Chapter 1 Entering the Game

As soon as Feng Bujue entered the living room, he noticed that Ruoyu's gaming pod was lit up.

"Hmm… she actually logged in as if nothing happened… isn't she worried that I wouldn't come back…" Brother Jue muttered, looking at the gaming pod.

"It's just going to deal with some small fry ghost… and Bao Qing is with you, what could happen?" Asas, who was lying on the sofa, heard Feng Bujue's mumbling and responded in a timely manner.

"That's hard to say…" Feng Bujue said, "What if that ghost is hiding its strength or something…"

"You're already back… why are you still talking nonsense." Asas was too lazy to listen to his rambling.

"Alright, alright~" Brother Jue shrugged and ended the conversation.

Then, he quickly went to the bathroom to wash up, changed his clothes, and then lay down in his own gaming pod.

After setting the option of "instant connection after entering sleep mode," he closed his eyes…

When he opened his eyes, he was in the familiar login space.

"Tch… as expected, they're already in the game…" Feng Bujue opened the social bar and looked at his teammates' online status. "Oh well… there are only a few days left before the preliminaries, I'll improve as much as I can…"

Brother Jue and Bao Qing went to catch the ghost on the morning of August 27th.

In the previous ten days or so, the Hell Front team, under the "guidance" of their captain and coach Feng Bujue, had been constantly improving their teamwork awareness. In the past few days, they had stopped queuing for team practice matches and were instead making the most of their time by queuing for ordinary scripts, hoping to get more equipment and skills.

"So…" Feng Bujue said, while processing his emails, "...I'll just queue up for a script myself…"

After making up his mind, he casually sent a group email to his teammates, saying hello.

Then, he quickly dealt with the pile of trivial matters in front of him and clicked on the script menu…

"A while ago, I was either doing tactical analysis for practice matches (at least that's what he thought), or leading the team to farm team scripts (who was leading who is still debatable), it feels like… it's been a long time since I played a solo script…" As he spoke, his gaze had already shifted to the [Solo Survival Mode (Nightmare)] option. "Heh… you're the one."

As someone who saw ghosts in the game and also saw ghosts in reality; as someone who had lost his fear for half a year and had been involved in the supernatural world for several months… Feng Bujue had gradually developed a sense of intimacy with the word "nightmare." What nightmare mode? It was simply no pressure for him.

[Mad Detective, Level 50]

[Please select the game mode you wish to join.]

[You have selected Solo Survival Mode (Nightmare), please confirm.]

[Confirmed. Generating script…]

[Loading… Please wait.]

"Welcome to, Thriller Paradise." A hoarse, strange voice, like that of an electronic voice changer, spoke the opening line.

Before the voice faded, Feng Bujue had already lost control of his body, and his surroundings had turned pitch black.

[Loading complete. You are currently in Solo Survival Mode (Nightmare).]

[This mode provides a script introduction and has a chance to trigger side hidden quests and a special worldview.]

[Script completion reward: Puzzle Card *2.]

[The script introduction will now play, and the game will begin immediately after the playback.]

After the familiar voice prompt, the opening CG began.

This time, the opening was an image that put the viewer into the perspective of a certain character.

In the slightly blurred image, the first thing that appeared was a wall, a white wall that was close at hand.

"Number 250." A voice came from the left side of the screen.

It was a man's voice, speaking in English.

"Number 250!" Two seconds later, the voice repeated the sentence again.

At this time, the camera turned to the left, and in the picture appeared a bunk bed, iron railings, and a man wearing a prison guard uniform.

"Ho~ the number this protagonist got when he went to prison is really auspicious…" Feng Bujue couldn't help but complain after only seeing the beginning.

The next second, the "protagonist" in his mouth stood up and walked towards the prison guard, and the CG screen naturally followed his actions and moved in his first-person perspective.

"Is there something you need, officer?" Number 250 asked, his voice sounding very young, about the same age as Brother Jue, but he was also speaking English.

"Come with me." The prison guard replied with an impatient tone, and had already opened the cell door.

Then, the picture gradually darkened… when it lit up again, the scene had jumped to the next scene.

In a narrow room, Number 250 sat at a metal table, waiting for something…

Before long, the only door in the room opened, and a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes, with slicked-back hair and wearing sunglasses, walked in.

