The hotel room was dark with the curtains drawn tightly together, not even allowing a sliver of light to pass through. The once neat and tidy room was now littered with empty cup noodles and bottles of lemon tea on the floor and table. In the corner of the room lay a small blue suitcase messily stuffed with clothes and stacks of cash. Sitting on top of the only bed in the small room was a girl with a pale complexion and an ugly expression on her face as she hurriedly typed away at her laptop that acted as the only light source in the darkroom. As the girl anxiously typed away on her laptop, strands of her dark hair came loose from her messy ponytail but she paid them no mind.
The girl suddenly stopped typing and instead reached for a phone beside her, dialed a string of numbers swiftly, and waited. For a long while, there was no response from the other side as the girl waited, with the only sound of the dialing tone filling the room. The girl impatiently pulled and twisted at the corner of her clothes, occasionally taking her phone away to glance at the screen to ensure that the phone was getting through.
After the longest thirty seconds of the girl's life, the phone call finally picked up and the cheerful voice of a young man resounded around the hotel room.
"Xue Yi jie jie*, how are you? Did you have fun with the gift I sent you?"
"Bastard! You sold me out! You were the one that told them I hold the information. After all the times I saved your ass, you stabbed me right in the heart from behind, didn't you?"
"Eeeh, why would you ever say that. When had I ever said that you should trust me, you were the one that took me under your wing. You could only blame yourself for being ignorant and deceived."
"You motherf*cker. You sold all the information out as well! I taught you very well all these years huh, brat!"
"Xue Yi jie jie, I had always learned from the very best. There's no point in arguing with me now, I prepared a farewell gift to you that I think you would like. Let's hope we can meet again in the next life."
"Go to hell! You better hope I don't find you in the next life. I'll skin you alive and bash your skull in!"
Just when Xue Yi hung up the phone, the door to the hotel room was knocked down by a strong force and a squad of soldiers rushed into the room. The moment they saw Xue Yi on the bed, they all raised their weapons and aimed at her, as she slowly raised her hands in submission. One of the soldiers came forward and yelled.
"Don't move or make any attempts to escape! You are now a dangerous individual and are suspected of holding explosives that are a threat to this country, make any movements and we will immediately fire."
Xue Yi stopped, fearing for her life. What explosives!? She's just a normal gossipy woman, where would she find any kind of explosives! Maybe she does have information on how to make explosives but she was not carrying any at the moment.
Just as Xue Yi wanted to explain the misunderstanding, the soldier received a command from his earpiece and immediately shouted the order.
"She's dangerous! Fire!"
At the next moment, everything became black as her consciousness faded away. The loud sounds of bullets being fired ringed in her ears, along with a faint sound of the young man's laughter in the distance. Mocking her. Ridiculing her.
March 30th, 20XX Monday
Xue Yi died
By the betrayal of her partner and her very own curiosity
***********************************************************************
Xue Yi woke up to a splitting headache and an aching body, she groaned at the pain before sitting up. When she tried to open her eyes, a blinding white light filled her vision, making her squint at her surroundings.
Where the hell am I?
Everything around Xue Yi was a sea of white with nothing within sight. It was as though everything was wiped out except for Xue Yi herself. She looked around herself bewildered before looking down at herself expecting to see some form of injury from the previous events. Instead, there wasn't any injury insight. Xue Yi furrowed eyebrows and kept examining herself to find that she didn't even have her old scars, even her piercings were gone. Her old, dirty clothing that she had been wearing before being shot, was changed into a clean white piece of dress that went down to her knees. Unexpectedly, the dress didn't feel uncomfortable as it would when she was alive.
I died but where am I? Heaven? Nah. Hell? Doesn't look like it. All this white is driving me even more crazy than I already am. Maybe there's someone else here. Wait maybe this is Hell.
Xue Yi stood up and glanced around again to see if there's anything in this nauseating white environment before she shouted into the distance.
"Hello! Is anyone out there? Where am I?"
