Upon entering the eatery, Jonathan was greeted by the tantalizing aroma.
"You've arrived," the supervisor said, taking inventory.
"May I help you?" Jonathan inquired. "Where are the others?"
"Diema will be here shortly to take over," the supervisor replied.
As Jonathan chatted with the supervisor, Diema arrived—a striking young woman regarded him curiously from the doorway. "Hello, I'm Diema. Are you new here?"
"Hello, I'm Jonathan," he responded with a nod.
Diema and Jonathan were of similar age, yet anyone who saw them together would presume Jonathan to be the elder of the two. His eyes and demeanor bespoke a maturity that lent him an air of genuine adulthood, while Diema, sheltered within a happy home and yet to step into the world, exuded the essence of youth. Her countenance still bore traces of innocent naivety, revealing her emotions unguardedly.
Jonathan found Diema's features vaguely familiar for some reason, as if he had seen her somewhere before, but he could not quite place it.
With superior looks and the potential to rival a star when properly adorned, Diema was exceptionally beautiful.
A star?!
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Jonathan, and he recalled where he had seen Diema's face before—it was on a billboard advertisement for The Second World.
He had once observed the ads with a curious fascination, noting the myriad real and virtual faces. Diema's visage was strikingly similar to a celebrity in The Second World.
Jonathan surmised that Diema was quite possibly a player!
At six o'clock in the evening, Jonathan declined Diema's invitation to a gathering and made his way home alone. On the way, his phone vibrated with a message from the Meteorological Agency warning of an impending downpour. Glancing skyward, he saw dark clouds obscuring the evening sky and sensed that rain was imminent.
He hurriedly dashed into the subway station, hoping to reach home before the rain began. Caught amidst the rush hour crowd, he found himself jostled by the masses as he struggled to board the subway.
"Good grief, this news is horrifying," two young passengers whispered on the crowded subway. "The whole family is dead... It's the work of a cult."
Ever since his constitution and senses had mysteriously begun to merge with the second world, Jonathan found that his physical strength, agility, and perception had improved remarkably. Effortlessly, he overheard the conversation amidst the din of the subway.
"Did he kill his entire family? Has he gone mad? He looked so normal," one of them said.
"Who wouldn't go crazy believing in a cult? The police have issued a warrant, with a reward of a hundred thousand dollars..."
Upon catching these keywords, Jonathan nervously pulled out his phone and searched the news. He remembered Martin mentioning that the secret cult in The Second World consumed the God Blood and committed heinous acts like human sacrifices, leading to the government intensifying its crackdown on religious groups.
Those who ingested the divine blood underwent physical transformations and eventually lost their sanity.
This was Jonathan's first day back, and he couldn't help but worry.
As soon as he opened his phone, a news article appeared about the police warrant. The suspect's description, residence, and alleged crimes were detailed concisely. According to the warrant, the suspect had developed mental issues after worshipping an evil deity, leading him to murder his entire family.
The suspect had been killed the night before and fled. Alarmingly, the crime scene was quite close to the city where Jonathan resided—only a neighboring city away, a mere twenty to thirty minutes distance.
"Regional Mission Triggered," a holographic screen suddenly appeared before Jonathan's eyes. His pupils constricted, and a sense of dread washed over him. Why was a mission being triggered in the real world?!
Jonathan had only ever triggered one mission—the "Investigate the Harbor Explosion" quest he had accepted upon first entering The Second World. That mission remained unfinished.
He could never have anticipated that his first-world self would trigger a mission, especially a regional one—a mission he had never encountered before.
"[Mission Description]: Unforeseen circumstances have arisen in the familiar region of your hometown. The once peaceful city is disturbed, and the stable life you knew is disrupted by mysterious shadows and extraordinary powers invading your life. To preserve the tranquility and stability of your hometown, you may have a duty to investigate this dreadful incident thoroughly.
"As a regional mission, you are not the only one to receive the mission invitation. Other players living in the same area have also received the mission promptly. You can choose to collaborate or investigate independently."
"You may choose to accept or decline the mission."
"Acceptance entails certain risks, while rejection provides temporary respite, as the likelihood of trouble seeking you out is low."
[Mission Content]: Investigate the cultist murder case."
At that moment, Jonathan could no longer hear the noise of the bustling subway car. Clutching the handrail, he remained motionless until the subway reached its stop, and only then did he follow the crowd off the subway.
