Sipping on a breakfast smoothie that he ordered the butler to buy for him, Jia Hyson pulls out a ticket from his pocket and casually walks toward the ship it assigned him to. Unhurried and languid, like he was simply a tourist taking in the atmosphere.
Of course the moment he gave his ticket to the concierge and entered the ship, the light screen that appeared in front of him told him he was far from a simple tourist.
[Welcome to Unicorn Island]
[You are a live streamer on an expedition to the mysterious Unicorn Island. It is said the first people who discovered this place found the cure to all disease and old age, coming back younger and healthier than before. Since then many people have rushed to Unicorn Island not only to try find the treasures but also to admire the beautiful fantasy environment it has.
They say if you're pure of heart, the unicorns will find you. And if you aren't… the unicorns will also find you.]
[Clear conditions: Survive ten days on the island and take some good footage for your stream.]
[Optional: ???]
[Optional: ???]
[Optional: ???]
[Optional: ???]
[Instance Rank: ~E]
[Please note, Unicorn Island is currently undergoing updates. Your rewards and drop rate will, as a result, reflect this.]
Jia Hyson who already read this before merely briefly glanced at the contents again before swiping it away. He waves to his butler to leave for now and begins to walk around the ship. As he does, a different light screen appears. This time however it was black with silvery white writing. If the former screen was an automatic general pop up, the current screen was custom-made for his situation.
[You are Liu Hyson, adopted son of the prestigious Liu family. Your adopted parents are Liu Zimo and Zhanlan Shu. The Liu family is one of the seven biggest families in China, and the Zhanlan family has a long and prestigious lineage of artists.]
[It's a pity that their shiny exterior cannot stop them from being filled with twisted flesh and rotten bones…]
[Today you have sneaked out on the first school day of Red Fern Highschool, saying how you suddenly wished to see the famous Unicorn Island before entering school. Liu Zimo reluctantly allowed this but only because you promised to only take a day trip and be back to school as soon as possible. Of course, Liu Zimo would never expect that, you, who, while callous and a little rebellious at times but ultimately very obedient for important things, had bigger plans.]
[Main Objectives: Find a suitable host and have 'Liu Hyson' escape the Liu family]
[Optional: There's been a problem with the unicorn faction on the island, causing the instance to be a bit broken. I suspect one of the NPCs have broken free and gained self-awareness. Unfortunately unless I do a deep cleansing it's hard to determine what to adjust. Please deal with it.]
Reading the noticeably different tone in the optional task, Jia Hyson chuckles softly. "So polite?"
Words were typed underneath the original text quickly. [To be honest, it's the first time I'm asking for help like this.] A hint of embarrassment can be seen in what should be emotionless letters. [I'm still getting used to it. Not to mention it really isn't a big deal either but…]
Jia Hyson waves it off dismissively, sucking on his smoothie as he does so, "I understand, even if you're capable of holding a mop, it's not shameful to ask someone to help clean either. I do want to ask though-"
[Yes. When I say deal with it, as long as the bug isn't the Unicorn King, feel free to do as you please with it.]
Biting his straw, the zombie smiles sweetly, "Perfect."
…
To be honest, while Jia Hyson had not met his cheap adoptive family, the butler at least was very efficient. It was only a few minutes since he entered the boat and the other had already checked the rooms and made sure his luggage was safe and sound, as well as talked to the cruise attendants to understand the general itinerary. By the time Jia Hyson had finished his smoothie, the old butler had already found him, seemingly already with a much better idea of the layout of the cruise ship than himself.
Not to mention, Jia Hyson narrows his eyes slightly at the butlers almost poised yet surprisingly agile movements, he could already tell that despite his aged body, the other was in fairly good shape and seemed quite dangerous. Not enough to overpower himself of course, but it was definitely on a level that many healthy humans would probably consider highly formidable. If he could estimate it roughly, he may put the butler's fighting power on the same level as a Level 3 ability user in his apocalyptic world.