Only silence greeted her back. Xue Yi pulled at her new dress in annoyance before deciding to walk forwards in hopes of finding something in this world of white. As she walked, the ground felt cold and smooth like marble. She frowned and slowed down to look down at her bare feet.
So they give you a new dress but no shoes. What a weird place to be after someone dies. Let's hope I don't get stuck here alone forever, otherwise, I just might commit suicide out of boredom. Wait. That probably wouldn't work.
The longer Xue Yi walked the more the silence of the white space dawned on her. Chills went down her back making her shiver, she tried to wrap the dress closer to herself in an attempt to get rid of the cold feeling the whole place gave her. Her heart rate started increasing while a cramped feeling filled her stomach making her feel faint. Could it be that you can get sick even after you died?
Xue Yi stopped walking as the bitter feeling continued to grow, she sat down on the cold floor, pulling her knees to her chest to get rid of her increasing anxiety. She tried to steady her breathing and slow her heart rate back down to calm herself, however, the chills continued to travel from her back to her arms and the rest of her body.
Fear filled Xue Yi's heart as the thought of being lost in this sea of white forever got stronger and stronger. She didn't want to stay in this place for a moment longer but she also had a thought that she wouldn't be able to leave, so why continue to try when it wouldn't help anyway. At this thought she hugged her knees closer to herself and curled up into a ball, her body started to fade but Xue Yi paid it no notice as she drowned in the depressing thoughts, hoping to disappear from this place.
I don't want to be alone. I want to go back, but I can't. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. It's too late. I can't go back. I'm stuck here forever. It's my fault I died. If I hadn't been so curious...............wait what is this? If I hadn't been so curious?! Why can't I be curious! And what's with this being my f*cking fault, it's not! What are these thoughts, they're not mine! I would never regret my actions. This place is weird, I have to get out of here............. Wa! I'm disappearing!
With trembling hands, Xue Yi pushed herself back up and started to sprint away the moment she noticed the abnormal changes to her body. Thoughts of getting away overshadowed the previously powerful depressing ones. Xue Yi renewed her determination and hurriedly ran away from her current predicament.
That was close. I almost lost myself. This place is weird, I don't want to stay here anymore. As I thought white is definitely a bad color. Ah, I'm not fading anymore.
Not long after Xue Yi started sprinting, a white structure came into sight. The building was huge and looked like a western-style court building. Unsurprisingly, the building was also white like its surroundings, however, it gave Xue Yi a sense of comfort and she might finally be able to leave this unending torture.
There was no one in sight outside the building so Xue Yi could only cautiously approach the closed doors, hoping to find someone to help her. Upon closer inspection, the doors to the building were made of painted rough wood, unlike the rest of its smooth structure. Even though the doors are large and appeared very heavy, Xue Yi only had to lightly push them before both of them gave way to show a gigantic and majestic hall inside.
Inside the hall were walls filled with murals depicting many strange creatures in interesting events, creatures that are beyond the wildest of imaginations were painted as though there was a story to be told. Xue Yi recognized a few of the creatures on the wall, a nine-tailed fox, an elf, a three-headed dog and there were also humans painted on the walls, a black vortex acted as a ceiling, swirling slowly with occasional small flashes of light. The floor was covered with a black carpet that felt warm and comfortable to Xue Yi after she ran barefoot on the cold hard ground outside.
The most eye-catching thing in the hall was a small child stood in the middle, with beautiful, fairy-like features, a head full of soft golden locks, pale glass-like skin and striking pink eyes. The child only wore a simple dress with no designs except that the dress was black. It was impossible to determine what gender the mysterious child was.
The beautiful child smiled innocently and waved at her, posing no harm towards Xue Yi. Still, Xue Yi had watched enough horror movies to know not to trust suspicious little children, even more so for a well-behaved, pretty one.
Seeing Xue Yi hesitating by the doorway, the child once again smiled and this time beckoned towards her to go inside. Xue Yi still didn't trust the child, but she also didn't want to go back outside in the endless white space. After weighing the two options in mind, she cautiously stepped into the hall and slowly walked towards the child.
