Chapter 18 A Test of Wits

In the darkness, Honghu waited anxiously.

From his perspective, Tianma Xingkong, Feng Bujue, and Atobe were all standing beneath the hanging corpse, holding their flashlights motionless.

Clearly, Feng Bujue's guess had once again proven correct. This monster really did possess some kind of area-of-effect control skill.

Fortunately, Honghu hadn't gone with them; otherwise… a total wipeout was indeed likely.

Time ticked by, and the pressure was entirely on Honghu.

Suddenly, a system notification rang in his ears: [Team member: Atobe, has died.]

Almost simultaneously with the voice, Atobe vanished into white light…

"Sigh… looks like it's time to act according to the situation…" Honghu sighed as he raised his flashlight and looked around.

In this isolated and helpless situation, he himself was also in danger. Who knew what else was lurking in the darkness… so he needed to check his surroundings first, before taking action.

"Well… I'll just try attacking once for now…" Having prepared himself, Honghu placed the flashlight on the ground, took out his weapon, and nocked an arrow.

After a brief aiming period, a light arrow shot out…

Honghu's Archery Specialization was already at the A-level, and he was using a bow-type weapon (which had better controllability than firearms), so hitting a fixed target at this distance was virtually impossible to miss.

A second later, the light arrow streaked through the air and hit the corpse's chest squarely.

However… this arrow didn't stay in the corpse's body, but passed right through it…

"Hmm?" Honghu paused slightly, his eyes widening. A moment later, he mused, "An illusion?"

His deduction was correct. He could arrive at this conclusion using simple elimination… Light arrows were effective against both physical and spiritual bodies. Eliminating these two possibilities, the remaining possibility was—that the corpse was nothing more than an illusion.

"Hmph… playing these tricks, are we…" Honghu snorted coldly, then re-nocked an arrow, aiming at the rope above the hanging corpse.

*Chi*—Another arrow flew out, and this time… the light arrow successfully hit its target.

With just a slight touch, the rope snapped. As soon as the rope broke, the corpse hanging below also abruptly vanished.

In the same second, Tianma Xingkong trembled and jumped backward, muttering incoherently. After landing, he immediately adopted a fighting stance, looking around nervously.

"Oh? It's dispelled, huh…" Feng Bujue seemed surprisingly calm. He turned around, looked at Little Ma and Honghu, and then glanced at the game menu. "Hmm… Atobe's gone…"

"Just… just now, those…" Tianma Xingkong's fear hadn't subsided. His face was pale and slightly panicked as he looked at Brother Jue and asked, "…what was that all about?"

"Don't panic, it's all illusions," Feng Bujue replied casually, then turned his head and said loudly to Honghu in the distance, "Honghu, we're okay now."

"Hold on!" Honghu didn't believe him rashly. He remained where he was and called back, "Are you sure?"

His concern wasn't unreasonable. What if this scene was also part of the trap?

"Well…" Feng Bujue said, turning around and looking up at the severed rope hanging high above, "I'm really not sure…"

No sooner said than done… Before he finished speaking, Brother Jue stepped forward and leaped upward.

In a flash, he had firmly gripped the swaying severed rope and yanked it down with force…

"Ah—!" A wail suddenly rang out from above. Although it was just a cry, Tianma Xingkong immediately recognized the voice… it was the guy hanging on the rope.

Little Ma was immediately startled and raised his flashlight to scan upwards.

Earlier, when they looked, the other end of the rope was tied to a protruding crystal above. But now, when they shone the light on it, they discovered that on the outer edge of the crystal pillar… there was actually a bizarre creature clinging to it. And the "rope" was extending from this creature's mouth…

"Aiya, aiya, aiya… Alright! Stop pulling! Let go!" The creature spoke several times in a row. Its tone wasn't sinister at all now; it even sounded rather amiable.

"I can let go," Feng Bujue said, "if you come down."

"No way, you're up to no good!" the creature replied.

"Come down," Brother Jue said again. "I promise I won't beat you to death."

"I don't believe you!" the guy above shouted, "You crazy thi-ing (because its tongue was being pulled, it couldn't pronounce the word properly)!"

"No, I'm not a crazy thing…" Feng Bujue said in a very indifferent tone, and then… suddenly grinned, grabbed the "rope" with both hands, and began to swing his body wildly. "…I'm Tarzan! Aah—aah-aah~aah-aah~aah-aah~aah-aah…"

Brother Jue imitated the signature roar of Tarzan (the protagonist of the novel *Tarzan of the Apes* by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs) in the animated version, swinging back and forth in mid-air…

And the bizarre creature on the crystal uttered cries of anguish in almost the same tone…

This scene left the onlookers Tianma Xingkong and Honghu somewhat at a loss… but Honghu quickly came to his senses and strode towards them. Because Brother Jue's actions at least announced one thing—the danger had indeed been dispelled.

In the end, the guy above came down. If it hadn't, its "tongue" would probably have been torn out by the roots.

