Chapter One: Welcome to

Welcome to the House of Horrors. Before the game begins, you will undergo a comprehensive scan. Scanning has commenced. Please wait. Scan complete. Citizen 4152: Name, Luo Hanya; Gender, Male; Access device: Special Edition Game Pod. Game environment is safe, heart rate normal, blood supply stable, nervous system connected and ready. Please select your game mode.

You have chosen Dormant Game Mode. Preparing... Ready. Please confirm entry or return.

System loading. Game will begin in ten seconds.

After hearing the countdown, Luo Hanya felt his world spin. Darkness enveloped him, then a few faint rays of light shone below. He vaguely saw his body lying inside the game pod, which itself was glowing an ominous red.

Warning! Warning! Anomaly detected. Activating safety purge system. Please exit the game immediately to prevent irreparable mental damage. The game pod emitted a piercing alarm, repeating incessantly.

Terrified, Luo Hanya watched all this unfold, but realized he seemed to have become a soul—completely sealed outside the game pod, powerless against whatever was about to happen.

He struggled desperately, but only felt himself drifting weightlessly, still the same distance from the pod, unable to get any closer. “Ah!” Luo Hanya tried to scream in panic, only to find not a single sound escaped him.

“No! I don’t want to die! I’m so young, so handsome, I haven’t even dated a girl yet! Why is my luck so bad? Something like this happens just playing a game—God! Jesus! Lord! Save me! I really don’t want to die!”

In that instant, Luo Hanya endured a cascade of despair, the red light in the game pod flashing ever more frantically. Suddenly, his surroundings brightened, brighter and brighter, until he lost all sense of sight.

“I don’t want to die!” Luo Hanya cried hysterically.

“Eh? I can speak now. Where am I—is this heaven?” he muttered dreamily.

“Nrsnn.”

“Hahaha, are you enjoying yourself? Did you feel the terror? Do you like the feeling of life slipping away? If you haven’t wet yourself yet, congratulations—you’ll receive the House of Horrors Newcomer Gift. Oh!”

“Tsk tsk, hahaha, what did I just see? No matter, you’ll still get the House of Horrors Consolation Prize! Welcome to the House of Horrors, and good luck, Mr. Wet-Your-Pants.” A clown-like, sharp voice echoed in Luo Hanya’s ears, especially emphasizing “wet-your-pants” with a heavy dose of mockery.

At that moment, Luo Hanya lay limp on a metallic floor, gasping for air. In mere seconds, his complexion shifted from pale to purplish-red, then darkened violently.

“What kind of damned game is this? How is anyone supposed to play with this nonsense right at the start? Ruined my gaming experience! I’m reporting this! Trash game, wasting my youth! Even if you kill me, I won’t play anymore!” Luo Hanya lay sprawled on the ground, cursing at the ceiling like a rogue.

Just then, a mechanical system voice sounded again:

Dear player, congratulations on clearing the special event. Calculating rewards.

You have earned the title “Wet-Your-Pants Coward.”
Honor Points: 1
Achievement Points: 50

Dear player, congratulations on unlocking the Title System. In the game, each event you experience may grant a title, each providing attribute bonuses and special skills. You may hold up to three titles simultaneously; if you have more than one, you may choose which to equip before each scenario. If you exceed three, you must delete extras.

Dear player, congratulations on unlocking the Honor System. Honor Points grant you respect and can be gained through special items and events. Friendly reminder: Honor Points are very important for players.

Dear player, congratulations on unlocking the Achievement System. When you meet certain conditions, you will earn Achievement Points, which can be exchanged for experience, gear, and special items.

Luo Hanya’s mood suddenly eased, and he took a deep breath. “Looks like this game is actually pretty good—so many systems, and I got a title too.”

“Yes, this is fun. Truly the most incredible game.” A slight smile curled his lips, as if nothing had happened moments ago.

He composed himself, stood up, and looked around. He found himself in a small, roughly twenty-square-meter room, empty except for a large pane of glass beside the door, reflecting the player from head to toe.