Upon a closer look, she could see that the child was holding a small light blue panel with an image of a humanoid figure. The humanoid figure had no discernable feature on its face, Xue Yi then realized that it had no face, making her feel unsettled. She decided not to look at the figure and focused her eyes on the child, making sure that they were trustworthy enough.
Wtf is going on? What's with the weird child? This feels like a horror movie, am I going to get killed even after I died?
When she arrived in front of the child, the humanoid figure in the panel moved and a gaping hole opened in the place where its mouth should've been. Seeing that Xue Yi instantly felt sick to the stomach from the horrifying visual, she forced herself to remain calm and listened to whatever that creature in the panel wanted to say.
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"Welcome to the Afterlife HR, #19537. The World Management Team congratulates you on successfully passing the qualifications in choosing your role for your next life."
A robotic voice rang out from the gaping hole in the humanoid figure, further sending chills down Xue Yi's back. She avoided looking at the figure and lowered her head to process the words she just heard. A lot of questions filled her head from the information, however, she didn't get a chance to ask them before the creature continued.
"We will now conduct a scan to see what roles would be open for you to choose from, please excuse us for the mild discomfort."
Xue Yi frowned at the humanoid figure's words and wanted to stop it from continuing. But before she could react, the child took a small round purple pill and forced it deep into her mouth with surprising strength that did not match their appearance. Xue Yi choked and had no choice but to swallow the strange pill.
Just as she was about to curse out both of them, her head started pounding fiercely and her whole body started to ache. There was not a place where it didn't feel pain. Xue Yi collapsed on the carpet, unable to say a word from the torture her body was experiencing. It was as though thousands of needles were poking at her while her head was being weighed down by a cement block from the heavy pressure. Xue Yi couldn't think and could only curl her body, desperate to relieve the horrible experience. Unfortunately, the pain only continued to increase and she started seeing black spots in her vision.
When Xue Yi was about to pass out from the long torture, the pain slowly subsided and the pounding in her head decreased. She sighed in relief, at the thought of what had happened to her, she jumped up in anger and cursed at the child and the humanoid figure.
"F*ck your mom! What the flying f*ck did you shove down my throat you little sh*t? I hope both of your families get bulldozed!"
"#19537, we do not have a mother nor do we have any families. What you just ate was a pill used to scan and evaluate your statistics."
"Then why f*ck did it hurt so much? And what about my permission for this. Do I not get any privacy in this?!"
"You do not have enough authority to hide information at the moment. To check every aspect, a little pain is inevitable. The results from the test are outstanding and most of the participants usually lose consciousness from the pain almost immediately. This could be seen that you have an amazing physique. Congratulations."
"What do you mean I don't have enough authority to hide information? This is an invasion of privacy, I demand to see the manager!"
"You do not have enough authority to inquire any further. Please choose the role that you would like to take part in your next life. Also, keep in mind that we do not accept refunds."
Before Xue Yi could "inquire" any further, the panel showing the irritating humanoid figure changed to show a list of roles and their descriptions.
Role: Protagonist
Description: The world would revolve around the protagonist as everything the protagonist does is the most important. This role is the most popular among the higher tier roles with a 98% rate of satisfied users and the highest number of times being chosen.
Package:
The Protagonist Halo: A tool that is special only to the protagonist to ensure that the protagonist has all the best golden fingers and cheats in the world
Undying body: A body with the best statistics and durability, able to withstand anything, allowing the protagonist to be able to survive through determination alone. Special Skill: Even if the protagonist died they could still be revived through the movement of the plot
Plot armor: Protagonist would be able to get through any trials or challenges even if it is beyond their current abilities
Harem Master: If the protagonist wants, the target of their affection would undoubtedly fall in love with them letting the protagonist form their harem. Warning: Ability might not work on villains and cannon fodders. Effectiveness increases when used on a love interest
*In the case of the world being Horror themed, the effectiveness of all ability decreases by 40%
Role: Villain
Description: A role that opposes the protagonist, though this role is slightly weaker than the protagonist, there is often more freedom and the starting conditions of the villain are often better than the protagonist.
