In the darkness, Hong Hu waited anxiously.
From his perspective, Astral Pegasus, Feng Bujue, and Atobe were all standing under the hanging body, motionless with their flashlights raised.
Obviously, Feng Bujue's speculation had come true again. The monster before them did have some kind of AOE control skill.
Fortunately, Ambitionist did not go with them. Otherwise … there was a real possibility that they would all be wiped out.
Time ticked by, and the pressure fell on Hong Hu's shoulders.
Suddenly, a system announcement appeared in his ears. "Team Member: Atobe-sama has died."
Almost at the same time, Atobe dissolved into white light and disappeared …
"Sigh … Looks like it's time to play it by ear …" Hong Hu sighed as he raised the flashlight to look around.
In this isolated and helpless situation, he was also in great danger. God knows what else was hiding in the darkness around him … So he had to check the surroundings first before taking action.
"Hmm … I should try to attack it …" After making the preparation, Hong Hu placed the flashlight on the ground, took out his weapon, and nocked an arrow.
After aiming for a short while, a light arrow shot out …
Hong Hu's marksmanship mastery was already level A, and he was using a crossbow, which was more controllable than a gun. At this distance, there was no chance of missing.
One second later, the light arrow flew through the air and hit the dead body's chest.
However … this arrow did not stay on the corpse's body. Instead, it pierced through its body …
"Hmm?" Hong Hu was startled, and his eyes widened. One breath later, he said darkly, "An illusion?"
His speculation was not wrong. Using a simple elimination method, he came to this conclusion. The light arrow was effective on both spirits and corporeal bodies, so after eliminating these two possibilities, the only possibility left was that the dead body was just an illusion.
"Humph … Playing this kind of trick …" Hong Hu scoffed. He pulled the bow back and aimed at the rope above the hanging body.
Another arrow flew out, and this time … the light arrow hit its target.
With just a light touch, the rope snapped. As soon as the rope broke, the corpse hanging from the rope also disappeared.
At the same time, Unrestrained Pegasus jumped back and cursed a few times in a muffled voice. After landing, he took the opportunity to assume a battle stance and looked around nervously.
"Oh? It has been removed, right? "Feng Bujue was surprisingly calm. He turned around to look at Brother Ma and Ambitionist before glancing at the game menu." Hmm … Atobe has died … "
"What … what happened earlier …" His fear had not calmed down. His face was pale, and he looked at Brother Jue in panic. "What … what is going on?"
"Don't panic, it's all an illusion." Feng Bujue replied casually, then turned his head and shouted to Hong Hu in the distance, "Hong Hu, we're fine now."
"Wait!" Hong Hu did not believe him. He stood where he was and shouted back, "Are you sure?"
His worries were not unfounded. What if the scene in front of him was also part of a trap?
"About that …" Feng Bujue said as he turned around to look at the rope that had been cut off. "I really can't be sure …"
Before he finished, Brother Jue had already leaped into the air with a stomp.
In the blink of an eye, he grabbed the broken rope that was swaying in the wind and yanked it down …
"Ah!" Suddenly, a scream came from above. Even though it was just a scream, Unrestrained Pegasus recognized the owner of the voice immediately. It was the person hanging from the rope.
Brother Ma was shocked and raised his flashlight to look up.
When he looked at it earlier, the other end of the rope was tied to a protruding crystal at the top. But now that he shone the flashlight on it, he realized that … there was a strange creature lying on the edge of the crystal. And that 'rope' had come out from the creature's mouth …
"Aiyayaya … That's enough! Stop pulling! Let go! " The creature said a few more sentences. Its tone was not eerie at all, and it sounded quite friendly.
"I can let go if you want." Feng Bujue said, "Come down."
"No, you're up to no good!" the creature replied.
"Come down." Brother Jue said again, "I promise I won't kill you."
"I don't believe you!" Cried the fellow above. "You lunatic!" (It couldn't pronounce correctly because of its tongue being held down).
"No, I'm not crazy …" Feng Bujue said this in a cold tone, then … he suddenly grinned. He pulled the 'rope' with both hands and started to shake his body. "… I'm Tarzan!
Brother Jue mimicked the signature roar of the animated version of Tarzan, the main character in the novel Tarzan of the Apes by the American author Edgar Rice Burroughs, and his roar echoed in the air.
And the strange creature on the crystal used almost the same tone to howl sorrowfully …
Flying Pegasus and Ambitionist, who were watching from the sidelines, were at a loss as to what to do … However, Ambitionist quickly regained his senses and quickly walked over to them. Because Brother Jue's behavior at least announced one thing — the danger was gone.
Finally, the creature on the crystal came down. If it did not come down, its' tongue 'would be pulled out by the roots.
