The curly-haired young man's encouraging words had some effect.

The first to respond was the black-haired woman holding the cross.

"That's right! The great Commander Kuran even survived a five-star difficulty curse event and managed to keep most of his squad alive. Our determination will surely be noticed by the Lord, who will guide us through this dangerous dark forest."

Just then, a voice echoed in everyone's minds:

『Event not yet initiated. Your identities are members of a university film crew. You must locate and make direct contact with the key character 'Old Lady Wang' within one hour, then proceed with her to the event location [Abandoned Mountain Manor].』

Failure to contact 'Old Lady Wang' within the time limit, interference with, or refusal to board transport to the event location will result in forced elimination of the individual.』

One hour of preparation time.

The curly-haired young man tried to organize everyone to increase their survival chances.

"We have plenty of time, let's introduce ourselves! I'm Murray Edward... my father is a somewhat famous writer, and our family is fairly well-off. I had an accident as a child that left my right hand like this."

He took the initiative to remove his white glove and roll up his sleeve.

A metal prosthetic arm with beautiful mechanical aesthetics gleamed into view.

The elbow, wrist, and finger joints were composed of numerous precise gears and micro-bolts... not only could it perform normal joint movements, but it could even bend in ways impossible for normal humans.

Hidden within the streamlined metal arm was a small steam hydraulic system, giving the prosthetic tremendous strength.

"A steam prosthetic!!"

The attractive blonde with azure eyes seized upon this like a drowning person catching a lifeline. She made sure to present her most charming side as she sidled up to the young man.

Steam prosthetics weren't something commoners could access - even middle-class families in the Holy City would have to spend a fortune to purchase such a limb.

The blonde lady's gaze was completely fixed on the curly-haired Murray Edward as she introduced herself: "I'm Monica... my mother works at the 'restaurant.'"

Murray smiled slightly, neither accepting nor rejecting her advances, maintaining about two fists' distance.

Now that someone had started, the self-introductions continued smoothly.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

The most physically imposing man in the group, who was also the oldest, spoke with disdain:

"Derion, ordinary worker at a parts factory. I'm good at... beating people up. Damn! If this was a mutation or monster-type event, I could fight head-on! But these intangible evil spirits are just disgusting... my luck couldn't be worse."

Thinking about the event's nature, Derion punched the nearby wall in frustration... of course, limited by his ordinary human physique, he only managed to make a sound while the wall remained unmarked.

The black-haired woman clutching the cross slowly stood up.

"I'm Arkman Green. I volunteer at the church... The priest promised that when I come of age next half-year, I can stay and work at the church officially. The priest is very kind to me... during my volunteer period, I can earn ten pence as a reward for working overtime at the church at night."

There was something obviously wrong with that statement.

Churches don't open at night, so this "night overtime" seemed rather suspicious.

Next, a young man who was pretending to be calm but was actually quite nervous stepped forward.

He appeared to be around twenty, wearing a linen shirt with a rough cloth vest over it, topped with a frayed newsboy cap.

" Herbert Peters... just call me Herbert. I sell newspapers with my father. I don't have any special skills, except I can run pretty fast and can tell who's likely to buy a newspaper. I'll do my best, hope we all make it out alive."

This newspaper boy was probably the most optimistic one in the group.

Finally, it was naturally Leon's turn... among the group, Leon's physical condition was probably tied for last place with the frail female believer.

Under his linen shirt, his stick-thin frame gave the impression that he might fall over in a strong wind.

"Nicolas Varen... born with poor health, spend most time idle at home. Though, during my free time, I've gained some understanding of languages... I suppose I could help with translation. "

Leon deliberately offered this "specialty."

If he appeared too useless, he would surely face contempt from his teammates.

With many unknowns and his weak physical condition, Leon needed to make himself appear somewhat "useful" to be treated as an equal by his teammates, at least not becoming the weakest link.

"You know Chinese?" Murray Edward, the young man with the steam prosthetic, asked in surprise.

"Yes... I've learned a bit."

"Excellent! Then you'll take on the role of translator when we make contact with the key figure 'Old Lady Wang', to help ensure our group can reach the event location. "

"Mm." Leon accepted this role, establishing his value to the team.

Murray turned to address everyone:

"Does anyone mind if I serve as team leader?

I hope everyone can follow my instructions and requirements during the upcoming event. I'll do my utmost to increase our survival rate.

Anyone can raise suggestions to me or the whole team - if they're reasonable, we'll definitely adopt them."

"I agree!" The blonde Monica was the first to approve.

Leon raised his hand next.

In group activities like this, having a leader was essential.

From the current situation, Murray was qualified for this position.

As everyone else raised their hands in succession, the bald man Derion maintained his look of disdain, "I'll go with you to the event location, but I'll do whatever I want. I won't listen to anyone's opinions."

Murray responded with a smile, "Understandable, Derion. As long as you don't do anything harmful to the team, you can do as you please."

Then, Edward turned to Leon, " Nicolas, shall we set out?"

"Alright."

And so, with all six members introduced and basically unified, they officially embarked on their horror journey.

For ease of remembering, Leon mentally labeled his five teammates:

[Prosthetic], [Believer], [Blonde], [Baldy], [Newsboy]

Additionally, a message from the "Faceless Head" dispelled Leon's plans to take shortcuts:

『Detected that the host is currently in a special spatial zone. Opening the prison would consume massive spatial energy... the pocket prison will only open briefly when containing external objects, the vessel cannot independently enter the pocket prison.』

"Of course it wouldn't be that simple..." Leon thought to himself.