Creating a zombie in a mountain village terrifies players worldwide.

Chapter 4 Horror Category: All Menopausal

Akashi was a little confused.

It's 2055 already, and there are still people who aren't afraid of death making horror games on Skynet?
It's not that horror games are bad, but rather that this genre is simply not suited to the modern era.

First of all, horror games are a niche genre and not many people play them; that's common knowledge.

The reason for this can be attributed to a "shady operation" carried out by a well-known domestic company, Pixel Interactive Entertainment, ten years ago.

Thirteen years ago, this major company was preparing to develop a large-scale horror game called "Graveyard".

Then they launched a massive publicity campaign.

The atmosphere of Eastern mysticism, the subtly chilling plot hints.

There are also psychological fears, narrative tricks, and so on.

The boasts were increasingly impressive, attracting the attention of countless players and raising their expectations to the max.

Three years later, the game was completed and priced at 198 yuan. It sold 20 copies on the first day.

To my utter surprise, what I thought was a high-quality product turned out to be industrial waste!
Where's the exquisite atmosphere we were promised? Where's the profound plot we were promised? Where's the psychological horror we were promised?

It's all about simple, brutal, face-to-face attacks! The literal kind!
This game truly embodies the essence of 'brainless rush-in' gameplay!

Players are constantly being startled, with minor frights every three steps and major frights every five steps. The feeling isn't fear at all, but pure disgust and physical discomfort, making it impossible for players to continue playing.

It can be said that it has surprises in terms of plot, gameplay, and playtime.

It seems that in their view, horror games should be purely about scaring people; plot and such are irrelevant, so they can just write whatever comes to mind, bland as water, as if they didn't exist.

Even though the game only lasts three or four hours, it managed to stretch the duration to around seven or eight hours by relying on players who rushed in, because too many players couldn't keep playing!

The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

The next day, Graveyard was bombarded with negative reviews, and players' refund requests exposed the ugly face of the game's exploitative practices.

Then he died suddenly not long after.

And just like that, the already niche horror game genre was blasted into oblivion by this big company with a single, shoddy shot.

The rapid loss of players has made it even harder for other companies' horror games to sell!

This has forced major manufacturers to regard the horror category as an 'abyss'.

Independent developers, due to their limited abilities, often end up making terrible horror games that are just scraps of existing assets.

This has led to the horror genre going 'menopausal,' with not a single decent work emerging!
Ten years later, there is still not a single decent horror film to watch, let alone a masterpiece or a gem.

"When was the last time I played a horror game? It's been about seven or eight years, hasn't it?"

Akashi scratched his head and complained.

"This game is using the 'creepy' tagline to lure me into playing a horror game, right? Did I just leave my 18+ restriction for nothing?"

"Good, very good. Producer O5, right? 'The Haunted Village' is quite a name. You'd better pray that your horror game is worth playing."

As he spoke, he grabbed the videotape and headed straight for the static-filled television in the living room.

This was clearly meant to be played, otherwise the plot couldn't progress.

Since we're already here, let's just give it a try.

Soon, with the operation, the videotape was inserted into the machine.

Then, the screen, which was flashing static, suddenly displayed a picture.

Inside, there were four people, two men and two women, sitting around a round table, doing something unknown.

"Wow, I've seen these four NPCs in other Red Stone games too."

Upon seeing the familiar NPC materials, Brother Chishi exclaimed in surprise once again.

“That male character with glasses was slapped into a pig’s head by me yesterday in ‘Beating Up the Stinky Boss’.”

"And that short-haired girl, isn't she one of the romanceable heroines in that 'Wife Simulator' game from a while back?"

"What a coincidence, we meet again, though it's a bit like we're in different shows."

Just as Akashi was getting into his rant, a soft "bang" came from behind him, like the bathroom door being closed.

He was startled and quickly looked back, but there was nothing there; everything was normal.

"What the hell is going on..."

Brother Akashi muttered to himself, assuming it was just a preset sound effect in the game to scare people.

But when he turned back to continue watching the videotape, he was frozen in place, as if under a spell.

The scene before my eyes has changed!
The once dark and gloomy living room suddenly became slightly brighter when the lights were turned on.

The two men and two women who were just on the TV screen were now standing right in front of him, sitting around the old round table, only a few steps away from him!