"Hey hey… is this guy from MiB (Men in Black)?" When Feng Bujue saw the other party's appearance, he couldn't help but think of a certain series of films.

"Are you Rudy Austin?" As soon as the man in the suit sat down, he threw out a question.

"Yes…" Number 250 admitted his identity. "Who are you…"

"You can just call me 'Officer'." The man in the suit continued in a very fast voice. "I'm here to make a deal. I can make this deal with you, or I can make it with someone else. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes, Officer." Austin replied.

"Very good." The man in the suit nodded slightly with a blank expression and continued, "Mr. Austin, you're twenty-four years old, right?"

"Twenty-five next month." Austin replied.

"For a prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment, you're a little too young." The man in the suit leaned forward slightly. "Don't you think?"

"It seems your deal can get me out of prison early." Austin's performance was relatively calm, and his reasoning was quite reliable.

"That's right." The man in the suit continued, "The content of the deal is very simple…" He paused for half a second before continuing, "There is currently a government research project that needs a group of grassroots operators. As long as you are willing to serve as an operator for this project, then… in a month, you'll be free."

After saying these few sentences, he quickly added, "Of course, this position is undoubtedly dangerous… and it's life-threatening." He said bluntly, "If you survive, you can shorten decades (most younger life-sentenced prisoners can leave prison alive) of imprisonment to just thirty days. It depends on whether you're willing to take the risk."

Austin was silent for more than ten seconds before saying, "What is this project?"

"You have no right to ask that question, and I have no right to answer you." The man in the suit replied.

"Who are you? FBI? CIA?" Austin asked again.

"I don't want to repeat what I just said." The man in the suit said again. "I don't want to waste time here with you anymore…" He stood up, turned his head and said, "Guard, open the door."

"Wait!" Austin panicked when he saw the other party was about to leave. "I'll go!"

As he said this, the picture went black again, and the scene changed again.

"You really have guts…" Feng Bujue took the opportunity to complain again. "This is obviously a conspiracy… you're bound to face certain death if you go!"

After the scene transition, a corridor appeared in the picture.

The walls of the corridor were all made of metal, and the lighting equipment was embedded in the ceiling. The white light was very bright, but the space gave people a sense of inexplicable oppression.

At this time, the camera was slowly moving forward in "Austin's perspective," and you could see… there were two men in orange jumpsuits (not tight-fitting clothes, but rather loose jumpsuits) in front of him. Both of these men had buzz cuts and were wearing handcuffs. From this, it could be inferred that Austin should also be in this state.

"Stop." After walking for a while, the three came to an electronic door at the end of the corridor, and a voice immediately came from behind them.

Austin turned his head at this time, and then, in the picture appeared three men armed with guns and wearing full-coverage special forces uniforms.

Chee—buzz—

Seconds later, accompanied by the sound of valve opening and mechanical rhythm, the electronic door opened.

A metal room with an area of more than one hundred square meters appeared in front of everyone. There were many staff members in white coats and protective masks standing in the room. At this time, they were busy in front of large computers connected to the wall.

"Go." After the door opened, the special forces issued another order.

The three orange-clothed personnel, including Austin, continued to move forward, all the way to a large metal door in the room.

After standing still, they waited for a minute. Then, that door also opened…

But seeing… behind the large metal door that rose upwards, stood three humans and a tall unknown creature, and Brother Jue had seen that unknown creature before—[SCP-173].

"Holy~ Crap!" Feng Bujue panicked when he saw what was behind the door. "What deal is this! So I was tricked into being a D-class personnel!"

His shouting would not have any impact on the development of the plot…

Right now, Austin and the other two D-class personnel were obviously preparing to switch shifts with the three people inside the door.

However, just as they were switching shifts, the lights in the entire room… went out.

About 1.5 seconds later, the red light of the backup power supply came on. But SCP-173 inside the door… was no longer in its position.

"Ah—" Immediately afterwards, a scream came from not far away.

Crack… thud.

What followed was the extremely clear sound of bones breaking and bodies falling.

It was also at this moment that the opening CG ended seamlessly, and Feng Bujue gained control of his body.