He walked up to the mirror and saw himself rendered as a three-dimensional character, dressed in a white T-shirt and light yellow shorts. His appearance was almost identical to real life: five foot nine, still slender.

With advanced smart technology, in-game avatars closely match the real person—making gameplay smoother for the player.

Dear player, welcome to the game login space. This game is provided by BS Game Company.

Friendly reminder: Due to extreme danger, this game is suitable for ages sixteen to fifty with no history of heart or mental illness. If any issues arise during gameplay, the company bears no responsibility.

The message appeared in the mirror, repeating three times. Then a long list of terms and conditions scrolled by, tedious and dull. Most people would skip them without a second thought, and naturally, our protagonist Luo Hanya was among them.

As someone whose carefree nature was nearly limitless, Luo Hanya despised anything complicated, which shaped his easygoing character in daily life.

Because of this, Luo Hanya had always been unlucky: tripping while walking, choking while drinking, even misreading exam questions. These were minor mishaps everyone encounters, though for him, they seemed to happen more often.

Despite these inconveniences, his personality made him a cheerful soul—never holding grudges, always joking, plus a sunny appearance and privileged family background, Luo Hanya was surrounded by friends.

This special edition game pod was a lottery prize won by one such friend, gifted to him for his eighteenth birthday. The House of Horrors, the company’s latest release, claimed to be “the most incredible game, featuring the most terrifying events in history.” Normally, Luo Hanya’s timid nature would have made him steer clear after watching the trailer, but under peer pressure, he joined the game, half-reluctantly.

After agreeing to the game terms, Luo Hanya heard the system prompt: Dear player, as this is your first login, please enter your nickname.

An input area appeared in the mirror, with a long list of restrictions: two to eight characters, no symbols, no sensitive words or profanity. In this era of highly advanced AI, recognition of appropriate language was nearly flawless. Those crude nicknames from decades past, full of suggestive symbols and innuendo—well, everyone knows. None of that would ever appear now.

Luo Hanya thought for a moment and entered three characters: “Cold Crow Luo.” Feeling quite profound, he nodded thoughtfully and clicked confirm.

Checking... complete. Nickname “Cold Crow Luo” is available.

Dear player, next is a basic introduction to the game.

First, your game menu can be viewed at any time. As a private function, others cannot see it. Here you can check your character attributes, titles, gear, items, etc.

This game uses a Health Value system. When you are in good condition, health is green; when lightly injured, yellow; severely injured, red. If health disappears, you die.

The game employs a highly realistic system. Injuries to a body part will affect its function: for example, if your arm is hurt, it will move sluggishly and feel pain.

The pain system is divided into two levels: in normal scenarios, you feel thirty percent of actual pain; in nightmare scenarios, you feel one hundred percent.

If pain exceeds your tolerance, you will be forcibly disconnected from the game.

After hearing this, Luo Hanya pondered. “Hmm, this game is very realistic. I’ve never seen a pain system like this before.”

He opened the game menu and checked the title section.

Wet-Your-Pants Coward
Type: Title
Quality: Common
Attribute: Slight increase to player movement speed
Special Skill: Coward’s Sprint
Note: Can you imagine someone so cowardly they wet themselves? Haha, today I’ve seen it. —The Clown

Luo Hanya, face darkening, opened the skill tab and found the skill granted by the title.

Name: Coward’s Sprint
Skill Type: Active
Effect: Increases movement speed for ten seconds
Note: What’s a coward good for? Obviously, running!

After reading these notes, Luo Hanya cursed again, “Trash game,” then clicked to continue.

Dear player, next is the tutorial. You may repeat it, but only the first time grants rewards. Scenarios are randomly generated; if you fail, a new one is assigned. Scenario countdown: sixty seconds, or you may choose immediate transfer.

Luo Hanya took a deep breath, cheered himself on, and chose immediate transfer.

The next second, the system prompt rang out, now in a sharp female voice: “Welcome to the House of Horrors!”

As the words fell, the lights in Luo Hanya’s room flickered, and the entire space was plunged into pitch-black darkness.