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

The red cloth fluttered up and slowly drifted to the ground.

Brother Long instinctively gripped the dagger in his hand, preparing to face a rotting ghost face or a gaping maw—this is a standard tactic in horror games, a jump scare.

However, there was no screaming, no sudden attack.

What appeared before him was a pale, delicate, yet lifeless face.

That's not a human face.

That's the face of a paper effigy.

Two exaggerated patches of blush were applied to her pale cheeks, and her lips were just a strange smile cut out of red paper.

Those eyes... they were painted on with a brush, only the whites of the eyes were visible, with a tiny black dot in the middle, staring straight ahead.

This deathly silence was more chilling than any scream.

"This...this is a mannequin?" Brother Long was stunned for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief and laughed heartily.

"That scared me to death! It turned out to be just a paper mannequin! That's it?"

He turned around and spread his hands in front of the live stream camera:

"Guys, did you see that? I told you this game was just bluffing!"

"Having a paper effigy sit here might seem a bit eerie, but it's completely intimidating!"

The viewers in the live stream also relaxed a little:

Indeed, it was quite frightening for a moment, but now it's not so scary.

If there's no movement, there's nothing fishy. Let's disperse.

[The art style is a bit strange, but this paper figure... why does it look like it's always smiling?]

To demonstrate his courage, Brother Long even poked the face of the paper bride: "The craftsmanship is quite exquisite, but the material... um?"

The moment his fingers touched the paper figure's face, the two green candles on the offering table suddenly went out.

The entire mourning hall was plunged into absolute darkness.

"What's going on? Is it a bug?" Brother Long complained.

In the darkness, the eerie suona sound rang out again.

But this time, the voice changed.

The music was no longer the mournful dirge, but became urgent, cheerful, and full of celebration, yet it was mixed with a kind of grating sound like fingernails scratching wooden boards.

creak-

creak-

That's... the sound of a coffin lid rubbing together.

Brother Long suddenly turned around, wanting to look at the coffin behind him.

But he suddenly realized that he couldn't move.

A new rule prompt popped up in the game, with bloody words plastered on his face:

Rule 1: The groom must not turn around during the wedding ceremony.

[Rule Two: The bride is shy and must not breathe before lighting the candles.]

Those who violate the rules will bear the consequences themselves.

"Screw the rules! I never follow the rules when I play games!" Brother Long cursed, desperately shaking his body in an attempt to break free from the system's control.

Just then, a small light appeared in front of him.

The paper bride held a match in her hand and gently struck it to light it.

The faint firelight illuminated that pale, paper-thin face.

Brother Long's pupils instantly shrank to the size of pinpoints.

The paper figure... moved.

Moreover, that face has changed.

The eyes that were originally drawn on have now become two dark, empty holes, from which two lines of bright red blood tears are flowing.

The smiling lips that were originally cut from red paper have now split open to the roots of the ears, revealing the dark and deep mouth inside.

"My lord..."

A mournful and melodious operatic voice rang out against Brother Long's cheek.

The sound didn't come from the headphones, but exploded directly in Brother Long's cerebral cortex through the VR neural connection!

"Aaaaaah!!"

Brother Long finally couldn't help but scream out in pain. He instinctively tried to back away, but found that his feet were rooted to the spot.

The paper bride slowly stood up, her joints making a sickening "crackling" sound.

Holding a match, she approached Brother Long step by step, his terrifying face magnified in the firelight.

"Why...don't you worship?"

call!

The bride blew out the match, facing Brother Long's face.

Darkness descended once more.

But this time, Brother Long felt something cold and dry, like a piece of paper, stick to his neck.

Countless small, icy hands began to roam over his body, and whispers filled his ears:

"Stay..."

"Play with us..."

"Your skin...is so nice..."

An overwhelming sense of fear overwhelmed Brother Long's psychological defenses like a tsunami.

This is not just visual horror, but a sense of powerlessness of being manipulated by unknown rules.

The ghosts here are not afraid of knives or guns.

They only follow the rules.

"I was wrong! I was wrong, big sister! Please don't kill me!!"

In the real world, millions of netizens watching the live stream witnessed a scene they will never forget.

The so-called "most daring guy in the entire server," Berserk Dragon Bro, was currently convulsing wildly in the VR stunt pod as if he were having an epileptic seizure, emitting distorted cries.

Immediately afterwards, in the live stream, Brother Long's character uncontrollably buckled in the knees.

thump!

He knelt heavily before the dark coffin and the unseen paper figure.

