Chapter One: The Arrival of the Eerie Era

“Only one day left until the countdown ends.”

“Dear residents of Linjiang City, please believe that we will have a bright tomorrow!”

“This is just a game...”

“When the countdown finishes, it won’t be the end, but a brand new beginning.”

“Everyone must hold on to hope and keep fighting to survive!”

In Linjiang City, every morning at seven o’clock, people opened their eyes to the familiar broadcast.

At this moment, anyone who glanced outside could see a blood-red string of characters hanging high in the sky—

[23:59:59!]

The crimson text loomed overhead like a collapsing storm cloud, pressing down upon the entire city of Linjiang, as if a sword of judgment was about to fall, sentencing everyone to death!

“Ah, yes, yes, that’s right!”

“The future means waking up to see that deadly thing again!”

“A new beginning? Does that mean everyone’s going to heaven?”

In a tiny rented room of about thirty square meters, Chen Ye sat with his legs crossed, shaking his head with a wry smile as he faced the computer before him.

On the screen was a simple text document, resembling a schedule that recorded recent significant events—

[October 31, 2024: The virtual game “Eerie Epoch” officially launched its open beta. With its eerie theme, perfect CG graphics, and revolutionary class gameplay, it quickly became a global sensation!]

[December 1, 2024: The Black Sun incident occurred. An island in the East Sea was enveloped in the Black Sun’s rays and vanished worldwide! This was exactly the first scene of the “Eerie Epoch” game’s CG intro.]

[December 3, 2024: The “Eerie Epoch” CG scenes began to manifest in reality, officially ushering in the Eerie Epoch. Approximately one-third of the population disappeared, causing worldwide panic.]

[December 15, 2024: A blood-red countdown appeared over Linjiang City, isolating the entire city from the outside world. Communication methods such as the internet and phone lines were limited to within the city.]

[Linjiang City plunged into chaos, but after a month of turmoil, order was barely restored.]

[Aside from this, contact with the outside world was completely severed, and the global situation remained unknown.]

[April 1, 2025: The countdown reaches its final day!]

The event log ended here.

The last entry was exactly what Chen Ye had typed today.

He gazed at the blood-red characters in the sky, muttering to himself:

“Is it finally about to begin?”

Today was the final day of the blood-red countdown.

Many experts had speculated wildly about this event, but when the countdown truly ended, no one knew what it would bring.

Life’s growth always begins with farewells, facing countless “last moments.”

When the blood-red countdown first appeared, everyone in the city believed their final moment had arrived. Their hearts shattered with despair; the world was doomed, hope extinguished. The city fell into chaos, and all were driven mad.

Yet after such a long time, this countdown had unknowingly accompanied the people of Linjiang for nearly four months.

Many had grown accustomed to it.

Order in Linjiang City gradually returned to normal.

People realized that except for being unable to contact anyone outside the city, a massive barrier had appeared around the city, like a boundary covering heaven and earth. Not even planes or rockets could escape...

But thanks to the city’s collective strength, order remained stable, and daily life was more or less guaranteed.

Life was barely livable.

At least, for now, no one was dying—they were still alive!

From the initial apocalyptic turmoil when the countdown appeared, to witnessing the city’s chaos, and finally its calm...

In just a few short months, Chen Ye had seen nearly every facet of human life.

Now, quietly watching the countdown reach its final day, his heart was calm.

It was as if after countless nights facing that despairing countdown, he had come to accept that life held no more hope.

This state, which at first was nearly unbearable, had gradually become normal; his heart no longer stirred.

The only regret was...

Chen Ye was not originally from Linjiang City; he was a recent university graduate.

He was obsessed with virtual games and had little contact with classmates, rarely making friends in the real world. Throughout his four years at university, he had lived alone, drifting away from home, only returning occasionally for New Year reunions with family.

However, just as he was planning to return home to see his long-absent parents, the countdown appeared!

He fell silent for a moment, then took out his phone and sent one last message:

“Dear Mom and Dad, I am your dearest son, Chen Ye. The Eerie Epoch has descended upon the world, and Linjiang City’s information cannot be sent out. I have not been able to contact you; I don’t know if you are still alive.”

“Now, Linjiang City is trapped in the countdown event, and many people are desperate.”

“But so far, I am healthy, and since I was a beta tester for ‘Eerie Epoch,’ I’m not afraid of the game’s intrusion into reality.”

“I’m even confident I can beat this broken game!”

“If you’re safe, please don’t worry about me.”

After typing these words, Chen Ye carefully checked them several times before pressing “send.”

After a brief countdown, a bright red exclamation mark appeared.

Send failed!

Chen Ye’s gaze remained calm. Since the countdown began, all means of communication in Linjiang City had failed to reach the outside world.

His final attempt to send those words had still not gone through.

Yet Chen Ye considered himself fortunate.

He had witnessed too many farewells in these months.

At least...

Though cut off from the outside world, in his heart, his parents still existed, and hope remained.

He set aside unnecessary negativity, his calm eyes now shining with resolve.

He was not afraid of the countdown’s end. Many experts had analyzed various information and concluded that when an area was engulfed by the Eerie Epoch, the people there were not truly dead.

Because once a region fell into the Eerie Epoch, it would hover in the sky, transformed into a massive luminous screen projection.

Just like the blood-red text, people could look up and see those giant screens.

Some previously missing individuals had even appeared active within the screen’s images.

Thus, many speculated that when the countdown ended, people might not die but instead enter the world of the Eerie Epoch game.

But this game was no longer virtual reality—it was real.

Players had no exit button.

In Chen Ye’s heart, this thought stirred more excitement and anticipation than fear.

He had spent four years of university eliminating all useless social time, immersing himself almost entirely in virtual MMORPGs, becoming a well-known figure in the gaming world.

A year before the open beta, Chen Ye had secured a coveted beta test slot for “Eerie Epoch.”

Only a few hundred slots existed worldwide.

Besides the game’s developers, he was among the few chosen testers.

He possessed more intelligence sources than others.

Chen Ye knew the game was a strategy RPG focused on choices, collection, and dungeon conquest.

Players collected characteristics from the Eerie Epoch to become increasingly powerful “Eerie,” strengthening themselves and expanding their survival space.

Of course, to increase randomness, each player’s initial identity, items, and talents differed greatly.

The key to survival and leveling up was to devise the next strategy based on one’s identity, items, and talents, steadily growing stronger.

“As long as I can beat this game, maybe I can leave here—and gain the power to protect my family!” Chen Ye thought silently.

At that moment,

He closed his eyes and recalled all the details of “Eerie Epoch.”

The vast settings, complex traits, and攻略 routes—

They flashed before his mind’s eye like a kaleidoscope of shimmering images.

When he opened his eyes again,

The sky had completely darkened.

The blood-red text showed only minutes remaining.

[Countdown:]

[3 minutes!]

[2 minutes!]

[1 minute!]

[0…]

At that instant, the blood-red characters in the sky suddenly erupted, transforming into a crimson curtain that instantly engulfed the entire city.

Vision plunged into complete darkness.

It was as if they had entered a “land of no light.”

Nothing could be seen!

In the darkness,

Chen Ye suddenly felt his body plummet violently, accompanied by countless wails and cries echoing in his ears. His consciousness gradually faded, finally dissolving into nothingness...

Uncertain how much time had passed.

At last, a beam of light pierced the darkness, reviving his consciousness.

In the haze, Chen Ye saw in the center of the light screen a line of blood-red characters slowly reflected before his eyes—

[Welcome to the Eerie Epoch!]