Are otaku this terrifying?

Prologue: Are All Shut-ins This Terrifying?

(The following content is not set in the real world. Please substitute it with a similar parallel world template; aside from cultural aspects, everything else is different.)

Night fell, and cold moonlight spilled across the ground.

In the hidden corners, one could see the faint, flickering silhouettes of many figures.

"Everyone, proceed with extreme caution. The target is a high-IQ criminal. Do not give him even the slightest chance to escape!"

"Understood!"

Once everyone reached their designated positions, small capsules were tossed in from beneath the main gate and through the gaps in the windows.

With a soft "pop," the capsules burst, and choking smoke instantly filled the entire room.

Expecting the hypnotic gas to have taken effect, the SWAT officers wearing gas masks kicked open the door and rushed inside.

"Report, no target found in the bedroom."

"Report, no target found in the kitchen."

"Report, no target found in the living room."

"Report, no secret passages found in the room."

Hearing the successive stream of bad news through his earpiece, Chang Yuan, who had been beaming just moments ago, saw his expression darken instantly. "Damn it, why is this happening? Where are the intelligence officers? What are they paid for? Why was there no report that the target had vanished?"

"Don't blame them."

"Huh? Chief, you mean...?"

With the hypnotic gas in the room now dispersed, Hou Zhenyu walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out a copy of The Interpretation of Dreams. "If I'm not mistaken, they were hypnotized."

On this bookshelf, one side was filled with various anime figures and merchandise, while the other was packed with books related to psychology, such as The Ego and the Id and Fantasy is Reality.

Hu Yue, standing nearby, couldn't help but widen her eyes. "Wait, didn't the initial report say the target was just a high-IQ shut-in?"

"Do you think a mere shut-in could lead the police around by the nose?" Hou Zhenyu sighed and shook his head. "Even if he is a shut-in, he is an extremely dangerous one."

Chang Yuan nodded silently. That was true; what kind of normal shut-in reads this stuff? His own bookshelf didn't even have enough space for his figures.

Glancing at the small photo frame on the table, many officers nodded with a mix of grief and indignation. So much for the "dead fat shut-in" stereotype—with a face this handsome and sunny, how could he justify the title of a shut-in?

Traitor, bah!

Hu Yue still couldn't understand. "But he had a direct conflict with the victim and was among the first group we summoned for questioning. Did the person taking the records not notice anything unusual at the time?"

Hou Zhenyu closed the book and sighed again. "On one hand, he hid it too well; the conclusions drawn by his teachers, classmates, friends, and family were shockingly consistent. On the other hand, there were simply too many people with grudges against the victim's family, so compared to the others summoned, his suspicion was indeed the lowest."

Seeing the grave expressions of the others, Chang Yuan encouraged them, "An opponent this tricky has still left a trail under our close investigation. At the very least, he has nowhere left to run!"

The officers all wore relieved smiles. No matter how difficult an enemy was, once their identity was exposed, they were as good as dead. Did he really think he could do whatever he wanted in modern society based on individual ability?

However, Hou Zhenyu's expression was incredibly solemn. "You're wrong. Our biggest trouble might have only just begun!"

An officer nearby laughed, "Chief, you're still joking with us at a time like this..."

Just then, a voice suddenly came through Hou Zhenyu's earpiece: "Chief, it's bad! Zhang San has been kidnapped!" (To avoid friendly fire, we have to use a meta name, please forgive us.)

"How is that possible?" Hou Zhenyu's expression changed drastically, but he quickly asked, "What is your current situation?"

The voice on the other end sounded ashamed. "We were knocked out by hypnotic gas. When we woke up, Zhang San was already gone, but there are no casualties on our side for now."

Hearing there were no casualties, Hou Zhenyu regained his composure. "He can't have gone far with a person in tow. If he planned this in advance and wants to avoid detection, it's likely an abandoned school or factory nearby. But take note: once you find the target, do not provoke him!"

"Understood!"

Although those around him couldn't hear the call, they could guess the gist from Hou Zhenyu's words. As the call ended, they all hurriedly asked, "Chief, what exactly is going on?"

