July 1st, 9:00 AM, Wings of Dream Group Headquarters in the Imperial Capital.

Fang Jiming habitually glanced at the official review board website. Recently, it was university graduation season, and many game design students would submit their graduation projects. A massive number of small games had passed review in June and July. He figured he might be able to find some games with potential among them to buy and operate under Wings of Dream.

Back when he missed out on Underworld Maze and watched Yangfan Studio easily rake in tens of millions with that small game, he had genuinely regretted it for a long time.

As he was scrolling down, a name suddenly caught his attention.

National General Administration of Game Management Review Public Notice
Game: Ghost Realm
Category: Holographic Game, Category C
Submitted by: Qihang Network Technology Co., Ltd.
Publication Number: C2023XXXX

Fang Jiming froze, hastily dialing a number: “Hello, VP Ye, Qihang made a holographic game called Ghost Realm. Do you know anything about this on your end?”

Ye Teng had just received a message from the marketing department and was feeling confused himself.

Wings of Dream’s marketing department always kept an eye on the movements of their “competitors.” In the holographic gaming sector, Qihang and Cool Play were their biggest rivals. Whatever moves their opponents made, they logically should have caught wind of them. Yet this time, they hadn’t heard a single thing about Qihang having a new project?

And now it directly passed review, and it was a holographic game?

During the competition for the North American market this winter break, Qihang was ultimately abandoned by CCN. Wings of Dream had willingly lowered their profits by ten percent to snatch up CCN, the strongest publisher, and the boss even held a celebratory banquet upon returning.

He had thought that Qihang, relying solely on the game Starry Sky Walk, was destined to be eliminated by the market. Yet they suddenly produced a new game, and the outside world didn’t even know when they had established the project.

These confidentiality measures were far too strict. Were they planning some massive move?

Ye Teng frowned and said, “I’m not clear on the situation either. Qihang is currently under Luo Hang’s control. A person like Luo Hang simply doesn’t have the makings to produce games; Starry Sky Walk was his absolute peak. An engineering guy like him, with his head full of science, doesn’t have that many ideas or creativity. This new game is probably just another sci-fi, starry sky-themed one, right?”

Fang Jiming pondered for a moment and said, “But the name Ghost Realm is quite weird. I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before.”

Where had he heard it?

Fang Jiming scratched his head, thinking for a long time, before suddenly jolting: “I remember now! Back when Yangfan Studio’s official website released the NPC information for Underworld Maze, they mentioned something about a Ghost Realm and a Heavenly Realm.”

Ye Teng was puzzled: “You paid that much attention to Yangfan Studio that you even read their NPC lore?”

“…” Fang Jiming’s expression looked somewhat ugly.

He paid attention to Yangfan Studio not only because he had been rejected when trying to buy out Underworld Maze for 2 million, but also because in March of this year, Underworld Maze had achieved a stellar record of 1.8 million ratings with an average score of 9.2 on the Mobile Game Hub’s rating board. It surpassed Tower of Dreams‘s 8.8 to become the top-ranked maze game.

Tower of Dreams was a game he took pride in, and it was also Wings of Dream’s classic case study of successfully operating a small game. Being surpassed, he naturally felt indignant. That was why he kept his eyes fixed on Yangfan Studio, wanting to see what new moves they would make.

As a result, from releasing the NPC lore in March until now in early July, Yangfan Studio hadn’t posted a single Weibo update, completely vanishing as if they didn’t exist…

Had they disbanded? Or were they silently developing a new game?

Fang Jiming was both curious and anxious. He gathered his thoughts, cleared his throat, and explained, “I had previously thought about buying the mobile game Underworld Maze to operate it, so I paid some attention.”

Ye Teng laughed: “What a coincidence. Our copyright department also negotiated a holographic adaptation with Yangfan Studio, but we couldn’t reach an agreement in the end.” He paused, then said, “The term ‘Ghost Realm’ should just be a coincidence. That Xie Yunfan has his eyes on the top of his head; his collaboration terms were incredibly outrageous. It’s impossible for Qihang to have agreed to them.”

Fang Jiming sighed in slight relief: “That’s true.”

Ye Teng said, “Judging by the name, Qihang’s new game doesn’t seem very interesting. I’ll have someone keep an eye on their movements, and we’ll adapt to the situation.”

After hanging up the phone, for some reason, Ye Teng suddenly felt somewhat uneasy. Qihang’s situation had been difficult these past few years, and they urgently needed a good game to save their lives. What if Luo Hang truly had agreed to Xie Yunfan’s terms?

