I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 242 - 242 Zoom_1

Chapter 242: Zoom_1 Chapter 242: Zoom_1 Mo Guangyuan’s eyelids twitched, and a jolt of alarm shrank his hand back.

He paused the video and peered closely at the corner of the desk—there really seemed to be something in the shadow.

Gathering his courage, Mo Guangyuan saw it was only a rag that someone had left there at some point.

He got up, tossed the rag back into the pantry, and sat back down.

After exchanging a greeting with a colleague, he had just put his headphones back on when he sensed something was off again.

He looked back at the colleague who had just greeted him.

In the shadow of that colleague, it seemed as if something was spying on him.

Mo Guangyuan felt a surge of panic and took a closer look.

Turned out it was just a print on the clothes.

“What’s with the fashion nowadays, printing eyes on clothes…”

Mo Guangyuan muttered under his breath.

He continued watching the movie.

A gunshot broke the silence of the night, and as the camera panned up, a decrepit city appeared on the screen.

After that, the city became alienated and flat, as if it had been painted on.

No, it had literally turned into a painting, into an illustration on a book page.

The text on the page looked like content from a horror novel, and as the book was closed by a hand, the title “Shadow of Terror” and Ancient Capital’s name as the author were visible.

The camera moved up to reveal a middle-aged man with a grave expression, putting the book back on the shelf. The camera followed his hand movements, pulling back to display the entire bookstore’s shelves.

All those books were horror novels with frightening covers, and without exception, the author was Ancient Capital. At the same time, there was also a preview of Ancient Capital’s new work, which seemed quite popular.

The camera continued to move back, a common technique for revealing a panoramic view, yet Mo Guangyuan couldn’t shake an eerie feeling.

Only then did he realize there was a big problem with this shot.

A normal pullback shot, like the human eye, synchronously moves everything back, following the rule of bigger up close and smaller in the distance, shrinking together.

But in this shot, the bookshelf in the middle didn’t change at all while the surrounding scenery did, as if space had suddenly twisted, giving an unsettling, distorted, and uncanny feeling.

This novel zoom technique immediately captivated Mo Guangyuan’s gaze.

Back then, he had graduated from a film and television program, unable to find a job, so he took exams and spent two years before he finally got in.

The use of the camera fascinated Mo Guangyuan, making him sit up a bit straighter, as he found this shot quite interesting.

As the plot progressed, he realized that the introduction was actually content from a novel, and this author named Ancient Capital was a best-selling author from Abandoned Capital.

The city was like a splendid urban center in a superhero movie, thriving but also with poverty and decline, and the protagonist was a detective who lived above a restaurant, with a fat Orange Cat. He seemed quite down on his luck.

Checking his mailbox, he saw some correspondences, some trust deeds, but didn’t take much notice and instead went out to meet friends at the teahouse.

The protagonist’s two friends also had distinctive characters—one a handsome but somewhat neurotic young man, the other a petite girl dressed in clothes resembling a medieval Knight’s Armor. According to the introduction, both had some sort of supernatural powers.

They were discussing Ancient Capital’s matters, and from their conversation, Mo Guangyuan could more or less make out that they had experienced an adventure together and were partners in investigation.

But as for what adventure it was, that wasn’t mentioned, and it seemed unimportant.

Just as they were chatting away, the man who had been reading the novel with a serious expression earlier suddenly appeared outside the glass wall. Holding a gun, he fired at everyone inside the teahouse.

Unexpectedly, the three protagonists performed a series of moves that exhibited extraordinary powers, managing to stop the man’s attack and knock him out, then physically interrogated him for clues.

Watching the short but Armor-clad beautiful girl swing a punch and the big man’s face turn instantly blue and purple, Mo Guangyuan felt a twinge of the same pain.

“So this is actually a fantasy movie with superpowers,”

Mo Guangyuan mused to himself.

The rest of the plot developed in a classic way, as the three protagonists, feeling threatened themselves, decided to investigate Ancient Capital’s case. They went to the publishing house and acquired more information.

Up to this point, the story was still in an exploratory phase, but as the editor brought out the manuscript that started the novel, they grew alarmed.

Because the content of the manuscript was exactly what they were currently experiencing.

As the manuscript was read, that same unsettling zoom technique appeared again, adding a sense of oppression over Mo Guangyuan.

Moreover, the title of the novel was “The Madman’s Mouth,” which seemed like the plot of this movie was derived from this very book.

For a moment, Mo Guangyuan was confused.

He did not know if the detectives in the movie were real or just part of the story, just like the man who killed his companion at the beginning.

Maybe these characters would just turn the page soon and tell everyone they were all part of the story.

He couldn’t help but put himself in their shoes, and Mo Guangyuan thought that if he suddenly got a novel that contained everything he had ever done, as well as what he was planning to do, he would find it somewhat terrifying as well.

The movie returned to the novelist’s house, and the dark, eerie environment suppressed Mo Guangyuan’s emotions again.

As the camera slowly followed the protagonists exploring, Mo Guangyuan’s shoulder was suddenly patted.

“Shit!”

He swore instinctively, took off his headphones, and turned around, only to find his boss behind him.

“Mo, remember to turn off the lights and lock the door when you leave,” said the boss, pointing at the switch by the door.

“Oh…”

Mo Guangyuan subconsciously responded, his mind still in a daze.

“You don’t have to work too hard; just make sure to complete your tasks on time, don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

The boss patted Mo Guangyuan’s shoulder again before leaving the office.

Mo Guangyuan looked at the time and realized it was almost 5:20 pm, twenty minutes past the end of the workday, even the boss, who usually left last, had packed up and gone home.

The boss wasn’t really concerned about Mo Guangyuan, but rather, if Mo Guangyuan stayed late every day, it would make the other colleagues who left on time seem unprofessional, and such behavior should be collectively resisted.

Turning his head back, Mo Guangyuan hesitated.

If he went home now, he would leave the movie hanging halfway through.

He was curious about how it would unfold and felt an itch to continue watching.

“No, I’ll finish it tomorrow. No overtime today, or my wife will scold me,” Mo said, although his hand quite honestly pressed the play button.

“Just five more minutes, only five minutes,” Mo muttered to himself as he continued to watch.

He watched the protagonists explore the strange house and suddenly heard footsteps from upstairs.

Infected by the scene, Mo Guangyuan felt tense as well, clenching his fists.

Suddenly, he felt someone behind him and turned his head to see his boss again.

“Forgot to take something. You should head home early.”

“Alright.”

Mo Guangyuan responded but noticed that the boss seemed to have no intention of leaving.

“Mo, if you have any issues with work or any dissatisfaction, you can talk to me about it; it’s okay,” the boss said earnestly.

“…I understand, I understand,” Mo Guangyuan hurriedly replied.

“Then you should head home, it’s almost six o’clock.”

“Yeah, alright.”

Mo Guangyuan watched his boss leave and sighed.

He was being hinted not to work overtime and start a trend of overwork in the office.

But this movie…

Mo Guangyuan couldn’t help but glance at the screen again.

This movie was addictive; he just couldn’t stop watching it.