novelraw Chapter 2 : Queen of Shadows
Chapter 2 : Queen of Shadows
Chapter 2: Queen of Shadows
This young man in comfortable homewear was named Yun Ge.
Not long ago, Yun Ge had still been just an ordinary programmer in this city, living a dull routine between home and work.
Until a recent accident that changed everything; by coincidence, his consciousness had touched the “source code” of this world—the “Primordial Sea.”
He had become the only person in hundreds of millions of years to dive into that deep dimension and return safely.
Of course, calling him a person at this moment might no longer be appropriate. He had become the only “god” in this world.
He had gained the transcendence brought by omniscience and omnipotence, no longer needing to live the life of a corporate workhorse.
However, Yun Ge soon felt loneliness and boredom, so he initiated this “transcendent game.”
He wanted to see what kind of magnificent drama these ordinary people would perform for him when he personally cast the gift of “transcendence” upon them.
……
Jiang City, top floor of the Global Center, CEO office.
Unlike the chaos and stench under the Panlong Overpass, the top floor of Jiang City’s CBD was another world altogether.
Outside the huge floor-to-ceiling windows was the most dazzling night view of the entire city, the traffic like rivers of gold, the buildings like morning stars.
Lin Lan stood before the window, overlooking the brightly lit city beneath her feet.
She wore a well-tailored, expensive black business suit, her gaze sharp and icy beneath her gold-rimmed glasses.
On her desk lay an open bidding proposal for the new-energy industrial park in the eastern district, filled with dense handwritten notes, proof of her meticulousness and desire for control.
Lin Lan had just finished a transoceanic video conference, rejecting a seemingly lucrative financing proposal from a Wall Street investment bank simply because their terms hid an ambition to interfere with her company’s decisions.
She, Lin Lan, absolutely refused to let anyone touch her control—be it her father or those self-important capitalist jackals.
For someone like her, who presided over a company valued at tens of billions, a believer in absolute rational control, losing control was equivalent to losing her life.
Just as she lifted her coffee, preparing to enjoy this brief moment of peace, that cold, majestic voice suddenly rang in her mind without warning.
【Welcome to ‘Game of Gods’】
【Matching player identity and faction】
【Identity match complete】
【Faction match complete】
【Player: Lin Lan】
【Identity: Shadow Controller】
【Faction: Shadow】
【Wherever there is light, there must be shadow, and you shall be the sovereign of shadow】
Lin Lan’s body instantly tightened, her pupils contracting, her hand holding the coffee cup frozen midair.
An auditory hallucination?
Or a nervous breakdown caused by too much recent stress?
After a brief moment of shock, Lin Lan calmly removed her glasses and wiped the lenses with a velvet cloth.
But her mind—long accustomed to operating at high speed—immediately began analyzing this invasive stream of information, word by word, line by line.
The source of the voice was undetectable, ringing directly in her mind without any way to block it.
Its content referred to an event called “Game of Gods,” assigning her an “identity” and a “faction.”
She first eliminated the possibilities of a prank or a high-tech brainwave attack.
With her knowledge as the CEO of a globally leading tech company, she knew with absolute clarity that no existing technology could achieve such precise, medium-less mental interference.
That left only the most absurd possibility—everything was real.
Lin Lan put her glasses back on, her gaze even sharper than before.
She did not hysterically demand “Who are you,” “What do you want,” or “What’s your purpose”; in her view, such questions belonged to the weak.
The first thing she did after confirming the truth was walk to her office door and lock it from the inside.
Then Lin Lan pressed the master control switch on the wall.
“Pa.”
A soft sound.
All the lights in the office went out at once, leaving only the neon glow of the city shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting mottled shadows across the mirror-like floor.
“Wherever there is light, there must be shadow, and you shall be the sovereign of shadow.”
Thinking of that sentence in her mind, Lin Lan’s eyes fell upon her own shadow.
If that voice was telling the truth, then the power of the “Shadow Controller” should be related to it.
She closed her eyes and began trying to communicate, to perceive with her “will.”
One second, two seconds…
Suddenly, a strange sense of connection arose.
It felt as if her body had grown a new nerve; that patch of darkness was no longer merely the absence of light—it seemed alive, an extension of her limbs.
It had “awakened.”
Lin Lan snapped her eyes open, a faint glimmer flashing through them.
Next, focusing her will, the shadow behind her began twisting and writhing silently.
“Extend.”
Lin Lan issued her first command in her mind.
As her command landed, the shadow at her feet suddenly stretched over a meter forward in an instant, like a pitch-black spike silently thrusting ahead, its tip stopping precisely before the leg of her desk.
It worked!
Lin Lan’s heartbeat sped up slightly, her body beginning to tremble.
“Harden.”
Lin Lan issued her second command.
The extended shadow spike darkened further, as though it bulged slightly out of its two-dimensional plane, taking on a faintly three-dimensional texture.
Lin Lan stood up, walked to the desk, took off her high heels, and used the heel to touch the tip of that shadow spike.
Hard as iron!
Her high heel collided with the shadow and actually produced a dull sound similar to metal striking metal.
Lin Lan increased her strength, grinding the heel hard against that patch of darkness, yet the shadow did not move at all, impossibly solid.
“Form alteration.”
Lin Lan continued issuing commands in her mind.
That spike-shaped shadow began violently writhing and transforming.
At times it turned into a wide-open hand with clearly defined fingers; at other times it became a pitch-black shield positioned before her; at yet another moment, it split into several thin tendrils, dancing wildly in the air like animated strands of hair.
