The sky was a dark, grayish hue, and outside the window, there were no paper cranes.
The clouds twisted and contorted, resembling faces with sinister grins, staring down upon the world below.
The air was unnaturally cold, seeping a sense of dread into the atmosphere.
Crows cawed eerily from the white-boned trees, their cries sending chills down the spine.
The faint, pungent scent of something fishy hung in the air, sharp and unsettling.
Beside a trash bin, there was a dark red substance oozing, with what looked like pig intestines hanging from the rim, swaying gently in the breeze.
The building before them was a stark, white structure with a sickly, disinfectant-like smell, standing tall like an ominous monument.
The sign at the entrance read, "Third Hospital," bringing them to the brink of despair.
"Third... Third Hospital?!"
"No way... not Third Hospital!"
"Please, no! Take me back! I want to find my mom! Waaa..."
"Dammit! How did I get chosen for Third Hospital? I'm just a newbie!"
"..."
The feeling of hopelessness spread like wildfire.
Twelve individuals—eight men and four women—stood before the building, each wearing a unique expression, yet the one thing they all shared was the same look of fear and despair.
Yi Bai, too, was no exception. He had just finished a grueling 996 shift and returned home, feeling a heavy weariness weighing on him.
The "Thriller Game" was a terrifying, unknown force bringing despair, death, and panic to the world.
It didn't matter your age, background, or time—every person, sooner or later, had a high chance of being pulled into this game, with no exceptions.
Ghosts, zombies, vengeful spirits, vampires…
All the horrific monsters that humanity once only encountered in movies and novels now roamed the earth, alive and terrifying.
One wrong move, and a human life could fade away like a fleeting flower.
To survive, one had no choice but to follow the rules of the Thriller Game and complete the missions. Only then could they earn the chance to return to the real world.
As the twelve participants gathered in front of the building, a nurse stepped out of the Third Hospital. She was tall and slender, with curves in all the right places. Her face was alluring, but her expression was cold and lifeless.
In her hand, she held a small notebook, seemingly checking the number of participants.
The moment the twelve saw her, they couldn't help but silently admire her beauty—"a goddess among mortals."
Of course, had her nurse's uniform not been stained with dark red marks, exuding the faint smell of blood, she would have been perfect.
Despite that, she still resembled an otherworldly supermodel nurse, radiating a hypnotic charm.
[Game Start!]
[Current Scenario: Third Hospital]
[Mission Details: Third Hospital, from the world of horror, has a good reputation among the supernatural. It treats countless monsters, from ghosts to demons. However, recently, something seems to have gone wrong, leading to a severe shortage of staff. They've had no choice but to seek help from the outside world.]
[Dear participants, please cooperate with the Third Hospital by taking up the designated staff roles. You will be allowed to return to the real world in one week if no negative feedback is given.]
[Friendly Reminder: The busy Third Hospital needs diligent workers. Keeping your head down and working hard will improve your chances of survival.]
[Basic rewards will be distributed after the mission ends...]
The voices of the Thriller Game faded from the participants' ears, but Yi Bai's mind was filled with a voice only he could hear.
[Lucky Player Yi Bai, your special talent "Undead Temptation" has been activated. Your charm causes the initial favorability of any supernatural creature in the Thriller world to start at Neutral. (Favorability will change depending on the situation.)]
[As the only lucky player, congratulations! You have earned a chance to use the "Extra Talent Roulette." Would you like to use it now?]
Yi Bai was momentarily stunned, then overwhelmed with joy.
Forget about that weird "Undead Temptation" talent, which brought some strange thoughts to mind.
The mere fact that he had an "Extra Talent Roulette" was enough to significantly boost his survival chances!
The Thriller world had descended for a long time, and people had gradually figured out some of its rules, even discovering survival strategies for certain games.
Some had even used the powers gained in this world to thrive back in the real world.
Talent was the rarest and most extraordinary of these abilities.
Among ten thousand players, only two or three might awaken a talent—those with useful talents were considered quite fortunate.
Yi Bai's "Undead Temptation" made all supernatural creatures view him neutrally instead of with hostility upon first sight.
If this got out, he would likely top the Talent Leaderboard for the living world!
This was a world full of ghosts, demons, and other twisted creatures.
Humans, full of life, were despised, hated, and treated as prey by these beings.
It was a lesson learned in blood by the many players who had come before him...
"Use Extra Talent Roulette!"
Yi Bai didn't hesitate. He mentally spoke the words, and in the next instant, an enormous wheel, like a Ferris wheel, appeared before him—only he could see it.
The wheel spun slowly, with numerous sections glowing with different colors, some dim, some bright, some that seemed to pull at the soul itself.
The wheel spun faster and faster, and Yi Bai felt his heart racing in sync with its movements, as though his heart might burst out of his chest.
He stared at the wheel with burning anticipation, silently praying for the best!
But...
The wheel was visible only to Yi Bai, and that led to a small, yet dangerous problem.
His intense gaze was locked on the wheel, but it was directed not at the wheel, but at the stunning nurse standing nearby.
The nurse, with her cold expression and sharp black heels, began to approach him, her gaze turning colder by the second.
Click! Click! Click!
The wheel slowed, the sound of its gears matching the rhythm of the nurse's approaching footsteps.
Yi Bai didn't notice the danger. He was fully absorbed in the roulette.
As the wheel's needle slowed, it came to a stop on an almost imperceptible area.
[Congratulations, lucky player Yi Bai! You have obtained the god-tier unique talent—Eye of Insight!]
[Eye of Insight: A terrifying ability that lets you see through the supernatural creatures and humans within your vision, revealing their information. (Everything has unique preferences and weaknesses—understand them, and use them to your advantage!)]
...
Note:
Monstrous Realms:
Wandering Spirit → Evil Spirit → Vengeful Ghost → Red-Clad Vengeful Ghost → Bloody-Clad Vengeful Ghost → Unspeakable → Fierce Deity