The So-Called Test of an Official Player

From the perspective of Bai Zhi, this Novice Quest is not actually difficult. The so-called difficulty lies entirely in whether the players possess meticulous observation skills and the courage to face anomalies head-on.

After all, reality is not a game. Compared to ordinary people, players merely possess an extra ability to combat anomalies; they do not have the luxury of infinite respawns like in those games.

In fact, due to the unique status of being a player, the dangers they face are even greater than those encountered by ordinary humans.

Life—everyone only has one.

Take the little boy who stomps shadows from earlier as an example. Wu Hua and his companion are clearly Official Players who have already passed their Novice Quest, but in the face of an anomaly that possesses intelligence, they would have nearly capsized in the gutter if not for him.

Joining a Large Organization makes the Novice Quest much easier with the support of equipment, but it simultaneously introduces uncontrollable variables into the process, much like the current Novice Quest he is undergoing.

If it weren't for the fact that the equipment rented by Beard Guy had influenced his judgment, he wouldn't have waited until such a dangerous moment to figure out the key to solving the puzzle.

When facing these anomalies and supernatural occurrences, blind avoidance is useless; facing them bravely is the truth. However, having only courage without careful observation would lead to being wiped out by that little boy, just like Wu Hua and the others almost were.

--This is the lesson the Novice Quest wants players to learn, and it is the true test of the Novice Quest.

Taking the Mirror from the restroom, Bai Zhi stared unflinchingly at the murky surface. Under the watchful eyes of Night Owl and the others in the distance, a ghostly, slender arm reached out from within the mirror and grabbed his neck. Without the rescue of equipment, Bai Zhi's figure vanished from the spot after about two seconds.

And with Bai Zhi's disappearance, the chilling aura that had permeated the entire Villa and seeped into the bones noticeably stalled.

"..."

Looking at the mirror left standing there all alone, the expression on Night Owl's face appeared somewhat inexplicable for a moment.

It felt as if his body had passed through a layer of foam. When Bai Zhi opened his eyes again, he found that he had arrived in a rather... strange place.

The surrounding environment was still the first-floor hall of the Villa, but the sound of the heavy rain outside had disappeared for some reason. Yet, the rain was still falling silently. Everything around him was deathly silent, and a dark red light, as eerie as fresh blood, surged from unknown sources to shroud everything before him, looking exceptionally bizarre.

"As expected, huh? The physical exertion in this place is almost twice that of the previous world..."

Reaching out to touch the Black Fingerprint that had appeared on his neck, Bai Zhi could not help but frown slightly.

In truth, based on the previous situation, the most suitable person to enter here would have been Night Owl, who was in the best condition among them. But given her timid personality, she would probably be curled up in a corner shivering after entering...

Although the environment here was eerie, the strange red light that appeared from nowhere and filled the entire space provided excellent illumination. However, just as Bai Zhi was preparing to seize the time to search the Villa for the final necessary Corpse Puzzle Piece, an exceptionally clear sound of footsteps suddenly came from the Stairwell Entrance.

"Tsk, that's why I hate sweets..."

Glancing toward the Stairwell Entrance and muttering to himself, Bai Zhi took out a piece of Chocolate, peeled the wrapper, and shoved it into his mouth without even looking.

According to the standard Walkthrough for clearing the level, he should be avoiding the Vengeful Spirit's attacks while searching for the final puzzle piece in this dilapidated Villa. That method is the safest, but it is also the most time-consuming.

They do not have much time left. In the Real World, Beard Guy might not be able to hold on for that long while carrying two dead weights, so he must adopt a more adventurous approach.

About ten seconds later, a hideous figure appeared at the Stairwell Entrance. The not-so-tall body was covered in stitches, and a pair of hollow eye sockets where the eyeballs had been gouged out slowly scanned the entire hall. At the edges of the wounds, which had been forcibly stitched together using hair as Needle and Thread, bits of ghastly white bone were vaguely visible.

"Seriously, does it have to be this graphic..."

After grumbling to himself, Bai Zhi, who was hiding behind the Stairwell Entrance, decisively threw his homemade White Phosphorus Incendiary Bomb at the creature and ran toward the upper floor without even waiting to see the results.

As the angry, painful Roars erupted from behind him, Bai Zhi had already run straight to the second floor. Too busy to worry about hiding his presence, he kicked open the doors one by one, rummaging through every room.

What he feared most was a Vengeful Spirit without a physical form that could pass through walls at will. The fact that this one had a physical body and could be attacked made him feel slightly relieved. However, if it really were the kind of intangible, invulnerable Vengeful Spirit, he would have to consider whether this Novice Quest was designed with the intention of torturing them.

But he had only just finished searching three rooms when the corpse, soaked through as if it had rolled around in the rain outside, roared and chased him to the second floor.

And what made him feel even more "WTF" was that in its extreme rage, the creature actually tore off its own head—which had been forcibly stitched to its Torso—and hurled it at him.

Because he had never expected the creature to possess such a "split-headed" long-range attack method, he was hit dead-on. While his right hand was being bitten tightly, the headless Stitched Corpse also came striding toward him.

"This is just ridiculous, okay? This thing even knows how to put out a fire; I feel like you could be an ambassador for fire safety knowledge..."

Kicking away the head that was biting his hand, Bai Zhi climbed up from the ground with several Improvised Hand Grenades he had made earlier already in his hand. As he threw these grenades behind him, he quickly hid behind a corner.

Following several sounds of Explosion, iron nails, blades, and glass flew everywhere, clattering in a chaotic mess.

"Tsk, if only I could buy a Rocket Launcher and C4 on Mao Bao..."

Glancing at the wound on his hand where black blood was flowing from the bite, he didn't even have time to treat it. Before the angry Roars could sound again, Bai Zhi hurriedly left the area.

I Am Very Pure.jpg