I’m a Max-Level Taoist Master, and You’re Throwing Me Into a Rules-Based Horror Game?! - Chapter 201

Chapter 201: Jealousy Twisted Him Beyond Recognition!

It was precisely these minor, seemingly insignificant oversights that had already led to the violent deaths of twenty Chosen Ones.

Their deaths were each more horrifying than the last, to the point where viewers instinctively closed their screens the moment they saw a Chosen One being ensnared by a Bamboo-Jointed Faceless Monster.

They couldn’t understand it. This Bamboo-Jointed Faceless Monster didn’t look particularly strong, so why was its lethality so terrifying?

In reality, anyone familiar with aberrant creatures knew that while some might not have high combat prowess, once they seized an opportunity or lured you into their trap, death was the only outcome.

Viewers had noticed a problem: the mortality rate for Chosen Ones wasn’t necessarily highest during major trials, but often in these easily overlooked, minor issues.

Just like in the previous high-level scenario, those exceptionally performing Chosen Ones could handle terrifying aberrations with ease and turn desperate situations around, yet they died on the second morning due to a single, easily missed rule.

This time, elites from various countries had entered, yet the mistakes they made were strikingly similar.

This also prompted expert teams to start taking it seriously, meticulously recording data in hopes of warning future Chosen Ones.

But when a Chosen One actually enters that world, will they remember this? That depends entirely on their on-the-spot reactions.

Life and death hang in the balance of a single moment. If they can’t think of it or notice it at that time, death is almost certain.

This highlights the advantage possessed by Chosen Ones who have entered the Strange Tales world multiple times.

Forget veterans like Zhang Yangqing, even those on their third entry, like Rahman and Gregorio, would subconsciously check whether certain details were handled correctly.

Rahman, indeed, had noticed something off about the mark on a door and continued searching for the next room marked with a blue question mark.

Soon, about twenty meters from the previous door, he found a room matching the rules’ description.

For safety, he not only scraped the mark on the door with a hard object but also washed it with water. Only after confirming it was correct did he ask the Purple-Eyed Woman to enter first.

Seeing him so meticulous, his other teammates felt a sense of admiration.

After all, a team needs mutual trust.

Of course, things would be much easier for the Chosen Ones if there weren’t any aberrations mixed into the team.

This ticking time bomb was truly both hated and feared.

Opening the blue-question-mark room revealed many furnishings inside.

It appeared to be a medical staff lounge: a damaged desk lamp, an overturned stool, an old table, and then items like a wardrobe and a bed.

The floor was stained with blood, and a duty roster on the wall was too faded to read.

“Strange, is there really an entrance to the next level here?” The Man with the Slicked-Back Hair searched for a while without finding any entrance and began to doubt Rahman’s words.

Other teammates also harbored doubts, though they hadn’t voiced them.

After all, the original plan was to rest at the starting point, but Rahman had led them out.

They had not only encountered danger but also run into these strange things. Anyone would likely feel suspicious.

The small amount of trust that had been built up was slowly eroding here.

Rahman couldn’t explain well; he could only regain their trust by finding the entrance to the next level as per the rules.

If he couldn’t find it, any explanation would be superfluous.

But he was also sweating profusely. The place was only so big.

When it came to finding things, it was the Magician who was reliable.

The Magician was skilled at creating various props, and these props were somewhat related to mechanisms and traps.

Many were designed to deceive, requiring special methods to solve.

The Purple-Eyed Woman searched for mechanisms with this mindset.

If there was a hidden passage here, it must be in a place no one would think of.

The cabinet and bed in the room had been moved, revealing nothing unusual.

Just as everyone was about to complain, wondering if Rahman was tricking them, the Purple-Eyed Woman suddenly lay down on the floor.

It could be said that without the Purple-Eyed Woman this time, Rahman would definitely have been ostracized by the team.

The spot where she lay down was the floor near the entrance.

She pressed her ear to the ground, then tapped the floorboards with a tool.

After careful confirmation, she shone her flashlight around the area and said to everyone, “Look, there’s a relatively intact crack here, different from the others. If I’m not mistaken, the area below this should be hollow.”

As it was near the entrance, people naturally didn’t look there upon entering. Moreover, due to corrosion, there were many cracks on the floor. If not for her, others would have had a hard time noticing.

The Man with the Wire-Framed Glasses, being the Purple-Eyed Woman’s supporter and also the strongest in the group, started working hard as soon as she suggested it, wanting to impress her.

He used a crowbar found in the cabinet to pry along the edge of the crack.

Sure enough, he pried open a stone cover, revealing a passageway before everyone’s eyes.

As soon as the passage opened, a foul stench wafted up. Shining a flashlight down revealed a shaft about ten meters deep.

There was an iron ladder along the side of the shaft, though it was already rusty.

