Before him was a world of mist.
Yan Changqing was a bit bewildered; could this not be his dream?
Every night, he would have a dream where he also came to a misty place, but it was slightly different from here; there was a large estate that belonged to him, and a monkey, a wolf, a fox, a snake, and a Butterfly accompanied him.
However, now there were only Humans around him, seven people, making a total of four men and four women, including him.
Yan Changqing pulled open the collar of his shirt and looked inside, only to see a blood-red jade snake pendant hanging on his chest. This discovery made his expression change involuntarily.
There was no mistake; this snake pendant was found by the snake from somewhere a while ago and brought to him.
Although he could wear the pendant at all times in his dreams, he ultimately could not bring things from his dreams into reality.
Now that the pendant appeared on his body, did it prove that he was still dreaming, only that the dream had changed?
"Where am I? What is this place?"
"Who are you people?"
The men and women began to clamor, clearly also feeling panicked about their situation.
Yan Changqing carefully observed everyone; most of them had pale faces, showing fear, confusion, and bewilderment, with varying expressions.
Among them, a thin, weak young man wearing glasses made Yan Changqing look at him a few more times. Unlike the others, he not only showed no negative emotions, but his eyes also seemed to carry a hint of excitement.
Aside from him, Yan Changqing also saw a familiar face. She wore an off-white top and a black short skirt, with fair skin, looking youthful and radiant.
Ning Xiaona, a nurse at Jikang Hospital, and also the one who took care of him. Usually, he saw her in her nurse's uniform, so seeing her in her casual clothes now felt somewhat fresh.
"Nurse Ning."
Yan Changqing went up and greeted her.
"Changqing!"
Suddenly seeing an acquaintance made the panicked Ning Xiaona's face light up with joy, then turn to surprise.
"You, your hands and feet..."
"I don't know what happened either. By the time I realized it, I was already able to move freely."
"That's great—" Ning Xiaona seemed very happy, but as soon as she thought of the current situation, her excitement quickly faded, and her smile turned into bitterness. "If it weren't for being in this inexplicable environment, we should have celebrated properly."
Yan Changqing waved his hand dismissively. He knew very well what Ning Xiaona meant. In reality, he was a paralyzed patient who needed nurses to take care of him even for eating, drinking, and using the restroom. Only in his dreams was he a healthy person.
He found it difficult to discern the current situation. If it was a dream, then why would the estate and animals disappear? But if it wasn't a dream, then why would he recover his health and wear the snake pendant given to him by the snake?
"Look at that!"
A panicked voice ended the commotion, and also made Yan Changqing pause his thoughts. Following the sound, an incredible thing happened: mist formed words in the air.
"Task: Go to the Castle, survive seven days, and uncover the hidden secrets of the Castle."
"What does that mean?"
"Where's the Castle?"
"Is this some kind of prank show?"
After a brief silence, everyone became even more agitated in their panic, as if only shouting loudly could provide release.
However, the next scene made them completely shut their mouths.
Countless "black dots" appeared out of thin air in the sky ahead, falling like rain, as if building blocks. Before everyone's eyes, with the falling and joining of the "black dots," a huge Castle was orderly constructed.
Everyone watched this scene speechless; they felt their common sense was being challenged.
"What do we do?" someone asked.
"What else can we do? Go into the Castle." The thin, weak young man wearing glasses was named Ai Haoming. With his hands in his pockets, he appeared calmer than the panicked crowd. "Since we're here, we might as well make the best of it. Do you think you still have a choice?"
"What are you talking about?" The tall man stood out, his face full of anger, then suddenly realized. "Oh, I understand. You're in league with the pranksters, that's why you want to lure us in!"
Ai Haoming just sneered, ignoring him, and walked towards the Castle alone.
"Hey! You bastard, you're not talking now that I've seen through you, huh!" The tall man followed after him.
The remaining people exchanged glances. Before they could sort out their thoughts, a sudden chill came from behind them.
Yan Changqing could feel a strong smell of blood assailing his nostrils, and goosebumps rose all over his body. Even without turning around, he could feel some huge, unknown creature approaching them. Every step it took, he could feel the ground tremble.
