Chapter 136 The Horror Club
Outside the hotel, as Wen Shi stood beneath the darkening sky, he had a nagging feeling that he had forgotten something.
A moment later, he suddenly remembered: Song Yan!
Did Song Yan come out?
Wen Shi’s final memory was of the other person patiently waiting for the body transformation effects to wear off.
He hurriedly phoned Ji Yuanzhi to ask. “Where’s Song Yan? Do you know if he came back?”
“I took him to the concert venue first, and after the instance was over, I brought him back.”
Wen Shi let out a long breath upon hearing this, relieved that there was at least one dependable person.
After ending the call, he started to doubt his memory, thinking he shouldn’t forget someone like that.
Wen Shi had a troubling suspicion that the longer Song Yan stayed in the instance using body transformation, the easier it became for him to be forgotten in the real world.
With skills linked to information retrieval, Ji Yuanzhi was naturally sensitive to various types of information, so he could still remember.
“It seems like this skill can’t be overused in the instance.”
Song Yan definitely hadn’t transformed back yet, or he would have contacted him immediately. Wen Shi sent a reminder message and then stepped towards the square, where one could also see three or four groups preparing for the instance.
A young man was talking to Pei Hongxin, his attitude balanced, his tone calm, but with a hint of the pride of a seasoned player.
After discussing the important details, the young man didn’t immediately produce the team-up item. Instead, he casually glanced around the square.
Seeing that he didn’t seem ready to start the instance, Pei Hongxin furrowed his brow. “Is there someone else…”
“Right, a pretty skilled player will be joining us later. Don’t offend him, or I won’t be able to protect you either,” the young man easily took control of the conversation.
He portrayed Wen Shi as a mysterious figure, his tone revealing a hint of authority. Pei Hongxin couldn’t argue.
However, Pei Hongxin wasn’t easily fooled by others. He quickly got to the point, “Will the skilled player’s addition increase the instance’s difficulty?”
“His skill is only impressive relative to you and me. As long as the overall instance level doesn’t change, it’s fine,” the young man suddenly paused. “Here he comes.”
Pei Hongxin followed his gaze, to the southeast corner of the square, where someone’s appearance and features were unclear as he walked towards them.
His steps were composed. Despite multiple attempts to conceal his identity, he still carried an unmistakable air of confidence, leaving the first impression that he wasn’t too old.
Wen Shi didn’t even glance at Pei Hongxin, just nodded slightly to the young man.
The young man decisively activated the team-up item.
【Matching with a supernatural folklore-themed instance…】
【Player 458887 has sent you a team invitation. Do you accept?】
Pei Hongxin hadn’t used a team-up item before, but when he saw what appeared to be a specifically targeted team invitation, he immediately grew suspicious.
The young man quickly explained to him, “Using this method allows us to enter instances with relevant elements, making it easier to prepare the necessary items.”
Pei Hongxin opened the in-game store and searched for the keyword: supernatural folklore-themed instance. It was one of the cheaper themes among all the available scene options.
This left him completely undecided. He suddenly wanted to back out.
Wen Shi hadn’t spoken to Pei Hongxin, so he wasn’t worried about his voice revealing his identity.
“Hurry up,” just to be safe, he intentionally kept his voice hoarse, so people wouldn’t associate it with a clean and clear young voice. “Once the time limit passes, the team-up item becomes useless.”
Offending people by wasting the item was a concern, but Pei Hongxin still had doubts about the matching scene.
“I have a mysterious-type skill,” Wen Shi seemed to understand his concerns, “It can excel better in this kind of instance.”
After a few seconds of contemplation and pressure from both sides, Pei Hongxin ultimately chose to accept the invitation.
【Team Formation Successful】
“Instance ‘The Horror Club’ has been successfully loaded.”
【The Horror Club: Role-Playing Instance
Difficulty: [C+~?]
Initial Player Count: ?
Plot Synopsis:
【’The Horror Club’ is a top-tier journal, edited by the horror master Brainy Mei and published by Gaming Back and Forth Publishing House. It is a reading magazine aimed at readers of all ages. The stories inside have strong dramatic conflicts and are deeply loved by readers after release. However, not every piece of work can capture readers’ hearts. ‘The Horror Club’ has collected several serialized short stories with a lukewarm response, and the chief editor is considering taking them down.
Character Identity: ?
You have OCD, and you can’t stand the idea of a story being cut off before the ending. You swear to change the publisher’s perspective.
Note: This instance is a role-playing scenario. Once an important NPC uncovers your identity, you’ll be stuck in the story forever.
Note: There’s competition among players in this instance, so be prepared at all times.
