【Welcome to use our company's products, scanning has begun, please wait.】

【Scanning is complete, confirmed citizen ID: sh13***313, name: Feng Bujue; connected device: nL2055 luxury single-person game pod, no abnormal external hardware detected; cardiopulmonary function is within normal range; neural connection program is ready, please select the connection type.】

【Connection type is non-sleep mode, adjusting... adjustment complete, please confirm to load the game or return to the previous option.】

【Program starting, loading game in ten seconds...】

After a series of familiar system voices, Feng Bujue arrived at the game's login space.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon on November 23rd.

The server had just opened, and Brother Jue logged in.

Of the entire Hell Front team, only he logged in at this time... the others had things to do during the day.

Of course, Feng Bujue was also very busy. It was just... he hadn't felt like writing these past two days, so he put his energy elsewhere.

It had been two days since Ruo Yu left. In these two days, Brother Jue and Ruo Yu had not contacted each other even once. And Xiao Tan, Xiao Ling, and Miss An... seemed to be deliberately avoiding them both, it seemed... they already knew about it.

Yesterday afternoon, the moving company came and took the game pod Ruo Yu had left at Brother Jue's house. Feng Bujue didn't say anything, just cooperated with them to complete the work.

As for Asathoth, he didn't leave anything behind, after all, this cat spent most of its time eating on the table, and he knew how to use the human toilet...

In short, in just two days, Feng Bujue had returned to his previous solitary state.

He consoled himself by saying... finally, he didn't have to sleep on the sofa and in the game pod anymore; finally, he could have his room back; finally, he didn't have to share a bathroom with others; finally, he didn't have to cook and clean every day; finally... he was so free again.

Free?

Maybe.

Lonely?

He didn't think so before, but now... maybe.

【Limited-time trial has started, your remaining game time is 47:59:30】

When Feng Bujue walked to the touchscreen, this prompt sounded first.

Immediately afterward, another line came: 【You have been granted the right to re-select a title once. You can choose one of all the titles you have used before and adopt it, or retain your current title.】

Before the voice finished, a game menu automatically popped up in front of Brother Jue. The menu listed a row of titles that Brother Jue had used, including... 【Cold-Blooded Headshot Maniac】, 【Unpredictable Madman】, 【Story Explorer】, 【Dark Vanguard】, 【Hatred Seeker】, and the 【Treacherous Schemer】 he was currently using; in addition, there was a "Pending" option, which meant... he didn't have to choose immediately, he could think about it, anyway, this right could be retained for twenty-four hours.

"Hmm... the game menu has been upgraded too..." Feng Bujue muttered, moving his gaze. When he moved the focus to a certain title, a small window would immediately expand next to that title, listing its inherent title abilities and detailed descriptions.

Brother Jue didn't bother to look closely at each option, because he remembered all the abilities of these titles very clearly. Therefore, he chose the title 【Dark Vanguard】 almost without hesitation.

【You have selected—Dark Vanguard】The next second, the voice prompt sounded again, and the "Confirm" and "Cancel" options popped up in front of Brother Jue.

After choosing confirm, his title immediately changed, and the system also prompted: 【Your title has been changed】.

After completing this, Feng Bujue's expression didn't change much, he stared blankly at the touchscreen, preparing to join the queue...

Normally, Brother Jue might have gone to the storage room to prepare, or cleaned up his emails as usual, but not today... he wasn't in the mood.

There was only one thing he wanted to do now—throw himself into the world of a single-player nightmare scenario, and focus his attention on the plot and puzzles. That was better than thinking wildly all day and adding to his troubles.

【Feng Bujue, Level 50】

【Please select the game mode you want to join.】

【You have selected single-player survival mode (Nightmare), please confirm.】

【Confirmed, scenario generating…】

【Loading begins, please wait.】

At this point, Feng Bujue had lost control of his body and was being transported.

"Welcome to... Thriller Paradise..." Immediately afterward, he heard a hoarse, young man's voice in his ears.

【Loading complete, you are currently in single-player survival mode (Nightmare).】

【This mode provides a scenario introduction and has a chance to trigger side hidden quests and special worldviews.】

【Scenario completion reward: Randomly draw four puzzle cards】

【Scenario introduction will be played soon, the game will start immediately after playback is complete.】

Squeak—creak—

Accompanied by the sound of a metal door being pushed open, the opening CG began.

Feng Bujue saw a corridor. The corridor was made of cement, with a dim gray tone, and above was a row of white, old-looking hanging lights.

"Haa... cough..." Then, a heavy breathing sound entered Brother Jue's ears.

At the same time, the camera began to move forward at a slightly undulating, slow speed.

Up to this point, Feng Bujue could confirm that he was watching the CG from the perspective of "a character in a scenario," and the breathing sound he heard was the character's own voice.

【In the 1940s, a top-secret experimental plan was launched in an underground experimental base.】

"The forties..." Feng Bujue's mind raced, "The Manhattan Project? Unit 731 in Japan? Or one of the countless disastrous attempts of some German leader?"

【A group of scientists from the former Soviet Union decided to conduct an experiment on "what kind of reactions humans would have after being deprived of sleep."】

"Oh~" Feng Bujue understood as soon as the narrator's second sentence was finished, "The Soviet Sleep Experiment."

Brother Jue also knew a little about this so-called "Soviet Sleep Experiment," but it was hard to say what kind of scenario Thriller Paradise would generate... so Feng Bujue still listened attentively to the narrator's introduction.

【They selected five political prisoners from World War II as experimental subjects.】

【These people were told that as long as they could stay awake for thirty consecutive days, they would be granted freedom...】

Clang—

Suddenly, the sound of metal collision came from behind the camera.