Then, Brother Long suddenly ripped off the stealth headband from his head, fell off the gaming chair, and scrambled to the corner of the wall.

His face was ashen, he was breathing heavily, and his eyes were unfocused.

"No...don't come any closer...I'm not getting married...I'm not getting married..."

The live stream fell into a deathly silence for three seconds.

Then, the comments section went completely crazy.

[Holy crap!!! Did Brother Long pee his pants in fear?!]

When that paper figure was being blew on, I felt my lights flicker!

[What kind of amazing game is this? No zombies, no monsters, not even a health bar, yet it scared Brother Long to his knees?]

What is this terrifying feeling that comes from the depths of my soul? I just felt like I would really die if I didn't kneel down!

……

Room 404, Happiness Apartment.

Hao Ren looked at the numbers jumping wildly on the backend data panel and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

[A large influx of fear points detected!]

[Current Fright Level: +500... +5000...]

[Congratulations, host! Your scare level has exceeded 10,000, unlocking LV2 item inventory access.]

[Unlock new material: Embroidered Shoes (Possessed by a vengeful spirit).]

……

Mad Dragon Bro huddled in the corner for a full five minutes before shakily picking up the soda on the table and gulping down a huge mouthful.

The cool liquid slid down his throat, finally giving him a sense of being back in reality.

He stared at the blacked-out live stream screen and the densely scrolling comments on it, and for the first time, his usual arrogance vanished from his face.

There was only a sense of bewilderment after surviving a catastrophe and...shame.

He, the Berserker Dragon, is the number one challenger in the Federation's "Big Heart" challenge.

A man who has played thousands of horror games, dismantled a bio-monster with his bare hands, and bathed in VR lava.

Today, I was so shocked by a free little game with a black and white photo on the cover that I knelt down in front of millions of people.

They even cried and begged for their parents.

"Hold."

Brother Long cursed under his breath, his voice hoarse.

He wasn't angry at the game, but at himself.

Why are you so afraid?

There were no bloody monsters, no deafening roars.

Throughout the entire ordeal, the "bride" never attacked him.

But it's that pervasive sense of oppression, that feeling of powerlessness bound by bizarre rules, that pollution that directly affects the mental level...

The sound of suona horns, paper money, green candles, paper figures...

These elements combined to create a nameless fear in him, as if the genes etched into his DNA had been activated.

"Brother, are you alright?"

The assistant cautiously pushed open the door and poked a head in.

He was startled to see Brother Long looking so distraught.

"Brother Long, you...you're scaring me. Should we call a psychologist?"

"roll!"

Brother Long roared, then waved his hand dejectedly.

"Edit the recording from earlier..."

His voice was somewhat hoarse.

"Cut? How do I cut it?"

"Brother Long, why don't you take today? This matter..."

"Cut the part where I was bragging earlier and the part where I knelt down at the end into a compilation."

Brother Long raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, yet revealing a fierce determination.

"The title is: 'I, the Mad Dragon, knelt down before a paper doll today.'"

The assistant was stunned.

"Huh? Brother Long, this... isn't this self-destruction? Your public image..."

"Screw that persona!"

Brother Long grabbed an empty can from the table and smashed it hard on the ground.

"After playing games for so many years, this is the first time I've ever known what 'fear' truly means!"

"This game is addictive! I'd rather drag everyone down with me than die alone!"

"Publish the video! Push it across all platforms!"

"I'll see if it's just me who's incompetent, or if all the players this generation are incapable!"

The video was released half an hour later.

As expected, the comment section was flooded with a lot of mockery and haters of Brother Long.

[Haha, clickbait title? Brother Long will kneel? He'll kneel down and kowtow to you!]

[It's definitely a prank, some new performance art, right?]

[Click here for some fun; I want to see how Brother Long acts.]

But as the video progressed, the tone of the comments section began to change strangely.

The video begins with Brother Long's usual arrogance.

"What red veil? A dating simulator?"

"Today, Brother Long will teach the author what 'education of love' truly means!"

The comments section was filled with "Brother Long is awesome!"

The scene changes, and you enter the game.

The moment that mournful suona sound rang out, the atmosphere in the comments section subtly changed.

This background music... it's kind of catchy, it's giving me the creeps.

When Brother Long entered the old house with white lanterns and saw the paper money scattered all over the courtyard, some Federation players' understanding began to crack.

These snowflakes are quite unique, but they look rather unlucky.

[This isn't a snowflake, it's...money? Why is it white with holes?]