Chapter 1 The Inverted Entrance

The mansion's main door was a simple, outward-swinging design, just a single leaf, but wider than a typical door. Feng Bujue walked up, grasped the handle, and pushed gently. The heavy wooden door moved.

Japanese houses usually have a genkan (entryway) behind the door. After walking a few more steps into the house, there's a corridor, so guests can't see the living room as soon as they enter. European-style houses, on the other hand, often let guests see a very spacious foyer as soon as they step inside.

This mansion, whether in its external structure or garden design, displayed a strong European style. So, Feng Bujue naturally assumed that a very spacious area would be behind the door.

But what awaited him was a wall.

The flashlight's beam shone inside, and the width of the door allowed everyone to see the situation inside... About five meters from the door was a wall, with dark corridors on either side, extending left and right, their destinations unknown.

The entrance to this mansion was actually shaped like a "回" (hui - return) character, which was neither Japanese nor European, but simply an illogical design.

After pushing the door open, Feng Bujue didn't move forward. He seemed stunned, standing there with his flashlight, silent and motionless.

Brave Invincible peered over his shoulder, noticing that the beam of Feng Bujue's flashlight was fixed on the wall facing the door and hadn't moved for a long time.

"What's wrong?" Ye Zhi looked at Feng Bujue's face from the side and back, noticing that he seemed to be frowning in thought.

"I've seen this before..." Feng Bujue replied softly, his attention still fixed on the wall.

Brave Invincible looked closely at the illuminated part of the wall, and he could vaguely make out what might be a magic circle drawn there.

"Bro... Don't tell me... In real life, you're a magician..." Brave Invincible said.

"You have quite the imagination," Feng Bujue replied casually. "Compared to 'magician,' the guess of 'a follower of some strange cult' is more reliable, right..." He paused, his expression changed, and then he smiled. "That's right... I remember now, I saw it there!" He turned to look at Brave Invincible. "Do you remember the first script we met in?"

Brave Invincible pondered for a few seconds and asked, "The haunted house built next to the mountain pond?"

"Exactly," Feng Bujue said, his tone strangely jovial. "On the attic floor of that haunted house, there was also a magic circle, exactly the same as the one on the wall in front of us. Heh... And in that script, the source of the entire house's illusionary power was that magic circle."

Before anyone could react to these words, a gray ghostly figure suddenly appeared in the narrow area behind the door. At the same time, a piercing shriek drilled into the players' eardrums. A terrifying face lunged forward, its right arm extended, aimed directly at Feng Bujue's throat.

Feng Bujue, standing at the front, was fine, but the five behind him were all startled.

Classics never go out of style. This kind of sudden jolt is an indispensable core scare tactic in horror movies and games, tried and tested, and always effective.

Plot, lengthy buildup, time and space left for the audience to imagine, psychological suggestion, etc... Ultimately, it's all for that one moment of explosion.

Sudden, startling, simple, and direct scare tactics, appearing at random times without warning, can also have a certain effect.

At this moment, the jump scare sent the terror values of the five players other than Feng Bujue soaring like a roller coaster. It was a sensation of sudden acceleration followed by gradual normalization, a feeling that Feng Bujue hadn't experienced in a long time...

The next second, Feng Bujue steadily caught the attacking ghost claw with one hand. He had the [Casey Jones' Mask] bonus, and his Fighting Specialization was at least D-level. Even if his skills were lacking in a knife-and-sword fight, he could still handle this level of attack.

The monster's hideous ghost face was now only inches away from Feng Bujue. It had no eyebrows, its eyes had no distinction between the whites and pupils, and even the eye sockets were blurry. Its eyes were two perfect circles of glowing white ghost pupils. Its one arm was caught, but it didn't seem flustered, instead revealing a sinister sneer.

In a flash, the monster's other hand struck like lightning, its withered, branch-like fingers stabbing straight at Feng Bujue's eye socket. The speed of this strike was unbelievable, impossible to avoid.

Brave Invincible, who was closest, had actually reacted and wanted to help. But for some reason, as soon as he raised his hand, he saw a formless, dark aura enveloping him, making it difficult to move. If he tried to concentrate and force himself to act, an even stronger sense of heavy oppression would immediately strike, inflicting a dizzying and drowsy effect.

The others also couldn't help, and they were obviously affected in the same way.

The monster in front of them, other monsters hiding in the shadows, the mansion itself, or the magic circle on the wall could all be the source of this influence. In short, the attack on the door opener was indeed a "one-hit kill flag." If it had been a player without the [Protagonist's Halo], they would probably have had to watch helplessly as their teammate was instantly killed.

But at this moment, the players got their first taste of the power of the Protagonist's Halo.

The blow that Feng Bujue couldn't defend against actually missed...

The monster didn't seem to understand what had happened. From its perspective, it had clearly aimed and struck the target, but in reality, it had hit the air.

"That works too?" Feng Bujue glanced at the hand that had brushed past his cheek, feeling a wisp of cold, ghostly wind against his skin, but still remained fearless.

The next second, he calmly put away his flashlight and sacrificed 2% of his Spiritual Value to summon the [Death Poker], muttering to himself, "Hmm... This thing seems pretty strong, might as well try Four of a Kind..." The cards didn't fly out, but were held in Feng Bujue's hand in a fan shape.

The moment the monster saw the Death Poker, it immediately knew things were going to go bad. It tried to escape, but Feng Bujue held its previously outstretched arm tightly, preventing it from breaking free.

A flash of card light swept across, and Feng Bujue slashed horizontally with the poker, leaving a trail of brilliance in the air, as if he was using a blade instead of cards. The parts of the monster's body that were struck by the Death Poker were indeed opened up like they had been cut by a sharp blade. The wounds didn't bleed, but a stream of black smoke flowed out of them.

Although this smoke was gaseous, it flowed downwards like water, without rising or spreading...