Late at night, in the Abnormal Affairs Bureau conference room.

At an hour when everyone should have been deep in their dreams, the conference room was instead packed with high-level personnel from the Abnormal Affairs Bureau. Anyone who could make it was present. Those who couldn’t attend in person participated via network projection.

A trace of bewilderment was on most of their faces.

The Abnormal Affairs Bureau had been established for one primary purpose. It was to find ways for humanity to survive and thrive under the shadow of the 【Spirit Calamity Game】.

This mission included managing the challenges to social order posed by extraordinary beings like Spirit Calamity Players. It also involved supervising and handling all threats the game could unleash upon the world.

Everyone present had their own projects and jurisdictions. Generally, the department responsible for maintaining social order had no contact with the personnel who monitored the game itself, barring an internal transfer.

But tonight, people from almost every department had been summoned to this room.

Clearly, something unusual was afoot.

A man with a square face, thick eyebrows, and a tall, burly build stood at the front of the room. He looked incredibly imposing. A microphone that a normal person would grip with their whole palm, he held with just two fingers, as if afraid he might crush it.

This was the Deputy Director of the Abnormal Affairs Bureau, the public face of the organization.

“Everyone, please be patient,” he said, his voice calm. “The Director is on his way. He has an important announcement for you regarding Instance Contamination.”

The moment he spoke, the murmuring in the crowd grew even more pronounced.

“The Director? Holy crap! I actually get to see the legend in my lifetime?”

“I heard the Director doesn’t need to enter Instances anymore. Any Instance in the Spirit Calamity Game is something he can pass with a flick of his finger.”

“Hmph. You all think the Director has it easy? He’s working, too.”

“Huh? The Director has to do work himself?”

The one who asked was a front-line agent from the social order division. He rarely dealt with matters outside his field and stared at his colleague in shock.

His colleague was a technical staff member, responsible for monitoring and analyzing the nature of the 【Spirit Calamity Game】.

Pushing up his thick glasses, the technician spoke in a cold voice.

“The Director is personally responsible for supervising the being in the Abyss of the game’s code, to prevent It from waking up early.”

“!? “

A collective gasp went through the room.

Even those from other departments had heard of the entity the technician mentioned. That being…

Ineffable, indescribable, a thing that could not be looked at directly.

Was that truly something a human could face, let alone supervise? It was hard to imagine what kind of monster the Director must be.

The large screen in the conference room suddenly buzzed and lit up.

A man who looked to be in his early thirties appeared on the screen. He had a chiseled, resolute face, neat short hair, and wore a simple white T-shirt. He could have been the sunny, cheerful big brother from next door.

Yet, he was standing on a monster that was a full ten stories tall. Compared to the creature’s massive size, which would make anyone with megalophobia tremble, the man was as tiny as an ant.

But at this moment, the enormous monster was lying motionless on the ground.

A simple, unadorned sword was plunged into its head. The blade’s design was identical to the emblem on the Abnormal Affairs Bureau’s badge.

The man pulled the sword out with a nonchalant air, gave it a casual flourish, and sheathed it at his waist. He then faced the camera.

“Hello, comrades. I am Qing Long, the Director of the Abnormal Affairs Bureau.”

“!? “

With just that one sentence, most of the personnel in the room shot to their feet, their faces flush with excitement.

Even as high-level members of the Bureau, they had only ever received directives from the Director. Almost none of them had ever seen his face.

The saying about a divine dragon showing its head but never its tail was a perfect description of him. To see him today was truly extraordinary.

They could tell he wasn’t in the real world, and the monster beneath his feet was no small fry. Judging by its size and the devastation to the surrounding environment, that creature would be a final boss even in a Hard-level Instance.

This was the kind of boss that gave players endless headaches, a foe impossible to defeat with brute force. The only way to win was to rely on intelligence to find a flaw.

Yet, the Director had slain it as if it were a dead dog. And Qing Long’s white T-shirt wasn’t even stained with a speck of dirt.

This was a completely one-sided, crushing victory.

“First, let me explain the current situation.”

Qing Long lightly stomped on the monster under his foot.

“As you can see, this thing has been subjected to some kind of powerful contamination and has undergone an unpredictable mutation.”

Hearing this, the crowd finally noticed that the monster did indeed look wrong.

