Recently, several players have been murdered in real life, their deaths extremely gruesome. This news has caused a huge uproar in the Horror Game player community, like a bombshell.
There are many theories about why the player was killed, but under the malicious guidance of "certain people," many people think that perhaps... it was just another rich kid who was short of equipment.
The corpse of Horton, the Blackthorn Guild Master, known as "The Ripper," hung from the crystal chandelier of his villa, which he was so proud of and which was covered in defensive runes, like a piece of dried-out cured meat. There were no signs of a fierce fight at the scene, only a suffocating, pure chill.
Hu Jiu rubbed his face and immediately transformed into Horton's appearance.
Then, a "big news" originating from "Horton" and verified through multiple channels quietly began to circulate.
The message was simple: In light of the recent spate of "accidents," Mr. Horton decided to hold a large-scale "auction" to raise funds to purchase top-tier survival items and to provide players with opportunities for offline interaction.
The attached list image is enough to drive any high-level player crazy: the A+ grade defensive item "Sighing Bastion", the suspected S-class consumable "Phoenix Tear" (which can revive a player once without side effects), and even an ancient parchment scroll marked with the word "Forbidden", which is said to be a key clue to a lost S-class dungeon!
Horror Games haven't been around for very long, and a stable trading system hasn't been established yet. Most transactions involve players bartering or outright robbery.
Official trading posts occasionally encounter problems, such as being attacked by terrorists, resulting in the destruction of all items of grade B or higher that players have consigned; or a fire, which destroys all items that players have consigned.
Although it's a rare, occasional event that only occurs in trading houses in a few countries, in this era of rapid information dissemination, even a single instance of such a thing is enough to destroy players' trust in the official channels.
Blackthorn Guild is one of the top guilds, Horton is also very famous in the circle, but there are still some people who are skeptical about the "auction" he organizes.
The first auction was held in an underground fortress on a private island. Security was tight, and there were very few participants, but all of them were true expert players.
Hu Jiu didn't cause any trouble at the auction; the auction proceeded smoothly, with several rare items fetching astronomical prices. The buyers left ecstatic with their gains. Throughout the auction, Hu Jiu, disguised as Horton, acted like a seller eager to cash out, with a hint of anxiety, without giving himself away.
The second auction was the same.
Seeing that Horton hadn't used the auction as an excuse to cause trouble, and had even done everything perfectly, the players who had been observing finally lowered their guard and were eager to participate in the third and most grand auction.
"The bait smells good, and the small fish have taken the bait," Du Zhong reported to Hu Jiu over the communicator, his tone tinged with mockery.
Hu Jiu's pupils reflected the city's night view as he toyed with a replica of the "Sighing Bastion" that he had just perfectly replicated using Supernatural power. The replica emitted energy fluctuations that were almost identical to the original.
"Ideally, we should catch all the big fish at once," he said coldly. "Release the third auction list. The location: at sea, on the 'Heart of the Ocean'."
Following the success of the first two auctions, and with Du Zhong's extravagant spending and even more frenzied promotion than brainwashing marketing accounts, the third auction was highly anticipated.
During this time, many people, including officials, contacted "Horton" privately, hoping to achieve certain goals through the auction, but all were firmly rejected. "Horton" vowed to uphold fairness, impartiality, confidentiality, and security to the very end!
The vast, isolated ocean is now in a "locked room mystery" scenario.
The Heart of the Heart of the Ocean, an extremely luxurious giant cruise ship, is currently sailing on the high seas, far from the jurisdiction of any country.
Moonlight spilled onto the dark sea, creating a cold, silvery sheen. The cruise ship, brightly lit, resembled a floating city that never sleeps. But tonight, beneath the hustle and bustle and extravagance, a completely different undercurrent was surging.
The third auction was held in the "Diamond Dome" ballroom on the top floor of the cruise ship. Unlike the previous two auctions, this one included almost all the top-tier Horror Game in the world.
The leaders or core members of the top guilds, renowned lone wolf warriors, and even a few official representatives backed by the state apparatus... a diverse group of people, numbering over a hundred! All were drawn by "Horton's" extravagant gesture.
