The door was large, thick, and heavy-looking, with no end in sight even when looking up.
However, when Shen Ling reached out to push it, the door easily swung open. They were absorbed into a distorted black mist with deep and mysterious light. When they regained consciousness, they found themselves sitting on a large bus.
The bus was quite spacious, moving smoothly on a tree-lined road, with monotonous scenery repeating on both sides. The road stretched straight ahead as if it had no end.
Han Qianqiu gripped the backrest in front of him with both hands, revealing only half of his head and two eyes, cautiously surveying the surroundings.
“Three more newcomers have finally arrived,” the KP this time was still a paper figure, but unlike Number 98, he had a star hanging on his chest.
Shen Ling greeted him, “Hello.”
KP stared for a moment, then said with interest, “The first time I’ve seen a player so calm.”
Shen Ling replied, “What else can you do? Cry, throw a tantrum, or hang yourself?”
KP pointed to the two people sitting in front, looking like they had lost their souls.
The man, about thirty years old, had a somewhat handsome face, but there was a thick stubble on his chin, and his eyelids were dark, lacking energy.
The woman, younger, probably in her twenties, had big eyes, a baby face, and looked quite cute.
Han Qianqiu asked in surprise, “What’s going on here?”
“The first game room didn’t go smoothly,” the woman sighed, “People almost went crazy.”
“In my group,” the man scratched his thick stubble, a bitter expression on his face, “there was an elder brother, a tricky bastard, who ended up helping the antagonist boss awaken the outer god directly. We wiped, and he said he was a brain-dead fan of Nyarlathotep, had to meet his idol even in death, and wasted my resurrection dice for nothing.”
Han Qianqiu: “What’s Nyarlathotep?”
“The loli version of Nyarlathotep,” the woman looked at him curiously, “Don’t you know? Nyarlathotep is a famous outer god, a master of deception, can change between male and female, very popular.”
“Oh, I see,” Han Qianqiu asked again, “Why not choose an easier theme for the room? This one seems to be horror!”
“Low threshold,” the man shrugged, “No restrictions, failed two rooms in a row, and I’m bankrupt.”
The woman smiled, “Not me, I’m interested in horror themes. I usually relax by watching horror movies.”
Han Qianqiu sincerely admired, “Impressive.” He leaned against the window, looking outside. The receding scenery was repetitive, and the trees on the side of the road seemed to be copied and pasted. He blinked and asked, “Where are we going?”
“1024 Ward, a famous psychiatric hospital in M City. It just won an award this year.”
“What award?” Han Qianqiu thought he misheard.
“The City-level Excellent Psychiatric Hospital Award in M City.”
“…You’re good at making things up.”
“Okay,” KP remained unfazed, revealing the confidence of an old hand, “Let’s all calm down. Get out of the last room as soon as possible, share some experiences with you, role-playing is very important, integrate into your game characters. Let me introduce the background of this game room to you.”
“The story is set in a fictional country in the 21st century, the Hua civilization. You are about to visit Ward 1024, a psychiatric hospital that has just received a commendation from the city’s leaders. Now, it’s time to create your characters, and—”
He conjured up a scroll in front of him, scanning the circle of people, eventually landing on Han Qianqiu. “Just finished the first mission, right?”
Han Qianqiu nodded blankly, “How did you know?”
“We have full data interchange here, very advanced, never had a mistake. Don’t you know what a character card is? It’s the character you play in this room. First, throw your basic attributes. The default rule is roll 3, some rooms may allow roll 5, which means randomly rolling three sets of values. You can choose one set you like the most as your basic attributes. Understand, little student?”
Han Qianqiu, haunted by the fear of his homeroom teacher’s gaze through the back window, shivered and clung to the backrest in front, saying with a hint of grievance, “Ling Mei and the others didn’t get a card either. Don’t just focus on me.”
“What nonsense are you talking about? You’re the only newbie here.”
Shen Ling and Yan Xiu simultaneously looked at KP.
