The sudden appearance of Vampire Zhou Ning completely flustered Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning felt that if words could float above his head, they would all be question marks right now.
One moment he was a winner in life, about to soar, and the next he was bitten by a Vampire and died just like that?
Wait, late 19th century, London, Vampire... Zhou Ning's expression was a bit strange as he speculated: Could he have transmigrated into the world of Underworld or Bram Stoker's Dracula? Highly likely!!!
[Simulation ended, host, please make a choice as soon as possible.]
[One, randomly obtain three skills and specialties acquired during your transmigration process.]
[Two, randomly draw three items acquired during your transmigration process.]
There wasn't much to think about. Although he directly gained a high-level mastery in the simulation process: High-Level Writing Mastery. But currently, survival was the priority, and writing mastery was completely useless for solving the current predicament. Could he really summon a pen to write people to death, like in "Confucianism and Daoism to the Saint"?
That's just dreaming.
As for items, he could reliably obtain guns and daggers.
"Wait, if I draw items, where will they be stored?"
Zhou Ning suddenly remembered a crucial problem. His hands were tied behind his back; if the items were directly stored on him or fell to the ground, he would be doomed.
He hadn't expected the simulator to answer, but surprisingly, this idiot actually did: "After receiving the items, they will be stored in the item bar, and players can retrieve them at any time."
"Where is the item bar? How do I take things out of it?"
The simulator didn't answer this time, but a white glove with a directional arrow appeared on the simulator interface, pointing to the right of the achievement tab.
Zhou Ning:?????
Only then did he notice a red dot above 'Achievements', and an inconspicuous small right-pointing triangle to the right of the 'Achievement' tab. Clicking it immediately switched to the second page, revealing two small tabs: [Items] and [Tasks]. There were also two other tabs that were grayed out, clearly not yet open.
Damn it! Which genius made this UI?
So, he naturally chose the second option.
[You have chosen option two.]
[You have obtained a rare weapon: Ivory-handled Colt M1873 Revolver.]
[You have obtained a rare weapon: Swedish Sjögren Semi-Automatic Shotgun.]
There were only two items, not a third.
Zhou Ning was startled at first, then realized after a moment of thought. In the game "Apocalypse," item rarity was ranked as Inferior (gray) < Common (white) < Good (green) < Rare (blue) < Exotic (purple) < Epic (pink) < Legendary (orange) < Artifact (red).
It seems that for an item to be recognized by the system, the threshold must be at least 'Rare' quality, otherwise there would be too many options.
No wonder his simulated self specifically collected expensive firearms and daggers. It's just that the daggers he collected weren't rare enough to be included.
It's a pity.
However, this basically confirmed that he should be able to control the direction of the simulation to a certain extent!
He opened the item bar and saw that two items had indeed appeared inside: an ivory-handled revolver and a shotgun that looked incredibly powerful.
He focused his attention on the two guns, and prompts quickly appeared:
[Ivory-handled Colt M1873 Revolver]: God created man, and Colt made them equal.
[Swedish Sjögren Semi-Automatic Shotgun]: 12 gauge, a hornet's nest maker, a true weapon of destruction.
It wasn't until he saw these two guns that Zhou Ning's heart finally settled. There probably wasn't enough time to simulate again. Although he hadn't gained any supernatural powers, with firearms, he now had the capital to fight back.
The moment for counterattack had finally arrived. His plan was to use the Basic Pickpocketing skill combined with the Flexible Hands specialty to untie the ropes behind his back, then untie the ropes of the others. The four of them would then ambush the Curse God Cult members together, essentially like four people tackling a dungeon. Although it would be difficult, it wasn't impossible.
But ideals are rich, and reality is often lean. He was stuck at the very first step. Ever since he acquired the Pickpocketing skill, Zhou Ning had been trying to untie the ropes until now, but he still hadn't managed to, and they even seemed to be getting tighter.
This is just plain weird! What happened to Flexible Hands? His hands were about as useful as his feet.
Zhou Ning took a deep breath, continuing to try and untie the ropes while checking his panel.
On the 'Achievements' section of the panel, a red dot was flashing. Anyone who played games would understand that it meant there was something to claim.
He hurriedly clicked it open and realized that he had, without realizing it, collected a series of achievements.
