[Welcome, chosen ones, to the Horror Story World. Please remain calm and cautious.] [Your actions will affect your nation's fortune.]
A mechanical voice drifted down from far across the sky.
Su Chen looked utterly bewildered.
"What's going on? Where am I?"
He murmured to himself.
Before his words had even faded, a vast torrent of information poured into his mind out of nowhere.
A long while passed.
The bewilderment in Su Chen's eyes gradually gave way to panic and shock.
This was a bizarre Horror Story World!
One citizen from each country would be randomly selected to enter this world as a chosen one.
Su Chen had barely transmigrated to Blue Star when the rules had the misfortune of selecting him.
He had become Dragon Country's chosen one.
In the Horror Story World, if a chosen one died, their nation's fortune would decline, and disasters would descend upon the real world.
If a chosen one successfully cleared a scenario, their country would receive all kinds of substantial benefits.
Every move the chosen ones made would also be livestreamed to the citizens of their respective countries.
At that moment, the viewers in Dragon Country's livestream felt their hearts sink as they watched Su Chen staring blankly on-screen.
"Why is Su Chen just standing there with that vacant look on his face? He doesn't look very bright!"
"That's what I thought, too. Please tell me Dragon Country hasn't picked an idiot."
"Ugh, last time, our Dragon Country contestant was teamed up against by the chosen ones from Pickle Country and Sakura Country. Our rivers stopped flowing for half a month, and our national fortune is down to just 70 points. If something goes wrong again, the disaster will only be worse."
"Those damn shibal and baka bastards! I hope this Su Chen steps up!"
"Man, I don't like our chances. Nothing about Su Chen looks reliable. Let's just hope the government departments can pull through, figure out all the correct horror-tale rules, and send them to him as soon as possible!"
The viewers couldn't help flooding the chat with comments.
Meanwhile, in the main conference room of the Dragon Country Strange Tales Department.
A young man wearing square-framed glasses handed a file to the elderly man seated at the head of the table.
The elderly man took it, shifted his gaze away from Su Chen on the large screen, and looked down at the documents in his hand.
As he read, his expression grew increasingly grim.
The young man beside him adjusted his glasses and sighed.
"Elder Qin, Su Chen is just a dropout from a third-rate diploma mill. He's unemployed, too. Most importantly, his teachers reported that he's a bit dim-witted."
"From the looks of it, Dragon Country is in danger again."
The young man's voice was full of dismay.
Elder Qin couldn't help sighing at those words, either.
But a moment later, determination filled the elderly man's clouded eyes once more.
He patted the bespectacled young man's shoulder and said steadily, "Whatever Su Chen may be like, he's still putting his life on the line for our country. We must stand behind him."
"Tell our colleagues to redouble their efforts. As long as we can decipher all the rules and send them to Su Chen as soon as possible, we still have hope."
Sensing Elder Qin's resolve, the young man regained a glimmer of confidence.
He nodded and hurried out of the conference room.
In the Horror Story World.
Su Chen had just finished processing the information in his mind when an ethereal mechanical voice suddenly rang in his ears.
[Ding! The Horror-Tale Rule Analysis System is activating!] [Binding system!] [System binding complete. As long as the host identifies the correct rules in a horror-tale scenario, points will be awarded after the scenario ends. The number of points depends on the number of rules identified. Points can be used for prize draws or to purchase items in the System Mall.] [Ding! Beginner gift pack received. Would the host like to claim it now?]
As the system's voice played in his mind.
A smile gradually spread across Su Chen's face.
As one of the countless transmigrators, how could he not know what a system was?
This was practically the ultimate tool for showing off!
"Claim it!"
Su Chen said eagerly.
[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have received one Death Rewind Trial Coupon!] [The host may call upon the system at any time to set a save point!]
Su Chen's pupils contracted sharply when he heard the reward.
Although the reward was only a single-use trial coupon.
Its effect was incredibly powerful.
As its name suggested, it would rewind time upon death.
As long as he set a save point beforehand, he would return to that moment after he died.
This was practically an extra life.
Once he understood this, Su Chen hurriedly said in his mind, "System, set this moment as my save point."
[Confirmed. One trial coupon consumed. Save point set.]
Despite the icy system voice, Su Chen felt a little warmer inside.
Now that he had a way to save his life, facing these rule-based horror tales.
He felt somewhat more confident.
Just then.
Su Chen's vision blurred, and he was teleported to another new world.
By the time he recovered his senses.
An enormous zoo had appeared out of thin air before all the chosen ones.
Each of them held a map of the zoo.
Su Chen looked down at his map.
At a glance, the map appeared to contain several dozen animal areas.
In the bottom-right corner, near the entrance, a sizeable section was marked with dashed lines, yet it contained only a few types of animals.
There were only the Rabbit Area, the White Lion Area, the Ape Area, and the Elephant Area.
It looked very strange.
Su Chen frowned, finding it odd.
Then he turned the map over.
[Zoo Visitor Rules] came into view.
Before you continue