William Carter was so fired up that his interest in that bamboo scroll was reignited. He had originally thought it was just some prank, completely worthless, but who would have thought that in ancient times there was someone with the exact same name as him, William Carter, who turned out to be such a genius? No wonder there was that message on the amber box. He really was the so-called “fated one.” If he could master the skills in this bamboo scroll, wouldn’t he be able to charm countless girls, set society on the right path, maintain world peace, and finally become a rich, powerful, famous, and accomplished... otaku.

Just as William Carter was daydreaming to the point of drooling, the computer screen suddenly went black. Then, from the darkness, a blood-red slit slowly appeared, like a mouth gradually opening. Two white hollows appeared above the “mouth,” and a bizarre, creepy smiling face began to emerge.

“Yo, a new virus, huh? Looks pretty scary, but if you want to mess with me, you’re still too naive.” William Carter skillfully opened the drawer of his computer desk, pulled out a pirated system restore disc, and kicked the restart button with his foot. After kicking it three times, the strange face was still on the screen, and the entire pale face was starting to look like it was about to burst out of the monitor.

“Ha! Trying to mess with me!” William Carter yanked out the power cord. “Fine, worst case, I’ll just format the hard drive.” Then he sat back down in front of the computer, only to find that the face was no longer grinning at him, but instead looked ferocious, groaning as it reached out of the screen...

William Carter’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. The female ghost’s sharp fangs were almost at his neck. Some people would faint or wet themselves at a time like this, but he, in a desperate move, suddenly lashed out, kicking the monitor with all his might. The computer screen was smashed to pieces. Panting, he pulled his foot out—since he was wearing slippers, his foot was cut by the glass and bled a little, but the wound wasn’t serious. Of course, he didn’t care about the pain at this point. He grabbed a folding stool and started smashing the pile of scrap metal. The ghostly woman’s face had already disappeared when he lashed out, but all that was in William Carter’s mind was “eliminate the root of the problem.” He smashed for a full two minutes, only stopping when the monitor was completely destroyed.

“This place is unlivable... Tomorrow—no, I have to move out right now!” William Carter’s outlook on life had basically collapsed at this point. He had no choice but to admit that supernatural things existed in this world. He stuffed the bamboo scroll into his shirt, packed a bunch of daily necessities and some clothes into a duffel bag, and ran downstairs. By the sofa, he saw the business card he’d casually tossed on the floor yesterday. He hesitated, picked it up, and dashed out the door.

The moment he stepped outside, he was met with a terrifying sight: a huge crowd of “people” had gathered in the graveyard next to the apartment. Deep down, he knew they weren’t really people... They wore clothes from all different eras—men and women, old and young—standing expressionless in front of the mounds of earth. As soon as William Carter saw them, all the ghosts turned to look at him, then started moving toward him. They seemed to move slowly, but in reality, they were incredibly fast—covering over ten meters in the blink of an eye, and were already almost at the front of the building.

William Carter froze for two seconds, then slammed the door shut with a “bang.” Cold sweat trickled down his face. “This is bad... Is this the legendary Resident Evil? If this keeps up, I’m definitely dead meat...”

Before he could finish lamenting, a pair of hands clamped around his neck. That creepy-faced female ghost had appeared again, covered in blood, and suddenly attacked!

At that moment, William Carter’s mind recalled the words of that mysterious person, Mr. Cat: “If you haven’t found my office by four o’clock this afternoon, then... hehe, never mind, just be careful.”

Chapter Two: Escape, Test...

Breathing became more and more difficult, his whole face turning red from the lack of oxygen, the crushing force on his neck slowly pushing William Carter toward death.

He tried to pry the ghost’s pale hands off, but couldn’t grab anything—it was as if his hands were passing through air. Just as he was about to lose consciousness, William Carter suddenly felt a heat in his chest. The bamboo scroll suddenly burst out with a blinding light. The female ghost let out a shrill scream, released him, and staggered backward. William Carter collapsed to the floor, gasping desperately for air. As soon as he caught his breath, he charged after the creepy-faced ghost. At this point, he was furious, and his brain was only processing two things: first, the ghost was afraid of the bamboo scroll; second, if I’m going down, I’m taking you with me.

It had to be said that William Carter had a strong sense of revenge. He didn’t care if you were a demon, a god, or an emperor—he was ready to risk his life for a fight to the death. He reached out to grab the ghost’s hair, but found he still couldn’t touch anything, as if grabbing at air. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. He immediately pulled out the bamboo scroll from his shirt and swung it at her. The bamboo scroll, about the size of a flashlight in his hand, was probably even handier than a brick for hitting someone.