Chapter 1 After Leaving the Interrogation Room

Not long after leaving the interrogation room, Feng Bujue and Igor found themselves at a fork in the road.

It was a crossroads, with no signs or any visible clues.

Whether they looked left, right, or straight ahead, the corridors were all identical.

If this were a regular difficulty script, Feng Bujue would definitely try to trick Igor into splitting up to expand the search area and increase efficiency.

However, this was a Nightmare scenario... and Brother Jue had already witnessed the strength of the monsters in this script.

Frankly speaking, given his current physical condition, he might not even survive an encounter with a monster even under Igor's protection... let alone acting alone.

Moreover, considering Igor's extreme fear of paranormal phenomena, he might not agree to split up with Brother Jue.

Therefore, Feng Bujue simply pointed forward, signaling the other to continue leading the way.

And so, the two continued onward, passing by four rooms along the way.

The metal doors of all four rooms were tightly shut, and there were no markings outside the doors. Although Brother Jue could stop at any time to pick the locks, he didn't do so; based on his previous experience in the statue room, he believed that he should wait until he saw something related to the main quest before making a decision.

"Strange..." After leaving the four rooms behind, Feng Bujue couldn't help but think, "Just how big is this script? To walk such a long distance... with no plot clues, no puzzles, no monsters, and so far all the corridors and rooms... have no markings. Does everyone working in this underground lab have the entire base's map imprinted in their brains?"

Indeed, this seemed rather abnormal...

Although the practice of "no markings" could be useful in confusing enemies during an invasion, making the scenery of each section of the corridor so similar was a bit too much.

Apart from oddballs like Feng Bujue, who could create a map in his mind and discern his location through the texture of the walls, this place was a maze for most normal people. Basically, as soon as you reached a crossroads, closed your eyes, spun around a few times, and then opened them, you'd immediately be unable to determine where you came from...

In such a layout, not only would intruders be confused, but even the daily work of internal personnel would be affected, which was undoubtedly very unreasonable.

"Eh? Brother Feng, you need to change your blood pack." Igor's reminder pulled Feng Bujue back to his senses.

"Hmm? Oh..." Feng Bujue looked up and saw that indeed, the third bag of blood was almost finished.

So, the two stopped and prepared to switch to the fourth, and last, bag of blood.

"Igor, there's something I wanted to ask you." While preparing to insert the needle, Feng Bujue said.

"What is it?" Igor replied.

"When you were sent into this base, was it like this?" Feng Bujue asked, "Also, do you remember the way out? Or do you know where to find a map or something?"

Igor shook his head. "I don't know any of that... I was brought in blindfolded." He mused thoughtfully, "My last memory of the outside... was being carried onto a vehicle by several soldiers. As soon as I got in, I was blindfolded, and when the blindfold was removed... I was already lying in this base."

This answer wasn't entirely unexpected. Feng Bujue had only asked with the attitude of giving it a try.

"I see..." Brother Jue responded, and the blood pack was changed. "Alright, let's keep going then..." He looked up at the corridor ahead. "Anyway, if we keep going forward, even if we don't find an exit, we'll find the en..."

He couldn't finish his sentence because the scene before him made him swallow the last word.

At that moment, Feng Bujue saw a humanoid creature resembling a dried corpse... walking towards them from several dozen meters ahead.

"Hehehehehe..." The monster also saw Brother Jue at the first moment and let out a strange, dry laugh.

The laughter carried over, and Igor turned his head to look, immediately startled. "Ah! Mo... momo..."

He was so frightened that he stuttered, unable to even utter a complete word.

"Don't panic, it can't see you." Feng Bujue remained calm and quickly said to Igor, "It's definitely coming for me anyway. When it gets close, try to chop its head off with one swing."

In fact, Brother Jue didn't know if the decapitation method would work, but judging from his years of experience fighting various demons and monsters... this method had a relatively high chance of success.

Tap, tap, tap-tap... tap-tap-tap-tap...

The monster took a few steps at first, then gradually accelerated, turning into a full sprint.

From the sound of its footsteps, one could tell that it was wearing shoes; and looking at its upper body... there were still some remnants of tattered clothing, so it was definitely not the "barefoot brother" they had encountered before. However... the two looked to be of the same species without a doubt.

"Hehe... hahahahaha..." In the process of rushing towards Feng Bujue, the monster laughed almost maniacally. The laughter was incredibly eerie, and coupled with its horrific appearance, it seemed exceptionally terrifying even under the lights.

Ten meters, seven meters, three meters...

The monster's speed was faster than that of an ordinary person. Just by looking, Feng Bujue knew that it was unlikely that he could dodge the opponent's attack.

But... he still remained calm.

It wasn't until the opponent approached within two meters that Brother Jue suddenly shouted, "Igor!"

This shout instantly brought Igor, who was in a state of shock and stupor, back to his senses. In a reaction time of zero point zero one seconds, Igor instinctively, and without thinking, acted according to Feng Bujue's previous instructions!

Whoosh—

The rough arm, the sharp cleaver, brought forth a swirling wind.

As Feng Bujue had predicted... the monster really "couldn't see" Igor, so when the blade came crashing down, it was already too late to dodge.

Crack—

Igor raised his arm and brought the cleaver down, this VNO-9 enhanced human's physical quality was definitely not inferior to the monster's.

Where the blade passed... skin split, flesh tore, bone shattered, tendons snapped.

The monster's head was chopped off in one swing, but not a drop of blood flowed. It felt as if a piece of meat taken out of the freezer had been cut open.

"Ah—" After its head left its body, it actually let out a shrill scream.

This sound definitely wasn't coming from its throat. Even its throat was severed, so it was impossible to roar so loudly; if there were no accidents, it should be something like a "spiritual body" borrowing the dead person's mouth to make a sound.

