The Palace of Daxia's Pacified Rebellion: A Visit Uninvited

Cloud City.

In a modest 40-square-meter rental apartment, Yi Bai stood up from the sofa. The lingering scent of Lina's perfume mixed with the unique power of a vampire still coursing through his veins. It was a reminder that the events of the past few days hadn't been a dream.

He walked over to the bedside table and plugged his phone into the charger, letting it power up for a moment. After a brief pause, he glanced at the date on the screen.

"As expected," he muttered, "The time in the horror world flows in sync with the real world. There's no such thing as time stagnation after all."

Yi Bai sighed inwardly. Just as he was about to tidy up and leave the place he had called home for many years, the doorbell rang.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

His body immediately tensed, his pupils contracting like pinpricks. The flash of crimson in his eyes vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"So soon? Looks like it's someone from the authorities. Though, I can't be sure. Just to be safe..."

He silently retrieved a parasitic puppet from his belt. The terrifying corpse hanging from the cross-shaped pendant was quietly released from its restraints. The ghastly aura dissipated as Yi Bai consciously kept the body from returning to its original size, slipping it under the couch cushion.

With his guard up, Yi Bai moved to the side of the door, avoiding the peephole. In a world invaded by horrors, while the supernatural might be terrifying, the deceit of the human heart was far more insidious. He had to stay vigilant.

"Who is it?" Yi Bai lowered his voice and asked, his body as taut as a drawn bow, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

"We're here to check the gas," came the reply from outside.

Yi Bai blinked, clearly incredulous. "Check the gas? Seriously?"

He hadn't been expecting a visit like this. No one came to check gas when he first returned from the horror world. The timing was far too coincidental. He narrowed his eyes but didn't respond immediately, mentally retracing his steps since returning.

Finally, his gaze landed on his phone, still charging.

In an instant, Yi Bai understood. His phone's location services had been forcibly enabled ever since the horror game had begun. After a week of no use, the battery had naturally run out, but now that he'd hastily charged it and checked the date, he'd exposed himself.

His frustration simmered. This was his first time dealing with such situations, and he realized he hadn't been careful enough.

In this world where horror games had arrived, everyone lived in constant fear of being dragged into them—of becoming fodder for the supernatural forces. The government, of course, wasn't idle in the face of this threat.

Each nation had adjusted its systems to cope with this grim new era. Monitoring citizens had become one of their methods—not to restrict freedom, but for safety.

The location services were always forced on to track potential players of the horror game. If someone's location suddenly disappeared, it usually meant they had been pulled into the game, triggering an immediate response from the authorities.

Yi Bai clearly fit this profile, and so, as soon as his phone powered on, someone had come to check on him.

However, Yi Bai couldn't be sure the visitor outside was actually from the official government.

The horror game, while striking terror into the hearts of many, had also created an opportunity for those with ambition. Some saw themselves as chosen ones, endowed with "otherworldly" powers. When such power led to hubris, it wasn't surprising for people to form strange organizations to further their goals.

Before the horror games began, the world had been rife with rumors and misinformation. Now, after their arrival, people traded survival, power, and influence like currency.

Yi Bai paused, gathering his thoughts.

He wasn't a helpless lamb ready for the slaughter. In fact, he was one of the top-tier players, the so-called "high-level gamers."

"I've got to keep my cool," he reminded himself. "I don't need to be this tense. Whether it's the authorities or some rogue organization, I've got the means to handle them now."

As a newly awakened vampire, Yi Bai possessed a vitality beyond human understanding—this was his trump card. Conventional firearms couldn't harm him.

And that parasitic puppet? It wasn't just for show. If he was pushed to the edge, Yi Bai wasn't afraid to show exactly what a true weapon looked like.

"Honestly, who are you? My patience is running thin."

He called out again, keeping his tone even but carrying a note of warning.

"Alright, looks like you're really one of the survivors from the horror game," a sultry, confident voice responded from the other side of the door.

Yi Bai froze. The voice, a woman's, carried an unmistakable charm. It seemed that now they were addressing him as a "player," they were shifting to a more persuasive approach.

"Let me be clear," the woman continued, "We're from the 'Pingluan Palace,' codename 9527. You can verify it on our official website."

Yi Bai's thoughts churned as he quickly fetched his phone and logged onto the Pingluan Palace's website. Entering the code, 9527, he soon saw the profile of a woman with a mature, peach-like charm.

So, this was how they identified themselves—official government agents. Pingluan Palace was an organization established by the Daxia government to deal specifically with the issues arising from the horror games. Their identity codes were typically unknown to the public, and after every mission, they were reassigned to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of their operations.

"Ah, it's the lady from Pingluan Palace." Yi Bai smiled slightly, his attitude softening, though he still didn't intend to open the door.

"May I ask what brings you here?" he inquired smoothly, making sure to play his cards right with his sweet-talking skills.

However, he still had no intention of making contact.

Whether it was Pingluan Palace or a rogue faction, Yi Bai didn't want to engage with any of them right now. He had too many secrets on him—his four unique talents, a red-clad puppet, spatial gear, and a significant amount of Ghost Coins. Any one of these could send people into a frenzy.

For his own safety, he had no interest in meeting anyone involved in the horror games just yet.