Chapter Seven: The Deep Sea Forum

The night wind in Shibuya was biting cold, especially now in the depths of winter. Chen Lai sat once again on the rooftop, where the wind only grew stronger.

The beer can beside him was already empty as he eagerly scrolled through the Deep Sea Forum.

The forum had many sections—from strategies to information trading, from equipment sales to escort services costing thousands—covering every conceivable topic.

But right now, Chen Lai only clicked into the subforum titled “Shibuya Incident,” focusing solely on information about the ongoing dungeon raid.

“Million-value gear one-shot destroyed—are the dungeon stats really fair? (Hot)”

“Info on the Volcano Head Cursed Spirit’s Domain Leak (Hot)”

“Has anyone met the real person? That birth cursed spirit scared my kid to tears (Hot)”

…

The three hottest posts all centered on the most active cursed spirits, while the sorcerers remained completely invisible.

This was quite normal, as sorcerers usually kept a low profile. Satoru Gojo was likely teaching Itadori at the Jujutsu Technical College now; exorcising cursed spirits wouldn’t take him long, so players naturally never saw him.

Chen Lai clicked into the top-ranked post, curious about what exactly a player with million-value gear had done in the raid.

“Shibuya Sucker: As shown, the Domain Expansion of Leak’s Domain is called ‘Iron Coffin Mountain,’ and the Domain Expansion I bought for 800,000, named ‘Rashomon Extraction,’ was destroyed by him in one second!”

“Shibuya Sucker: Are the Shibuya Incident raid stats really balanced? I killed many cursed spirits with this move but got one-shotted by Leak?”

…

The user “Shibuya Sucker” posted several complaints afterward, but Chen Lai ignored the whining and focused on the facts.

It turned out this player, after spending a million to enter the raid, was initially cautious—using his Domain Expansion to clear out some small fry cursed spirits—but then got cocky. Upon hearing the four Leak squad members had appeared in Tokyo, he rushed to confront them, hoping to earn gold.

The obvious result: the other cursed spirits didn’t intervene, and Leak unleashed “Iron Coffin Mountain,” wiping him out instantly.

“Pure suicide, deserved to lose his gold,” Chen Lai snorted coldly.

In the anime, the cursed spirit quartet was incredibly overpowered.

Leak, Hanami, Dagon, and Mahito were the four special grade cursed spirits, each born from fears of fire, nature, the ocean, and humanity itself.

They were extraordinary, especially Leak, who only fought in high-level matches and could even last ten rounds against Satoru Gojo.

As for the lone human among the four, it was the sorcerer Suguru Geto, once Gojo’s close friend, now controlled by the brain.

One could say the “Shibuya Incident” raid was the work of these four cursed spirits plus Geto, who stood at the pinnacle of the entire Jujutsu world. Players who thought they could challenge them solo with fancy gear were just sending themselves to their deaths.

After scrolling some more, Chen Lai found no more useful information and closed the forum, turning instead to admire the night scenery.

No game engine from his previous life could simulate such a nightscape—the Dream of Silicon Crystals, crowded billboards, flashing neon lights, the staggered heights of the Sky Building and Tokyu Department Store, the distant wails of ship horns greeting the sea.

This game was pure second reality.

Chen Lai sat at the rooftop’s edge, legs dangling, completely immersed in Shibuya’s night.

Such a pity—this beautiful scene would probably vanish starting tomorrow, wouldn’t it?

“Hey man, are you planning to jump? Don’t rush—say hi to the family in the livestream first!”

Breaking the night’s silence, a fierce-eyed player named Absolute Tiger approached alongside Kyoko and Yosuke Toyokawa.

Chen Lai frowned and turned to see an ordinary-looking player with electronic gleams in his eyes waving at him.

[ID: Absolute Tiger]

[Loot Value: 55,000 yen]

[Status: Deep Sea Livestreaming]

Chen Lai glanced once, puzzled why this player’s info was public.

“I guess you’re wondering why you can see my combat value,” Absolute Tiger smiled and greeted him. From previous chat messages, this guy seemed to be a wealthy newbie.

Chen Lai said nothing; Absolute Tiger continued: “I activated ‘Peace Mode,’ so other players can see my status. Killing me drops my gear, but it wears out faster.”

“Most importantly, it’s unnecessary. I’m livestreaming now, and you’re my traffic hotspot tonight… How about we split the earnings? Three to seven for the next two days!”

“Why only thirty percent?”

“…Thirty percent is mine, you get seventy since you’re the one attracting the viewers.”

“Alright, you sit here then.” Free money was free money.

Chen Lai shifted over, leaving a spot for Absolute Tiger.

After a moment’s hesitation, Absolute Tiger sent Chen Lai a friend request, then used a template to send a revenue-sharing contract—this wasn’t his first time doing this.

By his instinct, this man had secrets… From a sorcerer’s perspective, Chen Lai showed no trace of cursed energy, yet he had defeated cursed spirits.

This meant Chen Lai truly exchanged for the 150,000-yen “Heaven and Curse Binding,” widely regarded on the forum as a bottomless pit item.

Those who swapped for bottom-tier items were either newbies, experts, or simply fools. In Absolute Tiger’s eyes, this man was one hundred percent an expert!

“What are you two standing around for? Hurry up and leave, there’s not much time.”

Chen Lai didn’t turn back, forcefully throwing the empty can beside him outward with such strength it nearly landed on another building’s rooftop.

The two women understood his intent from his rebuke, especially Yosuke Toyokawa, whose eyes reddened as tears fell.

“!”

Absolute Tiger couldn’t help but respect this Sigma-level man.

Kyoko shot Chen Lai a glare before helping Yosuke down the stairs. They had taken the elevator up with Absolute Tiger; although unaware of what he had done, they noticed all green lights on their way up.

Chen Lai didn’t look back but gestured a cigarette smoke motion toward Absolute Tiger, who immediately understood and handed him a Marlboro.

Lighting it, the strong mint burst invigorated Chen Lai’s spirit. He exhaled his first plume of smoke into the night and slowly spoke.

“I’m saving their lives. If you stay with us, not a single one of these NPCs will survive.”

As Chen Lai spoke, the chat in Absolute Tiger’s livestream suddenly flooded with messages.

“Hurry, ask him if he knows something?”

“He’s such a faker. I’m logging on now—where’s the streamer? I want to expose this clown.”

“He’s got six sets; you’ve only got gear worth 200,000—how do you expect to win?”

“Is what he’s saying true? Is the big one really coming?”

Absolute Tiger watched the growing chat with glee. Deep Sea livestreaming charged for every message and viewing time!

Riding this wave of Chen Lai’s popularity, Absolute Tiger promptly renamed the stream.

[Shibuya Incident: The Big One is Coming!!!]