Dancer

At the same time.

Right next to Yangcheng was an ordinary small city with a population of only one million.

In an office building on the outskirts of the city.

A sharp-featured woman in her forties wearing glasses tossed a file onto the desk in front of a long-haired young man.

The middle-aged woman looked at him and said, “Xiao Qi, there's still some work left. Finish this overtime before you leave. There's no overtime pay.”

Wearing black-rimmed glasses, the long-haired young man stared at the pile of work. He clenched his fists and nodded numbly. “I understand.”

Seeing Xiao Qi accept the task, the middle-aged woman gave him a disdainful look, turned, and walked away. “Make sure you do a better job this time. There was a typo in the last file. One more mistake and I'll fire you on the spot.”

He was left alone in the office.

Xiao Qi turned his head to stare out the window at the dark night sky. He leaned back in his chair, lost in thought. How much longer do I have to live like this? Once you grow up, is there really no other choice in life besides working?

Day after day, he had gone from a nineteen-year-old rookie when he first joined the company to a twenty-eight-year-old bachelor.

In a few more years, he would be entering middle age. Yet, he felt like his life had never changed. It was nothing but work, work, and more work.

On top of that, this old woman constantly made things difficult for him, looking for any excuse to fire him so her son could take over his position. It made him extremely uncomfortable, but though he wanted to rebel, he didn't even know where to start.

Clack, clack, clack!

While he was still lost in thought, a strange clattering sound echoed.

The sound startled Xiao Qi. He instinctively turned around, only to be met with a blinding golden light. Squinting, he peered into the glare.

Behind him, four skeletal horses pulling a ten-meter-long golden carriage emerged directly through the wall.

“What is that?!” Seeing the Grisly Carriage, Xiao Qi's pupils shrank, and he stood up abruptly.

Clack, clack, clack!

The carriage pulled up beside him. The door of the golden carriage slid open automatically, and a set of golden steps lowered, as if inviting him inside.

Staring at the carriage, Xiao Qi's shock quickly gave way to wild excitement. Could those online posts about Ningcheng really be true? Does the supernatural actually exist in this world?

He glanced at the files piled high on his desk—the work he had been slaving away at for nine years—and then looked back at the open door of the carriage.

A soft golden light glowed within, obscuring what lay inside. Wasn't this exactly the change he had been longing for?

Without hesitation, Xiao Qi stepped onto the stairs and crossed into the gentle golden light.

He found himself inside a carriage filled with a warm, golden glow. In the front of the cabin stood a golden mirror.

As Xiao Qi stepped closer, he noticed text shimmering on its surface.

【Rather than a numb, repetitive life, are you willing to step into a completely new and unknown world?】

“I am!” Xiao Qi said, his voice trembling with excitement as he read the words.

The text on the mirror shifted instantly.

【Trial Quest Initiated: Kill a random person within one hour!】

Reward: Awaken supernatural power.

Failure Penalty: Sudden death.

Reading the quest, Xiao Qi didn't hesitate for a second. He turned and quickly walked out of the carriage.

Glancing around the empty office, he stepped outside, only to run straight into his sharp-featured manager.

Holding another file in her hand, the middle-aged woman sneered when she saw him. “Xiao Qi, I forgot to give you this task. Finish it tonight!”

Staring at his boss, a smile spread across Xiao Qi's face. “Of course!”

Seeing his compliant attitude, the middle-aged woman scoffed. “You're almost thirty. I have no idea why the company hired you in the first place. Every single person who joined in your batch has already been promoted and gotten a raise.”

The smile remained fixed on Xiao Qi's face as he walked up and took the file from her hands. “Yes, yes. You're absolutely right, Ma'am.”

Disgusted by his submissive behavior, the middle-aged woman turned around, preparing to leave.

But behind her back, Xiao Qi stared at her retreating figure. Suddenly, he lunged forward, throwing both arms around her neck in a chokehold.

“Ugh...!” Caught completely off guard, the middle-aged woman choked. She tried to scream, but only strangled, bizarre noises escaped her throat.

Xiao Qi leaned his head close to her left ear, his voice tight and suppressed. “You old hag, I've tolerated you for far too long. Since you delivered yourself right to me, you'll just have to die!”

With that, he tightened his grip with all his might, his face flushing red. Clutched in his grasp, the middle-aged woman's face was twisted in sheer terror.

She clawed frantically at Xiao Qi's face, her fingernails leaving bloody scratches across his cheeks.

No matter how desperately she struggled, Xiao Qi refused to let go. After a minute, the middle-aged woman stopped moving.

Still, Xiao Qi did not release his grip. He held the chokehold for nearly ten minutes before finally letting go.

Staring at the dead hag, whose eyes were wide and whose chest no longer rose or fell, Xiao Qi felt his hands trembling and his heart pounding wildly.

Even though he had maintained a calm expression, this was his first time killing someone, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of fear.

He glanced at the surveillance camera in the hallway and quickly ran back into the office.

The carriage was still there. He stepped back inside, where new words were already forming on the mirror.

【Trial Quest Completed: Dispensing reward!】

Hum!

Inside the carriage, a beam of golden light descended from the ceiling and entered his body. He felt a strange, latent presence deep within himself beginning to awaken.

Reading the text, the fear Xiao Qi had felt just moments ago vanished, replaced by a wild, uncontrollable laugh. “Haha! Hahaha! Nine years of living like corporate scum, and today, I, Xiao Qi, am finally going to stand at the top of the world—”

His laughter abruptly froze as the details of his newly awakened ability materialized on the mirror.

【Awakening Ability: Dancer】

The exact details of the ability flooded his mind.

Dancer: Dancing grants you a random percentage of damage reduction. The stronger the emotional reaction your dance evokes in your opponent, the higher the damage dealt to them once the dance ends!

Staring at the description, Xiao Qi's eyes went wide. His face twisted into a grimace that was half-grim, half-hysterical. “Fuck! What kind of supernatural power is this? I don't even know how to dance!”

The Grisly Carriage couldn't care less about his complaints. New text appeared on the mirror.

【Quest: Travel to Yangcheng within 24 hours to participate in the resurrection of the Lord of Evil. Possess at least one item belonging to the Lord of Evil for three days!】

Reward: Ability evolution.

Failure Penalty: Sudden death.

Staring at the quest, he was completely bewildered. He didn't even know who or what the Lord of Evil was.

Hum!

An invisible force forcefully ejected him from the cabin, and the Grisly Carriage began to move forward.

It turned translucent and vanished right before Xiao Qi's eyes.

Staring at the spot where the carriage had vanished, Xiao Qi stood in a daze for a moment. Then, he quickly snapped out of it, ran back outside, and dragged the middle-aged woman's corpse away.

At the very least, he couldn't afford to get caught by the inspectors before he made it to Yangcheng.

“Stupid old hag. Killing you must have cursed me with this rotten ability,” he grumbled, dragging the body with a sour expression.

After finding a utility closet and hiding her corpse deep inside, Xiao Qi turned and walked out. His top priority now was to get to Yangcheng as quickly as possible.