You youngsters really like tests of courage, huh?

Standing quietly in the middle of the group, his full-coverage combat suit, which resembled leather armor, was outlined with many dark patterns and was equipped with an external breathing filter, covering almost half of his face like a black mask.

At this moment, Tang Yuyang, a veteran user who serves as a "benchmark," stood at the forefront of the formation without uttering a word. However, his entire attire alone made him look like a mysterious and ruthless assassin, attracting considerable attention.

Many onlookers couldn't help but whisper among themselves, their faces filled with envy and jealousy.

With the hearing of someone with Third Tier internal cultivation system, even amidst the noise, they could still barely hear the whispers of their companions, or rather, "colleagues," at close range.

But Tang Yuyang didn't really want to pay attention to these things.

As a First-Test User, and a researcher in Yanjing's project to promote a universal cultivation system—although he was largely the one being "tested and researched," and as the provider of a Daoist manual worth thousands of points from the Main God, he was now a standard "insider," with the treatment of a senior figure comparable to the director of a research project.

That being said, as one moves, the so-called "Shadow Mole Leather Armor" provides an almost effortless and intuitive control, making one hardly feel any restriction on movement or extra weight due to the armor's structure.

With deliberate stimulation, one can even perceive traces of Spirituality emerging from between the armor plates, briefly forming a barrier.

This guy, who was wearing a full set of Third Tier protective gear and could be considered a "tycoon" among the current user group, wasn't exactly happy.

The reason is simple: the scattered outsiders have now been spontaneously "squeezed out".

Among the rows of square formations, there stood a lone figure, and even though the person was wearing a mask, that hidden...

The sharp edge he held, like a blade at the throat, was still enough to prove his identity.

The Fourth Tier Sword Cultivator didn't know much about Xinyu, only that his surname was Chen, which was the same as the alias "Chen Jingqiu" from the Xi'an Ghost World.

As someone who had also cleared that strange world of Heaven's Scar of the Sky, and even was a key figure who reported the information about "Chen Jingqiu" to the authorities at the first opportunity, Tang Yuyang felt a complex mix of emotions as he stood at the front of the formation and looked at this "old friend".

Yes, back when they had only done two or three missions, the two of them had even mingled in the same Mission World, and had even tried to grasp the Xuan-Yuan Sword, their palms bleeding—

Now that the opponent has reached the Fourth Tier, even specific True Body Missions requiring a separate execution are necessary. Theoretically, only users at the Peak Third Tier or above are qualified to barely "team up" with him.

The gap thus became clearly defined.

While he was still basking in the glory of his leather armor and struggling to pay the minimum price of thousands or tens of thousands for a Fourth Tier exchange, his opponent had already far surpassed him and reached an unattainable height!

It evokes mixed feelings.

People change. Now, after being tempered by a series of missions, Tang Yuyang is no longer the naive and passionate young man he once was.

To be honest, at times like these, he couldn't help but think of one question: if he had been a little more selfish back then, and hadn't been so "naive" as to invest all of his thousands of reward points into that Daoist scripture, would their situations have been reversed?

At worst, perhaps I am now like this "Chen," a Fourth Tier being, who knows?

Ah, First-Test User, huh?

Overwhelmed with emotion and with his thoughts in turmoil, perhaps something was unintentionally revealed in the midst of his Spiritual Perception and noticed.

The Sword Cultivator in front suddenly turned around and glanced around coldly.

Seeing that things were not going well, Tang Yuyang lowered his head and stopped looking. He coughed, turned around, and adopted the air of an old leader, reminding the people behind him a few words.

"I've said this many times, but I still want to emphasize it: when each team enters, please don't forget that new users should be grouped with Level-Two Main God Users as a benchmark."

"Don't be too nervous, but remember to check your equipment regularly."

"Besides the supplies that are directly exchanged, the Main God usually only leaves behind a portion of the items brought in from reality, with an uncertain probability. And once they enter the Mission World, it's even harder to say—"

After a while, this experienced "veteran," who never showed his face and whose mysterious aura was accentuated by his leather armor, began to spout familiar platitudes.

But it must be said that his experienced demeanor did offer some comfort to others.

With a mix of reassurance and explanation, as the time finally came and the familiar random Mission World option appeared before them, everyone's gaze shifted!

Hmm, the familiar yet unfamiliar ceiling, the familiar feeling of being unconscious.