Hou Zhenyu shook his head. "You should know how he left a trail, right?"

Chang Yuan rubbed his chin and said, "He went to the hospital for a check-up today. Originally, we were just routinely investigating his medical records after the fact, but upon checking, we discovered he is already in the terminal stage of cancer! People are capable of anything when pushed by the threat of death, which is why we refocused our investigation on him and connected the small details that had been overlooked before."

As he spoke, he shook his head and sighed. "Linyushan Cancer—a cancer so rare it was named after him. No wonder he's acting so recklessly."

Hou Zhenyu looked at him. "Do you think he only found out about his condition today?"

Chang Yuan froze, suddenly realizing. "Hypnosis! He hypnotized those doctors so that what they entered into the system was just a common illness!"

"He isn't hiding it anymore because he only has one last person left to kill!"

"That's right. Zhang San's entire family has been murdered; now, only he remains!"

Nearby, Hu Yue was furious. "He could have killed Zhang San using a much simpler method, yet he chose to expose himself. Is he declaring war on the police?"

The others felt a sense of humiliation, but Hou Zhenyu remarked, "I consulted many psychologists today. According to their analysis, the target is the type of person who appears gentle and humble on the outside, but is proud to the extreme on the inside."

"The reason he actively exposed his flaws is likely not to declare war on us, but..." Hou Zhenyu took a deep breath, "...to let Zhang San die in the depths of despair!"

Chang Yuan was instinctively shocked and asked subconsciously, "You mean he intentionally let Zhang San see the hope of rescue, only to let him fall from heaven to hell the moment he reached the peak?"

"But if he does this, he will definitely be caught..." Hu Yue's voice suddenly caught in her throat, because she remembered that Linyushan already had cancer.

"Now you should understand why I said our biggest trouble has only just begun, right?" Hou Zhenyu sighed.

"A madman. This guy is an absolute, unadulterated madman!" A chill ran through everyone's hearts. An enemy like this was truly terrifying!

Inside an abandoned factory.

"Let me go, let me go! I can give you money, lots and lots of money!" A fashionably dressed young man was tied to an iron chair, struggling and screaming at the top of his lungs.

However, the young man on the other side turned a deaf ear, whistling a lighthearted tune as he plunged a syringe into the fashionable youth's arm under his terrified gaze.

"What is this?" Zhang San asked nervously.

"Oh, this is a serum that will make you much more sensitive," Lin Yushan replied with a smile.

"More sensitive?"

"This is good stuff; it will multiply the pleasure you receive. Of course, it does the same for pain!" Lin Yushan smiled as he used a small knife to carve a wound into Zhang San's arm.

The wound was not deep, but Zhang San let out a blood-curdling scream, his eyes bulging as if he were a dehydrated fish.

"Huh? Is that all? I haven't even sprinkled the salt yet." Lin Yushan smiled and pulled out a bag of table salt and chili powder.

"Devil, you perverted devil!" Zhang San was so scared that bubbles of snot were floating from his nose, his legs scraping against the floor as he tried to distance himself from this demon.

Unfortunately, the chair, bolted into the concrete, was not something his small frame could shake.

"Oh my, weren't you having a great time when you were street racing? I guarantee you, this is ten thousand times more exciting than racing!" A devilish smile hung on the corner of Lin Yushan's mouth.

"What exactly do you want?" Zhang San, his face smeared with snot and tears, screamed in a breakdown, "I already paid you the money, what else do you want?"

"Oh?" Lin Yushan looked surprised. "That's truly strange. Wasn't it you who had those thugs snatch the money back afterward?"

Zhang San's expression stiffened. In truth, he hadn't cared about the compensation money; he had only done it because he was annoyed by the experience of being summoned to the police station.

If he had known he would provoke such a pervert, he never would have sent his men to teach the guy a lesson... No, he never should have gone street racing in the first place.

Although filled with regret, Zhang San still forced himself to glare and say viciously, "Just you wait, my men will..."

"They've already been blown to bits!"

"Huh?"

