On Monday morning, Shen Hao left home and boarded the bus to school.
The morning bus was crowded. Forget finding a seat—often there wasn't even room to stand. If his electric scooter hadn't broken down, he wouldn't have taken the bus for anything.
Soon, the crowd pushed him to the back of the bus. Just as he stopped, a system notification suddenly sounded in his ear.
"You have obtained 10 Fear Points."
"What's going on?" Shen Hao was puzzled. This wasn't an Instance, so where had he gotten Fear Points from?
He looked at the people on the bus and soon spotted a "familiar face."
It was the girl from yesterday's Instance. She had suffered a mental breakdown at the end and chosen to jump from the building.
Apparently, he had traumatized her so badly yesterday that he could still receive Fear Points from her today.
The girl was quietly telling the female companion beside her about what had happened to her in the Paradise Instance.
"It really scared me to death. That monster still terrifies me whenever I think about it. I thought I was really going to die.
"I did die in the game, but I came back to life in reality. They just deducted 90% of my experience points as a penalty, but I had zero experience points, so they didn't deduct anything."
Her companion asked in disbelief, "How is that possible? Can you really come back to life after dying in a Paradise Instance?"
"I don't know. I think it might have been a bug. The boss in the Instance was obviously different from the one in the guide. It was much stronger than the guide said. There's no way a newcomer could have cleared it."
"In that case, you were pretty lucky. At least you came back alive."
The girl hugged her companion and said, "I survived this time, but what about next time? Qingshan Hospital is the easiest beginner Instance, and I don't even dare tell my parents I entered Thriller Paradise."
"Don't worry. It really might have been a bug. Maybe the next Instance won't be like that."
"I hope so. Let me give you a proper hug. If I die someday, I'll never be able to hug you again."
The two girls hugged each other.
A faint smile appeared on Shen Hao's face. Apparently, he really had left the girl deeply traumatized.
The next bus stop was their school. Shen Hao noticed the two girls standing up, preparing to get off as well.
So they went to the same school.
Thinking about how hard he had gone on a schoolmate yesterday, he found it truly...
...thrilling.
He hoped to meet her in another Instance. She was cute when she screamed, and she was easily frightened. There was no more perfect prey.
As the bus prepared to pull over, a commotion suddenly broke out ahead. A crowd of people came running desperately toward them. Something bad seemed to have happened.
Soon, they saw the source of the commotion: a man covered in blood was running in their direction.
The man looked menacing, and blood was still pouring from his body. He must have just been through a bloody battle.
Everyone who saw the man fled instinctively. Shen Hao could smell fear.
"Fear Points +1."
"Fear Points +1."
He kept receiving game system notifications. In just a short while, he gained more than 30 Fear Points.
Apparently, a demon's constitution really was special. Even people who weren't players could contribute Fear Points to him.
But he wasn't the one these people feared, so he didn't get many Fear Points. Still, it was better than nothing.
"That man's an Ability User! Run!"
Someone shouted, throwing the scene into complete chaos. Ability Users possessed extraordinary powers that ordinary people simply couldn't resist.
An Ability User could definitely cause more damage than an armed criminal.
The surrounding crowd grew even more panicked, and the fear in their hearts intensified. Everyone fled desperately, and some were even trampled.
The driver hurriedly stopped the bus. In this situation, he was caught between going forward and turning back, and the passengers began to panic as well.
"Fear Points +1."
"Fear Points +1."
Shen Hao began receiving a steady stream of notifications like these. In the blink of an eye, his Fear Points increased by more than 50 again.
Before he could celebrate, the blood-soaked man reached the front of the bus and punched the door.
The man punched straight through the door in a single blow, and the passengers immediately cried out in alarm.
The man boarded the bus and shouted, "Drive! If I die, you're all coming with me!"
The driver glanced at the man, both hands trembling. For a moment, he didn't know what to do.
