The black sun hangs high

Chapter 1 Hell Joke
Lin Xiuge looked at his body, feeling somewhat lost, sad, and at the same time, a little amused.

In the less than three minutes after his death, his mental journey had already gone through countless cycles.

He watched as his former colleagues gathered around his body, trying various first aid methods. However, only Lin Xiuge knew that no matter how hard they tried, they could not change the sad reality before him.

I am already dead.

My soul left my body.

Lin Xiuge turned his head with a sense of loss and looked at the wall next to him, where a poster was pasted.

It was a unique and well-made fantasy poster—atop a cluster of somewhat dilapidated, pointed buildings, a huge black sun hung high, and below the poster was a line of large text.

"One day until the release of 'Black Sun Era'!"

Looking at the familiar poster in front of him, Lin Xiuge began to wonder if he had watched too many hellish jokes, which led to his death being just like a hellish joke.

As the main person in charge of the storyline and world view of the game "Black Sun Era", he died suddenly on the morning of the day the game project was launched. The death came too quickly, so much so that he did not even have a deep understanding of the concept of death.

He returned to his workstation with a sense of melancholy, gazing at everything familiar around him, watching his once-familiar body being led to the elevator by arriving medical staff and colleagues...

Lin Xiuge instinctively wanted to chase after him, but a feeling of weakness and drowsiness overwhelmed him, making it impossible for him to stand up from the office chair he was sitting on.

"This is the end?"

He muttered to himself in despair, then closed his eyes in response to the drowsiness.

The sleep on a spiritual level didn't last long, because in the darkness, there seemed to be a sound coming from afar, growing louder and louder until it finally shattered Lin Xiuge's hard-won peaceful sleep. He angrily opened his eyes, wanting to see which bastard had the heart to ruin the sleep quality of a dead man.

Before him was still a familiar office scene, and he was still sitting in his most familiar workstation. However, the studio, which should have been incredibly bright, was now incredibly dark and oppressive. Everything around him seemed to be shrouded in heavy darkness, making it impossible to see anything.

He couldn't see anyone.

Lin Xiuge then turned to look out the window, and to his surprise, the world outside was also pitch black. The darkness was so uniform, as if someone had covered all the windows with a black curtain.

Just as he was wondering, the sound that had woken him up earlier came again. Lin Xiuge hesitated and got up, looking in the direction from which the sound came. He saw a faint light flickering in the darkness in the far distance. It sounded like the sound of a fighting game. He could even recognize the sound effects of a character releasing skills and combos.

"What are you doing..."

Lin Xiuge squinted and glanced in the direction of the light, but then his gaze was drawn to the computer screen next to him.

For some reason, some strange and unfamiliar characters were floating on the computer screen. They looked like ink floating in the air, moving up and down in front of the screen. When Lin Xiuge focused his gaze on them, their corresponding meanings appeared in Lin Xiuge's mind very naturally.

"Two fangs of a mountain troll."

Upon understanding this line of text, Lin Xiuge froze on the spot.

After regaining his senses, he immediately turned his gaze to the side, and there he saw more floating black text on the computer screens, office lockers, and even the tablets on the desktops.

"Five hundred general-purpose gold coins."

"Three bottles of moss on the back of the swamp witch."

"One eyeball from any mage apprentice."

"The left ear of an adult earthworm."

"A set of orthodox female noble jewelry from the Kingdom of Walter."

All sorts of strange words and phrases filled Lin Xiuge's mind.

He reached out, trying to touch the floating words and the things behind them, but his palm seemed to touch a transparent wall and he could not reach them.

"Universal gold coins, earth dragons, swamp witches, the Kingdom of Walter... these are all terms from our own game world."

As Lin Xiuge pondered, he carefully made his way into the dark corridor. As a plot planner with rich experience and who had been poisoned by all sorts of messy cultures, he had some bold guesses and ideas about what was happening in front of him. However, he did not dare to be sure of them and could only explore towards the only place that was emitting light and sound.

The corridor wasn't long. Along the wall were snack shelves and beverage cabinets for the project team, along with several vending machines. However, these items were now also covered with those eerie characters, preventing Lin Xiuge from investigating further.

At the end of the corridor is a rest area.

It was also known as "Slacking Off Corner" because when work wasn't too busy, Lin Xiuge would occasionally chat and slack off with his close colleagues there, or play those arcade games that allowed him to show off his skills.

