CHAPTER 402: CHAPTER 401 STRANGE TALES

Li Ang took the phone and saw that the class president had opened up a screen on an anonymous version of an app forum.

The post was about a nightmare a netizen had a few days ago.

[taijthr]: Nightmare at night. I dreamed I was playing hide-and-seek with a blind grandmother in an old house, pitch dark with only an oil lamp lit. While hiding, I saw an altar with strange idols, and out of reverence, I put my hands together and bowed to the altar.

Immediately, the grandmother caught me and said I couldn’t bow.

She said this was the King of Shengnan.

The King of Shengnan was also a child, a deity who protects children’s safety. However, due to his unique constitution, he tended to see ghosts and goblins easily. As an infant, he wouldn’t have survived past five months. Thus, he was forcefully sealed together with child-like goblins to suppress them. That’s why you must never worship them.

I turned my head and saw a kid at the door looking at me fiercely.

[EcoRMyz]: Don’t ask; if you ask, it’s Voldemort.

[ILlbIZ3]: (´ﾟДﾟ`)! Want to see

[VkKOkoA]: What happens next? |∀ﾟ

[N2FGazV]: WTF?! I also had a dream about a deity called King of Shengnan a long time ago. When I tried to search online for it, I found nothing, so I thought I had imagined it. |дﾟ)

[Y7DZtXy]: What the hell? I’ve dreamed about the King of Shengnan before too, in a forest full of fallen leaves at night. There was a stone altar with a black human-shaped statue in the forest, and the base was inscribed with the Chinese characters for ’King of Shengnan’ in seal script.

I was picking up fallen leaves with a bunch of kids as we approached the altar, and with every step closer, my fear would deepen. Right before I reached the altar, I jolted awake.

Li Ang scanned through the text, suddenly looking up with a serious expression.

This forum, themed around otaku culture, resembled the 2ch style of anonymous discussion board, where all the usernames were anonymous strings, and each post was a pure digital thread.

Li Ang’s serious expression made the class president feel a bit uneasy. "What’s wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing." Li Ang shook his head, saying nothing, and continued to look at the urban legend post.

Logically, urban legend threads that specifically record peculiar events are the most likely to trigger regular missions; those people must be aware of it. An urban legend section on this kind of anonymous forum... And the post’s timestamp is four days ago. Even if this urban legend could be linked to an abnormal event, it wouldn’t have been left up until now if it were an immediate concern.

Li Ang felt slightly relieved. At least now I don’t have to worry about abnormal events affecting Wang Congshan.

He continued browsing through the posts and found that many anonymous netizens below were also discussing information about the "King of Shengnan."

Some said they too had had strange dreams involving idols, decrepit temples, old houses, and the King of Shengnan, whether distant or recent.

Others scoffed, claiming it was all a fabrication by the original poster.

Some searched online for information, linking the King of Shengnan with various folktales and legends.

Others were excited, saying they witnessed the birth of a new man-made urban legend.

And there was a particularly talented netizen who, in no time at all, created a tabletop game for CoC (Call of Cthulhu) based on information provided by various netizens about the King of Shengnan.

Li Ang roughly browsed the posts and discovered that besides the thread discussing the King of Shengnan, there were also other threads on this anonymous forum talking about the same urban legend.

Li Ang slowly raised his head to look at Wang Congshan and asked slowly, "What were you about to say just now?"

The class president licked her lips hesitantly and said, "Do you remember, back in middle school, I told you one day that I had a strange dream?"

「Headquarters, inside an office.」

The air was so heavy and oppressive it felt as if one could wring water out of it. A group of people sat on chairs smoking, their grave faces hidden in the thick smoke.

"So-called urban legends, by definition, are stories that take cities as their backdrop and are widely circulated among them.

"Mostly they are of a horror genre, but of course, there are also sensational conspiracy theories, humorous anecdotes, or everyday life trivia knowledge.

"Typically, they are fictional, but sometimes they contain elements of truth—because many urban legends are inspired by real events and, as they passed from mouth to mouth and spread online, people endlessly embellished them, evolving into different versions.

"Urban legends are widely circulated in the United States, Europe, and Japan firstly because, although vague overall, the legends have detailed, convincing particulars.

"Secondly, the content of urban legends is close to everyday life, meeting contemporary people’s thirst for knowledge and reading preferences."

In the office, a tall, thin young man wearing glasses stood beside the projector screen, giving a presentation.

"There are mainly three ways in which urban legends are born.

"The first type is an accumulation of coincidences that result in seemingly inconceivable but normal events. For example, in western Pennsylvania in the United States, many people claim that every night a demon glowing green, without eyes or nose, wanders the streets. This tale seems weird and bizarre, but it is based on reality. A man named Raymond Robinson had his face destroyed in an electrical accident, and his skin also became greenish due to radioactive pollution. He was strong-willed and did not give up hope in life. Since it was difficult for him to go out during the day, he could only walk the streets at night to alleviate his misery and loneliness. As it happened, someone saw his figure and, without understanding the situation, gave birth to this urban legend.

"The second way urban legends are born involves real events that, exaggerated and embellished by people, become more and more bizarre until they evolve into tall tales. For instance, the legend of the Slit-Mouth Woman swept through school campuses across All Day Island like a plague in the late ’70s, causing extreme social unrest. Parents were in a panic, and the authorities stepped in to strengthen patrols on campuses; some areas even closed schools on a large scale.

"And the third type, which is also the one we’re currently facing, occurs when individual netizens post some bizarre comments online. Other netizens, influenced by factors such as memory vagueness, curiosity, and herd mentality, build upon these, constantly refining them, ultimately producing urban legends with surprising details, broad applicability, and even ongoing reports of further sightings. For example, Japan’s Kisaragi Station. It was initially circulated on the 2ch forum and mainly told the story of a girl who took a late-night train and arrived at a non-existent station called ’Kisaragi Station.’ The girl eagerly shared her observations inside the station with netizens on 2ch, seeking advice and help. But as time passed and the popularity of the post grew, the girl eventually lost contact. In addition, there’s the Slender Man from the United States. Initially, it was just a made-up tale by netizens. Unexpectedly, however, it sparked a widespread reaction. More and more people claimed to have seen or heard about the Slender Man, and the internet was flooded with numerous photos of uncertain authenticity. It even had a considerable impact on the real world, resulting in the creation of video games and movies on the subject.

"Finally, there is the one we are now facing: the King of Shengnan."