“So you're saying you're a Great Old One, and now you're going to descend into this world using my body? And as long as I listen to you, you'll help me become a god and do whatever I want in this world?”
Bai Feifei kept her head lowered, desperately suppressing the trembling of her soul as she communicated with the voice that had suddenly appeared in her mind.
“You could put it that way. ‘Great Old One’ is just a translation, though; it sounds nice. Actually, you can also call me a Great Old-Timer.”
The owner of the voice in Bai Feifei's mind was named Xu Mo. By all rights, he should have been playing a game right now.
As a youth of the 22nd century, no one played traditional games anymore. All it took was a helmet with a brain-machine interface to enjoy an immersive experience that felt like crossing over into another world.
The game Xu Mo had been playing was called Old Ones' Awakening. Set against a Cthulhu-inspired backdrop, it told the story of the gradual revival of the Great Old Ones' eldritch power, the steady regression of human technology, and the eventual destruction of the world by the evil gods.
And Bai Feifei was one of the starting characters players could choose—the weakest one, in fact.
The reason Xu Mo had chosen her was that weaker characters usually had the most extensive plotlines and high potential for growth. Experts could use them to show off their skills, but most importantly, this character was free.
Of course, there was another, less important reason—since it was practically like a soul transmigration, possessing a beautiful female character was a unique experience in its own right.
But the problem now was... after entering the game this time, why had his option to exit disappeared?!
Furthermore, he had suddenly lost the ability to control the character. Instead, the character began to move on her own, as if she had developed a self-awareness.
His consciousness was trapped inside Bai Feifei's body!
At first, he thought it might be a game bug and that he would be forced out once the helmet ran out of power.
But after waiting for two days—during which he had even fallen asleep twice—the helmet, which usually only lasted a few hours, still hadn't run out of power or forced an exit!
What the hell is going on?
Did I actually transmigrate into the game?!
Even if I did transmigrate, it shouldn't be like this. I don't even have a body. Am I some kind of Old Man Yao now?
Huh?!
Panic was starting to set in. Seeing that he had regained some measure of control over the character's body, he quickly tried to communicate with—or rather, hoodwink—Bai Feifei.
Bai Feifei was still finding the reality hard to accept. She had been perfectly fine, so how could her mind have been tainted by an “evil god”?
It was over. Was she going to die?
Was she being possessed?
Would she turn into a lunatic?
What had she ever done to deserve the attention of an evil god!
Suppressing the fear in her heart, Bai Feifei continued, “But what did you mean by that thing you said earlier, about making it so I never have to eat beef again? Beef is delicious, but I can't even afford it...”
Xu Mo: “...That's not important. I was just using a lame meme.”
“But... the books say that the Great Old Ones are unspeakable horrors. Even knowing their names will drive you insane in an instant,” Bai Feifei said. “How is it possible that I can still talk to you?”
“Ha! Look at you. How do you know you're not already crazy?” Xu Mo replied.
“Actually, you're already insane; you just don't know it yet.”
“There's no time to explain. We'll talk later. I really need to pull off some serious plays with you now!”
Xu Mo felt his control over the character return. Without further ado, he immediately seized control of the body.
Bai Feifei's body jolted. She was shocked to find that she could no longer move.
Then, she watched as her own body stood straight up!
Controlling the body, Xu Mo stretched the arms and legs and did a few jumps.
“Mm, the motor system is still fine. It actually feels more like my own body than before.”
As he spoke, he swiped his hand upward. Instantly, the dim scene before him was flooded with brilliant light!
Bai Feifei, unable to control her body, was terrified. What was happening?!
Why did the entire world suddenly become so bright in her eyes?
Was this... the power of the Great Old-Timer!?
“The Brightness Adjustment function is still here. That's not right. Am I still in the game? Where's my exit button?!” Xu Mo was completely baffled.
Thinking quickly, he gave his arm a sharp pinch!
“Hiss—I can't adjust the Pain Synchronization anymore either. That actually hurt. This pain must be at least fifty percent.”
For the sake of realism, Old Ones' Awakening allowed players to adjust the ratio of pain synchronization.
