Discordant Note | The Beginning After the End SI - Chapter 266: Temptation

In a world shadowed by death, the silent realms await, home to the undead and the Grim Reaper's sanctuary. As long as death's presence endures, the great Undead Queen will return.

Japan – National News BroadcastThe polished news anchor sat upright, her gaze sharp as she adjusted the stack of papers before her. The newsroom behind her hummed with quiet urgency, the weight of the moment settling over the broadcast.“Authorities are baffled by a sudden and unexplained surge in sleep-related deaths across Japan,” she began, her voice steady yet tense. “More and more citizens are passing away in their sleep without any prior health concerns. Experts are working tirelessly to determine the cause, but no clear explanation has emerged. Authorities urge the public to remain vigilant and report any unusual symptoms before bedtime.”A graphic appeared, displaying the spike in fatalities over the past month. Behind her, unsettling photographs flickered across the screen—blurred images of individuals found in their beds, their faces frozen in expressions of terror.The anchor’s tone shifted. “Health officials recommend citizens avoid excessive fatigue and maintain healthy sleep habits. More updates will follow as investigations continue.”---United States – Paranormal PodcastIn a dimly lit podcast studio, the host leaned forward, his eyes wide with curiosity. Across from him, a rugged man in a worn flannel shirt, gripping a faded photograph in one hand and a beer can in the other, leaned back in his chair.“So, you're telling me you saw this creature firsthand?” the host asked, clearly intrigued.The man scoffed, shaking his head. “Damn right, I did. Ugly thing had wings bigger than my body—slow but sneaky. Thought it could steal my pigs again, but I was ready this time—camera in one hand, shotgun in the other.”He slammed the table for emphasis, then shoved the blurry image toward the host. The photograph depicted a small, red-skinned humanoid figure with large, bat-like wings, its eyes glowing faintly in the darkness.“Spit, the thing didn’t know what hit it when I fired!” the man chuckled, his voice full of excitement.The host held up the picture to the live chat. “Alright, what do you think? Mothman? Demon? Or is our friend here just seeing things?”The chat exploded with theories—some skeptical, others eager for the investigation to continue.---China – Liangyuan Street MarketSurveillance footage from a bustling night market in China captured a chilling scene. A woman in a red qipao walked gracefully through the crowd, her figure striking in the soft glow of lanterns.Suddenly, she paused. Her body flickered—like a glitch in a video—before vanishing completely, as though she had never existed.The footage zoomed in, replaying in slow motion. In the final frame before she disappeared, her face distorted unnaturally, her eyes hollow and empty.The screen cut abruptly to black.

“Bo, Mr. Bo, if I tell you that I am not a man, but a woman, what will you do?”

“What do you think?”

“… If you have something to say, please put down the belt, please?”

—

Ye Xian transmigrated into an entertainment novel and became a member of the popular boy band. She disguised herself as a man, pestered the captain and the male lead, and finally died tragically due to revenge.

Ye Xian, “?”

As the most favored youngest daughter of the Ye Group, she is so beautiful and indistinguishable between male and female, why would she want to live and die for a stinky man?

So, netizens saw Ye Xian suddenly transformed into a handsome man who split the sky, attracting thousands of girlfriend fans to follow him wildly.

Teammates saw that Ye Xian began to focus on his career, fans broke through tens of millions in minutes, and the trophy was soft.

The original male protagonist saw that Ye Xian ignored him, but circled around his brother…

“Mr. Bo, this is the tea I asked someone to bring from Suzhou. Would you like to try it?”

“Mr. Bo, this is the sweet and sour fish I made myself. Would you like to try it?”

Bo Tingshen is the hero’s elder brother, the top boss who supports the protagonist in the original novel, and has countless resources under him. Ye Xian naturally wants to curry favor with him, so that he can step on the giant’s shoulders, but why does the boss look at her more and more? The more strange it is…

Bo Ting looked deeply at the ‘young man’ who was busy to and fro around him, with dark eyes and secretiveness, and pulled her into his arms.

Ye Xian stuttered in fright, “Bo, Mr. Bo, what are you doing?”

“I don’t want to taste the food, I want to taste you.”

“But I’m a man!”

“I just like men.”

“Hey, I lied to you, I’m actually a woman!”

“I lied to you too.”

“…” Ye Xian wanted to cry, but why did he finally get rid of the male lead and provoke the male lead and his brother?

Ten years after her parents’ divorce, the grandmother who raised Chu Tingwu passed away, leaving her to be shuttled back and forth between relatives.At this moment, an entity claiming to be a “Cub Rearing System” suddenly appeared, wanting to bind itself to her and cultivate her into an outstanding graduate of its program.Just as Chu Tingwu was about to refuse, she saw her personal attributes on the system interface—[Name: Chu Tingwu][Species: Cat]Chu Tingwu: Something’s not right here…Due to a bug, the system had identified her as a kitten.Her stats were those of a cat, but her appearance remained human.How should an exemplary human-cat be raised? Sleeping, causing mischief, eating until she became as round as a pig?However, the reality turned out to be quite different: extreme sports, expert bird-catcher, master mouse-hunter, catching invasive fish barehanded with dynamic vision, using camouflage and tracking skills to film documentaries of rare birds, nearly making the social news as a suspected retired special police officer.For the first lesson in cultivation, the system said gravely:“A cub cannot live alone. We need to find you a cat mother… I’ve already detected a suitable candidate nearby. Go to the target location quickly, little one, and let the cat mother adopt you.”Chu Tingwu looked up as an advertisement fluttered into her hand:[Sunshine Pet Hospital: Limited-time half-price pet neutering, one month of free food with every pet adoption]Chu Tingwu: Who exactly is adopting whom here?