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

Chapter 27 is good, very inspiring!

The seventh day after death? A return of the soul? Whose soul is returning?

Naturally, this refers to the character the player plays in the game "囍" (Xi), the nominal "groom" of the Chen family, but the actual sacrificial "eldest brother".

This "good guy" actually wants to make a game where players can play as ghosts going home?

Lu Zhixing took off his black-rimmed glasses and rubbed his temples.

His previous analyses were all based on the premise that players are "human".

Whether it's lifting the veil in "The Red Veil" or searching for relatives in "The Embroidered Shoes," players always explore that eerie world as a "living being."

However, once the identity changes from "living person" to "ghost," the underlying logic of the entire game will undergo a radical change.

People are afraid of ghosts.

What's there to be afraid of, ghost?

When people walk, do ghosts float along?

If humans can open doors, can ghosts walk through walls?

Lu Zhixing's brain was working at lightning speed, and countless new topics emerged in his mind.

He put his glasses back on, and a hint of excitement appeared on his handsome face.

This developer, nicknamed "Good Guy," always manages to bring him new surprises.

Clearly, this is an attempt to construct an alternate world with its own independent worldview and strict rules.

at the same time.

Professor Chen's video of perfectly completing "The Embroidered Shoes" is going viral on the federal network.

The ancient phrase "paying respects to the boss" became a viral sensation across the internet overnight.

Countless players flocked to "The Embroidered Shoes," imitating Professor Chen, bowing and making obeisances before the dilapidated stone niche, muttering incantations.

"Lord Earth, please give me some face."

"Brother, we're on the same side, please do me a favor."

"You've paid the protection money, now let me through!"

Of course, 99.9% of players failed to trigger the "manifestation" easter egg of the Earth God.

Their "sincerity value" is basically negative in the system's judgment, but this does not stop them from having a lot of fun.

……

Aurora Entertainment Building, top floor.

Gao Qi had just finished a meeting, his face showing a hint of fatigue, but more so a kind of desperate excitement.

He has already made plans.

The first step was to leverage Aurora Entertainment's powerful marketing channels to launch a massive campaign promoting the concept of "new Chinese horror."

Based on the advice of federal folklore experts, the elements that were unearthed, such as "zombies" and "Taoists," which are more visually striking and more in line with the aesthetics of federal players, were defined as "Chinese Horror 2.0."

Hao Ren's "ghost marriages" and "paper figures" are outdated, old-fashioned version 1.0.

Use the power of discourse to seize the power of definition.

The second step was to assemble the hundreds of studios acquired through acquisitions, along with the company's top technical team, to produce a high-definition demo—"Zombie Rising: Origins"—within a month.

The story is set in a fictional ancient Eastern dynasty.

Players take on the role of a "royal Taoist priest" who has returned from learning advanced gunpowder technology in the West. They use various modified "magical weapons," such as enchanted shotguns and steam-powered saws engraved with runes, to fight against an army of zombies mutated by a plague.

Its main selling points are the ultimate sense of exhilaration and visual spectacle.

He wants players to know that so-called "Chinese horror" can also be very "exciting" and "explosive".

"President Gao, this is the original artwork for the BOSS 'Corpse King' that our art department worked on overnight."

Manager Liu bowed and scraped as he handed over a hologram.

The image shows a gigantic zombie, comparable in size to an abomination and at least five meters tall.

It wore a tattered dragon robe, its skin was bluish-black, its muscles were bulging, and it was covered with pustules and lividity.

Its ten fingers are sharp bone claws that are half a meter long.

Behind it, there were nine large flags painted with evil spirits.

Full of oppression.

"Hmm." Gao Qi nodded in satisfaction.

This is the BOSS he understands.

This is the kind of monster that can truly instill fear and despair in players.

In comparison, what is Hao Ren, that paper bride who only serves tea and water and sheds two lines of black tears, anyway?

Just then, Gao Qi's personal terminal suddenly emitted a rapid notification sound.

It's a server-wide announcement pushed by the Nebula platform.

[For those who achieve a perfect S-rank completion of "Double Happiness," the final chapter—"The Night of Return of the Soul"—will be unlocked.]

【free.】

Gao Qi's pupils suddenly contracted.

"The Return of the Soul"?

The final chapter?

This Hao Ren, he actually has a backup plan?

And it's free!

Doesn't this guy know what monetization is?

Is he really making games out of pure love?

Gao Qi's face instantly turned extremely ugly.

He painstakingly plotted here how to use capital and industrialization to encircle and annihilate Hao Ren.