Note: Your story must have a unique angle!】
【The first short story you need to save is called “Eagle’s Vigil.”】
This was the first time Wen Shi had encountered this situation. The stingy game, which squeezed player points, didn’t ask if he wanted an early summoning like it usually did.
Last time, it was because the game didn’t favor Arlon. Wen Shi knew it wouldn’t be that simple this time. So, he didn’t bring it up proactively and planned to explore it once inside the instance before deciding.
The brief sensation of weightlessness from teleportation ended. Wen Shi subconsciously tried to open his eyes to observe his surroundings as he normally would do. However, the lack of oxygen caused everything in his field of vision to blur. A pair of wet, pale hands were mercilessly gripping his neck. Wen Shi reflexively struggled.
Wen Shi had decent physical stamina, but it was evident that the game had inserted a plot twist before the successful teleportation. It suggested that he had already been strangled for a while, leaving him in a severely weakened state
Amidst the blur, just before losing consciousness due to oxygen deprivation, Wen Shi remembered the cloak he was wearing before entering the instance and silently chanted in his mind: Activate the invisibility function.
【Small Cloak】granted one minute of invisibility daily.
He vanished, but the sensation remained.
The ghost hesitated for a moment.
Seizing the opportunity, Wen Shi bent his knee and pushed upward, seemingly hitting the ghost’s belly.
It felt soft, without any resilience, like touching a lump of flesh paste. When the grip around his neck loosened, Wen Shi quickly rolled off the bed.
Invisibility didn’t mean silence. He immediately held his breath. His face, already starved of oxygen, turned even redder. Simultaneously, he removed his mask and tossed it to the side to attract the ghost’s attention with the sound.
Wen Shi took advantage of the moment to carefully move, slowly inching towards the door.
During the move, he finally figured out the current environment.
It was a standard hotel room layout, with a large bed, a long table opposite, and an LCD TV hanging on the wall.
The room had no lights on. The only source of illumination was the TV playing the news.
【00：39】
With half of the cloak’s invisibility time about to run out, Wen Shi moved quickly towards the door. He did not forget to glance at the ghost that had initially intended to draw first blood.
Beneath the LCD glow, that swollen, cotton-like mass was completely unrecognizable as human. From the arm to the hand, it was extremely oversized, and one hand alone could lock Wen Shi’s neck.
It looked like it had drowned.
After making this assessment, Wen Shi stood up gently, preparing to unlock the door and make a run for it. But the game notification sounded as if it were going against him:
【Side Quest: Checking In
Quest Objective: Spend one night in a hotel. Good sleep is the foundation of mental well-being. You need at least six hours of rest.
Quest Reward: Memo Pad】
When the notification ended decisively, the fierce ghost also disappeared.
Wen Shi dusted off his clothes, sat back on the edge of the bed, and took a breath to adjust his breathing. He knew it was only a matter of time before that ghost from earlier reappeared.
Just as he was contemplating his strategy, a semi-transparent electronic watch suddenly appeared on his left wrist. It looked very high-tech. If it weren’t for the simple furnishings in the hotel and the minimal difference from the real world, just by looking at this watch, Wen Shi would have thought that the setting of this instance was some high-tech world.
Wen Shi examined the watch face. On the top left corner was the Viewer Count, currently at two, with occasional prompts appearing below.
“Scissor Granny enters the live stream.”
The Viewer Count rose to three.
【Scissor Granny: Feeling a bit bored, I want to see this.】
【……He’s slowly cutting his own nails with scissors, then his fingertips, and finally his fingers…Oh, if you’re going to cut like that, I’m willing to watch all day.】
Wen Shi had experienced being watched in Sealed Coffin Village before, but that time, he couldn’t personally see the viewers’ comments. He only heard them occasionally from the frustrated host.
This time, it was more or less the same, just that the comments from viewers were more directly displayed in front of him. Thinking about it, he didn’t plan to pay any more attention to this electronic dashboard.
Enjoying someone’s suffering was a monster’s delight. Wen Shi had no intention of self-harming to amuse an NPC.
【Scissor Granny: It~needs~to~be~interesting. Stories without interesting content will be eliminated, you know!】
The other party was implying that when Wen Shi’s Viewer Count dropped to zero, he would die.
Wen Shi put on a friendly smile, accentuating the slightly reddened corners of his eyes from the earlier lack of oxygen, resembling a pleading little animal.
Scissor Granny was eagerly anticipating Wen Shi’s gradual surrender for help, and then she would teach him how to do things.
Unexpectedly, those vibrant lips moved as Wen Shi slowly said a word, “Scram.”