"Let me introduce, this is one of the four guardians of Devil Chomp Island, the Heart of Fear." After Feng Bujue stood still, he pointed at the strange creature on the ground.
So … the Heart of Fear did not grow into a 'heart'. Overall, it looked more like a two-meter-long, pitch-black gecko.
"It was this creature that killed Atobe?" Hong Hu asked with a frown.
"'Killed' is not the correct term," Feng Bujue replied. "Atobe died because his Terror Points were overloaded. In other words … he was so scared that he was ejected from the scenario."
"Oh … So those illusions were created by this guy …" Brony said in hindsight.
The Heart of Fear then turned around on the ground and glared at Brother Jue. "Can you let go of my see-through head now?"
"Of course." Feng Bujue instantly let go of the 'rope' and added, "See, I'm a man of my word."
"Is that so? So, you're really a 'human'? " The Heart of Fear pulled his tongue back into his mouth and replied in a mocking tone, "Then, I'll have to suggest you go see a psychologist …"
"I have, and it was a consultation with several top psychologists and neurologists," Feng Bujue replied.
The Heart of Fear lowered his voice. "So … you're still undergoing treatment?"
"No, the treatment is already over," Brother Jue replied.
"Er … Why did you give up on treatment?" the Heart of Fear asked.
"Because after some time, those psychologists and neurologists will become patients as well." Feng Bujue shrugged.
"Forgive me for interrupting this god-like conversation between the two of you …" Ambitionist could not take it anymore. He interrupted, "Which one of you can explain what just happened …"
"Is there a need to explain?" The Heart of Fear said. "Like usual, I found a random place to set down the 'bait' to hunt, and then I ran into you."
"Oh … So, the situation is … you ambushed us and killed one of our comrades," Hong Hu said. "And now … you've fallen into our hands."
"Yes," the Heart of Fear replied.
"I'm impressed by your open-minded attitude …" Hong Hu narrowed his eyes.
"Fine! Since you've admitted it, then we'll settle the score! "After these few minutes, Flying Horse had basically shaken off the shadow of fear and returned to normal. Therefore, he took two steps forward and pointed at the lizard brother on the ground. He roared, "You've been scaring me for so long! Thankfully, I didn't die, and now it's my turn! Feel the wrath of a hero … "
"Don't act rashly." Feng Bujue raised his hand to stop Brother Ma. "It's useless even if you kill it … Atobe won't revive." He paused. "Furthermore … actually, it's not 'it' that's scaring you, but you're scaring yourself."
"Huh?" Flying Horse was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Let me explain," the Heart of Fear said. The Heart of Fear continued, "Earlier, when you walked over, I activated my ability — the 'Source of Tremors' on you. After that, what you saw, heard, touched, and so on … basically depended on your imagination … "It nudged its feet and paced back and forth on the ground." For example … when you approached the 'bait' that I released, you were very concerned about his face, so you started to imagine … the things that might happen next, the changes that might happen, and so on … Of course, those are just the prelude … The real scares are the things that you don't even dare to imagine … Those things only exist in your subconscious, and that is the change that the Source of Tremors will induce. "
At this point, the Heart of Fear raised its flat head to look at Brother Ma. "You're very lucky. Your subconscious's memory of horror is limited, and it limits the space of your imagination, so you didn't die. Haha … but the other kid is different … "
"In any case … Atobe has read more horror movies and novels than you, so his mind is able to come up with more scares." Feng Bujue was worried that Brother Ma might not get it, so he quickly added a few more words to explain.
"So what! No matter the reason, you're the one who activated the power! "Flying Horse barked at the Heart of Fear.
"Tsk … I didn't force you into the range of my power. You could have taken a detour or turned back," the Heart of Fear grumbled. "You walked right into my trap, so who is to blame?"
"Hey! Then, based on what you're saying … we deserve it? "Flying Horse asked.
"Calm down …" Feng Bujue advised. "Actually … we are responsible for this as well." His tone was calm, and it made people want to listen. "At this place, it's very easy to cause a group wipe. The game conversation between players can't be heard by an NPC at the level of the Heart of Fear because it will be blocked by the system. Therefore … the system gave us a hint earlier in the scenario."
Brother Jue paused for two seconds before repeating the warning given by the mimic soul. "'If you run into the Heart of Fear, you'd better run at the first notice. You humans are no match for it.'" He shrugged and continued. "Initially, I was confused. If the Heart of Fear used its' power 'to attack us, would we really be able to run? If we could run, wouldn't we be able to stop playing with the Hand of Rubbing Scissors? Haha … Now I get it. He's trying to tell us not to walk into the trap. "
"So, we're just going to let this go?" Flying Horse asked. He still sounded like he was unwilling to give up.
