Creating a zombie in a mountain village terrifies players worldwide.

Chapter 31 Playing the role of a food deliveryman (4100 words)
Akashi looked around at the environment. The atmosphere and lighting were just as eerie and terrifying as before, a deep blue, like a basement.

He was dressed as a festive Santa Claus.

It seems the game is set for Christmas.

Akaishi stared at the cake in his hand, blinked, and wondered if he could just throw it away.

If you throw it away, will a ghost come out and kill it?

As I pondered, the task at hand was updated.

[Task Update: You have successfully delivered the cake to the customer's house. Please call the customer to come and pick it up.]

At this moment, two options appeared before you.

1. Is anyone home?

2. Your meal has arrived.

Akashi looked at the options and thought there didn't seem to be any difference.

So he randomly picked the first one, and the protagonist immediately spoke.

[Private Marseille, is anyone there?]
The sound was exceptionally clear in the empty entryway, even carrying a faint echo.

However, all he received in response was deathly silence.

[Private Marseille? Is anyone home?]
It remained completely silent; no one responded.

Akashi suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. The silence was eerie, especially in this dark and oppressive environment.

At this point, the previous dialogue options popped up again, but only the second option remained.

Without hesitation, Akashi chose option 2, and the protagonist immediately spoke up.

[Hello, I just came from Nicola's pastry shop.]
[I've delivered your Christmas cake. Is anyone home?]
It remained deathly silent; no one responded.

Only his lingering voice echoed in the air.

[This family doesn't seem to want to come out, so I'll just put the cake down and leave.]
The protagonist said in a low voice, "The game has now entered real-time rendering."

He bent down slightly and placed the cake on the hallway floor.

Just as I turned halfway around, before I could even take a step, a woman's voice came eerily from the depths of the corridor without warning.

[I'm a little busy, I'll be there in a bit.]
The sound was extremely eerie.

Each word was drawn out, carrying an indescribable stickiness, like an emotionless machine.

In real-time calculation, the protagonist immediately turned around to look.

In the dimly lit corridor, at the intersection of faint light and shadow, a blurry figure peeked out, half of its body protruding.

Her face was completely hidden in the shadows, and only a white sailor uniform could be vaguely seen on her body.

Clearly, the voice just now was hers.

However, when Akashi saw the blurry figure, he gasped and his eyes widened instantly.

Good heavens! Even though the light was dim and he couldn't see the face clearly, he would recognize that sailor uniform even if it turned to ashes!
Isn't this the chinless, blood-covered student ghost who gave him a "door-opening kill"?!

"What the heck! It's you again!?"

"Wait a minute, I just realized, the ghost I encountered is different from the one in the gameplay demo! Where's that pale, deathly female ghost? It's you, a schoolgirl!?"

"And what happened to you? How did you die? What about your father, Takeo Saeki???"

Akashi panicked immediately; he didn't understand how the ghost in the game had changed.

The ghost shown in the gameplay demo was just that pale-looking woman, so why did it change in the game?

And it's a female ghost without even a chin! Old Jill is terrifying!

Damn it, I was just getting ready to face this pale woman, and then you pull this stunt?
Developer, where the hell is your conscience?! Where is your conscience?!
Faced with the fact that the ghost had been replaced, Brother Akashi had no choice but to accept it and pretend to be calm.

Then, forcing a smile that looked worse than a grimace, he stiffly waved to the female student in the darkness.

"Hi...hi, how are you? I've delivered the cake, it's right here. You guys enjoy yours, I have something to do, I'll be going now."

After saying that, he quickly turned around and tried to open the door.

Sure enough, the door wouldn't open.

It also displayed the message: [Food has not yet been delivered.]
Meanwhile, the mission has also been updated.

[Task: The customer seems to be in a hurry. As a dedicated delivery person, you might think it would be better to hand the cake to the customer yourself? Please go to the kitchen to check the situation.]

Akashi was shocked. "Good heavens! Are you kidding me?! You're trying to kill me!"
What are you thinking, delivery driver?! How much do you make a month? Do you have to be so dedicated? You don't have apps for giving bad reviews these days, do you?!
Akaishi complained, but then thought about it carefully.

No, developers wouldn't go through with torture so quickly. There's usually some foreplay, a gradual progression, before the climax.

If it's a climax right from the start, wouldn't that just be a cliché jump scare?

