Survival in an apartment, starting with a stroke of luck on a plane

The red, blue, and gold lights shone brilliantly, as if they were flowing through the blade as liquid energy.

Even the surrounding black mist was pushed away and distorted by this terrifying force.

He concentrated all the borrowed divine power of the True Lord, the inner fire and thunder within his body, and the amplification brought by the [King's Battle Technique] into this one sword.

His figure and the sword light almost merged into one, transforming into a golden-red lightning bolt that tore everything apart. With a speed beyond visual perception, it pierced through the defensive gaps exposed by the broken contact and precisely stabbed at the core that was locked onto by the Heavenly Eye!

puff--!

A soft sound, like a hot knife cutting into solidified grease.

The Demon-Slaying Sword plunged in to the very root, and all the highly concentrated energy at the tip of the sword exploded like ignited explosives the moment it pierced the core.

The tentacle monster froze in its tracks, its frantic roar stuck in its throat.

In its violent eyes, the light dimmed and dissipated rapidly, like a candle flickering in the wind.

The next moment, beams of light burst forth uncontrollably from the countless cracks in its body, from its enormous mouth, and even from the severed ends of its tentacles.

It's as if it has a tri-color light hidden inside.

Lightning, flames, and golden light intertwined.

Rumble...!

The enormous body began to collapse and disintegrate from the inside out, like a pile of paper being set on fire, rapidly melting and vaporizing into the black mist, eventually leaving only a fist-sized crystal of source matter, which slowly floated and fell.

Lin Yu exhaled a long breath and deactivated the [King's Battle Technique] and [Borrowing Power] states.

Surprisingly, he didn't feel too tired. His magical power was still recovering rapidly, and he even felt that he could fight again.

Lin Yu stepped forward and put away the crystal containing immense energy.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a faint, almost imperceptible, life force in a small corner not far away, almost blending into the environment.

He walked over and saw that next to the pool of blood, there was a small, almost transparent, octopus-like soft creature that had appeared at some point.

It was only the size of a fist, its body color perfectly blended with the surrounding colors, and its aura was extremely faint, as if it might dissipate at any moment.

As Lin Yu approached, the soft-bodied creature's body began to change and wriggle like clay, quickly transforming into a human-like form.

It was the female player who was eaten by the tentacle monster.

They're still alive? They're really tough.

Lin Yu clicked his tongue in amazement. Sure enough, the players' methods were different; they used all sorts of crazy things and managed to survive even in this situation.

The female player was clearly still conscious, looking at Lin Yu with extremely wary eyes. She seemed to want to say something, but her lips moved without her speaking.

Lin Yu didn't care. He hadn't planned to save anyone in the first place, otherwise he wouldn't have waited until the other person was "killed" before taking action.

Since the other party had this attitude, he couldn't be bothered to try and win them over.

Of course, he has no intention of taking advantage of the situation for the time being, because the Voidwalker had previously said that players should avoid attacking each other in the black fog unless absolutely necessary.

After all, killing players in the black fog is quite a thankless task. First of all, after entering other neighborhoods by relying on the black fog, players cannot enter other people's apartments because of the safe zone.

Therefore, even if you kill someone and get their apartment key, you can't use it. In other words, you can't get anything except what's on the person.

That's a bit of a loss, because not many players will carry all their assets with them.

Secondly, killing other players during the rest period will also be punished, but it's not a very serious punishment. It's basically just being a red name, and other players in the black fog will know at a glance that you've killed someone in the black fog.

This is quite distressing, since anyone would be wary of a "murderer," even if players are already ruthless killers in the game, but things are different inside the black fog.

This is probably the game system's way of preventing players from killing each other. To be honest, it's quite strange, since in the game world, unless there are system restrictions, the system doesn't actually prohibit players from killing each other.

But strange rules exist precisely within the black fog.

I don't know what the system is thinking. Do players with level 2 access have special privileges? Are they more favored by the system?

In short, Lin Yu didn't want to become a red name for the time being. It was a pity that this guy wasn't completely killed by the monster. It seems that he was too hasty. He should have waited a little longer. Judging from the guy's appearance, he didn't look like he could last long.

"Thank you...friend...for saving me."

After a short silence, the female player finally broke the silence and spoke in a trembling voice.

"Ah, you're welcome. Until we meet again."

Lin Yu said this casually, then turned and left to continue his exploration.

Watching Lin Yu's departing figure, the female player quickly said, "Thank you for your help. My ID is [King of Beasts]. What's your ID, friend...?"

"The Witcher".

Lin Yu answered casually that he wasn't the kind of person who did good deeds anonymously. Although they probably wouldn't meet again in the future, it was always good to leave a favor, just in case it came in handy.