“Turn off your flashlights for a moment; I think I see some light down there?” The Purple-Eyed Woman’s observational skills were sharp. Everyone listened to her and turned off their flashlights.

A faint red glow seemed to emanate from the bottom of the shaft.

In everyone’s minds, they wondered if some terrifying aberrant creature was waiting for them below, ready to deliver a sure kill the moment they descended.

Fighting back might be difficult then.

Turning the flashlights back on, the Purple-Eyed Woman tossed a card down. There seemed to be no reaction.

When she hesitated, looking like she was about to steel herself and go down, the Goateed Captain stopped her.

“I’ll go down. Tie a rope around me, and if something attacks me, pull me up quickly.”

Hearing the Goateed Captain’s words, the Purple-Eyed Woman didn’t refuse this time, instead seeming somewhat relieved.

No one understood why. Since the Purple-Eyed Woman had a substitute prop, why did the Goateed Captain insist on going down?
This was a leader’s judgment. The Goateed Captain’s experience told him that he had just noticed a slight hesitation in the Purple-Eyed Woman, her expression seeming somewhat off before she put on a brave face.

This indicated that either her substitute prop was used up, or her skill was still on cooldown.

After all, she had been the one opening doors all along, facing many attacks.

She had even faced the Blunt Corpse alone and might have been injured.

The reality was just as he suspected. In the case of other Chosen Ones, the Purple-Eyed Woman, having exhausted herself in the fight with the Blunt Corpse, couldn’t escape from danger for these very reasons.

However, she couldn’t possibly say this out loud, seeming also worried about something.

But she wasn’t actually injured; she just couldn’t use her substitution ability at the moment and needed more time.

So, the Goateed Captain decided to go down himself. The Man with the Wire-Framed Glasses held the rope, ready to pull the captain up at any sign of trouble.

For extra safety, the Goateed Captain also wrapped his hands with gauze to avoid touching anything on the rusty iron ladder.

Once everything was ready, he steadily climbed down.

Everyone was tense. After he checked the lower level for a while and confirmed it was safe, he signaled for everyone to come down.

Rahman was the third to climb down the iron ladder. As his feet touched the ground, he saw many white maggots wriggling nearby.

“Not good. Maggots mean someone might have died here not long ago.” The voice of the Man with the Slicked-Back Hair rang out; he was familiar with such matters.

“What do we do? Should we go back?” The Purple-Eyed Woman, her skill still on cooldown, seemed less bold now.

“The correct path lies below. We can only get out by finding all the organs. Trust me.” Rahman knew the danger above was greater now and persuaded everyone to move forward.

Now, the group found themselves in a doorless room. A faint red glow came from outside the doorway.

While other Chosen Ones were racing against time, Zhang Yangqing, having rested enough, finally set off.

The audience was quite looking forward to seeing how Zhang Yangqing would counterattack the Bamboo-Jointed Faceless Monster if he opened the wrong door.

However, most viewers thought that with such a simple problem, he couldn’t possibly misjudge it.

He was an experienced veteran, after all.

Even though some had already guessed Zhang Yangqing might not follow the usual script, his operation left the entire audience stunned.

When Zhang Yangqing left the temple and entered the corridor, he didn’t proceed forward.

Instead, he directly formed a single-hand seal, activated the Golden Light Mantra, and shaped it into the form of a drill.

Then the drill began to spin furiously. Under Zhang Yangqing’s guidance, it slowly bore through the floor.

For a moment, soil flew everywhere, and the roaring sound echoed through the corridor.

Logically, such loud noise should attract many strange beings.

But behind the doors marked with exclamation points, there was only dead silence.

Whether they sensed the overwhelming golden energy or detected an outrageous presence outside, the aberrations inside had even locked their doors. Don’t ask why they dared not come out; they were afraid Zhang Yangqing might come in.

Zhang Yangqing’s brutal method of creating a path left the viewers utterly amazed.

Other Chosen Ones had to follow the rules to find the passage to the next stage.

Zhang Yangqing didn’t need to follow them; he created his own passage to the next stage. His philosophy was simply: I have my own understanding.

Walk that far just to find an entrance? Clearly, that wasn’t necessary.

Didn’t I make it to the next level?
In Zhang Yangqing’s view, other Chosen Ones’ inability to do so was their problem, not his.

Perhaps these structures seemed indestructible and thick to other Chosen Ones, leaving them no choice but to find the shaft to descend.

But in Zhang Yangqing’s eyes, he was already doing his utmost to control his power to avoid causing the entire area to collapse.

Moreover, he was using the gentlest method of drilling. If not for fear of collapse, Zhang Yangqing would have just slashed through with one sword strike.

And so, the Golden Light Drill bored through the concrete separating the two floors.

Without further ado, Zhang Yangqing jumped down; a mere ten meters was nothing to him.