However, a horror maze game like Underworld Maze, even if adapted into a holographic version, was destined to be a niche, unpopular game that couldn’t make any waves!

After comforting himself for a bit, Ye Teng finally calmed down and did not report this matter to his superiors.

…

At the same time, Cool Play also received the news that Ghost Realm had passed review. Naturally, they had to stay promptly informed about their competitors’ movements.

Cool Play’s General Manager of Operations for the Hua Nation Region, Duan Yuanxiu, organized a meeting with his colleagues and said calmly: “Qihang’s new game just passed review, so marketing and promotion will still take some time. They might not have the guts to clash with us during the summer vacation window.”

Duan Yuanxiu was brimming with confidence: “We will proceed with Vampire Legend 2 according to the original plan, launching nationwide on August 1st. All departments, prepare for the marketing push.”

He didn’t put the game Ghost Realm in his eyes at all.

Because he believed that Luo Hang didn’t have the capability to make a game more fun than Vampire Legend. The Vampire series was a globally renowned IP after all; daring to clash release dates with it was simply courting death.

He guessed that Qihang would avoid the vampires, delay for half a year, and launch the new game during the winter break, right?

It wasn’t a big issue. There was no need to throw themselves into disarray.

…

Imperial Capital, Qihang Building, 13th-floor work area.

Luo Hang knocked on Xie Yunfan’s door: “Good news, the game passed review.”

Submission for review had always been handled by Luo Hang’s side. The review process for holographic games was divided into two stages: AI review and manual secondary review. The AI review had been completed back in May. During these last few days, there wasn’t much material requiring manual secondary review, so passing it went very smoothly.

Xie Yunfan felt relieved and asked, “When does the marketing start?”

Luo Hang said, “I want to hold an official press conference this Friday and invite media reporters over to introduce the game. Do you want to attend together?”

A press conference? This was considered a very formal media promotion event; large-scale games frequently used this method for marketing.

Xie Yunfan considered it for a moment and said, “You go ahead. I’m still a student, and I have to go back to school for classes in September. I don’t want to expose my alternate identity and get crowded by alumni, so it’s better to keep a low profile.”

Luo Hang smiled slightly, saying understandingly, “Alright. Then when the time comes, log into Yangfan Studio’s official Weibo to promote it. I’ll also mention our collaboration at the press conference.”

Xie Yunfan nodded: “No problem.”

The next day, major news websites, official media outlets, gaming influencers, and famous bloggers nationwide all received an invitation letter from Qihang’s PR department.

“Respected XXX, you are cordially invited to attend the press conference for Qihang’s new game Ghost Realm. It will be held at 3:00 PM on July 5th at the Conference Center on the 7th floor of the Qihang Group. We look forward to your presence.”

The entire internet was shocked!

What was this situation? Qihang had sneakily developed a new game? They hadn’t revealed a single piece of information beforehand; this was skipping the basic skills and directly unleashing their ultimate move?!

Not only was the industry media surprised, but competitors Wings of Dream and Cool Play were also stunned.

This… Luo Hang wasn’t playing by the rules at all!

There wasn’t even a scrap of leftover information beforehand, and now they were directly holding a press conference!

Media reporters and various influencers headed to the Imperial Capital with feelings of excitement or curiosity.

Gaming Influencer: “I am very honored to receive Qihang’s invitation letter. Ever since Starry Sky Walk launched, Qihang has been silent for three long years. Suddenly holding a new game press conference this time—perhaps they’ve been charging up some massive ultimate move? I am personally very much looking forward to it.”

Cloud Fox Network Reporter: “Currently, there is absolutely no related information about Qihang’s new work Ghost Realm anywhere on the internet. The confidentiality work was extremely strict, so it’s unclear what the content is. Everyone remember to watch the live broadcast of the press conference!”

…

July 5th, Qihang Headquarters was extraordinarily bustling.

Various reporters shouldering cameras and holding microphones arrived at the conference center one after another, participating in the press conference under the guidance of the reception staff.

At the same time, Qihang Games’ official Weibo also posted a promotional message: “The Ghost Realm press conference will be broadcast live simultaneously across the entire network today at 3:00 PM. Live broadcast link: xxxx”

Xie Yunfan didn’t want to show his face publicly, so he sneaked into the inner hall disguised as a logistics staff member to listen in.

At exactly 3:00 PM, the press conference officially began.