The man turned to look behind him, a flicker of murderous intent flashing in his eyes. Then he looked back at the driver and roared, "Drive already! Are you waiting for me to kill someone?!"
Only then did the driver react. He hurriedly started the bus and asked in a trembling voice, "Where... where should I go?"
"Forward. Just keep going. Don't let me catch you trying any tricks, or else..."
The man didn't finish, but everyone understood what he meant. For an Ability User, taking an ordinary person's life was all too easy.
The man began walking down the bus, and the crowd cried out in terror once more. Shen Hao could sense the smell of fear growing stronger here, and his Fear Points began to increase as well.
Before long, he had gained more than 80 Fear Points.
Although he could gain Fear Points without doing anything, Shen Hao wasn't very happy. The man was an Ability User, at least level 10.
Players who entered Thriller Paradise had a chance to awaken extraordinary abilities once they reached level 10. They were known as Ability Users.
These players often walked the line between life and death, and their minds had long since become different from those of ordinary people. Some were mentally unstable and ill-tempered, and with the extraordinary powers they had gained, they were very likely to do something extreme.
The man before him was undoubtedly one such person.
He obviously couldn't match an Ability User. The man's basic attributes alone completely outclassed his, let alone his special ability.
At that moment, the man suddenly shouted, "Listen up! Everyone on this bus is my hostage now! If I sense anything threatening my life, I'll kill every last one of them immediately.
"If you don't mind all these people dying with me, then go ahead and make your move!"
Shen Hao understood that the man had probably been targeted by official Ability Users. If that was the case, they were all in danger.
Even if the official Ability Users held back for fear of harming the hostages, the man wouldn't spare them once he escaped.
Since he was already wanted, what difference did it make whether he killed one person or ten?
The air around them grew even thicker with fear. Shen Hao soon discovered that he had leveled up. He was now level 5, with 25/800 experience points.
"Drive faster!" the man roared again.
The instant the man spoke, a streak of silver light pierced the bus window and shot toward him.
The man reacted quickly, but the silver streak was faster. It plunged straight into his chest, where his heart was.
It was a steel needle. The instant it entered the man's body, it blossomed like a flower, splitting into countless tiny needles as fine as ox hair that spread through his body.
Intense pain appeared on the man's face. Suddenly, as though he had gone mad, he reached for Shen Hao in front of him.
The man knew he was certain to die, but before he did, he had to kill a few people to take down with him.
Shen Hao had been keeping his full attention on the man all along, and he didn't panic when he saw him strike. Although the man was an Ability User, he was now severely injured. This was just a dying counterattack, and Shen Hao might be able to block it.
After all, he was already level 5 himself.
The man's hand shot straight toward Shen Hao's heart. Shen Hao made no attempt to dodge and instead punched at the man's head.
Their hands struck each other almost simultaneously. The man's fingers were like blades, stabbing straight toward Shen Hao's heart, but Shen Hao's fist also landed squarely on the man's temple. The heavy blow left the man somewhat dazed.
He had intended to kill a few people before dying, but he hadn't expected the first one to be so tough. An ordinary person didn't have that kind of reaction speed or strength. This person had to be a Thriller Paradise player too.
The man looked at the wound over Shen Hao's heart. He was sure he had stabbed into his heart just now, so this person wouldn't live either.
Yet Shen Hao didn't fall. He rushed forward, driving his shoulder into the man and knocking him to the ground. Then a huge axe appeared in his hand, and he swung it straight at the man's neck.
Blood spurted and splashed everywhere.
The axe was returned to the inventory.
The people on the bus panicked again, many of them screaming. Shen Hao noticed that he had gained Fear Points once more.
In less than a few seconds, he gained more than 100 Fear Points. He got more this time because he was the one who had caused the fear.
The driver stopped the bus, and the crowd scrambled to get off. Throughout it all, Shen Hao continued to collect Fear Points.
A satisfied smile appeared on his face.