Chapter 1 Entering the Castle

Bupa quickly hid behind A Knife and A Sword, feigning fright. The two promptly drew their weapons, standing in front of her, ready for the large man's potential attack.

"Let them in, Ivan." A man's voice came from the door behind the large man. "They are my guests." The voice was polite, with a slight accent.

Ivan, hearing this, lowered his gun, walked back to the doorway, and swung the door open with his thick arms, silently watching the players.

[Main Quest Triggered]

The system prompt appeared at the appropriate time, and everyone could see the quest details in their menu: [Enter General Zaroff's castle and listen to his explanation of the rules of the game.]

Feng Bujue's expression rapidly changed upon seeing the quest. He muttered to himself, "General Zaroff... Ivan... wait... I'm a hunter... shipwrecked and came here..." He suddenly looked up, his eyes serious. "The Most Dangerous Game... Richard Connell." The content related to this story immediately surfaced in the attic of his memory.

When his inspiration ran dry, Feng Bujue often read short stories to relax and gather material, so he was quite familiar with the content of these stories and could quickly recall them.

If there were no surprises, this scenario was a game of hunting "men," and Feng Bujue knew very well that the players would be playing the role of the prey…

After hesitating for a moment, A Knife and A Sword turned back to seek Feng Bujue and Si Yu's opinions. Anyway... everyone rushes forward when there's a good thing. But when there's danger, it's best to let others take the lead. If that's not possible, at least seek their opinion first, so that you can shift some of the responsibility to others if something goes wrong...

Feng Bujue shrugged, sighed, and walked to the front, saying as he went, "Just do as the quest instructs."

Ivan stood at the doorway like a menacing giant statue, exuding intimidation. However, Feng Bujue didn't even take out his weapon, passing by him as if no one else were there, and entered the castle.

Si Yu closely followed him, having caught up as Feng Bujue stepped forward, and was the second to enter the castle.

The remaining three looked at each other. A Knife was the first to react, clearing his throat. "Ahem... well... let's go too."

A Sword seized the opportunity. "Yeah, if they're in any danger, we can at least support them."

Bupa nodded, following behind the two. The three of them also entered the castle gate one after another.

Standing at the door, Ivan monitored each player passing by with a condescending and vigilant gaze. After all five had entered the castle, he silently closed the door.

Inside the gate was a spacious and brightly lit hall. A wide marble staircase leading to the second floor was visible, and a well-built man in a tuxedo was standing there, watching his five "guests."

General Zaroff was middle-aged, tall, and handsome. His hair was white, but his eyebrows and mustache were still black, and his eyes were also black and bright. Besides his distinct features, there was something unique about his face, a kind of temperament only those accustomed to giving orders possessed.

"I am very pleased and honored to welcome you fine hunters to my home." He bowed slightly and said, "I am General Zaroff." As he introduced himself, he made a gesture.

Seeing Zaroff's action, Ivan put away his gun, saluted, and stood in a corner to the side of the stairs.

"Please forgive my subordinate's rudeness, gentlemen... and ladies, of course." Zaroff's peculiar tone made every word sound meticulous, as if each one had been carefully considered. "Ivan is a simple man, but a bit of a savage. He is unbelievably strong, but unfortunately, he is a mute. God gave him some things and took away others..." The expression on his face as he said this was very intriguing.

"Looks like a Cossack," Feng Bujue responded. Of course, he already knew this.

"Indeed, my friend," Zaroff replied, smiling and squeezing out the words from between his sharp teeth and red lips, "So am I."

He made another gesture, and Ivan quickly came forward, standing in front of the general. Zaroff said a few words to him, but only his lips moved, and no sound was heard.

After receiving the instructions, Ivan left the hall, disappearing without a trace.

Zaroff then said to the group, "Please, follow me." As he spoke, he walked down the stairs, leading them towards a corridor.

A few minutes later, they arrived in a medieval-style study. The floor was covered with a gray carpet, and the furniture and bookshelves had a heavy feel. Besides the large number of books, there were also many animal specimens, deer heads, zebra skins, and even a standing grizzly bear.

"I have read all the books on hunting, English, French, and Russian. There is no other pleasure in my life but hunting." Zaroff slowly walked past his collection, as if showing off that what he said was true, and continued, "See that head of the South African Cape buffalo?"

Feng Bujue replied, "Impressive."

"That thing caught me, threw me against a tree, broke my bones, but I still managed to take down that beast in the end." Zaroff seemed to vividly recall the scene of that hunt.

Feng Bujue knew very well the meaning of these words. Just based on the information provided in this line, the players should have a concept of how powerful this boss was.