As soon as he opened his eyes, his nerve signals were triggered as if by conditioned reflex. Ignoring the weakness and sluggishness in his body, Tang Yuyang forced himself to stand up. However, it took several seconds before his consciousness gradually began to clear.

Regarding the "routine" unconsciousness phase after entering the Mission World, many members of the official team had organized relevant emergency response training, which is why they were able to react relatively quickly.

But as soon as he came to his senses, his Mind Reading skipped a beat!

There are outsiders!

I teamed up with an acquaintance who was also at the Third Tier to enter the Mission World. Theoretically, there should only be two people here.

But what appeared before Tang Yuyang at this moment was a pile of people lying haphazardly on the ground!

Without a doubt, this means that the Main God has likely brought together different individuals or teams!

In other words, the corresponding difficulty level must have been "adjusted" accordingly!

Looking around, aside from my colleague Yong Qi, who was also struggling to get up from the ground, there were about ten other people around him who were also gradually waking up!

Twelve!

A quick inventory made my eyelids twitch!

Including Tang Yuyang himself, there are now a total of twelve people here!

--But this is True Body Mission! Wasn't it supposed to be on one-star difficulty?!

The skin on his face under the filter mask twitched uncontrollably as he looked at the house, which clearly had an island-like feel, with its low Japanese-style roof and dusty rafters showing signs of decay.

The room was covered with old-fashioned tatami flooring, with wooden stairs leading up and down in the corners. The old sofa in a simple style was already dilapidated, and the windows and even the roof seemed to be poorly lit, making the room exceptionally dark.

It seems that no one has lived here for quite some time.

But Tang Yuyang was not willing to be careless in the slightest.

If my first impression is correct, this should be the interior of a residential house, especially since I can clearly hear voices and noises coming from the other side of the sofa.

Without thinking twice, he gestured for his colleague to be quiet as he got up. Through the faint, almost imperceptible light barrier—a temporary safety measure that seemed to be provided by the Main God —he quietly looked up to the other side. At that moment, several young men and women in school uniforms were sitting in the same dimly lit living room, laughing and joking with each other.

Including in front of these students, the heavy television set located in the front of the living room was flashing its VCR light below, indicating that it was playing some kind of videotape or DVD, which looked particularly eye-catching.

Perhaps influenced by that faint layer of light, these young people, who possessed typical Demi-Humans features and appeared to be no more than ten or twenty years old, radiating youthful energy, were completely unaware that a group of people had quietly appeared in the space behind the sofa.

The new "guest".

At the feet of these students lay a rather pretty girl, with some bloodstains around her head.

A thuggish-looking boy with dyed gray-yellow hair, amidst the cheers of those around him, squatted down and slapped the cheeks and nostrils of the girl who appeared to be unconscious.

He then reached out and took off the school badge with Japanese writing on it, tossing it aside with ill intent.

Among the onlookers, some simply turned away to adjust the television, muttering about why there was still no sound, while a girl giggled and filmed the scene with an old-fashioned camera.

Well, this is almost a typical scene of Japanese bullies exchanging ideas.

Let alone ordinary students, even princesses of the imperial family would have to experience what it's like to skip class because of "friendship" with classmates.

Or, once they enter the workplace, in companies where seniority is the norm and hierarchy is strictly observed, this kind of work style often persists.

That's how the underlying logic is written! How are you going to break it?

But compared to that, none of these matter!

In the short span of time, the users who had woken up saw this scene. Some rubbed their eyes, as if they hadn't fully recovered yet, and instinctively exclaimed in surprise!

"--the Ring?!?"

As if this sound had "touched" something, the faint film of light in the air instantly dissipated, accompanied by a feeling that sent chills down one's spine, which suddenly surged into one's heart!

"Wait a minute! What did you say?!"

Tang Yuyang was also jolted awake!

But it was too late. In the room where a student was "manually repairing" the television, which was being hit more and more violently, the student finally couldn't bear it anymore and there was a loud "smack" that attracted everyone's attention!

The static faded, the screen lit up, and against an eerie gray-green backdrop, an ancient well suddenly appeared.

I'm numb!

It's hard to say whether the bizarre video style on TV is frightening, or whether the fact that a group of figures silently emerged from behind the sofa in the abandoned house used as a test of courage is even more terrifying!

Looking at these guys with different clothes and appearances, many of whom were wearing tactical vests and combat uniforms and carrying firearms, the group of students were immediately filled with confusion, fear and astonishment!

