BLOODCAPE - Chapter 33: The Ones Who Clapped

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.

A man with a lifelong martial arts background, raised in Asia due to his family's profession, moves to the US for education and work. He discovers Historical Medieval Battles through a colleague and becomes deeply passionate about it. He trains hard and becomes skilled enough to represent his country.During a competition, his armor fails, and he's struck in the head with a two-handed axe, seemingly dying. But is this truly the end?

“When everyone worked hard just to obtain pills, artifacts, wealth, or power. Well, hehe. All I need to do is buy them through the Invincible Exchange System!” Our protagonist said with a smirk on his face.

- Description from Novelupdates

One month after getting married, her lord husband went hunting for monsters and returned as a corpse.In shock, Penelope realizes she has been reincarnated into a novel.However, before she could even accept the fact that she was reincarnated, the affairs of the estate piled up!“The price of turnips has dropped again.”“The people of the estate need at least three months’ worth of emergency supplies to survive the winter.”“Firewood…?”“Water…?”Wait, hold on… I don’t know anything about managing an estate!• • •“I need to hire a wizard to work in the estate.”“He’ll work for exactly 100,000 gold.”It seems like there’s no escaping this, so she ends up getting help from the Archmage… but something about this guy seems suspicious.“Do you want to touch it?”“What? What do you mean?”“My hair. Didn’t you keep staring at it because you wanted to touch it?”The guy, who was the most powerful Archmage and the sweet dog-like secondary male lead, seems to have lost his mind somewhere along the way.Should I just escape from the estate?