DEMON GROUPI ACCIDENTALLY ENTERED THE EVIL CHAT!

Yuan Lin would leave his apartment in the dead of night, wearing his black uniform that had become like a second skin to him. He would head to the junkyard, that silent kingdom of rusted metal and dead circuits.

He would sit for hours, practicing his new ritual, pulling the dying threads of energy into his body.

But the feeling of triumph he had felt the first time had faded, replaced by a quiet, cold frustration.

He looked at his mental interface. The numbers were moving at a glacial pace.

[Cultivation Progress: 0.0042%]

After three nights of painstaking effort, of resisting the biting cold and avoiding the lights of security patrols, all he had earned was an increase the naked eye couldn't see.

It wasn't just about the slowness; it was about the quality. The energy he was absorbing was "polluted," like drinking muddy water. He had to spend half his time and mental energy "filtering" out the noise and impurities to get a single, pure drop of Chaos Energy.

It was incredibly exhausting.

"I can't keep going on like this", he thought sharply as he wiped his tired face after returning to his apartment at dawn.

"I'm spending my nights inhaling the dying souls of microwave ovens for scraps of power. My followers in their world surely aren't sitting in junkyards. There has to be a better way. A way befitting a 'Lord'."

It was no longer just about survival; it was about efficiency. He had tasted power, and now he was hungry for more, and this current path was a dead end.

That evening, after a hard day at work spent pretending to be a normal human being, he sat on his sofa, closed his eyes, and opened the chat group. There was no room for hesitation now. He was acting out of necessity.

He found that Wu Tian had returned from his "meditation." This was his chance.

[Lord of Eternal Chaos]: @Everyone I have been contemplating the nature of energy in the realm of solitude where I currently reside. The ambient chaos here... is thin and unrefined. It lacks essence.]

He crafted his words carefully, presenting his problem as a deep philosophical observation.

[Lord of eternal Chaos]: This raises a question to test your knowledge. Beyond the obvious sources like the hearts of dying stars or the depths of the abyss, where can one find the purest and most potent forms of primordial chaos in a world that is still evolving?]

The replies came quickly.

[Demon Monarch Wu Tian]: My Lord, ancient battlefields where entire armies were slain! The souls of the dead and the ringing of steel create potent chaos!]

[Grand Treasurer Mo]: Forgotten ruins, Sire. Where powerful treasures and artifacts have decayed over millennia, releasing their chaotic essence into the earth.]

[Dark Fairy Queen Xue]: Sire, your wisdom is unparalleled. Even in the lesser realms, chaos is not evenly distributed. It gathers in places where the "skin of reality" is thin. We call them "Chaos Rifts" or "Gray Veins." They are often found in places that have witnessed great tragedy, geological stress, or where a supernatural event occurred in the past.]

Yuan Lin read Xue's reply, feeling a thrill run through his veins. "Chaos Rifts." He had his key.

"System", he commanded in his mind. "Search for 'Chaos Rifts' in this world."

A message appeared from the System.

[New keyword acquired. Cross-referencing with local world data.] After a few moments of silence, the result appeared. [One potential location with a compatible energy signature has been detected within a 50-kilometer radius.]

He ordered the System to display the location. On his computer screen, a map of the city appeared, then settled on an old, dilapidated building in an isolated area. The "Blackwood" Mental Asylum. Beneath it, the ominous warning appeared

.

[Warning: Location also shows the presence of unstable phantasmal entities. Extreme caution is advised.]

Yuan Lin felt an icy chill. Ghosts. So, it was real. But the fear he felt was mixed with a kind of sick excitement. This was the real challenge.

"But I'm not ready yet," he whispered to himself. He was weak. The confrontation in the park had taught him that. He needed something else. Something to protect him, or give him an edge.

He returned to the store in his mental interface. His balance was still modest. He browsed the legendary weapons for a moment, just to remind himself of the ultimate goal, then scrolled down to the bottom, to the bargain section.

He found what he was looking for.

[Slightly Cursed Goblin Soldier's Dagger]

[Description: A rusty, ugly dagger, but sharper than it looks. Made from cheap star-metal.]

[Minor Curse: User may feel a strong urge to collect shiny things and not bathe.]

[Price: 5 Chaos Points.]

Yuan Lin smiled. "Perfect." He bought the dagger. He felt a light, cold weight suddenly materialize in the pocket of his jacket. It was his first real artifact.

