A Night of Terror Descends [Infinite]

☆ Go straight to my column: "Please Invite the Immortals [Rural Folklore x Infinite Horror]" ★ Next books on the schedule: "The Dead Things Keep Their Secrets" and "The Unbalanced Backrooms" ☆ This book's blurb That day, an eight-legged ghost infant crawled out of a sealed coffin. The Night of Calamity descended in full, plunging people into extreme terror. A ruined city where the exit can only be seen by stepping over corpses. Thirty-two blind children trapped in a classroom, their souls sacrificed in a death ritual. A sinister ghostly aura, pinned to Yin Mountain with red thread. A terrifying breeding farm set in the Republic of China era. A bizarre museum of cursed curiosities. And an old person covered in age spots, reaching out to "you" in the dead of night and demanding a fortune-telling verdict. "Once you've been chosen, there's no escape." Then Lu Manman appeared, bringing hope. Wherever she goes, ordinary people can survive! A studio known for breaking rules made her an offer to join. Yi Huai smiled gently. "Congratulations on joining us. As the boss, I can grant any reasonable request made by a full-time employee." Lu Manman nodded. "After entering the Night of Calamity, I don't want to get my hands dirty. I want to win with this." Yi Huai replied casually, "Easy. You just focus on looking beautiful, and I'll earn money to support the family." Lu Manman: "..." She meant that they should just complete the missions properly. All that fighting and killing was too bloody! Later Yi Huai was gravely wounded, and an evil spirit kept pursuing them. Just as everyone thought they were done for, Lu Manman's scythe moved. The evil spirit froze. What happened to the plan? She was supposed to be a weakling with nothing but brains! A few reminders: 1. Only office workers get dragged into the Night of Calamity. 2. Features Chinese folk customs and horror. (Except for the story of The Little Match Girl.) 3. Both leads are powerful, both are virgins, and there's romance. No fragmented personalities. 4. The male lead isn't a bug. There's more to his background, and another reason behind it. 5. Setting aside the hidden worldbuilding revealed later, the heroine sees herself as a newcomer, but the gift she's received really is a great one. (Please don't get hung up on the early logic. Everyone will learn what they need to know later. I've answered questions about individual chapters in the comments, so feel free to look there. The truth will ultimately be revealed through smaller cases that lead into the larger case, in the final 6.0 and the extras.) 6. The second male lead is an evil god, an existence that is both righteous and wicked. 7. The male and female leads are inevitably bound by fate (the chicken or the egg). ※ Please be civil while reading. If it's not to your taste, remember to click away. Thank you so much. I hope everyone has a kind heart and finds kindness in return (important)! The chapters are not to be taken down. Some scenes will be put in author's notes. (Blurb saved on 2022-5-24; screenshot taken.) (Reference material and adaptations: feng shui, The Lu Ban Book, and folk-custom encyclopedias.) id2932713: "Please Invite the Immortals [Rural Folklore x Infinite Horror]" Bu Rong came down with a strange illness. As she grew older, she found it harder and harder to control her body. She saw her limbs being controlled as she jumped from the edge of a high-rise, drowned in a swimming pool, was followed by a suspect with a knife, and kidnapped by a serial criminal... These deaths played out over and over again. Whenever her life neared its end, her older brother Bu Yue would save her. Fortunately, none of those tragedies came to pass. Until the day of her seventeenth birthday, when Bu Rong suddenly suffered a seizure. No medicine could help her. Covered in mud, her brother stumbled into her room clutching a [slip of paper], repeating over and over, "Remember, you absolutely must draw the curtains. Don't let in any light. You can only open it once you're under the covers!!!" Rain pounded against the window. Gusts of sinister wind blew past, and embroidered characters appeared on the blank paper out of nowhere. The back had no stitches, while the front shone with vivid color. The words named an old address. Bu Rong's eyes slowly cleared. In the dark, eerie surroundings, she saw a towering shrine and a verdant ancient temple. Tens of thousands of red threads floated beneath the ceiling, like a dense, tightly woven web. She looked up. At the center of the web was a slender figure, bound hand and foot, dressed in black mourning