Chapter 24: Logging onto the Website
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
Miles felt an overwhelming sense of suffocation as if a heavy hand was tightly covering his mouth and nose. Every attempt to breathe became an uphill battle. His mind was sharp and alert, but he felt trapped within his own unresponsive body. The dim room he was in seemed more like a pitch-dark cell, where he felt imprisoned and sinking into a never-ending void of darkness.
Suddenly, the room’s blackened ceiling began to change. An enormous, ghostly eye materialized, stretching across its entire span. Even though the eye was shut, its menacing aura was unmistakable, and Miles felt as though it was watching him intently.
Without any warning, a sharp and chilling “thud” echoed in the room, and a painful, cold sensation sliced through his cheek. Shockingly, a vivid crimson eye pushed through the tear in his flesh. The sight was unnerving for Miles.
Amid this horrifying scenario, Miles felt something unsettling writhing inside him. Its erratic movements seemed powerful enough to rip apart his body from within. He desperately wanted to scream, to move, to fight back against this malevolent force consuming him, but all he could manage was a feeble twitch of his lips.
This terrifying experience was not fleeting. For hours that felt like an eternity, Miles was trapped in this conscious nightmare. It was a marvel that he endured for so long.
When the clock struck six in the evening, the harrowing episode abruptly ended. Sensations returned to his previously numbed body, and the instant he regained control, he sat upright, bathed in cold sweat and gasping for much-needed oxygen.
With shaky hands, Miles whispered to himself, “What was that? It felt as if something inside me wanted to break free. Was it triggered by that colossal eye?”
After a moment of reflection, he took out a piece of aged, dark brown parchment from his pocket, asking it, “Can you explain what I just experienced?”
To his astonishment, words appeared on the parchment in response: Today, I awoke in sheer agony, sensing the resurrection of the malevolent spirit within me. I had inadvertently drained too much of its power because of my school activities. If this continues, I fear my time is limited. Yet, I have to withstand this internal torment, for I yearn to live.
Resurgence of the malevolent spirit?
Miles realized he might be facing a fate similar to someone named Right, enduring the awakening of this evil entity inside him and possibly being consumed by it one day.
Was it possible that enduring such torment was the price for living?
“How much time do I have?” Miles questioned, a mixture of fear and desperation lacing his words.
In response, the parchment unfurled yet another message: Without a solution in the near future, I foresee you won’t last beyond three months under this relentless torture.
Only three months?
It seemed quicker than the progression of a fatal illness. Enduring such agonizing pain daily, he began to understand why one might see death as a merciful release, just as Right had once alluded to.
The sheer weight of his predicament sent Miles spiraling into a panic. He was young, a mere student with dreams, aspirations, and responsibilities. He was the beacon of hope for his aging parents. The idea of leaving them alone in the world was heart-wrenching.
He couldn’t afford to die now. Not like this.
Suddenly, Miles stood up, his gaze piercing into the parchment as he exclaimed, “Your messages are cryptic, and trusting them blindly is no simple feat. Do you genuinely expect me to accept that I’ll meet my end in a mere three months? You once prophesized my demise at school, and that prediction shifted, didn’t it? You’re not omniscient; you make educated guesses based on current situations.”
He paused, taking a deep breath, “Yet, I’m convinced you’re incredibly knowledgeable. So, what exactly are you?”
The parchment, however, remained unresponsive. It was as if it had chosen to deliberately withhold its secrets.
“No matter. If you won’t tell me then I’ll uncover the truth myself,” Miles proclaimed.
A sudden recollection of the earlier distressing encounter with the malicious ghost sparked another memory. He reached out, grabbing Right’s satellite phone, which displayed an incoming text message: a URL.
“This must be the link Build sent over. Perhaps I can uncover some useful insights there,” Miles mused aloud as he swiftly powered up his computer and typed in the provided web address.
To his surprise, the webpage appeared blank, almost as if it didn’t exist.
Realization dawned on him. This was likely a security measure.
He hastily grabbed Right’s phone again, inputting a specific code he found inscribed on its back into the website.
In response, the site refreshed and redirected him to a different page brimming with information.
Miles quickly glanced through the listed content. It detailed various pressing global incidents, pleas for specialists known as ‘ghost tamers,’ and sizable bounties put forth by numerous governments.
The bounty amounts left him dumbstruck; many of them ran into billions, with a few listed in the tens of millions.
Curiosity piqued, he clicked on a particular entry detailing a ‘Level C’ malevolent spirit that had emerged in a U.S. state, given the code name ‘Ghost Church.’ A staggering reward of 30 million dollars was on offer for resolving the issue.
An embedded video accompanied the listing.
As he watched, an old church came into view, its walls aged and covered in moss and peeling paint. But what caught his attention was the entrance – a nebulous, human-like silhouette loomed, its aura unsettling and eerie.
Then, out of the blue, the roar of a fighter jet pierced the silence, and moments later, a missile descended, targeting the ancient church with devastating accuracy.
The subsequent detonation sent a firestorm roaring around the church, a clear testament to the formidable firepower wielded by the military.
“Could this possibly do the trick?” Miles wondered aloud, his eyes glued to the screen, awaiting the aftermath.
Yet, as the blinding flash of the explosion started to fade, his eyes widened in astonishment.
Remarkably, amidst the roaring inferno, the church remained entirely untouched. The missile, despite its explosive potency, hadn’t left a dent or scratch on the structure.
The enigmatic shadow at the church’s entrance started to shift, its form becoming clearer as it began to stride confidently towards the camera’s viewpoint.
All of a sudden, the footage began to glitch, the visuals becoming scrambled, and then everything went black.
Below the video, the comments section was abuzz with a mix of disbelief, speculation, and concern.
“Are they serious? 30 million dollars for this monstrosity? Mr. President, you can keep that change. Think they misplaced the label? This is hardly a C-level entity. It’s like they’re baiting us into the line of fire,” a comment read sarcastically.
A European user weighed in, “The video quality isn’t pristine, but it suggests a supernatural entity capable of altering its environment. It’s probably close to establishing its own ghost domain. This should be ranked higher – B-level, or even A-level if the classification system has any integrity left. The American populace truly dwells in danger. Rookies could easily be lured, unprepared, and meet an untimely end.”
Another comment teased, “Seeing that I’m living on borrowed time, why not team up and grab that prize? Seeking fellow adventurers to tag along. It’ll be a ride.”
A skeptic chimed in, “Always take these bounty clips with a grain of salt. They’re never what they seem.”
Miles took a moment to digest the flurry of comments, letting them sink in. He mused, “So ghosts have classifications? This is something I need to delve deeper into.”