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

The paid icon, shimmering with golden light, stood out starkly against the backdrop of the Corpse King's enormous figure.

Brother Long was stunned.

There was a five-second silence in the live stream.

Then came a deluge of question marks and ridicule.

【？？？？？】

[Am I seeing things? I couldn't beat the boss, and then a paid item popped up?]

[Hahahaha! Aurora Entertainment, as expected of you! Your greed is truly appalling!]

[9.9 yuan for a rocket launcher? Gao Qi, are you out of your mind? You're even making in-app purchases on a demo?]

[I finally understand why this game isn't scary; all the fear was diluted by this sudden notification that you need to spend money.]

[First, there was the dog-like game planner giving away games for free; now, the director is selling rocket launchers. The difference is obvious!]

Brother Long looked at the icon, then at the Corpse King's Bone Claw so close at hand, and his expression was incredibly interesting.

"Go to hell!"

Brother Long roared, choosing neither to pay nor to wait for death.

He quit the game immediately.

Then, facing the camera in the live stream, he raised two middle fingers.

Aurora Entertainment! Garbage!

"Gao Qi! You idiot!"

Brother Long's action became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The reputation of Dead Rising completely collapsed just half an hour after the demo was released.

The game rating section on the Nebula platform was flooded with angry players giving one-star reviews.

"Industrial waste, it's a waste of my time."

"It's like a sheep's head hanging up a Chinese horror movie, but it's actually dog ​​meat that's just reskinned and sold with pay-to-win elements."

"I'm sorry, I was too loud earlier. I apologize to 'Bloody Mary's Bathwater,' at least you didn't make me spend money."

Gao Qi's "Zombie Universe" project failed before it even began.

He himself became a laughing stock in the entire Federation gaming community.

……

Happiness Apartment, Room 404.

Hao Ren watched Brother Long's live stream recording with great interest.

When I saw the "$9.99" icon pop up, I couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"What a talent!"

He had assumed that Gao Qi would produce a mere "showpiece" that was all show and no substance.

Unexpectedly, he didn't even bother to pretend anymore, and his true intention was to "make money" was written all over his face.

This behavior can no longer be described as "arrogant".

That's pure stupidity.

He simply doesn't understand that the reason players are so fond of "Chinese horror" is not because it's "Chinese," but because it's "horrible."

It's a psychological fear stemming from the unknown, repression, and helplessness.

Gao Qi, however, turned it into a numerical game that could be solved with money.

This is undoubtedly going in the opposite direction.

"Alright."

Hao Ren smiled.

Gao Qi's suicidal charge actually helped him further solidify the orthodox status of "Chinese-style terror".

Now, all players in the Federation know.

If you want to play the real, authentic "underworld" game, you have to look for the "Good Guy" brand.

Hao Ren turned off Brother Long's live stream.

His gaze returned to the backstage monitoring system of "The Return of the Soul".

At this moment, Lu Zhixing explored his "sister's" room.

Under the protection of the paper bride's bell, the woman in blue on the stage seemed temporarily unable to pose a threat to him.

My sister's room is decorated very warmly.

On the dressing table sat an exquisite music box.

On the wall, there is also a family photo.

In the photo, Chen's "father" and "mother" stand in the back, with kind smiles on their faces.

In front of them stood a handsome young man and a cute girl with pigtails.

It was the "elder brother" and the "younger sister".

They looked so happy and content.

But who could have imagined that such a sordid and cruel deal was hidden behind this photo?

Lu Zhixing floated to the dressing table.

He found a note under the music box.

The handwriting on the note was delicate and childlike; it was "younger sister's" handwriting.

[December 21st]

Today, many uncles and aunties who perform traditional opera came to our house; it was so lively!

That night, I couldn't sleep, so I secretly went to the backyard to play. I saw my parents on the stage, praying to a mannequin dressed in red.

That mannequin is so beautiful, it looks like a female opera singer in a traditional Chinese opera costume.

They were still calling out their brother's name.

I'm so scared. I feel like something terrible is going to happen.

This is the diary left by his younger sister, which confirms Lu Zhixing's conjecture.

The Chen couple were indeed using the birth date and time of the woman in green to create the paper bride.

The younger sister accidentally stumbled upon this secret.

Lu Zhixing continued searching the room.

He quickly found a second clue under the bed.

It was a small wooden box.

The wooden box was locked.

But for Lu Zhixing, who was in spirit form, the lock was useless.

He went straight in.

Inside the wooden box was a pair of small embroidered shoes.

It's the same pair from the movie "The Embroidered Shoes"!

Next to the embroidered shoes, there was also a yellow talisman.

On the talisman paper, there were some distorted symbols drawn with cinnabar, which Lu Zhixing could not understand.

But on the back of the talisman, there were a few small characters written.

A talisman for warding off evil spirits, placed on the door, can protect you from them.

Lu Zhixing's heart stirred, and he immediately "floated" to the door of the room.

Sure enough, on the inside of the door, there was a mark left after the talisman was torn off.

He understood instantly.

After discovering the secret, the younger sister, out of fear, somehow obtained this "spirit-suppressing talisman" and pasted it on her door.

She wanted to use it to protect herself.

However, in ancient folk customs, water was considered a guide to yin.

The younger sister, in the end, drowned in the well in the backyard.

This talisman might be able to keep out the ghosts outside the door.

But it couldn't stop the water from seeping in from the well and from underground.

Even that couldn't stop the evil in people's hearts from coming from their own families.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhixing felt a chill run down his spine.

The details in this game are terrifying.

Just then.

He felt his soul tremble again.

Half of an hour has passed.

His body became more transparent than before.

We must hurry.

He left his sister's room, preparing to go to the last and most crucial place.

—The well in the backyard.

But when he "floated" to the backyard, he found that the well was gone.

Instead, there was a small path paved with bluestone slabs, emitting a faint phosphorescent glow, leading to an unknown destination.

On both sides of the path, there was only chaotic darkness.

At the end of the road, one can vaguely see the outlines of some buildings that resemble an ancient market.

The air was filled with the smell of burning paper money.

It also has the aroma of various foods mixed in.

But the aroma didn't whet any appetite; instead, it had an inexplicable eeriness.

You have discovered the entrance to the "Underworld Market".

This path only appears on the night of the seventh day after death, when yin and yang alternate.

[Whether to continue searching for the real culprit or step into uncharted territory, please make your choice.]

The system prompted that another multiple-choice question had been presented.

Lu Zhixing looked at the path leading to the Yin City and floated up without hesitation.

The real truth must lie at the end of that road!

The moment his feet stepped onto the bluestone path, the surrounding scenery instantly changed.

He seemed to pass through an invisible curtain of water.

next second.

A bizarre yet lifeless world unfolded before his eyes.

This place feels like an ancient night market.

Both sides of the road were lined with all sorts of stalls.

There were vendors selling steamed buns, wontons, and candied hawthorns.

But the stall owners all had blank expressions and empty eyes.

Their bodies, like Lu Zhixing's, were semi-transparent.

And the "people" walking on the street are even more bizarre and varied.

Some were missing limbs, and some had marks on their necks from strangulation.

There was another one who was carrying his own head while walking.

This is a market for ghosts, a paradise for the dead.

This is the "Yin Market".

Lu Zhixing floated on the street, watching this bizarre and wonderful scene, his heart filled with shock.

This "good guy" actually created a "hell" in the game.

As he was observing his surroundings...

A wonton vendor suddenly looked up at him.

She was an old woman without a chin.

She grinned at Lu Zhixing.

"New here?"

"I'd like a bowl of wontons."

"My wontons are made with the heart and liver of a living person; they smell wonderful..."