Shen Hao saw many posts online about recent anomalies in Horror Games, and someone had compiled these posts.
The post is full of Instances that have recently shown abnormalities.
Those who were killed by Demons in the game returned to the real world and recounted their tragic experiences online.
Of course, no one knew about the Demon's existence; all they knew was that the Instance's boss had suddenly changed.
Not only has its strength increased, but the BOSS, which was previously mindless, has also gained intelligence.
That's not the main point. The key issue is that after the BOSS gained intelligence, it became extremely cruel, and the enemies were tortured to death by the BOSS.
Fortunately, in such cases, they are resurrected after leaving the Instance.
Even so, players still felt fear.
The main problem was that the way he died was too hard to accept.
"Do you know that I was slashed dozens of times by that Executioner before I died?"
That was a Demon! To kill someone, that's one thing, but to do it in such a cruel way? I feel a chill just looking at a knife now.
What heinous crime have I committed to deserve being executed by slow slicing?
"Bro, I also entered that Instance, so we should be in the same team."
It was so cruel. He dragged us all into the Execution Chamber and made us watch him execute our teammates.
Finally, I couldn't take it anymore. I was going to die anyway, so I wanted to commit suicide. But that boss was too awful; he wouldn't even let me kill myself.
He's a real Demon! Even death has to be done according to his wishes.
Luckily, I revived, but I lost 90% of my experience.
"When the hell will I ever level up? Luckily, I haven't offended anyone."
"I also died in the Instance and then resurrected, but I'm only level 5 now."
It's in the Silent City Instance.
It's all that bitch Bai Shuang's fault. We were planning to give up, but she forced us to complete the Instance with her.
For some reason, the boss in that Instance suddenly gained intelligence.
Then that bitch led us to be played like dogs by the BOSS the whole way. What's even more infuriating is that several of us were bitten to death by the insects she raised.
That bitch wanted to become Contractor. I heard she did eventually become Contractor, but she was still killed by the BOSS.
She was resurrected, but the god she had made a pact with was not.
This is karma.
Right now, she's just a regular level 5 player. Anyone who has a grudge against her should hurry up and take revenge.
"I have a grudge against her, that bitch. If I weren't still a little short of level 5 in experience, I would definitely go and kill her."
At that point, it was just the two of us left. She used me as a vessel for sacrifice, allowing the god outside the Instance to enter my body. That's how she killed me!
Thankfully, I was resurrected. I will definitely avenge this.
"Let's get revenge! I just entered the Instance and she killed me! That bitch is insane!"
"I encountered this situation in the Headless Knight Instance."
The boss seems to know everything. The strategy guide is completely useless. He knows everything we do in advance, and our escape route is completely blocked.
I was eventually burned to death.
I heard that some of my teammates committed suicide because the boss's methods of killing were too cruel; they'd rather die than let him kill them.
"At first, I thought you were just talking nonsense online, but last night, when I entered the Instance of the Home of Evil Ghosts, I realized that what you said was all true."
The boss is the warden of the Home of Evil Ghosts; he's truly terrifying. No wonder he's in charge of the prison.
He could have easily solved the problem with a single axe stroke, but he insisted on making hundreds of cuts on the person.
I died from the excruciating pain.
Furthermore, the BOSS's strength is simply excessive.
We also received Instance bonus back then, and that bonus was really awesome.
We thought we could easily crush the boss, but to our surprise, even with the Instance bonus, we were still completely overwhelmed and had no chance to fight back.
The boss in this Instance is ridiculously overpowered; it's practically impossible to beat it.
Someone online compiled all the survivors' accounts, and through their experiences, players found commonalities.
First of all, you won't actually die in the real world if you encounter this situation, but you will lose a lot of experience points, which can make years of hard work go to waste.
Secondly, the BOSS is very cruel. If you die at the hands of the BOSS, you might as well just commit suicide, otherwise you'll have to prepare to suffer.
Finally, in this situation, you'll receive Instance bonus, but even with that Instance, you'll most likely still lose.
Because this boss is practically invincible.
However, these people all overlooked one thing: the puppet Xiaobai.
There is absolutely no mention of Xiaobai in their accounts.
Clearly, these people couldn't have missed such an important clue; they were most likely influenced by Xiaobai's abilities.
For some inexplicable reason, I completely forgot about the doll's existence.
This is a good thing for Shen Hao, because if Xiaobai is exposed, he won't be able to use this puppet so easily.
Because those players understood what was going on as soon as they saw the doll, and immediately chose to commit suicide, which made him feel a bit bad.
Shen Hao continued browsing the posts and saw many players' comments on the matter.
"What the hell is going on? Can someone explain this? Does this game have bugs? I'm too scared to even match into Instance now."
"It shouldn't be a bug. S-rank Instance are set in a real world, so bugs are unlikely to occur there."
"I suspect this is a sign of the Lord of the Netherworld's return."
Everyone knows the Lord of the Netherworld, right? Most of those Instance bosses are his subordinates. Because he has returned, his subordinates have also gained wisdom.
Furthermore, the game's creator is clearly an enemy of the Lord of the Netherworld.
That's why the game's Instance were updated a few days ago; the purpose was to help us complete the Instance as quickly as possible, defeat the minions of the Lord of the Netherworld, and prevent the Lord of the Netherworld's return.
Of course, this is just speculation; I have no evidence, so we can only wait for the official conclusion.
"Actually, this kind of thing has happened before, and it's similar to what's happening now, but nobody knows the specific reasons."
"The official team needs to give us an explanation! This is terrifying! Losing 90% of experience in a single Instance match and having to endure inhuman torture—isn't this just discouraging me from playing?"
"At worst, I'll just kill myself in the game. I'm going to die anyway, so I might as well start over."
"Just consider it a free insurance policy; after all, you won't actually die."
"What's infuriating is that this only happens when you're almost done with Instance. The Instance itself is very simple, so there's definitely a way to clear it."
"At worst, I won't die, so what's the point of this insurance?"
Players were intensely discussing the changes in the game, but they were unaware of the existence of Demons. Their guesses seemed plausible, but they weren't the truth.
They never imagined that the Instance boss would be played by a player.