Package:
Villain's Benefits: A buff is given at the start for the villain to have the best living conditions and resources at hand for use in the future against the protagonist. Buff could only be used at the start.
Boss aura: To ensure that the villain can match up to the protagonist, this ability is employed for the villain to rise above other roles
Undying body: Ability is the same with the protagonist, however, there are no special skills. 40% lower activation compared to the protagonist.
Henchmen employer: An ability that would let the villain collect or create followers to do their bidding for them, often cannon fodders.
*In the case of the world being Horror themed, the effectiveness of all ability increases by 40%
Role: Love Interest
Description: The role of the protagonist's object of desire. The sole purpose of this role is to accompany the protagonist and form a romantic relationship, assisting the protagonist. As a love interest, they would also be able to benefit from the protagonist.
Package:
Good Feelings: Ability exclusive to the protagonist as this would let the love interest stand out from the other characters to gain the protagonist's love.
Coincidences: Ability exclusive to the protagonist. Create coincidences between the love interest and protagonist to increase more contact between the two. Creates more good feelings between the love interest and the protagonist.
All or Nothing: A buff that allows the love interest to either have the best living conditions and resources that they would use to help the protagonist. Or they would start with a horrible background that would gain sympathy from the protagonist and prompt them to help the love interest. Warning: The probability for each is 50%. Good Luck.
Flawless Body: To have an appearance that is flawless and beautiful to stand next to the protagonist. A pride of all love interests.
Role: Cannon Fodder
Description: A role that is purely expendable and if often a role for further letting the protagonist develop. Even though the cannon fodder opposes the protagonist, they do not have real influence against them.
Package:
Elevated status: A buff at the start to ensure that the cannon fodder has enough status and power to be able to affect the protagonist and resist against the protagonist for a while.
Durability: A buff that allows the cannon fodder to have good durability against the protagonist, however, this does not mean that the cannon fodder would be able to resist against all of the protagonist's attacks
Voice: An ability that would allow the cannon fodder to significantly affect the protagonist in other ways. (Ex. Reputation)
Role: Supporting Character
Description: A role solely there to support the protagonist and help further develop themselves through the opportunities that they give or the guidance they provide. Often as a best friend or someone close to the protagonist.
Package:
Good Compatibility: Ability exclusive to the protagonist. Used for developing a good relationship with the protagonist to support the protagonist when facing challenges.
Assisting Power: Ability exclusive to the protagonist. Having powers or influence that would be compatible with the protagonist to further help them in their time of need.
Guidance: Ability exclusive to the protagonist. Used for guiding the protagonist and providing them with good advice and mental support. Statistics related to being a good supporting character that is beneficial to the protagonist heightened.
Opportunities: Ability exclusive to the protagonist. The supporting character would be able to provide a lot of opportunities for the protagonist to further develop themselves. These opportunities would often include events that would help the protagonist further spread their reputation or more contact with the love interest.
After reading through the list of roles that Xue Yi was to choose later, she felt dissatisfied and tried to see if the panel would show any more roles. To her dismay, the only available roles were already displayed.
What's with the limited options? Didn't that 'thing' said that my stats were outstanding? How come all the choices are so sh*tty. I want the bystander option!
Frowning, Xue Yi gave the panel back to the small child and asked.
"Why are there so little options? How come there's no bystander role? I want to choose the bystander role."
The surface of the panel shifted to once again show the hideous being.
"These are the best options there are in the Afterlife HR. According to the statistics that we got from you, they are too high for you to choose any other roles. Please choose from the available set."
"What's with that! First, you said that my results are amazing, then now you said they are too high! I want a refund!"
"There are no refunds available. Please choose a role available for your next life."
"F*ck your uncle! F*ck your entire family! F*ck your ancestors to the eighteenth generation!"
Seeing that there was no longer any response from the two, she almost wanted to puke blood out and continued to curse, but no matter what she said it was no use as she didn't get any response. Xue Yi decided to sit on the carpet and instead asked questions that might help her.
