From Bai Zhi's perspective, this Novice Quest really wasn't that difficult. The main challenge was simply whether Players had the meticulous observational skills and courage to face anomalies head-on.
After all, reality wasn't a Game. Compared to ordinary people, Players merely possessed an additional ability to fight against anomalies; it wasn't like those Games where they could revive endlessly.
In fact, because of their special status as Players, they often faced even more danger than ordinary humans did.
Everyone only had one life.
Take the little boy who stomps shadows from earlier. Wu Hua and the other man were clearly Official Players who had already completed their Novice Quests, yet when facing an intelligent anomaly like that, if not for him, they would have nearly suffered a disastrous defeat.
Joining a Large Organization meant having equipment to support you during a Novice Quest, which made things much easier. At the same time, however, it could bring uncontrollable changes to the quest, just like the one he was currently undertaking.
If the equipment Beard Guy had lent them hadn't affected his judgment somewhat, he wouldn't have only realized the key to solving the problem at such a dangerous moment.
When facing these paranormal anomalies, blindly running away was useless. Facing them bravely was the right approach, but courage without careful observation would leave you like Wu Hua and the others earlier, nearly wiped out by that little boy.
—That was the lesson the Novice Quest wanted Players to learn, and the true nature of its test.
After taking the mirror out of the restroom, Bai Zhi stared directly into its murky surface without hesitation. Under the gazes of Night Owl and the other two, an illusory, slender arm stretched out from the mirror and seized his throat. Without any equipment to save him, Bai Zhi vanished from where he stood roughly two seconds later.
As Bai Zhi disappeared, the Chilling Aura that had seeped into the very bones of the entire villa visibly stalled.
"..."
Looking at the mirror sitting there all alone, Night Owl wore an indescribable expression 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 himself in a rather... strange place.
The surrounding environment was still the hall on the first floor of the villa, but the sound of the downpour outside had vanished at some point. The rain was still falling silently, however. Everything around him was deathly quiet, while dark red light, like blood and seemingly emerging from nowhere, flooded the entire space and made everything before him look exceptionally eerie.
"So that was it? Physical exertion in this place is almost twice what it was in the previous world..."
Reaching up to touch the Black Fingerprint that had also appeared on his neck, Bai Zhi frowned slightly.
Given the earlier situation, Night Owl, who was in the best condition among them, had actually been the most suitable person to enter this place. But with her timid personality, she would probably have hugged her head and curled up trembling in a corner after coming in...
Although the environment here was bizarre, the strange red glow that had appeared from nowhere and spread throughout the entire space provided excellent illumination. However, just as Bai Zhi was about to hurry up and search the villa for the final necessary Corpse Puzzle Piece, unusually clear footsteps suddenly came from the stairwell entrance.
"Tsk, this is why I hate sweets..."
Staring toward the stairwell entrance, Bai Zhi muttered under his breath, then took out a piece of Chocolate, unwrapped it, and stuffed it into his mouth without even looking at it.
According to the normal Walkthrough, he was supposed to avoid the Vengeful Spirit's attacks while searching this dilapidated villa for the final puzzle piece. That method was the safest, but it also took the most time.
They didn't have much time left. In the Real World, Beard Guy might not be able to hold out much longer while dragging along two pieces of dead weight, so Bai Zhi had to take a somewhat riskier approach.
About ten seconds later, a ferocious figure appeared at the stairwell entrance. Its not particularly tall body was covered in stitch marks, and its empty eye sockets, with the eyeballs gouged out, slowly swept across the entire hall. White bone fragments could vaguely be seen at the wounds forcibly sewn shut with hair used as needle and thread.
"Is it really this blatant..."
After voicing that complaint, Bai Zhi, hiding behind the stairwell entrance, decisively threw his homemade White Phosphorus Incendiary Bomb at it. Without bothering to check the result, he turned and ran upstairs.
As furious, agonized roars came from behind him, Bai Zhi rushed straight to the Second Floor. He didn't bother concealing himself. Kicking open doors one after another, he began searching every room.
What he feared most were Vengeful Spirits without physical forms that could pass through walls at will. A tangible existence like this one, which could be attacked, let him relax slightly. But if it really had been an intangible Vengeful Spirit that couldn't be attacked, he would have had to wonder whether this Novice Quest had been specifically designed to torment them.
Yet he had only searched three rooms when the corpse, soaked from head to toe as though it had rolled around in the downpour outside several times, roared its way up to the Second Floor.
What made him want to curse even more was that, in its extreme wrath, it actually tore off the head forcibly stitched onto its torso and hurled it at him.
Since he had never expected it to possess such a long-range "split-head operation" attack, he was struck squarely. As the head clamped down hard on his right hand, the headless Stitched Corpse also strode toward him.
"This is freaking ridiculous, isn't it? This thing even knows how to put out fires. I honestly think you could be an ambassador for fire safety education..."
Kicking away the head that was biting his hand so tightly, Bai Zhi got up from the ground with several Improvised Hand Grenades already in his hand. As he hurled them behind him, he swiftly ducked behind a corner.
Several Explosions rang out, and Iron Nails, blades, glass shards, and other debris flew everywhere, clattering loudly in all directions.
"Tsk, if only Mao Bao sold Rocket Launchers and C4..."
Glancing at the bite wound on his hand, where black blood was flowing out, Bai Zhi didn't have time to treat it. Before the furious roars sounded again, he hurriedly left.
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