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Chapter 159: The Protagonist's Advance (Part 4)
Chapter 159: The Protagonist’s Advance (Part 4)
The entrance to the Western mansion used a standard swing-door design—just a single, sturdy wooden panel wider than average. Feng Bu Jue stepped forward, grasped the handle, and gave it a gentle push. The thick door creaked open effortlessly.
Japanese-style residences typically featured a genkan behind the entrance, followed by a corridor that prevented guests from glimpsing the living room immediately upon entering. European mansions, however, often greeted visitors with a grand, open foyer. This Western mansion, with its unmistakably thick European architectural style and garden design, led Feng Bu Jue to expect a spacious interior beyond the door.
But what awaited him was a wall.
The flashlight’s beam illuminated the room. The door’s width allowed everyone a clear view—just five meters ahead, a wall blocked the path. On either side stretched two dark corridors, branching left and right into unknown depths.
This Western mansion’s entrance formed a "square-within-a-square" layout. It transcended cultural distinctions like Japanese or European—it was simply irrational.
Feng Bu Jue halted immediately after opening the door, standing frozen. He held the flashlight motionless, silent and unmoving.
Yongzhe Wudi peered past his shoulder, noticing the beam fixed on the wall facing them, lingering unnaturally.
“What’s wrong?” Ye Zhi, standing slightly behind, observed Feng Bu Jue’s furrowed brow.
“I’ve seen this before…” Feng Bu Jue murmured, his gaze still locked on the wall.
Yongzhe Wudi squinted at the illuminated section. Faintly visible was a pattern resembling a magic array.
“Big brother… don’t tell me you’re actually a mage in real life?” Yongzhe Wudi teased.
“You’ve got imagination,” Feng Bu Jue quipped. “Wouldn’t ‘cultist of some bizarre church’ be more plausible?” His expression shifted as realization struck. “Right! I remember now—this was where I saw it!” He turned to Yongzhe Wudi. “Remember that scenario where we first met?”
Yongzhe Wudi pondered briefly. “The haunted house built beside the mountain pool?”
“Exactly,” Feng Bu Jue confirmed, his tone tinged with eerie amusement. “On the attic floorboards of that mansion, there was a ritual array identical to this one. And in that scenario, the entire mansion’s phantom power stemmed from that very ritual array.”
Before the group could react, a grayish specter suddenly materialized in the confined space. A piercing wail tore through the players’ eardrums. A horrifying face lunged forward, its right arm outstretched, aiming straight for Feng Bu Jue’s throat.
Feng Bu Jue himself remained unfazed, but the five behind him all flinched violently.
Classics never fade. This sudden scare tactic—timeless and indispensable in horror films and games—remains a proven crowd-pleaser.
Plotlines, lengthy buildup, psychological tension, and spatial-temporal suspense… all ultimately serve that single explosive moment.
Such abrupt, unheralded scares, striking at random intervals, still pack a punch.
Right now, the five others experienced adrenaline surges akin to rollercoaster plunges—the sharp spike of terror, the racing heart, the gradual return to calm… sensations Feng Bu Jue hadn’t felt in ages.
In an instant, Feng Bu Jue’s free hand clamped down on the ghostly wrist. With the [Casey Jones Mask]’s martial arts proficiency at D-level, he could handle basic combat despite lacking refined skills.
The monster’s grotesque face loomed inches away. Its face lacked eyebrows, its eyes merging into featureless white orbs with indistinct sockets. Though restrained, it showed no panic, only a sinister smirk.
Before anyone could react, the monster’s free hand shot forward. Withered-branch fingers aimed for Feng Bu Jue’s eye socket at impossible speed—utterly unavoidable.
Yongzhe Wudi, closest to him, instinctively moved to help. But the moment he raised his hand, an unseen black mist enveloped him, paralyzing his limbs. Attempting to force action summoned an oppressive aura that stunned him completely.
The others faced the same fate.
The monster, its hidden kin, the mansion itself, or the ritual array—any could have caused this effect. Either way, this attack marked an “instant-death flag.” Without the [Protagonist’s Grace], a normal player would’ve died instantly, leaving teammates helpless.
This was their first glimpse of the Protagonist’s Grace’s true power.
Feng Bu Jue’s evasion seemed miraculous.
The monster itself couldn’t comprehend what happened—it had targeted perfectly, yet struck only air.
“Seriously?” Feng Bu Jue watched the hand slash narrowly past his cheek, feeling icy coldness graze his skin, yet his expression remained unshaken.
Calmly, he pocketed the flashlight and consumed 2% of his spirit energy to summon [Death Poker]. “Hmm… This one’s pretty strong. Let’s try Four Aces…” The cards didn’t fly—they fanned out in his hand.
The moment the monster saw Death Poker, it realized its peril. Attempting escape, it thrashed against Feng Bu Jue’s iron grip.
A blade of cardlight flashed. Feng Bu Jue swept the cards sideways, leaving a luminous trail mid-air—less like cards, more like razors. Where the cards struck, the monster’s body tore open like flesh sliced by blades. No blood flowed—only thick black smoke poured from the wound.
Though gaseous, the smoke behaved like liquid, flowing downward without dissipating upward…
(End of Chapter)
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