Sooho - Chapter 153: < Protect – Episode 152 – Korea Shock [4] >

Japan – National News BroadcastThe polished news anchor sat upright, her gaze sharp as she adjusted the stack of papers before her. The newsroom behind her hummed with quiet urgency, the weight of the moment settling over the broadcast.“Authorities are baffled by a sudden and unexplained surge in sleep-related deaths across Japan,” she began, her voice steady yet tense. “More and more citizens are passing away in their sleep without any prior health concerns. Experts are working tirelessly to determine the cause, but no clear explanation has emerged. Authorities urge the public to remain vigilant and report any unusual symptoms before bedtime.”A graphic appeared, displaying the spike in fatalities over the past month. Behind her, unsettling photographs flickered across the screen—blurred images of individuals found in their beds, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.The anchor’s tone shifted. “Health officials recommend citizens avoid excessive fatigue and maintain healthy sleep habits. More updates will follow as investigations continue.”---United States – Paranormal PodcastIn a dimly lit podcast studio, the host leaned forward, his eyes wide with curiosity. Across from him, a rugged man in a worn flannel shirt, gripping a faded photograph in one hand and a beer can in the other, leaned back in his chair.“So, you're telling me you saw this creature firsthand?” the host asked, clearly intrigued.The man scoffed, shaking his head. “Damn right, I did. Ugly thing had wings bigger than my body—slow but sneaky. Thought it could steal my pigs again, but I was ready this time—camera in one hand, shotgun in the other.”He slammed the table for emphasis, then shoved the blurry image toward the host. The photograph depicted a small, red-skinned humanoid figure with large, bat-like wings, its eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.“Spit, the thing didn’t know what hit it when I fired!” the man chuckled, his voice full of excitement.The host held up the picture to the live chat. “Alright, what do you think? Mothman? Demon? Or is our friend here just seeing things?”The chat exploded with theories—some skeptical, others eager for the investigation to continue.---China – Liangyuan Street MarketSurveillance footage from a bustling night market in China captured a chilling scene. A woman in a red qipao walked gracefully through the crowd, her figure striking in the soft glow of lanterns.Suddenly, she paused. Her body flickered—like a glitch in a video—before vanishing completely, as though she had never existed.The footage zoomed in, replaying in slow motion. In the final frame before she disappeared, her face distorted unnaturally, her eyes hollow and empty.The screen cut abruptly to black.

Western VRMMO【DEMONDAL】was known for its extremely harsh game system. To begin with, there were no levels. There were no skills. There were no guilds. There was no inventory. There were no convenient system messages or maps of any kind either. It was so needlessly realistic that it was already basically a VR life simulator.

As for anything game-like, it was basically limited to weapon masteries; a proficiency level that you got from using your weapon, as well as physical strength that increased as well. That was it.

It was a fantasy game so there was magic, but forming a contract with a spirit was extremely difficult, and only 1% of the playerbase were magicians.

In this VR game【DEMONDAL】that was ridiculously close to reality, the protagonist Kei who was a well known mounted archery expert, was one day sent to another world with his Russian【DEMONDAL】friend.

The game that was severe to begin with had turned into a reality, and the harshness increased again――

Three years into Qin Yu's marriage, his wife and in-laws all hated him.

Ye Yang, a straight man from Northeast China, transmigrated into a novel about court fights, became a concubine, and was bound to a system, which could put on view the favorability score of the main characters.

On condition that the emperor’s favorability score was too high, he’d fall in love with Ye Yang. However, if his favorability score was too low, he’d be mercilessly killed. In order to protect his life and chastity, Ye Yang forced himself to create his own persona, repeatedly switching between the personality of an unrefined man from Northeast China and the first beauty of the harem.

Yet, things were getting worse and worse. At first, he let the favorability score of the dog emperor drop. Later, the score began increasing rapidly. Watching how the favorability score was about to skyrocket, Ye Yang panicked.

He wore a gold chain and raised a mink, silencing all of the imperial concubines of the harem. Feng Luan’s favorability score had been increased by +1.

He had a snowball fight with the dog emperor and pushed him into a snowdrift. Both of them caught a cold. Feng Luan’s favorability score had been increased by +10.

The mink he raised thought out a plan for Feng Luan to renovate the imperial study room worth of more than 10.000 taels of silver. The imperial study was so horrible that one could hardly bear to look at it.

Feng Luan’s favorability score had been increased by +100.

What’s going on! Are you still a straight man!

……

The longer Ye Yang lived in degradation, the more he felt that the dog emperor was different from what he initially thought.

At his feet the ground was covered in blood and bones, but behind him was the delightful scenery of the prosperous world, and the coming of all nations.

A few years later, he helped Ye Yang up the stairs and gazed into the distance. He saw a myriad of twinkling lights, bustling, bright and beautiful.

And Feng Luan whispered in his ear.

“My dear Imperial Concubine, look.”

“This is our country.”

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