The lights in the entire hall suddenly dimmed, and hair-raising music echoed in everyone’s ears. An immersive, 360-degree massive holographic screen presented a colossal, dark world—

Desolate graveyards, terrifying blood pools, gloomy canyons, mountains whose peaks couldn’t be seen, boundless glaciers, wilderness littered with bones, and twisted, dilapidated pavilions…

The scenery here sent chills down people’s spines, yet it was incredibly unique and bizarre!

Gasps of cold air could be heard all around the venue.

The barrage section of the live broadcast room was also spammed with “Holy crap.”

[What game is this? This is too scary!]
[So many bizarre and weird scenes]
[Fuck, opening with a skeleton jump scare right off the bat, scared the shit out of me]
[Why do I feel like the art style looks a bit familiar?]

The opening holographic animation made everyone feel as if they were actually there. Finally, two special characters formed from ghostly blue hellfire, “Ghost Realm,” slowly floated up from the depths of the dark world.

Closely following that was an animation of a little sailboat floating on the sea, along with the logo for [Yangfan Studio]. After that, an animation of a starship launching into the sky, and the logo for [Qihang Games].

The barrage section instantly grew excited.

[Holy crap, Yangfan Studio? Am I seeing things right?]
[Logos from two companies; this is obviously a collaborative project between the two!]
[So it’s Little Sailboat! I was wondering why the art style looked so familiar]
[I thought Yangfan Studio disbanded! Turns out they were charging up an ultimate move?]
[Yangfan Qihang (Set Sail, Set Off), it sounds like such a good match! I never expected them to actually collaborate?]

The animation ended, and the lights in the hall finally came back on.

Many media reporters had been terrified by the opening holographic horror scenery, but after coming back to their senses, their eyes lit up brilliantly, and they excitedly aimed their cameras at Luo Hang.

Luo Hang picked up a microphone and walked onto the stage, smiling as he said: “Welcome, media reporters and famous bloggers, to the press conference for Ghost Realm. I am the CEO of Qihang Games, Luo Hang.”

Enthusiastic applause rang out across the venue.

Luo Hang said, “I am very honored to collaborate with Yangfan Studio to develop this uniquely styled holographic game, Ghost Realm. This game is adapted based on Underworld Maze, but its content goes far beyond just Underworld Maze.”

“The head of Yangfan Studio is an incredibly talented planner. After our discussions, we turned Ghost Realm into a highly free, open world!”

Open world.

These two words instantly caused the entire venue to explode.

There weren’t many open worlds in holographic games. Starry Sky Walk counted as one, with extremely high playability. And now, they had actually produced a horror-styled open world?

Wasn’t this far too thrilling?!

The venue began playing the second animation.

There were scenes of players dying repeatedly while fighting bosses in hell, scenes of players traveling across the myriad mountains and rivers of the Ghost Realm alone to admire the unique scenery, and story excerpts of players encountering strange NPCs on the road and assisting them with quests.

From the simple promotional animation, one could see the game’s style.

Using a horror world as the backdrop, the playability was incredibly high!

Luo Hang said, “After porting Underworld Maze into a holographic game, we added many newly redesigned level bosses, increasing the difficulty of clearing the stages while also making it much more interesting.”

“However, a classic game cannot have only one way to play. Considering the needs of casual players, we added a random encounter system to the game. Players can meet all sorts of ghosts in the Ghost Realm, learn their stories, and assist them in fulfilling their wishes.”

“Players who hate watching storylines can also freely explore the Ghost Realm, collect interesting treasure chests and easter eggs, or admire the unique scenery of the Ghost Realm.”

“Ghost Realm, collaboratively completed by Yangfan Studio and Qihang Games, is not simply a game, but a massive subterranean world that we have poured our hearts into building!”

“This is the world where dead souls reside. It has its unique operational rules, and countless magnificent landscapes that we could never possibly see in reality.”

“The reason we made it an open world is because…”

Luo Hang looked offstage, where Xie Yunfan, disguised as a staff member, was listening intently.

Their eyes met from afar. Luo Hang smiled slightly and continued, “Because we hope that whether it’s story enthusiasts, scenery lovers, or challenge seekers—all players who love holographic games can find content they enjoy within this massive world.”

“We do not force players to do anything. We hand the right to choose back to the players. This is the true meaning behind the existence of open-world games.”

The venue fell into a 3-second silence.

Immediately following that, deafening, enthusiastic applause rang out.

Exactly! Different types of players being able to find content they liked—this was the true charm of an open world!

Just as Luo Hang said, Ghost Realm wasn’t just a game; it was a massive, rich world worthy of everyone’s careful exploration!