They either discreetly hid in corners or swaggered to occupy the best spots, their eyes meeting with scrutiny, vigilance, and undisguised greed.
An invisible, suffocating atmosphere permeated the air.
Hu Jiu was secretly arranging "surprises" for these people.
Du Zhong took over the role of "Horton," wearing Horton's signature clothes and smiling as he stood on the auction stage.
His acting skills were superb; every subtle expression and movement was meticulously designed, perfectly conveying the heartache of being "forced to sell one's beloved child" and the anxiety of "urgently needing funds."
He displayed the auction items, each one more alluring than the first list, with even more astonishing energy fluctuations. In particular, the "Phoenix Tear," said to be able to "reverse life and death," emitted a gentle yet powerful life aura that made the breathing of all the powerful figures present heavy.
The auction was in full swing, with bids rising and falling at an astonishing rate. Tension, excitement, and calculation... all sorts of emotions were brewing in the banquet hall.
Unbeknownst to anyone, a thin layer of gray mist, carrying a salty and rusty smell, began to rise from the once calm sea outside the cruise ship. The mist spread silently, slowly coiling around the massive hull like a living thing.
Hu Jiu stood atop the cruise ship's tallest observation tower, coldly gazing down at the brightly lit "Diamond Dome." The sea breeze, carrying a damp, chilly mist, brushed against his clothes, and a pure, Supernatural power was gathering at his fingertips.
"Almost there." Hu Jiu murmured, his fingertips suddenly lighting up, then silently merging into the deck beneath his feet like water droplets, instantly spreading throughout the entire cruise ship.
Inside the banquet hall, Du Zhong Zhongzheng held up the "Phoenix Tear," which radiated a soft, holy light, preparing to announce its final owner.
Sudden--
"Sizzle... sizzle..."
Suddenly, all the crystal chandeliers in the banquet hall began to flicker, their light flashing like a faulty light bulb, casting an unpredictable, ghostly glow on the faces that held greed, tension, or determination.
What happened?
"Power outage?"
The bosses' complaints and reprimands had barely begun when a sudden change occurred!
The "Phoenix Tear" that Du Zhong held high, its soft Holy Light, suddenly... mutated!
The holy white light was as if it had been splashed with thick ink, instantly transforming into a viscous filth, a dark red that seemed to be mixed with countless resentments and despair. The light was no longer warm, but instead emitted a bone-chilling cold. The gentle life force was also instantly twisted and corrupted, turning into a nauseating, pungent stench of decay, like the fermentation of thousands of rotting corpses!
"Ugh!" The closest high-level players were caught off guard, directly impacted by the sudden burst of dark red light and the pungent stench of corpses, instantly feeling their souls being corrupted. They let out painful groans, their faces turning deathly pale.
"It's fake! This auction is a trap!" someone screamed, their voice filled with horror.
The expression on "Horton's " face on the stage vanished, replaced by an extreme malice. The "Phoenix Tear" in his hand suddenly exploded, like a rotting entrail being crushed. Dark red, filthy light, along with black liquid emitting a strong stench of corpses, sprayed out like a fountain.
"Ahhh--!" The players hit by the splashed liquid had their clothes instantly corroded and torn. Their skin, upon contact with the black liquid, sizzled, emitted blue smoke, and rapidly rotted. Even more terrifying, a power filled with the aura of death frantically burrowed into their bodies through the wounds.
"Horton is a fake! Kill him!" someone roared as they launched an attack, simultaneously blasting at Du Zhong on the stage!
However, the moment Du Zhong's body was touched by the attack, it vanished silently like a popped soap bubble. Only a distorted shadow and a cold, mocking echo remained, "The game... begins."
The real terror came the instant "Horton" vanished, completely engulfing the Heart of the Ocean.
The magnificent doors of the banquet hall vanished silently before the horrified eyes of the crowd. In their place stood a wall covered in dark red rust and vein-like protrusions.
Outside the huge porthole, the sea view that was originally under the moonlight turned into rolling darkness. The structure inside the cruise ship began to twist and stretch wildly. The corridors became infinitely long, and the corners always led to unknown darkness. The stairs spun and broke underfoot, and the sense of space was completely subverted.
