Thriller Paradise

Haunted swamp, a place of horrible stench. Under the wash of the moonlight, the terrain was clearly visible. Instead of calling it a swamp, the place was more like a giant shit hole… The swamp was filled with dark brown, sticky object of refuse. They kept wiggling and bubbling to the surface, fermenting this suffocating smell. On the surface of the swamp, were many narrow muddy paths. The paths spread out like blood capillaries. They intertwined and had no fixed pattern to them but the players would need to navigate them. After the five players left the mocking forest, they arrived at the edge of the swamp.

By then, Uncle Worthless had already put on the Helm of the Pessimist. He took the step forward to stand at the front of the group, holding his breath. After some looking around, he removed the helmet and put on his glasses. He announced, "When I was wearing the helmet, a half transparent 'path of light' that is green in color will appear."

"Hmm… then… if we go along this path of light that is only visible to the disciple of Walker, we should be able to pass this swamp safely right." Ambitionist asked.

"Urgh…" Right then, Atobe reached his limit and… vomited. But his stomach was empty and only a puddle of liquid came out.

"Hey, hey… are you alright?" Ambitionist tilted his head to look at him and asked.

"Hah… Hah…" Atobe caught his breath and spat twice to remove the stomach acid that stuck to his lips. Then he replied, "Even after that… I do not feel any better! It is still so disgusting!"

"I'd advise you to get used to it as soon as you can…" Feng Bujue's chilling voice began. "Soon you will need to walk along those mud paths on the surface of the swamp, then, the smell in the air will be thicker." He scoffed. "Hmph… if you can't resist the smell now, then you'll be in great danger later…"

"What… what kind of danger?" Pegasus who stood next to Brother Jue nervously.

"Isn't it obvious?" Feng Bujue turned to point at the swamp before them. "If you're influenced by the smell and that causes your focus to lower and your reflex to go dull, what if… during the journey, you slip…"

"Can you not put that image into my mind?!" Atobe's expression shifted and he roared angrily. At this point, Pegasus' face was white as he mumbled to himself, "Damn it… as a hero, I shan't allow myself to die at a place like this…"

"Indeed… that would be a horrible way to go…" Even Uncle Worthless added darkly. Ambitionist concurred. "And under that circumstance, probably no one will help… because they might get sucked down into the swamp."

"he he… Looks like you guys have realized the true danger of this shit swamp." Feng Bujue chuckled warmlessly. "Indeed, what we are going to face is… the most horrible way to die in this world—drowning in shit!"

"Can you not make it sound so ceremonial?!" Atobe roared. "And before that… this place is called 'Haunted Swamp' right? Even if it is filled with shit, it should still be called Haunted Swamp!"

"Just one wrong move…" Feng Bujue ignored the young man and continued. "…and it would be a one way ticket to hell." One wondered how he managed to keep a straight face. "If you accidentally fall into it, do not expect anyone to come save you, or at least do not expect me to do anything."

"Well, that sure is heartless of you…" Uncle Worthless added. "But I will have to admit I am thinking the same thing…"

"Even if you manage to crawl out on your own, I believe you'll be abandoned by your teammates…" Feng Bujue continued.

"Don't you worry about that, if I do fall, I will quit immediately…" Pegasus said with determination. Ambitionist pushed on his glasses. "That is my plan as well."

"I will not fall." Cold sweat was trailing down Uncle Worthless' sideburn. "if I am that unlucky to slip… I will force quit before I hit the surface of the swamp."

"Qie… I've been meaning to quit since 2 hours ago…" Atobe grumbled with a long face and narrowed eyes.

"Oh right…" When Feng Bujue heard that, he was reminded of something. He turned around to face an empty space and pushed both of his fists out in a punch.

"Hey, that was your third time doing that right?" Ambitionist astutely noticed it, he said, "if my memory serves me right… you will do that every one hour." He paused as his expression changed. "You told us it was for some kind of 'warm up'… but you're actually training some kind of skill, right?"

"Fine… you have me exposed." Feng Bujue replied expressionlessly. "Yes, I am training for the legendary skill, breast-squeezing dragon's claw. Hmph… even if you get down on your knees to beg me, I will not teach it to you."

"Do you think I'll buy that?!" Ambitionist fired back. "Such a ridiculous skill why not exist in this game! Even if it does… other than yourself, who would think of learning it?!"

"Enough, let's not waste time on that unimportant stuff." Brother Jue changed the subject. "there's one hour left to the end of the time limit to complete the mission… since we're taking the shortcut, there should be enough time. If there's no accident, we should be able to pass this swamp in under half an hour and reach our destination." His eyes scanned the group. "Gentlemen… with the fear and pride towards shit in your heart, let's get moving!"

"Hmm… In any case, we should decide the order we go through the swamp first." Uncle Worthless began. "The mud paths are very narrow, we will need to walk in a single file." He patted his head. "I will lead the way and then after that…"

"I will bring up the rear." Ambitionist said, "I have okay sleuthing mastery and wide range of view. Standing at the back enables me to watch the whole area and can prevent attack from the surrounding with long ranged weapon."

"I will follow behind Uncle Worthless then." Pegasus said.

Atobe turned to look at Feng Bujue, "Then we have the third and fourth place left. You want to go before or after me?"

"I'm not going with the rest of you." Feng Bujue gave a surprising answer.

"What?" Everyone had the same reaction.

"You guys go on ahead. I wish to explore this swamp further." Feng Bujue replied. "Based on my many years of gaming experience, this kind of maze that is made up of horrible environment that would people want to leave as soon as possible normally will have quite a few good equipment or items hidden in them. Most of them will be hidden at some dead end… I'm going to go find them."

"Hey… are you joking?" Uncle Worthless asked. "Isn't the plot quite clear enough already? The players will follow the route pointed out by the Helm of the Pessimist and they will pass this place safely. The other paths might… lead to traps."

"Yes… perhaps you might trip or being dragged by something down below if you stray from the safe path…" Ambitionist warned.

"I have never planned to step on those paths anyway." Feng Bujue shrugged. "I can float about 1 metre above the swamp." Then he turned to depart. "If necessary, I can suspend myself for a while in the air. If that fails… I can walk on the shit water." He said as he looked around the swamp. "To put it simply, as long as my feet is facing down, I will not fall into the swamp."

"Hmm… if it is another person, I would have try to stop them…" Ambitionist said after giving it some thought. "But in this case… since you are so eager to do so, then go ahead."

"Hmph…" Feng Bujue smiled proudly. "When I explored Black Dragon Pool without Chen Ying, you were still playing with your fingers."

"Huh?" Ambitionist looked at him confusedly.

The others didn't get Brother Jue's meaning either. They looked at each other with plan confusion. For them, the game from the DOS era was indeed too unfamiliar, or else they would have recognized Yakyuken already.

"Eh, that's all." Feng Bujue pinched his nose, arched his body. "Don't need to wait for me. Just go in after you reach the shrine of faith, I will catch up." Then Brother Jue kicked underneath him and cut through the air.

He used multiple Geppo to maintain a steady 1 metre height about the swamp surface and like a dragonfly dotting on the surface of water, he slowly disappeared from view…