The script is adapted from Richard Connell's short story "The Most Dangerous Game." Any similarities are purely coincidental.

...

"Welcome to Thriller Paradise," a deep male voice said.

[Loading complete. You are currently participating in Team Survival Mode (Normal).]

[This mode provides a script introduction and has a chance to generate side hidden quests and special worldviews.]

[Script Completion Reward: 80% bonus to base experience upon completion.]

[The script introduction is about to play. The game will begin immediately after the introduction.]

The opening CG has begun. The light in the scene is very dim, and the camera is slightly shaking and undulating. The sound of water and an engine can be heard, indicating that this is likely on a ship.

The system voice narration arrived as scheduled: [The hot and humid tropical night envelops the yacht you are on in a warm, thick darkness.]

[You are a top hunter. Your keen senses detect the presence of an island somewhere to starboard, through the velvet-like darkness.

The captain tells you that on old nautical charts, this place is called "Ship Trap." Sailors gave it this suggestive name, and their fear of it has even reached the point of superstition.]

[A superstitious crewman can sometimes infect the entire crew. A boat full of nervous crewmen means an accident.]

[Your ship sinks. You struggle to swim towards the island in the darkness. You are as helpless as a lone boat in the sea, but you still try your best to climb onto the rocky shore. You escape from the water. Jagged cliffs appear in the darkness. You climb upward step by step, wearing away the skin on your hands, and using almost the last bit of your strength. Finally, you reach a flat area at the top of the cliff, panting for breath. The dense jungle extends to the edge of the cliff. You are too weak to move forward, so you collapse to the ground and fall into a deep sleep.]

[When you open your eyes, the position of the sun indicates that it is already afternoon. You see human footprints on the muddy ground at the edge of the jungle. You follow the only traces, cross the jungle, and arrive at a castle built on a precipice in the center of the island.]

[At this time, night... has once again descended on the sea and the jungle.]

After listening to this description, the players officially entered the script.

Five players stood at the bottom of a row of stone steps outside the castle. The stars and moon were bright, and in this relatively open area, they could see quite clearly without lighting equipment.

Si Yu stood next to Feng Bujue. Her outfit had already changed. She wore a black, tight-fitting cotton vest on her upper body and black mountaineering pants on her lower body. There were several pockets on both sides of the pants, which looked very practical. The clothes were sleeveless, close-fitting, and lightweight, allowing her to swing her arms more freely. She also wore a fingerless black leather glove on her right hand, but not on her left. Her right hand was the hand she used to hold her sword, so this seemed intentional.

Although the pants did not show the lines of her legs, Feng Bujue observed at close range that Si Yu's figure was definitely curvy, with a slender waist that could be held in a single grasp contrasting sharply with her towering bust, evoking reverie. However, in virtual games, most female players' appearances were like this. Si Yu had deliberately modified her appearance to be less eye-catching.

Among the other three teammates, there was another female player whose nickname was Cai Bu Pa Ne (I'm Not Afraid At All), level 16, and her title was actually Duō Māo Māo (Hide-and-Seek). She was wearing a light blue medieval-style wizard's robe, with the hem of the robe dragging to her knees; she was wearing long boots on her feet, and white stockings on her legs. Since the game did not allow wearing skirts, she chose a woolen shorts under her robe, which could just reveal her thighs.

In terms of appearance, Miss Bu Pa looked eighteen or nineteen years old, with willow eyebrows, big eyes, a delicate nose, and a small mouth, and her skin was as white as snow. Her figure was also impeccable. Anyway, in virtual reality, as long as a girl is relatively thin and not too strangely shaped in reality, she can become a goddess.

However, the cute nickname, the cute title, and the cute shape made Feng Bujue faintly feel that he was being tricked...

The remaining two male players looked like they had entered the game together. Both were level 15, one called Yi Jian Qingcheng (One Sword傾城) and the other called Yi Dao Qingcheng (One Saber傾城). Their titles were, respectively, Rookie Swordsman and Beginner Saber. Both looked to be in their twenties, not only had similar nicknames, but also uniform clothing, both dressed in green cloth robes, and their hairstyles were scattered long hair, draped behind their necks, looking like ancient chivalrous men.

This couldn't help but remind Feng Bujue of Pan Feng and Hua Xiong, whom he had met before. Their style was similar to the two in front of him. I'm afraid they had already thought about their ultimate goal in the game when they were choosing their names...

The most common tragedy that happens to this type of player is that if their future growth direction deviates from their original goal, for example, after a period of game experience, they suddenly find that they are more suitable for other fields, and finally become a shooting specialist or a medical specialist, then their nickname becomes slightly out of place.