The difference between the First and Second Worlds grew even smaller, leaving Jonathan uneasy. Two worlds, two game fields—Cyber Online and Earth Online.
The reality in which Jonathan found himself was changing, becoming unfamiliar to him. It seemed that as his two bodies converged, so too did the First and Second Worlds.
He considered that the physical merging might not be limited to himself but rather a shared phenomenon among all players. However, most other players were ordinary people whose physical improvements were less significant than Jonathan's.
Yet, if a player happened to cross over and become a secret cult member, ingesting the god blood, which transformed their body, what would happen when they returned to the First World? Would their body undergo similar mutations? Would their minds plunge into madness like the cultists of the secret organization? Could the murderer who killed his entire family and fled into the night be a player?
As Jonathan exited the subway, the rain began to fall. He sprinted through the downpour, heading home. The heavy rain involuntarily reminded him of the days just after he had first crossed into The Second World when it rained daily in Black Sea City.
Upon entering his home, he immediately pulled out his phone to check the forums.
"Let's exchange code words, California, regional mission."
1l: I'm several cities from where the case occurred, but I still received a mission trigger notification. How large is the coverage area of this regional mission?
2l: It might be the entire state of California; I received it too. Will anyone choose to accept the mission? It's too dangerous.
3l: I wonder how many players are in California?
4l replies to 3l: There should be around seventy based on the population ratio.
5l: What are you guys talking about? What's this regional mission?
6l: It's too terrifying... Is this still the hometown we know? I'm scared, everyone. The danger is too close to us. For the first time in my life, my hometown feels so unfamiliar. Returning to the First World hasn't taken us away from danger; on the contrary, the danger has approached our lives with the return of the players. This is not how our world should be.
Jonathan turns off his phone, changes his clothes and shoes, and stands by the window, gazing at his city.
Through the hazy rain curtain, neon lights dazzle, yet he is in a dark, dilapidated neighborhood. Below are broken cobblestone streets and damaged streetlights, detached from the prosperous city area. This era is developing too fast; a city has two appearances, splendid and rundown, coexisting simultaneously.
In that instant, Jonathan had a severe illusion, as if he was still in Black Sea City instead of his hometown. Jonathan didn't like the Second World; he didn't want his current reality to be tainted by things from the Second World.
Awakened ones, Heterobloods, secret organizations, cultists... These things shouldn't exist. And yet, these things are transforming his world and even himself beyond recognition.
The world is spiraling out of control, life trajectories deviate, and the peaceful life has become chaotic.
However, fate is like a wild horse broken free from Jonathan's control.
As the mission description said, the once peaceful city is no longer tranquil, and the stable life is no longer stable. The ordinary daily life has gone far away from him, and after experiencing swords and fighting at the brink of life and death, it's hard for him to return to his previous life.
Yet even so, Jonathan still wants to do his best to protect this land, not for the mission or others, but for himself, just for himself.
To do this, he must sweep away the things polluting his world individually.
"I accept the mission," Jonathan silently said in his heart.
"You have accepted the mission."
"[Mission Progress]: 0."
Jonathan noticed that the missions issued by the game system had a unique characteristic: they didn't provide explicit directions. It said "investigate," not "deal with." In plain terms, all the missions issued by the game system only provided a direction for the mission executors. As for whether to kill the target or take additional actions after completing the mission, the game system didn't impose any restrictions.
This greatly increased freedom, and Jonathan could do whatever he wanted. The mission issued by the game system served as a reminder, a warning, and an alarm telling him that his life had changed.
Therefore, Jonathan accepted the mission with a completely different mindset than before. When he took on the mission to investigate the bombing case, he genuinely wanted to determine the cause and consequences. However, now that he accepted the mission to investigate the cultist murder case, he was not aiming for the investigation but to "eliminate."
Like the Investigation Department that eliminates heterogenous creatures and captures Heterobloods, Jonathan intended to clean up all the polluting factors and unstable elements around him, completely eliminate them, and leave no hidden troubles.
Jonathan gazed at the city's neon lights outside the window, lost in deep thought for a long time. Ten minutes later, he turned on his phone and saw that the posts in the forum asking about heterogenous creature intelligence still had no replies, related threads were blank, and responses were scarce.
So, Jonathan posted his first thread since joining the forum: "Explaining what Xenobiotics creature are, what secret cult are, and what Heterobloods are."