People had originally thought Yangfan and Qihang’s first collaboration was just testing the waters, but who would have expected the two parties to directly drop a royal flush?

The barrage section was completely packed with comments.

[A massive open world! Sounds so interesting!]
[The holographic version even added bosses? I’m itching to try!]
[It’s very friendly to people with clumsy hands! Can I just go look at the scenery if I don’t want to run dungeons?]
[Qihang was silent for three years, and the moment they reemerged they directly dropped an ultimate move! Awesome plus!]

Xie Yunfan logged onto Weibo and sent out a promotional post.

His official account hadn’t been active for several months and was practically growing weeds. The comments were all asking him—
“Little Sailboat, wake up!”
“You didn’t disband, right? Where’s the next game?”
“Has Little Sailboat been making a new game during this long disappearance?”

Their first game, Underworld Maze, had received rave reviews, and Yangfan Studio had garnered some fans. Everyone was paying attention to their next move.

As a result, they vanished for several months!

Many people thought they had disbanded.

No one expected them to suddenly surface today and post a shocking promotional message—

“Hello everyone. The new holographic game Ghost Realm, collaboratively developed by @YangfanStudio and @QihangGames, will launch globally simultaneously on July 15th. The holographic version of Ghost Realm retains the challenge gameplay of Underworld Maze while adding a massive amount of brand-new content. This is a highly inclusive open-world game, and we look forward to your presence ^^”

Netizens: “!!!”

[Holy crap, Little Sailboat disappeared for so long to charge up an ultimate move?]
[Little Sailboat has made it big; you’re even collaborating with Qihang now?]
[Just finished watching the press conference! Ahhhh, I wish I could time-travel to the 15th]
[I thought you guys would just make a holographic maze, but you actually made it an open world. Amazing!]
[So the NPCs will increase too?]
[As someone with no sense of direction who still hasn’t cleared Underworld Maze, if it’s an open world, I want to go play too]

In the blink of an eye, the number of comments on Yangfan Studio’s post broke past a hundred thousand, and the live viewer count for Qihang’s official Weibo broadcast was also skyrocketing wildly.

On the day of the press conference, the topic #GhostRealmPressConference aggressively charged to the number one spot on the trending search list, followed by a bright red “Explosive” tag.

Countless peers in the gaming industry were stunned by Luo Hang’s “parachuted promotion” tactic.

There wasn’t a single piece of news beforehand, yet today he directly unleashed an AOE ultimate move!

At Wings of Dream Headquarters, Fang Jiming and Ye Teng were dumbstruck.

Ye Teng was going crazy with anger: “Does Luo Hang have bubbles in his brain? To actually agree to Xie Yunfan’s collaboration terms and let Xie Yunfan act as Chief Planner to make some open-world game? Outrageous! Xie Yunfan has absolutely zero experience making holographic games; this game is destined to flop.”

Fang Jiming’s emotions were complex—regret! If he had just offered a higher price back then and bought out Underworld Maze, he wouldn’t have to deal with all this crap now.

At Cool Play Headquarters, Duan Yuanxiu also felt a faint, ominous premonition.

Qihang was coming in fiercely this time. The press conference was an instant hit, and who knew how intense their subsequent marketing would be. Just what kind of result would their first collaboration with Yangfan Studio yield?

Among their gaming industry peers, some were worried and angry, while others were grabbing popcorn to watch the show…

But for the players, this was great news!

It had been a long time since they played a fresh, domestically produced holographic game. They absolutely had to experience this!

---

Watching the surging popularity online, Xie Yunfan finally felt just how much peace of mind having a professional operations team brought.

In his previous life, he had only focused on producing games, leaving publishing and promotion to professional operation companies. After all, operators had to handle many tedious matters, and he didn’t have the energy to juggle everything.

For his first game here, forced by circumstances, he had to figure out a way to promote it himself, taking the low-cost flanking approach through game streamers and video editors. Fortunately, he fought his way out and gained popularity through word-of-mouth.

This time was clearly different. The holographic market was highly competitive, and the summer vacation window also featured the blockbuster Vampire series. If they let the game slowly ferment through streamers, who knew how long it would take to successfully promote it.

Luo Hang directly pulled a massive move, calling all domestic media over for a press conference and parachuting straight to the top of the trending searches. Now, anyone who paid attention to the gaming sector knew that Ghost Realm was launching on 7/15!

The promotional effect was instantly maxed out.

