Picking Up Fragments - Chapter 27: Ming God’s First Live Stream

Traversing to a parallel World, Shinji Kamihara discovers a mysterious notebook called the 'Chronicles Of Urban Legends'.By writing urban legends in its pages, he can bring them to life in the real world. In this Japan, many of the urban legends from his previous life are absent—Hanako-san of the Restroom, Hell Girl, Sadako’s videotape, the Eight-Foot Woman, Mary’s phone call, the Seiryūji Tunnel, the Gaze from the Cracks, Tengu Elementary…“Let me unleash a pandemonium of Monsters and Ghosts upon this World!”

Jayhan's life was more active than the average person's, and he was loving it.He had a beautiful gamer girlfriend who was basically every man's type and a job working as a construction worker for the government while also being a streamer on the side.One day, he and his girlfriend got into a new game that had launched, an apocalypse game that focused on survival.What happens when this game suddenly becomes reality, and the whole world is pulled into this madness?Not only that, Jayhan also realized, unlike everyone else, he had a system, one that gave him an edge over the rest.[Welcome to the Survival System.][You have unlocked three unique skills for your survival.][The SSS-rank skill, Radar, is now under your possession.][The SSS-rank skill, Lord of Information, is now under your possession.][The SSS-rank skill, Absorb, is now under your possession.][For every orb you absorb, you get closer to gaining the skill of said orb.][For every follower you gain, you activate, share their growth, and progress.]Just when Jayhan thought he had gotten everything, he found out he wasn't the only one with a system; his girlfriend was also gifted the same thing.Except hers is solely focused on his safety.{Jayhan's survival rate is below 79%.}{Alert, danger has been placed on Jayhan.}How will they survive the apocalypse together when other people are actively trying to follow him in the process?

An Hao leaped, thinking she had died, but to her surprise, when she opened her eyes, she found herself back in the year 1985. To live a second life, did she have to endure the abuse of her stepmother and stepsister again, the dislike of her mother-in-law and disdain from her sister-in-law, and the betrayal of her best friend who bravely became the other woman just to slap her in the face and climb the social ladder? Was she supposed to end her miserable life in poverty again? An Hao's answer was, “Eat! Shit! No!” She was determined to make something of herself, to get rich by capitalizing on her knowledge and aim for a well-off life. This time around, she was going to be the protective big sister who reformed her worthless little brother who had died a wretched death, and the virtuous wife to make up for her past neglect of her husband! She wouldn't let this life go to waste in despair! A malicious best friend? Coveting her man? Not a chance! Go hang out wherever it's cool! Cough cough, how did she not realize in her past life that this “Stoic King of Hell” was so indecent. Decent? You've had your fill of decency during the day.

“Evil God of the Universe, You are in every space and time. Present in every dimension of reality and govern the darkness of our world.Oh, almighty Atticus! Hear our plea and grant us your presence tonight, awaken my Lord!”The rain had completely stopped and the strong gale had subsided into the fading raindrops. The night had turned eerily silent and only the sizzling and cackling of the fire entered their ears.Suddenly, they all felt like floating from their feet despite setting foot on the watery, hard ground, as if they were traversing into space. The darkness of the night gradually turned darker, enveloping them, morphing into everyone, like a void eating them slowly. Sequentially, their breathing turned oddly slower. Despite exaggeratedly inhaling air to breathe, it was to no avail, as if a higher entity was limiting them from breathing.Nolan felt his throat and tried to open his mouth to gasp more air but failed. Everyone but him was in a state of indignation and panic as they struggled to breathe to fill their lungs with air. Nolan tried to calm his heart. He closed his eyes and stopped inhaling air in pure panic, instead, he put his heartbeat and breathing into a rhythm. It was hard at first, but after a minute, he found his breathing gradually went stable.His whole being was in pure anticipation of what was going to happen next.After a couple more minutes, the storm completely subsided, the night turned to normal. Nolan remained standing, taking in his surroundings with his eyes closed. Everything turned silent. The eerie atmosphere and the crackling of the fire from the hay figure didn’t even enter his ears. Nolan waited for a couple more minutes, his breathing turning normal. He was reluctant to open his eyes, afraid he might ruin their ritual.“It’s alright now, Young Master. You can open your eyes now.”Nolan’s breathing hitched. He jolted on his feet as he fluttered his eyes open.“Atticus? W-why are you here?”The butler, standing in front of him, a raincoat hung on his arm, smiled. “I am everywhere, Young Master, in order to best serve you.”****Atticus, a demi-god from the underworld, was cast out of his parents' realm and banished to the human world. The reason? He had yet to give them any grandchildren.Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction and is purely the product of my imagination. Any resemblance to real people, events, or beliefs is entirely coincidental. The intention is not to disrespect or diminish any faith or tradition, but rather to explore ideas within a fictional context. Reader discretion is advised.