Achievements:
[Orphan of the Fog City] (No attribute bonus)
[Sense and Sensibility] (No attribute bonus)
[An Ordinary Life] (No attribute bonus)
[Pride and Prejudice] (No attribute bonus)
Achievement [Four Masterpieces (Part One)] has been completed. You have gained 1 skill point. You have discovered a hidden quest.
Redeemable hidden quest: literary life [Yes/No]
After choosing to redeem, the 'Four Masterpieces (Part One)' entry in the 'Achievements' section was cleared, and a hidden quest appeared under the 'Tasks' section.
Hidden Quest: (Triggerable under special circumstances)
[literary life]: A literary dream has always been hidden in your heart. Please continue this dream in a future period of your life. In both the real and simulated worlds, complete a reading volume of 1000 books (0/1000).
Quest Hint: Read ten thousand books, and write as if inspired. This quest is definitely harder than you imagine. Good luck, future great writer!
Quest Reward: Unknown
Future great writer Zhou Ning:...He never knew he had a hidden literary dream, and this simulator actually lied! What about 'future'? How did it come about?
Heavy footsteps once again came from outside the door. It was clear that a new round of sacrifices was about to begin.
The room was filled with crying. Zhou Ning was the only one listening, while three people cried.
Then the sole listener was dumbfounded. These three people managed to cry with the intensity of thirty!
If you asked who cried the most miserably, it would have to be Little Fatty Alan. He wailed loudly by himself, while the other two whimpered softly, harmonizing with him, like a suona version of 'Hundreds of Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix,' extremely rhythmic.
The crying perfectly blended into the eerie background. If recorded and played in a mourning hall, it would definitely make listeners grieve and shed tears.
Zhou Ning's heart was also a little flustered. The sacrifice was nearing its end, and there were still four people left in the room. He had a 50% chance of becoming the next victim.
The door was pushed open, and three Curse God Cult members walked in. The leader pointed first to Little Fatty, who was crying the most sorrowfully.
"You, come with me."
"No, not me!" Little Fatty shuffled his butt backward, his face filled with terror. Then the cultist pointed at Zhou Ning, "You, come along too."
Indeed, probabilities don't lie, and neither does Murphy's Law.
If something can go wrong, no matter how small the possibility, it will happen.
This was trouble... Zhou Ning and Alan were dragged up from the ground, stumbling along with the three Curse God Cultists towards the door.
Just like in the game, outside the door was a deep, dark corridor with a 'Wang' (king) shaped structure, comprising six rooms. The end of the corridor also had a door. If he remembered correctly, past this corridor, the living room on the right was the sacrificial chamber.
The closer he got to such a desperate situation, the calmer Zhou Ning's emotions became. This was the effect of his Extreme Calm specialty. Jason Nats Haunted House was a typical European-style mansion. The corridor was about 17 meters long. At his current slow walking speed, it would take about 25 seconds. In these 25 seconds, there was absolutely no way he could untie the ropes.
The only way to break the situation was to add the one skill point from [Four Masterpieces (Part One)] to Basic Pickpocketing! Then, do his best and leave the rest to fate.
Thinking this, Zhou Ning didn't hesitate. He immediately opened the game panel and upgraded Basic Pickpocketing to Intermediate. In this situation, every second of hesitation was a crime. Skill points were precious, but they could be earned again; a life was only one.
A moment later, Zhou Ning wiggled his fingers and tried again. With the improvement of his Pickpocketing skill, he quickly found a way.
He was probably tied with a Sailors' knot. Untying the rope would likely take 32 seconds.
The closer they got to the sacrificial chamber, the stronger the smell of sulfur and blood became. Behind the corridor door, a huge monster seemed to be hiding. Zhou Ning could already vaguely hear its "Ho... ho..." gasping, gradually growing louder.
He glanced at the expressions of the others out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't see the expressions of those walking in front. The two cultists walking alongside him had fanatical expressions. Little Fatty, on the other hand, looked somewhat bewildered, as if he was hearing some evil whispers.
It must be that his perception ability was too low, so he couldn't hear the monster's whispers.
Zhou Ning judged in his heart. He took a deep breath and sped up his hand movements. With a soft "click," the largest loop of the Sailors' knot quietly loosened.
It was at this moment that the leading cultist pushed open the door to the sacrificial chamber.