The furniture and decorations were exactly the same as what I had seen in the videotape!
So, is this the world inside the videotape?
Good heavens! He just turned his head slightly, and he went from the living room into the videotape?!
Does that mean he's now the main character in the videotape?

"Wow, so that's how you play this game!"

"By playing the videotapes, I was able to personally play the roles in them and experience the storyline."

The two men and two women from the television screen were now sitting around a round table in front of me.

Is this the world of videotapes?

Good heavens! In the blink of an eye, he was inside the videotape!

"Tsk tsk, this is interesting. It's more fun than Pixel Interactive's 'Cemetery' and 'They Are All Ghosts'."

For a moment, Brother Akashi's interest was piqued.

But it was just a hobby; after all, he hadn't forgotten that it was a free indie horror game.

It's a low-budget production made out of pure passion, so how high can the quality be? We can't set our expectations too high.

Driven by curiosity, Brother Chishi cautiously moved a few steps toward the round table, wanting to get a closer look at what these four "old acquaintance" NPCs were up to.

He glanced at it in the light of the swaying chandelier above and was immediately filled with a chill.

These four people were actually cutting their fingers with completely expressionless faces!

They even dripped the blood into a large glass bowl, where it mixed with the water, creating a large bowl of pale red bloody water!
The four people moved mechanically, their eyes vacant, as if they felt no pain, silently carrying out this bizarre ritual.

"Holy crap, is this some kind of cult ritual?"

Akashi's eyelids twitched, and he subconsciously took half a step back, feeling that something seemed off about the game.

Suddenly, text appeared above the head of the male NPC wearing glasses.

There was no sound, only cold white blocks of text floating in the air.

'Friend, are you really not going to play?'

'We won't hurt you, let's play together.'

Upon seeing these words, Akashi clicked his tongue.

"Can't even afford voice acting? Fine, you're obviously broke."

"But this developer is really bold. He's making a game all by himself and he dares to cram in a storyline? If he doesn't do a good job, he'll get a lot of flak."

"Other developers know their own limitations, so they basically don't create storylines. Even 'Graveyard' from ten years ago didn't have much of a storyline, so you dare to create one?"

"But to be fair, these kinds of horror games with words popping up above people's heads are quite atmospheric, quiet and eerie."

As they were talking, another female NPC also had words appear above her head.

'Let's play together. By drinking our blood, we can experience the inner world of everyone's minds.'

'That's how psychic games are, don't worry.'

Psychic?

Chishi sneered inwardly.

It's the same old story from horror games: there's always a group of people who are so bored that they have to go and provoke something unclean.

If the ghost really comes out, you'll get upset and start screaming.

At this moment, three options appeared before Akashi's eyes. [1. No need, Mr. Bu, I'll be in charge of recording.]

2. I don't touch these superstitious things; I'll just watch Mr. Bu and his friends play.

3. (Silence)

"There are dialogue options? Mr. Bu? That's a very rare surname."

Akaishi stroked his chin, frowned, and looked a little annoyed.

"What, you can't even give me a 'Sure, let's play together' option? Are you afraid I'll die on the spot? Or are you underestimating the courage of us players?"

"What kind of situation hasn't I, Brother Chishi, seen? In the previous 'Battle Royale,' I was a top ten player. My courage is already beyond measure."

At this moment, the live stream chat was flooded with comments.

Someone said: "Oh right, if it weren't for the fact that you played like Voldemort, lying on the ground for ages without daring to move, I would have really believed you were incredibly brave."

Some people said: Lao Yin is much more skilled than the streamer! He crawled the whole way and managed to get into the top ten, which is quite an achievement.

Some people even said: Do you like how I, the streamer Chishi, made it into the top ten by dodging people and getting 0 kills?

There was even a conspicuous message after that, which said: Follow the streamer and you won't get lost, the streamer will take you to live in the grass!

The moderators chimed in, saying, "What good is the guts you built up in battle royale games in a horror game? You might wet your pants, bro."

Damn it, these bastards are all haters!

Oh well, haters are fans too, I won't argue with you.

He cleared his throat, trying to save face: "At least I beat 'They Are All Ghosts' in 12 hours. How many of you would dare to touch that game?"

Upon hearing this, all the audience members immediately fell silent.

Brother Shi sneered and chose 1.

Immediately, words appeared rapidly above the bespectacled man's head.

