The Fake Death App

When Shixu was little, he had his fortune read while sitting upright on a small stool. A fan whirred noisily overhead.

The elderly fortune-teller rubbed his earlobe and saw three moles on his left ear.

She immediately declared that he was born under a lucky star.

Little Shixu thought, Yeah, right. With a red scarf around his neck, he wasn't about to believe in superstition.

And when he grew up, it seemed he'd been right.

He went to school like anyone else and went to work like anyone else. Still, even ordinary Shixu sometimes found himself puzzled.

Why were all his coworkers so ambitious? One spent all day at the gym, another lived at the shooting range and refused to leave, and he'd even heard of someone shouting, “Don't worry, boss! Tonight, I'm setting sail on a long voyage!”

Not one of them went to work like a normal person. They all quit and took new jobs as if they were flying off into the sky.

Clutching his thermos, Shixu strolled at ease through a chaotic world, looking utterly bewildered and perfectly embodying what it meant to be ostracized by the whole world.

Then, one day, after an accident, he awakened his supernatural ability: Stand-in for the Dead.

Just as Shixu was at a loss, someone suddenly knocked on his door. “Hello! We're from the [redacted]!”

Shixu was stunned!

Had his good fortune finally kicked in?

Shixu landed a secure government job. He thought he'd won the lottery, but when he joined the department and saw the handful of people there, his mouth twitched as he finally understood his place.

Shixu stayed up all night putting together a proposal, then rushed into his boss's office and thumped his chest as he made his pitch.

The 23rd century is the century of talent! If Shixu had never been born, the Human Resources Department of the Special Strategies Division would have languished in darkness for all eternity!

Shixu planned to launch a Death-Faking app, using his ability to help talented people fake their deaths in the Infinite Spaces.

He would personally poach them. Surely those special talents wouldn't be able to resist!

The gods, eldritch beings, and underworld authorities whose task-takers he poached: Is that any way to behave?

And so, one day, you, a task-taker in an infinite world, furtively downloaded an app from a forum using a special code. It was called “Death-Faking App.”

You opened the app, and two lines of text appeared.

Worried that you don't have enough survival points? Afraid of the terror and madness of your instance? Or have you spent all your points, piled up huge debts, and fallen into despair at the thought of defaulting?

The Death-Faking App: A new face, a new life. Professional service, low cost, greater rewards. Government-certified, with perfect aftercare. May we share a happy life together!

But Shixu's good fortune seemed never to run out...

Everyone knew that surviving in an infinite-world story was hard. Shixu had assumed that faking the deaths of those task-takers would be a piece of cake.

But the young man had clearly underestimated the power of having three moles on his left ear.

A man who had spent years walking through disasters without so much as a scratch wasn't going to have an easy time trying to get himself killed, either.

What do you mean my teammates are all good people?

What do you mean the instance is handing me a guaranteed clear?

What do you mean nobody dies in this instance?

Shixu laughed in fury. “Fine, fine! I'll show this good fortune what it means when I say, ‘If I tell myself to die at midnight, even the King of Hell can't keep me till dawn!’”

He would die with style, and die with flair!

And so, the figure of the White Moonlight kept appearing in the infinite instances. One White Moonlight always charged at monsters first. Another used both hands to lift their companions out of death's shadow.

One White Moonlight began by taking everything, but at the most despairing moment, laughed recklessly and offered the blessing of life, only to remain behind in the instance forever.

Another forged the one path to survival in a place where death was certain.

After they died, the survivors always found a string of strange numbers in their last words, belongings, or clues...

When a new client came calling and sat in front of Shixu, cautiously probing, “I heard XXX might have shown up here...”

Shixu raised an eyebrow and beamed. Ready to take their money as well as their business, he immediately pitched, “Interested in our ‘Reunion with Your White Moonlight’ package?”

People say you can't fool the Grim Reaper!

Shixu disagreed.

With an alibi provided by the gaze of the gods, and a dazzling array of elaborate magic tricks,

he would smuggle love and life across the shadows of the abyss of death!

He took off his top hat and spread his arms. White doves flew everywhere. Beneath his sly smile, Shixu's voice disappeared into the darkness beyond the stage lights.

With this body, I shall weave the gods the grandest death performance of all! And offer them my most sincere respect!

And amid his endless struggle against all creation, Shixu, the master of drama, gained a little fan of his own.

The fan's love was sincere and profound enough to recognize the real Shixu among ten thousand faces.

It was just a little too profound. So profound it became an obsession, so feverish that the fan wanted to sneak out of the infinite instances and stalk him in real life.

Shixu: ...

Shixu: Where's my good fortune? Someone get my good fortune to save me!

A few things to know before reading:

1. Lighthearted and fun, with a little horror, though it shouldn't be all that scary. This is the product of the author's wild imagination and peculiar tastes! =v=!

2. Lots of personal worldbuilding, with all kinds of fictional settings.

3. This blurb has had three versions.

4. Lucky, career-minded hero X obsessive, love-struck fan =v=

Theme: Cherish and care for every life