Screaming and roaring, in their panic, the young people turned and fled in a frenzy! The girl holding the camera screamed and turned to run, not paying attention to the camera, which fell to the ground and even the lens cap flew off!

But objectively speaking, compared to these reckless young students...

The atmosphere among these dozen or so strangers, who were already on the verge of exploding, was now even more terrifying!

In a conditioned reflex, several users who had heard or understood the meaning of the earlier cry of "The Ring" immediately pulled out guns and other weapons and fired at the television and video recorder in front of them!

Unexpected.

The television actually exploded on the spot! The wellhead, with its stone edge covered in moss and black mold, also turned into static and faded away, just like a simple display problem!

Seeing that someone was so anxious that they immediately pulled out a "throwing device" from their waist and were about to pull out the pin, Tang Yuyang quickly stopped them!

"Don't stay here! Get out of here! It's dangerous!"

In just a few breaths, not only the television set, but the wall behind it was almost swept away! The lightweight nature of Japanese architecture was clearly revealed at this moment!

That's so damn unlucky!

At least she was alive. Reaching out to scoop up the unconscious female student from the ground, Tang Yuyang and his colleague Yong Qi ran out in perfect unison!

Needless to say, the people behind were stunned for a moment, but they immediately realized what was happening and followed closely behind!

The wind's getting strong, let's get out of here!

Let whoever wants to stay in this godforsaken place go!

Seeing a group of people rush out like mad dogs, even getting ahead of the students who were stumbling and fleeing in front, they escaped the house and rushed out of the courtyard faster!

The speed of their movements left the young students behind them in disbelief!

Outside the dilapidated two-story Japanese-style villa.

When he stood firmly on the street and let the fresh air from outside blow through his nose, for some reason, Tang Yuyang even felt a sense of déjà vu, and his whole body suddenly relaxed a bit.

The chilling sense of dread faded away.

The feeling of briefly escaping death, the lingering fear and the secret joy of relief, are not easily imagined by ordinary people.

Unfortunately, his good mood only lasted a short while.

"How could this be a supernatural horror movie? Shouldn't this be rated one star?!"

"Wait! I haven't seen this movie! Can someone explain what's going on?"

"Hahaha, this is good! Lord—He wants us to survive for seven days! Those are ghosts, vengeful spirits that want to take our lives!"

"Damn it! Is there any Daoist enhancement like Uncle Nine's? What about Pastor? Or a mage? An exorcist? An onmyoji? A shaman--"

Soon, after looking around, everyone's eyes fell on Tang Yuyang and Yong Qi, as if they were the "last hope of the whole village," hoping that these two temporary companions who had not yet spoken could give some good news.

Unfortunately, all they will be met with is disappointment.

"Warrior."

"Qi cultivators are currently no different from internal energy martial artists."

A chorus of wails erupted from the crowd, and almost everyone wore a grim expression, a bitter smile tinged with sorrow.

Even if it was just seeing that damned ancient well on that television screen earlier, rather than any further "follow-up content," the unusual, chilling feeling they had now was enough to prove that they had received that "curse"!

"Don't be discouraged, everyone. The pattern of Sadako's murders is that she dies at the end of the seven-day period. She only gives us seven days."

"Hmm, it's almost a 30-year-old movie—but I remember if someone else watched a copy of that cursed videotape, it might transfer or delay the curse, right? It's not like we're completely without options."

Among the dozen or so people, some couldn't bear to watch any longer and started talking to each other to encourage one another.

It was only after hearing these remarks and thinking it over carefully that everyone's expressions improved slightly.

It must be said that among a group of people who clearly come from similar cultural regions, very few would be completely unaware of a well-known horror film like "The Ring".

However, as it turns out, they were perhaps too optimistic.

"Wait a minute! What did you say? What's the name of this house?"

"The Saeki House —Uncle. It's the Saeki House."

"This house is a haunted house; no one has lived here for a long time. We overheard the neighbors mentioning it, so we came here to test our courage."

The conference's --"

"Please, please let us go—we promise we won't call the police."

With their faces covered in purple and blue bruises, swollen and bloodshot, and their eyelids almost unable to open, the young students, who had been whipped into pig-like heads, were completely unaware of the irreversible path their Fate had taken. They were still begging for mercy from these seemingly ruthless "kidnappers" who had only given them a beating.

In the end, only the users were left with their heads about to explode!