Seeing this, his other four teammates also jumped down after him.

They each used their own methods to land. Even if they miscalculated and fell, Zhang Yangqing couldn’t be bothered to catch them.

Upon reaching the second underground level, Zhang Yangqing noticed many ’emergency lights’ were on. These lights emitted a dim red glow around them, whether due to low battery or grime covering them.

Zhang Yangqing’s goal was clear: to find rooms with double doors and no markings.

Only these rooms would contain the so-called clearance items—the human organs.

After reaching this level, the Chosen Ones all felt the difficulty spike sharply.

Apart from the doors with strange symbols, the Chosen Ones also discovered many things that looked terrifying at first glance.

The Pyramid Country’s Chosen One, Rahman, after walking about five hundred meters down the corridor, saw a bizarre ‘Limb Curtain’ ahead.

The so-called Limb Curtain was a curtain made of numerous arms.

Right before them, twenty to thirty arms hung side by side on the wall, blocking the mountaineering team’s path.

These arms seemed to grow right out of the wall and could even move slightly.

In the dim environment, they looked both dense and horrifying.

They seemed to be waiting for prey to enter their attack range for a lethal strike.

Even Rahman, on his third entry into the Strange Tales world, was momentarily unsure what to do.

Seeing this scene, the viewers were also terrified.

Moreover, other strange things began to appear on the screens of other Chosen Ones.

The Eagle Country’s Chosen One, Miller, encountered a ‘Mouth Road’.

The so-called Mouth Road was a path paved with mouths and teeth.

It gave the impression that unless one could fly over, they would be devoured by these gaping maws.

Seeing this, not to mention other Chosen Ones, even Rahman began to worry.

After all, no rules told them how to pass here, meaning they had to rely on their own observation.

At this stage, if a Chosen One tried to urge their teammates to proceed, the teammates wouldn’t necessarily comply.

Without a correct method, they seemed unwilling to act rashly.

Some Chosen Ones asked the Man with the Slicked-Back Hair to throw his knives to chop off those arms.

But the Man with the Slicked-Back Hair said his weapons were limited; even if he threw them all, he could only chop off three or four arms, which was insignificant against the entire Limb Curtain.

At this point, the Chosen Ones started eyeing the nearby rooms.

Their thinking was: since such things appeared on the walls and floor, the staff who used to work here must have had ways to deal with them.

There was a certain probability of finding tools to deal with them in the rooms marked with question marks nearby.

Based on experience, the Chosen Ones judged that question-mark rooms were likely staff lounges.

Although opening the door still carried danger, it should be within a manageable range.

Sure enough, in Rahman’s mountaineering team, when the Goateed Captain opened a door, several terrifying humanoid aberrant creatures covered in maggots crawled out.

Especially in this dim red-lit passage, without shining a flashlight, one could only see a horrifying humanoid creature whose entire body seemed to writhe.

Actually, these things weren’t very strong in combat; they were just extremely disgusting to look at, and no one wanted to touch them.

Rahman directed the Man with the Slicked-Back Hair to use his weapons to chop them, as no one else had brought weapons besides him.

Others might have been reluctant, but the Man with the Slicked-Back Hair was an exception; he didn’t seem afraid of maggots.

As a chef, what strange ‘ingredients’ hadn’t he seen?

These things were considered high-protein in some upscale restaurants.

Amidst flashes of blade light, the humanoid aberrant creatures fell to the ground.

The maggots scattered everywhere. The Man with the Wire-Framed Glasses used a torch with some fuel to burn the maggots to ashes. The Man with the Slicked-Back Hair exclaimed what a waste, which disgusted many present. Were you really willing to eat that?

However, after entering the room marked with a question mark, everyone also found tools to deal with these aberrant sections.

All fear stems from insufficient firepower. Now, with the Goateed Captain wielding a special chainsaw, he charged into the Limb Curtain like he was mowing grass.

With a buzzing sound, all the arms that reached for him were severed.

Soon, severed hands littered the ground, still twitching, while red blood flowed down the walls.

Replacing the Limb Curtain was a Curtain of Blood.

Although equally frightening, it seemed it wouldn’t attack people.

The mountaineering team found some cover to hold over their heads as they passed through, avoiding being drenched by the blood.

As for Chosen Ones facing the Mouth Road, they also obtained some sprayers.

Devices resembling pesticide sprayers sprayed an unknown liquid directly at the gaping mouths.

The effect was remarkable; all the mouths on the Mouth Road closed shut.

The Chosen Ones seized the opportunity to run across.

Just as the Chosen Ones were congratulating themselves for their cleverness, real danger descended.

Not long after passing these aberrant sections, they passed by a door marked with a red exclamation point.

The red exclamation point alone, at first glance, made people feel the aberrant creature inside was not to be trifled with.

Even the bold mountaineering team wouldn’t dare open this door.

