I’m a Max-Level Taoist Master, and You’re Throwing Me Into a Rules-Based Horror Game?! - Chapter 200

Chapter 200: Don’t Overly Trust Your Teammates!

As Zhang Yangqing wiped the grime from around the glass container, the heart became clearly visible to everyone.

Looking at this still-beating heart, it seemed to resonate with the hearts of those around them.

Their own hearts seemed to gradually synchronize with the rhythm of this heart.

This wasn’t psychological; it was a real sensation.

It felt as if, should the heart in the glass container suddenly stop, their own hearts would also cease beating.

“This thing has a certain magic, as if it could manipulate our organs,” the purple-eyed woman was the first to voice her opinion. As a self-proclaimed magician, she seemed to have unique insights into such ‘props’.

“I think this should be a tool for enhancing the body. I can feel the energy emanating from its pulsations,” the man with the gold-rimmed glasses pushed his glasses up and began analyzing rationally.

In other chosen ones’ teams, the gold-rimmed glasses man was guarding the door outside, afraid of eerie creatures entering.

On Zhang Yangqing’s side, things were more casual; everyone was relatively relaxed.

Despite his large build, the gold-rimmed glasses man had a sharp mind; he wasn’t just a brute.

After all, this place was a biological research base. Following this line of reasoning, this might be a modified and enhanced heart. If someone wanted to become stronger, they could implant this heart into themselves.

His words did gain some agreement; there was a basis for judgment.

But there were no doctors here, and installing a heart wasn’t as simple as swallowing it.

“I think, could this be a tool to control those monsters?” the man with the slicked-back hair, after taking the container in his hand for a close look, also began his own analysis.

Since there were many monsters here, the people who worked here must have found ways to control them.

Maybe this thing was the heart of a certain monster? Crushing it might cause a specific monster to instantly die?

It had to be said, his theory also had some merit; the heart looked too sinister.

“This isn’t something someone uses to steep in alcohol, is it?” Zhang Yangqing’s casual remark sent chills down everyone’s spines.

They’d heard of using certain animal parts for medicinal wine, but never this.

It sounded absurd, yet no one dared to refute him.

Everyone had voiced their opinions, except for the bearded team leader.

He was a relatively steady person; for things not within his ‘experience’, he wouldn’t jump to conclusions.

While everyone was debating, the bearded team leader was searching through the materials in the room.

Most were incomprehensible data, but there was also a diary.

He dusted off the diary and opened it.

It seemed to record how this place transformed from a sanatorium into a biological research base.

The first page of the diary read:

[This world is sick. All living beings will mutate.]

Seeing he had found a clue, the other team members gathered around.

The information on the pages made the hearts of these natives race uncontrollably.

Many eerie monsters would appear in this world, but those monsters were actually mutated natives.

Initially, the sanatorium was built in this permafrost land to use the icy environment to suppress the mutation factors within people on the verge of ‘disease’.

Reading this, calling it a sanatorium wasn’t wrong.

Patients just needed to take medicine on time every day and use the cold to suppress the mutation factors within them; over time, they would recover.

But everything changed when a new director took over.

This director had a very twisted personality. He believed it was wrong to suppress the mutation factors within these people.

He wanted everyone here to release the hidden power within their bodies.

The reason the director did this could, to some extent, be called him being a pervert, but more accurately, he needed to create companions.

The director was himself a mutant, but he could control the mutation factors within him and not lose his sanity.

Even so, in this world, he was considered an aberration.

Outside the sanatorium, he faced strange looks everywhere.

He was fed up with this world. He felt he wasn’t wrong. Why did everyone reject him? The mutation wasn’t his fault. He had outstanding achievements in the field of mutation suppression, which was why he became the director here.

Until one day, the director had an epiphany.

He wasn’t wrong; the world was wrong.

As long as he made everyone mutate, then he would be the normal one!

Reading this, many felt chills.

Perhaps many viewers would say his methods were extreme, but the chosen ones felt this guy was ruthless—to stop people from calling him a monster, he turned everyone into monsters.

