Chapter 1 Worldview Unlocked

[Worldview Unlocked, Player: Feng Bujue, Awarded 200 Skill Points, Team can now view the world rules of this script in the expansion options of the task menu]

[Current Task has been changed, Main Task has been updated]

[Escape the island, or kill Reigns Ford.]

"Ni ma!" Feng Bujue cursed and slapped himself twice, "Why did I have to look!"

He stood up with the paper in his hand and checked his status in the game menu. He had rested for about twenty minutes, and his Survival Value had only recovered to 34%. His Stamina Value had recovered a bit more, now at 4521400, but the problem was... could he complete the main quest in this state?

"Eh? My Specialization has improved." Feng Bujue then noticed that his General Specialization in the menu had changed, rising to D-level.

General Specialization is directly proportional to the acquisition of Skill Points, although there is no absolute exchange rate between the two, it can be used as a reference. Whether it's a combat-type player who can take on ten at once, or someone like Feng Bujue who can often decipher worldviews, as long as there is behavior that promotes the script's progress, it will be included in the General Specialization's experience accumulation, which is very similar to Skill Points.

Generally speaking, the more scripts you play, the higher your General Specialization level will be, so this is a Specialization that anyone can raise to A-level. The difference between a master and an average player is just being able to reach the top faster. Of course, there is an S-level above A-level, but that is not a regular Specialization level, and not everyone can unlock it. This concept will be discussed later.

Right now, Feng Bujue had deciphered the worldview for the second time, and his General Level had also been improved accordingly. He himself didn't feel any sense of accomplishment, because this decryption had nothing to do with reasoning, it relied on luck, carefulness, and courage.

To put it simply... you need luck to find the bones in this ravine, enough carefulness to find the small iron box, and the willingness to be a cheapskate to read the paper...

Anyway, now that things have come to this, he has to think of a countermeasure. The five-hour survival limit has been canceled, and Ford will come after him no matter what. Being killed is only a matter of time.

Moreover, Feng Bujue estimated that the time... was already running out, for two reasons:

First, this is a non-sleep mode script. From the players' discussions on the forum, it can be seen that the real time required to clear a team script in this mode is at most four hours, and most can be resolved in twenty minutes to an hour. And this script that Feng Bujue is experiencing has already taken about ninety minutes of real time. He would have been fine if he hadn't read that paper, but now it may accelerate the pace of the script.

Second, Zaroff had written it very clearly in black and white that Ford was very likely not human, so it wouldn't be surprising if he grew wings and flew over.

It can be said that the remarks on that paper were really well-described - once you read these, everything will become different.

Sure enough, after reading it, the setting of this script changed from realistic thriller to magical horror...

"This main quest is a two-way choice... kill the Boss or escape the island." Feng Bujue sneered, "Humph... If I could take down Ford single-handedly in my current state, I would have rushed up with A Blade of Allure long ago." He licked his lips, habitually tapped his forehead with his finger, and then stroked down his nose, "The problem is... even the real General Zaroff couldn't escape this island, how can a player who just arrived here succeed?"

He picked up the message again and put it in front of his eyes, pondering hard. Although he had memorized most of the content, it was obviously easier to read it directly.

"Heh... this is difficult." He smiled from the bottom of his heart.

In this world, some people are addicted to food, some are addicted to women, and some are addicted to white powder...

And Feng Bujue is addicted to thinking. Investigation and reasoning, solving crises, and finding life in desperate situations can bring this narcissistic guy immense satisfaction, so he enjoys it.

"Ford, back on the island, has amazing physical qualities, almost infinite stamina, doesn't sleep or rest, and doesn't even need to eat; can kill fierce hunting dogs with his bare hands; some kind of sense allows him to detect the movements of creatures at extremely long distances; is bloodthirsty and cunning... but the desire to kill obviously has a higher priority, otherwise, with his shrewdness, he wouldn't risk attracting outside attention by constantly increasing the frequency of hunting ships." Feng Bujue interpreted and converted the content of the letter into simple information, and silently recited it to deepen his impression, while those unimportant decorative parts were thrown into a remote corner of his mind, "He is so eager to kill, why doesn't he just kill people directly, but instead uses the game invented by the general... Ford doesn't need to do these extra 'hunting' tricks, he doesn't need to control Ivan to be his servant, he doesn't need to raise those hunting dogs, and he doesn't need to impersonate the general, but he did all of them without exception, why? Is it really just to seek stimulation?"

Feng Bujue's train of thought went into a dead end, but he quickly turned around and got out: "Wait..." He looked at the paper again, "The sailor Zaroff met before his death died from a tiger attack, and Zaroff himself also died in the wild. They weren't killed by Ford personally." Feng Bujue thought, "Animals were introduced by Ford. When he talked about the Spanish sailors torn apart by Ivan being fed to the animals, he seemed very natural... But when it came to hunting humans, he just copied the lines of Zaroff in the original novel."

