Chapter 10: Video
The forum layout was exactly as he remembered from his past life, down to the subforums—it was a perfect replica.
[Dargel's Medals (New Player Welcome Area)]
[Dargel's Banner (Recruitment Zone)]
...
There were already plenty of posts, with quite a few people leaving comments.
In the hot threads, he even spotted a few very familiar IDs. For instance, "Emperor of the Sorrowful Winds" and the famous strategy expert "Beixuan Listens to the Wind."
The recruitment section had already seen the arrival of several professional guilds, all actively looking for new members.
For a moment, Zhou Ning was overcome by a strange, poignant feeling—like witnessing the sea turn into mulberry fields. It was surreal.
Wait a second…
Zhou Ning suddenly had a question: even if he had been transported into the game world, did his real-world self still exist?
He recalled the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. In it, due to time travel, two Harry Potters appeared in the same timeline. The younger Harry eventually realized he was being watched by his future self, who then saved his past self with a spell.
That movie had left him a bit confused back then, but now that he was living through something similar, he instantly got it.
Harboring a sliver of hope, he tried entering his old username and password.
[This user is not registered. Please try again.]
Then he tried making a post.
[Unregistered users are not permitted to perform this action.]
Next, he tried to register a new account.
[User IP not detected. Real-name verification cannot proceed. Please check your network connection.]
Of course, movies are just movies—completely useless as a reference. Damn it!
After failing several times, Zhou Ning finally gave up.
It seemed he could only lurk as a guest—just a screen-watching lurker. He could read posts, but not reply or post his own.
Oh well, might as well check out the videos first!
He clicked on the pinned post on the homepage and played the first episode of the drama series—The Sacrifice.
As a stirring and impassioned background score began, the video started.
Opening quote: "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."
The opening scene showed the sky above Darklan, the capital of Bryston—one half blanketed in heavy snow, the other pounded by a torrential downpour.
The camera zoomed in from the towering clock tower, panning across the bustling trade district filled with shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. Someone even led a Thunder Lizard through the streets, parading it around.
It was a scene of pure prosperity.
Then the camera plunged downward rapidly, revealing a massive ancient god imprisoned beneath Darklan. Its entire body was engulfed in green fel flames, and it periodically reared up to roar.
DONG…
The bell of the clock tower tolled, and the camera zoomed in again—this time to the four-hero statue by the banks of the Seton River.
From the eyes of Sir Archibald, the Flame of Justice in the center, a single bloody tear suddenly fell with a drip.
The scene shifted again—inside a run-down manor, a few black-robed cultists were conducting a sacrificial ritual.
Zhou Ning: …???
Why did this look so familiar? No, not just familiar—extremely familiar?
The video cut to a dim prison cell crammed with people. Occasional sobs could be heard.
Through several montage cuts, viewers got the gist of the story:
A thousand years ago, this massive ancient god had been sealed beneath the earth by four legendary heroes—earthly agents of the gods. A city had later been built above it: Darklan.
Centuries ago, the gods fell into internal strife over faith, resulting in mutual destruction. Not only did they fall into slumber, but even the elemental laws were thrown into chaos. The aftermath of this divine war made weather conditions in the world of Apocalypse wildly erratic and rendered access to supernatural power far more difficult. Across the continent, divine battlefields became overrun with violent elemental surges, turning them into uninhabitable danger zones—people called them Weather Tides.
A thousand years later, the war between the gods survived only in ancient texts. The ancient god locked beneath the city had long been forgotten by all, save for the four-hero statues still standing by the Seton River.
A group of cultists, intent on destroying the world, attempted to summon an otherworldly demon through sacrificial rituals. That's where the story began.
The video clearly fast-forwarded here—people were being taken out for sacrifice one after another.
Eventually, the six-pointed star ritual circle lit up one point at a time, and a huge, bloated, spider-like female demon was summoned. The cultists erupted into cheers.
It really is this scene…
Zhou Ning couldn't help but want to cover his face. What the hell—why was he suddenly about to make an entrance?
The scene cut rapidly from sacrifice to sacrifice—until suddenly, the camera focused on Zhou Ning and didn't move away. Over his head, a name appeared: Wayne Sturwell.
Zhou Ning himself had no time to mentally prepare.
At that moment, a flood of bullet comments [on-screen live chat] poured in like a blizzard:
"High-energy warning!!!"
"Aaaaah, so handsome! Kinda looks like Kunkun, don't you think, ladies?"
"Kunkun your ass—stop trolling."
"Heads up, folks—don't fast-forward! It's all high-energy from here!"
"Look at how calm he is—this guy's got something up his sleeve!"
"Wayne is my husband!!!"
Zhou Ning: …
Sure, it felt nice to be complimented, but being told he looked like Kunkun? Did they think he'd be proud of that?
In the video, he was undeniably handsome, currently sitting with his eyes closed, resting. Next to him was a chubby boy sobbing with snot all over his face.
Originally, his looks rated a solid 98 out of 100, but with the chubby kid beside him as contrast, it instantly became a perfect 120. It was a visual smack in the face for anyone seeing this scene for the first time.
Just like how beautiful women often stand beside a less attractive friend—sorry, little fatty!
Suddenly, the door opened and three robed members of the Curse God Cult came in, escorting Zhou Ning and the chubby boy out.
Zhou Ning frowned slightly. His hands, tied behind his back, began to subtly fumble at the ropes. The video even gave a close-up of his hands—despite being bound, his fingers moved with dizzying dexterity. The tightly-knotted sailor's hitch started to loosen almost immediately.
Even after the ropes began to loosen, Zhou Ning's expression remained calm. Not until the sacrifice began and he was shoved toward the spider demon did he suddenly draw a gun and bare his fangs!
That's when the bullet comments exploded:
"Powerful! Powerful! Powerful!"
"Holy crap—low-key, restrained, deadly! I'm fired up!"
"Handsome, powerful, tragic—this guy has to be the protagonist! Who's with me?"
"Agreed!!! He's goddamn awesome!"
Even as an outsider looking in, Zhou Ning had to admit—he looked pretty damn cool.
In the video, when he pulled the trigger on Marien, the director switched to a wide shot. The visual was reminiscent of Don Quixote charging at a windmill—it delivered a strong emotional punch.
Then, as Marien and the cultists attacked, Zhou Ning calmly spun the revolver's cylinder to reload. He kicked off the ground, diving into a roll to dodge Marien's heavy blow. A massive crack tore through the floor where the attack landed.
He was completely toying with this massive, supernatural monster.
Then he charged forward, weaving precisely through the blind spots of several enemy warriors. Even while sprinting, he fired two precise shots—taking out a cultist and interrupting a fireball spell from a miniboss. He then preemptively dove to where the fireball would land, causing it to explode directly on Marien instead.
Finally, when he hit the ground, the hem of his black academic robe fluttered in the wind—every movement graceful to the extreme.
Countless players admitted: they were completely blown away.
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