Seeing the frightened people around him, Shen Hao really wanted to complain, "I'm the main character today. You're just side dishes, so what the hell are you panicking for?"
Shen Hao was in far more danger than any of them.
Facing an Ability User whose strength and abilities were both unknown, he was no different from an ordinary person, even if he was a level 9 player.
Either way, he would be killed instantly.
He might have killed those Ability Users easily in the instance, but if he really encountered them in reality, he would be chopped to pieces in minutes.
Before awakening an ability, no matter how strong his base stats were, it was hard to stand against an Ability User.
By now, the others had gathered together to discuss the situation and talk about the fear they felt.
A boy wearing glasses stepped forward, trying to calm everyone down.
"Everyone, don't panic. I think we may have entered a Thriller Paradise instance.
We should all be newcomers, and if this is our first instance, it should be the easiest kind: a newbie instance.
As long as we all stick together, we should be able to clear it easily."
Hearing the boy's words, everyone gradually calmed down and grew less anxious.
"Is it a Thriller Paradise instance? If so, I actually feel relieved."
"Yeah, I was afraid we'd run into something strange."
Although quite a few people had indeed died when the game Thriller Paradise first appeared,
many years had passed since then, and there were guides for almost every instance now. The death rate had dropped dramatically, so they weren't that afraid of Thriller Paradise instances anymore.
They were more worried about other unknown things instead.
"But which instance is this? I don't think I know of a newbie instance with a setting like this."
As everyone pondered, Shen Hao walked over and said,
"This isn't a Thriller Paradise instance at all. Unfortunately, we've fallen into a trap set by an evil organization.
This organization is extremely evil and cruel. They like to torture their prey and then kill them in very bloody ways.
Skinning people and pulling out their tendons are nothing to them. You can't imagine how cruel they are. If you fall into their hands, dying would be a blessing.
As far as I know, very few people manage to escape them, and even those who do are no longer physically intact."
Shen Hao's words stirred up the emotions they had only just managed to calm. Fear instantly gained the upper hand, and they grew anxious and uneasy again.
A girl asked in a trembling voice, "Is what you're saying true? How do you know?"
Shen Hao answered, "Of course I know, because I'm a Thriller Paradise player. I've been through several instances.
If this were a Thriller Paradise instance, we should have received a notification from the game system by now. But have any of you received one?
Besides, are you all eighteen yet? Thriller Paradise only invites players over eighteen.
And Thriller Paradise invites players at random. How could it be such a coincidence that all of you entered an instance together?"
Everyone looked at one another. In the end, they had to admit that Shen Hao was right.
This really wasn't a Thriller Paradise instance. Perhaps, just as Shen Hao had said, they had fallen into an evil organization's trap.
A moment ago, they had been on a campus full of people, but in the blink of an eye, everyone around them had vanished without them noticing a thing.
This was definitely not an ability an ordinary person could possess. It was supernatural power.
The boy with glasses hurriedly asked,
"Ability Users? Are the people in that organization you mentioned Ability Users?"
"Of course. How could ordinary people have power like this?"
Shen Hao's words plunged everyone into icy despair. Ability Users—Ability Users from an evil faction.
They were just ordinary students. How could they possibly fight evil Ability Users?
For a moment, everyone felt despair and fear. Some nearly burst into tears.
"You have caused fear in someone nearby. You have gained 1 Fear Point. Fear Points +1 Fear Points +1 ...
Shen Hao received a string of notifications from the game system and couldn't help laughing inwardly. This method really did work.
In any case, he would get himself to level 10 first.
With a higher level, his chances of surviving danger would also increase.
"I-I don't want to die! I want to get out! My mom's still waiting for me to come home for dinner!"
A cutely dressed girl who looked a little younger than him cried out,
"I really don't want to die!"
"You poor thing. I guess your mom won't get to see you come home," Shen Hao said regretfully.
The girl cried out in despair, fear having taken over her entire body.
"Fear Points +10."
Shen Hao was delighted. At last, it was more than one Fear Point.
He looked at the girl again and shook his head. "Sigh, what a shame. Your mom will probably be very sad when you don't come home, won't she?
Oh, no. I'm afraid what she'll get instead is a part of your body."
The girl cried even louder.
She ran frantically toward the school gates, but as soon as she passed through them, her body was inexplicably teleported back to where she had been.
The girl collapsed to the ground, buried her head in her knees, and cried loudly.
"Fear Points +30."
Shen Hao was even happier. Girls really were more fun; just a few words had scared her this badly.
Seeing what had happened to her, the others couldn't help feeling a chill. There was simply no way out of here.
Could they really do nothing but remain trapped here and wait to be hunted by those Ability Users?
A boy mustered his courage and said, "Y-you're just trying to scare us. Maybe things aren't that bad."
"Am I trying to scare you?" Shen Hao said with an innocent expression.
"Can't you see we're already in a desperate situation? Do you have a way out of here?
What can we possibly do against Ability Users? How pitiful. Your parents are still at home waiting for you to come back."
"I..." The boy was almost in tears too.
Thinking about it carefully, that really was the case. Faced with such a desperate situation, there was nothing they could do.
"Fear Points +1 Fear Points +1 ..."
Shen Hao received another string of notifications, but they were still only worth one Fear Point each.
It seemed he needed to scare them some more.
The boy with glasses said, "Can we really do nothing but wait for death?"
"What else?" Shen Hao said. "Did you think you could straighten your clothes and take a bath, so you could die with a little dignity?
Dream on. They won't let us die with dignity. You can't even imagine what tortures they'll use on you."
Shen Hao's words struck their hearts like a heavy hammer, and everyone felt utterly despairing.
Humans were social animals. At a time like this, as long as someone spread frightening information, fear would quickly spread through the group.
"Sigh, we can only die here.
We're all still so young. The oldest of us have only just become adults. These are the best years of our lives.
We still have great ambitions to fulfill. All of society is waiting for us to shine.
But now our lives are about to end here. It's really... sigh..."
Shen Hao shook his head, his face filled with regret.
His words succeeded in affecting them. They really couldn't accept it. Who could accept dying in the prime of their lives?
For a moment, everyone felt dejected, tightly surrounded by fear and despair.
"Fear Points +2 Fear Points +2 ..."
Once again, Shen Hao received a string of notifications.
"Bullshit! My fate is up to me, not the heavens! I won't die!"
A boy suddenly stepped forward and shouted, a look of determination on his face.
At that moment, he seemed to have overcome his fear and become very brave.
His courage also inspired the others, and they rallied a little.
That's right! My fate is up to me, not the heavens! How could I resign myself to it so soon?
"Aah—"
Just then, the boy who had shouted that his fate was up to him, not the heavens, suddenly pointed ahead and let out a terrified scream.
He was so frightened he nearly fell on his backside.
Everyone looked in the direction he was pointing.
There stood a little girl in a white dress.
The little girl held a chainsaw bigger than she was, and it was buzzing.
"Ghost—!"
The boy let out a scream and fled without regard for anything else.
Seeing him do so, the others' minds went blank for a moment, and they too scattered in terror.