It was indeed a unique way of thinking.

In Zhang Yangqing’s view, the director’s method was troublesome. His own method was simpler: just kill all those who didn’t accept him, then wouldn’t everyone left be accepting?

Fortunately, he wasn’t made director, or this world would be even more tragic.

Everyone continued reading. Most of it detailed plans for creating mutated monsters.

Some passages were particularly noteworthy.

[The director attempted to create an angel, wishing to make a wish to it. Who knew the angel’s consciousness would begin to awaken? It felt it was above humans; why should it listen to human wishes?]

[I cannot understand why something so ugly is called an angel. Perhaps, as the books say, angels exist to scare away demons.]

[The angel is out of control. No, perhaps it is not an angel; it is the demon of the end!]

[We have created a being capable of opposing it, named ‘Human’. But the human is not complete.]

This was the useful content from the diary.

There was no other noteworthy information afterward.

Combining this with information from other team members, the chosen ones could infer the following.

Because many monsters appeared in this area, it attracted the attention of this world’s higher-ups.

The Eternal Clan appeared, destroyed, and sealed this place.

The so-called Eternal Clan was this world’s most powerful race, said to possess eternal life.

From beginning to end, the Eternal Clan never showed themselves.

But from the conversations of the people in the Nameless Mountain Village, it seemed the Eternal Clan was stationed within this Perpetual Winter Land.

For now, this information just needed to be remembered. Most chosen ones were still focused on how to survive and get out of here.

Through this notebook and the rules, they now had a fair amount of information.

Zhang Yangqing had already connected the information obtained from this place.

Many things that seemed unexplainable now had hints from the intel.

Other chosen ones still needed to rack their brains to connect and analyze.

Zhang Yangqing had a significant advantage here: experience from bizarre worlds.

Since a heart appeared here, it proved the heart must be useful for clearing this stage.

Rule 5 mentioned: When a complete person appears here, the exit will manifest.

The diary stated: We have created a being capable of opposing it, named ‘Human’. But the human is not complete.

Thus, it could be understood that there was a monster named ‘Human’ here.

It was missing some ‘organs’, hence it was an incomplete person.

As long as they gave it the organs it lacked, it would become a complete person, and the exit from this Sanatorium Bizarre Tale would open.

This was the method to leave according to the rules.

And these organs were likely to appear in rooms with double doors and no special markings.

Rules 1 and 6 were reminding the chosen ones to keep walking, keep going downwards, and they would find these things.

As for other rules, they just needed to be remembered and reacted to when danger was encountered.

This was what Zhang Yangqing needed to consider.

And other chosen ones needed to consider even more; this stage actually had many details.

The chosen one from Pyramid Country, Rahmaan, remained exceptionally calm.

He had many more things to consider, such as the heart in the glass jar.

This item might be unique. If it was destroyed during a fight with an eerie creature, this stage would likely lead to a dead end, ultimately being killed by the monster called ‘Human’.

According to the diary intel, ‘Human’ had the ability to oppose the angel.

Previously, Rahmaan had been helpless even against the soul-like form of the eerie angel; even the powerful beast-villagers couldn’t resist it.

A powerful being called ‘Human’, capable of opposing the ‘relatively complete angel’, how terrifying must it be?

By Rahmaan’s judgment, perhaps only by giving ‘Human’ all its missing organs would it not harm the climbing team.

Now that they had the heart, they needed to ensure its safety.

Here, Rahmaan conceived two methods. The first was to hide the heart somewhere and retrieve it after collecting everything else.

This could avoid destruction during combat.

However, this method conflicted with the rules.

[Rule 6: Remember, you can only go downwards here. If you find yourself going upwards, immediately leave that area.]

If Rahmaan guessed correctly, if all organs couldn’t be guaranteed to be on one level, they could only find other organs by going downwards.

As long as they went down, they wouldn’t go back up. This rule was probably telling the chosen ones the condition for the eerie beings’ appearance.