In terms of convenience, security and competence, this Liu family butler was really good. But for someone whose tasked to evade the other in a way that doesn't break his current self-set character settings it was a little tricky.
The Liu family was a fairly important bunch of people in this multiverse of horror. So were the Zhanlan family though to a slightly lesser extent. Therefore, weaving his own story needs to be fairly well thought out.
While Pero had assured him that he can always redo it, Jia Hyson, while appreciating the safety net, was the type of writer who dislikes doing multiple drafts. He preferred the style of confirming certain set plot points then writing it all in one take with only a few edits. To him, rewriting and rewriting the same thing can only lead to self-doubt, stagnation and a feeling of frustrated dullness that can inevitably transfer through the work.
In the Liu family, the memories of the past will be incomplete but it doesn't matter, most people don't live by dwelling on the past. Therefore Pero simply inserted vague memories in those involved temporarily. It was similar to the an adult's memory of a holiday when they were seven. At most they can remember a few prominent scenes and the general details like where they went, but generally minor details were hard to recall even with external prompting.
To the Liu family they knew they adopted Jia Hyson because of a fortune teller who promised that he was an unpredictable star that could potentially save the Liu family's bloodline. They had investigated his background and knew he came from Lu Hua village and Saint Mary's Orphange, both of which were now gone under suspicious means related to him. Andy they knew he possessed inhuman powers and an affinity to plants.
However while they knew it, it was simply like words on blank paper. They took it as fact but their minds at this point would never try to look any deeper to the how or why's of it. It was simply a 'truth'.
And Jia Hyson was the one who would colour in the outlines of this truth.
Finishing his smoothie he throws it into a nearby bin and begins to circle back to the entrance room of the ship. By now his potential body options should have arrived. It was important to at least narrow down his options.
Re-entering the lobby, Jia Hyson glances around casually. To be honest Unicorn Island is a very popular destination, but the number of people that can visit is very restricted. Because of the nature of the island, many of the people who come would be government affiliated, both domestic and foreign. Then there were those from big families like the Liu family, or scientists from large companies who could get a ticket. Finally there were the lucky tourists who would apply for a lottery to win a holiday cruise there- the money earned from the lottery would naturally go to the government's 'support' for the island.
Thus, the cruise ship now had become quite lively and bustling, with excited tourists exploring around and taking photos, rich-second generations on their phones as they go try and find the best place for a selfie to show off on social media, and more serious men and women looking around… also taking photos and selfies.
Okay, so everyone was just taking photos.
Well, with the exception of one group of people who were visibly far more tense, huddling around each other like penguins in a snowstorm. Some had expressions of confusion, some grimly reading something in the air and the rest were either calm, indifferent. There was even one holding a faint smile bemusement as he played with his camera, almost as if considering also joining in on the photo-taking fun.
Either way, all of them had what looked like a tight-fitting bracelet on their wrist, a backpack and a small carry-on suitcase, all with a white and red color scheme. On all three of these items was a strange logo. The logo was like a large dark-red S shape on its side and in the right hand gap of this sideways S another upright S seemed to fit inside, creating three spaces in the logo. And in each space there was a very simple eyeball, one looking at the left, one gazing to the right and finally one staring straight ahead.
This should be the symbol for the StreamUs company.
According to what Pero said, the players were streamers supposedly picked 'randomly' by StreamUs to join this cruise, meaning they fell under the second category of visitors. StreamUs was another important company related to various instances. It can be said that at least 48% of all streaming or media-based horror instances had some relation to this corporation.
[Don't worry.] Pero assures him confidently, [I've picked out some of the most suitable hosts for you.]
Looking closer at the group of streamers, Jia Hyson falls silent.
He distinctly felt the strength of a beauty con system.
Before in the first world Jia Hyson didn't really notice, driven more by hunger and sadistic instinct, but the zombie was fairly sure the distribution in looks was fairly random with only the sunny teenager, the Dynamite veteran, and one of the high school girls to be considered very good looking. The rest of the players were generally normal, either slightly above or below average in appearance.
