"Heh heh..."

  Following the eerie laughter, the grimace on the wall, like the Mona Lisa's smile, seemed subtly altered, sending a shiver down Jake Johnson's spine.

  The hollow, violent eye sockets appeared to bore into him.

  No matter how Jake twisted and turned, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched, a gaze that shouldn't logically exist.

  The curve of the grimace's lips seemed to widen into a more sinister smile.

  Jake frowned, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

  He felt mentally unstable, as if countless venomous insects were crawling slowly across his back, making him restless and twitchy.

  "Weird, what's happening to me?" Jake muttered, confused by the sudden change.

  He tried to calm himself, taking deep breaths, trying to regain control.

  But the more he focused, the more agitated he became.

  Images began to flash in his mind.

  These scenes were like vivid, disorienting dreams, shifting and changing, blurring the line between reality and illusion.

  As time passed, the images grew sharper.

  In the blink of an eye, Jake found himself standing on an endless stretch of farmland.

  "Where am I?"

  "Why does this feel so familiar?"

  Just as Jake was pondering this, a dark shape darted through the weeds at his feet!

  "Hiss..."

  A black and yellow garter snake slithered out, its red tongue flicking.

  "Stay away!" Jake cried, his scalp tingling, backing away quickly!

  He suddenly remembered why this scene felt so familiar!

  It was the time he'd been bitten by a snake as a kid!

  Once bitten, twice shy.

  Ever since then, Jake had harbored a deep fear of snakes.

  Cold sweat broke out on Jake's forehead as a wave of terror washed over him.

  More than the fear of the snake itself, he was terrified that he was reliving this experience in a dream-like place.

  The fear of snake was his deepest secret, never spoken to anyone.

  "Could the Death Shack really be dredging up my deepest fears?" Jake wondered aloud.

  As Jake was lost in thought, the garter snake struck.

  Jake smiled weakly. "I may be afraid of snakes, but this is just an illusion. Once I remember that, there's nothing to fear!"

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  Before the words were even fully out of his mouth, a sharp pain shot through his leg, and Jake gasped. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at his calf.

  There was a row of crimson teeth marks.

  Blood gurgled from the wounds, and a stinging pain spread through his nerves.

  The unexpected sensation made Jake freeze in place.

  In his experience, dreams and illusions didn't cause pain; only the real world could deliver that.

  Am I in reality?

  Jake's expression was lost and bewildered.

  Suddenly, the sound of rustling filled the air.

  Snake after snake of the same variety arrived from all directions. The collective sound of their tongues flicking created a sound like waves breaking on a rocky shore, endless and overpowering.

  Jake was terrified and his legs were shaking.

  "I'm done! I'm out!"

  But no one responded to Jake's shouts as one after another, the garter snakes crawled towards him.

  Jake struggled desperately, but against the onslaught of snakes, all resistance was useless.

  As soon as Jake shook off one snake, even more crawled over him.

  In no time at all, Jake was buried in a sea of snakes!

  Jake felt like he was in hell. The sensation of the snakes crawling all over his body sent his mind to the edge of insanity!

  "Death will set you free!"

  It was as if someone was constantly whispering in Jake's ear, luring him deeper and deeper towards death.

  "No!"

  Jake gasped for air, screaming.

  He wouldn't give up so easily!

  The next moment, darkness descended, and when his vision returned, he was in a completely new and unfamiliar environment.

  It was a straight highway, with cars speeding past.

  Jake looked around, disoriented.

  Based on his previous experience, he knew he was in a new illusion.

  He had no idea what he would experience this time.

  Suddenly, a black sedan appeared in Jake's field of vision.

  Jake froze when he saw the car.

  "江A242...That's my parents' car!" Jake exclaimed. Then he remembered the car from the accident that killed his parents.

  "Honk!"

  Suddenly, a deafening horn blared.

  A truck appeared on the highway ahead!

  The truck was moving incredibly fast, and based on its tires, which were strained, it was obviously overloaded!

  The overloaded truck sped towards the sedan in front of it.

  The middle-aged man and woman in the sedan were completely unaware, chatting and laughing.

  "Watch out!" Jake yelled, desperately.

  But no matter how hard he screamed, even until his throat was sore, the couple didn't react.

  Jake and the people in the sedan were in different dimensions. He could only watch, powerless to stop what was about to happen.

  "Boom!"

  The speeding truck slammed into the back of the sedan.

  The sedan was no match for the multi-ton vehicle, and it began to twist and crumple.

  The middle-aged couple twisted and distorted along with it.

  "Thump!"

  Jake's mind went blank, his eyes glazed over, and he slumped to the ground.

  Witnessing the moment his parents died was more than he could bear, and he began to fall apart.

  The illusion didn't stop as Jake was falling apart. The crash scene replayed again and again.

  With each impact, Jake was falling further apart.

  At this point, Jake had forgotten where he was or what he was experiencing. Grief and pain filled every corner of his mind!

  The devilish whispers echoed in Jake's ear again.

  "Does it hurt?"

  "Death will set you free."

  "Life is so hard. If you die, it will all be over!"

  Jake nodded dazedly, his hands reaching for a knife.

  A strange smile spread across his face as he lightly cut his wrist.

  "Boom!"

  At the critical moment, a deafening sound exploded in Jake's mind!

  The illusion vanished!

  The whispers faded away!

  At the same time, the sound washed over Jake's mind and the negative emotions dissipated.

  When Jake came to his senses, he opened his eyes and realized he had unknowingly walked out of the Death Shack and into the sunshine!

  The warm sunlight shone down on Jake, but it couldn't chase away the chill from within.

  Jake glanced back at the entrance of the Death Shack, "That Death Shack is horrifying! It almost made me kill myself!"

  The sounds had erased Jake's negative emotions, but it hadn't erased his memories.

  Jake lifted his wrist and saw a white line!

  If he was one second later, he would have slit his wrist.

  "The Death Shack lives up to its name!" The shadows on Jake's face disappeared, and a smile appeared.

  After experiencing it firsthand, he understood the truth.

  The realistic illusion was unlike any other haunted house.

  Anyone who went in would be driven to madness and death.

  Even if people were prepared for the experience, they couldn't escape.

  "Starlight Amusement Park has hope! Thank you, system! Thank you, God!" Jake's eyes glistened with tears.

  He knew that the Death Shack would restore the Starlight Amusement Park to life!