……

The subsequent exploration was much less exciting. The mountain range was indeed enormous and quite complex, but apart from some slightly stronger projections wandering around, no particularly valuable resource points were found.

After carefully searching and collecting several pieces of good quality crystals, Lin Yu headed back home.

Back in his apartment, Lin Yu immediately began to process the diamond-grade [Source Crystal].

With the assistance of the Taoist study and the shadow clone, the immense energy and fragments of rules contained within the crystal were rapidly absorbed.

He could sense that his understanding of several martial arts techniques and skills had reached a new level.

This improvement is comprehensive and far surpasses anything that can be achieved by simply allocating attribute points.

Jinling seemed quite interested in the crystals as well. Lin Yu gave it a small portion, and after absorbing it, the little guy's feathers became even more lustrous, showing signs of breaking through to the platinum level.

The peaceful days of cultivation always fly by.

In the blink of an eye, the seven-day rest period is coming to an end.

When the system notification sounded in his mind, Lin Yu had just finished a training session in the Time Chamber.

[Notification: Player Lin Yu, your rest period has ended.]

[Hint: Filtering game worlds for you... Filtering complete. Please choose one of the following three worlds to enter:]

①【Clown Hide and Seek】

Genre: Puzzle/Survival

Background: A bizarre circus shrouded in eternal night, you are the intruders, and the clown is the master.

They hid while searching for a way to kill the clown.

Warning: Whatever you do, whatever you do, don't let the clown see you!

②【Death Maze】

Genre: Puzzle/Exploration

Background: This is a vast, ever-expanding, and ever-changing maze. You need to find the exit, or... get lost forever.

Tip: People with a poor sense of direction should definitely not choose this option.

③【Dark Fairy Tale - Snow White】

Genre: Puzzle/Drama

Background: Classic fairy tales are twisted by darkness. Players must take on specific roles, immerse themselves in the story, and complete their own character's tasks through investigation, reasoning, and participation in the plot.

Note: Please remember, this is not a fairy tale that you are familiar with.

Lin Yu frowned deeply as he looked at the three options.

"Puzzle games..."

He felt a headache coming on.

This is not Lin Yu's forte. He prefers straightforward battles or adventures with clear objectives. Games that require brainpower are not his cup of tea at all.

According to Lin Yu's experience with other players, in these puzzle games, personal strength can play a very small role. In fact, some types of puzzle games have bosses that are simply defeated by the rules and cannot be solved by force.

This is also the reason for Lin Yu's headache.

【Clown Hide and Seek】sounds extremely dangerous. Judging from the description, it's likely the kind of game where you're killed as soon as you're discovered. The margin for error is too low, so I'll skip it.

As for the "Death Maze," it's not bad. Lin Yu has the Heavenly Eye, the Golden Feather for assistance, and he can fly. Logically speaking, getting through a maze shouldn't be too difficult.

But the problem lies in that prompt.

People with a poor sense of direction should definitely not choose this.

What does this mean?

Lin Yu was well aware of his own lack of sense of direction; he was the type who couldn't tell east from west, north from south, and south from north. In the maze, he estimated he could wander around forever.

So he hesitated whether or not to trust the system's prompts.

"...Let's forget about it. Better safe than sorry."

After careful consideration, Lin Yu chose to pass on option three. The reason was simple: he was worried that the game world would not allow the use of skills and equipment.

This situation is rare, but it has happened before.

All that's left is the dark fairy tale, Snow White.

"A twisted dark fairy tale... at least it's a plot-driven story with a narrative framework, so perhaps some logic and patterns can be found within it."

Lin Yu thought helplessly.

Compared to the high-risk hide-and-seek and the highly uncertain maze, this option seems slightly more friendly.

"I hope it's not too brain-teasing..." Lin Yu sighed and made his choice: "I choose [Dark Fairy Tale - Snow White]".

[Confirm selection, world loading...]

[Loading complete! Welcome to the game - Dark Fairy Tale - Snow White.]

Number of players: 5

【Game Rules:】

1. Players will randomly take on the role of a character in a fairy tale, and your goal is to complete the tasks assigned to him/her/it in the story based on your own character.

2. Players must follow the basic behavioral logic of their characters to avoid serious OOC (out-of-character) behavior.

3. Players' combat power is suppressed in this world, and the effects of skills and equipment will be weakened.

A flash of white light appeared before my eyes, followed by the familiar feeling of weightlessness.

Once the feeling of weightlessness subsided, Lin Yu found himself standing on a dark and damp forest path.

The air was filled with the smells of soil, decaying leaves, and a faint, almost imperceptible odor of blood.