However now as more and more players arrived onto the boat, Jia Hyson could say there was simply no ugly people present. Not to mention, the beauty of each person varied. There was the sharp, intellectual type with glasses, the soft and sweet teddy type with fluffy hair, and even a seductive and flirtatious type with long hair all the way down to his butt.
The system also didn't seem to discriminate in its categorisation of good looks. There weren't just the typical pale beauties that conformed to typical Chinese beauty standards but also tanned and dark skinned beauties, muscular hotties, someone with albinism and even one with vitiligo.
It's not that Jia Hyson discriminated either, he's never advocated for colorism as sexy can comes in all sorts of tones and patterns, but that didn't mean he wasn't surprised seeing this diversity.
Don't look at the apocalyptic conditions where food and drink were a scarcity that was prioritized by everyone. At the very least there was a point where there were many human bases that functioned relatively well, and as a result many darker aspects of society were prevalent in them. It was common for women and some men to do their best to keep their skin pale and clean to attract stronger people as lovers or to exchange their body for food.
Pale skin was not only originally a strong value for beauty in China and many surrounding Asian countries, but it was objectively a rarity as skincare overtime naturally was lost in the face of more pressing concerns. Like staying alive.
While he hated to admit it, after some self reflection, he couldn't help but realise his perception of beauty had also been subconsciously narrowed due to this constant exposure of this attitude over the years. Those with paler and smooth skin were a rarity and thus treated as such. It was normal for people's biases to also change with the conditions.
To be honest, at that point it was almost less about beauty and more nostalgia that could make one recall the pre-apocalyptic times where it was normal not to have callouses and scars all over, to have clean skin and cleaner hair.
While humans have disappeared for a long time, the memories he had of them were all filled with a mix of those starving and in poverty, those muscular and full of murderous aura, and any in between. The little silly, tender, and sweet types had long become extinct, ravaged by zombies, humanity's cruelty and time. Even the few children that made it past infancy could not be spared.
Jia Hyson still greatly enjoyed the muscular and tanned, darkened appearance of others who were full of wildness and strength but it was undeniable that he was too used to seeing it in his original world. The appeal for this type, while undeniable, was no longer particularly as strong. Plus everyone practically had zero body fat at the end of days, which made it a little less comfortable to eat much less hold.
Meat was delicious but if you spend over a decade without cake, it's impossible not to yearn for it.
Therefore in the apocalypse while the dark-skinned, muscular and powerful were beloved, the true unattainable beauty in many people's hearts was the kind that was chubby and white, the kind of fat that wasn't just the bloating of one's stomach as a result of malnutrition, soft all over.
Jia Hyson remembered one of the apocalyptic beauties was an adorable young man who was plump and fleshy, with eyes that looked particularly shiny when he smiled, very clean and pure. He was a son of a level seven fire ability user who doted on him greatly. Originally he was almost unhealthily obese but thanks to the apocalypse forcing him and everyone else on a diet, plus him still being able to have some access to fairly consistent meals, he had only become a little overweight as a result.
Compared to the thin willowy bodies of most of the other beauties there, it was this chubby young man who was one of the most sought after in that base. Jia Hyson would know.
Because a lot of people cried really bitterly after he ate him.
But how can they blame him? He also wanted to enjoy the beauty too. But Jia Hyson was very respectful of the other's wishes. So if he can't get the other's consent in eating him one way, then he will simply eat his fill in the other way.
His only regret was that the beauty wanted to change his mind but it was already too late as Jia Hyson had already had half of his body in his mouth. And by then it was a little awkward to back out now. Tsk, tsk, indecisiveness can really kill people.
Anyway, seeing the mixture of good-looking men and women, some even with colorfully dyed hair, perms and all sorts of bright clothes and shiny, flashy jewellery, Jia Hyson's eyes couldn't help but light up, and his mouth involuntarily filled with saliva.
