Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 1

Xie Nuange stood before the door.

It was a towering slab of vermilion, more than thirty feet high and studded with rows of bronze nails, each cast in the shape of a snarling beast’s head.

Fog, thick enough to seem solid, pressed through the crack between its panels.

This was the entrance to the ultimate scenario.

Three years ago, her brother, Xie Chaoyang, had pushed open this door. He had never returned.

The authorities said he was not dead. Anyone who died inside a scenario would return to Blue Star as an anomaly, yet he had never appeared at any Anomaly Containment Facility.

He had simply vanished from the world.

Xie Nuange had waited three years for him.

Waited for the ultimate scenario to open again.

Now it had.

All she had to do was step through that door, enter the scenario, and find out what had happened to her brother…

Resolve settled in her eyes. Slowly, she raised a hand and pushed open the blood-red door.

She drew a deep breath and crossed the threshold. The fog swallowed her in an instant.

She had no idea how long she drifted through it before her feet finally touched solid ground.

The air before her rippled. Lines of text emerged from the distortion.

[The SSS-rank large-scale multiplayer scenario is now open.]

[Clear Condition: Pass the imperial selection within seven days and remain in the harem.]

[Rule One: Never forget your identity. You are a palace candidate, and a qualified palace candidate brings rewards to her family.]

[Rule Two: Palace rules are mandatory for every palace candidate. You must learn them well.]

[Rule Three: Loud noises are forbidden within the palace grounds.]

[Rule Four: Rank and status are absolute. Until you receive an official title, proceed with caution. Those of higher rank hold absolute power over those below them.]

[Additional Rules: Explore and discover them yourself…]

[Friendly Reminder: No one in the palace is useless. It only depends on how you choose to use them.]

The rules finished appearing, but the display did not end.

Another line surfaced slowly, darker than the rest, as though written in blood.

[Faction: Prince/Noble Consort (Hidden)]

[Friendly Reminder: Your starting faction is an absolute secret. Once it is exposed, everyone will turn on you.]

Xie Nuange’s pupils contracted.

A faction?

When she had registered for the scenario, there had been three entrances: A, B, and C. No explanation, only an instruction to choose one at random.

She had chosen C.

Did that mean C corresponded to the Prince and the Noble Consort?

But those were two entirely different people.

What did the slash mean?

Did she have to choose between them, or…?

The fog dispersed, revealing a palace.

Vermilion columns held up a roof of golden glazed tiles. White marble steps rose in terraces toward the distant halls.

If Xie Nuange had not known this was the ultimate scenario, she might have thought she had wandered onto the set of a historical drama.

“Form up!”

A shrill voice cracked through the air. An elderly eunuch stood at the top of the steps, a fly whisk in one hand, surveying the people below.

His complexion was gray-blue, yet his cheeks glowed red. The smile on his face made him look like a paper funeral effigy.

Xie Nuange shifted her gaze. At some point, the space around her had filled with women dressed exactly like her—palace candidates in pale pink robes, their hair arranged in small brush-like coiffures and their feet balanced on flowerpot-soled shoes. The clothes resembled those of the Qing dynasty.

“Are you all deaf? I said form up!”

The eunuch shouted again, his voice sharper than before.

The crowd stirred and straggled into several lines. Xie Nuange chose a position near the back of the middle row. It was inconspicuous, but still gave her a clear view of everything.

The eunuch gave a satisfied hum. He drew a scroll of yellow silk from his sleeve, unfurled it, and began to read in a drawn-out cadence.

“By the Mandate of Heaven, His Majesty the Emperor hereby decrees: an imperial selection shall be held to fill the Yeting Bureau. Unmarried women of good family, upright character, and pleasing appearance, between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five, may enter the selection.”

“Those chosen shall remain in the palace to await investiture. Those rejected shall receive gold and return home. Obey this decree.”

He rolled up the silk and swept the crowd with a smile that never reached his eyes.

“Was that clear? This is a selection, not an execution. Who are those long faces for? Smile!”

No one did. Every face bore the same expression as anyone newly arrived in a scenario: wary, guarded, alert.

The eunuch did not take offense. If anything, his smile deepened.

“The fifty of you have passed the preliminary selection. In a moment, the palace attendants will show you to your quarters. Assemble at the Palace of Gathered Elegance at the Hour of the Goat to learn the rules.”

Fifty people… all women.

Yet Xie Nuange clearly remembered the system announcement before she entered.

[Number of Participants: 432]

Four hundred and thirty-two people had signed up. Only fifty women stood here now.

Where were the men? And where were all the other women?

The eunuch led them through gate after gate until they reached a cluster of low buildings.

Xie Nuange looked up at the plaque: Palace of Gathered Elegance.

This was likely where the palace candidates would live for the time being. Rows of rooms stretched out before them, each with a wooden nameplate hanging beside the door.

“That will be all. Go settle in. Remember, assemble here at the Hour of the Goat.”

The eunuch looked over them, his lips stretching into an exaggerated grin.

“Nothing is more taboo in the palace than being late.”

With a flick of his fly whisk, he turned and left.

The palace candidates remained where they were, exchanging uncertain looks.

Xie Nuange waited until the eunuch was gone. Around her, some women had begun searching for their rooms while others looked for their companions.

She followed the crowd until she found the room bearing her nameplate, then pushed open the door.

Four people were already inside.

The room held one long communal sleeping platform, divided into individual cubicles by wooden cabinets that reached the ceiling.

The space directly opposite the door was still empty. It was the closest to the entrance. If anything happened outside during the night—or if something broke through the door—the person sleeping there would meet it first.

That was why no one had chosen it.

When Xie Nuange entered, the other four women looked up. Their eyes measured and assessed her, guarded from the start.

No one spoke.

She went to the empty bed. Instead of searching for rules at once, she followed the method her brother had taught her and performed a quick inspection.

The cabinet held nothing but bedding. She did not pull it out immediately; doing so might violate a hidden rule. First she reached inside and felt around. When she found nothing strange, she brought her hand to her nose and checked for any unusual scent.

Only after confirming it was safe did she remove the sheet of paper pasted to the cabinet door.

These were the rules for the room.

[Residence Rules: Palace of Gathered Elegance, Room C]

[Rule One: Lights out at the Hour of the Boar. Rise at the Hour of the Rabbit. Do not be late.]

[Rule Two: If someone calls to you at night, do not answer and do not open the door.]

[Rule Three: The room is relatively safe.]

[Rule Four: Count the beds. Count the occupants. Before sleeping each night, check the nameplates outside the door.]

[Rule Five: Once an occupant has entered the room, her nameplate must not be removed or replaced.]

Xie Nuange’s breath caught.

Rule One was ordinary enough. Rules Two and Three meant that whatever waited outside at night was dangerous.

Rules Four and Five revealed something else.

The nameplates could be switched.

If someone took hers and hung it outside another room, this room would no longer count as her safe zone.

She read the rules again. Once she was certain she had memorized every word, she folded the paper and put it inside the cabinet.

“Did any of you notice?”

The speaker was a cute, round-faced girl. Her eyes curved when she smiled, making her seem friendly without even trying.

“What happened to all the men who entered the scenario with us?”