Almost in the same instant, the camera suddenly turned one hundred and eighty degrees, but in the picture... there was still only the dim corridor, no one.

"Haa... haa..." The panting became more and more rapid, and it could be heard that the protagonist of this CG was very afraid. Although he didn't see anything when he turned around to confirm, he (judging from the panting, it was a man) still quickened his pace.

【They were locked in a sealed room, and the room continuously contained a gas that could keep people excited.】

【The scientists communicated with them through portholes and microphones.】

Thump thump thump—

Two seconds later, another strange noise sounded, this time it sounded like footsteps.

"Oh... God... please..." The man leading the CG picture from a first-person perspective muttered a line in a very low voice, with a sobbing tone, and began to run forward.

【They had enough food to last for a month, some books, running water, a toilet, and a few beds.】

【And so, the experiment began…】

"Haa... haa... almost there... almost there! You can do it, Andrei... you won't die here..." Andrei introduced himself through self-talk and staggered towards a corner ahead.

And then…

"Ah—"

The CG screen shook violently as the scream came out, and the lights in the corridor disappeared.

Then, in that oppressive darkness, a face like a dried corpse flashed in the camera; he… or rather “it” … had an excited smile on his face.

After this fleeting, yet hair-raisingly terrifying scene, the scenario introduction came to an end.

This also meant… the scenario had already begun.

【Main quest triggered】

The system prompt came quickly. Feng Bujue had just regained control of his body, and the voice prompt sounded in his ear.

He used less than a second to confirm the following:

First, the backpack and skill bar were locked, and psionic weapons could not be used.

Second, his physical fitness was now the same as that of ordinary people, equipment buffs were ineffective, and the data perspective was sealed.

Third, the content of the quest was—【Escape from the experimental base】.

“Can’t see anything…” In the second second after regaining consciousness, Feng Bujue began to feel around the ground.

At this moment, he was sitting with his back against the wall. According to the touch on his hand, he should be sitting on a cement floor.

It was pitch black in front of him, and he couldn't see his fingers. As an experienced Thriller Paradise player, Feng Bujue knew very well... in such a starting condition, there was a high probability that lighting equipment such as a flashlight was scattered beside him.

Snap—

Five seconds later, Brother Jue indeed felt something on the ground not far to his right—a cold hand.

Everyone can imagine, after watching a first-person horror video, a person is immediately thrown into a dark and unfamiliar environment, and then immediately touches a cold hand on the ground... if you were this person, what would you react at this time?

Anyway, Feng Bujue's reaction was... to continue to touch along the hand.

Soon, he successively touched sleeves, collars, and viscous liquid... he didn't know what these liquids were, but he was sure it wasn't blood, because this thing had neither a bloody smell nor that kind of viscosity.

Brother Jue didn't stop his movements because of the disgusting feel, he touched down as if nothing had happened. After a few more seconds, he realized that the other party was wearing a pocketless garment, the texture was similar to thermal underwear, but thicker than ordinary thermal underwear.

“A straitjacket for the mentally ill?” When Brother Jue touched his waist, he made this speculation.

His hands and feet were extremely fast. In less than five seconds, he found the straps and locks behind the clothes, verified his inference, and found... the person he touched was missing his right foot and head, and the shape of the two wounds was a bit strange. It was difficult to judge by touch, he had to find a way to "see" it.

"Nothing..." After touching the corpse all over and the surrounding area within a radius of one meter, Feng Bujue still didn't find any lighting equipment. In fact... besides a handful of unknown liquid, he didn't find anything... which made him a little disappointed.

However, Brother Jue didn't think there was anything strange about this situation, nightmare difficulty... was unreasonable in the first place.

"If it's not at hand, then I have to expand the search area..." Feng Bujue thought, stood up, and supported the wall next to him with his hand, "The most efficient way to find out the approximate volume of this space is undoubtedly to shout, but if you do this... in all likelihood, it will attract monsters."

Brother Jue had already paid attention to the "sound" part. From the moment he regained the ability to move until now, he had tried his best to remain quiet. Not only was he quiet when searching the corpse, but he even controlled his breathing, so he would definitely not choose to shout.

"Look along the wall..." After thinking for a few seconds, Feng Bujue made this decision.

At this time, most people would probably choose to explore from the left-hand side, because people's subconscious minds would have the idea of ​​"staying away from the corpse means staying away from danger." But Brother Jue was different, he directly crossed the corpse and went along the right-hand wall.

As a result, after walking about three meters, he touched something on the wall…

“A switch?” It was a very typical U-shaped light switch, which you would know as soon as you touched it, but Feng Bujue hesitated for a second, because his experience and intuition told him, “The moment you turn it on… something will happen, right?”

Of course, even if he knew this, there was no reason not to turn on this switch.

Two seconds later, Feng Bujue slightly adjusted his posture and breathing, changed to a state of leaning against the wall, and then... flipped the switch up.

Click—

Accompanied by a flick, the blazing white light came on.

What came into Feng Bujue's sight was a square room with a side length of about eight meters, and the light was emitted by a light bulb at the top of the room.

This room was almost empty, and its only exit was a metal door; the door was next to the light switch, and Feng Bujue could touch the door frame if he walked two more steps forward.

In addition… although there were no windows in this room, there was a mirror on the wall opposite Feng Bujue.

It was a large mirror two meters wide and one meter high. The mirror body was completely embedded in the cement wall, and the bottom edge was about one meter off the ground.

For some reason, the moment Feng Bujue's gaze touched the mirror surface, he had a feeling... at this moment, on the other side of the mirror, someone... or rather, something... was looking at him.