"What happens after I choose a role?"
"You would be wiped of your previous life's memories and transported to the next world."
"Can I also choose which world to go to?"
"You do not have the authority to choose."
"Diu*, then how do you transport me to the other world?"
"Through the use of the World Crossing Machine."
"I don't see the World Crossing Machine."
"It's right in front of you."
Xue Yi looked up but all she could see was the child and the panel. She looked behind the child but still saw nothing. She glanced back at the child, who smiled back at her. She paused for a moment then realized.
"The World Crossing Machine is that brat?"
"Yes."
"Wtf, how does that work?"
"The World Crossing Machine has an ability that would open a portal for you to go through after I gave permission."
".......And how do you give permission?"
"You will know after you chose a role."
".............." (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡 ┻━┻
Xue Yi stared at the panel frustratedly, wishing she could go in and straggle the 'thing'. A moment passed filled with angry glaring from Xue Yi before she pouted and insisted.
"I can not choose a role until I see how it works."
"#19537, do not be unreasonable, and please decide on a role."
"No, how am I supposed to know if you would kill the kid or not? It is against my conscious to commit child abuse."
"............" ( T _ T )
"........." ಠ╭╮ಠ
".....Permission is granted when a chip is inserted at the back of the machine's neck."
A triangular chip about the size of Xue Yi's palm popped out of the side of the panel. At that moment Xue Yi pounced on the panel and grabbed hold of the chip, catching both the child and the 'thing' surprised. Before they could even react, she swiftly snatched the panel and threw it away as far as she could, in case the 'thing' could do anything to her and pushed the struggling child to the ground, inserting the chip into the back of their neck.
The child then stopped struggling and a dark red mist came out from the child's mouth before their eyes rolled and the child laid unconscious on the ground. The red mist grew bigger inside before forming a glowing portal. Without further delay, Xue Yi carried the small child and leaped into the portal. After Xue Yi and the child disappeared, the portal changed back into the red mist before fading away with a hissing sound, leaving behind the still stunned 'thing'.
A moment of silence sounded before loud alarms sounded in the hall and things turned completely chaotic.
In a certain place, the same type of alarm could be heard, however, accompanying the loud sound was the panic noises of a crowd of creatures with the same appearance as the humanoid figure. All of them were filled with the feelings of anxiety and fear as it had been such a long time since the alarm had sounded that no one remembered which protocol to follow. At least all of them except one.
At the back of the Afterlife HR resided the higher-ups, a trembling humanoid figure arrived at the doors and was about to go in to report the recent disaster before being stopped by another figure. This figure was different from the other humanoids seen in the facility, this one was a lot taller and bigger, with an air of authority. Seeing him the other relaxed a bit, a bit of hope emerged. Without another word, the figure immediately inquired about the situation.
"What was the emergency that the higher-ups would need to know about?"
"Sir, one of the souls that was able to pass the qualifications for choosing their role stole the World Crossing Machine and escaped."
"Was the soul dissatisfied with the roles? Why did they steal the World Crossing Machine."
"It was very bizarre, Sir. The soul was actually given our best roles but they refused them and instead wanted one of the smaller roles. However because their statistics were too high, the role was unavailable to them. So they got angry and tricked the one in charge into showing how the machine operates and escaped."
"Called in the Clean Up Team and have them bring the soul back immediately, otherwise we would not be able to track them after they operate the machine again and go into another world. Did you track the world they landed in?"
"Yes, Sir. It was #84 Cultivation."
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Footnotes:
Jie Jie: 姐姐 - Meaning sister, which could also be used between an older female and a younger male not blood-related but have a close relationship.
Diu: A classic contonese curse word
Author's Note:
So this is my first book. Some of the words in this is going to be translated from Chinese and Cantonese, since I know a bit of both. But I'm not exactly native native, so forgive me if got some phrases wrong and comment if I forgot to put the explanations in the footnotes. Thank you and Enjoy. :)