Chapter 52: Resentment of the Death Curse (Part 2)

When executing script missions, players are assigned identities by the system and assume specific roles.

To ordinary bystanders within the script mission, the player's appearance, mannerisms, and demeanor will align with the character's past behavior, even if the player carries firearms or wands—so long as it's not excessive, the Killing Field system will conceal these anomalies.

When executing missions in a team, players see each other as they appeared at the moment of teleportation.

For example, now.

Li Cheng observed his three companions inside the vehicle. The one in the driver's seat was a short-haired, bespectacled young man in a white jacket and jeans, slender build, with heavy dark circles under his eyes.

Sitting on the left rear seat was a long-haired girl in a long dress, unremarkable in appearance, wearing thick glasses and freckles on her face.

Sitting on the right rear seat was another girl, young, with a ponytail, dressed in a black suit, pretty in looks, but her expression was timid, her eyes filled with panic none of the other three possessed.

As Li Cheng observed the other three, he himself was being watched by them with strange gazes.

The reason was simple: Li Cheng's attire was truly shocking.

He wore a yellow Maoshan Daoist robe, underneath a bulletproof vest, a cross necklace around his neck, an Islamic scripture clutched in his left hand, an assault rifle held in his right, night-vision goggles on his head, and several strands of blessed Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist.

This combination was wildly mismatched, like madness incarnate, leaving others speechless when trying to criticize it.

【Stage One Mission Time Limit: 2 Hours】

【Stage One Mission Failure Penalty: None】

【Mission Briefing Sent】

【Shuijing City has always been perceived by its people as a tranquil and peaceful city—until this serenity was shattered by a series of bizarre deaths.】

【A late-night TV program crew visited the city's renowned folklorist, Ishikawa Kenichi, hoping to invite him as a guest—but learned he had vanished three days prior.】

【The four-person team returned to the TV station; on their way back, they witnessed something that caused their vehicle to crash and sink into the river.】

Splash—splash—

With the mission briefing complete, river water poured relentlessly through the van's windows and door seams, the entire vehicle slowly sinking toward the riverbed.

"Mission name: 'Resentment of the Death Curse.' The briefing mentions 'bizarre deaths,' and the failure penalty is still none."

The dark-circled youth in the driver's seat sighed, "In supernatural-themed script missions, having no failure penalty is the greatest penalty of all. Forget it—let's all get out first."

With that, his body turned semi-transparent, dissolving into streams of green 0s and 1s, floating upward through the roof and landing on shore.

The long-haired girl on the left rear seat rolled down her window, leapt lightly onto the roof, then jumped to shore.

Li Cheng opened the door, stepped into the icy river, and saw the ponytailed girl in the rear right seat struggling to unfasten her seatbelt, drenched in sweat—he casually pulled open her door, unclipped her belt, and helped her swim to shore.

The four successfully escaped. The dark-circled youth quickly said: "To avoid confusion with any new players, let me explain: in Killing Field team missions, there is no 'friendly fire immunity'—players can attack each other, though the damage is somewhat reduced."

Repeated attempts to harm teammates will be flagged by the system as malicious gameplay, resulting in severe consequences: level reduction, and future missions becoming punishment missions.

Thus, team members' safety is, to some extent, guaranteed—you don't need to overly fear betrayal from allies.

Right now, we're all on the same rope. We must cooperate fully. To show sincerity, I'll reveal my player ID first."

He snapped his fingers, and a line of text appeared above his head.

【Overworked Coder·Stack Duizhan Qibing】【Lv7】

Li Cheng raised his eyebrows slightly—the "Lv7" above the dark-circled youth's head was his current level, "Stack Duizhan Qibing" his ID, and "Overworked Coder" his title.

Once a player reaches Lv5, the title system unlocks.

The Killing Field grants specific evaluations based on a player's performance in missions, and assigns a unique ability as a passive skill—not occupying a skill slot.

Players can earn multiple titles but may wear only one at a time, with a 48-hour cooldown before switching.

"Since you've said so."

The long-haired girl snapped her fingers and revealed her ID: 【Jingzhe Xiazhi】【Lv2】

The suited ponytailed girl beside her timidly raised her hand: 【Little Red Riding Hood】【Lv2】

Finally, Li Cheng: 【Master Pi Fu】【Lv2】

"Three Lv2s and only me at Lv7—what's the Killing Field playing at? Am I being treated as a babysitter?"

Stack Duizhan Qibing rubbed his temples, his gaze lingering on the golden emblem pinned to the chest of Little Red Riding Hood's black suit. "Oh? You're from Japan's Bureau of Anomalous Affairs?"

"Y-yes."

Little Red Riding Hood stammered.

Like China's Special Affairs Bureau and America's FBI Special Incident Division, Japan established its own official agency: the Bureau of Anomalous Affairs. That golden emblem was their insignia.

"Don't be nervous. Our team's average level is only 3.25. The difficulty won't be too high."

Stack Duizhan Qibing smiled amiably, though internally he thought coldly.

In Killing Field team missions, members' strengths are generally balanced, and their abilities tend to complement each other.

For example, the system wouldn't assign four players specialized in healing to a pure combat mission.

Stack Duizhan Qibing had completed numerous solo and team missions, and even accompanied senior members of his guild, 【Whale Song】, to explore physical Killing Fields—he had ample experience.

Among all Lv7 players, his strength should rank in the upper-mid tier.

With his level, the system would hardly assign him three pure newbies just to drag him down—meaning one of Jingzhe Xiazhi, Little Red Riding Hood, or Master Pi Fu must be hiding their true level.

This person may have encountered the supernatural even before becoming a player, becoming a transcendent—and thus, at Lv2, their system rating matches Stack Duizhan Qibing's.

Given that Little Red Riding Hood is from Japan's Bureau of Anomalous Affairs, she is most likely the one.

"Hummm—"

A buzzing noise interrupted Stack Duizhan Qibing's thoughts. He turned toward the sound and exclaimed, "Dude, what the hell are you doing?"

There, the player named Master Pi Fu had somehow produced a diesel generator, a power strip, an ironing board, and an electric iron—and was now, like a housewife, calmly ironing the Daoist robe he had just taken off.

(End of Chapter)