Jin just stared at the laptop screen, with lips parting defeatedly, and dead eyes hinting at a bit of disbelief.
He didn't speak…. No…. He couldn't speak.
His throat was tight, and his mind was currently just thinking of two things…
First… He should have drunk water as soon as he woke up.
The second one… How hard does he have to hit his head on the wall to pass out, and how painful would it be?
Xiao Hei, who was just hovering on the screen with his pixelated purple shades, and that uncomfortably wide grin, waved his hands through the screen, checking if Jin Qiang was still paying attention to him.
But he wasn't…
He was busy having a mental breakdown.
"Okay okay ~ Calm down GhostQiang." he chirped, flipping upside down mid-air on the screen like a character in a video game.
"I get it. You're freakin' out ~ Classic newbie reaction, one even tried to baptize his phone haha~ Ah memories~ ... So, allow me to give you the lowdown. This is the onboarding phase anyway."
Xiao Hei cleared his throat, unnecessarily, and suddenly the screen glitched…
Now it's displaying a chalkboard with cute doodles and animated notes scribbling themselves in real-time.
Xiao Hei appeared again, now wearing a black graduation toga and cap, and was holding a pointer stick.
The digital board had the words: 📺 WELCOME TO GH.ST HOSTING 101
"Class is in session!" he said as his voice echoed like he was in a school hallway.
He then snapped his fingers, and the laptop floated unnaturally, like a marionette yanked by invisible strings.
Jin's breath hitched as the air in the room suddenly felt heavier, colder.
"It seems you're slow on the uptake and can't accept the fact that you're being haunted… So, I'm taking the liberty of proving it to you once again."
The laptop landed right in front of Jin, which seemed to bring him back to life as his body tensed again from terror.
"That's better, you seem more alive now!~ hehe… Now pay attention, cause I'll only explain this once. Oh! And feel free to ask any questions~ Okay?"
"….."
"...."
"I know you're speechless, but you can at least nod yes or no…. and if I see that you're not paying attention, I can bring our little friend from last night over here, that'll get your attention for sure, right? ~"
"No!!! I'm listening!" Jin blurted out, as he nodded in horror.
"Hoho~ That's great! Let's get started then~"
Xiao Hei said as he tapped his pointer stick on the chalkboard, and a red ghost emoji bounced into place with the word MARKED.
"You Jin Qiang got "Marked." What's that, you ask?... Well, it means you're now cursed~ How? When? Why?... Ahem!... It's when a living idiot like you livestreams inside a ghost hub, attracts attention from the dead, and signs the binding streaming contract..… So~ That tunnel last night, yeah, it was a ghost hub.You streamed. A ghost noticed you. You signed the contract. BOOM! Now you're connected. Wohoo!~"
"..." Jin stayed silent, confusion painted across his petrified face.
"Huh?? What contract and what's a ghost hub, you wonder… Well ~ First, ghost hubs are all the cursed places, haunted domains, and where vengeful entities or the souls of the dead hang out, or for some, are stuck to... These places are where the GH.ST Network™ is strongly connected to. Second, you did sign the contract… You signed for that package, remember? This is why they say never open your door to strangers~ Hehe~"
"GH.ST Network™ ?" Jin muttered as he glanced at the package on the table.
"Yup~ The GH.ST Network™… Pronounced as ghost, because spelling is for the living.~"
Xiao Hei smirked and tapped the board, making it flicker, and show a logo of a small glitchy eyeball in place of the "O" in "GH.ST." and the words:📺 What is GH.ST Network™?
"The GH.ST Network™ is a cursed, cross-dimensional, spiritual livestreaming system platform, like a ghostly version of Twitch or YouTube, but with more power, functions, and body counts. Tehee~…"
Xiao Hei said cheerfully as he waved his pointer stick, and the display on the board changed again.
🌐 The UnderNet
"The GH.ST Network™ is accessed through the UnderNet… A shadow web layered under your regular internet… Think dark web meets ghost code… It's invisible to the living, unless they have a cursed tech… "
Xiao Hei said as he gestured to Jin's new haunted phone on the floor, which buzzed ominously, and the box delivered from GH.ST Network™.
"Your new body cam and phone? They record more than what's real now~ Think EVP with high-res trauma! Ho ho~"
Xiao Hei began pacing… or floating back and forth as 📺 GH.ST Network System: Contract and The Basics flashed on the chalkboard.
"Now I'll explain the system of the GH.ST Network. It's very simple~… You signed your soul to the system, and your stream now broadcasts to both the living… and the dead… It's like the I made a deal with the devil kinda thing… but unknowingly Tehee~ So now, your life is connected to the system."
"Meaning…. I die…. If I don't… stream?" Jin asked slowly, piecing together the pieces of information he had just learned.
"HOOOOO!~ Looks like you're not as dumb as you look haha~ Yes! You got it, you now have to stream as if your life depends on it, cause it literally does~… The GH.ST system feeds on Soul coins, the currency of the dead, and how do you get this? From your ghost viewers and followers! So if you're views drop… well, you drop too~… And if you're wondering why it even exists, well, ghosts get bored too, ya' know~ "
Jin went pale as if blood had been drained from him, while Xiao Hei floated, showing him how ghosts can be bored too.
"Oh! Oh! Fun Fact!~" Xiao Hei abruptly shouted as he grinned, and continued to say, "If your footage on the internet or any normie device starts echoing, glitching, or showing something behind you that shouldn't be there — Congrats~ you're trending in the UnderNet!!!"
Xiao Hei said excitedly, popping confetti poppers on screen.
"... Uhm….. What happens….. If I just… delete my account?" Jin carefully asked.
"LMAO!!! ~ Try it…. See what gets deleted first.... Your channel.... or your lungs.~ Tehee~"
Xiao Hei said as he acted like he was choking and lacked air to breathe.
"Oh! ~ Also, don't even think about destroying or throwing away the cursed techs, cause they'll just appear right back and follow you till death, do you part ~ Ho ho~."
Jin Qiang didn't reply…. He couldn't…
There was nothing left to say.
Just…
"Feels like I dug my own grave… unknowingly… Ha.Ha…"