Lin Lan stood where she was, calmly testing her abilities.
After testing, she discovered that the range within which she could control the shadow was about ten meters; beyond that distance, her control weakened sharply.
The degree of hardening was proportional to her mental energy consumption. Maintaining high-intensity hardening for too long made her feel waves of dizziness.
The complexity of the transformations likewise strained her mental strength.
Most crucially, all of this had to be done where there was “shadow.”
Under direct light, her abilities were nearly useless.
After roughly understanding her abilities, Lin Lan stopped her testing.
She turned the office lights back on, the brightness driving away the darkness, the shadow on the floor returning to its original state as if everything that had just happened were nothing more than an illusion.
But Lin Lan knew very clearly that from this moment on, the world was no longer the same.
Her eyes began to fill with a burning intensity—this was true “power.”
By comparison, the multibillion business empire she prided herself on was nothing more than a sandcastle on the beach.
The “control” she pursued now had a new definition.
Lin Lan returned to her executive chair, leaned back, fingers interlocked at her abdomen, and closed her eyes.
This time, Lin Lan immersed her entire consciousness into the massive stream of information in her mind—the rules of the “Game of Gods.”
【Welcome, fortunate (or unfortunate) player, your ordinary life ends here】
【You have received divine grace and ascended to the peak of the mortal world】
【This is your blessing, and your calamity】
【The following rules—understand them, use them, or die by them】
【Game area: Morningstar–Longxi Republic–Jiang City. After the game begins, you may not leave the designated area (including urban and suburban zones). Leaving the area results in immediate erasure】
【Game factions: Radiance (8 players) VS Shadow (4 players)】
【Victory condition: By the end of the game duration, completely eliminate all players of the opposing faction】
【Note that you must survive to achieve victory. Even if your faction wins in the end, if you die before victory, you remain dead, though your teammates will appreciate your sacrifice】
【Game duration: From the start of the game, thirty natural days】
【Note that if the time limit ends without a decisive victory (meaning both factions still have surviving players), the result is a “draw”】
【All surviving players will be erased】
Lin Lan’s brows furrowed slightly.
The numbers were uneven.
8 versus 4—Radiance held an overwhelming numerical advantage.
This was not good news for her, a member of Shadow.
So Lin Lan continued reading.
【Identity and abilities: Each player will be randomly bound to a unique identity card and receive its corresponding transcendent ability】
【The use of your transcendent ability must be explored on your own】
【The laws and order of the mortal world no longer apply to you】
【Your only shackle is the other players】
【A player is deemed “eliminated” when their vital signs cease completely】
【Shadow faction players will sense one another as the same kind when within a certain distance (about 10 meters), allowing immediate identification of allies】
【Radiance players do not possess this ability】
Seeing this rule, the corners of Lin Lan’s lips curved upward slightly.
As expected.
Though Shadow was outnumbered, they possessed an informational advantage, allowing them to gather quickly and cooperate as a team.
Meanwhile, the eight players of Radiance were each isolated at the start of the game, likely to grow suspicious and even attack one another out of self-preservation.
“Werewolf?”
“Interesting.”
In Lin Lan’s eyes, this was quite similar to a real-world game called “Werewolf.”
Shadow was the wolf team with shared information, while Radiance was the scattered villagers and special roles who knew nothing of each other.
【Gifts and rewards: Basic reward: As a member of the victorious surviving faction, you will permanently retain your transcendent ability】
【Additional rewards: God will grant extra gifts based on each victor’s performance】
【Last, and first, piece of advice: Do not attempt to seek the creator of the game】
【When the game begins, the only thing you must do is think about how to survive, and win, thereby pleasing the only spectator】
【Now, the game begins】
The stream of information came to an abrupt end.
This was a game with no retreat.
Either win everything and become something beyond mortal, or lose everything and vanish as if never having existed.
Lin Lan did not feel fear. Instead, she felt a strange thrill.
High risk, high reward.
This aligned perfectly with her investment philosophy.
Lin Lan opened her eyes, her gaze once again turning toward the prosperous city outside the window.
At this moment, the city she knew so well had become a vast and intricate chessboard.
Twelve pieces had already been placed—eight were her enemies, three were her teammates.
As for the city’s administrators—the authorities—and the millions of ordinary people living here, although they had not been assigned identities, they were still resources and obstacles on this board.
“Thirty days…”
Lin Lan murmured softly, her eyes flickering with calculation.
“I belong to ‘Shadow’, with an informational advantage…”
“First step: immediately find a way to contact my three teammates…”
“Second step: use all of my resources to locate those eight ‘Radiance’ hidden among the population…”
“Third step…”
Lin Lan’s mind was clear and composed, crafting a preliminary strategic framework within only minutes.
She picked up the internal office phone and dialed her assistant’s number.
“Sophie,”
Lin Lan’s voice held no emotion, “look into all ‘unexplainable’ abnormal incidents in Jiang City recently—especially tonight.”
“No matter how ridiculous the rumors are, I want them. I want this report in my private email before work tomorrow morning.”
After hanging up, Lin Lan stood and walked to the massive bookshelf.
She took down a large electronic map of Jiang City, spread it on the floor, and connected it to the power source.
The entire map lit up instantly, densely marked with transportation networks, surveillance distribution, architectural structures, and other information.
Lin Lan’s fingers slowly traced across the map as she whispered to herself.
“The game…”
“..has begun.”