Chapter 1

This day, Shen Wei was fighting with his bizarre right hand when the room he was in suddenly turned pitch black, so dark that he couldn't see his own fingers.

Shen Wei's expression changed drastically. "What's going on? Is this a ghost?"

"Damn it, it's here again!"

The bizarre right hand muttered to itself in terror.

Just as Shen Wei was at a loss, bright spotlights suddenly enveloped him, making him seem like the brightest star on a stage, with all the strange audience members hidden in the darkness, eagerly anticipating his performance.

"Contestant number 9527, please prepare. You are about to enter Rule Anomaly: Curiosity Museum."

The bright spotlights vanished abruptly, and Shen Wei disappeared from the spot.

After a moment of disorientation, Shen Wei found himself in front of a huge, old museum. He looked up at the dilapidated sign above, which read "Curiosity Museum."

The Curiosity Museum seemed to be located in an abandoned city, with ruins and broken walls everywhere, creating a desolate and eerie feeling.

Moreover, after Shen Wei appeared, strange changes occurred around him. A thick fog rolled in rapidly from a distance, accompanied by the terrifying roars of unknown creatures.

"Let's go, kid! We have no choice but to go in..."

The bizarre right hand's tone was unexpectedly serious.

Shen Wei shook his head with a wry smile, then stepped into the Curiosity Museum. After entering, he saw a notice board near the entrance with four rules for visitors.

Rule 1: The Curiosity Museum houses terrifying and bizarre exhibits from around the world, some of which may contain elements of horror, shock, gore, and strangeness. These may cause psychological and physiological discomfort to visitors. Please remain rational and view with caution. (Remember, this is important!)

Rule 2: The Curiosity Museum has a large number of humanoid exhibits, but please note that they will not move, nor will they impersonate staff!

Rule 3: All visitors are welcome to donate bizarre exhibits. (Welcome exhibits... home!)

Rule 4: ... (Completely destroyed, nothing can be seen.)

Shen Wei's skin crawled as he looked at these four strange rules.

"Hey, kid! Any thoughts?"

Shen Wei's bizarre right hand also opened its palm, its strange纹路like eyes looking at the rules above.

"Rule one is pretty clear. The things in this Curiosity Museum must be terrifying. I have to maintain my sanity, or something terrible might happen. Rule two suggests that humanoid exhibits might impersonate staff. I have to be careful about that. Rule three isn't about us donating exhibits; I suspect it's about making us exhibits in this Curiosity Museum."

Shen Wei stroked his chin, finding the thought terrifying.

As Shen Wei was dawdling, a 60-second countdown began to sound inside the Curiosity Museum.

"60, 59, 58, 57..."

"I suddenly have a bad feeling. This visit might be mandatory..."

Shen Wei said as he ran quickly towards the ticket booth.

The ticket booth wasn't far away, only about ten meters.

Cold sweat was already breaking out on Shen Wei's forehead. With less than 50 seconds left, the situation was extremely urgent, testing his on-the-spot adaptability and mental fortitude.

"Esteemed guest, I presume you need an all-inclusive ticket for the Curiosity Museum. There's a discount today, only 30 yuan..."

A middle-aged man in a black suit, with a mustache and a monocle, politely stopped Shen Wei.

Shen Wei looked at the smiling middle-aged man, who was holding a ticket book with red tickets in it. Shen Wei was about to agree, but he stopped himself.

He forced himself to calm down and looked at the ticket purchase rules and the exhibit area map next to the ticket booth.

Rule 1: The Curiosity Museum has four exhibit areas: Dead Objects (Ancient), Dead Objects (Modern), Non-Humans (Ancient), and Non-Humans (Modern). Please visit in the correct order.

Rule 2: The Curiosity Museum does not support the use of any currency to purchase tickets! Remember, remember!

Rule 3: The Curiosity Museum has two entrances, entrance A and entrance B. Those who purchase black tickets should enter through entrance A and visit in order. Those who purchase red tickets should enter through entrance B and visit in order. Please purchase the correct tickets and enter the correct entrance for your visit.

Besides the middle-aged man, there was only a strange, old machine in the ticket booth, resembling the automatic ticket machines in train stations and subway stations. However, instead of a card swipe and ID area, there was a palm print, and the smart display screen showed that the Curiosity Museum tickets were divided into two types: red and black. The only difference between the two types of tickets was the order of the visit.

"30, 29, 28..."

The countdown was running out!

"Strange exhibit area names: Dead Objects and Non-Humans. Are the Dead Objects related to death? Are the Non-Humans things that look like humans but aren't? What kind of mind would come up with such strange names?"

Shen Wei didn't have time to think too much and could only continue to analyze.

"The visiting order for the red tickets is: Dead Objects (Ancient), Dead Objects (Modern), Non-Humans (Ancient), Non-Humans (Modern)! The visiting order for the black tickets is: Non-Humans (Modern), Non-Humans (Ancient), Dead Objects (Modern), Dead Objects (Ancient). Which ticket should I buy? Red or black? The person who seems to be the ticket seller is selling red tickets. He told me there's a discount, 30 yuan each. Rule number 2 says that no currency can be used to purchase tickets, which means I can't buy tickets from the ticket seller. I have to buy tickets from the vending machine, but is the rule correct? I guess it's correct. The vending machine and the ticket seller conflict with each other, and the rules at the door vaguely suggest that exhibits might impersonate staff! So I can only gamble..."

Thinking of this, Shen Wei quickly put his hand on the palm print of the vending machine, and an electronic interface immediately appeared on the machine.

"Pay one year of lifespan to purchase a Curiosity Museum ticket?"

Shen Wei decisively clicked yes after seeing the prompt.

"Do you choose to purchase a black ticket or a red ticket? The two types of tickets have different visiting orders and different entrances. Please purchase with caution."

Shen Wei didn't hesitate and decisively chose the black ticket.

A flash of white light, and Shen Wei immediately felt his body being emptied.

At the same time, the vending machine quickly spat out a black ticket and a Curiosity Museum visitor guide.

"Young man, you bought the wrong ticket! It's dangerous to go in like that..."

The middle-aged man with the mustache and monocle shouted anxiously.

Shen Wei grabbed the two items and ran, neither speaking to him nor stopping, but pushing open the glass door and rushing into the Curiosity Museum!

The middle-aged man with the mustache and monocle watched Shen Wei rush into the museum, a strange smile appearing on his face. He reached out with his right hand, which had a black bracelet, took off his monocle, put it in his coat pocket, and turned to leave silently.