Among these five people, Feng Bujue and Si Yu's levels were slightly lower, but their titles, Lengxue Baotou Kuang (Cold-Blooded Headshot Maniac) and Wuqing Zhan Shou Zhe (Ruthless Headtaker), were very eye-catching.

It was okay for Si Yu, with her assassin-like eyes and aura that kept people at a distance, and her not-so-outstanding appearance, strangers would immediately come to the conclusion: this must be an extremely ugly female loser in reality, so her combat ability in the game is extremely ferocious.

But Feng Bujue... didn't look very strong at all. When the other three saw him, they were all thinking: It's okay if this guy thinks he's handsome enough not to change his appearance, but he doesn't even change his hairstyle when playing a game, and he hasn't bought a couple of cheap outfits to add some stats even at level teens; his look is plain, and his figure looks quite thin, his nickname is inexplicable... a guy who looks so "casual" has a seemingly strong title... Could this guy be hiding his strength? Or is he a pervert in reality or something?

The five greeted each other while speculating about each other's strength as they sized each other up.

After a few words, Miss Bu Pa widened her eyes and pointed to the badges on Yi Dao and Yi Jian's arms and said, "Wow! So you are members of the very famous 'Jianghu' guild!"

"Hehe... yeah, it's actually nothing great." Yi Jian replied, but his face was full of "greatness."

Feng Bujue glanced at their badges, which were a white cloud logo with the word "Jianghu" written on them. This should also be a studio-like guild. Feng Bujue remembered very clearly that Jianghu occupied a place on the guild's overall strength and combat power rankings, ranking seventeenth in overall strength and eleventh in combat power.

However, Feng Bujue deduced that these two were likely not professional players in the studio, but ordinary players recruited by the guild to expand its scale.

If they were internal members of the studio, they wouldn't only be level fifteen now. And if they were personnel that the studio invested in the game during the public beta phase, with the lessons learned from the past and the support of equipment, their titles wouldn't be so worthless.

It was Miss Bu Pa with the title Duō Māo Māo (Hide-and-Seek) that made Feng Bujue suspicious. Jianghu ranked outside the top ten on both guild rankings. Ordinary players who looked at these rankings would be able to remember the top five or six at most, and most people would only have an impression of the top three. So her actions had three explanations...

First, she was a professional player; second, she was a high player with a good memory; third, she didn't know that Jianghu was on those two rankings at all. A minute ago, she had never even heard of what Jianghu was, but after seeing the guild badges of those two, she deliberately pretended to be very admiring and said vague nonsense like "very famous."

These thoughts flashed quickly through Feng Bujue's mind. Combining the title Duō Māo Māo (Hide-and-Seek), Feng Bujue only spent three seconds to come to a conclusion. He immediately leaned into Si Yu's ear and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Once we have a chance, we'll split up from those three, especially avoid that Cai Bu Pa Ne (I'm Not Afraid At All)."

Si Yu glanced at Feng Bujue. She didn't ask why, she just chose to trust the other party unconditionally. "Okay," she replied in a low voice.

The expressions on the two people's faces were very natural when they talked, and even their lips hardly moved. The other three people didn't notice them at all.

In the next few minutes, Bu Pa looked at the two guild members with an admiring expression and said a lot of nice things. Yi Dao and Yi Jian quickly became a little carried away. In fact, they had just joined the guild this morning and were not internal members of the Jianghu studio. It could be said that they were just two of the many small figures at the bottom of the guild. But after being praised by a beautiful woman, the two's confidence really came up. They were both thinking: It's okay to compare me vertically with the big guys in the guild, they are professionals, but comparing myself horizontally with the other male compatriot in front of me... that guy called Feng Bujue, I am still very strong, he can't even afford to buy a piece of clothing, how miserable is he, no wonder no guild wants him.

People's mentality is so subtle. In small and medium-sized groups, especially in front of attractive members of the opposite sex, humans will always instinctively look for an individual who is weaker than themselves in some aspects or in all aspects, compare themselves with them in their hearts, and seek a sense of superiority, which is actually just a sense of security, which plays a role in self-comfort. It's like saying to yourself... at least I'm not the worst.

A few minutes later, the appearance of an NPC declared that the players' preparation time was over. Next, the plot was about to unfold.

A grating creak sounded, and the castle gate was opened, a ray of light shining through the gate, appearing very dazzling. A tall man holding a repeating revolver slowly walked out.

This burly man was powerfully built, with a black beard reaching his waist. His image was very impactful and impressive. In addition, he was holding a weapon in his hand, which undoubtedly made everyone wary.