Thriller Paradise

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

"Download complete. You are currently playing Team Survival Mode (Normal). A scenario introduction is provided in this mode, and there is a chance of triggering a side or hidden mission and special world-building.

"Reward for clearing the scenario: During rating review, you will gain an additional eighty percent EXP.

"Playing the scenario introduction. The game will start right after."

The introductory CG had already started. The lights were dim, and the camera angle was teetering wildly. One could hear the sound of water and an engine running, signs that they were on a boat. That was further confirmed when the system audio said, "On this tropical night, the ship that you were on was shrouded in a thick yet warm darkness.

"You are a big-game hunter who managed to notice that, on the right side of the ship, there was the presence of an island as you squinted through the dank tropical night. The captain told you that the old charts call it 'Ship-trap Island'. The sailors had a curious dread of the place, for a reason that you could not understand, believing that it was some kind of nautical superstition.

"One superstitious sailor can taint the whole ship's company with his fear.

"Your ship sank, and you tried your best to swim toward the island in the dark. You were alone and helpless, floating in the sea, but eventually, you reached the rocky shore. You were almost on the rocks before you saw them. On a night less calm, you would have been shattered against them. With your remaining strength, you dragged yourself from the swirling waters. Jagged crags appeared to jut up into the opaqueness; you forced yourself upward, hand over hand. Gasping, your hands raw, you reached a flat place at the top. Dense jungle came down to the very edge of the cliffs. You were too tired to power on. You flung yourself on the floor and tumbled into sleep.

"When you opened your eyes, you knew from the position of the sun that it was late in the afternoon. On the muddy land around the dense forest, you saw human footprints. Following this meager trail, you cut through the forest and came to the center of the forest, where a castle set on a tall cliff appeared before your eyes.

"Right then, night was beginning to settle down on the island."

After that, the players officially entered the scenario. Five players stood at the foot of a long stone staircase. The stars and moon showered them generously with their rays. Even without using their lamps, they could see everything clearly in this open space.

Passing Rain was standing next to Feng Bujue. Her apparel had changed, she was wearing a tight, black top and a pair of black cargo pants. There were many pockets lining the sides of the pants, providing her with many spaces to store small items. The shirt was sleeveless and sporty, which allowed her to move her arms freely. There was also a leather fingerless glove on her right hand, but it was absent on her left hand. Feng Bujue believed that was because Passing Rain used her right hand to grip the sword.

Even though the pants could not show the actual lines of her legs, upon close inspection, Feng Bujue could not help but notice that Passing Rain had a well-proportioned body. The tight waist formed a great contrast to her generous upper body. Then again, almost all the female characters appeared in this manner in the game. Furthermore, Passing Rain had already tweaked the setting so that she would not attract too much attention with her physical appearance.

Of the remaining three players, there was another female player. Her IGN was 'Not a Scaredy Cat', level sixteen, and her title was 'Hide-and-seeker'. She was wearing a witch's garb that would have been more appropriate in the middle ages. The robe reached her knees. She wore a pair of long boots and white silk stockings that went up to her legs. Since the game did not allow the players to wear dresses, underneath the robe, she was wearing a pair of short pants, which allowed her to show her legs.

Based on appearance, Not a Scaredy Cat looked around eighteen, with large eyes, a sharp nose, and small lips. Her skin was as fair as snow, and her body proportions were out of this world. In any case, normal-looking girls in real life could become goddesses in the game.

However, the overly cute IGN, title, and appearance made Feng Bujue cautious. He had a feeling that he was about to get set up.

The other two male players looked like they were from the same team. Both of them were level fifteen. One was called 'Conquering the Castle with One Sword', but his title was 'Rookie Swordsman'; the other was called 'Conquering the Castle with One Blade', but his title was 'First-time Blade Wielder'. Both of them looked around twenty, and not only were their IGNs similar, they were wearing the same type of outfit, with flowing cloth robes and long hair falling over their shoulders, looking just like the people from wuxia movies.

This reminded Feng Bujue of Pan Feng and Hwa Xiong, but these two's presence was miles away from the two GMs. They probably came up with their IGNs with their end goal in mind.

The most common tragedy that could happen to such players was their growth straying from their original goal. For example, after playing the game for a while, they realized that they were more familiar with a different field and ended up as a character with specialization in marksmanship or medicine; then, their IGNs would appear so out of place.