Upon entering the eatery, Jonathan was greeted by the tantalizing aroma.
"You've arrived," the supervisor said, taking inventory.
"May I help you?" Jonathan inquired. "Where are the others?"
"Diema will be here shortly to take over," the supervisor replied.
As Jonathan chatted with the supervisor, Diema arrived—a striking young woman regarded him curiously from the doorway. "Hello, I'm Diema. Are you new here?"
"Hello, I'm Jonathan," he responded with a nod.
Diema and Jonathan were of similar age, yet anyone who saw them together would presume Jonathan to be the elder of the two. His eyes and demeanor bespoke a maturity that lent him an air of genuine adulthood, while Diema, sheltered within a happy home and yet to step into the world, exuded the essence of youth. Her countenance still bore traces of innocent naivety, revealing her emotions unguardedly.
Jonathan found Diema's features vaguely familiar for some reason, as if he had seen her somewhere before, but he could not quite place it.
With superior looks and the potential to rival a star when properly adorned, Diema was exceptionally beautiful.
A star?!
A sudden flash of inspiration struck Jonathan, and he recalled where he had seen Diema's face before—it was on a billboard advertisement for The Second World.
He had once observed the ads with a curious fascination, noting the myriad real and virtual faces. Diema's visage was strikingly similar to a celebrity in The Second World.
Jonathan surmised that Diema was quite possibly a player!
At six o'clock in the evening, Jonathan declined Diema's invitation to a gathering and made his way home alone. On the way, his phone vibrated with a message from the Meteorological Agency warning of an impending downpour. Glancing skyward, he saw dark clouds obscuring the evening sky and sensed that rain was imminent.
He hurriedly dashed into the subway station, hoping to reach home before the rain began. Caught amidst the rush hour crowd, he found himself jostled by the masses as he struggled to board the subway.
"Good grief, this news is horrifying," two young passengers whispered on the crowded subway. "The whole family is dead... It's the work of a cult."
Ever since his constitution and senses had mysteriously begun to merge with the second world, Jonathan found that his physical strength, agility, and perception had improved remarkably. Effortlessly, he overheard the conversation amidst the din of the subway.
"Did he kill his entire family? Has he gone mad? He looked so normal," one of them said.
"Who wouldn't go crazy believing in a cult? The police have issued a warrant, with a reward of a hundred thousand dollars..."
Upon catching these keywords, Jonathan nervously pulled out his phone and searched the news. He remembered Martin mentioning that the secret cult in The Second World consumed the God Blood and committed heinous acts like human sacrifices, leading to the government intensifying its crackdown on religious groups.
Those who ingested the divine blood underwent physical transformations and eventually lost their sanity.
This was Jonathan's first day back, and he couldn't help but worry.
As soon as he opened his phone, a news article appeared about the police warrant. The suspect's description, residence, and alleged crimes were detailed concisely. According to the warrant, the suspect had developed mental issues after worshipping an evil deity, leading him to murder his entire family.
The suspect had been killed the night before and fled. Alarmingly, the crime scene was quite close to the city where Jonathan resided—only a neighboring city away, a mere twenty to thirty minutes distance.
"Regional Mission Triggered," a holographic screen suddenly appeared before Jonathan's eyes. His pupils constricted, and a sense of dread washed over him. Why was a mission being triggered in the real world?!
Jonathan had only ever triggered one mission—the "Investigate the Harbor Explosion" quest he had accepted upon first entering The Second World. That mission remained unfinished.
He could never have anticipated that his first-world self would trigger a mission, especially a regional one—a mission he had never encountered before.
"[Mission Description]: Unforeseen circumstances have arisen in the familiar region of your hometown. The once peaceful city is disturbed, and the stable life you knew is disrupted by mysterious shadows and extraordinary powers invading your life. To preserve the tranquility and stability of your hometown, you may have a duty to investigate this dreadful incident thoroughly.
"As a regional mission, you are not the only one to receive the mission invitation. Other players living in the same area have also received the mission promptly. You can choose to collaborate or investigate independently."
"You may choose to accept or decline the mission."
"Acceptance entails certain risks, while rejection provides temporary respite, as the likelihood of trouble seeking you out is low."
[Mission Content]: Investigate the cultist murder case."
At that moment, Jonathan could no longer hear the noise of the bustling subway car. Clutching the handrail, he remained motionless until the subway reached its stop, and only then did he follow the crowd off the subway.
