The Horror Curse

In a classroom at Binhai Medical College, the medical students listened intently to their instructor's lecture.

"In the Horror Game, you must overcome your fear. Even the smallest mistake could get you torn to pieces."

The instructor's tone was deadly serious.

Lin Luo studied the densely packed notes on the blackboard, committing them firmly to memory.

Three years ago, the Horror Game had descended upon the world. Everyone had to enter the Horror World and play a game before turning twenty.

What they faced in the game were terrifying ghosts and monsters, and the price of failure was their life.

His parents had been among the first group to enter the Horror Game.

They had never returned. There had been no word from them, and he had no idea whether they were alive or dead.

The difference was that the first group had been forcibly transported into the Horror Game.

Over the years, Lin Luo had obsessively researched information about the Horror Game, all so that he could one day enter it and search for his parents.

Having lived two lives, he knew very well that when facing mysterious dangers, learning as much as possible was the best way to reduce the risk.

Just as the whole class was listening attentively, a female student let out a terrified scream, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

Lin Luo instinctively looked over as well.

A girl with a ponytail was staring fixedly at a black mark on her arm, her face filled with terror.

"The Horror Curse!"

Lin Luo's heart immediately tightened.

Anyone branded with the Horror Curse would be forcibly sent into the Horror Game.

Aside from the first group, almost no cases of people being forcibly transported into the Horror Game had been reported.

Everyone had signed up to enter the Horror Game through official channels.

Entering through official channels came with its own benefits.

Those who registered through official channels were allowed one mistake during the game, effectively giving them an extra life.

Forced entry offered no such safeguard. If you died, you died.

Of course, anyone who reached twenty without entering voluntarily would be forcibly transported into the Horror Game.

Could she have hidden her age? Was she already twenty?

Lin Luo wondered.

He was not the only one who thought so. The others began discussing it as well.

"I... why have I been branded with the Horror Curse too?"

"M-me too!"

As terrified cries rang out one after another, everyone immediately realized something was wrong and looked at their own arms.

Lin Luo did the same.

When the black mark came into view, Lin Luo knew he had been branded with the Horror Curse too.

He would soon be forcibly transported into the Horror Game.

This was a major departure from his plans, but now that it was happening, panic and fear would serve no purpose.

Lin Luo did his best to stay calm as everything he knew about the Horror Game flashed through his mind.

All fifty-four students in the class had been branded with the Horror Curse.

The classroom instantly erupted.

Cries of panic and terror filled the room.

Some even confessed their hidden feelings to the girls in the class.

It was a farewell that might last forever.

There was no changing the outcome. Amid the frightened cries and chaos, a flash of white light swept over them, and everyone vanished.

Meanwhile, in the Horror World.

Lin Luo slowly woke up. He rubbed his temples to clear his head, then immediately surveyed his surroundings.

He was in a dimly lit corridor.

Claw marks covered the corridor's ceiling, along with traces of scorching from a fire.

The walls were covered in patches of dried blood, and the stench of rotting corpses filled the air.

Lin Luo felt as though he had stepped into an abandoned slaughterhouse.

Three of his classmates stood nearby, one boy and two girls.

Zhang Zhihao, Liu Yanyan, and Zhang Xiaoli.

After waking up, the three had instinctively huddled together, watching their surroundings warily.

They completely ignored Lin Luo.

The reason was simple. Because he had devoted himself to researching the Horror Game, Lin Luo barely registered in class. The others knew him as an oddball who was difficult to approach, so they naturally shut him out.

"Welcome to Yellow Springs Hospital!"

An icy voice suddenly rang out.

Lin Luo's heart jolted, and he quickly looked toward the source of the voice.

At the far end of the dim corridor, a tall figure in a white coat slowly came into view.

Bloody handprints covered the pristine white coat, and the stench of a rotting corpse washed over him.

The pungent, bloody reek of decay made Lin Luo frown, but what truly chilled him was the four mouths on the figure's face.

As one mouth spoke, an unknown, thick yellow fluid dribbled from its corners.

"A ghost!"

Lin Luo shuddered violently, a thought flashing through his mind: Here it comes!

Once inside the Horror Game, dealing with ghosts was unavoidable.

Faced with such a mysterious, terrifying, unfamiliar being for the first time, Lin Luo was tense.

Thud!

When Zhang Xiaoli saw what the ghost really looked like, her legs gave out and she collapsed to her knees, a puddle spreading beneath her.

The ghost before her had frightened her so badly that she had wet herself.

Liu Yanyan and Zhang Zhihao were hardly any better. Though they had not lost control to that extent, their faces were deathly pale and their bodies shook like leaves.

The moment the ghost appeared, Lin Luo had begun mentally reassuring himself and redirecting his fear. That was the only reason he looked less rattled.

This was the benefit of studying diligently!

"I am the director of the first floor of Yellow Springs Hospital, and your supervisor. You will be working as nursing aides, responsible for caring for the patients here."

"Of course, some patients have rather peculiar temperaments. If your inadequate care upsets them, they will take a few parts from your bodies."

"The game will last seven days. During that time, getting along amicably with the patients is paramount. Complete your tasks and do your best to stay alive."

"Once the game ends, you will be graded based on the tasks you completed and your performance on the job, and rewarded accordingly!"

The hoarse, grating voice rang out again, accompanied by bursts of eerie laughter.

The most horrifying sight was how the ghost director switched to a different mouth with every sentence.

Lin Luo struggled to remain calm and committed every word the ghost director said to memory, not daring to overlook a thing.

"You have twenty minutes to prepare. In twenty minutes, you must be in uniform and at your assigned posts."

"Do your best to stay alive!"

With that, the ghost director turned and left.