"I think the South African Cape buffalo is probably one of the most dangerous kinds of big game to hunt," Feng Bujue tried to say, recalling the content of the short story, so that Zaroff could get to the main topic as soon as possible.

The general was suddenly silent for a moment, then gave him a meaningful look, and said slowly, "No, that is not the most dangerous." He walked to the desk, picked up a bottle of whiskey, held it up, and looked at everyone. "Care for some?"

"No, thank you," Feng Bujue replied.

Zaroff poured himself a glass, took a sip, and said, "On this island, in my territory, I have invented an even more dangerous hunt."

"Invented?" Feng Bujue asked, knowing the answer.

"Heh heh... yes, invented." The general nodded with a smile. "You must be wondering how one invents hunting?" He paused. "Of course, I am not God, so I cannot create a dangerous animal out of thin air. However, I have discovered a species that already exists, but no one has ever hunted before. They are not native to this island, but I can import them myself…"

"What kind of prey did you import, General? Tigers?" Feng Bujue was still playing along with this boss.

Except for Si Yu, the other three were a bit confused. They were all wondering, "Is this kid too immersed in the game? Does he really think he's a hunter like in the scenario? Why is he wasting so much time talking to an NPC?"

Zaroff grinned. "No, I am tired of tigers, and I have already tormented them enough. Hunting tigers has lost its appeal to me. Those animals can no longer make my hands tremble... not even for a second." He took out a gold cigarette case from his pocket, took out a long black cigar, which had a silver label around it, and lit it, emitting a fragrance like incense.

"I am the kind of person who was born to enjoy danger, but most animals can no longer make me feel danger," Zaroff exhaled a puff of smoke. "God made some people poets, some kings, some beggars... and me, he made me a hunter, the best, the strongest." He showed a look of melancholy. "But after a happy period, one day I finally found that hunting no longer appealed to me. You are a hunter too, can you guess why?"

"If you regard hunting as a sport, you always know that you will win before the game even begins, right?" Feng Bujue continued.

"Exactly, I didn't expect you to understand," Zaroff said with delight. "I always successfully hunt my prey because they are just animals, they have nothing but legs and instinct. But I am a human being with intelligence. It is not fair to compete with wisdom and instinct. When I realized this, I felt very miserable, simply pathetic." He took another puff of his cigar. "Until one day, I had an inspiration, I realized that there is something that I have never hunted before. They are the perfect prey, because they are able to think."

Hearing this, the four people besides Feng Bujue finally understood the basic situation of this scenario. The General Zaroff in front of them was actually an anti-human madman who hunted humans for the sake of seeking stimulation. The "Listen to his explanation of the rules of the game" in the quest was the rules of the upcoming "hunt."

"Are you sure this isn't a joke, right?" Feng Bujue responded in a very serious tone. Of course, he had already determined that this was definitely not a joke.

"I never joke about hunting," Zaroff replied. "I bought this island, built this house, I am here to hunt. This island is an unparalleled hunting ground, the jungle is as complex as a maze, full of paths, cliffs, and swamps, and most importantly, surrounded by the sea. Here, I hunt almost every day, and so far, I have never felt bored."

"I am confused, General," Feng Bujue said. "There are five of us here, can't we just stop your insane murder right here in the study?"

"Hahahaha…" Zaroff laughed loudly. "Murder? No, no, no... this is a battle of wits, a game between hunter and prey." His gaze swept over the five players. "As for the situation you mentioned…" He raised his arm and made a gesture.

Ivan appeared out of nowhere, holding a tray, bringing the general a cup of fragrant Turkish coffee. He placed the coffee down, stood beside Zaroff like an iron tower, his eyes staring fiercely at the players present.

"Once, a group of Spanish sailors came to this island. I invited them to join my hunt, but they refused and showed obvious hostility," Zaroff said calmly. "Ivan alone tore them to pieces and fed them to the animals on the island."

Hearing this, Feng Bujue's expression changed drastically. He didn't remember reading in the novel that the island had other wild carnivores. "May I ask... what animals?"

"Heh heh…" Zaroff gave a cold smile. "There are too many... pythons, coyotes, Bengal tigers, etc... I wanted to make the jungle here a little more lively, so I imported a lot of goods. Humans are not the preferred feed. Usually, they eat the most wild boars, of course, live wild boars. Each one needs to be hunted by themselves, so that the animals can maintain their wildness."

Zaroff paused for two seconds, smiling even more as he said to Feng Bujue, "Your face is turning a little pale, my friend."

"Ah... because I was hoping to hear an answer like wrens or parrots... instead of various beasts," Feng Bujue replied.