He was certain that it was the place where the light emanated.

Soon, Lin Xiuge arrived at the rest corner. He first saw the glowing screen. Just as he had judged, the game console was running the latest sequel to the classic fighting game. On the other side of the screen, a slender figure was comfortably leaning back on a beanbag chair.

Lin Xiuge couldn't see the person's face clearly, or even distinguish their gender. He could only see that the person was wearing a well-fitting black suit, and their face was shrouded in a thick, dark mist. At that moment, they were intently operating the game controller in their hands.

"K!!! O!!!"

Familiar game sound effects came from the direction of the screen, and huge, eye-catching text popped up on the screen. In the light of the screen, Lin Xiuge stepped forward, wanting to ask something, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't make a sound.

"Shhh."

The strange stranger raised a finger to signal for silence, then pointed to the wall beside him.

Lin Xiuge looked in that direction and discovered that two huge doors had appeared on the previously empty wall.

Both doors are made of metal. On the left door, a huge ship is depicted, but around the ship are countless hands, which seem to be trying to replace or disassemble parts of the ship.

The door on the right is relatively simple; it has no patterns on it, but a line of text floats above it.

"The Crown of the Black Sun".

As before, the door was blocked by an invisible wall, which Lin Xiuge could not touch.

So he could only go to the door on the left, but before he could try to explore further, the tightly closed door suddenly opened by itself.

There was nothing behind the door, only pure darkness.

Just then, a soft laugh, indistinguishable in gender, came from behind. Lin Xiuge was about to turn around when he felt a sudden force act on him, and he lost his balance. In his panic and fear, he fell into the abyss in front of him.

……

"In the soft glow of the lamplight, that beautiful curve was once again reflected on the curtains. The young man stopped, holding his breath. He could swear that in all his years, he had never prayed to the god of the cold wind, but at this moment, he earnestly prayed to that intangible deity, longing for Him to descend and gaze upon that window as He did, and to draw back the curtains to reveal the breathtaking view beyond." "He took out his wine and gulped it down. A warm sensation flowed down his throat, igniting a fire in his eyes. At that moment, the god of the cold wind, whom he had called upon countless times, seemed finally unable to contain himself any longer. A gentle breeze blew, softly lifting a corner of the curtains..."

Hugh Ernst was hunched over a table in the corner of the beer hall, writing furiously, but the gazes from those around him made him very uncomfortable, so he stopped writing.

"Keep writing! Keep writing!"

A slightly hoarse voice urged him on from the side. It was the owner of the beer hall, who was clearly getting impatient. He patted Hughes on the shoulder twice, and seeing that the young man still had no intention of continuing to write, he changed his approach and said, "Alright, I'll go get you a sour beer, the old recipe?"

"Yes, the usual, with extra syrup and ice."

The boss walked away with hurried steps, and the sunlight that had been blocked fell again, shining on Hugh Ernst.

Hughes turned his head, and once again he saw the face reflected in the glass.

This is a young man with deep-set eyes, fair skin, and black hair. Perhaps due to long-term malnutrition, the young man's face is thin, giving the impression of someone who has been staying up late and is severely lacking sleep.

Black hair and white skin are the most famous features of the Ernst family in the Kingdom of Walter. However, as an insignificant illegitimate son in the family, Hugh Ernst, who was kicked to this border town, can only earn money by writing some "nothing special".

This is Lin Xiuge's current state.

Of course, if he were just a down-on-his-luck young man, spending his time alone in a border town writing vulgar literature, he wouldn't feel anything unpleasant about it; in fact, it would be very much in line with his job. However, in reality, he was facing a huge problem.

After two consecutive days of repeated confirmation, Hugh was certain that he had indeed entered the world of the game "Black Sun Era". However, as the main person in charge of the game's plot and world view, he was not happy at all.

Because the era he is currently in is a hundred years before the main storyline begins.

He himself seems to have become a character who appears repeatedly in the background setting.

In the plot outline created by Hughes himself, "Baron Ernst" holds a very important position - he will serve as a key character, guiding players through the initial main storyline.

This sounds like a "chosen one" of extraordinary status.

However, in reality, Baron Ernst was a complete slacker.

Hughes remembers clearly that in the final version of the game, the life of this illegitimate son of the Ernst family was completely devoid of happiness and stability.

