You made all the streamers on the internet kneel before you when you were asked to make a game.

The eyes of the entire Federation were focused on this small live broadcast room.

An old professor who has spent his life studying ancient folklore is about to take on a horror game that even top players have failed at.

This in itself is a highly dramatic event.

[Game loading...]

[Friendly reminder: The roads are slippery in the rain, please watch your step.]

Before Professor Chen's eyes appeared that familiar ancient courtyard, with a light drizzle falling.

The air was filled with the smell of damp earth.

I could hear the faint sound of a little girl crying.

"My shoes... my shoes..."

The viewers in the live stream were on the edge of their seats.

They felt as if they had returned to the scene when they watched the cult leader's live stream.

But Professor Chen's next move was completely different from the cult leader's.

He simply held the oil-paper umbrella that came with the system and walked steadily to the corner of the courtyard, in front of the inconspicuous stone shrine.

The shrine was small and empty, filled with dust and cobwebs.

Professor Chen did not find it offensive.

He folded his oil-paper umbrella and let the cold rain pelt him.

Then he straightened his clothes, bowed respectfully three times to the empty shrine.

Every movement was meticulous and full of ritual.

The viewers in the live stream were stunned.

[So... you've already paid your respects?]

Bowing to a pile of broken stones? Is the professor serious?

[I feel like this is even more eerie than directly searching for a ghost...]

After bowing, Professor Chen straightened up.

He did not "light an incense stick" as he said he would.

Because there is no "fragrance" item in the game.

He simply stood before the shrine and spoke slowly in a calm and respectful tone.

"The Earth God is above."

"I am Chen Keji, a junior scholar, passing by your esteemed place today. I hope you will forgive any inconvenience caused."

"There is a lost little girl outside the door. She has a pitiful past, is filled with resentment, and cannot return home."

"I wish to bring him inside to find his birth mother, resolve his obsession, and send him to the afterlife."

"This matter may go against the order of Yin and Yang, but saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda."

"We earnestly request the local deity to grant us temporary use of this land."

"After the matter is accomplished, I will certainly rebuild the golden statue, construct a new temple, and offer incense to it. I will never forget this."

His words were spoken in a refined and elegant manner, with intonation and rhythm.

The tens of millions of young viewers in the live stream were completely bewildered.

[Gibberish... What is the professor saying?]

I recognize each word individually, but why can't I understand it when they're put together?

[The gist of it is something like, you greet the local earth god, tell him you're bringing a ghost in, and ask him not to interfere?]

Lu Zhixing was completely stunned in his apartment.

He felt as if his brain had been violently struck.

When he plays games, he treats NPCs as advanced AI, trying to use logic and emotion to crack their code.

Professor Chen, from the very beginning, regarded these "ghosts and gods" as real, existing "people" who needed to be respected and communicated with.

in the game.

After Professor Chen finished speaking, he stood quietly in the rain and waited.

one second.

two seconds.

ten seconds.

Nothing happened.

The shrine was still the same dilapidated shrine.

The rain is still falling.

The little girl's cries still echoed in my ears.

Some questions began to appear in the live stream chat.

[It didn't work? I thought there would be some kind of amazing flash of light!]

[After all that effort, it was all for nothing?]

I knew it! It's just a game, there's no need to make it so complicated.

But Professor Chen showed no sign of disappointment.

He simply bowed deeply to the shrine once more with patience.

"Thank you for your help, Earth God."

After saying that, he reopened the oil-paper umbrella, turned around, and walked towards the gate.

The moment he turned around, all the spectators saw it.

Something suddenly appeared out of thin air in the stone shrine that was originally empty.

It was a short stick of incense that was burning.

Blue smoke rose in wisps.

In the rain, a strange vortex formed and lingered for a long time.

The live stream fell silent instantly; all the dissenting voices disappeared, leaving only a screen full of "Holy crap!"

【! ! ! 】

[It smells good! It really smells good! How did it appear?!]

[My scalp is tingling! Are there really cheaters in this game?!]

[You damn game designer, just how many things have you hidden in the game?!]

Happiness Apartment, Room 404.

Hao Ren looked at the wisps of smoke rising from the screen, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

This Professor Chen is quite something.

The setting of this "land temple" is indeed a very deep foreshadowing he laid.

The triggering condition is not simply bowing or offering incense.

Rather, players must have a genuine sense of awe for the "rules" of this world.

Your words, actions, and attitudes will be captured by the system and used to determine a hidden "sincerity value".

Only when the "sincerity value" reaches the standard will the land god "manifest his power".

Countless players, including the leader, had previously treated this place as just an ordinary scene decoration.

Only Professor Chen truly treated it as someone who needed to be "communicated with".

in the game.

Having obtained the "permission" from the land god, Professor Chen no longer hesitated.

He walked to the half-closed wooden door.

The little girl's crying could be heard from behind the door.

"Child, don't be afraid."

Professor Chen's voice was gentle and kind.

"I'm Grandpa Chen, who was just passing by."

"Did you leave your shoes inside?"

"Grandpa will help you find it, and then take you...home, okay?"

The crying behind the door paused for a moment.

It seems to be trying to distinguish between good and evil in this sound.

A few seconds later.

A timid, tearful child's voice rang out.

"Grandpa...I...I can't get in..."

"Mom...Mom is inside getting married...I can't find her..."

"Don't be afraid." Professor Chen pushed open the door and went inside.

"With Grandpa here, no one can stop you from going home."

He walked into that familiar, dark corridor.

In the middle of the corridor, he saw the pair of red embroidered shoes lying quietly on the ground.

He bent down and carefully held the embroidered shoes in his hands.

Then he turned around and spoke softly to the empty darkness behind him.

"Child, let's go."

"Grandpa, I'll take you to find your mother."

After saying that, he started walking towards the depths of the corridor.

This time.

There were no footsteps behind him.

Everything was eerily quiet.