Chapter 1

It happened in the blink of an eye. Feng Bujue swung his sword. He felt no fear whatsoever and remained unusually calm in this situation. His reactions and movements were unaffected. He leaned his upper body back to dodge the blood corpse's claws while sweeping the sword horizontally.

Feng Bujue was surprised to find that the sword tore through the blood corpse's body as easily as slicing tofu. When the monster's chest muscles and bones were cut open, blood spurted out, splashing Feng Bujue's face. A fishy, salty taste entered his nose and mouth, along with a sticky, warm sensation. This game was truly realistic… and just as disgusting as the real thing.

The blood corpse only suffered this one sword wound, but it let out a painful roar. Starting from the wound, its body rapidly turned into minced meat and pus, as if melting, flowing all over the ground.

Only then did Feng Bujue have a chance to look at the properties of the sword in his hand.

[Name: Blood Corpses Must Die]

[Type: Weapon]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Attack Power: Fairly Strong]

[Attribute: None]

[Effect: Can dissolve blood corpses upon attack]

[Can be brought out of this script: No]

[Remarks: This sword is an early work by the legendary dwarven craftsman "All-Must-Die Orl." A cunning goblin merchant acquired this sword from Orl for a few bottles of a drink called "Erguotou." Half a month later, Orl created "Goblins Must Die."]

Feng Bujue looked at the weapon's properties for a few seconds, and then the system prompt sounded: [You have completed the newbie tutorial. Automatic teleportation in 60 seconds]

At this time, another area of the game menu in front of him was unlocked. There was a 60-second countdown going on, and there was also an option to "Teleport Immediately." Feng Bujue chose to teleport immediately, and his body turned into white light, instantly leaving the script.

From his perspective, only a flash of white light appeared before his eyes, and he returned to the elevator. The greatsword in his hand was gone, and the blood stains and dirt on his body had also disappeared. Everything in the elevator was as usual, the same as when he first loaded the game. The lights were bright, and naturally, he was the only one in the mirror. The events of the past ten minutes or so were like a short, illusory nightmare.

[Script completed, calculating rewards.]

[Experience gained: 70, Game currency: 700]

[Obtained item equipment: None]

[Completed accepted tasks: 00]

[Special, hidden task completed: 0, Worldview deciphered: None]

[Sudden increase in scare value: 0 times, Highest scare value: 0%, Average scare value: 0%]

[Your fear rating is: As Brave as a Lion, you have received an extra reward. Please select it later.]

[Technique Value gained: 30]

[Technique Value bonus experience: 30, Game currency: 300]

[Script completion reward: Newbie Knapsack *1.]

[Settlement completed, please continue.]

This information was displayed on the screen on the wall. The system prompt then said: [You have leveled up to level 2, physical fitness limit increased, current value is 200/200]

At the same time, Feng Bujue saw that the "Specialization" column in the menu had been unlocked. There were a total of six specializations, but the names of five of them were covered in shadows, with the level displayed next to them: n/a. Only the [General] specialization was lit up, and its specialization level was displayed: f.

Specialization was the most important setting for players' strength in Thriller Paradise. Feng Bujue, who had read the game instructions, naturally remembered it very clearly. The meaning of the n/a level was: None, completely ignorant, unable to use skills of this type; while f was: Extremely Poor, close to none. When this level is reached, you can use skills of this type, with a 20% success rate.

While the rewards were displayed, the elevator door opened again. This time, outside the door was not a corridor, but a square room with metal walls on all four sides, about five times larger than the elevator. Light shone down from inside the ceiling. In the middle of the room were two cylindrical hollow glass pillars, which were currently empty.

Feng Bujue was speechless about his scare value status. When fear was "quantified" as scare value, he actually saw three zeros. As for the fear rating, it was of little significance to Feng Bujue. According to the game instructions, there were five types of evaluations based on the scare value after the script ended: As Brave as a Lion, Commendable Courage, Panicked, Trembling with Fear, and Soul-Shaking.

A situation like Feng Bujue's, with all zeros, was absolutely impossible. Otherwise, the designers would definitely add a level called "Fearless."

