Chapter 240: Grudges

Chapter 241: I Am Han Yi Mo

My name is Han Yimo.

I didn't lie.

Okay, maybe I lied a little.

But it doesn't matter anymore...

Can someone please save me?

Damn it, my life is stuck!

Why? Who can tell me why?

Why am I forever trapped in this same day?

It's a curse, right? Yes, it must be the curse from that incident. Otherwise, I can't explain this phenomenon at all.

But that incident wasn't my fault—I deeply regret it now.

The problem is, no one is giving me a chance to atone!

As the moderator of an established online forum, I was more anxious than anyone as I watched the traffic dwindle every day.

At the time, I didn't think it through; I just wanted to boost the forum's popularity.

So, I found a photo of a beautiful woman online and quickly made up a story. Though the story was pretty explicit, I swear it was all fabricated—the girl in the photo didn't even know the older man beside her.

But who could have guessed that the girl lived in the same city as me?

And who could have predicted that the story would spread faster than a plague?

I deleted the post right away, but the netizens went out of control...

They were like starving leeches that had suddenly spotted a juicy piece of bloody meat, swarming all over it.

Countless people called the girl a slut, a prostitute, the modern-day Pan Jinlian.

Some even swore they had insider dirt on her, claiming they'd slept with her and spinning detailed tales, even attaching a few photos where her face was completely blurred.

I never imagined humanity could be so vicious, so I posted a clarification immediately. I said the story was made up and that the girl had no connection to the older man.

But my clarification post got hardly any views and quickly sank into obscurity.

I couldn't stop the netizens' doxxing frenzy—I even heard that some had found her home and sprayed obscenities all over the walls with paint.

The girl couldn't handle the avalanche of online abuse and real-life rumors, and in the end, she took her own life.

That's when my curse began.

Three hours after the girl's suicide, the entire earth started shaking, as if the gods were furious.

I clearly remember dying in the earthquake, but when I came to, I was dreaming—I dreamed I entered a strange room.

What happened next was terrifying. In that room, there was a game called Shuohuangzhe, where eight of us sat together and had to vote to identify the liar.

No matter who I voted for, I always ended up being brutally killed by the one in the sheep head mask.

The dream felt so real.

After dying in the dream, I would wake up back on the day before the earthquake, watch as the girl was overwhelmed by insults, receive news of her suicide, die in the earthquake, and then dream again.

Day after day, my life was stuck in a loop.

What kind of curse is this?

Why is it so powerful?

Did someone put a hex on me?

After being killed by the sheep head mask more than ten times in a row, I couldn't take it anymore.

I decided to find a way to break free.

If I couldn't escape this day, I'd completely lose my mind.

Since the curse stemmed from that girl, I planned to save her in real life as much as possible.

After all, being trapped in the same day meant I knew everything that would happen.

Using info dug up by netizens, I went to the girl's home, which had already been vandalized by those so-called "justice warriors."

The door was splashed with red paint, and the walls were covered in words like "slut."

When I knocked and the door opened, I first saw the girl's fully armed parents. They had dark circles under their eyes, messy hair, and were holding a kitchen knife and a frying pan, ready to fight at any moment.

I explained why I was there, but they didn't believe me until I admitted I was the one who spread the rumors. Only then did their expressions change.

I thought they'd let me see the girl, but her father stabbed me to death on the spot.

I brought this on myself.

Who can understand how broken I am?

Even after being stabbed, I couldn't escape the curse—I ended up dreaming again!

Still that damn room! Still the eight people! Still Shuohuangzhe! Still death!

Damn it, who can tell me how to vote?

I'm the liar myself!

This game is full of loopholes. Even if everyone votes for me, I die. If no one votes for me, I still die.

I suspect this game exists just to kill me.

Those days drove me insane. Every time I opened my eyes, it was either the day before the earthquake or that dark room.

No matter what I did, I died. It felt like the Grim Reaper had a scythe at my neck, forcing me to do radio exercises—if I moved, I died; if I didn't, I died.

I think I've experienced every possible way to die in this world.

To escape this horror and avoid getting news of the girl's tragedy, I'd lock myself in the closet every time I woke up.

I know avoidance isn't a solution, but I couldn't think of anything better.

Gradually, in the pitch black, I'd see the girl's photo.

It was like it was etched into my eyeballs and wouldn't go away.

After a while, I started hearing the girl's voice.

She'd whisper in my ear, saying she was in pain, that she died unjustly.

A few days later, I always felt like she was standing next to me in the darkness.

I've never been so terrified in my life.

From then on, I couldn't enter any enclosed or dark spaces... otherwise, the girl's illusion would appear and tell me how unjust her death was.

Yes, I know you died unjustly... I'm trying to save you!

It wasn't until after looping more than thirty times that I finally saved the girl.

But the cost was high—I had to kill her parents, who were blocking me from seeing her.

I know I've gone mad. To save one person, I killed two.

But did I have a better option?

No. If I didn't save this girl who was about to commit suicide, my curse would never end.

I told her it was all my doing and hoped she'd forgive me, but she seemed in a bad mental state and quickly became incoherent.

She must have severe depression, with thoughts of ending it all filling her mind.

After a few more loops, I finally found the right way to save her.

First, I had to kill her parents, then tie her up to keep her under control, stuff a towel in her mouth to stop her from biting her tongue, and if possible, break her hands and feet to make sure she couldn't harm herself.

Is this twisted?

Yes, extremely twisted.

Though I look like some kind of deranged killer, ridiculously enough... I'm doing it to save her life.

But what the hell is this curse about?

I saved the girl! I made sure she lived!

Yet the earthquake still came!

I ended up back in that dream room!

Time for voting again! It's happening again!

Get away from me!

Ahhhhhh!

Who can save me?

After looping around seventy or eighty times, I completely gave up on trying to save the girl.