Chapter 73

【Feng Bujue, Level 13】

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

【You have selected Team Survival Mode (Normal). Please confirm.】

【Confirmed. The team size has been randomly determined: two people.】

【You have been added to the queue and are now searching for other ready players.】

【Matchmaking complete. Neural connections are being synchronized, and the script is being generated...】

【Loading has begun. Please wait.】

"Welcome to the Thriller Park." This time, the voice was a woman's, speaking softly, almost in a whisper.

【Loading complete. You are currently in Team Survival Mode (Normal).】

【This mode provides a script summary and has a chance to feature side/hidden quests and a special worldview.】

【Script completion reward: Randomly draw a skill card that can be learned.】

【The script summary will now play. The game will begin immediately after the summary ends.】

Feng Bujue felt a sense of weightlessness, and then the opening scene of the script appeared before his eyes. The camera showed the entrance of a school, with the moon hanging in the sky. The school's name on the wall was "Yejie High School." Looking through the main gate, one could see the playground and the main building. Observing the frozen frame more closely, it was clear that the school had at least two other teaching buildings and a gymnasium.

【Yejie High School, where the bustling daytime contrasts sharply with the eerie silence of the night. The school was built on cheap land that was once a mass grave. Over the past two decades, various bizarre and strange events have occurred, and the fear lurking in people's hearts has transformed these events into various ghost stories, which have been passed down among the students and teachers...】

【At some point, a song called "The Seven Mysteries of the School" began to circulate...】

As he listened, the system voice suddenly changed to the innocent and ethereal voice of a little girl, which sent shivers down his spine. The voice recited the subtitles in a monotonous rhythm:

【Save him, save him... trapped in the well, can't go home, don't look, don't look... or you'll be buried in the dry well.

One, two, three, four, five, six... count the steps up the stairs, turn back, turn back... don't walk the thirteenth step.

Drip, drip, drip... the water never stops, red, red... don't look up in the mirror.

SoFaRe, LaSoRe... the piano keys tell a sad story, don't listen, don't listen... applaud after the music ends.

Gurgle, gurgle... the smell of food makes your stomach growl, taste, taste... which bowl is human flesh, which is soup.

Wail, wail... the cries of infants ring in your ears, laugh, laugh... bones as cribs, skin as bags.

Ghosts, ghosts, blood, blood... the ghosts chase you to the death, don't be afraid, don't be afraid... even demons can be killed.】

After this recitation, the CG scene remained unchanged, but the voice returned to the system's prompt. For the next two minutes, Feng Bujue heard the most astonishing setup he had ever encountered in any online game...

【You and your teammate will each receive a mobile phone. This item cannot be placed in your inventory and must be held in your hand.】

【The phone has a full battery and can display the current script time. It contains a speed dial number, which is your teammate's phone number.】

【The phone cannot call any number other than the speed dial number and does not have other functions (such as text messaging). It cannot be turned off or have its ringtone reset.】

【After the script starts, you and your teammate can make a one-minute call every fifteen minutes starting from the tenth minute. Both parties must take turns, with one calling and the other receiving.】

【The first call will be initiated by you, and the second by your teammate, and so on.】

【If a call is not made, the "responsible party" will be continuously pursued by ghosts until the next call. Example 1: When the time arrives, if the caller dials the number and the recipient does not answer, the recipient is the responsible party. Example 2: If the caller forgets or fails to dial the number, the caller is the responsible party.】

【You and your teammate cannot communicate directly (system restriction) and can only contact each other by phone.】

【You and your teammate must not approach each other knowingly (such as when the other is in sight). If you accidentally meet, you must separate within one minute, or both will be pursued by ghosts.】

【After the script starts, you must enter the school and separate within five minutes. If you exceed the time limit, the same punishment applies.】

After this prompt, the script began immediately.

Feng Bujue found himself in the scene, with a black flip phone in his hand. He turned to look at his teammate and was surprised to see Si Yu Ruo Li. Before queuing, Feng Bujue had not checked the status of his friends, so he had overlooked the fact that a friend was online.

Si Yu's expression did not change much, but she was also somewhat surprised.

On the first day of the public beta, with potentially millions of players online, the two of them, each queuing individually, ended up in the same script, and the team size was exactly two. Such an extreme coincidence could be called fate.

What is fate? Let me summarize it using the Buddhist concept of reincarnation: sixteen characters: "Enemies become father and son, debtors become husband and wife, what of the next life, only the present matters."

I believe the concept of fate is not limited to love. Coming to this world, even forming enmity and grudges is a form of fate. Therefore, I advise all my Buddhist friends to settle your grudges in this life, because if someone becomes your child in the next life, you'll still have to pay for their house and wedding. And if you owe money, quickly become an atheist; if you avoid paying in this life, you'll have to pay with your body in the next.

Oh, right, the main reason I'm rambling is that the previous song seemed quite eerie, so I'm just trying to lighten the mood a bit.

Getting back to the point, Feng Bujue tried to speak but found that the system prevented him from doing so. He could not vocalize his intentions.

So, he resorted to gestures. He first made a "six" gesture, then put his hand to his ear, indicating a phone call. He pointed to himself, then raised one finger, and pointed to Si Yu, raising two fingers.

Feng Bujue was trying to confirm the call sequence. His gestures were simple and clear, and Si Yu understood, nodding lightly. She then made her own gestures, pointing to herself and then to the main building of the school. After a brief pause, she pointed to Feng Bujue and then to a direction on the side of the playground.

Feng Bujue made an OK gesture with his right hand and then extended his arm (since his other hand was holding the phone) in a "please" gesture.

The two silently divided their tasks. Si Yu took the lead and stepped into "Yejie High School," and Feng Bujue followed, though they would head in different directions.

As both stepped through the school gates, the system voice immediately announced: 【Main quest triggered】

The quest content was: 【Explore Yejie High School, dispel seven paranormal phenomena, current progress 0/7】