clothes with a silver bell tied at the waist. Leaning down, he said... "No one can leave Shanyin Village alive." [Beautifully ill girl who can't control her body x mysterious male shaman bound hand and foot] (A healing-her illness and saving-his-life couple) (The heroine is weak at first, but comes into her own later.) (The hero is dark and crawling around all damp and sinister at first, then gains an aura of power later.) -- Shanyin: A secluded forest gathers the essence of heaven and earth and the yang energy of nature. It nurtures all kinds of life, a realm of the infinite and the birthplace of gods and immortals. -- Legend has it that everyone in this village has a chance to [become immortal]. Then something changed. As time passed, they became ageless and deathless, turned into spirits, trapped in one place with no way in or out, and subjected to every kind of torment. -- Rural folk customs (village rules and strange tales): 1. Never say auspicious words, and don't enter temples dedicated to Buddhas or gods. 2. "Light the lamp, beat the drum, and wave the immortal's whip." Go to sleep at the third watch of the night. 3. You may only stay overnight at a villager's house if dried infant remains and bones hang over the entrance. 4. At weddings, hold a funeral-style celebration in white, wear mourning clothes, and put on a grieving voice. Only then is the ceremony complete. 5. Wind red thread around your neck, climb into a box, and await the "Invite the Immortals" ritual. 6. When the sky is overcast, spirits on the far side of the mountain force human bones to crawl into graves. Cover yourself from the sun when going out. 7. [A damaged rule, partly crossed out] ...kill ...murder... help me... [Recommendation time begins]: √#Gothic escape# "The Dead Things Keep Their Secrets" He was going to kill me. More precisely, it was a man wearing a Pinocchio mask and holding a scalpel. A trail of blood dragged behind him through the cramped corridor, rank, foul, and filthy... And who was I? This world has two rules: 1. You must not lie. 2. You must not tell the truth. Pinocchio was born in Florence, a marionette who could smile. His dream was to become a "human," but he needed a talking mouth. √#Lovecraftian horror + survival challenges# "The Unbalanced Backrooms" Before my family disappeared, they left a note. "If you encounter warped space, run!" "If you find matrix interference, flee!" At some point I hung a skirt in the wardrobe myself. When I opened it again, it had turned into a pair of shorts. The disinfectant in the bathroom ran out. The next day, the empty bottle was full again and back where it belonged. I clearly plugged in my phone to charge it. The battery showed 49 percent. Then it suddenly jumped to 19 percent. Jiang Run opened her front door and found the human world in ruins, plagued by one bizarre event after another. The black-robed man who knocked her down whispered a warning: Never lose an experiment, or you'll be taken to the Backrooms! √#Best friend's historical romance# "My Ex-Husband Tore Up Our Divorce Agreement" (Burning the ex + chasing his wife + scheming male lead) As the only daughter of the Jiang family, Jiang He had lost her parents early, but they had left her with Yun Chi, her gentle and refined younger cousin. She had been spoiled ever since childhood, and had developed a willful, unruly temperament. All decent families steered clear of her, and no matchmaker dared come calling. Just then, the Jiang family was struck by another upheaval, and all of Gusu waited to see Jiang He make a fool of herself. Unexpectedly, Yun Chi stepped in and effortlessly saved the Jiang family's business. He also doted on Jiang He endlessly. A few days later, their wedding was more lavish and high-profile than any other, making everyone envious. Just as Jiang He thought Yun Chi would spoil her forever, her husband returned from a business trip with a young woman in tow. The woman was beautiful and sweet-tempered. Everyone in the household adored her, and they all flocked to curry favor with her instead of paying attention to Jiang He, the rightful wife. Unable to stand it, Jiang He sought an explanation from Yun Chi in the middle of the night. But this time, Yun Chi, who had always indulged her, lowered his gaze and scolded her. "Get that temper under control. Stop making trouble!" Jiang He couldn't bear being neglected, so she began behaving outrageously around the household, but she still couldn't get so much as a glance from Yun Chi. Several months later, to her astonishment, a letter from Yun Chi arrived... a divorce agreement?! Theme: Never give up hope