"Preparation time is over. The instance has officially begun!"
As veteran Thriller Paradise players, all four of them had long since memorized the guide to the Haunted Town instance.
The dangerous areas and taboos in this instance were all in their heads.
The system notification didn't make them nervous either. As long as they followed the guide, they were sure to clear it. After all, no one had died in this instance in two years.
The first taboo in this instance was: "Never scream, no matter how scared you are."
Screams would attract an evil spirit, and the evil spirit would cut out your tongue and turn you into his puppet.
The second taboo in the instance was: "Do not enter any doors.
Even if you have no choice but to enter one, pay attention to which way the door opens. If it opens inward, you must never enter."
Their predecessors had paid with their lives to establish these two taboos.
As long as they remembered them, they wouldn't encounter too much danger here.
Cheng Xu looked at the others and said, "Everyone, be careful. The game has officially begun."
Once the instance officially began, danger would follow. In this town, that man's evil spirit was everywhere, along with his dolls.
Zhang Zhiqiang said, "I know. It's my own life on the line, so I definitely won't be careless."
"Then let's discuss what we're going to do next," Cheng Xu said, glancing at everyone.
"Our mission is to survive. All we have to do is stay alive until dawn, and it'll be over. It isn't a particularly difficult mission. As long as the four of us stay together, even the evil spirit won't have a chance to attack us."
"Mm, I agree," Jiang Yue, who had barely spoken, said.
She looked to be in her early twenties. She wasn't very pretty, but her looks grew on you. She wore glasses and appeared quiet and demure.
Zhang Zhiqiang suddenly said, "I heard there's a hidden mission here. Should we try it? I heard the rewards are really generous."
Cheng Xu quickly said, "There is a hidden mission, but I suggest we leave it alone."
Although this instance was simple, its hidden mission was anything but. So far, not a single person who had attempted it was still alive.
That was why none of the many guides mentioned any clues related to the hidden mission.
"If you want to die, don't drag us down with you," Zhao Yuqing said even more bluntly.
Zhang Zhiqiang looked at Zhao Yuqing, annoyed. "How exactly did I offend you? Why do you keep picking on me?"
"I just don't like the look of you," Zhao Yuqing said.
"Fuck!"
Zhang Zhiqiang was about to lose his temper, but Cheng Xu hurriedly stopped him. The situation gave him a headache, like running into two teammates who started inexplicably cursing each other out during a ranked promotion match.
If you lost a promotion match in a game, you could try again, but you only got one chance in a Thriller Paradise instance.
"We're in an instance right now. Both of you, give a little and stop arguing. This instance might be known as a freebie, but if there's conflict among us, we could still end up failing."
"That's right, you two, stop arguing. Whatever grudge you have, clearing the instance is what matters most right now," Jiang Yue also urged.
Seeing that the two had stopped talking, Cheng Xu said, "I've read a lot of guides about this instance. The simplest method is for us to find a place to use as a camp.
Using the camp as our base, we stay there no matter what happens and hold out until dawn.
This method is the simplest and most effective. As long as we stay alert and avoid being attacked by the doll, we can clear it without taking any damage."
Zhang Zhiqiang was the first to agree. "Since no one plans to try the hidden mission, let's do that."
Zhao Yuqing and Jiang Yue also nodded, evidently not opposed to the suggestion.
Cheng Xu breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, those two hadn't kept arguing; they at least knew to put the bigger picture first.
The instance guides were very comprehensive and even mentioned the best location for a camp. The four soon found it: an open crossroads.
Nothing obstructed their view here, making it the best location.
The group was about to tidy up when they spotted a little girl who had appeared behind the four of them at some unknown point.
The four hurriedly looked over. It was a doll, as lifelike as a real person. If not for the visible connections at its joints, there would have been no way to tell it was a doll.
"Watch out!" Cheng Xu said. "This doll is quite strong and very dangerous, but there's no need to worry too much. If she misses with her first attack, she'll leave and look for another opportunity."
This characteristic made the doll much less frightening.
The players only needed to defend against one attack from the doll.
The four watched the doll before them with solemn expressions, waiting for it to attack.
However, the doll remained motionless. Just as the four were growing tense, it suddenly vanished from sight.
"It left?" Cheng Xu asked, puzzled.
Since the doll had appeared, it shouldn't have left so easily.
The four remained on guard for a long time, but the doll never reappeared. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.
They tidied up and were just about to sit down when Zhang Zhiqiang suddenly pointed behind Cheng Xu and shouted, "It's back!"
Cheng Xu was a level-nine player, after all, and had strong mental power. He had already sensed it before Zhang Zhiqiang warned him and quickly turned around.
The doll behind him was no longer in the form it had taken before. Its limbs, torso, and neck had all stretched out, giving it an extremely bizarre appearance.
These dolls had been transformed by their creator's resentment. Once they entered combat form, their bodies underwent drastic changes.
Several steel nails suddenly grew from the doll's fingertips and stabbed straight at Cheng Xu's heart.
Cheng Xu reacted quickly, swiftly turning sideways to dodge the doll's attack.
Having missed, the doll decisively withdrew.
"How sneaky," Zhang Zhiqiang said. "Even a doll can be this sneaky."
The doll had deliberately attacked when they let their guard down. It really was sneaky.
Cheng Xu was just about to speak when he suddenly noticed the doll appearing behind Jiang Yue. He hurriedly shouted,
"It's behind you!"
Jiang Yue reacted quickly and hurriedly turned around.
As soon as she turned, she saw a flash of cold light brush past her. The steel nails on the doll's fingers had nearly left several bloody marks on her.
Having missed, the doll vanished again.
Jiang Yue had just breathed a sigh of relief when she suddenly felt a chill behind her again. She immediately turned around and saw the doll attacking once more, with her still as its target.
Jiang Yue was shocked. Although she reacted quickly enough, the doll still left marks on her.
The steel nails on the doll's hand cut her arm, leaving several bloody gashes.
This time, none of the four dared to be careless. They began watching their surroundings with their full attention. After quite a while passed without another attack from the doll, they finally relaxed a little.
Cheng Xu said in shock, "Something's wrong. This doll... its behavior doesn't match what the guides say!"
"Mm, it's very abnormal!" Jiang Yue said, enduring the pain in her arm.
The doll had launched three attacks in a very short time, but according to the guides, there was usually an interval of fifteen to thirty minutes between its attacks.
The doll was attacking far too frequently.
Moreover, after each attack, it would turn invisible and leave, then wait for another opportunity to strike. It had no martial virtue at all, and they had no way to deal with it.
Zhao Yuqing said coldly, "It looks like the instance has probably been strengthened."
"Mm, it's possible," Cheng Xu said, feeling helpless. If that really was the case, then their luck wasn't good at all; it was terrible.
Instances that had just been strengthened and newly released instances were both very difficult, because there simply were no guides for them.
They would have to rely on their own strength to clear it, with no way to take shortcuts.
The four no longer dared to be as careless as before. This instance was clearly different from what it had been.