"Also... if he wants to seek stimulation and enjoy hunting, why would he release the hunting dogs to chase the prey at the beginning... What if I was bitten to death by the dogs, what hunting would he do?" Feng Bujue muttered, "Could it be... is he actually the incarnation of some kind of evil god standing on the side of animals? The eyes of an eagle, the speed of a leopard, the ears of a wolf, the strength of a bear?

He's doing so many things, maintaining and cultivating the wildness of the beasts on the island, just to let 'animals' hunt 'people' here?" Feng Bujue then thought, "But Ford's ability to communicate with animals seems to be no different from ordinary humans. Except for the hunting dogs he tamed himself, the other animals on the island are not driven by him. Otherwise, in the second contest with Zaroff, he wouldn't have had to kill the three dogs released by the other party."

Feng Bujue analyzed many characteristics of this Boss, but still didn't understand what Ford was.

"It seems that I have to go back to the castle to find more clues." Feng Bujue sighed, "No matter how I choose to clear the level, going back is the only option. The reason why General Zaroff couldn't escape this island is that... the way to leave the island is hidden in the castle, and that is the only place on the island he couldn't go. This explains why the former island owner ended up dying in the jungle."

"Sigh... I really shouldn't have looked. What should I do now... Go back to the castle? My stamina value is less than a third. I have to rest at least once or twice on the way back. Even if I can avoid Ford and successfully return to the castle, I will definitely be exhausted, and then I have to sneak in... But by then, it will be dawn..." Feng Bujue scratched his head irritably, messing up his hair.

"I thought you would die before the other two. I didn't expect you to survive until now alone, and... it seems you have discovered something interesting." Ford's voice sounded abruptly in the darkness.

Feng Bujue reacted quickly, retreating while lowering his body, and shining his flashlight in the direction of the voice.

Ford stood on a rock on a high place with his hands behind his back. A little moonlight shone on him, already illuminating that grinning face: "You must be very strange now, why I appeared here so quickly."

"To be honest, nothing can surprise me anymore." Feng Bujue replied, he didn't rush to turn around and run, but kept a wary distance from the other party. He knew very well that if this Boss wanted to kill him, he wouldn't have to speak, just sneak attack. So this conversation at the moment should be part of the plot, and an important opportunity to obtain information.

"Heh... traveler from another world, I think you have learned about the deaths of your two companions through some method." Ford said, "You must have thought just now that I killed them."

Feng Bujue understood what he was going to say next, and replied, "So... they died at the hands of something else. And you, from the beginning, came after me."

"Hahahaha..." Ford laughed, "Feng Bujue." He actually called the player's ID directly. Before this, only X-23, as a derivative, had called it like this, "Lord Samodir sends his regards to you."

"Ah?" Feng Bujue was stunned when he heard this, then widened his eyes, and repeated with a louder voice, "Ah?"

…………

[One day... you... will... pay... the... price... it... won't... be... too... long...]

…………

Samodir's last lines flashed in Feng Bujue's mind, and he asked, "You actually have something to do with Samodir? I say... Brother Ford, may I ask what year it is now? And... is this Earth?"

"What year? Humph... What does that matter? A human era is just a small wave in the river of time. What does the location matter? Do you really know where you are?" Ford patted his clothes, "This bulletproof vest of mine comes from a so-called future era. And you, Feng Bujue, come from a place I don't know. But are these really important?"

"Ha... haha..." Feng Bujue laughed dryly, "That makes sense, then can I ask how you got involved with Samodir, and what exactly are you, Mr. Ford?"

"I am naturally still a person, but I have obtained some unusual abilities from Lord Samodir." Ford shrugged and replied, "Many years ago, I survived Zaroff's hunting game and left this island on the small boat he gave me. But that boat did not eventually return to the world I knew, but went to an unknown place.

There, I encountered all kinds of unprecedented things. Those experiences made the religious and scientific knowledge I used to believe in worthless. Do you know why humans are always seeking 'answers,' but always come to wrong and stupid conclusions? Because the 'truth' is actually not something we can accept.

Seeing the future is equal to taking away the future. Understanding the truth will lead to the negation of the self, and even destruction.

If the ape-men knew the use of fire, they would not eat beasts raw again; if people thousands of years ago knew the existence of medicine, they would not directly kill and bury the sick; if people hundreds of years ago knew the truth about religion, they would not burn innocent women alive as witches...

And I, after learning some things, became like this."

"Humph..." Feng Bujue scoffed at his words, and he threw out a key question, "What is the deal Samodir made with you?"