The difference between the First and Second Worlds grew even smaller, leaving Jonathan uneasy. Two worlds, two game fields—Cyber Online and Earth Online.
The reality in which Jonathan found himself was changing, becoming unfamiliar to him. It seemed that as his two bodies converged, so too did the First and Second Worlds.
He considered that the physical merging might not be limited to himself but rather a shared phenomenon among all players. However, most other players were ordinary people whose physical improvements were less significant than Jonathan's.
Yet, if a player happened to cross over and become a secret cult member, ingesting the god blood, which transformed their body, what would happen when they returned to the First World? Would their body undergo similar mutations? Would their minds plunge into madness like the cultists of the secret organization? Could the murderer who killed his entire family and fled into the night be a player?
As Jonathan exited the subway, the rain began to fall. He sprinted through the downpour, heading home. The heavy rain involuntarily reminded him of the days just after he had first crossed into The Second World when it rained daily in Black Sea City.
Upon entering his home, he immediately pulled out his phone to check the forums.
"Let's exchange code words, California, regional mission."
1l: I'm several cities from where the case occurred, but I still received a mission trigger notification. How large is the coverage area of this regional mission?
2l: It might be the entire state of California; I received it too. Will anyone choose to accept the mission? It's too dangerous.
3l: I wonder how many players are in California?
4l replies to 3l: There should be around seventy based on the population ratio.
5l: What are you guys talking about? What's this regional mission?
6l: It's too terrifying... Is this still the hometown we know? I'm scared, everyone. The danger is too close to us. For the first time in my life, my hometown feels so unfamiliar. Returning to the First World hasn't taken us away from danger; on the contrary, the danger has approached our lives with the return of the players. This is not how our world should be.
Jonathan turns off his phone, changes his clothes and shoes, and stands by the window, gazing at his city.
Through the hazy rain curtain, neon lights dazzle, yet he is in a dark, dilapidated neighborhood. Below are broken cobblestone streets and damaged streetlights, detached from the prosperous city area. This era is developing too fast; a city has two appearances, splendid and rundown, coexisting simultaneously.
In that instant, Jonathan had a severe illusion, as if he was still in Black Sea City instead of his hometown. Jonathan didn't like the Second World; he didn't want his current reality to be tainted by things from the Second World.
Awakened ones, Heterobloods, secret organizations, cultists... These things shouldn't exist. And yet, these things are transforming his world and even himself beyond recognition.
The world is spiraling out of control, life trajectories deviate, and the peaceful life has become chaotic.
However, fate is like a wild horse broken free from Jonathan's control.
As the mission description said, the once peaceful city is no longer tranquil, and the stable life is no longer stable. The ordinary daily life has gone far away from him, and after experiencing swords and fighting at the brink of life and death, it's hard for him to return to his previous life.
Yet even so, Jonathan still wants to do his best to protect this land, not for the mission or others, but for himself, just for himself.
To do this, he must sweep away the things polluting his world individually.
"I accept the mission," Jonathan silently said in his heart.
"You have accepted the mission."
"[Mission Progress]: 0."
Jonathan noticed that the missions issued by the game system had a unique characteristic: they didn't provide explicit directions. It said "investigate," not "deal with." In plain terms, all the missions issued by the game system only provided a direction for the mission executors. As for whether to kill the target or take additional actions after completing the mission, the game system didn't impose any restrictions.
This greatly increased freedom, and Jonathan could do whatever he wanted. The mission issued by the game system served as a reminder, a warning, and an alarm telling him that his life had changed.
Therefore, Jonathan accepted the mission with a completely different mindset than before. When he took on the mission to investigate the bombing case, he genuinely wanted to determine the cause and consequences. However, now that he accepted the mission to investigate the cultist murder case, he was not aiming for the investigation but to "eliminate."
Like the Investigation Department that eliminates heterogenous creatures and captures Heterobloods, Jonathan intended to clean up all the polluting factors and unstable elements around him, completely eliminate them, and leave no hidden troubles.
Jonathan gazed at the city's neon lights outside the window, lost in deep thought for a long time. Ten minutes later, he turned on his phone and saw that the posts in the forum asking about heterogenous creature intelligence still had no replies, related threads were blank, and responses were scarce.
So, Jonathan posted his first thread since joining the forum: "Explaining what Xenobiotics creature are, what secret cult are, and what Heterobloods are."