As for what danger they might encounter going up, the rules and diary didn’t say, but they could observe.

In bizarre worlds, observation could also yield crucial intel.

Rahmaan always felt the footsteps behind them were problematic and kept increasing.

Combined with the rules, Rahmaan thought it could be understood like this:

[Rule 1: Every three kilometers, a room marked with a blue question mark will appear. Inside is the method to proceed to the next level.]

The passageway here seemed endless. Each time they passed certain special rooms, the footsteps increased.

When these eerie footsteps accumulated to a certain level, they would attack the climbing team.

So, after about three kilometers, the climbing team needed to find the room marked with a blue question mark to go to the next level, and these footsteps would disappear.

A new set of footsteps would start on the next level, and they would repeat the process.

Being able to guess the type of eerie manifestation placed Rahmaan among the top-tier chosen ones.

Other chosen ones who couldn’t grasp this just needed to follow the rules as written.

Understanding and adhering to the rules was key to their survival.

Therefore, Rahmaan felt the method of hiding the heart somewhere was not feasible.

So, it had to be carried by the climbing team. As for who should carry it, that depended on the team’s choice.

Those with some ability could carry it themselves; those less capable could ask the strong gold-rimmed glasses man to carry it.

The smarter ones, like Rahmaan, used available materials nearby, like wood, sheet metal, cotton, etc., to create a protective casing for the jar to prevent it from breaking upon impact.

After considering this, they still needed to prepare for clearing the stage.

Last time, most climbing teams managed to escape the Blunt Corpse’s attack entirely by relying on information, the so-called ‘medical records’.

As long as they knew an eerie creature’s characteristics and weaknesses, avoiding it was easy.

Because in the eyes of most chosen ones, fighting that thing head-on was no different from suicide.

Since there were eerie creatures here, there would surely be some on lower levels too.

And these eerie creatures were bizarre and varied; without intel, they’d be hard to deal with.

So, along the way, the climbing team needed to collect various medical records. When encountering an eerie creature, they could check the records to analyze its weaknesses and traits.

Considering this, the difficulty of this stage slightly decreased.

In bizarre worlds, being able to prepare in advance was always better than having to think on the spot when danger struck.

Most chosen ones could only think this far.

Next came more detailed deductions, which is where differences between chosen ones became apparent.

Rahmaan’s mind began organizing the information. The diary mentioned this world was sick; everyone would mutate.

It could be understood that everyone in this world had mutation factors within them. Once certain conditions were met, mutation would occur.

If those conditions were never triggered in a lifetime, they would never mutate.

And the rules didn’t consider the chosen ones or their teammates as ‘people’.

Rahmaan considered that he and the other climbers must also have special mutation factors within them.

Here, two understandings and approaches were possible.

First, the chosen one needed to minimize contact with danger to avoid mutation, because no one knew what form mutation would take, whether they’d lose consciousness, etc. The risks were immense.

Being in the Perpetual Winter Land, feeling this cold, might be key to suppressing the worsening of mutation factors.

Second, the chosen one needed to find a way to mutate to overcome difficulties.

Because everyone could see how powerful the mutated species were, possessing formidable combat abilities.

If they themselves had such power, facing danger aside, if confronted by treacherous teammates, they wouldn’t be helpless.

If not able to fight, at least they could run.

This was the level of detail Rahmaan could consider, and he was speculating about the overall approach for this bizarre world.

The more he could guess, the better he could respond when danger arose.

Did Zhang Yangqing not consider these things?

No, he didn’t need to overcomplicate things.

Because methods to strengthen oneself and intel on eerie creatures could improve survival rates for other chosen ones.

For him, having them or not made little difference.

Simplifying the complex was what he needed to do.

What Zhang Yangqing could omit, other chosen ones dared not.

To improve their survival rate, they could be said to spare no effort.

Gregor’s approach was more steady. After discussing intel and tactics with his teammates, he began preparing to find the room with the blue question mark.

Only by continuously walking, continuously going downwards, could they collect all the organs.

