Around five in the afternoon, Kanbara Shinji rose from the soft sofa and stretched lazily.
Then he looked toward the two sitting at the computers, grabbed a can of soda from the table, and curiously walked behind them.
"What are you doing?"
"Looking for a photo," Kobayashi Hideki replied.
"While you were sleeping just now, a really pretty girl came to join the club," Nakamura Kota said with a smug grin. "She already filled out the application form. Looks like our Ghost Club finally has a girl to boost our reputation."
"Aren't we just a gaming club in ghost cosplay?" Shinji said speechlessly. "Are you two sure that girl will last even two days here?"
"That's why we're absorbing supernatural knowledge."
As Hideki spoke, his eyes suddenly lit up. "Found it."
"Let me see!" Kota shoved his head over excitedly.
Standing behind them, Shinji also leaned in. His eyes narrowed slightly, a deep shadow passing through them.
The monitor showed a simple image—simple only because the entire frame was dominated by a giant eyeball.
The sclera and pupil were clearly defined, and the edges were laced with blood-red veins.
It looked as if someone had pressed a camera right up against the eyeball.
The entire photo was in a cool tone, hazy and eerie.
"Hearing Chie-chan's story earlier didn't scare me, but seeing this picture… it's kind of creepy," Hideki muttered.
The more he stared, the more he felt as if the eyeball was… swaying.
A suffocating sense of being watched crawled up his spine.
Kota nodded in agreement.
"You guys keep staring at it. I'm heading home."
Shinji's expression stayed unchanged. He patted their shoulders and walked out.
It was already the end of club hours, and darkness was starting to fall. Naturally, he didn't want to stay any longer.
"Wait up, I'm going home too."
"Same here."
Though they founded the Ghost Club… neither of them actually watched horror movies.
Just one glance at the photo had left their hearts trembling.
Once the three reached the school gate, Hideki suddenly remembered something.
"Shinji, for the sake of giving Chie-chan a good impression of the club atmosphere, I think you should get a haircut."
Kota nodded vigorously.
"Your bangs cover your entire eyes, dude. You look like some edgy manga protagonist. We've been too scared to get girlfriends because of you, you know? If not for you, by the end of first year both of us would've had girlfriends already."
Shinji didn't respond.
He ran his hands through his hair, grabbed the long bangs hanging in front, and slicked them back into a full swept-back style.
Then he asked calmly:
"You two sure you want me to get a haircut?"
—Hiss!!
Hideki and Kota both inhaled sharply.
They immediately waved their hands wildly.
"No, no, you look great like this. Perfect, actually. Don't ever cut your hair. Keep it exactly like this forever."
Shinji continued walking, and even a few meters away he could clearly hear those two idiots whispering behind him:
"Have I really known Shinji for a whole year?"
"We should cut ties with him. Otherwise he's totally gonna NTR us in the future."
"I swear my head feels greener already."
"Gian + Nobita + handsome genius = Shinji?? What kind of monster fusion is that?"
Shinji ignored them.
Soon he boarded the train and headed to Meguro District.
As he approached his apartment, he noticed a huge crowd gathered ahead.
Everyone was holding up their phones, staring at the sky.
He raised his head.
On the rooftop of a nearby building sat a girl wearing a red dress and red boots, perched right on the edge.
Jumping?
He had no curiosity whatsoever.
He simply glanced once and walked into Minghu Apartments.
He never said things like "I'm home."
There was no one there to hear him anyway—unless he wanted to greet ghosts.
He tossed his bag aside, made dinner, and finished eating around seven.
Then he entered the study, pulled out a chair, and sat down.
He lightly touched the pendant hanging from his neck.
A flash of light appeared.
A notebook materialized on the desk.
It was surrounded by a dark aura, its surface faintly glowing with a murky, ominous sheen—something that instinctively inspired dread.
Shinji was used to it by now.
He picked up the notebook and opened it.
The first page contained six bold characters:
"Urban Legends Chronicle."
He turned to the second page.
Urban Legend: 1 – "Eyes in the Gaps"
Legend Points: 38988
Sin/Virtue Points: 280
Spiritual Power: 0+
Lifespan: 92 days
[Note 1: Urban legends you write will manifest in reality.]
[Note 2: Those influenced by the urban legends you write will generate Legend Points based on their experiences.]
[Note 3: Those who die because of the urban legends you write will generate Sin/Virtue Points for you.]
Seeing 92 days of lifespan, Shinji finally felt relieved.
A month ago, he had transmigrated from Huaxia into Tokyo.
Within that month, he confirmed this world was a parallel version—history roughly the same, but many small details different.
Not the important part, though.
Modern people were exposed to so much information that psychological toughness was standard.
He didn't lose his parents or anything—just transmigrated. Nothing to cry about.
Besides, he'd been an orphan in his previous life. Whenever he flamed people online, he always had the upper hand inherently.
So transmigration to him was just "moving to a new place."
The important thing was—
He obtained this notebook: The Urban Legends Chronicle.
He had found it in a library in his past life.
It had fallen between the shelves, and he picked it up to put it back.
But the moment he casually flipped to the first page and saw those six characters…
he transmigrated.
Right into Sakura Autumn High School's library.
Ever since then, he'd lost all curiosity about anything.
Which was why earlier, when someone was about to jump off a building, he didn't even stop to look.
He flipped to the third page.
Unlike the first two pages, this one was black paper with blood-red characters.
Eyes in the Gaps.
"On March 4, 2020, a strange photo began spreading online.
It was covered entirely by a giant eyeball…"
This was the first urban legend Shinji ever created.
Anyone who had seen the photo and matched the conditions would, in the near future, begin seeing a giant eyeball peering at them from any crack or gap.
The eyeball would distort their sanity, watching endlessly, pushing them toward mental collapse and eventually suicide.
And the rule that triggered the curse was domestic violence.
He turned the page.
The fourth page wasn't blank—it recorded people who had encountered the "Eyes in the Gaps" legend.
Anyone who saw the photo and became targeted would have their subsequent experiences automatically written into this notebook.
One page per person.
(End of Chapter)