บท 2: Van Helsing
Stepping through, Shen Yi found himself in a world blanketed in silver and white, amidst snow-capped mountains and icy peaks. The mountains were covered in thick snow, and a biting cold wind swept through the area. Below his feet was a forest, serene and isolated. Looking back, the peculiar light door through which he had entered was now gone.
A soft beep came from his Bloody Emblem, signaling a new message:
"Task World: Van Helsing."
"This is a beginner task. Each newcomer will receive a beginner's gift. Please choose the difficulty level, which will determine the gift grade and task reward rate."
An energy screen appeared before Shen Yi with options:
1. Newbie level: Task difficulty reduced to 25% of the original.
2. Intermediate level: Task difficulty reduced to 50% of the original.
3. Standard level: Task difficulty 100%.
Squinting his eyes, Shen Yi realized this was a special privilege for newcomers, not only receiving a gift but also choosing the difficulty. Though he could find many reasons to pick the easiest task, he chose the 100% difficulty without hesitation.
If the scar-faced man knew Shen Yi's choice, he would be furious. The death rate he mentioned was for the 50% difficulty level; at 100%, there was no reduction in difficulty. This was a challenge even seasoned adventurers would find daunting, with a mere survival rate of less than 5% for newcomers.
"You have chosen the standard difficulty. No difficulty reduction will apply. Beginner's gift awarded."
"1: Generate 3 skills randomly. You may choose one to learn."
"2: Generate 5 items randomly. You may choose one to use."
"3: All attributes temporarily doubled."
Three skills appeared before Shen Yi:
"Skill: Impact Stab. Inflicts a straight-line damage of 30 points with a powerful thrust. Requires a sword-type weapon."
"Skill: Poison Mist. Creates a poisonous fog over a designated area, causing 3 points of life loss per second, lasting 1 minute. Exiting the fog continues the effect for 4 seconds. Skill can be upgraded."
"Skill: Reconnaissance. Gather information about a specific target."
Two of the skills were offensive, and one was auxiliary. However, Impact Stab required a sword, which was not feasible at the moment. Poison Mist was interesting, but Shen Yi chose Reconnaissance. Though not useful in combat, it could help him quickly understand this world and his enemies.
Upon choosing Reconnaissance, Shen Yi felt a buzz in his mind as if something had been inserted. The Bloody Emblem indicated:
"Skill acquired. Skill slot functionality activated."
The energy screen opened, adding a combat skill slot to the character's data attributes:
"You currently have 5 skill slots, with 1 skill learned."
"Skill: Mental Reconnaissance – Release mental energy to scout a specific target. Can gather opponent's information. The detail of information depends on the mental power gap, skill level, and opponent's willpower. The larger the gap, the richer the information, including weaknesses. Mental Reconnaissance consumes 3 mental points per use, lasts 10 minutes, no cooldown. Priority: 12."
"Basic talent, not activated."
"Supernatural power, not activated."
"Martial arts training, not activated."
"Bloodline ability, not activated."
Character ability data display:
"Replacement Number E5371, Primary Attributes: Strength 4 (8), Agility 7 (14), Constitution 5 (10), Mental 12 (24), Will 10 (20)."
The explanation under the attributes noted:
"Strength determines damage ability, load capacity, and damage tolerance. Each point in Strength adds 1 point to attack; each point in Constitution adds 10 points to life."
"Every 4 points in Strength or Constitution increases defense by 1 point."
"Agility mainly increases reaction and running speed. Mental power is crucial for using skills. Willpower provides special resistance against control and mental attacks, negative states, and boosts life and mental recovery."
"With the activation of the dataization of attributes, all adventurers automatically nullify fatal locations, including the head and heart. These are no longer fatal but become critical points where damage is doubled but can be recovered."
The values in parentheses indicated Shen Yi's temporarily doubled attributes. With his attributes doubled, Shen Yi felt a significant increase in his mental and physical capabilities. His vision widened, allowing him to see farther and hear more clearly. His steps became more robust and powerful.