"Sigh … As a hero, you have to know how to forgive others." Feng Bujue said earnestly as if he was educating a child. "I suggest you watch Teacher Guan Dexing's Huang Feihong series more. That's called chivalry. As long as people are willing to repent and say 'Master Huang, I know I'm wrong,' he'll let them live …"
"I'm not wrong." Before Brother Jue could finish, the Heart of Fear interrupted. "Even if I kill all of you, it's still within the scope of my responsibility and power."
Silence … descended …
Flying Horse and Hong Hu suddenly looked at the Heart of Fear sympathetically.
"Wh … What are you doing?" The Gecko brother suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
"Haha …" At this moment, Feng Bujue smirked. He turned his head and stared at the Heart of Fear with an extremely cold gaze.
…
Fifteen minutes later.
"Sigh … No Zuo No Die, that's not wrong at all." Flying Horse smacked his lips and said as he chewed on the unique gecko meat.
"Just from the name, I thought it would be a scary and sinister creature, but it turns out to be so honest." Hong Hu also took a bite of the meat and sighed. "So pitiful."
"You haven't even cleaned your mouth yet, and you're already saying something like that. You'll lose your dignity." While Feng Bujue complained, he also stuffed a piece of juicy meat into his mouth.
By then, the three had already started a fire. They sat where they were and used the Heart of Fear's carcass as a barbecue.
It had indeed been two and a half hours since they last ate. Feng Bujue believed that it was important to replenish food every 150 minutes. As long as this rhythm was not broken, the exhaustion of Stamina Points could be maintained at the same rate as in the normal scenario.
Other than that, it was worth mentioning … before Brother Jue killed the Heart of Fear, he pretended that he did not want to give it a hard time and negotiated with it.
To put it simply … he used the 'you've killed one of our comrades' as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Heart of Fear and successfully found out the way to reach the Despair Cage.
After achieving his goal, Feng Bujue made his move. Then, it was a one-stop service of killing, slicing, and barbecuing.
In any case, after sacrificing one of their comrades, they finally had some progress on the main mission.
The remaining three rested for a while. After filling their stomachs with meat, they moved out again.
This time, they did not have much time to rest. One, it was because the sky was dark, and two, dealing with the Heart of Fear did not exhaust much of their Stamina Points.
Feng Bujue's analysis at the Sacrificial Hall was correct. Of the four guardians, the strongest was the Mimicking Soul; the others were not even worth mentioning. Even though the guardians were each given a unique ability — the Copying Hand's territory of rock-paper-scissors, the Mimicking Soul's mimicry, and the Heart of Fear's source of tremors — other than that, the Mimicking Soul's innate racial ability was undeniably the strongest.
"Ah!" Several minutes after the three resumed their journey, Imaginative Horse suddenly screamed in shock and turned to look at Brother Jue. "I almost forgot to ask … how did you survive the source of tremors?"
"Tsk … Why are you so surprised? I thought you were going to ask me something else. So, this is it …" Feng Bujue said weakly.
"I'm curious as well." Hong Hu chimed in. "When it comes to imagination and memory of various scary elements … You are at the level of a master. Even I have to admit defeat to your imagination … "He paused and his expression changed slightly." You should be the one who is least likely to survive the source of tremors, right? "
"Oh? Is that what you think? "Feng Bujue replied without batting an eyelid.
Hong Hu added, "Yes … Also, why would the Heart of Fear say you are crazy? From the conversation between the two of you, in the illusion, you have communicated with it many times, right? "
"Ah … Actually, it's not that big of a deal." Feng Bujue used a nonsensical sentence to buy himself about two seconds. In these two seconds, he came up with an explanation in his mind. The content was half true and half false. It should be able to cover up the fact that he was not afraid. "Because when I see something strange, my first reaction is not to panic or be afraid, but to think about the reason."
As he said that, he raised his right hand and tapped his temple with his index finger. "This kind of habit is deeply ingrained. Even if the other party keeps leading me to the things that I am afraid of, as long as I can maintain my rationality and calm, I can resist it in the illusion." He paused. "Let me give you a simple example … One day, you wake up to brush your teeth, turn on the faucet and realize that feces is flowing out …"
"Do you dare to give me another example?" Imaginative Horse interrupted.
"Okay, it's bleeding." Feng Bujue corrected himself. "At this time, what will you do?"
"Analyze the situation rationally, tell myself … I am dreaming and try to wake up." Hong Hu said as he thought. "Hmm … If I really can't wake up, I will use the blood to brush my teeth and pretend that it is water. After all, it is an illusion."
Feng Bujue nodded with a smile but said, "You are wrong."
"Huh?" Hong Hu was startled.
"You are overthinking it." Feng Bujue added. "If I am in that situation, my mind will make an instinctive response."
"What is it?"
"Turn off the faucet."
"Hmm …" Hong Hu and Imaginative Horse both fell into deep thought.
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