A woman shrieked, like the starting gun of a race. With almost no hesitation, six people frantically ran towards the Castle. The commotion behind them also grew louder; the ground thumped with footsteps. Clearly, the monster behind them was also chasing them.
Even in danger, Yan Changqing still turned his head, only to see the mist behind him growing thicker. There was a huge dark shadow within it, seemingly a four-legged beast, and a pair of fiery red eyes could vaguely be seen at a height of over five meters.
Its speed was extremely fast; it seemed capable of breaking through the mist at any moment. Yan Changqing was almost certain that if it caught up, no one present would survive.
He dared not look again, running desperately. The commotion from behind grew louder and louder, each sound seeming to stomp on everyone's heart, their chests thumping like drums.
"Faster, faster, faster!"
Some people had already reached the inside of the Castle and were trying to close the Castle's large door together.
The smell of blood was incredibly thick. Yan Changqing could even feel the wind pressure generated by the monster's running footsteps behind him, which made him run a little faster.
He finally managed to squeeze through the door crack at the last moment. As the large door closed, Yan Changqing looked through the crack, only to see the large door already covered in dense mist, and a huge dark shadow silently disappeared into the mist.
"Are you seeing ghosts?" The tall man, who had walked ahead, was somewhat confused, looking at the six panting people.
Before anyone could speak, a figure appeared behind him. Everyone who saw him stiffened.
The figure stood ramrod straight, dressed in a black suit, white gloves, and appeared extremely gentlemanly, a few centimeters taller than the tall man.
He bowed respectfully, his voice gentle and polite.
"Welcome to Mosen Castle, lost Guests. I am the butler here; please allow me to entertain you."
His demeanor was elegant, clearly indicating good upbringing. Being entertained by such a person made it easy to fall into his rhythm, leading Guests into high society, feeling as if bathed in spring breeze.
However, the prerequisite was—
He was human.
The butler was clearly not human, because he had a ram's head, with curved ram horns, horizontal pupils, white fur, and a goatee.
"What's wrong, esteemed Guests? Have I been remiss in my hospitality?"
Seeing no one respond, the butler asked again.
"You, you..."
The tall man, who had insisted it was a prank show, could no longer hold back. He suddenly stepped forward and grabbed the butler's collar.
"Who the hell are you trying to scare? Do you think wearing a goat head mask makes you a goat-headed monster? Watch me tear off your disguise!"
The tall man reached out to pull at the butler's face, when suddenly—
"Baa!"
A sharp cry pierced everyone's eardrums, making them instinctively crouch down and cover their ears. Their hearts seemed to tear apart with the sound.
Yan Changqing had never imagined a goat's cry could be so piercing, and this was not a beast's intimidating roar, but more like a desperate, agonizing scream of extreme fright.
The tall man, at the center of the screaming storm, felt dizzy, blood flowing from both ears, his eyes vacant. He just said blankly, "I haven't even touched you yet."
"Goat-headed monster... Goat-headed monster... Goat-headed monster..."
The butler muttered like a madman, his expression no longer having the elegance of their first encounter. He was like a startled goat, hands clutching his head, his face seemingly distorted from immense fright, and his eyes began to bloodshot.
Suddenly, he stopped eerily and punched the tall man's head.
The punch was like an iron hammer, splitting the tall man's head open like a watermelon. The tall man didn't even have time to scream, only letting out a squelch. His headless body fell to the ground, blood staining the floor along with the convulsing corpse.
The women let out piercing screams and ran towards the large door, while the remaining men also looked grim, only staring at the butler, not daring to act rashly.
"It won't open, it won't open, the door is locked!"
Everyone became even more panicked.
"Calm down." Yan Changqing's clenched fists trembled slightly. "There's a monster outside; running out is also death. Since the task requires us to stay in the Castle, that proves there's a glimmer of hope inside the Castle."
Hearing Yan Changqing's words, everyone seemed to find their backbone. Although still panicked, at least they no longer struggled blindly.
After killing one person, the butler seemed to regain his composure. He performed the butler's bow again.
"Welcome to Mosen Castle, lost Guests. I am the butler here; please allow me to entertain you."
His goat face appeared very human-like, revealing a gentle smile, as if he hadn't been the one who had just killed someone. Only his blood-stained white gloves proved his previous brutality.