In Virtual Reality 9 ☆ Screaming Haunted House (5/12)

Xu Jin Yi regarded the "guard formation" in front of her seriously.

Tian Si De would have thought she looked afraid if she hadn't been standing close behind one of the guards, practically breathing down his neck.

The situation was like this.

Servant — Guard with a sword — Servant

————— Xu Jin Yi —— Guard — Servant with a lamp — Servant

Her earlier experience of exploiting saves files and being beheaded several times allowed her to summaries [Zhang Family's Mob's] movement pattern and enemy line of sight.

All mobs could only see in front of them and slightly to the left and right. Each sort of mob could see at a fixed distance. A servant's field of vision was three steps away, whereas a guard's field of vision was five steps away. A servant carrying a lamp could see eight paces ahead, as could a guard with a sword.

If you arranged them in the following order, from those who can see the farthest to those who can see the least:

Guard with a sword = Servant with a lamp > Guard > Servant

On the PC, she could simply peek at the mini-map to see the red dots and their line of sight to avoid discovery and an unnecessary Game Over scene.

What about the VR version?

**

Tian Si De ducked behind the door and gazed in awe as Hoodie stood at the guard's rear flank. It was as if the other man was blind and couldn't see anything despite being so near.

Hoodie was also seen yanking at the hem of the other man's shirt in a quick motion.

Tian Si De drew a cold breath.

Nonetheless, the blind guard failed to detect anything.

Tian Si De only realised his back was drenched in cold sweat when Hoodie stepped back to his side.

"The enemy's line of sight has stayed unchanged," Hoodie clapped their hands to attract Tian Si De's attention back to them and stated, "Follow my words. This is a sort of mini stealth game. Each mob has its own patrol routine that it follows without variation. Most have a close sight of the line. As long as you don't get within enemy line of sight, they won't care about you even if you jump over two tigers while wearing women's clothing."

Tian Si De: "......"

He wouldn't dare to laugh in this horrible atmosphere, even if you told the funniest jokes.

"How far can each of them see? Measured in steps, with each step being around 70cm long. A servant takes three steps, a guard takes five, a lamp-carrier takes eight, and a sword-carrier takes eight."

The courtyard was roughly the size of a school playground, excluding the fake mountains and trees.

Hoodie glanced up and down, "Ah, you're missing your glasses... not that they helped you not fall for the well ghost trick."

Tian Si De, who couldn't tell the difference between a human and an animal from five meters away: "..."

"I'm getting a mirror eye procedure later." He retorted in a defiant whisper.

Hoodie nodded perfunctorily, "Ah yes, yes, yes."

They went on to say, "You simply move to that side. I just tried it, and it doesn't interfere with any enemy's line of sight."

Tian Si De could only nod stiffly now that that was out of the way.

**

The so-called [Zhang Family Guard Formation] could be bypassed if a certain bug was discovered.

On the PC side, Xu Jin Yi had exploited it several times. To discover it, she nearly developed a conditioned reflex. Especially now that she had to see it again in VR. It would be worth it to lose a couple limbs.

Just kidding!

Xu Jin Yi dashed quickly, squeezing between the guards and servants. She walked from the little courtyard to the centre of the large yard in five minutes.

She exhaled and turned to face Tian Si De, who was following close behind.

... Wait the grass was that guy doing?

**

The Zhang family courtyard was dark, and the only light source were the few attendants carrying lights.

Because of the darkness, even if a typical servant's line of sight was just three steps ahead, it was significantly more than Tian Si De's one step forward.

The youngster reflexively grabbed for his nose bridge and pushed up his spectacles, but it was empty.

That nasty ghost that snatched them!

He bent down to gather his breath, acknowledged his fate, and kept catwalking.

But before Tian Si De could go more than a few steps, his head collided with a hard object, forcing the unprepared youngster to tumble backwards onto the ground.

Immediately afterwards, a familiar tug from the back of his collar pulled him away.

Almost simultaneously, a massive, cool, shimmering sword cut down on the stone road, lit by an eerie green light!

Between Tian Si De's spread legs, red-gold sparks sparkled and erupted. In a trance, he gazed up. The guard's lifeless stiff smile was staring down at him.

...... Grass!

Goosebumps covered his skin in an instant. Hoodie didn't even have to remind the youngster to get up and run.

Hoodie shouted at him, "This way!"

Tian Si De couldn't see properly in the direction they indicated, but there was no way out of this predicament. Tian Si De ran straight for the pink blur front of him.

He had no idea what was going on ahead, but he only heard a few muted thumps before the road cleared.

They eventually noticed the Zhang family's vermilion gate after racing frantically for an unknown period of time.

Hoodie, who had stepped out first, stood outside the door, held on to the frame, and shouted, "Swoop!"

Tian Si De, who had already raced so hard that his heart and lungs were burning and he was on the verge of passing out, faltered and rushed over, kicking the unconscious boy at the Zhang family's high threshold and fell right through.