Everyone tried to leave this area as quickly as possible.

But what Chosen Ones feared most often came to pass.

Boom!
A loud crash. The door marked with a red exclamation point was kicked open.

The entire door flew off its hinges and slammed into the opposite wall.

That level of power was indeed frightening enough.

But the aberrant creature that emerged from the door next made every hair on one’s body stand on end.

The aura released by this aberrant creature was extremely terrifying. Bone spikes protruded all over its body, looking incredibly sturdy.

A ‘loving hug’ from it would impale anyone instantly.

These bone spikes also formed a natural armor.

This aberrant creature also looked very strange. Its other facial features were normal, but its eyes were on top of its head. When it looked at people, it always tilted its head back, giving a disdainful impression.

Upon seeing the mountaineering team, it pulled out a bone spike from its body as a weapon and began attacking them.

Unlike the Bamboo-Jointed Faceless Monster and the Blunt Corpse, this thing was very fast.

Even though the mountaineering team was running for their lives, it caught up with them in no time.

Its presence felt even stronger than the Blunt Corpse’s, but its overall shape resembled a human. Seeing they couldn’t escape, the mountaineering team had no choice but to resist.

After a series of combat sounds, the mountaineering team already had injured members. Even the strong Man with the Wire-Framed Glasses was sent flying three to four meters away.

But this new aberrant creature always seemed intent on attacking the Purple-Eyed Woman.

As if it had some deep-seated grudge against her.

If not for the Purple-Eyed Woman’s high agility, if not for her skill cooldown just ending, she would have been killed by this aberrant creature long ago.

Given this aberrant creature’s formidable combat power, if it had solely attacked other mountaineering team members, they would have been killed already.

Just as the mountaineering team felt in extreme crisis, Rahman spotted a room marked with a purple exclamation point nearby.

He opened the door and called for his teammates to come in quickly.

Entering a room rashly at this moment was unwise, but there was no other choice.

Rahman chose to trust the rules. The other teammates felt that not entering meant certain death, so they all rushed in.

But something strange happened to the mountaineering team. After they entered, they initially thought this bone-spiked aberrant creature would attack the door; they even started planning to barricade it.

However, the monster didn’t seem to do that. Instead, it just blocked the entrance.

As if there was something inside it feared.

But even if there was, Rahman wasn’t worried. The rules stated that hiding here for ten minutes was safe, limited to once.

That meant within ten minutes, this place was a safe zone.

Under their teammates’ urging, Rahman quickly took out the medical record forms from his backpack to find information on this monster.

Soon, he found a record with a photo ninety percent similar to this monster.

The Jealousy Gremlin. Extremely fast, with tremendous explosive power. The bones all over its body were hard as sharp weapons.

It also possessed some regenerative ability.

Having always been jealous of others’ appearances, it became ugly and twisted.

It accumulated massive amounts of jealousy factors within.

The higher the target’s attractiveness, the more powerful the combat strength it could unleash.

As long as you were uglier than it, it wouldn’t kill you.

Reading this, the mountaineering team understood why the Jealousy Gremlin was determined to kill the Purple-Eyed Woman.

Because within the team, the Purple-Eyed Woman had the highest attractiveness, making her the target.

Seeing this, the Purple-Eyed Woman was speechless. Was this aberrant creature specifically targeting her?

Was being good-looking a mistake in this stage?
She was also somewhat worried her teammates might abandon her.

Seeing this information, viewers from Pyramid Country couldn’t sit still.

: This monster specifically kills good-looking people? Jealousy twisted it beyond recognition?
: Damn, in that case, if I went in, wouldn’t I be killed ten times over? Possibly even posthumously desecrated.
: Sigh, anyway, I’d definitely die in this stage. Good thing I didn’t enter the Strange Tales world.
: You all brag so much; have the guts to post photos.
: I understand the logic, but ‘the higher the target’s attractiveness, the stronger the Jealousy Gremlin’s power.’ So, wouldn’t the Jealousy Gremlin on the Dragon Country’s side get an epic-level boost?
Hearing this, everyone suddenly realized.

After all, the Dragon Country Heavenly Master’s looks were undeniable; he had even relied on his appearance in previous Strange Tales worlds. When the Jealousy Gremlin saw the Dragon Country Heavenly Master, wouldn’t all the jealousy factors within it erupt, boosting its power to a terrifying level?

This stage, however, gave an advantage to uglier Chosen Ones.

Not only would the Jealousy Gremlin’s power decrease, but it also wouldn’t attack these Chosen Ones.

Before, being handsome was an advantage. Now, being ugly is an advantage!
One could say this monster’s damage might not be high, but the insult was extreme!
Because, being so ugly that even this aberrant monster couldn’t be bothered to attack you meant you should look in the mirror and reflect on how ugly you are.