Han Qianqiu was puzzled, “Aren’t Shen Ling and Yan xiu also newbies? Don’t just stare at me.”
“What are you talking about? Only you are a newcomer here.”
Shen Ling and Yan Xiu continued to stare at kp 75.
Han Qianqiu was baffled, “Isn’t it? We just finished the novice mission and cleared the level.”
75kp immediately turned his head to look at Shen Ling, then at Yan Xiu, a short silence passed, and he quickly changed his tune, “Oh, sorry, my mistake. There was a system issue.”
Everyone: “… You just said there had never been a mistake.”
75kp: “Listen carefully to the rules of the character card. Just mentioned roll 3 to choose basic attributes, including strength, constitution, size, agility, appearance, intelligence, willpower, education, and luck. The derived attributes determined by these basic attributes include HP, MP, movement, sanity, and so on. You’ll have a character card tool, take a look at it, and ask me or ask your seniors if you don’t understand. You don’t need to remember much; you probably know there’s something like this in the game. Anyway, the dice will calculate it for you. You just need to choose one that you like.”
“After choosing a set of basic attributes, you can determine the profession of your character based on your attributes. For example, if you have high agility, you can be a sprinter. If you have high appearance, you can be a popular actor. Of course, you can also create randomly without considering attribute preferences.”
A few seconds later, he said meaningfully, “As long as I can pass you.”
Han Qianqiu made a newbie sound: scared.
“It’s not a big deal; don’t be too stressed,” the other two unfamiliar men and women were friendly, comforting him. “Actually, even if you deviate slightly from the basic logic, you can still pass. Just don’t go against the worldview too much.”
“Yes, I’ve seen a two-meter-tall prostitute who passed.”
Others: “…”
Han Qianqiu: “Impressive.”
KP continued, “Once you’ve chosen your profession, you can determine your skill points based on your attribute points. The total value of your skill points is the sum of your basic attribute points minus the luck. You’ll have a character card tool, take a look at it, and ask me or ask your seniors if you
don’t understand. Anyway, the first character card might be confusing for you…”
He choked, then said, “…you guys.”
When uttering these words, the white face of KP75 still appeared to be looking at Han Qianqiu, saying “you guys,” but in reality, it was just “you.”
Han Qianqiu: “Feeling a bit offended here.”
“During the character card creation, you can check each other’s cards, strive for complementary attributes and specialties. Always remember, this is a cooperative game. If you like, you can also establish certain relationships with others, such as being a couple or parent and child.”
After KP finished speaking, a neatly structured card appeared in front of Shen Ling, and on the right side was the habitual black and white dice. He casually rolled the dice, and a set of numbers instantly appeared on the card, clearly displayed in a square grid, each attribute distinct; he rolled three times in a row, chose the most interesting set, and began assigning points to various skills.
In the previous game room, Shen Ling had probably figured out the uses of various skills. When he received this blank character card, he almost didn’t need to think and quickly selected several important skills, as if he had long developed the habit of doing so without finding the source.
This familiar yet strange feeling left him momentarily puzzled, but Shen Ling didn’t dwell on it and continued refining his character.
He quickly completed his character card, looked up at the others: Han Qianqiu was still hesitating which set of values to choose, the two veterans were busy writing their experiences, Yan Xiu had just finished and looked up at Shen Ling.
Curiously, Shen Ling asked, “What kind of character did you create?”
“I applied for the position of a doctor,” Yan Xiu said.
Shen Ling: “You want to be a doctor?”
“Yes,” Yan Xiu said, “I selected Medical and First Aid.”
Han Qianqiu perked up his ears and, upon hearing this, immediately asked, “What happens if Medical and First Aid fail miserably?”
The bearded man said, “Apply a first aid punch, send you to the afterlife.”
Han Qianqiu: “…Ling Mei, why don’t you switch with Brother Si? I think it’s more reliable for you to be the nanny.”
Shen Ling hesitated and looked at his almost completed character card.
