In a quiet room, Zilin gazed fixedly at the screen before him, his face twisted in an enigmatic expression that left his emotions ambiguous.
The room itself was quite small, enveloped in a dim light that barely penetrated through the window, accompanied by a chilly breeze that wafted in. These elements combined to create an atmosphere reminiscent of a haunted chamber. On a table laid newspapers and magazines, all echoing the same news—the baffling phenomenon surrounding a game called 'Fantasy Fort'.
[25 August 2020: PEOPLE DISAPPEARING WITHOUT A TRACE]
[26 August 2020: NEARLY ONE THIRD OF GLOBAL POPULATION VANISHES]
[07 September 2020: IS 'FANTASY FORT' RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE DISAPPEARANCES? ]
[21 September 2020: DEVELOPERS OF 'FANTASY FORT' UNTRACEABLE]
...
Displayed on the screen was a search bar with the words 'Fantasy Fort' typed in it.
[No results found]
"Sigh… It's not here either," Zilin sighed, his expression tinged with disappointment.
'Nearly three months have passed since that incident occurred. I don't know what happened, but one thing's for sure, that game made everyone disappear, Including my sister..
Although I've never played that game, I know quite a bit about it from my sister. Fantasy Fort was an open-world game that lacked a storyline. Now that I think about It, I always used to mock her for playing such a game'
Recollections of his sister, mingled with an ache in his heart. Her name was Zelena and she was 14, while Zilin was 20. She was his sole family and the sole memory.
'Initially, the game achieved staggering popularity, attracting almost a third of the world's populace because of it's uniqueness as a game, it had no storyline, in other words, the players themselves could create their own story for it. All the players were to play on a single server which helped them to interact with other players, Form factions and fight each other.
Players battled monsters, acquired strength, earned achievements, and more.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Later, more and more people began to quit the game because of it's lack of a storyline and the never-ending gameplay'
Over these past months, Zilin had exhaustively scoured sources for any shred of information about 'Fantasy Fort', but it was as if everything had been obliterated without a trace.
'I've read countless novels with a similar premise— A game that abducts it's players. Once, these tales were mere fiction; now It feels more of a 'reality' than the reality.'
Seated at his chair, Zilin constantly pressed the refresh button, his gaze momentarily wandering. Returning his attention to the screen, he directed his cursor to the cross icon at the top right corner. Yet, before he could close the tab, the loading screen revealed an unexpected header.
["Fantasy Fort" Account for Sale: Occupation - Spectator. Buy Now]
'What's this?'
Zilin quickly clicked the link, which redirected him to a chat interface. The Host of that chat had a username 'fisher02' and had the image of a fish as their profile picture.
[Hello, are you the one selling the "Fantasy Fort" account?]
[...]
The seller's responses were painstakingly slow.
[Yes sir, I am the seller. Just to clarify, this is an unused account.]
[That's fine. What's the price?]
[Would $10 be acceptable? Apologies if it seems high. I'm in urgent need of funds. We can negotiate if necessary.] this reply took twice the time needed for the previous one.
[Ten dollars is reasonable. Please share your bank details for the transfer.]
Ten dollars was really lesser than the amount he had expected. Zilin,although not wealthy, had enough funds—precisely $11.4.
Currently, money was not the Important thing; his paramount goal was finding his sister.
He brushed aside doubts about the seller's authenticity, driven solely by his desperation to reclaim what he'd lost.
Once he received the account details, Zilin swiftly executed the transfer.
[Thank you sir, payment received. Give me a moment to finalize the account sale.]
A sudden message appeared:
[Chat ended by the host.]
Zilin refreshed the page, suspecting a connection glitch. To his dismay, the website itself had vanished.
'As expected...'
Zilin's disappointment was palpable. He'd hoped for a lead on his sister, only to have it vanish like mist on the wind. It was akin to plummeting from a peak just before reaching the summit.
Closing his laptop, he reclined on his bed, a solitary tear tracing his cheek.
...
The next morning, Zilin resolved to grab a meal with his remaining $1.4. After he spends it, he would go to the Baker's house, a bakery near his apartment as a part timer.
As he stepped outside, looking at his phone, he sensed something amiss. He suddenly noticed that he wasn't outside his residence but amidst a dense forest. Swiveling around, he sought his apartment, but instead, his gaze met that of a black, monkey-like creature with blood-red eyes, looking at him as if looking at a prey, a disgusting liquid dripping from it's mouth.
This beast was thrice as large and horrifying as a gorilla, Zilin felt his heart skip a beat when he saw it's huge figure.
Without pause, he sprinted with every ounce of strength