Thinking of this, Brother Akashi took a deep breath and turned to enter the kitchen.

At this moment, the female student ghost in the corridor had disappeared.

Instead, there was an open kitchen door and dim yellow light shining from inside.

In stark contrast to the darkness outside, it was like a beacon in the darkness, as if inviting him to come in quickly.

For someone who has seen a live demonstration, the kitchen is truly extremely dangerous.

In the video, Takeo Saeki encountered an extremely terrifying phenomenon here and eventually fled in panic.

Akashi swallowed hard, carefully walked towards the kitchen, and finally arrived at the door unharmed.

"Hopefully the high-energy moments won't be too intense. For the sake of us players, just a little scare is fine. Don't go too far!"

As he spoke, Brother Akaishi resolutely stepped into the kitchen.

Everything was normal here.

The dim chandelier hummed softly, and the refrigerator and dining table were fully equipped, with steaming hot Japanese home-style dishes on them, looking perfectly normal.

Of course, Brother Akaishi will not be blinded by the seemingly normal environment before him.

He knew perfectly well that this must be a trap set by the evil developers!

They're definitely trying to lower my guard so they can sneak up on me and scare me when I'm not looking!

It must be true, I won't fall for it!
Akashi secretly made up his mind. He looked around and found a document on the kitchen counter.

He decisively stepped forward, picked it up, and examined it; the contents were revealed.

—Yūyo Saeki's notes.

Today is Christmas, and my mother ordered a cake so the whole family can have a good time.

Of course, this doesn't include the father, that man.

Takeo Saeki is no longer our father; he's just a drunkard and a bastard.

Just now, he rushed into the kitchen, went berserk, destroyed everything, and smashed appliances.

They said the refrigerator and microwave were talking secretly again, and they saw a woman in white walk in.

He smashed and destroyed everything in our kitchen, including our dinner.

This person is insane, completely insane!

We wanted to call the police, but suddenly there was no signal at home! The front door and windows were also locked!
We're completely locked inside the house and can't get out!

The mother rushed to stop him from his destructive rampage, but he grabbed her hair and dragged her upstairs. The mother was in danger!
I must save her!
I told Junxiong to stay in his room and not to make a sound. This madman... I'm the only one left to deal with him now.
After reading the document, Akashi nodded knowingly.

"Brothers, I think I have a general understanding of the plot now."

"Isn't this just like that test subject in the live demo who killed his girlfriend?"

"That Taro guy had a mental breakdown and then became a madman who killed his girlfriend Tomie."

"Judging from this document, the protagonist of the actual demonstration, Takeo Saeki, probably also suffered a mental breakdown and then became a madman who attacked his family."

"Considering what I just saw about the female student ghost, that family is definitely doomed. It's tragic."

"No wonder this game has a sanity system. Wow, it really is closely related to the game, isn't it? The male protagonist's sanity was lowered, so he saw supernatural phenomena. His wife and daughter's sanity was normal, so they couldn't see anything."

Upon seeing this, the viewers in the live stream raised their eyebrows and curiously typed in the chat.

"What are you waiting for, streamer? Quickly lower your sanity and let us see the effect!"

"That's right. The lower your rationality, the easier it is to see ghosts. Streamer, you should be more self-aware."

"Experienced live streamers know what their viewers want to see."

"So, the plot of Chapter Two actually has two storylines? One is about Takeo Saeki, and the other is about the main spy?"

"Hey upstairs, where's the delivery guy? You can't ignore him just because he's delivering food!"

"The deliveryman is just an unlucky guy, like the protagonist in the chapter about Chu Renmei. He doesn't have much of a plot; he's just a tool for experiencing supernatural events."

"That's right. The first chapter is about Chu Renmei's story and the protagonist's experiences. The second chapter is the same, about Saeki Takeo's family and the protagonist's subsequent experiences."

"My goodness, this family is really miserable. The father was taken to be a guinea pig for experiments, and his wife and children know nothing about it. They still think he's just an alcoholic lunatic. They have no way to express their suffering."

"Wait a minute, does that mean we'll be facing five resident ghosts in Chapter Two? Holy crap! That's exciting!"

"Brother Akaishi is really in luck now. It's 2 a.m., and he's playing hide-and-seek with five ghosts in a haunted house all by himself. Just thinking about it is incredibly exciting!"

Akashi's lips twitched, and he snorted irritably.

