Mid-July

"Mid-July's flower-displaying stage, King Yama arrives, wearing a mask, collecting graves."

Scarlet moonlight filtered through the bare willow trees, casting countless claw-like, dancing shadows on the rugged, muddy mountain path.

Beyond the shadows, the path reached its end. Children sang a nursery rhyme, their voices echoing through the treacherous, cloud-like, half-mountainous desolate village filled with white candles.

Beside the mountain path, a nine-foot-wide river flowed slowly towards the desolate village. The splashing water shimmered with a unique red glow under the full moon.

A bamboo raft made of a hundred bamboo poles swayed precariously in the river, out of place.

Eleven people in various states of dress lay asleep on the bamboo raft, drifting with the waves, their sleepwear soaked through.

They drifted unconsciously into the bounds of the desolate village.

The weathered village sign was illegible in the eerie red night, hanging precariously six feet above.

A three-eyed crow curiously grabbed the sign's horn. A gust of wind blew.

The three-eyed crow let out a cry and flew away from the mountainside.

The black sign crashed to the ground.

The part not yet buried in the ground read: "... Village"

Behind the sign, the desolate village was covered in cobwebs, yellow spirit paper wrapped around them, scattering in the wind.

Every house had its doors and windows half-open, creaking a symphony with the half-mountain wind.

At first glance, it seemed as if this desolate village was full of people.

The rooster crowed once, the red moon disappeared, and the children's voices scattered.

The rooster crowed twice, the slanting rays of the rising sun shone on the willow trees, the shadows stood tall, and the withered willow trees sprouted new buds.

The rooster crowed thrice, the black sign was re-erected six feet above, and the burning white candles were extinguished.

The swaying bamboo raft, carrying eleven people, repeatedly bumped against the shore with the waves.

The splashing water woke up the person closest to the shore on the raft.

A boy with short, blunt bangs wore a black, hooded onesie pajamas featuring Toothless, the Toothless's teeth irregularly hanging on his forehead.

He rubbed his dry eyes groggily. The cold dampness of the river washed away his drowsiness instantly.

At the same moment, the others on the raft slowly woke up, supporting their uncomfortable bodies in confusion.

Everyone looked around in confusion and disbelief, then scanned the strangers beside them with bewilderment.

It seemed none of them had escaped, arriving here in an unknown state.

A young woman named Zheng Wuyou, with messy brown ear-tucked short hair, sat in the middle of the raft, hazily observing the people and environment around her. Her body still swayed with the raft.

She felt like she was going to get seasick.

"Welcome, first batch of Nightmare Experience Officers, to the Nightmare Countdown. This is Countdown Nightmare."

On the bank beside the eleven people, a man appeared, wearing a gray and white straw cape over a black suit, crouching down.

At first glance, he looked like a white ox with four horns, but he had a human body.

Both his sharp horns split into four points on their thick bases.

His slender eyes had no pupils, only whites.

Yet, the eleven people could still feel his gaze upon them.

His nearly two-decimeter-long ears twitched occasionally, catching every sound in this world.

"Who... are you?" An uncle wearing capri pants stabilized himself on the swaying raft. His still groggy brain couldn't process things calmly.

He could only ask basic questions.

A man with a buzz cut, bare-chested, was the first to snap out of it. He swayed as he stood up from the raft, intending to grab the man's suit collar, but the man quickly stood up and grabbed him from behind.

"What kind of cosplay is this!"

"Let me go! Do you know who I am?"

"You can't get away with grabbing me!" The bare-chested man's hands were twisted behind his back. His arms bulged with veins, but the other man didn't budge.

The bare-chested man struggled and roared in his grip, his face contorted in pain.

"I know you all have this question, so I will give everyone a simple introduction to this world." The man's tone was flat, betraying no reaction to the commotion caused by the bare-chested man.

The man stood at a full two meters tall. The bare-chested man, estimated to be 1.8 meters, looked much smaller beside him.

So noisy...

Zheng Wuyou shook her muddled head. A little girl in SpongeBob pajamas was tightly holding her.

She knew she didn't have dementia and was certain she had been sleeping in her dorm just moments ago.

But this place was clearly nowhere near her dorm.

"I am the opening NPC for Countdown Nightmare. As the name suggests, Countdown Nightmare requires everyone to obtain and reach specific numbers during the game, or complete the mission before the countdown ends to pass."

Zheng Wuyou helplessly tilted her head towards the man in the suit on the bank, who was still holding the bare-chested man. She didn't quite understand if she had been kidnapped into an immersive escape room in the middle of the night.

Still in a daze, I was dragged by Old Yuan to some chaotic place again.

Just as my bamboo raft had finally warmed up, it was repeatedly splashed by the cold river water.

"Different principles have different bonus mechanisms, and each Nightmare's bonus mechanism is different. The Experience Officers need to discover them themselves..."

"This is illegal kidnapping! If you don't want serious consequences, I suggest you release us immediately!" A woman with a heavy fringe, standing at the very front of the bamboo raft, angrily yelled at a man not far from her.

He didn't seem to notice that he tilted his head slightly as if in confusion.

"Are you idiots? Attack together! What are you waiting for!"

Seeing a moment of laxity, the shirtless man kicked hard at the tall body, trying to break free from the restraint of the straw-clad man in the suit.

The straw-clad man in the suit turned his head mechanically towards the shirtless man on his right, as if he felt no pain.

"Because you are our esteemed first batch of Nightmare Experience Officers, this is a friendly reminder: failure to pass will result in death, and death corresponds to reality."

As he spoke the task he was supposed to complete, he grinned as if congratulating himself, and opened his mouth towards the shirtless man.

The shirtless man, facing the straw-clad man in the suit, was grabbed by the neck with one hand. His eyes widened, and he stopped kicking.

A stream of warm liquid flowed from his crotch, dripping onto the soft soil.

The mouth in front of him suddenly grew to the size of a washbasin, revealing layers of bloody fangs within.

A rotten stench emanated from the mouth.

Everyone on the bamboo raft watched in disbelief as the straw-clad man in the suit's face contorted, his cheek splitting open. They then witnessed him snap the shirtless man's head into his mouth with a crunch.

When he returned to normal, a headless corpse was left behind, with red liquid gushing from the severed neck.

It splashed onto his expressionless hair.

"The countdown has begun. Wishing you... a pleasant time. I am your opening NPC - Ao Ye." He paused, as if wanting them to remember him deeply, deliberately emphasizing his name.

Zheng Wuyou, who met his gaze, knew it wasn't her imagination. As the straw-clad man in the suit ruthlessly dropped the headless corpse, his pupil-less eyes lingered on her for a moment.

Staying up late... Ao Ye...

"I, Ao, like to eat people."