body colliding with someone did not arrive.
Lin Qian had directly passed through the girl’s body.
“…Why?”
Before Lin Qian could even regain his balance, he suddenly felt the presence of a warm body lying against his back.
Even his neck had been held in a tight grip.
As his consciousness gradually faded away, a cascade of whispers resounded in his ear…
“According to the rules, you have lost to me.”
“As my creator, you’ve bestowed twisted and sick emotions upon me…”
“But now…”
“You’re mine. Lin Qian~ Slowly savor what I have in store for you…”
………
Heavenly River City.
In a small rented house, approximately ten square meters in size, which was located next to Southern Sky University.
“Ahh!!!”
A shout, resembling the cry of a groundhog, resounded in the air.
A refined and handsome man with a disheveled hairstyle and an unshaven mustache, which appeared to have been untouched for days, abruptly sat up.
Indeed, despite not having shaved his mustache for a few days, he still retained a refined and handsome appearance.
And probably, a bit of untidiness as well.
“Pah-pah!”
Two slaps struck the man’s face, causing him to grimace in pain for a good long while before his eyes slowly opened.
“Damn it… Just a dream…”
“That scared the hell out of me. Man… After writing so much dark and depraved stuff, even my dream is full of that too.”
After getting out of his bed, the man promptly took a seat near his computer.
His room was in a state of disarray, with a pile of dirty clothes accumulating in the corner. It was unknown how many days had passed since he had left his freshly washed clothes in the washing machine without air drying them.
The only space that appeared somewhat tidy was his computer desk.
The man instinctively reached for the cigarette box on the table, taking out the last remaining cigarette inside and lighting it up with a sense of satisfaction.
“I wonder if last month’s payment has arrived. Sigh, I won’t even be able to afford a meal, let alone smoke at this rate.”
The man opened up a word editor.
‘Click-clack’. A rhythmic tapping sound resounded from his mechanical keyboard.
After much editing, a series of black characters filled the white background of the document.
They were neatly arranged in rows.
[The walls were dyed red with fresh blood, and a strong fishy odor filled the air… The light from the white incandescent lamp flickered incessantly, casting a distorted shadow which appeared exceptionally large and tall in stature…]
[A small, long-haired girl was bound with ropes in a corner.]
[The lofty human silhouette approached closer and closer… Suddenly, the girl broke free from the ropes…]
A collection of soft, fragmented sounds reverberated in the air.
What emerged from the lines on the screen was an extremely distressing and sadistic scene.
“Beep!”
Suddenly, a new notification popped up from his messaging program in the bottom-right corner of his screen.
The man raised his eyebrows. Stopping the work he was currently doing, he directed his cursor towards it.
It was a message from Fang Nian, the editor of SFACG.
“Why did you not update your novel yesterday?”
“…Your Highness Fang Nian, my sincere apologies. I overslept yesterday…”
“Spare me with the excuses. Update it right away, or your novel will be removed from the recommended list! And don’t come complaining to me later that I didn’t give you a chance.”
Every word he uttered was a lethal blow, and the collective impact was enough to take his life.
To an author, this was a death sentence.
Even though only a few breaths had passed, the man’s forehead was already drenched in a thick layer of sweat.
“I’ll update it immediately! I’ll start writing now!”
“Considering your remarkably swift response, I’ll let you off this time.”
“Thank you, Your Highness Fang Nian! By the way, there’s something I’m not sure if I should mention.”
“Speak!”
“Can you try to have a better temper the next time we talk?”
“What?!! Do you know what sort of job being an editor is! Huh?”
As he read the words in their chat box, the man could thoroughly sense the grumpy emotions of the editor-in-chief emanating from the other side of the screen.
“An editor is like a sanitation worker. Not only do they have to dig out manure from the cesspool every day, they have to taste it too. Do you think you would have a good temper if that’s your job?”
“Yes, yes, you’re absolutely right. It’s my fault. I’ll upload my backlog right away!”
The man hastily closed the chat box and accessed the writing platform for authors. He then proceeded to copy and paste the backlog he had written a long time ago.
Following that, he retrieved his phone and opened the above-mentioned app.
SFACG.
The blades of the fan in the background continued spinning, producing a whirring sound.
Name: Lin Qian
Age: 19
Gender: Male
Pen name: That Blooming Prosperity.
He was a freshman at Southern Sky University.
Similarly, he was a struggling author fighting to make ends meet.
“It’s time to change my writing style. Continuing to write dark and depraved novels won’t do me any good; I’ll starve to death.”
As Lin Qian saw the pitiful income displayed on his author dashboard, Lin Qian descended into deep contemplation.
‘Should I prioritize my livelihood or my dreams…’
Ever since he started writing, Lin Qian had whole-heartedly devoted himself to the lofty ideals of dark and depraved novels. He endured against the elements and longed for the day where he could achieve the impossible: To stand tall and fill his belly.
‘Beep!’
At this time, Lin Qian received a private message on the author’s dashboard.