He wore a leather armor, had a logging axe hanging at his waist, and a hardwood longbow and a quiver of arrows on his back.

His palms were covered in calluses, and his muscles conveyed a sense of strength honed over time, but compared to his body, they appeared incredibly weak.

[Hint: Player Lin Yu, your role in this game is—Hunter.]

[Character Background: You are the most skilled hunter near Darkwood Fortress, deeply trusted by the Queen. You are taciturn, agile, and possess an intimate knowledge of the forest.]

[Character Quest (Main Story): Following the Queen's orders, your current mission is to travel deep into the Darkwood Forest, find Snow White, and... bring her heart back to the castle to present to the Queen.]

[Character Restriction: Your combat power is greatly suppressed, and you cannot use special abilities that transcend the rules of this world.]

Some equipment effects have been sealed or weakened, but your hunter skills, physical attributes, and some passive abilities have been retained.

Please note: Your actions should generally conform to the logic of the "Hunter" identity, but you have a high degree of autonomy in how you complete the mission.

Severely violating character logic (such as directly confessing everything to Snow White) could lead to unpredictable consequences.

"Hunter...take the heart..." Lin Yu moved his hands and feet, feeling the limits of this body.

His strength and speed are roughly equivalent to that of an excellent ordinary person who has undergone rigorous training, but far inferior to his original form.

The skill list is completely dark, and a series of skill cards, including Dragon Transformation, King's Battle Technique, and Mana Shield, are unusable.

Even powerful equipment like the Demon-Slaying Sword cannot be summoned.

"Knowledge-based skills and talents are still usable, but their effectiveness is limited."

Lin Yu tried to activate the magic power within his body and eventually found that he could still use abilities such as lightning magic, fire magic, and the Heavenly Eye, but the effects were very weak.

Lightning magic can only create some weak electric currents, fire magic can only produce some flames of ordinary temperature, and heart fire can still be activated, but its effect is suppressed.

The Heavenly Eye can still be activated, but it seems that because this body is too weak, it cannot be activated and used as freely as it could in its original form.

They still have some fighting strength, but not much.

He then tried to communicate with the apartment and the statue of the True Lord.

The connection to the apartment was extremely weak, but the connection to the statue was still intact.

This means that leveraging external resources is still possible.

The abilities and items gained from talents can also be used; Azure Rose, Master Ball, and Shadow Clone can all be used.

Surprisingly, the Azure Rose was not weakened at all; its attack power and effects remained at normal levels.

It seems my talent and authority are quite high; even the rules of the game world can't suppress it.

Lin Yu estimated that his current strength was around the Bronze level, and with the help of others, he should be able to reach the Silver level. With the help of the Azure Rose, he could probably even fight opponents of higher levels.

"Golden Feather".

Lin Yu looked at the golden feather on his shoulder.

The golden-feathered bird responded with a cry, revealing that the little guy had also been weakened, its size reduced to that of a normal eagle.

Fortunately, his intelligence level has not decreased, and he can still understand what he is saying, which is a blessing in disguise.

"That makes things much easier."

Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

Currently, his limitations seem to be much lower than other players, which is his biggest advantage.

Having assessed his current situation, Lin Yu first used his talent.

[The gift from another world has been triggered, granting the talent [Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan (Full Dojutsu Version)].]

【Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan (Full Eye Technique Version)】

Type: Talent

Grade: Black #

Effect: This is a modified version of the bloodline talent of the evil Red-Eyed Clan from the world of "The Legend of the Eyes in the Ninja Village War". It transforms the driving energy into mana and also comes with all the Mangekyou Sharingan techniques that have appeared in the anime.

(Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, Kagutsuchi, Kamui, Kotoamatsukami, Susanoo, Izanagi, Izanami, Yachimoku, Oohime)

Description: A born evil Uchiha brat!!!

"Um... you can even draw talents?"

Upon seeing what he had drawn, Lin Yu was first stunned, then his eyes suddenly began to itch, followed by a sharp pain. His eyes were extremely uncomfortable, and tears began to stream down his face uncontrollably.

However, this discomfort did not last long, and it stopped after a few seconds. When he recovered, he found that his eyes had now turned into Sharingan with three tomoe.

"Why is it three tomoe? Isn't it a kaleidoscope?"

Lin Yu rubbed his eyes and wiped away his tears, after all, he knew the fame of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

And so, Lin Yu spent a long time studying his new pair of eyes.

A few minutes later, he came to a conclusion.

"Is it because this body can't withstand too much power? That makes sense. After all, even a True Monarch's Heavenly Eye can't be fully utilized due to physical limitations, let alone this pair of eyes."

Lin Yu thought to himself.

However, three tomoe are enough; activating them is much easier than opening the Heavenly Eye.

