「Another city.」

In a cramped, dirty, and air-polluted basement, in front of a computer desk cluttered with all sorts of items, the unkempt Mule frowned, looking at the chat box of a friend in his view.

King of Shengnan...

The Information Broker scratched his head. At this moment, Mule was adorned with all kinds of supernatural items: Jade Bracelets, metal necklaces, stone rings, Wooden Statues... These items were all defensive artifacts. Some offered physical protection, automatically teleporting when damaged, while others could defend against various forms of mental harm.

Mule thought carefully. "All the information for thirty Game Coins, but you can give twenty first."

"Okay."

Li Ang didn't waste words and transferred the payment.

Fifteen minutes later, Mule sent over several documents containing an extensive and detailed array of content. This included, but was not limited to: chat records of forum posts; the personal information of the forum members involved; comments made by the forum members on other social platforms before they were discovered and taken away by the Special Affairs Bureau; and concept diagrams of Meme transmission.

Li Ang read through these files carefully and unexpectedly uncovered a fact.

The King of Shengnan was originally just made up. The poster had clearly explained to friends on other social platforms that the entire story was pure fabrication; there was no such thing as the King of Shengnan nightmare at all. Beyond this, those under the forum thread who claimed to have had similar dreams were either just joining in the excitement or had grafted elements about the King of Shengnan into their own vague, nightmarish memories to chime in with others.

The King of Shengnan was not an abnormal event but merely a spontaneous craze driven by fans of urban legends. Because the post contained some classic elements of urban legends (mystery, horror, multiple witness statements), and with the embellishments from netizens, it became an interesting story worthy of secondary creation. Meanwhile, the vague way netizens spread it added a touch of mystery, prompting more people to actively seek it out of curiosity. Ultimately, this turned the story of the King of Shengnan into a freshly minted man-made legend.

If the situation had merely stopped there, then the King of Shengnan would at most have become a widely known horror story like Slender Man in the United States. More likely, it would have faded away or become a well-acknowledged inside joke that urban legend enthusiasts could share with a knowing smile. But now, the whole thing had turned into an abnormal event. Many ordinary people were showing symptoms of Meme pollution, and some netizens who had participated in the discussion had already been summoned to the Special Affairs Bureau's base for investigation.

Li Ang pondered for a moment, then asked Mule, "Besides me, are there any other players who have bought related information from you?"

"..."

Mule didn't answer immediately, falling silent for a moment before replying, "Yes, many."

Many?

Li Ang's eyebrows furrowed. "Judging from the Meme transmission concept diagram, at most only a few thousand people are affected by Level Four or even Level Five Meme pollution, right? That's less than ten thousand; the scope is too small. And this abnormal Meme doesn't seem to have any harmful effects."

"As of now, there are no harmful effects," Mule replied. "But you should know about Telekinesis, right? Many Mysterious Scholars believe that 'some stories, as more and more people believe in them, can cause false things to become real due to the accumulation of human Telekinesis.' This theory, if you strip away the implied primate arrogance, actually has some merit. Because Telekinesis is the Power of Faith. Some anomalies only continue to exist because people believe in them."

Li Ang was startled. His mind subconsciously recalled a real case from a player forum.

A month ago, an abnormal event occurred on a small island in the South Pacific: a bird destroyed an American passenger plane flying nearby. This bird looked like the widely distributed Gray Gull of the South Pacific—except that this Gray Gull was enormous, with a wingspan reaching 500 meters.

The Global Occult Coalition immediately sealed off the news and started an investigation. However, every fighter jet they sent was invariably shot down by the giant Gray Gull, and no man-made weapons seemed capable of inflicting a fatal injury on the bird. Fortunately, the giant bird only inhabited the area around the island.

Ultimately, the Global Occult Coalition obtained crucial information through two agents who swam underwater and climbed onto the island.

The information revealed that over a month earlier, an epidemic had broken out in the island's isolated indigenous tribe, killing their Shaman and a large number of residents in a very short time. Afterward, some residents witnessed an abnormality: large avian shadows lurked in the mountains and forests, poised to hunt any tribespeople who entered the deep mountains alone. As the disease spread and the population dwindled, the Gray Gulls grew larger and larger, eventually becoming able to disregard the tribal warriors' spears and arrows and fly into villages to hunt humans. The remaining indigenous residents could only hide in various corners of the island, desperately trying to avoid being discovered by the gigantic Gray Gulls.

