Chapter 1

【Feng Bujue, Level 48】

【Please select the game mode you wish to join.】

【You have selected Single Player Survival Mode (Nightmare), please confirm.】

【Confirmed, scenario is being generated…】

【Loading, please wait.】

At this system prompt, Feng Bujue lost control of his body and fell into darkness.

"Welcome to Thriller Paradise." The next second, a calm, composed female voice entered his ears.

【Loading complete, you are currently in Single Player Survival Mode (Nightmare).】

【This mode provides a scenario introduction and has a chance to present side quests, hidden missions, and special world settings.】

【Scenario Completion Reward: Randomly draw two puzzle cards.】

【The scenario introduction will now play. The game will begin immediately after playback.】

Before the voice finished speaking, the opening CG began.

The first thing Feng Bujue saw the instant his vision returned... was a windshield and a pair of windshield wipers swinging back and forth.

At the bottom edge of the screen, he also saw a pair of large hands gripping the steering wheel.

"A first-person perspective opening..." Brother Jue muttered to himself. "Looks like I'm playing a character again..."

【Hello, Mr. Dave.】 The narration quickly confirmed his speculation.

【Congratulations, you have stood out from many candidates and have obtained this interview opportunity.】 The narrator's voice sounded quite old and serious, but also conveyed a sense of cordiality.

"This is on the way to an interview..." Feng Bujue thought immediately.

【As the director of the Oltaku Town Post Office, I sincerely hope that you can successfully become one of our members.】

"I thought it was Silent Hill..." Feng Bujue complained as he looked at the white fog in front of the car. "The fog in this town is a bit too much... Even with the high beams on, I can only see five or six meters."

【Please be sure to arrive at my office before nine o'clock in the morning.】

【This interview may take a whole day. I hope you are fully prepared both mentally and physically.】

"Hey, hey... Even the Men in Black interview doesn't take a whole day..." Brother Jue thought. "Are you guys the Earth Defense Force disguised as a post office?"

【The post office is located on the north side of the town square. Please do not be late.】

【Finally, good luck.】

The opening of this scenario was not long, and it was over at this point.

In the same second, Feng Bujue regained control of his body.

He immediately eased off the accelerator, reduced the car's speed a little, and observed the character he was playing in the rearview mirror.

The man called "Dave" looked to be around thirty years old, with a generic face and clean, short hair. His clothes were very ordinary—a dark long-sleeved plaid shirt on his upper body, with a light-colored leather jacket over it; classic-style jeans on his lower body, paired with white sneakers.

"Hmm... no wedding ring, and no marks indicating he ever wore a ring." Feng Bujue muttered as he observed the details of "himself." "Judging from the calluses on his fingers and the base of his palm, this guy is a lefty..." He glanced at his right hand. On his right wrist was a watch that looked very cheap. "Brown leather strap, ordinary metal and glass case... covered in scratches on both the front and back, as well as the strap..." Almost as soon as he saw these details, he had made his deductions. "Combining the calluses on his hands and the width of his palms... Dave was probably a technician involved in decoration or car repair. Like most people, he remembers to take off his watch when he's working, but he hasn't considered... what will happen if he puts his watch with keys, change, and other things. Of course... he may have considered it, but because the watch is cheap, he doesn't care."

Deducing things from objects was a habit of Brother Jue's. Even if the information obtained had nothing to do with the progress of the scenario, it was good as a pastime.

"Ah... looks like I'm here..." Before Feng Bujue could check Dave's pockets, a bridge appeared in front of the road.

Next to the bridge was a large road sign with the words "Welcome to Oltaku Town" written on it; beside the road sign was a stone pier with the words "40t" painted on it, indicating the weight limit for vehicles crossing the bridge.

As Brother Jue drove the car onto the bridge, the system voice rang in his ears again: 【Main Quest Triggered】

"The peaceful opening preparation time is over, huh..." Feng Bujue said in a deep voice.

He didn't immediately check the quest details, but instead gripped the steering wheel, slowed down again, and paid close attention to everything within sight.

After driving cautiously for three hundred meters, he smoothly crossed the bridge and arrived at the entrance to the town.

The asphalt road ended here. The roads inside the town were mostly made of gravel and dirt, with few concrete sections.

Chh-chh... clack-clack...

Just as the car left the paved road, an ominous sound came from under the hood. A few seconds later, white smoke began to pour out.

"Such precise timing for a breakdown..." Feng Bujue said with a wry smile. "I'm speechless..."

Since the car had already stopped, he simply sat in the driver's seat and rummaged through his belongings.

Dave had a spring-loaded ballpoint pen clipped to the pocket of his shirt, and a pack of unopened gum inside the pocket; in the left pocket of his jeans was a wallet containing a dart club membership card, a credit card, a driver's license, and 3 two-dollar bills, 4 five-dollar bills, and 3 twenty-dollar bills... a total of 86 dollars in paper money; in his right pocket were 7 quarters and a set of keys.

"Hmm... the pockets inside and outside the leather jacket are empty, indicating he considered the possibility of 'taking off his jacket somewhere' before leaving." While checking his belongings, Feng Bujue didn't forget to further analyze "Dave." "He's not carrying any cigarettes, and his teeth and fingers don't look like those of a smoker..." As he said this, he opened all the storage compartments in the car and examined them. "No accumulated tickets, no wrappers from junk food, and no adult magazines or anything like that..." He turned his head and looked at the back seat. "No tissues or handkerchiefs in the car or on his person, and his cuffs are relatively clean..."

At this point, Brother Jue paused for two seconds, then concluded, "Perfectly healthy, without even common rhinitis or pharyngitis; excellent physical fitness; intelligence and self-control above the average Caucasian; balanced diet, no late-night habits, no bad habits... Heh..." He smiled. "Giving me such an athletic body must be a conspiracy..."

Only then did he bring up the game menu.

Unsurprisingly... the skill bar and the inventory bar were locked, and the Spiritual Weapon was also unusable.

The main quest in the quest bar also made Brother Jue sense a hint of danger: 【Gain the approval of the Ghost Postman and become the new postman of Oltaku Town.】

"So the guy who's interviewing me is a ghost..." Feng Bujue was already used to this kind of supernatural setting. After reading the quest description, he took Dave's phone from the car charger. "Hmm... is this... the legendary Nokia 3310..." He pressed a random key and looked at the date and time on the phone. "December 25, 2002, eight twenty-five in the morning... Christmas morning..."

Next, Brother Jue unlocked the phone's keypad (old phones could usually be unlocked by pressing the asterisk key) in order to find as much useful information as possible. Unfortunately... the text messages and call history in the phone were blank (in the era of traditional phones, many people had the habit of deleting their records after sending texts and making calls), and the "Notes" were also empty. The "Phone Book" did have records, but they all seemed to be ordinary contacts, such as "Dad, Mom, Uncle Mark, Aunt Daisy, Williams, Maggie," and so on.

Most importantly... at this time and in this place, the phone was also—"Out of Service."

Therefore, even if Feng Bujue wanted to make a call, he couldn't.

"Okay..." Brother Jue only fiddled with it for three minutes before casually stuffing the Nokia into the outer pocket of his leather jacket. "At least this thing can be used as a weapon..."

As he spoke, he unbuckled his seatbelt, leaned over, and pushed open the car door...