Chapter 1 Rewards and Tailcoats

[Scenario Complete, Rewards Being Calculated.]

[Experience Gained: 340000, Game Coins: 100000]

[Items/Equipment Obtained: Must-Break Defense Blade, Flashlight, Small Mirror]

[Accepted Missions Completed: 66]

[Special, Hidden Missions Completed: 0, Worldview Decryption: None]

[Jumpscare Value Spike: 0 times, Highest Jumpscare Value: 0%, Average Jumpscare Value: 0%]

[Your Fear Rating is Balls of Steel, You May Choose One Additional Reward Shortly.]

[Skill Points Gained: 1224]

[Skill Points Added to Experience: 12240, Game Coins: 100000]

[Scenario Completion Reward: Puzzle Card * 2]

[Calculation Completed, Please Continue.]

Back in the login space, the calculation information quickly appeared on the touchscreen.

"Ah... that's nice, I just coasted through like that in a hundred-odd words..." Feng Bujue said something incomprehensible, which we can ignore.

"Okay... let's go see the rewards first." After looking at the calculation screen, Feng Bujue turned and entered the storage room.

The two glass pillars were already in place, waiting for him to collect his prizes.

Jue-ge first went to collect the scenario completion rewards, which were [Puzzle Card - Banana] and [Puzzle Card - Plunger]. He tried them out, but they couldn't form a set with the existing [Puzzle Card - Strawberry], so he temporarily put the two cards into the warehouse.

Next, he came to the second glass pillar, and the familiar interface floated before his eyes: [Please Select Your Additional Reward: One, Randomly Draw a Piece of Equipment Corresponding to Your Level; Two, 50000 Game Coins (Maximum); Three, 17200000 Experience Points]

"Seventeen million..." Feng Bujue muttered as he looked at the menu in front of him. "At the level thirty range, that much experience is enough for a player to level up four or five times..." As he spoke, he had already chosen the equipment reward...

White light condensed, and the item gradually solidified.

[Name: Ero-manga Artist's Swallowtail Coat]

[Type: Armor]

[Quality: Ordinary]

[Defense: Weak]

[Attributes: None]

[Effect: Always Looks as New as When You Bought It]

[Equipment Requirements: Common Specialization B, Bound on Pickup]

[Note: Damn it, the sales of the collected volumes are clearly not bad, and I even got a chance to be serialized in Weekly Young Jump, but why wasn't I invited to the year-end party last year! I even bought a swallowtail coat! Only after buying it did I realize that ero-manga artists aren't on the invitation list at all!]

"What the hell..." Feng Bujue was shocked when he looked at the item description. "Can this even be considered equipment? This item definitely wasn't automatically generated by the system, right? Which programmer made this after another bout of brain damage? Was it the guy who designed the 'Rotten Egg' skill? Shouldn't the bosses have a heart-to-heart with this kind of person when they're free?"

This piece of equipment could undoubtedly only be sold to the store, because its quality was ordinary, and even the pulverizer wouldn't take it.

So, after Jue-ge finished complaining, he took the item to the mall.

The current Feng Bujue was already a "superstar" level figure. At least in Thriller Paradise, his fame was not inferior to those of the top-tier star players. Therefore, after discussing with his friends, Jue-ge had already changed the usual mall number...

Previously, the members of Hell Frontline all operated in area 10 of the mall, but now, they had switched to 101. This relatively backward area had far fewer people, which could effectively avoid being surrounded.

However, the "small" number of people in the area was only relative. The basic principle of the phase space was still diversion, sending players without fixed area numbers to places with fewer people. Therefore, as long as an area "existed", there would be at least a hundred people inside.

"Hehe! Look! That guy in the purple suit! Could it be..."

"Oh! Is that Feng Bujue?"

"Take a closer look, recently there are people everywhere using this look, and there are even people imitating his hairstyle."

"It's him, it's the same as I saw in the video."

"Oh? Is that so? Let me take a look... Hmm... Seeing him in person, he's nothing special."

"Don't talk nonsense, there are rumors that this guy is a professional killer in real life..."

"I heard that he's a patient in a mental hospital?"

Conversations like these rose and fell, drilling into Feng Bujue's ears from all directions.

