Huayin City, Jiang Province — April 16th, 2029, 10:17 PM
The rain poured over Northcrest University's male dorms, the storm raging especially loud for one student in the East Wing.
He canceled his alarm, eyes half-lidded.
"Nnngh…"
He rolled over instinctively.
Notes: Complete the Group Project PowerPoint
Part 1: Create slide layout and titles
Part 2: Slack off
Part 3: 10:15 PM: Add bullet points and visuals
"God…" Liang Wei pushed himself up from beneath his covers. "What time is it?"
He opened his eyes fully, holding his phone as he sat upright.
Checking the time and the pinned notification on his screen, he sighed and tossed the phone to the side, taking a slow breath. He removed his glasses and massaged his throbbing temples.
His face was slick with sweat. He wiped it away with his shirt before getting out of bed.
He winced as his headache worsened.
"Maybe I need a quick shower," he muttered, holding his head.
He grabbed his sweater from the chair and pulled it on, then took a towel from his closet along with his toothbrush and other toiletries—soap and deodorant.
He wobbled slightly, his vision doubling.
Click.
He opened his dorm room door.
"Maybe I need to find a pharmacy later," he murmured, stepping into the hallway in his boxers and black sweater.
His footsteps were uneven as he walked down the cold corridor.
Rumble. Rumble.
Rain battered the windows. Thunder cracked, lightning illuminating the shadows around him.
Liang Wei adjusted his glasses and continued to the end of the corridor, reaching the fluorescent-lit communal bathroom.
Inside, a wall of sinks stretched along one side. Beyond them, towel racks and rows of shower stalls.
He walked to the nearest sink, turned on the faucet, and cupped the stream of water in his hands.
0100101
The water flowed with numbers. It splashed against his palms, biting cold.
"This…!?"
His pupils dilated as he watched the temperature drop. Thin layers of ice formed across the drain, blocking the holes. He stepped back.
The code within the water began to overflow—its volume rising, spilling across the sink and onto the floor.
The metal faucet chilled, white frost creeping along the rim, spreading up the iron.
Above the counter, the numbers began rising, streaming upward from the icy water and assembling themselves into a set of present boxes.
[Thank you once more for participating in the data collection process. You have been given a small gift as compensation, should you wish to step into the next phase of reality.]
[Good luck on your adventures. And remember: danger lurks where the veils between the mundane grow thin.]
"What was in that cake…" Liang Wei muttered, finally responding to the madness before him.
His thoughts returned to the surprise birthday cake left boxed on his desk. That was when he began dreaming—and hallucinating—so vividly that maybe the only explanation was he had been unknowingly drugged.
Damn, was it laced? He couldn't help but wonder if his cousin Xue had slipped something into it. That would explain his vivid "dream" and current hallucinations.
He stepped back, eyes tracing the notifications.
"Danger lurks… A platinum text notification."
His shoulders stiffened.
It was his first time seeing this, both in-game and IRL. In the community forums, these notifications had been seen only a handful of times in Dao's Rising.
It couldn't be… His mind scoured his memory.
Sect leader Ming43 had finally broken his silence on how he became the leader of the three strongest sects in the Azure Genesis Server.
"I just found a secret mission when I started in the NPC sect, leading me to uncover hidden plots, assassinations, and escape missions. It took me across the server, reawakening the former sect leaders' inheritance, naturally gaining the favor of the NPCs in the sect…"
North Star server top beast master finds an Azure dragon egg and receives a platinum mission to hatch it.
Mythical Weapon Forge Script… A hundred-pill recipe… Demonic Path…
Each player to receive a platinum message experienced tremendous growth and unique events, placing them above the normal community.
"This can't be… real," he muttered, pinching his own arm.
The present boxes landed on the overflowing counter—four different boxes in varying sizes and shapes, wrapped in digital ribbons.
His feet moved toward the presents, drawn.
I need to call and ask what was in Xue's cake. This is either the work of hallucinogens or some back-alley psychotic mixed into the batter.