Luo Hang truly possessed a wealth of experience in operations, allowing Xie Yunfan to completely set his mind at ease.

There were 10 days left until the official launch.

Xie Yunfan stayed with the planning team, overseeing everyone’s work on the Ghost Festival event.

This event was rich in content. The massive “Ghost Market” scene alone featured hundreds of NPCs and all sorts of ghosts that needed to be drawn and modeled. Moreover, this event would also add new story side quests, so the schedule was extremely tight. Even if the game launched, the progress of the planning team making the event had to be monitored at all times.

Xie Yunfan couldn’t step away at all. He handed all authority over promotion to Luo Hang and didn’t want to worry about it anymore.

**

On July 6th, Luo Hang called in the operations directors from Qihang Games’ branch offices and held a meeting with them.

“Next, we will employ massive geographic advertising. The marketing department has already prepared over a dozen different posters. I want you to plaster Ghost Realm posters all over every holographic gaming experience center; spend money to put them up in major subway stations, airports, and bus stops across all major cities as well.”

“Additionally, release the news that at comprehensive holographic gaming experience centers nationwide, if the service staff recommends players to play Ghost Realm, as long as the player logs into the game and generates playtime revenue, we will concede a 10% commission to the major storefronts. The event period is one month.”

The branch directors looked at each other in dismay.

Conceding profits to the storefronts? This promotion method would indeed give the experience center staff much more motivation to recommend the new game to players, after all, it was a tangible commission they could get their hands on.

But Qihang doing this meant they were bleeding money!

Adding up all the storefronts nationwide, how massive of a figure would those profits be? It was incalculable.

VP Luo truly was bold; it seemed he genuinely valued this game highly.

Everyone nodded in unison: “Understood. We will begin the marketing as soon as we return.”

**

July 10th. 5 days remaining in the countdown to the game’s launch.

Qihang gaming cabin experience centers nationwide were plastered with posters for the Ghost Realm launch. These wildly uniquely styled posters could also be seen everywhere in subway stations, airports, and shopping malls.

Comprehensive holographic experience centers were generally invested in and opened by private bosses. Inside, there were gaming cabins from Wings of Dream, Cool Play, and Qihang; players could play whatever they wanted. These types of game centers were also very popular.

The bosses all received news from Qihang’s Operations Department: Within the first month of launch, recommending players to play Ghost Realm would earn them an extra 10% commission.

This was a good thing!

The bosses held overnight meetings, telling the storefront staff to make good preparations for promotion.

**

July 14th. 1 day left until the game’s launch.

Weibo, Blue Fish Live, Lingmao TV, and other streaming platforms, video editing sites like Site A—nearly every gaming-related website would pop up a splash screen ad the moment you opened it:

Tomorrow at 12:00 PM noon, the holographic game Ghost Realm launches globally simultaneously.

Those who saw the splash screen ad could directly reserve a Qihang gaming cabin at various locations.

In an instant, reservations nationwide were fully booked!

Many users who had bought gaming cabins for their homes also began rubbing their palms together, preparing to experience it.

On Blue Fish Live, Brother Liu saw the splash screen promotion the moment he opened the website and sighed in his heart: “Qihang is so fucking rich! Who knows how many tens of millions they threw into these advertising fees. In comparison, when the boss first promoted Underworld Maze, it was so pitiful; he could only find game streamers like us to slowly promote it…”

As the very first game streamer to be propelled to fame by Underworld Maze, Brother Liu had a lot of affection for the game. Hearing that Underworld Maze had been adapted into a holographic version and made into an open world, he was also itching to try it.

Brother Liu pinned a notice in his live broadcast room: “Family, at noon on July 15th, I will go to a local holographic gaming experience center and stream Ghost Realm for everyone. As a streamer who has never played a holographic game before, my first holographic experience must be dedicated to my favorite little Underworld!”

The comment section surged with a massive wave of teasing from his viewers.

[Please welcome our first guinea pig]
[You better not let out pig-slaughtering screams when the time comes]
[You actually dare to play the holographic version of the Underworld? You’ve got guts]
[Hope you don’t get scared into psychiatric trauma…]

At exactly 12:00 AM midnight, Qihang gaming cabins all over the world began pre-downloading the installation package for Ghost Realm.

Luo Hang tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

The early-stage promotional hype had cost a lot of money. Coupled with conceding profits for the one-month event period, perhaps they wouldn’t even be able to recoup their costs in the first month of launch.

The Board of Directors had constantly disapproved of his methods. But he believed that these promotions wouldn’t be in vain. As long as they pulled players in, the game quality of Ghost Realm would not disappoint them.