Seeing Zhang San's bewildered expression, Lin Yushan kindly explained again, "All blown up, they died in such a miserable way!"

After saying this, Lin Yushan even took out his phone to flip through photos for him.

Looking at the charred, mangled chunks of flesh in the photos, Zhang San felt a wave of nausea and vomited on the spot.

"Madman! You are a madman!" Zhang San screamed in terror, but more than anything, he felt regret.

If he could do it all over again, he would never provoke a lunatic like this.

Just then, the sound of urgent sirens began to blare.

"Oh? You've acted quite quickly." Lin Yushan looked toward the outside of the factory.

"Police, it's the police!" Zhang San was overjoyed; he had never longed for the arrival of the police as much as he did today.

Outside.

"Chief, we have 'accidentally' triggered the alarm device as you instructed, but will this really make the target let his guard down?" a police officer asked skeptically.

"We already lost the first round, and now that we've rushed over in a panic, appearing impatient is quite reasonable," Hou Zhenyu mused.

As he spoke, Hou Zhenyu asked through his walkie-talkie, "How is it? Is there a suitable sniper position?"

Soon, a voice came through the earpiece, "It's difficult. The target is in a blind spot of the factory, and the only place with a line of sight happens to be perfectly aligned with the hostage."

"So he hasn't let his guard down after all," Hou Zhenyu muttered to himself. "Then we must think on the third level. Knowing that the police are intentionally baiting him, he will remain vigilant against the flaws we've deliberately left behind. At this point, we will break through from another direction."

Chang Yuan, standing to the side, asked subconsciously, "And what if he's thinking on the fourth level?"

Seeing the Chief glaring at him, Chang Yuan quickly laughed it off and asked, "Chief, what did you mean by 'another direction' again?"

Hou Zhenyu's mouth twitched slightly as he said, "When he thinks we are intentionally provoking him to reveal a flaw, we will shift our focus to Zhang San."

"Oh~" Chang Yuan drew out the sound. "Openly repair the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang... I understand."

Taking a deep breath, Hou Zhenyu held up a megaphone and said, "Lin Yushan, stop now! You have nowhere left to run!"

The same amplified voice echoed from inside the factory, "Chief Hou, that kind of talk doesn't suit your level. You should know that it's long been impossible for me to stop!"

"I know you hate scum like Zhang San, but what difference is there between you and that scum right now?"

Zhang San, who was craning his neck in anticipation outside, was stunned. Are you kidding me? I'm the hostage! You saying that makes me very nervous!

"That level of provocation is truly painless! To the law, murder is murder, even if the one killed is scum. Having done this, I certainly won't hypocritically pretend that I'm still a good person. I understood this principle the moment I took the first step."

The police officers all frowned. The target had a very clear understanding of what he was doing; he didn't consider his current actions righteous, nor did he harbor the typical criminal's desire to whitewash his sins.

The psychological defenses of such a person are extremely difficult to break.

"No, I believe your heart still yearns for the light. Otherwise, why did you evacuate the local residents before every one of your bombings?"

"You're overthinking it. I only did that to make the game purer and..."

At that moment, Hou Zhenyu roared through the megaphone, "Zhang San, duck!"

Zhang San, hearing his name called, was startled and instinctively ducked his head. In that instant, the top of Lin Yushan's forehead was exposed to the police's line of sight.

Now... The sniper pulled the trigger without a moment's hesitation.

Bang!

Dragging a brilliant trail of sparks, the sniper round instantly pierced the center of Lin Yushan's forehead.

With a dull thud, a plum blossom of blood bloomed, and Lin Yushan's corpse collapsed limply to the ground.

Seeing this, the police officers waiting in formation outside could hardly believe it. Had the perverted murderer who had been running them in circles really just died like this?

Even Hou Zhenyu's expression shifted, a sense of extreme unreality washing over him.

Zhang San was stunned at first, but was soon overwhelmed by a tidal wave of joy.

"Hahahaha! You idiot, you moron, you piece of trash! Didn't you want to kill me? In the end, didn't you die instead? Just you wait, once I get back, I'm going to kill everyone who has anything to do with you..."