However, most people set it between one and two percent just for the experience. Fifty percent was practically masochistic.
“Ah! Why did you pinch me?” Bai Feifei's startled cry echoed in his mind.
“Oh? You're still here?” Xu Mo was taken aback by the voice.
When he played the game before, selecting Bai Feifei was just using a haptic model. He wasn't used to the game character having her own thoughts.
Bai Feifei: ?
What do you mean ‘still here’? This is my body!
What was happening was so bizarre that she truly began to wonder if she had indeed gone insane.
Xu Mo patted her chest to soothe her. “It's fine, don't worry about it. I'm a Great Old-Timer; I know the plot inside and out. You wanted to become a Scavenger, right? Just watch me work.”
“You! Where are you patting?!”
“Oh? Oh, you mean this? Come on, we're basically the same person,” Xu Mo said dismissively.
He had controlled this body to achieve many different endings in this game. They were practically old acquaintances.
“Forget about that... can you sit down first?! Everyone is looking at you... no, everyone is looking at me!” Bai Feifei's voice in his head was beginning to sound frantic.
In reality, her body was not in a private space but in a massive lecture hall filled with people.
Today was the day of Dawn City's open recruitment for Scavengers. As long as one could pass a basic test, they would have the chance to become an official Scavenger.
Scavengers were the organization that fought anomalies and aberrations in this game world, consisting of powerful warriors with special abilities.
For Outer City dwellers, this was the most dangerous yet most likely way for them to enter the Inner City.
The hall was currently so quiet that a pin drop could be heard. Everyone had turned around, silently staring at this girl who seemed to have suddenly had some kind of episode.
Under those gazes, Bai Feifei felt a suffocating pressure. But Xu Mo didn't care. They were just a bunch of game NPCs; let them look. As a player, he was supposed to be the center of the world anyway!
The critical issue now was that he didn't know if he had truly transmigrated, nor did he know how long he could maintain control over Bai Feifei's body.
Therefore, he had to get the game back on track and onto the plotlines he was familiar with as quickly as possible. Otherwise, things would become very difficult to control later on.
“Tsk, can't waste any more time. Looks like I'll have to speedrun this one. Luckily, I'm a Great Old-Timer...”
As Xu Mo thought this, a triangular-eyed middle-aged man on the podium at the front of the hall spoke to him:
“You're an Outer City dweller, aren't you? Is there something you need, standing up so suddenly?”
Xu Mo glanced at him without speaking. He knew this man well. The man was the chief examiner for this Scavenger open recruitment, named Qiao Jin.
Behind him were nine pitch-black portals, which were the contents of the test.
Each one contained an aberration. Killing the creature inside would grant one the preliminary qualification to become a Scavenger.
Since he knew all of this, and time was tight, there was no point in wasting words. He would skip the dialogue and go straight to the killing!
Xu Mo immediately set off, walking toward the front with his head held high amidst the stunned gazes of everyone present.
Bai Feifei: ?
Qiao Jin: ?
“What are you doing?! That's an Inner City elite! If he discovers your existence, we'll all be killed as anomalies!”
Bai Feifei spoke weakly in his mind. She couldn't control her body and could only watch helplessly as Xu Mo did whatever he pleased.
Xu Mo didn't respond. It seemed Bai Feifei still didn't believe in his strength as a Great Old-Timer. That was fine; she would find out soon enough.
Schwing!
He stepped directly onto the podium and drew a cold iron longsword from the weapon rack.
Standing beside him, Qiao Jin looked at Bai Feifei's pretty features. A lecherous grin spread across his face as he stepped forward.
“Hehe, this beautiful young lady is quite impatient. Do you want to go straight to—”
In the next second, his voice cut off abruptly.
Swish!
The arm holding the longsword swung out like lightning, and the sharp edge of the blade came to a rest directly against Qiao Jin's throat.
Bai Feifei: ?!
“Hand it over,” Xu Mo said, looking coldly at Qiao Jin. “I'm in a hurry, so you'd better not make me repeat myself.”
Rate on N.U.