Retaining the first wave of players would count as a success.

As for profitability, this game had immense potential; the good days were still ahead!

At this time, Xie Yunfan was also suffering from insomnia. The night before launch, feeling excited was inevitable. This time made him even more anxious than when Underworld Maze launched.

The little Underworld was a game he made by himself, with a million-yuan investment where he was solely responsible for profits and losses. Even if it flopped, the impact wouldn’t be big.

But Ghost Realm was different. A development team of over a hundred people, taking nearly half a year, with Qihang’s initial investment already surpassing a hundred million, plus the recent heavy marketing…

If the results weren’t good, he would have let down Luo Hang’s trust.

However, Xie Yunfan was still very confident in Ghost Realm, and this game absolutely would not flop. He looked forward to the first wave of player feedback tomorrow.

The experience and reviews of the first wave of players would be extremely important.

The two men both suffered from insomnia until the early hours of the morning before finally falling asleep.

**

The next day at noon, Qihang gaming experience centers nationwide were packed with people.

Luo Hang’s early marketing had indeed achieved excellent results. Many players, attracted by the game’s reputation, wanted to experience this new release. Some experience centers in smaller cities even had long queues forming.

This day happened to be a Saturday, so both working professionals and students were free.

Brother Liu had very proactively reserved a Qihang gaming cabin. He lay inside ahead of time, turned on the built-in streaming equipment for Blue Fish Live, and started his broadcast.

Currently, Qihang gaming cabins only had two games: Starry Sky Walk and Ghost Realm. The button for Ghost Realm was grayed out, but players could verify their identities, register their accounts, and choose their names in advance.

At exactly 12:00 PM noon, the button finally lit up.

Brother Liu said excitedly: “Family, we can play! Watch Brother Liu lead you to bravely conquer the Ghost Realm!”

Accompanied by gloomy, bizarre music ringing in his ears, Brother Liu only felt his vision blur. It was as if his entire person were traveling through time and space, suddenly arriving in an unfamiliar place.

The surroundings were pitch-black, and a cluster of ghostly blue hellfire could be faintly seen ahead.

Two figures, one tall and one short, slowly walked out from the black fog.

Brother Liu said excitedly, “Wow, Black and White Impermanence, long time no see!”

The holographic version of Black and White Impermanence was even more realistic than the mobile version. Their movements were fluid, their expressions vivid, and even White Impermanence’s pale face was far scarier than in the mobile game.

Brother Liu shook off the goosebumps all over his body and said, “If I hadn’t played the mobile game and mentally prepared myself in advance, suddenly seeing these two would have really given me a jump scare!”

White Impermanence’s voice was gentle as he said, “Welcome to the Ghost Realm. We are the Soul-Reaping Envoys, Black and White Impermanence, and also your guides in the Ghost Realm.”

Black Impermanence said coldly, “Little ghost, you are already dead. This is the world where the dead souls of humans reside. All dead souls must face judgment here. Do not think that death is a release. The evil deeds you committed while alive—even after you become a ghost in death, you cannot escape punishment!”

White Impermanence said with a beaming smile, “Of course, if you were a good person while alive, you will also receive rewards after death. You will enter the cycle of reincarnation and be reborn into a good family in your next life, guaranteed to be rich or noble.”

Brother Liu: “…”

There’s such a saying too?

Even after becoming a ghost in death, you still have to face the Ghost Realm’s judgment?

Black Impermanence: “Please follow us to the Yama Hall to receive your verdict.”

The NPCs began walking forward, and some system control prompts popped up on the holographic screen.

The holographic game directly connected to the player’s limbs and five senses, making it feel like they had personally arrived in this world. Moving his legs, his avatar in the game also began to walk, which was incredibly magical.

Brother Liu immediately followed them.

Then, he was completely awestruck by the “Ghost Gate” before him.

Brother Liu couldn’t help but yell out loud: “Holy crap, so magnificent! Is this the main gate to the Ghost Realm?”

A towering, majestic gate hung with a plaque reading the three characters for “Ghost Gate.” The pitch-black, thick fog behind the gate inexplicably gave off a heavy sense of pressure, as if entering this world meant being thoroughly swallowed by darkness.

The world after death—the Ghost Realm!

The realistic holographic environment and immersive horror atmosphere were astonishing right from the opening.

What would be inside?

He was extremely curious!

Taking a deep breath, Brother Liu continued following in the footsteps of Black and White Impermanence.