For the newbie tutorial, Feng Bujue's completion this time was actually the best possible result in theory, because survival value and physical fitness value were irrelevant to the score. Completing the level unharmed and completing it on the verge of death had no difference in rewards.

In Feng Bujue's reward settlement, there was nothing that could be better. But he didn't show much joy, just sighed, walked to the glass pillar on his left, and new options immediately appeared before him.

[Please select the type of knapsack.]

Two styles of backpacks appeared on the virtual menu projection. One was a style that was slung over the shoulder and close to the back, and the other was a type that was worn horizontally around the waist. He considered it for a few seconds and chose the first one. Then, this backpack was formed by white light and appeared in the glass pillar. When the white light materialized, half of the glass pillar rotated horizontally to open, and Feng Bujue reached out and took out the backpack.

At the same time, the knapsack and equipment columns in his menu were finally unlocked.

[Your knapsack is a storage space. The current maximum capacity is 10 items. Any item that can be stuffed into the backpack opening can be stored. Some items may be living creatures. They can only be placed in the knapsack when the player gains control over them. Special note: Players cannot enter the knapsack. Please do not attempt this.]

[You can view the equipment you are currently wearing from the equipment column. Anything you can put on is considered equipment, with no restrictions on equipment parts or quantity. For example, you can hold a knife in your left hand and a baseball bat in your right hand, while wearing knuckle dusters on both hands. Your clothing does not belong to equipment and is bound to the character's image. It cannot be taken off or destroyed. You can only change clothing settings in the login space. Clothing can be purchased at the exchange.]

Although the "exchange" is mentioned here, in reality, you can't buy paid items at all right now. Beta players can only play the game wearing the default clothing.

Nowadays, many game companies are eager for quick success and instant benefits. During the beta test, the game's development is only around 70%, but the mall is already online. Paid items, clothing, skins, large red and large blue potions, etc., are all impatiently being sold. There are even some industry tumors who directly have company insiders sell various top-quality equipment or rare pets on third-party websites.

However, the Dream Company's strategy is different. Their marketing strategy during the beta phase is completely focused on the sales of hardware facilities. The completion of this game was more than 95% at the start of the beta. In the technological era led by fourth-generation light brains, there is no need for players to test for bugs. AI calculation is enough. Therefore, the beta is mainly for selling the new nL2055 Thriller Paradise dedicated game pod.

Dream Company strictly prohibits the trading of virtual items and currency. Not only did they not open an official website mall, but they also blocked the "exchange" in the game, preventing players from entering. They also closed the in-game currency trading function, making it very troublesome for players to trade with each other.

This is a display of confidence bordering on arrogance. Dream Company executives seem convinced that as long as this game is officially launched and operated, it will definitely be successful. They are not in a hurry to make money. The beta phase is only for expanding the user base and establishing a good reputation.

[Please select your extra reward: 1. Randomly draw a piece of equipment corresponding to your level, 2. 2000 game coins, 3. 80 experience points]

Arriving at the other glass pillar, this option popped up in front of him.

Feng Bujue thought, "Today is the first day of the beta test, and game coins will definitely be useless in the short term. As for experience points..." He glanced at the menu. He was currently level 2, and the experience required to level up was displayed as 0/200. So this third reward should be 40% of the current level's experience cap. It's not cost-effective to choose this now that the level is still low, so he chose equipment.

After selecting it, the glass pillar lit up with white light, and then... a rock appeared.

Feng Bujue was stunned for a moment. His first reaction was to suspect that this was some kind of magic stone item. As a result, he picked it up and looked at the properties...

[Name: Rock]

[Type: Weapon]

[Quality: Trash]

[Attack Power: Very Weak]

[Attribute: None]

[Effect: None]

[Remarks: Commonly found, irregularly shaped stones. They are sometimes picked up and used as weapons. Although they can be freely brought out or into any script, people always throw them away after using them and never put them in their knapsacks or hold them all the time.]

Feng Bujue's shout echoed in the empty room, "What a scam!"

What a scam... a scam... scam...