Of the group, Feng Bujue and Passing Rain were the lowest level, but their titles of Cold-blood Skull Cracker and Heartless Decapitator were eye-catching.

For Passing Rain, with her murderer-like gaze and the aura that pushed everyone around her away, and the appearance that was not that beautiful, at least compared to the other female players, strangers would come to this conclusion easily. This has to be a very ugly girl in real life, so her fighting capability must be over the moon in game.

However, Feng Bujue… did not appear that strong. When the other three saw him, they were all thinking, It's one thing for the man to not change his appearance. Perhaps he is that confident. But why didn't he change his hairstyle? And he's still wearing the default apparel after level 10. A normal appearance, thin frame, and a strange title… this man that looks so weak has a title that sounds quite powerful. Is he hiding his true power, or is he some kind of maniac in real life?

As the group of five greeted each other, they tried to gauge each other's power level. In just a few words, Not a Scaredy Cat widened her eyes while pointing at the badge on One Sword and One Blade's shoulders. "Wow, so you two are from the very popular guild, Jiang Hu!"

"Oh… That's right. Actually, it's nothing. It's just a name," One Sword replied, but his face said, No, it's everything. Admire us!

Feng Bujue glanced at their badges. The word Jiang Hu was written on a white cloud. This should be a gaming studio as well. Feng Bujue remembered seeing their name on both guild rankings—number seventeen on overall general ability and eleven on fighting ability.

However, Feng Bujue believed that these two were probably not actual employees at the studio. They were most likely common players recruited by the guild in their effort to expand. If they were the actual workers, their level would not just be level fifteen, and even if they were players who had just joined during the open beta, with the support of past experience from the other members and equipment from the guild, their titles would not be so weak.

In contrast, the girl with the title Hide-and-seeker caught Feng Bujue's attention. Jiang Hu's placement on both of the rankings was beyond level ten. For a normal player, remembering the list to the fifth or sixth place was already good enough because most would only have some impression of the first three guilds. Therefore, there were three explanations to her actions.

First, she was a professional player herself; second, she was a good player with an impressive memory; third, she had no idea that Jiang Hu was on the rankings. She did not even know about Jiang Hu before this, but once she saw the badges on the two's shoulders, she pretended to be swept by admiration and came up with a vague description like 'very popular', instead of naming their placing on the ranking directly.

These thoughts flashed through Feng Bujue's mind. Combining with the title of Hide-and-seeker, Feng Bujue only used three seconds to come to a conclusion. He quickly leaned to Passing Rain's side and used a volume that was only audible to the two of them to say, "Once there's a chance, we'll need to separate ourselves from these three. We especially have to stay away from that 'Not a Scaredy Cat'."

Passing Rain glanced at Feng Bujue. She did not ask why and chose to believe him unconditionally. "Okay."

Their expressions did not change when they chatted, and their lips did not even move, so naturally, the other three did not turn their attention this way.

In the next few minutes, Not a Scaredy Cat practically poured her admiration out at the two guys. She praised them endlessly, and it did not take long for One Sword and One Blade to float off the ground. Actually, they had just joined the guild that afternoon and were nowhere near the core of the guild, but with the praise of the beautiful girl, they were given a confidence boost. They were both thinking, We might not be able to compare with the bosses at our guild, and that is only natural because they are professional players, but compared to this other male player in our group… that Feng Bujue, I'm still much stronger. He can't even afford to purchase apparel. Just how sad that is. No wonder no guild wants to have him.

Human psychology was that interesting. In a small group, especially when in the presence of an alluring member of the opposite sex, people would instinctively find another member who was weaker than themselves in a certain respect to conduct an internal comparison to search for a sense of superiority. Actually, that was merely a sense of security, a self-delusion at that. It was like someone telling themself, "At least I'm not the worst."

Several minutes later, an NPC appeared, signaling the end of the players' preparation time. The scenario was about to begin.

With a heavy creak, the castle door opened. Light poured through the gap, blinding their eyes. A large man holding a revolver slowly walked toward them.

The man was a gigantic creature, solidly made with a black beard that reached his waist. His presence was immense, and combined with the weapon that he was holding, everyone became tense.