That could explain the headache and dream.
But he didn't think that was the case. Xue wasn't the type to drug anyone. If anything, she might have unknowingly bought a "drugged" cake… Wait, is she really that naive?
If so, he'd need to check up on her, his aunt, and uncle.
"Argh!?"
His head pounded as the water froze midstream before fading. The numbers floated up from the frozen sculpture and puddle.
Blink…
Swashhhhh…
He blinked, opening his eyes. The ice and overflowing water were gone. The faucet flowed normally, without the previous overwhelming pressure.
It was as if he had been transported back to the moment he opened the tap. No frost remained, the sink drained properly, and the air felt stable.
If not for the presents, he might have taken the disappearing ice and flooded sinks as proof the food had been tampered with.
"What the hell is going on?" He adjusted his glasses, lowering his eyes to the center of his palm—???—and stared at the mark there.
Liang Wei stiffened.
His palm held open, revealing the coiled catfish tattoo glowing faintly in the fluorescent light. He recognized it and pulled his sleeves lower instantly.
His upper arms glowed with large piranha murals, tearing at insect limbs—ants, spiders, grasshoppers.
He lowered his hands to the base of his sweater and removed it.
He didn't hesitate—ripping it over his head, revealing his toned abdomen and the frost-painted fish.
The first thing he noticed was the catfish stretching over both shoulders: the tail starting at his lower back, winding up his left ribs, over the shoulder, and back down the right side of his chest.
Liang Wei gasped at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. His feet moved closer, unwilling to believe what he saw—his body was covered in tattoos, front and back.
From feet to arms, all were visible on his slightly muscular body.
"This is the body painting from the lake, right?" he murmured, touching his shoulder.
He turned, seeing his avatar in armor sinking in water, fish swimming around it. The moment transported him back—he could feel the cold, the taste of the water, the breath leaving his lungs, the burnout.
"… Pale Depths of Endless Frost," he whispered, making the tattoos respond with a faint shiver.
"God," he grumbled, gripping the sink. "How will I know what's even true or false at this point?"
Sometimes it felt like the universe was playing a joke on him.
Just as he began believing he'd been transported to anotherworldly arena, his alarm awoke him.
Stepping back from the delusion, trying to treat it as a dream, he faced two possibilities: was the event real, or all in his head?
If this is hallucinations, the safest course is the hospital, where they could test me for foreign substances.
His fingers gripped the marble harder.
But if this was real… what consequences could come from going to the hospital? Liang Wei asked himself. He'd have a target on his back—one he couldn't remove once raised.
Assuming his tattoos, flaring aura, and emitted cold could be seen, his code moved with his uneasiness, frosting the sink—an indicator something was wrong.
It could draw government attention.
That would put him at risk, without knowing how authorities would respond to their first supernatural event.
[System Announcement — Immersion Testing Will Now Begin]
All selected players will retain their avatars' strength, levels, and skill data. You will be transferred into the Immersion Arena, where you will face experimental monsters. Combat results will be analyzed to improve future immersion functionality.
He closed his eyes, recalling the first message he had received. The system announcement was phrased as a test, the final paragraph stating it was "using us" to improve the system.
That meant this phenomenon was, at best, in its mid-stages. Maybe he was part of the second or third testing phase. Even if the government was aware, they might not know much and would treat any opportunity to learn more as essential.
Liang Wei took a deep breath.
"I can't go to the hospital… I'm going to stick with my gut and say this is real."
"I'll have to be careful for now." He clenched his fist. "Find a way to not look like a computer engineering student's desktop full of ones and zeroes. Hide my tattoos."
He turned to the gifts.
"And see what happens when I open these."
Soft snow had formed at his feet without him noticing. Four gifts rested on the counter—each wrapped in shimmering ribbons of code.
Liang Wei stepped toward the largest.
It responded to his intent, opening on its own to reveal a high-tech VR headset.