"Let me introduce you all. This is one of the four guardians of Chew Demon Island… the Heart of Fear," Feng Bujue said, pointing to the strange creature that had fallen to the ground.

It turned out… that the Heart of Fear wasn't shaped like a "heart." Overall, it looked more like a pitch-black gecko, two meters long.

"Is it the one who killed Atobe?" Honghu frowned and asked.

"Saying 'killed' isn't accurate…" Feng Bujue replied. "Atobe died because his fear value exceeded the limit, which means… he was scared out of the script."

"Oh… so those illusions were created by this guy…" Little Ma belatedly added.

The Heart of Fear flipped over on the ground at this moment, glaring at Brother Jue and saying, "Can you pleathe let go of my ton-gue?"

"Of course," Feng Bujue immediately released the "rope" and continued, "See, I'm a man of my word."

"Oh really? It turns out you really are a 'man'?" The Heart of Fear retracted its tongue into its mouth and replied in a mocking tone, "Then I can only suggest that you go see a psychiatrist…"

"I have, several top psychiatrists and neurologists consulted together," Feng Bujue replied.

The Heart of Fear lowered its voice: "So… you're still in treatment?"

"No, the treatment has already ended," Brother Jue said again.

"Uh… why did you give up treatment?" the Heart of Fear asked.

"Because after a while, those psychiatrists and neurologists also became patients," Feng Bujue shrugged.

"Excuse me for interrupting this god-like conversation…" Honghu couldn't listen anymore and interjected, "Can one of you explain what just happened…"

"Does that even need explaining?" the Heart of Fear said. "I just casually found a place, put down some 'bait' to hunt, and then met you guys."

"Oh… so the situation is… you ambushed us and killed one of our companions…" Honghu recited. "And now… you've fallen into our hands."

"That's right," the Heart of Fear replied.

"I really admire your straightforward and open-minded attitude…" Honghu said with narrowed eyes.

"Alright! Since you admit it, then we'll settle our scores and avenge ourselves!" After a few minutes, Tianma Xingkong had basically shaken off the shadows of fear and returned to normal. So, he stepped forward, pointed at the gecko on the ground, and shouted, "You scared me for so long! It's a good thing I'm brave and didn't die. Now it's my turn, right? Feel the fury of a hero…"

"Don't be impulsive," Feng Bujue raised his hand to stop Little Ma. "It's useless to beat it to death… Atobe won't come back to life." He paused for a moment. "Besides… it's not 'it' who's scaring you, it's you scaring yourself."

"Huh?" Tianma Xingkong was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"Let me explain," the Heart of Fear interjected. "Earlier, when you walked over, I activated my ability—'Source of Tremors'. After that, what you saw, heard, touched, etc… basically depended on your imagination…" It shifted its feet, pacing back and forth. "For example… when you approached the 'bait' I put out, you were very concerned about his face, so you started imagining… the scenes that might appear next, the changes that might occur, etc… Of course, these are just the triggers… The truly terrifying things are the things you don't even dare to think about… Those things only exist in your subconscious, that's the change that the Source of Tremors will guide out."

The Heart of Fear said, raising its flat head and looking at Little Ma: "You're lucky, your subconscious has relatively limited memories of terror, which limited the space for imagination, so you didn't die. Heh… the other kid, was different…"

"In short… Atobe has seen a lot more horror movies and horror novels than you, so his mind could brew up more elaborate horror scenes." Feng Bujue was worried that Little Ma wouldn't understand, so he immediately added two more sentences of explanation.

"So what! No matter what the principle, it was still you who activated the ability!" Tianma Xingkong said sharply to the Heart of Fear.

"Tch… I didn't force you to walk into the range of my ability. You could have detoured or gone back," the Heart of Fear retorted unconvincingly. "Who can you blame for walking into the trap yourself?"

"Hey! Are you saying we deserved it then?" Tianma Xingkong asked.

"Take it easy…" Feng Bujue advised in a deep voice. "Actually… we do have some responsibility." His tone was calm, making people want to listen. "This place can easily trigger a team wipe (dialogue between players about the game itself, which NPCs of the Heart of Fear's level can't hear, it will be blocked by the system), so… the system gave us a hint in the previous plot."

Brother Jue paused for two seconds, then repeated the Imitator's Soul's advice: "'If you encounter the Heart of Fear, it's best to run away as soon as possible. You humans can't fight it.'" He shrugged and continued, "At first, I was wondering, if the Heart of Fear used its 'ability' to attack us, could we really run? If we could run, then wouldn't the Hand of Replication's 'Rock-Paper-Scissors Domain' be unnecessary? Heh… now I understand, it means we shouldn't actively walk into the trap."

"So, we're just going to let it go?" Tianma Xingkong asked, sounding somewhat unwilling.

