Chapter 34

"Even the names of the studios are posted... It seems that Dream Company doesn’t mind the involvement of professional teams and players," Feng Buque said.

"This isn’t good news for us players who don’t have an ‘organization’ backing us up," Long Aomin said. "If the game company doesn’t restrict those studios, the upper echelons of the game might be controlled by a small group of people. For example... they could control the prices of top-tier equipment through negotiation, monopolize some high-level game resources or information, and so on."

"It’s also possible that... Dream Company believes the balance of the game is flawless, and the profit margins for studios are already limited by the system. The scenarios you mentioned might be technically unfeasible," Feng Buque added. "Of course, we don’t need to worry about these things, and we can’t do anything about them anyway." He paused for a moment and asked, "By the way, Brother Long, I’m not sure if it’s appropriate to ask... Are you a professional player?"

"Ah? Haha, what’s inappropriate about that question? Being a professional player isn’t something to be ashamed of," Long Aomin laughed. "I actually admire professional players, but I’m not one." He replied, "I’m just a very passionate game enthusiast."

Long Aomin was telling the truth. In reality, he was a police officer named "Long Liwen." Although his name contained the character for "literary," he was known for his bold and decisive actions during missions, displaying a fearless spirit. He had almost been transferred to the special police force, but unfortunately, he was injured during an operation to arrest a criminal. To cut a long story short, after his knee was injured... he could only work at a desk in the department. Although it didn’t affect his daily life and he had even been promoted in a certain sense, returning to the front lines was no longer a realistic option.

"I see..." Feng Buque said. "I thought you were one of those solo professional players."

"Hehe... Actually, I don’t have much free time to play. These past two days, my wife has been accompanying her mother to visit relatives and pay respects at a cemetery. I just happen to be on leave, so I’ve been playing more. Tomorrow, I have to... go to the office to work, so I might not be able to play."

"Then let’s hurry and queue for a script. Let’s try to complete two or three team survival modes tonight," Wang Tanzhi said eagerly.

"Then join the queue," Feng Buque said.

"I’m ready, let’s queue," Long Aomin replied.

Xiao Tan said "oh," and the system prompt immediately sounded.

This time, Feng Buque was not the team leader, so he didn’t have the choice, and the content of the prompt was slightly different, omitting the initial part and going straight to:

"Your team is joining the Team Survival Mode (Normal). The team size has been randomly determined: six people."

"Your team has entered the queue and is searching for other ready individuals or teams."

"Matching complete. Neural connections are being synchronized, and the script is being generated..."

"Loading has started, please wait."

"Welcome to the Horror Park." This time, the voice sounded like that of a person with multiple personality disorder, changing to a different tone halfway through the sentence.

"Loading complete. You are currently in the Team Survival Mode (Normal)."

"This mode provides a script summary and has a chance to feature side/hidden quests and special worldviews."

"Script completion reward: A randomly selected skill card that can be learned."

"The script summary will now be played. The game will start immediately after the summary ends."

The opening CG began in a forest, with the camera moving slowly forward in the first-person perspective. The narration began: "On an autumn night, you and a few newly acquainted fellow travelers from your tour group have lost your way in the mountains. Hungry and cold, you step through the dense iris and pass through the withered trees, miraculously discovering a solitary mansion."

At this point, an ancient mansion appeared on the screen. Dark clouds hung low in the sky, enveloping the gloomy mansion. A pond was visible beside the house, and two windows on the wall by the water looked like hollow eyes, gazing down at the distorted reflection in the lake.

"An ominous aura spreads from within the house, rising from the withered trees, the gray walls, and the silent pond. But you have no choice; the cold air is seeping into your bones, and hunger has dulled your caution. You decide to enter the mansion..."

The narration ended abruptly. Feng Buque’s vision brightened, and he found himself standing inside the house.

This appeared to be the living room, spacious and tall, with a wooden floor. The furniture and decor seemed to be from the 19th century. The chandelier on the ceiling and the wall lamps were clearly electric, but there were no other electrical appliances in sight.

Opposite the living room was a staircase about two meters wide, leading to the second floor. There were three or four doors around the room, and a corridor behind the staircase, but the lighting was poor, making it impossible to see far or know where it led.