After investigation, the Global Occult Coalition found murals in caves, left by countless generations of tribal Shamans. According to these murals, the Shamans had discovered Gray Gulls so huge they blotted out the sun as soon as they arrived on the island thousands of years ago. They feared these birds and used a special method to Seal away their power, making them indistinguishable from regular Gray Gulls.

The murals explained: The more people who believe in the Gray Gull and recount its story, the more its power would be forever contained. Conversely, the fewer people who remembered the Gray Gull's true nature, the larger it would grow, eventually returning to its primeval, sun-blotting form from a thousand years ago.

At first, the Global Occult Coalition was unwilling to believe that a mere indigenous tribe of fewer than a thousand people could influence an abnormal monster with a five-hundred-meter wingspan, let alone contain it through belief. This was completely illogical. But belief is precisely the kind of thing that defies conventional logic.

Ultimately, the Global Occult Coalition devised a way to deal with the Gray Gull and contain it. The method involved bringing indigenous residents from distant islands. Through mystical Ritual Tracks, these newcomers became "native" residents of the island and were told the true nature of the Gray Gull. This method worked: the Gray Gull rapidly shrank until it became a regular-sized seagull and was locked up in a facility the Global Occult Coalition established on the island.

Mule sent a message: "'Believe, and it will exist.' The King of Shengnan, created as a purely fictional urban legend, has now become an abnormal event. I can't say where this is going…"

Li Ang looked at the chat box floating in his sight, squinting and tapping the table with his knuckles.

This is strange. As an Information Broker, Mule normally wouldn't talk so much with clients—he isn't some game companion you can hire for a hundred Game Coins an hour. Perhaps Mule is afraid...

Li Ang's eyes brightened, and he sent a somewhat probing question.

"Those people who purchased information about the King of Shengnan from you—what are they trying to do?"

After he sent the question, the chat box remained silent for a very long time before a line of text finally appeared.

"This is somewhat against the professional ethics of an Information Broker… but, well… Some players seem to believe they might be able to take advantage of the King of Shengnan. Either by entering Shengnan King's Dream to trigger the abnormal event, or by seizing the tremendous Telekinetic power that brought about the King of Shengnan's existence, or even by directly holding the King of Shengnan itself hostage…"

Mule sent another message, then immediately seemed to regret it, adding, "I shouldn't have said so much. Many are gunning for the King of Shengnan—not just Lone Wolves, but also many secret organizations. I can't guess their plans."

Li Ang frowned. "Why tell me all this?"

"You're an infectee of the abnormal Meme too, right?" Mule stated plainly. "At the onset of the King of Shengnan incident, as an information dealer who collected all kinds of intelligence, I was already polluted by the Meme. As an Information Broker, I'm exposed to more than the average player. The power of belief cannot be explained with logic; it is unpredictable, unguessable. In my eyes, those who try to comprehend an incomprehensible anomaly are completely courting death. Rather than let them interfere with the abnormal Meme on their own accord and eventually affect me, I'd prefer to tell you—the smart one—more information. Perhaps this could give me a slight chance of survival. By the way, I won't charge again for the above content."

With that, Mule ended the friend communication, leaving Li Ang alone, staring at the computer screen playing a boring variety show.

Suddenly, the System notification sound rang out.

[Trigger conditions for quest have been met]

[Quest type: Regular multiplayer quest]

[Quest name: A Dream of Shengnan]

[Phase one quest objective: Five hours from now, remain still in a prone position in a closed room to enter Shengnan King's Dream]

[Time limit for the quest: None]

[Quest rewards: None]

[Penalties for failing the quest: None]

[This regular multiplayer quest is available to all players who meet the trigger conditions (being an infectee of the King of Shengnan abnormal Meme). All players who choose to accept the quest will enter Shengnan King's Dream at the same time globally.]

[In Shengnan King's Dream, players can earn rewards such as equipment, items, and Game Currency by resolving abnormal events. Friendly fire is active between players. Players do not receive rewards for killing each other.]

[Players are free to opt out of the quest at any time without penalty. Once a player quits, they cannot re-enter. The timing mechanisms for players entering and exiting are the same as with script-based quests.]

[The quest concludes by default when the King of Shengnan dies or when the dream ends, forcefully ejecting all players.]

[The King of Shengnan in eternal slumber awaits your entrance into the dream.]