Testing his newfound abilities, Shen Yi found his speed and other aspects greatly enhanced. With a little training, he felt he could compete in the Olympics. The sensation was exhilarating.
On his character display, there were two bars, red and blue, indicating life at 100 points and spirit at 24 points. Shen Yi quickly understood that these represented his life and spirit values. His original life points were 50, which doubled to 100 due to the temporary increase in attributes.
After selecting his skill, Shen Yi reviewed the item rewards:
"Holy Light Bullet Box: Special damage against undead creatures. Capacity 100 rounds. Bullet weight 3.02g, base damage 12, additional 50 damage to undead, unaffected by defense. Bloody Points value 150."
The first reward already had Shen Yi's full attention, perfectly suited to his current situation.
Other items included five loaves of bread for health recovery, three incendiary bottles creating a burning effect on the ground, a bottle of holy water fatal to undead creatures, and a piece of valuable jewelry exchangeable for 200 Bloody Points.
Shen Yi immediately chose the Holy Light Bullet Box. While the jewelry might have been the most valuable, and the other items were practical, the bullet box was the best fit for him with a gun in hand.
Upon accepting the three gifts, Shen Yi felt a buzz in his head.
First, a series of Romanian words filled his mind, a language he had never learned before. Then, scenes from the movie "Van Helsing" played in his mind:
In the 19th century, in the deep mountains of western Romania, there was a mysterious town filled with legends - Transylvania. It was said to be a world where good and evil were inverted. When the sun set, evil spread, and demons emerged from their darkest nightmares...
Count Dracula, the ruler of the town, possessed destructive allure, mysterious power, and numerous minions, including his three vampire brides, werewolves, and dwarf demons.
Monster hunter Van Helsing, entrusted by the Catholic Church, headed to Transylvania to eliminate Count Dracula, engaging in a deadly battle...
Shen Yi had to prepare for a fight with vampires.
He now had a basic understanding of Bloody City's existence – a death game created by some entity in an unknown area, capturing humans and forcing them to survive in a city through monthly life-threatening tasks.
Revived by Bloody City, Shen Yi realized he was both unfortunate and fortunate. If he didn't make the most of this opportunity, he doubted the city would bother to revive him again.
In his life before Bloody City, Shen Yi was meticulous and bold, having planned for years to take down many targets alone. His heart had gradually become cold from years of revenge, learning to disregard life and face crises calmly.
But now, he felt a new direction in life. He could continue playing this death game in Bloody City, either dying in tasks or growing stronger amidst blood and slaughter, regaining his lost spiritual beacon.
This realization made Shen Yi's blood boil with excitement.
The Bloody Emblem beeped again with new task notifications:
Main Task 1: Escape back to the town of Transylvania with Anna Valerious. Reward: 200 Bloody Points. Failure: Annihilation.
Main Task 2: Kill at least ten dwarf demons and their leader. Reward: 500 Bloody Points. Failure: Annihilation.
Main Task 3: Kill at least one vampire bride. Reward: 1000 Bloody Points. Failure: Annihilation.
Optional Task: Kill Count Dracula. Reward: 4000 Bloody Points. Failure: No penalty.
The tasks required completion within ten days.
As Shen Yi was absorbing this information, a loud roar caught his attention. Turning around, he saw a young woman in a fiery red leather vest and high boots running towards him, chased by a gigantic wolf, larger and more ferocious than a calf. The wolf's speed was incredible, closing the gap with every leap.
The task had started without giving Shen Yi any time to think or react. Instinctively, he rushed towards the giant wolf. To his surprise, the woman, seeing Shen Yi approach, changed direction and ran the other way, shouting, "Don't come here! It's dangerous!"
"That's what you should tell it!" Shen Yi retorted coldly.
He aimed his gun at the giant wolf and fired. The shot hit the wolf, splattering blood.
Shen Yi quickly used his Mental Reconnaissance skill. Above the wolf's head, a data display appeared: "Ordinary Werewolf, Damage 6-10, Defense 3 points, Life 76/80. Undead creature, vulnerable to holy attacks, strength type. Weakness: Head."