The sense of direction and spatial teleportation that some players were so proud of became their death knell at this moment. Some tried to use items to teleport, but in a flash of light, they found themselves in a restaurant with the ceiling hanging upside down, or they were directly stuck in the constantly squeezing and writhing walls, their bodies being squeezed and emitting shrill screams.
The statues and portraits on the cruise ship, which were originally just decorative, all came to life.
The angel statue's pristine white skin peeled away, revealing rotting, pus-filled flesh beneath. Its benevolent face twisted into a vengeful grotesque mask, and the stone sword it held dripped foul-smelling pus and blood.
In the oil painting, an elegant noblewoman extends her skeletal hand, attempting to drag any approaching player into the Ghost Domain depicted within the painting.
Even more terrifying, from the depths of the ship's hold, heavy and chaotic footsteps echoed, and skeletons dressed in rotten crew uniforms or gorgeous evening gowns emerged like a tide, their eyes burning with eerie green Ghost Fire, their bodies radiating a deep-seated resentment and deathly aura, dragging rusty fire axes or broken kitchen knives.
"Damn it, is this a zombie outbreak?"
"Shit! Use a purification item!"
"My Holy Light Badge... has malfunctioned?!"
Players were horrified to discover that their usual purification methods, used against undead and evil spirits, were far less effective, or even completely ineffective, here!
The rules have been altered by some higher and more tyrannical force.
A gray fog rolled in on the cruise ship, absorbing the fear that players felt from the terrifying scene before them.
The thick fog rolled and condensed, and under the players' desperate gaze, it began to materialize the deepest fears they least wanted to face.
This is "Fear Manifestation," which Hu Jiu learned on the spot from a game instance.
A shield warrior player, known for his defensive prowess, looked at the surface of his most trusted giant shield and suddenly saw the grinning face of his stepfather, whom he had often abused in his childhood. The face suddenly bulged out of the shield, opened its drooling mouth, and bit down hard on his neck. He screamed in terror, and the shield flew out of his hand.
A female player skilled in mind control suddenly saw her younger sister, whom she had personally sacrificed in a dungeon, standing before her, soaking wet, staring at her with empty, bloodshot eyes, uttering a silent accusation. The intense mental shock and guilt instantly overwhelmed her reason; she clutched her hair and screamed hysterically, her mental defenses completely collapsing.
A guild leader was horrified to discover that his most trusted vice-guild leader's body began to swell, his skin cracked open, revealing countless writhing faces of teammates he had betrayed and killed, all of which emitted venomous curses.
The cruise ship became a breeding ground for nightmares.
Hu Jiu's "Fear Manifestation" is not as merciful as in Horror Game instances; the Supernatural creatures will relentlessly hunt down the source.
Players not only have to face the distorted space and the malevolent undead, but also the terrifying creations that are forcibly dragged into reality from the darkest corners of their own hearts. These monsters, nourished by their own fears, know their weaknesses better than any dungeon boss, and their attacks are more deadly and harder to defend against.
Desperate wails, furious roars, the deafening explosions of magic, the muffled thuds of flesh being torn apart, the crisp cracking of bones being crushed... all sorts of sounds intertwined in the distorted space of the cruise ship, composing a symphony of Hell.
The players were like lambs thrown into a slaughterhouse, fleeing in disarray, fighting back frantically, and then falling one after another under the onslaught of multiple forms of terror. Blood stained the carpet, soaked the ornate wallpaper, and flowed across the twisted and deformed metal deck.
The thick, impenetrable gray fog, like a greedy beast, devoured the entire cruise ship and all life within it. The ship's massive silhouette grew increasingly blurred in the fog, eventually disappearing completely from the horizon, as if it had never existed.
Only the churning gray mist remained on the sea surface, along with the faint sounds of chewing and swallowing.
The icy sea breeze stirred up a wisp of gray mist, thick with the stench of blood and despair, silently recounting the tragedy that had unfolded aboard the Heart of the Ocean.
The sudden elimination of a top player in Horror Game caused a huge uproar, leaving the remaining players in the real world in a state of fear.