This situation might lead to something later, where Viewer Count was tied to death. But in a C+ instance, they wouldn’t start with something like this. He needed to focus on figuring out how to survive this night.
Just as Wen Shi was about to completely shift his gaze away, a new prompt appeared below the watch face.
“Patient from Bed 109 of Frank Hospital enters the horror reading zone.”
【Patient from Bed 109 of Frank Hospital: Just woke up, so bored. Is there a new story in ‘The Horror Club’?…Damn, is it ‘Eagle’s Vigil’ again? Hasn’t this lousy story been taken down yet? @Patient from Bed 144 of Frank Hospital】
“Patient from Bed 144 of Frank Hospital enters the live stream.”
【Seems like there’s a new batch of characters in the story, but this protagonist looks alright. I wonder how he’d look like when cut open? Are his insides fresh?】
They chatted openly, while Wen Shi lowered his gaze in time, his long, trembling eyelashes concealing the turmoil in his eyes.
It turned out that this time, the viewers weren’t just limited to those hiding behind the Ghost Gate. They were monsters from multiple dimensions. Even some of the monsters from Frank Hospital could watch.
Apparently, these two patients who entered didn’t recognize him, but as the story continued, with the Viewer Count increasing, he might attract some mysterious patients from the deeper regions of the hospital.
Wen Shi squinted his eyes slightly. This was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to understand the future industry.
Knowing that these two patients would leave after a few chatters, Wen Shi attempted direct communication. He impatiently questioned, “Scissor Granny, why haven’t you left yet?”
The patient who was about to leave froze.
Was he talking to them? Did they hear that right?
Scissor Granny was about to explode.
Every time during this segment, she was flattered like crazy. Who would have thought that she would be insulted by someone so much younger.
Particularly when faced with such an arrogant character, Scissor Granny was eager to see how this person would meet their end.
【Quite audacious, you’ve piqued my interest a bit.】
Seeing the comment from Bed 109, Wen Shi suppressed a smile, knowing that the objective had been achieved. He then began to focus temporarily on the quest at hand.
He reached into his pocket. Luckily, the game had a configured phone. It was currently 11:30 PM.
Wen Shi silently contemplated for a moment, pushed the door open, and stepped outside.
……
Downstairs.
In the hotel lobby, a player was sitting in the lounge, on the verge of a breakdown. “I haven’t slept in three days. If this keeps up, I’ll keel over sooner or later!”
There were a total of four people sitting here, divided into two groups that were transported into the game. Now, out of seven, only four remained. Each of them had heavy dark circles under their eyes, especially the male player who had a scruffy beard and looked somewhat pale due to lack of sleep.
The first quest was insane. They had to sleep for at least six hours, but as soon as they fell asleep, a malevolent ghost would appear and try to strangle them. Worse, even if they killed the ghost once, it would reappear a second time. Daytime naps were forbidden, and if they tried to catch a few winks, the game would prompt them with “Please rest within the specified time.”
They had tried many methods, like gathering together and taking turns watching, but they were warned that after midnight, it had to be single occupancy.
The same warning occurred the second time, ensuring certain death.
Seeing that the wall clock was about to strike midnight again, one player couldn’t take it any longer and attempted to dash out of the hotel.
Another player, who had a decent relationship with him, grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall before he could run out. “Is this your first time in an instance? Shouting ‘I want to go home’ and then rushing out without any regard!”
“What else can we do? Wait here to die?”
Ding—
The sound of the elevator doors opening abruptly silenced the argument. Everyone turned to look.
For the sake of convenience, Wen Shi had put away his cloak. Having successfully persuaded Pei Hongxin to enter the game, he no longer needed to hide his identity.
In the lobby, all the people present were ordinary players who hadn’t seen Wen Shi before, only guessing that he was a newcomer recently brought in.
This instance was quite strange, not quite endgame, yet not standalone either. As long as the number of hotel guests dropped to four, it would pull in new players.
Wen Shi first glanced at the front desk and noticed it was empty. He didn’t initiate a greeting with the other players. Instead, he walked straight towards the exit.
“Excuse me, please.”
The two players who had just been arguing by the entrance instinctively stepped aside upon seeing him.
He walked out through the revolving door. Outside was the street, quiet at this late hour, with only a few pedestrians in sight.
Wen Shi waved his hand, and a taxi pulled over. After he got in, the taxi drove down the road and disappeared into the night.
The monsters in the comment area were left dumbfounded.
The group of people behind him also stared in shock.
The player who had shouted about wanting to rush out moved his lips, regaining his senses in astonishment. “Did he… just leave like that?”
The person next to him swallowed and said, “Not only did he leave, but he also left in a taxi.”
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