Despite being shot, the wolf continued its pursuit of the woman without looking back.
As if she had eyes in the back of her head, the woman ducked just in time, allowing the massive wolf to leap past her flowing hair. She was remarkably agile, grabbing a hanging vine and swinging away with the grace and agility of Tarzan.
The wolf, missing its target, quickly turned around and roared at the woman now perched on the tree, then slammed its paw against the trunk with incredible force, shaking it violently. Shen Yi approached swiftly, firing several shots at the wolf's head.
Targeting the weak point, the damage was doubled.
After taking two headshots, the wolf was thoroughly enraged. It turned its gaze to Shen Yi, growling deeply, and charged at him.
Shen Yi stood his ground, calmly replacing the magazine with the Holy Light bullets and took aim at the approaching wolf.
The woman shouted from the tree, "Get out of the way! You can't kill it!"
"I beg to differ," Shen Yi replied, his eyes tracking the wolf's movements.
As the wolf lunged at him, Shen Yi pulled the trigger. Bang! The shot rang out, and the wolf's life bar dropped drastically.
The wolf's body, leaping high, fell heavily in front of Shen Yi. With the Holy Light bullet, he had inflicted severe damage, a stark contrast to the regular bullets that had only caused a third of the damage.
No wonder the Holy Light bullets were priced equal to a whole box of regular ones. The effectiveness was notably satisfying.
As the dead wolf started to transform, it morphed into a naked human male. The woman in the tree descended swiftly, her eyes filled with amazement. "Thank you for saving me, but how did you do that? Who are you? What are you doing here?"
"You ask too many questions," Shen Yi replied calmly. "Introduce yourself first before asking about others."
"I'm Anna Valerious, sorry for my earlier rudeness."
So, it was her – Anna Valerious, the last of the Valerious family, sworn to eliminate Count Dracula. According to the family's ancestral oath, their spirits couldn't rest in heaven until Dracula was destroyed.
"I'm Shen Yi. Wait, Valerious? You mean you're Princess Anna of the Valerious family?"
"There's no princess anymore. I'm the only one left," Anna said, moving forward.
Shen Yi followed, "But I heard you had a brother."
"He died two months ago in a fight with a werewolf. Our family has been trying to kill Dracula for centuries, but he's still alive. And it's all because of that damned vampire! He enslaves us like slaves! You shouldn't be here, stranger. It's not safe. At night, this place is occupied by the undead."
"Actually, hunting monsters is exactly why I'm here. I'm a demon hunter. If you can afford it, I can help you."
"Don't think about getting rich here. Dracula is not a source of wealth but the embodiment of death."
"I'm willing to die for wealth, but I doubt you can afford me."
Anna turned sharply, "Die for money? Did you see that werewolf? That was an innocent villager turned monster. Here, death isn't the worst thing; it's your soul being enslaved forever by the devil!"
Continuing her journey, Anna added, "Since you helped me, I'll buy you a drink in town and pay you to leave. I don't want you to die here."
Shen Yi shrugged and stayed silent. It was clear from her actions earlier that Anna was a good person. The Bloody Emblem didn't indicate task completion, suggesting they needed to reach the town for the task to be considered complete.
A thought struck Shen Yi: something seemed off. He reviewed the task: Escape to Transylvania town with Anna Valerious. Did this mean that just reaching the town was considered a formidable challenge by the city?
A chill ran down his spine.
"Could you have escaped if I hadn't saved you just now?" he asked.
Anna explained her escape plan involving a cliff and a river to the south. "I'm the last warrior of my family. Every time I hunt werewolves, I plan my escape. I'm not afraid of dying, but I dread failing my family's oath to God."
"Then maybe we should prepare to jump into the river," Shen Yi suddenly suggested.
"What?" Anna looked at him, puzzled, then followed his gaze.
Emerging from the depths of the forest, dozens of glowing green eyes became visible.
"Werewolves!" Anna exclaimed.
"Run!" Shen Yi yelled, pulling Anna as they sprinted away.
Dozens of massive werewolves burst from the jungle, chasing them furiously.
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