Ford replied calmly, "I provide him with tired and desperate souls, and he gives me eternal life and extraordinary power." He paused, "After Zaroff died, I tried to lock up all the castaways and torture them, and then kill them. But I soon realized that there were not so many cells in the castle, and Ivan and I were a bit too busy."

"It seems that Lord Sa's order demand is very large..." Feng Bujue sneered.

"I have to thank Zaroff for inventing the 'hunting' game. The final result proves that this method is the most efficient." Ford said, "I don't necessarily have to do it myself. I just need to announce the rules to those people, and then watch them survive or die in the gap between fear, despair, and survival instinct."

"I see, now I understand..." Feng Bujue said, "Then, the real port for entering and leaving this island must be under your castle, right?"

"Humph... You are indeed as shrewd as Lord Samodir said." Ford sneered, "You guessed right. Under the surface of the island, there is a hidden river channel that leads from the underground of the castle to the west side. Below a cliff there, there is an exit that only appears at low tide. But even if you find that place, it's useless. The only ships on this island are in my castle."

"Okay, it seems I can't escape." Feng Bujue said thoughtfully, "So... you didn't immediately kill me at this moment, but told me all this first, it's all Samodir's intention, right."

"Heh... of course." Ford smiled, "Your soul is the one that Lord wants to harvest the most. May I ask, are you tired and desperate enough now? If not, I can wait. Heh... How many days do you think you can live on this island? Can you last longer than Zaroff?"

"You underestimate me, Mr. Ford." At this time, Feng Bujue's mentality became very relaxed, and he joked with this Boss, "I just happen to be one of the most survivable creatures in this world."

"Hmm? Are you saying you're not human?" Ford replied.

"If you can be considered human, then of course I'm human." Feng Bujue replied, "But, as we all know, things like Xenomorphs, ***682, Chinese people who can't get special supplies, etc... are all incredibly tenacious existences. It's useless to have an attitude of letting me survive or die on my own."

Ford was silent for about five seconds, "Although I don't know what you're talking about... but I seem to understand your point. In that case, I'll just solve it myself..."

The "you" hadn't even been uttered, Feng Bujue ejected like a cannonball, instantly covering a distance of dozens of meters. Only a deep footprint was left where he had stood, and it seemed as if a trace of heat with a bloody smell was still left in the air.

Ford grinned hideously and chased after him. His movements were not much slower than Feng Bujue's using Spirit Sense Gathering Technique (lingshi jushen shu). With a light tap of his feet, he could leap several zhang. He floated towards the direction of the other party's escape, and the faster he ran, the more his body seemed to be like a muscle leaving the string with each foot. This guy was unbelievably strong.

In terms of strength, Feng Bujue could not be Ford's opponent. A Blade of Allure only had one breath left after being hit with an elbow in full state. With Feng Bujue's current Survival Value, he definitely couldn't take a single blow. So he didn't care about the consumption of the Spirit Sense Gathering Technique, anyway, it would always be a one-hit kill, what does it matter if it drops to 1%?

In this contest of speed, Feng Bujue could still fight the other party. But even if his absolute speed and explosive force were slightly better, the distance between Ford and him was gradually shortening.

The two had different degrees of familiarity with the terrain. Furthermore, the pursuer could watch the actions of the fleeing party to immediately judge the condition of the road ahead. Feng Bujue had to constantly confirm the path ahead while running for his life, so as not to step into the air or enter a dead end. If his dynamic vision hadn't also improved a lot, running wildly in the jungle with a flashlight would have probably caused him to crash into a tree like a pig long ago.

Two figures, one in front and one behind, were speeding through the dense forest in the darkest moment before dawn. The former was like a bullet constantly ejecting, repeatedly supporting and accelerating with the help of the surrounding objects; the latter was like a mayfly skimming the water, light, agile, and not falling behind at all.

This contest didn't last long. After a little over a minute, Feng Bujue's Survival Value had burned to below 10%. If he actively stopped the Spirit Sense Gathering Technique at this moment, he would not be able to activate it again. He could only bite the bullet and continue to burn blood. This would probably last for another twenty seconds.

Ford was getting closer and closer, gradually reaching a distance of about ten meters. At this moment, the two of them suddenly had a clear view in front of them. They finally broke out of the jungle and arrived at the Death Swamp in the southeastern corner of the island.

Feng Bujue didn't care about anything at all. With a life-risking mentality, he tried his best and rushed towards the surface of the swamp. He stepped over the surface of the mud with lightning speed, and his figure actually managed to skim over it and finally stood on a rock dozens of meters away from the edge of the swamp. This was one of the only few footholds in the large area of mud.

When he stood still, Feng Bujue's Survival Value had also reached the bottom, with only 1% left. If a bee stung him now, he would die on the spot.

And Ford stopped at the edge of the swamp, without stepping forward.