Hearing Zhang San ranting inside, Hou Zhenyu's face darkened. "Although that Lin Yushan was indeed a bastard, this guy is a total piece of human scum. What he's done is enough to warrant the firing squad ten times over. Once we get back, organize the files and contact the other victims to initiate a lawsuit."

Hu Yue, standing to the side, nodded heavily. "Yes!"

Everyone wore expressions of relief. From the police's standpoint, they had to rescue the hostage, but from the perspective of an ordinary person, they found even looking at such scum disgusting.

"Then let's go in and 'rescue' him now!" Chang Yuan said with a malicious grin.

Just then, the voice belonging to Lin Yushan rang out once again.

"Hi, everyone."

Hearing that nightmarish voice, Zhang San's manic laughter froze on his face, and he immediately shrieked in sheer terror, "A ghost! There's a ghost! You devil, you won't even let me go after becoming a ghost?"

As if to save time, while Zhang San was still screaming, the voice continued.

"When this recording plays, it means I am truly dead. Student Zhang San, you must be very happy right now, aren't you? Doesn't the feeling of returning from hell to the human world feel great?"

Hearing the voice confirm that Lin Yushan was indeed dead, Zhang San couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

But before he could fully relax, he heard that gentle voice turn suddenly cold. "Then, how would it feel to fall back into hell from the human world? Actually, I've installed a bomb inside my body..."

Hearing this, Hou Zhenyu's face changed drastically. "Everyone, retreat outside! Do not hesitate! I will take responsibility for the consequences!"

"...The timer started the moment my heart stopped beating. The duration is three minutes..."

At this point, many officers had already entered the factory to rescue the hostage. Three minutes was enough time for them, but hearing the Chief's firm order, they had no choice but to pull back.

After all, they didn't want to risk their lives to save a piece of human scum.

Zhang San's body had already trembled when he heard about the bomb, and now, seeing the police abandon him and flee, he was so terrified he lost control of his bladder. "I'm still here! Take me with you! Aren't you police? How can you abandon a hostage and run away yourselves? You useless trash, are you even listening to me?!"

While he was throwing a tantrum of impotent rage, Lin Yushan's voice continued, "Oh my, I accidentally talked too much nonsense just now. I wonder what time it is? Hmm... let's just count down from five. Four, three..."

"Wait, there wasn't three minutes left when you started talking!" Zhang San let out another pig-like shriek, his body struggling violently.

"...Two, one. Goodbye!"

"No!"

Accompanied by a scream of desperate terror, a blast of air roared, flames surged, and the surrounding ground shook violently.

The fire consumed all the evil!

"Phew! That was close!" Watching the towering flames, the officers felt a lingering fear while simultaneously casting grateful looks toward their Chief.

"To ensure his target died in despair and agony, he actually made his own death a part of the design." Chang Yuan watched the fire with a complex expression. "This is absolutely the most terrifying enemy I have ever encountered!"

Everyone nodded in agreement; such a person was truly terrifying!

Hu Yue looked at Hou Zhenyu with some concern. "Chief, although subsequent events proved you were right, we didn't do everything possible to save the person. If those unscrupulous media outlets or public intellectuals find out, you..."

"Police are human too! If it were to save an innocent, then indeed, there shouldn't be too many considerations," Hou Zhenyu said decisively. "But if it's just to save a piece of human scum, I will never agree to trade their lives for his! As for those useless keyboard warriors, if they have the guts, let them come and face me."

"Chief!" Everyone looked at him, moved.

"Sigh, notify the fire department." Looking at the sky-high flames, Hou Zhenyu sighed softly. "What a waste..."

This Karma was merely to establish a protagonist who is highly capable but also knows the plot of Naruto. After all, if an average otaku transmigrated and suddenly had all sorts of skills, it would seem fake. But for someone with such high-level methods, they likely wouldn't know the Naruto plot. As for the story behind this Karma, let's not overanalyze it; if asked, it's a parallel world, if asked, it's a harmonious society. Don't worry too much about whether things like sleeping gas or body bombs are realistic.