'Then you can just sit there and take pictures.'

'It would be even better if we could capture a ghost on camera.'

After saying that, the four NPCs stopped typing and began preparing for the spirit communication.

At that moment, a line of text appeared before Brother Shi's eyes; it was the protagonist talking to himself.

They'll need a while to prepare; I'd better get myself a glass of water, I'm a little thirsty.

[Task Update: Go to the kitchen and get a glass of water.]

"Get some water? At this critical juncture? What strange mission is this?"

Akashi couldn't help but complain.

"Forget it, we'd better not meddle in the developers' business."

As he spoke, he went to the kitchen.

The light here was even dimmer than in the living room, and the tiles on the walls were covered in grime.

The hygiene conditions were truly poor, which suited the tone of a horror game.

Chishi looked around but couldn't find any drinking water facilities, except for that old-fashioned faucet.

Are you not a brother? Do you drink tap water?

Okay, let's not take the game too seriously.
Brother Shi picked up the cup, filled it with water, and drank it all in one gulp. However, he felt no sensation of liquid entering his mouth; it was like drinking air—a completely empty experience.

This is normal, since Skynet cannot satisfy people's desires for food and drink, so eating and drinking are just actions.

Of course, this includes pain.

At this point, the mission changed to 'begin filming the psychic session.'

And words appeared in front of the protagonist again.

'They should be starting soon; I'd better go out and film it.'

"Oh ho? It's finally starting? The main event is here!"

Akashi's spirits lifted slightly, and he walked out expectantly.

"Come on, let me see what kind of tricks this old, run-down apartment from the 90s, which I know so well, can still pull off for me."

"Returning the old corpse from the mountain village? What mountain village is there? Tsk tsk."

He muttered to himself as he quickly walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room.

At this moment, the four people were already seated around the round table in the center of the living room.

The pale white candles on the table had been lit at some point, their eerie flames flickering and vying with the dim yellow chandelier above, both reflecting on their lifeless faces and adding to the eeriness of the scene.

Akashi immediately spotted the old-fashioned DV camera on the sofa armrest, exuding a strong 1990s vibe.

"The equipment is quite retro and sophisticated."

He walked over, picked up his camera, and started taking pictures.

"Everyone, watch closely! This is the standard NPC's suicide routine. You're in for a good laugh."

At this moment, the four NPCs playing the spirit communication game on the round table each took a sip of the murky bloody water from the glass bowl.

Then, he poured some viscous, oily yellow liquid into another bowl and lit it with a lighter to heat it.

Then, the four of them slowly stretched out their hands, touched their fingertips together, closed their eyes, moved their lips, and began to mutter something under their breath.

It looks really weird.

Soon, the apartment fell into a deathly silence.

Only the faint whispers of the four people lingered, creating an extremely eerie atmosphere.

Akashi watched from the sidelines, a look of schadenfreude on his face.

Just then, the dim yellow chandelier overhead flickered with a "snap," as if due to a malfunction, and then began to flicker wildly, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, like blinking.

The interplay of light and shadow on the lifeless faces of the four NPCs made them appear even more eerie.

Akashi looked flustered, and his heart skipped a beat.

It's started so soon?

He hurriedly looked around to see if the ghost had come.

Suddenly, a creaking sound and a sharp, piercing friction noise broke the deathly silence of the scene.

Akashi was startled and turned his head to look, only to find that it was the sound of an empty wooden chair sliding backward suddenly.

And it didn't stop there; several chairs next to it seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, constantly sliding and rubbing against the ground.

But that's not all.

Immediately afterwards, there was a "sizzle" sound.

The large, bulky television in the living room suddenly lit up, its screen filled with static and emitting a continuous noise.

Faintly, Chi Shi seemed to hear a chilling Cantonese opera sound, like a ghost wailing, which made his scalp tingle.

Even the radio in the corner was turned on, and a heart-wrenching scream of a woman came through it.

Several sounds mingled together, echoing in the room and stimulating Akashi's nerves.

This made him a little flustered, and he looked around as he spoke.

"Hey buddy, it's like this, why aren't you running?"

"Is this table stuck to my butt or something?"

"If this were in reality, I would have jumped off a building to save my life long ago."

At this moment, the four NPCs around the round table were already terrified by these strange phenomena and screamed.

(End of this chapter)