It started with soft knocks on the wooden door, the unit where Lee Mo Yu was staying. An aging flat in the East, near Mountbatten, where the corridors always smelled of rainwater and rust. He was halfway through a cold plate of economy rice when he heard it—three gentle taps.
He frowned and stood, leaving his plate behind to peer through the peephole— Nothing. Thunder cracked in the distance, and then the sky opened up, rain began hammering the windows like bullets.
Mo Yu cursed under his breath and rushed to the window to bring in the laundry.
"又要洗多一次,麻烦死了."
He muttered, clipping the final clothespin just as his phone buzzed behind him. He turned, expecting a group chat notification or maybe a weather alert.
A card has been drawn for you. Please use the card within 24 hours.
He blinked at the message, confused.
「哈?抽卡?开什么玩笑...这是诈骗信息吧?」
But before he could tap the message—
* Ding dong.
Mo Yu turned toward the door slowly.
「奇怪,我也没叫外卖啊.」
Mo Yu walked to the peephole but still no one was outside. Annoyed with the pranks, he leaned in one last time, just in case. This time, a ghastly face suddenly appeared, it looked distorted, bloated, the skin stretched and pale like something drowned for too long. It stared directly at him.
「啊啊啊啊!」
With a sharp gasp, Mo Yu stumbled back and crashed into the shoe rack, landing hard on the floor.
「靠—我操, 那是什么鬼东西!?我是不是眼花了!?」
The thought screamed through his head, louder than the pounding in his ears, hands trembling and chest heaving. Cautiously, he stood and peeked again. Nothing. No one. Just the empty corridor stretching out, silent and damp from the rain. That was when he noticed the parcel on the floor outside his door. Wrapped in old yellow prayer paper, with red thread sealed tight like a charm, along with a faint smell of burnt sandalwood. Thinking that it was just an online order he had forgotten about, he excitedly opened the parcel only to be disappointed with a singular card, one that exuded an ominous aura and had a big star engraved on it.
「...什么玩意?」
The moment he picked up the card to inspect it, intoxication kicked in. The world started spinning, walls closing in on him and the floor vanished. Time cracked like glass. In a single breath, Mo Yu was pulled under—not falling, but slipping, like being yanked into a different version of the city, all done in silence, he couldn't scream, not that he didn't want to, he just - couldn't.
Slowly opening his eyes, he finds himself standing outside, in the dark, he was no longer in his flat. It was still Singapore but ... for some reason, it felt different, something was - no, everything was off. The HDB blocks were taller, way too tall, like concrete towers piercing a cloudless, night-purple sky. Neon lights flickered with words in dead languages. MRT stations hung in the air with no tracks, as if time had stopped in place.
And the shadows? It felt like it had eyes, piercing right through him. The silence bent. A new message etched itself into the space behind his eyes—like text on a screen he couldn't close:
A voice, which flickered in like radio static, as well as a panel with words appeared:
[SYSTEM INTERFACE]
★ card used – 殯雨 (The Funeral Umbrella)
Mission: Acknowledge what you saw. Do not speak your name.
Reward: 400 Wen
Failure: Your Soul Will Be Devoured
Time Limit: 00:01:00:00
Awaiting players : 30 seconds
Once all players are ready, please touch the card in front of you.
Then came a voice, which flickered in like radio static
> ★ 卡已使用 – 殯雨,任务: 承认你所看到的事情...
「这到底是什么鬼东西...」
「我是不是在做梦?」
He slapped his cheek, hard, but nothing changed. The panel still hovered and the voice persisted. He then bolted to the side and looked up. Still the same panel and the same voice.
> 当前等待玩家: 29... 28...
「这是在做梦对吧?我一定是发烧了...」
> 26... 25...
"喂!你是谁!?你想干嘛!?放我出去!?"
"什么任务!?灵魂被吞没到底是什么意思!?"
> 22... 21...
"操你妈的!回答我啊!混账系统!"
The voice responded flatly.
> 请完成任务.否则将会死亡.
Mo Yu stared at it, face pale.
「真要我死!?真的假的啊!?」
His chest rose and fell rapidly.
「'承认我看到的'?是说...承认我遇到了什么灵异的东西?那如果我不小心说了名字会怎样?」
> 当前等待玩家: 10... 9...
"喂,系统!如果我不小心说了名字呢?」"
The panel blinked:
> 玩家若违反任务规则,将立即触发失败结局.
「艹...所以是真的会死...哪个变态想出的游戏!?」
>当前等待玩家: 3... 2... 1...
> 玩家总数:2
> 所有玩家已就绪.请触碰你面前的卡片以开始任务.
Another card appeared in front of him. Identical to the one before, dark, pulsing, the star glowing faintly. He stared at it and took a deep breath. Then touched it.
* SHHHZK
The card lit up gold and tts art shimmered—a faceless figure standing beside a funeral altar, holding a red umbrella in the rain. A light then exploded across his vision, causing him to shut his eyes instinctively.
When he opened them again, he was standing outside a void deck, in the far front front of him was a funeral. He looked around to check on himself and sighed in relief to find that all four limbs were intact. Just then, a new voice whispered behind him, wet and weeping:
"你那晚...看到我了,对吧?"