Under the scorching gazes and whispers of the nearby players, Jue-ge quickly walked to the system store. He took the swallowtail coat, flashlight, and small mirror from his knapsack, sold these useless items to the store, and then returned the way he came in a low-key and quick manner...

"Ugh... what is this..." After returning to the login space, Feng Bujue sighed. "Going to the mall now feels like being a thief..." He scratched his head and clicked on the touchscreen a few more times. "Hmm... the number of harassing emails has decreased a lot recently. It seems that the opening of the new version has shifted the public's attention..." He paused for a moment. "However, it's also possible that there are too many people on my blacklist?"

He multitasking, deleting junk mail while thinking about what mode to queue up for next.

"Another nightmare..." Feng Bujue muttered as he looked at the screen, "or..." He quickly deleted the newly added emails, then brought up the mode selection interface. "Speaking of which... this new mode is indeed very intriguing..."

Having thought of this, Jue-ge had basically decided where to go.

Anyway, he was in sleep mode at this time, and he hadn't played the game during the day, so there was no need to worry about his real-world game time expiring; therefore, he still had plenty of time to wander in the world of free exploration mode.

[Feng Bujue, Level 43]

[Please Select the Game Mode You Wish to Join.]

[You Have Selected Free Exploration Mode.]

[Each Entry Into This Mode Will Consume 20000 Game Coins, Please Confirm Operation.]

[Confirmed...]

[You Are Joining This Mode for the First Time, Randomly Searching the Multiverse...]

[Search Complete, Connecting to the Multiverse...]

[Loading Begins, Please Wait.]

After this text appeared, the elevator began to move.

"Welcome to Thriller Paradise." This time, the opening line was spoken directly by the system voice.

Feng Bujue muttered, "Isn't this pretty much the same as entering a normal scenario... there's no difference..."

[Loading Complete, You Are Currently in Free Exploration Mode.]

[This Mode Has No Mission System, No Time Limit, No Negative Game Judgment.]

[You Can Travel Between the Login Space and the Scenario World Through the "Safe House" (Each Entry Into This Mode Will Consume 20000 Game Coins).]

[The Scenario Has Begun, Please Leave This Safe House Within Five Minutes.]

As the voice reached this point, the elevator doors opened...

Outside the door was a space that resembled a cave. The four walls and the ceiling were made up of irregular rocks. A steel door was embedded in the rock wall directly opposite the elevator. At this moment, the door was naturally closed.

In one corner of the cave was a strangely shaped device, about the size of a refrigerator, with a rumbling sound typical of old-fashioned machinery emanating from inside. This thing seemed to be a generator, with several cables extending from its base, connecting to simple lamps in various parts of the cave.

Feng Bujue walked out of the elevator and carefully scanned the area. There was nothing in this so-called "safe house." It was simply a buffer zone connecting the "login space elevator door" and the "external world door."

After formally entering the safe house, a menu filled with text immediately popped up before his eyes, with the subtitles scrolling along with the system voice: [Before Entering the World of Free Exploration Mode for the First Time, Please Be Sure to Understand the Following Content.]

[A. When You Step Out of the Elevator, You Have Officially Entered the Scenario World. From This Moment On, Returning to the Elevator Will Be Considered a "Normal Exit From the Scenario."]

[B. Your Time Limit for Staying in the Safe House is Five Minutes. Please Leave the Door or Return to the Login Space Within Five Minutes, Otherwise You Will Be Forced to Teleport Back to the Login Space, Also Considered a "Normal Exit From the Scenario."]

[C. If You Leave the Scenario Outside the Safe House (Including, But Not Limited To, Being Killed, Forcibly Quitting, Disconnecting, Etc.), Your Game Coins, Skill Points, and Experience Points Will Be Subject to Corresponding Penalties. After Entering This World Again, You Will Return to the Last Recorded Safe House.]

[D. Within One Hour, You May Only Pass Through the Door of the Safe House Once (Regardless of Entering or Exiting); Skills or Items You Use in the Safe House Cannot Affect People or Objects Outside.]

[E. You Can Take Items That "Can Be Taken Out of This World" Into the Safe House in Your Hands or in Your Knapsack; If You Need to Bring a Living Thing Into the Safe House, Please Ensure That You Have Obtained All Ownership of the Creature and Placed It in Your Knapsack First.]