Feng Buque spent a few seconds observing the surroundings, then his gaze settled on three unfamiliar players in the living room.

First was a male player named "Invincible Hero," who differed from the first player to reach level 20, "Fearless Hero," by only one character. However, this player was far from level 20, currently at level 15. His title was [Reckless Brawler]. From his appearance, Invincible Hero and Long Aomin both belonged to the tall and muscular type, but compared to Long Aomin’s Schwarzenegger-like physique, he was clearly inferior in height, muscle, and presence...

The other two were female players, seemingly in a team, as their starting positions were close together, and their names hinted at a connection: "Rainy Departure" and "Bone-Chilling Smile," both at level 13.

Rainy Departure appeared to be in her early twenties, with short hair that reached her neck. Strangely, although her face was beautiful, it didn’t seem to draw much attention. In theory... with the game pod’s ability to modify appearance, everyone could look like a top beauty, and even men could be made to look like androgynous beauties. For a female player to enter a neural connection game without maximizing her appearance was as puzzling as going out without makeup. Could it be that this woman’s real appearance was so peculiar that this was the best she could achieve?

When Feng Buque looked at her, their eyes met. A person’s impression is largely determined by their eyes. If Feng Buque’s eyes conveyed calm, Rainy Departure’s eyes exuded a cold, murderous aura. This was not a glare or a forced coldness, but an unconscious expression of a person who had been in the business of killing.

As his gaze moved up, Feng Buque saw Rainy Departure’s title: [Merciless Decapitator]. At that moment, he inwardly thought, "What the... Is this a security agent practicing courage in the game?"

On the other hand, Bone-Chilling Smile seemed much more normal. She appeared to be a year or two younger than Rainy Departure, with a delicate and cute face, long hair, and no bangs. She often had a faint smile on her lips, but her eyes showed no trace of warmth.

Bone-Chilling Smile’s title was [Cunning Gunner]. As expected, she was likely a player who specialized in shooting and was probably quite good at it.

"What’s up?" Rainy Departure suddenly spoke, her eyes fixed on Feng Buque, her expression cold and her words concise.

Feng Buque knew she was asking why he was staring at her. He forced a smile and tried to start a conversation, "Um... your nicknames have a bit of a ‘Thunder’ feel to them."

Rainy Departure chose to remain silent, as if she had heard a pointless statement, leaving Feng Buque feeling awkward.

Bone-Chilling Smile couldn’t help but laugh and replied, "Likewise, your IDs are quite interesting too." She knew her cousin didn’t like to talk much, so she stepped in to ease the tension.

To give a brief introduction, Rainy Departure’s great-aunt was Bone-Chilling Smile’s grandmother, making them distant relatives. They were the same age, both 22. Rainy Departure had always been quiet but had a strong sense of self. She had never lost a fight, even against boys. She was just naturally cool.

Bone-Chilling Smile, on the other hand, was like a child who never grew up, playful and mischievous, and very smart. If it came to IQ, she might even be higher than Feng Buque, but she didn’t have any peculiar hobbies like reading or solving puzzles.

What? You’re asking why I’m explaining this so clearly? Of course, it’s because these two are the main characters. After so many chapters, how can the female leads not appear? Do you secretly hope for a plot where the system becomes a girl and has something with the protagonist? If you want that, go read a light novel, damn it!

"Heh... Thank you, thank you." Feng Buque took the opportunity to turn to Invincible Hero and asked, "Brother Invincible, may I ask if you have any connection with ‘Fearless Hero’?"

"We’re from the same studio," Invincible Hero said with a dismissive expression. "Don’t ask any more questions. You ‘casual players’ are driving me crazy with your questions." He said the last four words with a clear tone of sarcasm and disdain.

"Oh~ So you’re a professional god, nice to meet you," Feng Buque replied with an even more dismissive tone.

Invincible Hero responded with a cold snort, turning his face away with his nose in the air. If the system hadn’t stopped him, he might have already sworn.

At this moment, a system voice broke the somewhat tense atmosphere: "Main quest triggered."