The previous instance was a backwater village and the clothes were naturally not as good-looking, with many people resembling humans from the early stages of the apocalypse- dirty and tired, grimy skin from lack of proper bathing luxuries, and conservatively dressed in worn clothing. Not to mention they were a village with strong xenophobic tendencies so people with obviously 'different' appearances would not be seen at all.
Seeing the diversity of the players here, Jia Hyson could say he was almost moved to tears. Feeling his eyes and soul be greatly refreshed.
…Of course, he was sure that if those people learned the reason they were picked to come to this particular instance, there would also be moved to tears ah. Though the feelings behind those tears would probably be profoundly much more mixed.
[Satisfied?]
'Extremely.' Jia Hyson smiles, assessing the crowd.
Players like the charming long-haired one and the one with vitiligo were directly dismissed at first glance. Not because of their appearance but because those two were obviously friends or at least teammates with the way they immediately started to walk closer to each other and begin conversing. Jia Hyson admits he can be quite the liar but long-term acting skills were not his forte, and starting off with pretending to be someone with already established social relationships was difficult.
He looked towards the lone wolves, the newbies and the ignored. Fortunately, the system also kept this in mind and there was a fair amount of players in this category, and those obviously in teams were relatively small groups of four at most.
Once Jia Hyson narrowed it down with this practical reasoning, he narrowed it down further with his judgement on their personalities.
Cheerful, extroverted, energetic- immediately crossed out. He didn't have that sort of energy or interest to maintain that persona even if he was at peak health. The best type was either gentle and refined which was a facade he was proficient at, timid and soft-spoken which was fairly easy, cold and silent to avoid less speaking, bloodthirsty and violent would also be good, or even the eccentric constantly in a dazed personality type would suit himself well enough. Also flirtatious, scheming, um, crybaby also sounds fun, then…
"Hey… Don't you think that guy is looking at us strangely?" The player with vitiligo murmurs to his friend, the flirtatious-looking, long-haired man and also a cold-faced lady with shaved hair.
"Could he be a new key NPC?" The lady suggests with some uncertainty. Unicorn Island was an instance undergoing updates, which meant that the initial rewards passing this relatively unstable instance would be much greater but would also bring about a lot of different changes.
Most instances will repeat with very little change, same NPCs, same boss, though higher level instances usually at C and above can have some fluctuations in the boss' behaviour which in turn can alter an entire play-through experience. Generally though, key characters will stay key characters, and important events may come sooner but they won't completely vanish. It was only when an instance was undergoing updates or maintenance would there be much larger changes. Sometimes it's adding new NPCs, changing key characters' personalities, altering the puzzles or even changing out the boss completely, including their core plot line.
One of the most notable instances of this was the Wilted Flower Instance in Red Fern Highschool. The original boss was a pedophile scum of a teacher who had assaulted a quiet female student, spreading rumours about her promiscuity and then, during a fight where she revealed she had collected some evidence against him, he impulsively pushed her off the rooftop. However when the teacher looked over the edge, her body was gone.
The girl was declared missing and the teacher, after being frightened, decided to not be greedy, cherish life and be a good person.
In this instance players would enter as students or new teachers or some sort of staff one month after the student's 'disappearance'. It was a murder-mystery type E-level instance where the main task was to find the murderer and the optional tasks were to clear the female student's name and to locate the female student's remains. The last optional task was much more difficult because even the final boss did not know who was behind this, and what had become of her.
Because the instance main task was not terribly difficult, many players would usually have the time to also try tackle these side tasks. However while the first optional task was usually performed to various levels of success, no one had found out where the girl's remains were. Given it was a E-level instance that mainly comprised of newbie players and new players, with maybe one or two occasional intermediates thrown in, it wasn't that surprising no one yet had correctly answered the tricky challenge question, which also had a hidden boss behind it. And the higher players would usually not spend the effort to enter and try, given the known rewards were not particularly outstanding either.