Despite being an illegitimate child, he inexplicably inherited the family name, but this did not bring him any help in life.

Baron Ernst's life was filled with death, disaster, and betrayal. After enduring pain and torment, this poor bastard inevitably grew into a cruel and perverted figure active around the Kingdom of Walter. He eventually died on the spot during a large-scale joint expedition, and Baron Ernst's head was even fused into a statue, which stands forever in the wilderness.

"Boom!"

A glass of sour beer with ice and extra syrup was placed heavily in front of Hugh. The golden liquid, supporting the ice, swayed back and forth, successfully interrupting Hugh's thoughts.

The tavern owner, Schubert, with his lecherous old face, came over from the side and immediately annoyed Hugh: "You still owe money!"

"I know, I'll pay off the bills after submitting the manuscript tomorrow..."

"Okay, that's two silver coins in total, I've got it all in mind."

Schubert was quite at ease with this young man. He had been like this for the past year: he could live well for a couple of days when he had royalties, but once his funds ran out, he would start going on credit everywhere. Although he was in a sorry state, he never shortchanged anyone on the money due.

Schubert glanced at the paper in front of Hughes and saw that a few more lines had been added. He immediately wanted to come over and take a look. As an old bachelor, he absolutely loved what Hughes wrote and wished he could get several new books at once so he could take them back to his room and read them to his heart's content.

Hugh was somewhat amused and exasperated by the tastes and preferences of these "otherworldly people": "Mr. Schubert, I can't write when I'm being watched... I'll submit the manuscript tomorrow, and you'll see the complete version by the morning after tomorrow at the latest, so there's no need to rush."

"You have so many damn problems!"

The old man stomped his feet twice, but the words that kept appearing on the paper were so tempting that he took a couple of steps and turned back, saying, "Hey kid, can you finish writing today?"

"of course."

"Once you're done writing, let me take a look... It'll be quick. I'll round down the bill, and this drink is on me, how about that?"

A deal that hardly qualifies as a transaction was thus concluded.

Schubert's delighted figure disappeared through the kitchen doorway, and the beer hall fell silent once more.

It was early morning, and apart from "special individuals" like Hugh, almost no one would come in for a drink at this time. So, in the empty beer hall, the only sound was the faint rustling of Hugh's secondhand magic ink pen against the paper.

As the sunlight gradually shifted, and the pages of paper in front of Hugh were filled with writing, it was already close to noon. Other customers began to enter the beer hall, and the young bartender with long flaxen hair and a beautiful face also appeared in the pub.

She went straight to Hugh.

"Oh dear, are you rushing to finish your manuscript again today?"

The waitress treated Hugh with the same gentleness as always. She took away Hugh's empty glass and brought him a cup of hot tea with mint: "My uncle told me that he can see the latest manuscript here... If he reads it and then brags about it everywhere, that won't be good for you."

"Thank you for your concern, Miss Sally."

Hughes nodded very politely to the pretty waitress: “In fact, as long as Mr. Schubert doesn’t go around bragging to the newspapers, there won’t be any trouble.”

Just as the two were about to continue their conversation, Schubert's annoying voice came again. The tavern was starting to get crowded, and Sally had to go and serve other guests.

After seeing off the young bartender, Hugh's gaze involuntarily drifted to the magical calendar and clock on the wall.

Although the calendars and clocks in the tavern are very old, the magic and mechanisms that support them are still intact, so the time they give is very accurate and clear.

It is the 21st day of the month of Gin in the year 2699 of the Kal'tl calendar, a quarter of an hour before noon.

In eight days, the city of Seren will celebrate its annual "Trenching Day," a festival held every year to commemorate the long-standing peace between the Kingdom of Wotel and the Kingdom of Delan. As a result, the faces of the people in the city have been filled with joy and happiness lately.

However, upon thinking of this, Hugh's expression darkened visibly at that moment.

In this world, probably no one knows better than him what will happen in Seren.

He was certain that his strange and beautiful little town would become a true dead end, and that there would be no living person inside the towering city walls, including the newspaper owner, all the guests in the tavern, and of course, the lecherous Schubert and the young and beautiful waitress Sally.

This was not Hugh's delusion, but a setting he typed out himself.

However, now, this has become the destiny he needs to challenge.

(End of this chapter)