Chapter 245: Brothers (Part 1)
Chapter 245 Brothers (Part 1)
[Mad Bu Jue, Level 27]
[Please select the game mode you wish to join.]
[You have selected singleplayer survival mode (common) (nightmare). Please confirm.]
[Confirmed. Scenario generation in progress...]
[Loading started. Please wait.]
"Welcome to Terrifying Paradise." The familiar line echoed once again.
[Loading completed. You are now entering singleplayer survival mode (common) (nightmare).]
[This mode provides a scenario overview and has chances to encounter side quests/hidden tasks and special world views.]
[Scenario clearance reward: Randomly draw one puzzle piece card.]
[Scenario overview will now play. The game will begin immediately afterward.]
Shriek—shriek—
The moment the opening CG began, this sound rang out—a noise resembling something scraping against the floor.
Feng Bu Jue's vision started pitch black. After a few seconds, it slowly opened like an eyelid, revealing a narrow slit in the center of the screen that gradually widened, letting him see the scene ahead.
The image was blurry, but a short, emaciated figure appeared in his field of view. From the silhouette, it was a man wearing a bloodstained shirt and overalls, dragging Feng Bu Jue by one foot down a corridor.
Feng Bu Jue—or rather, the character he was playing—was lying on the ground, being pulled forward by this figure through a long hallway.
"Don't worry... everything will be okay... something must've gone wrong... I'll figure it out..." The figure muttered to himself.
At this point, Feng Bu Jue had no sensation and couldn't control the camera movement. This was still the opening CG phase, so he could only watch someone else's experience through a first-person perspective.
About thirty seconds later, the figure stopped in front of an iron door at the corridor's end. A faint metallic clinking followed.
The door creaked open. Feng Bu Jue watched helplessly as his character was dragged into a cell-like room. The camera wobbled slightly before settling on the ceiling.
Then came the sound of the small man leaving the room and locking the door behind him. Even as he walked away, he kept repeating those same words.
[Important Notice: In this scenario, items categorized as "Consumable" cannot be used. Equipment and tools requiring consumables (Ammunition, Batteries, etc.) are also unavailable.]
"What the hell?" Feng Bu Jue cursed inwardly. "Not even a plot summary, but they hit me with such harsh restrictions first?"
He was cursing too early, though. The next second, the scenario officially began.
No plot summary at all...
Feng Bu Jue's vision immediately matched the final frame of the opening CG. He was now lying on the ground, staring at the ceiling.
The moment he regained control and sensation, excruciating, bone-deep pain shot through his entire body. It felt like every bone had shattered, his skin bore massive burns, and countless insects crawled beneath his flesh...
Of course, the system's simulated pain was toned down. As previously mentioned, the maximum pain intensity a player could experience wouldn't exceed the level of a hammer smashing a finger—otherwise, unconsciousness could occur.
However, while the pain's intensity was limited, its variety was rich. Experiencing all these sensations at once was maddening. In real life, Feng Bu Jue had never endured such torment. Despite his extreme endurance, even he felt a flicker of the urge to quit.
[Main Quest Triggered]
[Find a way to stop vitality value loss]
Hearing the system prompt, Feng Bu Jue immediately opened the task bar. The task "Find a way to stop vitality value loss" appeared, and he noticed his vitality value was decreasing at 1% per second.
"What the hell kind of scenario is this!" Feng Bu Jue gritted his teeth and sat up. This simple movement sent searing pain through his spine, while his back and arm muscles tingled with numbness.
He quickly began observing his surroundings, forcing himself to concentrate despite the pain and keep his mind sharp.
In this scenario, consumables were off-limits. That meant Feng Bu Jue couldn't use healing potions. He'd bought five bottles of Vitality Value Supplement (Middle) at the mall before entering—now they were completely useless.
Theoretically, Feng Bu Jue had less than one minute and forty seconds to complete this first task. Exceeding that time would make this his final task.
"Find a way... find a way..." Feng Bu Jue repeated the phrase, helping himself focus.