However one day, a high-level player did so in order to accompany his new lover. But embarrassingly enough the high-level player was not the puzzle-oriented type, preferring using power and wit and relying on smarter players for this sort of thing mystery-based instance. Thus it took them almost all of the game time to solve the murder.
In order to show off and save face, the high-level player directly took out an expensive soul-summoning charm to bring back the dead girl's spirit, when his little lover expressed interest in clearing all the optional tasks before the instance deadline ended.
Suddenly the simple murder-mystery instance full of the core socialist values* directly turned into a supernatural instance.
*The 12 values, written in 24 Chinese characters, are the national values of "prosperity", "democracy", "civility" and "harmony"; the social values of "freedom", "equality", "justice" and the "rule of law"; and the individual values of "patriotism", "dedication", "integrity" and "friendship". - Sometimes to ward off a fear of ghosts and stuff people would recite them as china is pretty anti-supernatural and there's strong censorship against stuff like superstition etc
After a group wipeout by this new ghost boss, the system directly put the instance under the category of maintenance, and then into the update category of instances.
During maintenance while the difficulty was much harder, it was about C-level at worst. However, who knew what the system was thinking. Instead of releasing the instance back out after adjusting for the new boss of Wilted Flower, it actually filed the instance into one undergoing Updates, and added more and more things into Red Fern Highschool, producing the first area with multiple instances. Maybe because the Wilted Flower instance was the cause of this, it also was directly changed into an S-level instance and to anyone's knowledge no one has survived it.
This was the most famous example of an instance overhaul. Even now almost any Red Fern Highschool related instances were under the undergoing update status with the exception of those that aren't on campus. For example Red Fern Highschool students on field trips or vacation.
There is a saying among the players- 'When you think life is miserable as a player, remember that at least you're not an NPC in Red Fern Highschool.'
But even if instances are going through an unstable update period, many players would still take the risk and voluntarily join it. This is simply because 1. The chance of the instance changing drastically from the system-estimated level is very rare and 2. The rewards can potentially be higher than entering a new instance.
Players were also not allowed to repeat instances, so a lot of knowledge was through world of mouth or, if you had a special item or skill, via video. But with enough sketches, one could still put together a complete and detailed picture in the end. Thus the older the instances, the more well researched they become and the easier it can be to complete it.
For these 'classics' they will usually drop the rewards a bit for those until they enter an update period of some sort. The exception of course being if you're new or a newbie player who would still struggle regardless.
Many players will inevitably enter a 'stagnation period' where they aren't willing to try new instances and do their best to enter already well known instances via guild resources, shop items etc, resulting in a slow increase in points which would inevitably be used up just by living in one of the four cities you can stay in between instances.
That's where instances that are in the update period become the most appealing, after all at the very least you can usually still have a general idea on the core elements and death triggers, making it much better then walking into something blind.
The cold-faced lady doesn't directly look at this unfamiliar NPC, only seeing him through her peripheral vision but it was enough to note down his key traits.
A young man, age a little ambiguous but shouldn't be older than twenty, with an elegant, refined appearance, with his hair tied loosely in a short ponytail. However his slanted eyes made him look a touch indulgent and playful, adding a sultry charm to him further highlighted by his mole on the corner of his slightly curved up lips. Other than his slanted eyes, the most notable thing is his skin was very pale, it was hard to tell if she felt it attractive or borderline eerie.
The NPC was also tall, well-proportioned, and held a slim build, neither muscular nor particularly skinny. Based on his skin he didn't seem to be the type that was outdoorsy, but his musculature also may not be suitable to be grouped into the scientist group either though it was still likely.
However his clothing also didn't match a scientist going to the island for work. Wearing a lavender Ch*nel collared shirt with a gold stitch design around the color. White jeans from Louis Vuitt*n and a dark purple belt with a simple golden buckle to tie it all together. To match there was also dark brown leather shoes that looked well-polished and custom tailored. Decked out in brands he screamed rich second generation. He even wore a brightly shining diamond studded watch and a pale violet silk scarf that added to the flashy flamboyancy of the outfit.
