"All of you here are veterans, so you should know how to gauge an Illusion's difficulty. The theme itself accounts for at most 30%; the real wildcards are the theme modifiers and the clearance conditions."
"The full name of this Illusion is – Parasitic Mirage: Highschool of the Dead (Escort). From what we've gathered so far, the main story NPCs are no longer the ordinary folk from the original work. Each one possesses a rather formidable Paranormal Ability. Your objective within the Illusion is to protect these story NPCs and ensure that at least one of them escapes the confines of Bedtown within ten days."
At this, murmurs rippled through the assembled players—That's it for clearance? Seems a bit too easy, doesn't it?
The man in the suit clearly read the skepticism on their faces and smiled faintly, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Thinking the mission sounds deceptively simple? Allow me to enlighten you on what makes this Illusion the one that's sent the Japanese players packing twice in a row—its terrifying aspects."
With that, he pressed a button on his controller, and an image of a zombie appeared on the projection screen.
It was an utterly common male zombie, clad in the standard black suit of a Japanese salaryman. Its skin was a sickly, bloated bluish-white, and from the mangled, oozing wounds, pale maggots could be seen writhing faintly.
The only divergence from the typical zombie was its flattened, anime-esque art style. While still ferocious and terrifying, it lacked some of the visceral impact of its live-action counterparts.
"This is what the original work refers to as a 'Corpse.' Fundamentally, it's no different from the zombies we've encountered in other bioweapon-themed Illusions—no vision, hunts solely by sound, feels no pain but moves sluggishly. Weak points are the head and spine."
"The only real difference is that these Corpses are a bit tankier (more resilient). Each is worth 15 points. You can use that as a rough benchmark."
Again, a buzz of conversation erupted, many players' expressions hardening into grim lines.
The point system wasn't a straightforward 1:1 ratio. If a single Corpse was worth 15 points, it meant their overall stats were at least double that of a regular zombie.
These were all veterans, having survived at least three Illusions. A zombie with double stats wasn't much of a threat individually—at worst, it'd take an extra swing to put down.
But let's not forget, zombies don't excel in individual strength. Their true horror lies in their near-infinite numbers. An extra swing for one might seem trivial, but what about ten? A hundred?
Once you're knee-deep in a horde, a single second's delay, a momentary lapse in concentration, could mean the difference between life and a very messy death.
"This is just the appetizer."
The suited man pressed the controller again, and three more distinct zombie types appeared on the screen.
The first was grotesquely bloated, its mouth, twice the size of a normal human's, constantly slobbering green mucus. It looked like a mentally deficient fatso.
The second image was blurry, streaked with motion blur, barely revealing a diminutive, child-like form.
The third was the most shocking. It stood a towering three meters tall, its bluish-green skin stretched taut over bulging, corded muscles. Combined with the zombie's inherent ferocious features, it resembled a nightmarish version of the Hulk.
"These three look familiar, don't they? Let me be clear: their names are Boomer, Hunter, and Tank. Originally, they're powerful specials from the game Left 4 Dead, and now they've crashed this Illusion as well."
This time, the players' expressions lost all trace of ease. Even without prior experience, their appearances alone spoke volumes about how troublesome these creatures would be.
"Just to clarify, these three special infected aren't the bosses of this Illusion. They're merely elite mobs..."
"Then what is the boss creature of this Illusion?" a player from the audience raised his hand to ask.
The others leaned in, clearly equally invested in this question.
"The confirmed boss, as it turns out, is the very story NPC you're tasked with escorting." The man in the suit smiled faintly, dropping a bombshell no one saw coming.
"Story NPCs? How could they be bosses?" The players were now completely bewildered.
"Honestly, I was just as surprised when I first learned this," the suited man admitted, pressing the controller once more. Another image materialized on the screen.
This time, it wasn't a zombie. It was a beautiful young woman with long, violet hair, tall and slender, dressed in a blue yukata adorned with cherry blossom patterns.
A collective sharp intake of breath went up from those familiar with the source material. "Saeko Busujima!"
Saeko Busujima was the most popular female character in Highschool of the Dead, a beautiful kendo prodigy with the classical grace of a Yamato Nadeshiko and formidable combat prowess.
If one were to rank the easiest NPCs to protect in a mission, Saeko would undoubtedly top the list.
"Wait a minute... something's off here?"
Upon closer inspection, the players realized that this Saeko Busujima didn't quite match the gentle and refined swordswoman of their impression from the original work.
Not only was she taller, her demeanor was significantly more feral and bloodthirsty. Two crimson horns, half a foot long, protruded from either side of her forehead beneath the violet tresses. Her beautiful eyes glinted with a savage light, and faint arcs of golden electricity seemed to crackle around her form, like some man-eating demon (oni) from Japanese myth.
"This is Saeko Busujima's Paranormal Ability – Oni Manifestation," the suited man didn't mince words, explaining in detail. "However, this isn't her normal Oni Manifestation. This is an out of control, Super Oni Manifestation."
Perhaps the person in the room who grasped the full implications most acutely was Luo Jie.
True to the Illusion's theme, "Parasitic Mirage: Highschool of the Dead," each NPC possessed a unique and powerful Paranormal Ability.
Yet these abilities were a double-edged sword. Under normal circumstances, they certainly eased the burden of protecting the NPCs. But on the flip side, should an NPC perish, their corpse would, under the influence of the zombie virus, rapidly reanimate as a Boss, their Paranormal Ability amplifying several times over.
Among these, Saeko Busujima's "Oni Manifestation" was the most terrifying. It didn't even require her death; merely slaying zombies continuously beyond a certain threshold could trigger an irreversible ability rampage, causing her to attack all living things within sight without discrimination.
From just this image, Luo Jie couldn't tell if this was the post-mortem Boss version of Saeko or the ability rampage version. Either way, the escort team assigned to her was almost certainly already six feet under.
"The real crux of the mission lies in this fact: when a story NPC dies, they become a Boss..." After explaining the image, the suited man on stage paused, his expression turning grave. "So, a word of friendly advice – if you feel the NPC you're escorting is beyond saving, don't hesitate. Run."