He first scanned the entire cell. No windows, only a single iron door. A small iron window on the upper half let in corridor light, casting a hazy glow over most of the room. A rectangular horizontal opening at the door's bottom allowed food delivery. The four stone walls were thick and solid. The floor and ceiling were concrete. Against one wall stood a simple bed. Its sheets, stained with blood, had lost all trace of their original color. No pillow or blanket existed. The bed's four legs were short, leaving barely enough space underneath for a person to lie. The iron bedframe was welded to the wall, immovable.
In the farthest corner from the door sat a large blue plastic bucket. The stench coming from it suggested it served as a toilet.
In another corner stood a wooden cabinet about one meter tall with three drawers. Seeing it, Feng Bu Jue immediately staggered toward it.
In this situation, no matter what was inside, the player had to open them.
The top drawer contained a filthy bar of soap. Though dirty, the soap was intact—a perfect rectangle, as if freshly molded.
This item's purpose was unclear. With no drainage system in the room and bodily waste collected in a plastic bucket, there was naturally no running water faucet. What was this soap for? To wash hands with saliva?
Feng Bu Jue didn't have time to check the item description. He placed the soap on top of the wooden cabinet before opening the second drawer.
The middle drawer held something more interesting—a white candle, about fifteen centimeters long, slightly thicker than a finger.
"What's this? Giving soap without tap water, giving a candle without matches... Even Saw doesn't play this rough", Feng Bu Jue muttered, placing the candle on the cabinet before opening the third drawer.
The bottom drawer was the real kicker. Inside lay a small wooden comb.
"Heh... heheh..." Feng Bu Jue chuckled dryly. At this point, he'd almost forgotten—or at least grown accustomed to—the physical pain. Compared to that discomfort, these three items discovered during puzzle-solving were far more frustrating.
"Alright... no hints at all. How am I supposed to figure this out..." Feng Bu Jue muttered.
Exactly one minute had passed. Feng Bu Jue's vitality value stood at 39%. He had thirty-eight seconds left.
"Players can't remove clothing in this scenario, so using the candle on myself is out of the question", Feng Bu Jue mused, stroking his chin. "Eat the soap? The candle?" His gaze shifted to the bucket. "Or... eat the shit?" He shook his head. "None of these actions seem logically connected to stopping vitality value loss."
As he pondered, his eyes returned to the small comb in his hand. "Since I can't think of a logical solution, I'll just try using every artifact one by one... Start with the simplest." Saying this, he combed his hair twice with the small comb.
Unexpectedly, before finishing the second stroke, a system prompt sounded.
[Current task completed. Main quest updated.]
The vitality value loss had stopped. Feng Bu Jue's current vitality value was 26%. Starting with less than 30% vitality value was a first for him.
The previous task "Find a way to stop vitality value loss" now bore a checkmark. A new instruction appeared in the task bar: [Escape the room]
"Huh?" Feng Bu Jue stared at the comb in his hand. "While I'm glad I don't have to try eating weird stuff, this is still too..." He paused mid-sentence, suddenly noticing something. Bringing the small wooden comb close to his eyes, he saw tiny letters engraved on the handle: A.A.
"Hmm... seems like a limited edition", Feng Bu Jue joked half-heartedly.
Holding the three items, he sat on the bed and placed them all there, examining each carefully.
With the previous task completed, the pain in Feng Bu Jue's body eased dramatically. While a dull ache remained, it was far more bearable than before. To compare, it was like the difference between hanging and wearing a neck brace...
He examined them for five or six minutes. The soap showed nothing special—no patterns on its surface, no pleasant scent, just plain laundry soap. The candle was equally ordinary, with no engravings on either item.
"Hmm... so the only special item is this comb..." He picked up the small wooden comb again, inspecting it thoroughly. Besides the A.A. letters he'd already seen, he noticed another detail—the comb still held golden strands of short hair.
"The short man who dragged me in had brown hair..." Feng Bu Jue murmured while recalling. "Was this comb used by other prisoners in this cell?"
As he pondered, his gaze slowly shifted. When his eyes landed on the wall beside the bed, he made another discovery...
"Haha, looks like many people have been locked here before..."
(End of Chapter)
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