If Jia Hyson heard the woman's thought he would also add that, what was even more extreme was that even the underwear matched, a soft lavender shade with a white elastic band that had gold stitching. If one saw it, they might think Jia Hyson had a strong sense of OCD to even coordinate his outfit to such an extent. The system truly treated him as some sort of dress-up doll here.
However he couldn't be too fussed about it. After all he had no negative feelings over being treated as such, the clothes were comfortable and the other had even altered his body to look like his original appearance, albeit twenty or so years younger. While it was necessary for the instance anyway, Jia Hyson still felt a touch of gratitude on the restoration of his looks. Just seeing his old human features once more, made him deeply emotional.
Meanwhile, the cold-faced lady glances at her companions before making a decision in her heart, seeing the long-haired man about to make a move toward this unknown NPC, she immediately touched his shoulder and subtly shook her head when he looked over.
This NPC was definitely not mentioned in the information guide, and should have been added in this update. Either he's a red herring or an important person that can move one of the plots. Nonetheless, while he should be approached, it shouldn't be now when there was so many other players around.
As players the ideal is to work together, but in instances such as these where there's multiple factions it usually means there's inevitably more in-player conflicts. And even if there wasn't these conditions… well, the human heart was unpredictable and it was rare for the entire group of players to truly be able to cooperate well in an instance.
Her long-haired companion quickly understood and casually turned his head toward the other players, body language immediately languid and casual. The two others also blended in with the players, glancing around suspiciously, or checking their backpacks to see what items had been given to them.
After a few minutes, a few players had even started streaming, trying to take advantage of their roles to the fullest by recording the surrounding scenes as well as satisfy the task condition of taking a good stream.
Those who are familiar with StreamUs were also aware of the benefits of streaming early, also began to play with the camera or carefully gather clues on their given persona using their phone. Some players were also talking quietly to the visibly ruffled newbie players, while others had already started to go off by themselves.
Jia Hyson lazily watches it all with some interest. From what he observed it seems most NPCs at first sight are really no different to a real human save for the richness of delicious energy running through their body. With the presence of the players, every NPC seems to react believable and with responses aligning to their identities.
The rich second generation and younger NPCs may look excited or envious, with one or two looking at a certain player with light in their eyes as if they were a fan who had seen their idol. The older professionals who came to the island to work, such as the scientists, generally were a mix of disdainful, apathetic, and annoyed, with an underlying feeling of condescension. And finally there were a healthy amount who just looked curious at the large crowd of good-looking people with little to no recognition of them at all.
Jia Hyson's gaze drifts back to the players who were starting to slowly scatter from the initial grouping. There were a few that picked up the confused newbie players along the way. Maybe because the scenery change was quite pleasant, the new players while anxious, were much less frightened and agitated compared to those in Four Well Village.
[You can say that because you only see the ones on the boat.] Pero suddenly says. Jia Hyson who knew only he could hear Pero at this moment, only lightly furrowed his brow at the unexpected voice of the system.
However his interest and curiosity was piqued. After all with such a lovely start to the instance, most people, while uneasy, will tend to flock. And while the harbor outside was bustling, it was fairly obvious that this cruise boat was the centre of attention. Whether it's flyers or promotions related to it, many NPCs moving products into the ship, talking about Unicorn Island, it's' legends, the influx of people coming for it and so on. Coupled with the mysterious circumstances of appearing there, Jia Hyson would feel, even just for the sake of reassurance, most people would be inclined to move toward the boat heading to the island.
Silently he asks the system, 'What happened to the rest?'
[Typically most new players get so scared they try to leave, but in these sort of instances many tend to treat it like a television prank and get so distracted by everything they missed the time to board, or simply didn't realise they had a ticket for the ship in their pocket.]
Jia Hyson: '…' On behalf of humanity I can only apologise for our strong inclination for denial.
Ah, wait, he probably could no longer consider himself part of humanity anymore right? ╮(╯∀╰)╭