"Hahaha... you are very humorous." Zaroff seemed incredibly happy. "Alright, now, let me tell you some things you need to know about this hunt."

He walked to the side of the window and pressed a button on the wall. "Do you see that?" The general pointed to the distant sea, where a light quickly lit up, but it was fleeting.

"The light of the lighthouse seems to point out a route, but in reality, this route does not exist. The rocks huddled there are as sharp as razors. They are like sea monsters, capable of crushing every ship that passes by into powder, as easily as crushing a nut." The general said, "I think the ship you were on is now sunk near there. So, don't expect to escape to the sea to look for rescue."

After showing the veritable ship trap, Zaroff came to another window. He opened a mechanism, and in the cellar below the window, lights flickered. The space below was strangely shaped, and many large shadows were walking around there, moaning. Their eyes faintly glowed green in the dark.

"As prey, hiding in one place without moving is also a very unwise choice," Zaroff said. "My hounds are well-trained, and in my collection room..." His gaze swept over the animal specimens around him, grinning. "I mean... in my real collection room, there are many skull specimens. Some of them were very clever people, but in the end, they could not escape the mouths of my hounds."

Zaroff closed that window and stood in front of the group again. "Alright, the rules are simple. There are five hours left until sunrise. You can leave the castle at any time, and I will set off in an hour to find you." He put down his cigar and glass, put his hands behind his back, and stood at attention. "I don't want you to think I am boasting, but... the number of prey I have hunted far exceeds your imagination. White people, black people, Indians, Mongolians... there were a few prey who were indeed very outstanding. They were resourceful, strong, and had extremely high endurance and adaptability, but... I have to say, so far, I have not failed."

"What if you fail?" Feng Bujue said. "I mean, as long as we live until sunrise, you will lose, right?"

"Heh heh..." The general gave a confident smile and said in an enthusiastic tone, "Then your efforts will be worth it. I will prepare a single-masted sailboat for you, and guide you on how to reach the nearest town on land."

Zaroff picked up the glass on the table again. "You can completely trust my promise. I guarantee it as a gentleman, a soldier, and an athlete. Of course, you also have to agree not to mention anything about what happened here." He lowered his voice. "If you can really leave…"

[Current Quest Completed, Main Quest Updated]

The system prompt sounded, and the original quest in the game menu had already been checked. A new quest appeared:

[Escape the castle, evade General Zaroff's hunt, until sunrise.]

[Time remaining until Zaroff sets off: 59 minutes]

[Time remaining until sunrise: 299 minutes]

In addition to the quest description, the values of these two times can be checked at any time in the quest bar below, but not accurately to the second.

The general sipped his wine, and before the players left, he gave a few very kind and sincere words of advice: "Oh, yes, I advise you to avoid leaving footprints as much as possible when you are near the castle. That is a low-level mistake. Also, it is best not to go to the southeast corner of the island. There is a large swamp there, which we call 'Death Swamp'. There is quicksand there. There was once a clever guy who went there. My beloved dog, Lazarus, followed him and ended up burying himself in the swamp together. You can hardly imagine my mood. Lazarus was the best of my hounds, it felt really bad."

Feng Bujue was already shaking his head, turning around and preparing to leave.

He also did not expect that after Zaroff had said so many meaningful hints, one of his teammates was actually brewing an impulsive act of folly.

In the blink of an eye, A Knife With All Her Heart drew her saber and charged. Killing intent appeared, the saber left its sheath, and the blade slashed horizontally, with the momentum of a stampeding bull.

The distance between her and Zaroff was only about five meters. She had already taken the saber out of her bag and held it in her hand when she saw Ivan at the castle gate earlier. Therefore, this attack was very sudden, and the remaining four people present were all shocked.

A Knife With All Her Heart had her own understanding of this scenario. She felt that this was the best opportunity to kill this boss. There was no need to run away or anything like that. Just solve Zaroff right here. If they ran into the jungle outside to face various unknown dangers, and waited until they were exhausted, and then let this boss come after them with his hounds, that would be a sure loss.

From the beginning of the scenario until now, only these two humanoid monsters had appeared in this castle, and these two guys were just ordinary humans. How strong could they be? Their body types were within the normal human range, and the weapons they used were ordinary pistols. From this world view, this was about the real world two centuries ago. It was impossible for these two bosses to have superpowers or anything like that. Even if their setting was that their physical fitness was close to the limit of human beings, that didn't matter, because the players' combat power was also at a level stronger than ordinary people.

And the most crucial point was that A Knife With All Her Heart had a great confidence that she could take down this boss. Her confidence came from a skill, namely the [Entering the Saber Door] title skill - Heads Will Roll.