A big blade grazed his hair and sliced deep into the vermilion door frame.

Hoodie hurriedly pulled Tian Si De out of the Zhang family's reach.

Tian Si De collapsed and used his elbows to soften the fall, avoiding a bloodied nose.

Tian Si De's knees were still feeble when he was lifted, but he pointed forward and muttered shakily, "Run...... continue...... to run......"

He appeared to be frightened.

Hoodie chuckled and patted him on the shoulder, motioning for him to turn his gaze. -

The guards and servants vanished once Tian Si De had passed past the Zhang household gates.

The only trace left was the freshly cut sword mark. A narrow but deep sword mark proved that Tian Si De's recent chase was not a hallucination.

"Disspawned." Hoodie said, "But don't think that's the end."

"The servants and guards of the Zhang House will now appear at random across the village. The enemy's short-range line of sight is no longer valid. They will pursue you for as long as they can see you until you escape the haunted house."

Tian Si De's face had become blue. His lips shook as he struggled to find the right words.

"Looking at your stamina, I reckon you'll be caught after wandering around the village." Hoodie said, "I'll walk you out of the haunted house."

"No way!" Tian Si De dismissed the decision unconsciously, adding, "Wen Wen hasn't been found yet!"

What would happen to his girlfriend if he left now?

And Tian Si De had deduced that this was not an ordinary haunted house. That huge blade that swung down! He would have died on the spot if it hadn't been for Hoodie!

What would happen to Wen Wen if he was so powerless as a man here?

Wen Wen was so delicate. He was even afraid to squeeze her hand too hard.

He had to find her...

"But you're hardly alive after running this little distance, eh?" Hoodie rubbed their disheveled hair and stabbed Tian Si De in the heart with their comments, "You would sooner drop dead than rescue anyone."

Tian Si De: "......"

Indignantly, he blew a heated breath.

"Well, then, I'll take you to the village's outskirts first, and you may wait for me there." Hoodie offered, "I'll return after I've found Fang Wen Wen."

This appears to be the best option at the moment.

But this made Tian Si De feel guilty.

But before he could say anything, Hoodie climbed down the steps and attempted to return through the alley.

Tian Si De: "...... Wait for me!"

He took three steps and swiftly came up behind Hoodie as the silence between them started to stretch.

"That," Tian Si De said tentatively after a short stroll, "why don't we switch on the lights?"

He hadn't found it terrifying as he went with the lights on, but without the dim glimmer of the flashlight, it felt like the road ahead was a dark, gloomy abyss.

Every step he made felt like there was no way ahead, and he was afraid he'd take a step and tumble into a pit.

His heart was in his mouth, and his spirit was stiff.

"It's not that I didn't want to," Hoodie said, spreading their hands, "but I broke the rules, and the haunted home banned my flashlight."

As they spoke, they handed something to Tian Si De's eyes, only to hear two "clicks" and no light came out.

The flashlight didn't work anymore.

Tian Si De was a bit disappointed.

"Did you just say... you broke the rules?"

"You didn't know?" Hoodie seemed astonished, then explained, "It's a haunted house safety measure. You are not allowed to assault the staff of a haunted house."

'You're the only one who treats those monsters like they're employees!' Tian Si De muttered inwardly, but swiftly reacted. "Did you beat them up?"

Hoodie gave a lazy "hmmm".

"I was in a rush and had act quickly."

'So you were the one who caused those muffled noises. It's no surprise that everything went so smoothly when we came out!' Tian Si De pondered. He pursed his lips and felt a bit touched when he realised this.

However, without the flashlight, they could see much less. The journey ahead would be significantly more challenging.

"If you're afraid… here—" Hoodie handed over the broken flashlight, saying, "Hold it."

Tian Si De: "......"

He adjusted the flashlight and steadily grasped the grip at the flashlight's broad end.

Tian Si De immediately grasped Hoodie's concept. Holding the flashlight backwards reduced the likelihood of it falling off, even if it slid due to cold sweat.

He might now use it as a weapon.

This hoodie kid was so nice!

Tian Si De was almost moved to tears after he met such a fearless and resourceful young pal in this terrifying haunted house.

"This alley is only slightly darker, and when we come out, the moon overhead will be significantly brighter than a flashlight."

Hoodie rambled on, as if feeling his anxiety, and said, "I'll leave you off at the end of the village later, and you can find a safer place to sit there......"

"Brother." The boy behind them sniffled and choked out a sob, "You're my real big brother!"

Hoodie didn't even look back, "Even if you call me daddy, I'm not going to give you a piggyback ride."

Tian Si De choked: "......"

——— Translators Notes ———

I modified a few of the jokes as they had slipped past MTL and sounded awkward, but i tried to keep the spirit.

草

cǎo, literally "Grass"

Often used as a homophonic of "肏cào"/fuck

草泥马 cǎo ní mǎ (grass mud horse) = 肏你妈 cào nǐ mā (fuck your mother)

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