Zooming out, they could see its vaguely humanoid shape. But its skin was a patchwork of different scales, feathers, and even keratinous horns like a rhinoceros’s. The ends of its limbs were bizarre, tentacle-like appendages. Two tumors, only slightly smaller than its head, grew from its neck, and on them, one could faintly see facial features beginning to form.

No living creature should look like this. Not even the Fierce Ghosts and other monsters from the Instances had such a bizarre, sanity-draining appearance.

“The source of this mutation comes from the being sleeping in the Abyss of the 【Spirit Calamity Game】,” Qing Long explained. “It has been motionless for many years, but ten minutes ago, it suddenly emitted some kind of unknown emotional fluctuation.”

He continued in a serious tone.

“That single emotional fluctuation caused hundreds of Instances to be affected simultaneously. We estimate that nearly a hundred Instances collapsed and were damaged on the spot.”

“I hope all of you will pay close attention to improving your 【Mental Strength】. This is the only way you might survive an encounter with the contamination. If you discover any information related to Instance Contamination, report it promptly and in detail.”

“Identifying that being’s method of contamination is simple. If you see this kind of painted symbol anywhere, then you’ve encountered it.”

With that, Qing Long zoomed the camera in.

Only then did the crowd realize the monster’s eyes were not biological structures. They were more like symbols painted onto its flesh.

It was a pair of Red Vertical Pupils.

The art style was exquisite and elegant. Not even the world’s most outstanding artist could have depicted such spirited pupils. Every detail was rendered to perfection.

Even through the screen, the crowd felt their scalps tingle. They broke out in a cold sweat, as if something unclean was staring at them from right behind their backs.

“Huh? Abyss God, did you secretly turn on a beauty filter for yourself? Why do I feel like you’ve gotten prettier?”

Wu Wang lay on his bed, looking at the Red Vertical Pupil on his wrist with a puzzled expression.

At first, the mark had been like a stick figure, just a few simple strokes. But after the last Instance and the evolution mentioned in the settlement space, its strokes had multiplied. It even had three eyelashes above and below the eye.

“Whatever, not important. I’d better check out the loot.”

Wu Wang shrugged, dismissing it.

After killing Tuxing Sun, Wu Wang had naturally inherited the man’s equipment and items.

Baili Dao had already explained the Abnormal Affairs Bureau’s current regulations regarding Spirit Calamity Players. In a way, they were very lenient.

As long as a private grudge between players didn’t endanger the lives of ordinary people or cause any major incidents, it didn’t matter who walked out alive, even if they fought to the death in an octagon cage.

Of course, you had to dispose of the body properly yourself.

Otherwise, if an ordinary person discovered it and disturbed the social order, the Abnormal Affairs Bureau would have to step in and deal with you.

Regarding the incident with Tuxing Sun, where greed had led to his demise, Baili Dao had even offered to call a colleague to help dispose of the body.

Wu Wang naturally wouldn’t pass up such a good offer, so he took Baili Dao up on it.

After all, as any friend who often kills people knows, killing is easy. Disposing of the body is the most troublesome part.

Imagine carrying a body bag to a disposal site only to run into an acquaintance halfway there. You’re already socially anxious, trying to figure out how to act normal while also worrying they’ll notice something is wrong.

Finally, driven by desperation, you opt for the convenient solution.

Great. Now you have two bodies to deal with.

Just as Wu Wang was cheerfully going through his loot, the notification sound from the 【Spirit Calamity Game】 suddenly echoed in his ears.

【Attention all players】

【The closed beta of the Spirit Calamity Game has ended. The Open Beta will officially begin in 50 days.】

【After the Open Beta begins, any Instance that is failed three times in a row will descend upon reality. Please be prepared to welcome the supernatural disasters.】

【Detailed information will be announced ten days before the Open Beta.】

【We wish you all find a death of your own.】

Open Beta?

Wu Wang was stunned for a moment.

Before he could figure out what this meant, the notification sound rang out again, and an information panel appeared before his eyes.

【You will begin the Nightmare-level Solo Instance, “Chronicle of the Desolate Village,” in three days.】

【Please prepare in advance. On the day the Instance begins, you must find and wear a Conical Hat.】

【We wish you find a death of your own.】