During this, they also needed to find rooms with double doors to stay in for a while and neutralize the toxins in their bodies.

Whenever they passed a room with an exclamation mark, the climbing team would be extra cautious.

These rooms usually housed eerie creatures.

Even Gregor adhered to the principle of running if possible, fighting only if necessary, advancing steadily.

After walking a distance, the sharp-eyed purple-eyed woman said, “Look, there’s a room with a blue question mark here.”

Everyone looked where she pointed. There was indeed a blue question mark on the door.

Here lay a trap, and a huge one at that.

When the chosen one from Iron Tower Country entered according to the rules to find the passage to the next level, several segmented, faceless monsters suddenly dropped from the ceiling.

It felt like giant spiders landing on their faces.

The segmented monsters’ long, slender limbs instantly entangled their prey.

The Iron Tower Country chosen one struggled desperately but couldn’t break free.

Seeing the oval head so close, he was scared out of his wits.

As he was about to call for help from his teammates, he found they were also entangled, unable to move.

And a scene of despair unfolded before him: within his field of vision, he could see the bearded team leader’s head pierced by a thick ‘tube’. The segmented monster seemed to be sucking out his brain matter.

The next moment, he came to his senses and saw a sharp tube above his own skull, a part separated from the segmented monster’s oval head, apparently about to pierce his brain too.

His eyes were bloodshot as he frantically shook his head, trying to avoid the segmented monster’s attack.

But no matter how he dodged, the segmented monster wasn’t in a hurry, as if saying, I’ve eaten more brains than you’ve ever seen.

Apart from its head, its limbs were like bamboo poles; it was a pure brain-eating eerie creature.

The shaking-headed chosen one was like a warming dish in its eyes.

The Iron Tower Country chosen one shook his head a bit too violently; a crack sounded from his neck—he’d twisted it.

Next, the tube pierced his forehead; the sound of skull fracturing echoed.

A warm liquid began flowing through the suction tube.

Iron Tower Country’s large screen went black. Mission failed.

This scene made many Iron Tower Country viewers feel uncomfortable on top of their heads, subconsciously turning on lights to check their own ceilings, making sure there weren’t any giant spiders above.

Some of the more timid were already looking for helmets.

A mild persecution complex emerged.

Viewers were also puzzled. Their chosen one acted according to the rules, so why was he attacked?

Were the rules wrong? Or did their chosen one misunderstand?

At this moment, other chosen ones provided the answer.

If a careful chosen one approached the room, they would notice that the blue question mark seemed to have an extra part around it, as if someone had painted over it with graffiti.

At this point, the chosen one only needed to pick up a hard object nearby and scrape it to see that this was actually an exclamation mark. Some scoundrel had turned it into a question mark.

Or perhaps the eerie creatures here altered it themselves. Chosen ones who didn’t notice would be attacked.

Being attacked in the corridor and being attacked inside were two different things; you could run in the corridor, but inside, there was no escape.

This stage tested the chosen ones’ own judgment.

Don’t overly trust your teammates.

Many of the deceased chosen ones heard the purple-eyed woman say there was a blue question mark, gave it a cursory glance, saw it indeed looked like one, didn’t think much, and didn’t inspect closely.

After the purple-eyed woman entered and wasn’t attacked, the others followed.

Only after everyone entered would the segmented monsters encircle them.

Logically, the purple-eyed woman should have been able to escape using a substitute, but unfortunately, this time she couldn’t escape either. So chosen ones who entered the wrong room had no chance of survival.

Smarter chosen ones, like Rahmaan from Pyramid Country, had already realized when facing the Blunt Corpse that teammates were just support. When faced with decisions and dangers in an eerie environment, they had to rely on themselves.

If they could clear stages just by relying on teammates, it wouldn’t be a bizarre world; it would be a free ride.

Bizarre worlds weren’t that simple. If you didn’t use your brain, your brain would get eaten.

If Zhang Yangqing’s teammates knew Rahmaan’s thoughts, they’d probably say: You’re right, but we didn’t use our brains; we’re purely freeloading!