[Short story~]
Yu Chi is a freelance editor who makes movie recap videos.
One day, he spots a strange comment on an old movie:
"Lottery numbers for August 5: 0919113526."
He buys a ticket on a whim.
And wins sixty million.
Later, he makes more money thanks to a few other comments.
The strange thing is,
he's the only one who can see them.
And once the money comes through, the winning message disappears.
He starts binge-watching movies, desperate to find the next "prophecy."
Until, on the night of August 20, he sees:
[Anyone who sees this comment will die tonight.]
That very night, Yu Chi dies.
*
Next book: Otherworld Vocational and Technical College
Not long after the gaokao, Xing Lou fills out his college applications and waits for his acceptance letter.
Some time later, a flimsy mailer is carelessly left at his door.
Inside is nothing but a piece of paper: an acceptance letter from Otherworld Vocational and Technical College.
Xing Lou: What kind of prank is this?
He tosses it straight into the trash.
A few days later, another thin package is left at his door.
This has to be the acceptance letter, right?
He opens it and finds another acceptance notice from the same place: Otherworld Vocational and Technical College.
The notice includes an enrollment date and contact details. On the back is a simple sketch that looks like a map of the school.
They even made it look pretty convincing.
Xing Lou still doesn't give it much thought, but a month later, his actual acceptance letter still hasn't arrived.
He starts to wonder if this school is even real.
So he calls the number on the notice. The person on the other end tells him the acceptance is genuine, but the school is a classified institution and doesn't appear in the system.
The person on the phone enthusiastically rattles off all the school's benefits:
No tuition!
A monthly scholarship of 30,000!
Frequent trips abroad!
Xing Lou, a young high school senior, is tempted, and reassured. But he lets himself relax too soon.
When the first day of school arrives, he follows the address and ends up at a library in the suburbs.
The teacher who greets him tells him this is a school for superpower training, with the goal of maintaining peace and stability in other worlds.
Superpowers? Other worlds?
Is this about saving the world?
Xing Lou is stunned by the flood of information.
Dazed, he says, "Teacher, I don't have any superpowers..."
Teacher: ?! Wait, did we get the wrong person?
She checks the student list. Xing Lou's rank is S. Then she pats her chest in relief. Phew, thank goodness!
Xing Lou: Why is the teacher looking at him like she wants to eat him?
Then the teacher leads Xing Lou into another space hidden inside the library:
Otherworld Vocational and Technical College.
A branch of the Ministry of State Security's SOD Department.
After enrolling, Xing Lou has to pretend to study with the others every day, learning how to use their superpowers responsibly.
He also has to put up with his classmates' various superpower "traps":
Getting drenched by a sudden localized downpour!
The burger he's just put in his mouth suddenly rotting and stinking to high heaven!
Opening the dorm bathroom door in a panic only to find the classroom on the other side!
Being forced to kneel during a group exercise in class to boost the team's defense!
Getting carried around by classmates who can float...
Having a roommate control his dreams and make him spend a week dreaming he was a zombie, while the roommate played the Zombie King...
On top of all these dangers, why do they have monthly exams? And if they have to have exams, why can Zi's grades be altered with superpowers? And if grades can be changed, why does someone use their powers to find out every answer?
Even though all the classmates who misuse their powers are punished, why do they still have to take a professional licensing exam?!
Is it too late to drop out?
Theme: What goes around comes around. Everything has its consequences.