[F. All Consciousnesses in the Scenario World, Including Players' Summons, Cannot Enter or Exit the Safe House. Refer to Item E for Exceptions.]

[G. Each Entry Into the World of Free Exploration Mode Will Consume 20000 Game Coins. If You Are Dissatisfied With the Assigned Universe, or Feel Bored After Long-Term Exploration, You Can Request a Reassignment For 500000 Game Coins.]

"Ah... repeatedly emphasizing that it costs 20000 game coins to enter... mentioned it three times." Feng Bujue only spent a few seconds scanning the prompts in front of him. He had already seen most of this content in the update patch, and the rest could be found in the detailed rules, so he only glanced at it roughly and closed the menu.

"But... if it weren't like this, it would probably cause a lot of trouble, right..." As he spoke, he walked towards the outer door.

His idea did make sense. For example... some players might try to walk back and forth at the elevator door, or hide in the safe house and repeatedly spam skills... the result of which would naturally be teleportation. Then, they would make a fuss and file complaints for the loss of twenty thousand game coins. Although... in essence, these people themselves were to blame for not reading the game instructions, they would still stubbornly blame others. These days, there are still many people like this, even if they get struck by lightning on the street, they will find a person or organization to file a lawsuit against, trying to recover some of the losses.

"As expected, there's no door lock..." Feng Bujue walked to the door leading to the outside world and looked at the thick steel door panel.

There was only one doorknob on the door, no keyhole, and it could be opened with a single turn.

"That's right... anyway, things from the outside can't get in." He twisted the doorknob and pulled the door open.

Outside the door was a narrow passage, with rocks on all sides, up and down. However, there were no lighting facilities outside, and at a glance... the end of the passage could not be seen.

Without hesitation, Jue-ge took out the [Composite Anti-Gravity Catapult] from his knapsack, turned on the probe light at the front end, and walked forward.

He had just taken a few steps when he heard... um... clang... two sounds in quick succession. Looking back... the door of the safe house had automatically closed.

A mark was painted on the outside of the steel door, right in the center of the door. The mark was very simple, just a circle with the Chinese character *jing* (惊) inside.

"Hmm... let's just try it..." Surprisingly, Feng Bujue didn't complain about the mark. He just turned around, took two steps closer, and grabbed the doorknob again with his hand.

[Sorry, You Have Recently Entered and Exited This Door, Please Try Again in 59:34 Seconds.] The system prompt and subtitles appeared simultaneously, and the doorknob didn't budge.

"Okay..." Feng Bujue casually said.

Having said that, he put the composite anti-gravity catapult on the ground, and then lightly shouted at the air directly in front of him, while simultaneously punching out with both fists in a pincer-like motion.

After releasing the first [Baseball Fist], he fell into thought: "Hmm... since this mode has no time limit and no negative judgment, why don't I just sit here and throw a punch every hour..." He silently calculated in his mind, "That way, I can level up in fifty-nine hours. And in reality, it would only be five hours and fifty-four minutes, which is about one night of gaming time. If I do this... for ten all-nighters, I'll be invincible..."

After this thought flashed through his mind, he immediately shook his head: "Tch... how is that possible..."

Indeed, for Feng Bujue, there was absolutely no such possibility. He was a person full of adventurous spirit, a person who couldn't sit still; for him, "boredom" was more painful than any punishment. Besides... that kind of behavior wasn't a person playing a game, but the game playing a person. He wasn't a professional player, so why should he suffer this kind of torture.

"Sigh... what a hard life, let's go, let's go." Jue-ge said to himself, picked up the composite anti-gravity catapult on the ground, and set off forward.

The rocky passage ahead was rugged and winding, and much longer than he had imagined. Fortunately, he was now equipped with complete skills and equipment, and was not afraid of anything. Even if he encountered a Predator, he was confident that he could fight it.

"Speaking of which... this mode is really super 'free'..." Feng Bujue muttered as he walked. "There isn't even half a sentence of scenario introduction... theoretically speaking, I might have been shrunk n times and be crawling in the nest of some insect..." He paused for a moment. "Or am I on some alien planet?"

Just as he was speculating wildly, suddenly...