Han Qianqiu hurriedly said, “If it’s too forced, forget it. I can be the nanny.”
“No trouble,” Shen Ling thought for a moment, made some corrections, and created a new character.
After Shen Ling finished his character, Han Qianqiu had built his own. Unfortunately, the unlucky bus had been running on this straight line like it was hitting a wall for half an hour.
Everyone introduced their identity information to each other, and KP75 listened on the side, verifying the character cards.
The man said, “My name is Zheng De, I’m a cartoonist specializing in horror comics. I have been serializing on the country’s top traffic website for many years, but recently, I feel the inspiration is drying up, and my popularity is gradually declining. This time, I’m going to the psychiatric hospital to find inspiration. My specialties are intimidation, occultism, and library use.”
KP asked him, “…That place is heavily guarded; you certainly can’t just go there for material.”
The man asked, “Is it not okay if the director is my dad?”
“The director is over sixty.”
The man said, “Perfect, he’s getting a son in his old age, and he’ll spoil me.”
KP fell into silence, seemingly contemplating something. The man immediately caught a strange smell, “You… I’d better change my card.”
“No, once the director is your dad, it’s decided, you dug your own pit and you have to fill it. Even if you have to kneel, you must fill it.”
The man: “…”
KP emotionlessly continued, “Next.”
The woman said, “My name is Xia He, and I’m applying for the position of a nurse. Although I am a nurse, I don’t understand medical things. My real identity is a journalist with a hidden identity. Many years of experience and a keen sense of news make me aware that this psychiatric hospital is definitely not simple. On this festive day, I want to sneak in and uncover the truth behind it. My specialties are disguise, investigation, locksmithing, and stealth.”
Han Qianqiu: “…A journalist is not a specialty for that.”
“It makes sense,” KP focused on Han Qianqiu, “What about you?”
Han Qianqiu: “Oh, oh, oh,” he said spiritedly, “My name is Han Qianqiu, a small anchor for horror live broadcasts. Previously, my broadcasts were small-scale, not very famous. This time, I bet my entire fortune, bribed the hospital’s security, and let me infiltrate to do a real horror live broadcast. I hope to stand out and make a name for myself. My specialties are photography, navigation, and rhetoric.”
He paused, looked up at KP, and asked, “I have a question. Can I use Charm with an Appearance of 10? Last time, Shen Ling’s Charm was too useful, and I want it too.”
KP: “It’s possible. Charm doesn’t have a direct relationship with Appearance, but think it over. In a proper mental hospital, who do you plan to charm?”
Xia He said, “The over sixty-year-old director.”
Zheng De: “He wants to be my stepmother.”
Han Qianqiu: “…”
Han Qianqiu persisted, “Who knows, maybe it’ll come in handy. I’m going to happily change some attributes and move the Charm from Rhetoric to Appearance.”
KP asked Yan Xiu, “And you?”
Yan Xiu said, “Yan Xiu, an ordinary security guard at the hospital, no special experiences, specialties are investigation, brawling, and persuasion.”
“Brother Xiu, you can’t even squeeze out a fart with eight rods. Why bother with persuasion?” Han Qianqiu asked, “Rely on brawling for persuasion? It seems feasible.”
“Change it?” Shen Ling also suggested, “I don’t have enough points; can you help me allocate some Tracking?”
“Sure.” Yan Xiu thought without hesitation and directly changed Persuasion to Tracking.
Finally, it was Shen Ling’s turn.
Shen Ling said, “Shen Ling, I’m an ordinary doctor, specialties are medicine, first aid, anthropology, and psychology.”
“Let me take a look at your card.” Han Qianqiu had been busy with his own character card just now and didn’t have time to look at others. He curiously leaned over to see the character card in front of Shen Ling. He took just a glance, and his eyes widened instantly.
Attributes at 80, Willpower 80, Appearance 80, Luck 85, Intelligence 75… how the hell is this ordinary!
Who said this is ordinary?!