"It's okay, you guys are watching the live stream anyway. If I get scared, you'll get scared too. The streamer has 22 viewers who are having fun with me, so I'm holding my head high."

As he spoke, Akashi put away the document.

But as soon as the document disappeared, the scene before my eyes suddenly changed!
The once neat and cozy kitchen has been transformed into a chaotic disaster scene!

The chandelier, which had been buzzing, flickered violently a few times, emitting a crackling sound of electricity, before finally going out completely and plunging the room into darkness.

Pots and pans were thrown on the ground, smashed and deformed, some even broken into several pieces.

Furniture and appliances were also violently damaged, with circuit boards and parts scattered all over the floor.

The dining table was broken in the middle, with food spilled everywhere, and there were several dirty rice balls at the feet.

Looking at the scene, it was clear that a fight had taken place, just as described in the documents.

So what we just saw was a false illusion?

At that moment, Akashi's vision suddenly blurred and he felt dizzy.

This is a sign of diminished rationality following a supernatural event!

The game then entered real-time calculation, and the food delivery protagonist immediately retreated in terror, his body trembling, and his voice trembling with tears.

Something's not right here. There's something wrong with this house.
Looking at the protagonist on the screen, and then at the sudden change in the situation before him, Brother Akaishi kept swallowing.

"Wow, the scene synchronized right after I finished reading the documentation."

"This developer has driven me to my sanity again."

"According to the document, her mother was dragged upstairs by her father by the hair... The daughter also said she was going to save her mother, so the next step is definitely going upstairs."

"The game's flow is designed to be quite linear... wait a minute!"

Before Akashi could finish speaking, he seemed to catch something out of the corner of his eye.

There seems to be someone standing in the shadows by the kitchen doorway?

His heart skipped a beat, and he abruptly turned his head away!

There was nothing there.

However, the live stream chat was suddenly flooded with comments.

"??? Was there someone at the door just now?"

"I saw it too! A white figure, like a child, could it be the Toshio mentioned in the document?"

"Holy crap, I thought I was seeing things, but there really was a ghost standing there just now?"

After glancing at the comments, Akashi-kun confirmed that he hadn't misread anything.

After all, he might make a mistake, but the viewers watching the live stream through his eyes wouldn't.

Tuk, Tuk, Tuk...

Just then, a sudden sound of footsteps came from outside the door.

The sound was very soft, like a child walking barefoot on a wooden floor, unhurried and gradually fading away.

He hurried to the door and looked to the left and right.

As a result, at the entrance of the stairs, I saw a boy wearing a white vest walking up the stairs.

It seemed to be guiding the way, or perhaps telling him where to go next.

At the same time, a piano melody drifted up from upstairs, melodious and gentle, which sounded particularly eerie in the deathly silence.

Then, the task was updated.

[Mission: You seem to have seen something and heard a strange piano sound. Perhaps you should go upstairs and check it out.]

"Brothers, here it comes, here it comes, the behavior after the sanity is reduced is here, it seems like I can see ghosts frequently now."

"The evil developers are leading us to our deaths again. Come on, let's not back down. Let's go up and take a look."

The viewers in the live stream cheered, then watched as Brother Akashi walked up the stairs to the second floor.

This is a small corridor with two rooms, one at the top of the stairs on the second floor and the other at the end of the corridor.

So, in which room is the woman who was dragged upstairs?
Unaware of the noise, Akaishi followed the sound of the piano to the room at the end of the stairs and gently pushed the door open.

Boom-!
Suddenly, the piano made a loud bang and stopped.

As the door opened, the scene inside was revealed.

This is a typical tatami bedroom, plus a sliding closet and a piano, which make up this master bedroom.

But the bedroom was in a mess, with blankets and pillows scattered all over the floor, picture frames almost smashed, and bloodstains that hadn't dried yet on the floor, clearly indicating that a fight had taken place.

"This battle is quite intense; it seems her father went all out."

Akaishi's gaze fell on the cabinet next to him.

Strangely, the gaps in the closet doors, the edges, and even the sliding tracks were all tightly sealed with layers upon layers of thick yellow tape, making it completely airtight.

Judging from the way it looks, it's as if something extremely terrifying is sealed inside, and they're afraid it might escape.

Without a doubt, it must be the female homeowner, or rather, the female homeowner's corpse.

(End of this chapter)