Chapter 1 Examining the Remains

Feng Bujue first shone his flashlight around to check the surroundings, and only after confirming that there were no traps nearby did he approach.

The corpse had already become a skeleton. Judging from the bones, it should be a man. He had obviously been disturbed by wild animals after his death, possibly dragged here from elsewhere, making it difficult to say where he actually died.

The clothes of the skeleton were probably torn when the wild animals ate the corpse. Feng Bujue squatted down, took a closer look, and quickly found a small iron box in the fragments of his clothes pocket.

The iron box was about a finger's width thick, and its size was equivalent to a photograph. It was probably used to hold photos. The iron box was a little rusty, which was normal in this humid environment. Feng Bujue took out a small knife and pried open the iron box along the edge.

There were no photos in the box, but there was a pencil and a folded piece of paper, filled with writing.

[Name: Message from an Unknown Deceased]
[Type: Plot Related]
[Quality: Worn]
[Function: Unknown]
[Can be taken out of this script: No]
[Note: Although you found this, you don't necessarily need to read it, because once you see the content, everything will be different.]

The item description came into view first. Seeing the note, Feng Bujue faintly felt that something was strange. It seemed that the information left by the deceased had considerable significance. But it "didn't necessarily need" to be read. What did that mean?

"Could it be... reading this paper will change the plot?" Feng Bujue muttered, "Should I read it or not... I'm the only player in the script now. As long as I'm a little cautious for the next two hours, the chance of successfully clearing the level is more than ninety percent. But what if I read this... and cause some bad changes..."

Anyone else might give up, but this situation was precisely Feng Bujue's weakness. You could tempt him with a beautiful woman, and he might remain unmoved; but if you put a stack of papers in front of him and proclaim that it was an unsolvable reasoning plot, he would definitely pounce on it.

At this moment, Feng Bujue's reading addiction was acting up, and he couldn't bear it. Unless a teammate like Si Yu took the thing away and kept him from touching it, he had to read it.

He unfolded the paper, held it in front of his eyes, and illuminated it with the flashlight. What was written on it was actually Russian.

Feng Bujue's heart sank at that moment. A very terrible thought appeared in his mind and became a reality in the next few minutes.

Although this mystery novelist was quite knowledgeable, he didn't know Russian. Fortunately, the system had a built-in translation function, and a Chinese version would appear in the menu.

[If anyone sees this message, it means I am already dead. That's good. For me, it is a relief, and I deserve it.

My name is Zaroff, and I am the owner of this island. Maybe you have already met another man in the castle who claims to be General Zaroff, maybe not. In any case, you should know now that he is an imposter. His name is Rainsford.

I invented a hunting game, hunting humans on the island, and Rainsford was once my prey, and the only one who survived my hunting game. I still remember every detail of that contest. He was excellent, able to make Malay man-catchers and Burmese tiger traps with just a knife. I was not bad either, always taking the initiative, and consciously letting him go several times.

As a result, he successfully survived the third day and won the contest. Although I lost, I was in a good mood. It was a pleasant hunt. As agreed, I let him rest fully, gave him enough food and water, and sent him on a single-masted sailboat to leave the island.

I thought Mr. Rainsford and I would never meet again in this life, but unexpectedly, about six months later, he came to the island again.

He actually told me that after leaving the island, he began to miss this game. Other entertainment and sports could no longer bring him any excitement. He wanted to join me.

I initially refused him and asked him to leave, but he begged me at the cost of becoming prey again.

I thought I was crazy, but at that moment, I thought he was truly insane.

So I had a second contest with Rainsford, and I declared in advance that I would no longer show mercy this time. If he could still survive my pursuit for three days, I would let him become a hunting partner.

I never expected that he would succeed again, even more easily than the first time. I didn't even understand how he did it. During those three days, Rainsford never appeared within my firing range. He seemed to be able to hear sounds from far away. Every time I approached, he left with faster movements than me. The traces he left showed that he was as agile as an ape, and the most puzzling thing was that he didn't seem to need to eat, excrete, sleep, or even rest.

On the third day, I released three hounds and let them freely pursue Rainsford, but later, I only found three dead dogs, none of which died from traps or knives. They were killed by bare hands.

Later, Rainsford began to hunt with me. After a period of time, his performance became more and more abnormal, constantly asking me to catch as many people as possible. I told him that too frequent maritime accidents would attract the attention of the authorities, but he was like a greedy addict, never satisfied.

He modified the ship traps and also bought many beasts to the island through various channels. I told him that those animals would also bring danger to us, but he didn't care. Rainsford was completely mad. He was ten times more insane and ten times more evil than me.

On the night of nine days ago, I wanted to kill him while he was asleep. This was not gentlemanly behavior, but I had no choice. I probably created this demon, so I should get rid of him with my own hands.

When I tiptoed open his door, he was standing behind the door, waiting for my arrival with a grin on his face.

Ivan pounced on me from behind, subdued me, and threw me into the cell. He is my most loyal subordinate and would never betray me. I am not a superstitious person, but I can only assume that Ivan was controlled by Rainsford with some kind of evil spell, because that can explain a lot of things.

Now, I myself have become the prey. It's been nine days. Rainsford always knows where I am. I'm very clear about this, but he won't come to kill me, nor will he come to find me, nor will he let me approach the castle or escape the island. He wants me to be killed by those animals in despair, torn to pieces by those "prey". For a proud hunter like me, this is a great irony.

On the fourth day, I encountered a sailor who was dying after being attacked by a tiger. They told me that a man claiming to be General Zaroff forced him to participate in a game. At that time, I understood that I had been replaced.

Now, everything should come to an end. I am scarred, suffering from fever, and I don't know how long I haven't closed my eyes. If death is destined to come sooner or later, at this moment I only hope it can come peacefully and quickly.

I write this not to repent, nor to atone for my sins. I just want to warn the person who sees this message... Rainsford is not human at all, but some kind of unknown evil incarnation.

Run away quickly! Run as far as possible! Even if you jump into the sea and drown, don't stay on the island!]