Then he bought two talismans. One for minor courage, and another for hiding in the shadows. It cost him 25 points in total, but he felt it was a necessary investment.

He looked out his window. Night had fallen. It was time.

He put on his black uniform, tucked the ugly dagger into his boot, and hid the talismans in his pocket. He didn't look like an IT support guy at all. He looked like a thief or a hitman from a cheap movie. But for the first time, he felt ready.

The journey to the outskirts of the city was eerily quiet. He took the last night bus, sitting in the back seat, watching the city lights fade away. He felt a mixture of tension and anticipation. This was not just a search for energy; it was his first real exploration of this new world he lived in.

He got off at a deserted bus stop and started walking down an old dirt road, leading toward the hills where the asylum was located. The darkness was absolute, and the sound of his own footsteps was the only thing breaking the silence.

As he neared the entrance to the forest that surrounded the hospital, bright lights suddenly pierced the darkness.

A black van swerved and stopped sharply a few meters from him, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Yuan Lin froze, his hand instinctively going to the handle of the dagger in his boot.

The side door of the van slid open, and four men got out.

He recognized their faces immediately. They were the members of the "Black Tiger Hall" who had fled from the park. But this time, they had a fifth man with them, older, with harsher features. He wore a leather jacket, and on his neck was a tattoo of a snarling tiger.

The man stepped forward calmly. His energy aura was a dark red, more stable and powerful than that of his men.

"You," the man said, his voice deep and hoarse. "You're the one from the park."

Yuan Lin didn't answer. He just watched, his heart pounding.

"We are on our way to the unusual phenomenon at Blackwood," the man continued, his eyes narrowing. "My master, the Hall Leader, wishes to know which faction you represent. We have not heard of an expert like you operating in this area."

They thought he was an expert. Yuan Lin smiled internally.

He could see their energy threads. They were much stronger than him in physical combat, but their energy was chaotic and unrefined.

"I don't represent anyone you know," Yuan Lin said in a calm voice, trying to imitate the coldness of the "Lord." "I am merely... a passerby."

The man laughed coldly. "A passerby with such power? Unlikely. Listen, kid. Whatever 'treasure' is being born tonight in Blackwood, the Black Tiger Hall claims its share. If you stand in our way, you won't be as lucky as you were in the park."

He didn't wait for a reply. He turned, and got back into the van with his men. The van sped off, disappearing down the road leading to the hospital.

Yuan Lin sighed in relief, but he knew his night had just become much more complicated. He wasn't alone.

He continued walking, but this time, he veered off the road and took a path through the trees, using the shadows as his cover. He activated his [Perception] skill to its maximum, scanning his surroundings.

And suddenly, he saw them.

To his left, another group was moving through the trees. There were five of them, dressed in dark blue, moving in complete silence, like ghosts. They made no sound. Their energy threads were thinner and more focused than the Black Tiger members, blue and calm like winter ice.

They ignored him completely, as if he didn't exist, which was more alarming than the threats from the Black Tiger Hall.

Yuan Lin realized this was bigger than he had imagined. The "phenomenon" at the hospital hadn't just attracted a street gang; it had attracted real, organized martial factions

After another ten minutes of careful walking, he finally reached the edge of the forest. In front of him lay the Blackwood Asylum.

The sight was terrifying. A huge, dilapidated building, its broken windows like empty eyes staring into the darkness. A rusty, corroded iron fence surrounded it. The silence that enveloped the place was heavy and ominous.

But what he saw with his perception was even more horrifying.

He saw the "Gray Vein" that Xue had spoken of. It was a thick current of purple and black energy, pulsing slowly, emanating from the hospital's main building and rising toward the sky like a column of invisible smoke. And he saw, tangled within this current, faint, distorted shapes screaming in silence. These were the "phantasmal entities" the System had warned him about.

He saw the Black Tiger Hall's van parked near the main entrance. And he saw the blue-clad group had taken up positions on the roof of a side building, watching like hawks.

The situation was tense. Everyone was waiting. Waiting for the "treasure" to fully mature, or for someone else to make the first foolish move.

Yuan Lin found himself a spot in the shadows, behind an old oak tree, observing the scene. He was the unknown variable, the third party whose existence no one knew about.

Suddenly, a low humming sound began to emanate from the main building. The glow of the "Gray Vein" intensified dramatically, and a wave of cold, terrifying energy washed out, sweeping over the entire area and making the hair on Yuan Lin's arms stand on end.

The event had begun.