Luo Shu saw the mission notification and started analyzing it, choosing not to respond to her. After all, his name was displayed above his head—no need to bother answering.
"A real-name system in this game? How stupid," he thought.
Sylas Young, who'd been a bit too tense at first, calmed down upon seeing Luo Shu's level. But her sense of security quickly vanished. "Huh, a level-one rookie? Guess all the pressures on me now."
She'd only recently started playing, having completed the beginner's tasks, and survived eight mission worlds.
Giving Luo Shu a sidelong glance, she noted the nervous look on his face. She marched over and slapped him on the shoulder with a brash smile.
"Don't worry, little bro! You're only level one, so this mission world can't be too tough. Just be cautious. I've been through eight rounds of hardcore training, so I'll cover you this time!"
Luo Shu smiled politely. "Well, I'll leave it to you then."
"Hey, no problem!"
Sylas waved it off, reassured by the game's rule against teammates harming each other. If someone appeared as an ally, there was no need to stay on guard.
Looking up at the rundown Japanese-style mansion ahead, she tightened her grip on her Walther PPK, a souvenir from the last mission, and adjusted her German-made bulletproof helmet before cautiously moving forward.
"Stay close behind me, little bro!"
Luo Shu went to the garden gate, which was shrouded in a thick gray mist that blocked his view. He tried pushing the metal gate, but an invisible force repelled him.
Noticing the silence, Sylas turned to see him fiddling with the gate and rolled her eyes. "Don't wander off. Mission worlds are usually confined to a certain area, and it's clear this one's limited to the mansion…"
Luo Shu's tone was calm. "Got it. I was just testing the limits."
Sylas huffed. "Don't mess around! If something dangerous triggers, I might not be able to save you!" She turned back to scouting ahead, muttering, "A level-one newbie who doesn't even know to cling to my leg… not the sharpest, is he…"
Meanwhile, Luo Shu circled a cherry blossom tree in the garden. This tree was unusually large—almost thirty meters tall—its branches sprawling, creating a canopy of pink that shaded most of the courtyard.
"Cherry blossoms are beautiful," Luo Shu said suddenly. "Makes you wonder if it's been nourished with human blood and flesh."
The unexpected comment sent a chill down Sylas's spine.
"What the… what are you talking about?!"
Hands in the pockets of his white coat, Luo Shu strolled over with a casual air. "Just joking. Lots of clichés in horror stories talk about corpses buried under cherry blossom trees, right? If we dig around the roots, we might find a few surprises."
Sylas broke out in goosebumps, her dislike for ghost stories evident.
"Stop! No more!"
She gave him a once-over, scolding, "Stay focused and stop spooking people with that creepy talk."
Luo Shu's expression grew serious. "Actually, I'm half-serious. Even from a botanical standpoint, it doesn't make sense for a cherry tree to grow this tall with such dense blossoms. If we dig up the soil here, there's an eighty percent chance we'll find some useful clues."
Sylas was a food show host in real life, a perfectly ordinary girl with no experience in courage or adventure. Rational explanations didn't appeal to her. All she knew was that digging could lead to something horrifying.
Which meant no digging!
"Completely irrational… no logic at all… Hmph, a newbie's still a newbie," she muttered, pretending to brush him off, while mustering her courage to push open the mansion's creaky wooden door.
Luo Shu glanced at the cherry tree beneath the gloomy sky. Just as he was about to follow her inside, his vision blurred and warped, as if he were watching an old television screen losing signal.
"Hmm? It's happening again?"
A series of garbled symbols filled his view, with the words Anomalous Code flashing among them.
Then the scene shifted.
The tree—still the cherry blossom—had shed its flowers, revealing an enormous, bare structure. But it wasn't empty.
Rotting corpses dangled from the branches, gently swaying in the breeze.
The vision vanished in an instant, and the cherry tree returned to its current state, covered in blossoms.
Luo Shu's mouth parted slightly, a realization dawning on him.
"This Anomalous Code… it's really quiet the cheat…"
"One hundred percent."
He turned and made his way toward Sylas, whose unusual name still amused him.
Luo Shu was aware that someone might be watching through a livestream, but he didn't know that his viewer count had already reached over two thousand.
Four hours earlier, it had been only twenty-six.
Such is the viral speed of the internet.
The livestream was lively with comments.
[He doesn't look all that special.]
[Newbie missions aren't hard; he's probably just lucky.]
[Come on, luck? You think a lucky newbie could pull off that 'Physical Anesthesia' strike? Give him some credit.]
[What did he mean by '100%'?]
[Earlier, he said there was an 80% chance of finding something under the cherry tree, and now he's suddenly sure. He must've seen something.]
[Saw what? Nothing was there.]
[That's just a serial killer's intuition.]
[Hey! He's a med student, not a serial killer!]
[It's all in the vibe.]
[What vibe? He looks kind of silly to me.]
As he stepped into the mansion, a sudden chill dropped the temperature noticeably.
The house was a typical traditional Japanese villa. Past the entrance was a dark hallway stretching into a pitch-black abyss.
Dressed in bulletproof and stab-resistant gear, Sylas shivered, unsure if it was from the cold or fear, her heart racing. With nothing even happening yet, her Sanity Level had already dipped below 85%.
Luo Shu, following behind, glanced at the dusty shoe rack. It held men's leather shoes, women's heels and flats, sneakers, and a pair of board shoes, all covered in dust—except for one spot, which was clean and undisturbed.
"Someone lives here."
"Huh?" Sylas whipped around. "What… someone lives here?"
Luo Shu raised an eyebrow. "You've really embodied the phrase 'a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.'"
Sylas huffed. "I heard that! You're mocking me, aren't you, you level-one newbie!"
He shook his head, exasperated. "Whatever you say. Just don't move… and for heaven's sake, don't turn around."
She raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you're trying to scare me now? Don't tell me you're gonna say there's a ghost standing behind me."
She scoffed, stubbornly declaring, "Listen, kiddo, I've been through eight mission worlds—I don't scare easily…" And with that, she turned.
A massive, ghastly face was right in front of her, grinning with hollow eyes and a mouth dripping with fresh blood.
"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Screaming, Sylas bolted from the mansion at full speed.
She was running at seventy miles per hour, fueled by the kind of excitement that screamed screw this!
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]