"Scream your head off!" In the next second, Feng Bujue raised one hand and grabbed the head that had flown towards him due to inertia, and with a voice even louder than the other party's, he roared at the monster's face.

In that second, even the monster was dumbfounded. It never expected that the other party would catch its head, nor did it expect that the other party would dare to talk to it after catching it, and even more unexpectedly... the attitude of this kid in front of him was so arrogant.

"Speak!" Feng Bujue lifted the monster's head, stared at it, and asked, "What kind of thing are you?"

"Hehehehe..." The monster didn't answer, but just looked at Brother Jue with a mocking gaze, and let out a sinister laugh.

Faced with this response, Feng Bujue was silent for two seconds, then said in a very indifferent tone, "I'll give you one more chance. Immediately stop your lewd laughter and answer my question properly, or you'll bear the consequences."

"Hehehe..." However, the monster put on an attitude of a dead pig not afraid of boiling water, and laughed even more嚣张, "Hehehe... Hahahahaha! Haha..."

Pfft—

His laughter was interrupted by a muffled sound.

It was the sound of Feng Bujue grabbing its head and smashing its face against the wall.

"Ugh—" After being smashed, the monster let out a muffled groan. Then, it seemed that it finally intended to say something, "You... dare..."

Pfft—

But Feng Bujue didn't seem to intend to let it speak properly.

"Huh? What are you saying?"

Pfft-pfft-pfft—

"The lewd laughter is too loud, this daddy can't hear you~"

Pfft—

While speaking similar lines in a lazy tone, Brother Jue repeatedly slammed the other party's face against the wall.

This monster was already in a state of skin and bones. Being treated like this, the skin on its face was almost worn away, and its nasal bone had also been broken.

"Uh... Brother Feng... Brother Feng..." Igor was stunned for a long while before saying, "You like this... it can't speak, right?"

"Oh?" Brother Jue heard this and put on a look of sudden realization, and re-raised the head to his face, looking at the monster's face that had been smashed to pieces, "Is that so?"

The monster's mouth was crooked, and he viciously念道, "Li...little...kid...you...you..."

Pfft—

Before he could finish speaking, Brother Jue smashed it against the wall again: "When addressing me, show some respect."

After saying and smashing, he immediately took the head back in front of him.

However, the monster still seemed to have quite the backbone: "Don't think... that I will suc..."

Pfft—pfft-pfft-pfft—

"I can play like this all day." Feng Bujue said this, and greeted the other party five or six more times.

This time, when he brought the monster's head back in front of him, the latter's face was almost unrecognizable.

"Big brother, if you have anything to ask, I will definitely tell you everything..." It seemed that those few hits just now shattered the monster's backbone and integrity together.

"Hmm..." Feng Bujue nodded in satisfaction and said, "First, tell me what you are."

"I... we... are you..." the monster replied—[We are the madness hidden within you, constantly yearning to break free from the cage of reason. We are the darkness you huddle in bed to avoid every night. When you hide in those havens we cannot trespass, we lie dormant in silence and weakness...]

This passage was special audio. When the dialogue sounded, Feng Bujue entered a state as if he were watching a CG.

And when that whole passage was finished, the scenery in front of Brother Jue suddenly changed. In the blink of an eye, he had actually arrived... in his own Thinking Space.

Memories floated in the air like halos, and thoughts shrouded the vast space like mist.

At this moment, time stood still.

Six figures gathered together.

Five of them stood separately, forming a circle; in the middle of the circle... was a birdcage-shaped prison more than two meters high; and in that cage, stood the sixth person.

"Although I don't know why I came in at this moment, since I'm here, I might as well ask..." The first Feng Bujue spoke.

"You heard what that guy said just now, right?" The second Feng Bujue continued, "I always feel... like I've heard it before."

"I always thought there were only five people here, until I started to come into contact with Thriller Paradise, and gained the ability to enter the 'Figurative Thinking Space', I realized... there was a sixth person." The third Feng Bujue said.

"I've always believed... that cage is the seal that Woody imposed." The fourth Feng Bujue looked at the person in the cage. "And you, are my sealed fear."

"Until just now, I heard those words." The fifth Feng Bujue added, "This made me realize, maybe... that cage... was there from the beginning."

After these five people finished speaking, they were silent for several seconds, and then...

"Who are you?"

"Who are you?"

"Who are you?"

"Who are you?"

"Who... are you?"

They looked at the cage almost at the same time, and asked the same question in five slightly different tones.

"Heh..." After a moment, the person in the cage sneered, "Why question yourself?"

He used a question to answer their questions.

"We are one person." Two seconds later, the person in the cage added, "From the beginning, there were no secrets between us. Because... all the answers are in this hall."

At this point, he reached into his jacket pocket and took out a key.

Seeing this, the five people outside the cage also subconsciously reached into their pockets.

At this moment, every Feng Bujue discovered... that in his pocket, there was also a key.

"This cage did exist from the beginning." The person in the cage said, "Because... we wanted it to exist."

"Because you didn't want to come out?" The first Feng Bujue asked.

The person in the cage replied, "But I have come out before."

"I know." The second Feng Bujue said, "The day you covered up the scene for Xiao Tan, you came out."

"The day you first contacted Gambling Emperor Zhai, you came out." The third Feng Bujue said.

"During the Cape Scramble, you came out." The fourth Feng Bujue said.

"And..." Finally, the fifth Feng Bujue added, "The day Ruo Yu left... you also came out."

"Because... from beginning to end, I could appear at any time according to my own will." The person in the cage took over their words and said, "Ordinary people will try their best to make sure that the one in the cage never comes out." Saying this, he spread his hands and smiled wickedly, "But we are not ordinary people, we... are Feng Bujue."