"Hey~ As a hero, you have to know how to forgive others." Feng Bujue lectured earnestly, like he was teaching a child. "I suggest you watch more of Kwan Tak-hing's *Wong Fei-hung* series, that's called benevolence and chivalry. As long as someone is willing to repent and says, 'Master Wong, I was wrong,' he'll spare their life…"

"I'm not wrong," the Heart of Fear interrupted before Brother Jue could finish speaking. "Even if I kill all of you, it's within my duty and authority."

Silence… descended…

Tianma Xingkong and Honghu suddenly put on expressions of sympathy, silently staring at the Heart of Fear.

"Wha… what are you doing?" The gecko's back was suddenly struck by a chill.

"Heh…" At this moment, Feng Bujue curled up one corner of his mouth, smiled evilly, and turned his head; with an incomparably cold gaze, he stared at the Heart of Fear…

…………

Fifteen minutes later.

"Sigh~ No zuo no die, this saying is really not wrong at all." Tianma Xingkong smacked his lips, chewing on the uniquely textured "gecko" meat.

"Just hearing the name, I thought it would be a sinister and terrifying guy, but it turned out to be so straightforward," Honghu also ate the grilled meat and sighed. "So pathetic."

"Saying those lines without wiping your mouth clean will make you lose your integrity," Feng Bujue quipped while stuffing a juicy strip of meat into his mouth.

At this time, the three had already built a fire. They sat down in place, using the Heart of Fear's corpse to make grilled meat…

It had indeed been two and a half hours since they had last eaten. Feng Bujue believed that replenishing food every 150 minutes was very important; as long as this rhythm wasn't broken, the consumption of physical energy could be maintained in the state of a normal script.

Another thing that needs to be mentioned is… Before Feng Bujue took action to kill the Heart of Fear, he pretended not to want to embarrass the other party and conducted a negotiation.

In short… he used "you killed one of our companions" as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Heart of Fear, successfully extracting the method to reach the "Cage of Despair."

After achieving his goal, Feng Bujue made his move… then it was a one-stop service of killing, cutting, and grilling, along with blood-drinking play, not worth mentioning…

In short, after paying the price of one teammate, the main quest finally had a glimmer of hope.

The remaining three rested briefly, and after they were full of blood and meat, they set off again.

They didn't rest for long this time, partly because it was dark, and partly because resolving the Heart of Fear hadn't consumed much of their physical energy.

Feng Bujue's analysis in the sacrificial hall was very correct. Among the four guardians, the strongest was the Imitator's Soul. The other guys were simply not worth mentioning. Although the guardians were each endowed with a rather heaven-defying special ability (the Hand of Replication's Rock-Paper-Scissors Domain, the Imitator's Soul's Mimic Transformation, the Heart of Fear's Source of Tremors), apart from that, the Imitator's Soul's innate racial ability was undoubtedly the strongest.

"Ah!" After the three set off again, Tianma Xingkong suddenly exclaimed and turned to look at Brother Jue. "I almost forgot to ask… how did you survive the 'Source of Tremors'?"

"Tch… so easily startled… I thought you were going to ask something, it's just that, huh…" Feng Bujue replied weakly.

"I'm also very curious," Honghu interjected from the side. "Speaking of imagination and the memory reserves of various horror elements… you can be said to be at the grandmaster level. Facing your brain hole, even I am willing to admit defeat…" He paused, his expression slightly changing. "You should be the least likely person to survive the Source of Tremors, right?"

"Oh? Is that what you think?" Feng Bujue replied without batting an eye.

Honghu continued, "Yes… also, why did the Heart of Fear say you were crazy? Judging from your conversation, in the illusion, you and it had already had many exchanges, hadn't you?"

"Heh… actually, it's not a big deal." Feng Bujue used a platitude to buy himself about two seconds. In those two seconds, he had already compiled a set of arguments in his mind, the content of which was half true and half false, which should be able to cover up the fact that he had no fear. "Because when I see abnormal situations, my first reaction is not to panic or be afraid, but to think about the reason."

As he spoke, he raised his right hand and tapped his temple with his index finger: "This habit is deeply rooted. Even if the other party constantly guides out the things I fear, as long as I can maintain rationality and calmness, I can resist it in the illusion." He paused. "Let me give you a simple example… One day, you get up to brush your teeth, open the faucet, and find that shit is flowing out…"

"Dare you change the example?" Tianma Xingkong interrupted.

"Okay, blood is flowing out," Feng Bujue changed his words. "At this time, what would you do?"

"Rationally analyze the situation, tell myself… I'm dreaming, and then try to wake up." Honghu thought as he spoke. "Well… if I really can't wake up, then I'll use the blood to brush my teeth and wash my face, pretending that this is water, anyway, it's all an illusion."

Feng Bujue smiled and nodded, but said, "Wrong."

"Huh?" Honghu was stunned.

"You're thinking too much," Feng Bujue said. "If I encountered that situation, my thinking would instinctively make one reaction."

"What is it?"

"Turn off the faucet."

"Hmm…" Honghu and Tianma Xingkong both fell into contemplation.