"I'm really at odds with my eyes. It's one thing to have a third eye, but now even my normal eyes have changed."

Lin Yu scratched his head, unsure how to describe the lottery.

It's not fair to say I'm dissatisfied, after all, the Mangekyou Sharingan's eye techniques are still very useful, especially Kamui and Kotoamatsukami.

If we're talking about satisfaction, it seems that the potential of these eyes isn't actually that high.

It's alright, I'd say.

After checking the harvest, Lin Yu's attention returned to the game.

Instead of immediately setting off to search for Snow White deep in the forest, he first tidied up his current equipment.

It's just an ordinary logging axe, not very useful, I feel like I can just throw it away.

The longbow and arrows looked well-made, quite good among ordinary weapons, but with the Azure Rose, they were not very useful.

A set of homemade leather armor, with limited defensive capabilities, more for show than substance, but I'll wear it for now.

In addition, there was a water pouch, a small bag of dried meat, a dagger, and a... a pure silver box given by the Queen to hold Snow White's "heart".

The box was carved with intricate patterns, felt cold to the touch, and exuded an ominous aura.

Lin Yu glanced at the box.

The Magic Silver Box

Description: Can be used to preserve organs rich in life energy, maximizing their freshness.

"...It really is." Lin Yu was speechless. It was just a food storage container.

This queen is disgusting; she has a strange hobby of collecting internal organs.

Lin Yu stuffed the box back into his bag and looked up into the depths of the forest.

The trees in this forest are tall and twisted, their branches and leaves blocking most of the sunlight, making the forest dim and the atmosphere oppressive.

In addition to the scent of nature, there was also a faint smell of decay in the air.

"First, we need to figure out the situation. What exactly is the story of Snow White? Why does the Queen hate her so much? After all, according to the previous hints, this is not the fairy tale he is familiar with."

The system has given this warning, which means the storyline is definitely different. Keep in mind that this game world is prefixed with "Dark Fairy Tale."

"Furthermore... it would be best to find out where the other players are?"

Lin Yu pondered his next plan.

Killing the princess directly would be the most foolish choice; he needs intelligence right now.

Instead of following the obvious path, he chose a more secluded route based on the hunter's memory.

After walking for about fifteen minutes, he noticed something was wrong.

The soil beneath their feet became soft and muddy, and the faint smell of blood in the air grew stronger.

Lin Yu crouched down, his three-tomoe Sharingan glowing faintly red in the dim light, enhancing his dynamic vision and observation skills.

He noticed that the moss on the ground had been trampled and dragged violently, and a few drops of dark red blood, not yet fully congealed, were splattered on the branches of a nearby shrub.

"It's not animal blood."

Lin Yu dipped his finger in the liquid, sniffed it, and used his knowledge as a hunter to make a judgment.

He stood up and quietly followed the trail of blood and drag marks.

The Sharingan allows him to more clearly perceive subtle inconsistencies in the environment—broken branches, distinctive marks on the soil, all pointing to a direction deeper into the forest.

After tracking for several hundred meters, the trail disappeared in a clearing filled with twisted tree roots.

In the center of the open space, there seemed to be an inconspicuous hole half-hidden by vines. A cold wind blew out of the hole, carrying an even stronger stench of blood and decay.

Lin Yu did not rush in.

He closed his eyes, concentrated, and tried to activate his suppressed third eye.

A slight throbbing pain came from my forehead, and my vision struggled to penetrate the surface barrier, peering into the cave.

The cave wasn't deep, but the sight inside made him frown. Several corpses lay scattered about... barely recognizable as human figures.

They were dressed in tattered clothes, their bodies were emaciated as if they had been drained of blood, and their faces still bore the marks of fear.

Judging from their attire, they appear to be villagers or woodcutters from the surrounding area.

Deep within the cave, a blurry shadow, exuding a dense aura of darkness, was curled up, seemingly digesting something.

That aura... had nothing to do with any of the beautiful words found in fairy tales.

"An cannibal? Or some other kind of monster?" Lin Yu wondered to himself.

This is clearly not the typical "villain" in the Snow White story.

As he was pondering whether to take a detour, a faint sobbing sound, as if it were resounding directly in his mind, caught his attention.

The sound came from deep within the dense forest on the other side of the clearing, filled with helplessness and fear.

Lin Yu thought for a moment. The monster in the cave seemed to be resting and posed no immediate threat. As for the crying sound... it sounded human and might provide some information.

He concealed his breathing and silently crept toward the source of the sound.

After passing through a dense thicket of thorns, a small clearing appeared in the woods.

A little girl wearing a stained blue dress and with messy hair was huddled under a big tree, her shoulders trembling slightly.