The other party simply threw out the bait of a "free sequel" and easily focused the attention of the entire internet back on themselves.

"It's that little trick again..." Gao Qi gritted his teeth and hissed in a low voice.

"Mr. Gao, please don't be angry," Manager Liu quickly tried to appease him. "This...this might just be a delaying tactic!"

"We know how difficult 'Double Happiness' is."

"That 'leader of the Scientology Cult' only managed a lucky S-level rating when playing 'The Red Veil'."

"Professor Chen passed the 'Embroidered Shoes' challenge thanks to decades of accumulated knowledge of folk customs. That's a unique case and cannot be replicated."

"This 'Double Happiness' combines the essence of the previous two works, making it even more challenging!"

"An S-rank perfect clear? I bet no player will be able to do that within a month!"

Manager Liu's analysis was very logical and reasonable.

"Our Dead Rising demo should be online in a month!"

"By then, players will have long forgotten about this 'Return of the Souls' game!"

Gao Qi's expression softened slightly as he listened to Manager Liu's analysis.

That's right.

Achieving an S-rank clear is easier said than done.

This is nothing more than a pie in the sky painted by Hao Ren.

"Keep a close eye on the data from the Nebula platform," Gao Qi coldly ordered.

"I'd like to see who gets this ticket to 'The Return of the Dead'."

"Yes, Mr. Gao!"

……

Hao Ren's announcement caused a huge uproar among the players.

"Holy crap! This guy's so generous! More free games to play!"

"S-rank clear? Brothers, don't stop me, I'm going to kowtow to my 'parents'!"

"Upstairs, stop kowtowing. I just tried it, kowtowing doesn't work. My 'mother' still put a paper chicken leg on my plate and I died on the spot."

"I tried to warm my hands like Brother Long, but my 'wife' didn't seem to like it. She slapped me across the face and called me a pervert..."

"Hahaha, that's hilarious! Looks like everyone's 'wife' has a different temper?"

In an instant, the entire "Underworld Zone" was in an uproar once again.

Countless players flocked to "囍" and began trying to conquer this "hellish ethical masterpiece" in all sorts of bizarre ways.

They went forward one after another, undeterred by setbacks.

Some people tried to break the deadlock using physical methods, such as flipping the table, but they were rubbed to the ground by the two paper figures of "father" and "mother".

Someone tried to persuade the paper bride with words, reciting the federal marriage law to her for half an hour. However, the bride deemed this "spreading heresy" and suffocated the paper bride with a red veil.

Some people even try to take shortcuts.

For example, the Berserk Dragon Brother.

In his live stream, he clicked on "囍" again.

"Guys, we played the elopement scenario last time, right?"

Brother Long blushed as he looked at the screen full of "The Federation's Number One Son-in-Law" in the live stream.

"I've studied that plot; it's a dead end."

"The key to achieving an S-rank clear lies in that opening 'reunion dinner'!"

Brother Long took a deep breath and took out a bottle of... paraquat from the first-aid kit next to him.

No, it's a bottle of highly concentrated nutrient solution.

"Today, I'm going to perform for you all: the Iron Stomach King swallows a paper feast whole!"

He wants to break the rules in the simplest and most brutal way.

It's just eating, isn't it?

It's just drinking, isn't it?

I'll eat and drink right now for you!

If I eat everything on the table and move my "parents" in the underworld, will I be able to clear the game with an S rank?

With this in mind, Brother Long put on the headband.

[Game loading...]

The familiar old alleyway, the familiar vermilion gate.

Brother Long readily recognized his relatives, called out "Mother," and squeezed through the crack in the door.

The familiar eight-immortal table, the familiar paper-crafted banquet.

"Mother, I'm back!"

This time, Brother Long didn't even sit down. He went straight to the table, picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a paper chicken, and stuffed it into his mouth.

He wanted to get all of this done before the rules came into being.

But the moment he stuffed the paper chicken into his mouth...

[Warning: You have not been invited to sit and have taken any offerings without permission. This is extremely disrespectful!]

[Punishment: A thousand ghosts will devour your heart.]

The scene before Brother Long's eyes instantly turned blood red.

Countless pale hands reached out from all directions, grabbed his body, and dragged him into the boundless darkness.

"ah--!"

In reality, Brother Long screamed and ripped off his headband.

There was a three-second silence in the live stream room.

Then came a deluge of "hahahahaha".

[Hilarious! Brother Long has come up with something new again!]

Stealing offerings? Is that even allowed?