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

The real terror began to permeate the air when that pitch-black coffin appeared.

The editor of the live stream video was very skilled; he preserved Brother Long's fear and forced composure with a dry laugh exactly as they were.

When the red-clad paper bride sat quietly on the armchair, the video's comments section experienced its first massive flood.

Holy crap! This thing is way scarier than zombies!

"Don't go, Brother Long! This thing looks creepy!"

In the video, Brother Long is still stubbornly insisting: "What's there to be afraid of! As long as my health bar is up, I'll kill even a god!"

Then he walked over, reached out his hand, and lifted the veil.

A pale, paper-like face with exaggerated blush, and eyes with only ink dots.

At that moment, countless netizens who were watching the video via holographic projection subconsciously took a step back.

Immediately afterwards, the candlelight went out, darkness descended, and the rules emerged.

The paper figure moved.

The drawn mouth was split open all the way to the ears.

Those painted eyes shed two lines of bloody tears.

The most fatal blow was the "My lord..." that rang out so close to her face.

The video editing juxtaposed Long Ge's screams with footage of him convulsing in real life.

Finally, there was that earth-shattering kneeling.

thump!

The image freezes.

The entire comment section fell silent for three seconds.

Then, like water boiling, it boiled completely.

[Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit! I'm stunned! Brother Long really knelt down?!]

[When that paper figure was being blew on, I swear my lights flickered! I'm not kidding!]

[What the hell is this horror game? This is illogical! How can a paper doll scare people like this? What about its attack hitboxes? What about its damage numbers?]

[You upstairs don't know anything! This isn't a physical attack! This is mental pollution! It's rule-based killing! You broke its rules, so it can take you down!]

I take back what I said before, this game... I'm too scared to play it.

I watched the scene where he knelt down ten times. I could feel Brother Long's despair. It wasn't acting; he was genuinely broken down!

The video's popularity skyrocketed at an astonishing rate.

In just one hour, it garnered over ten million views.

Within three hours, it topped the Nebula platform's trending list.

Terms like "red veil," "paper bride," and "Brother Long kneeling" dominated the trending topics on the federal social network.

Countless game streamers, video creators, and entertainers have turned their attention to that free game tucked away in a corner of the beginner's area, its cover simply a black and white photograph.

—The Red Veil.

……

Happiness Apartment, Room 404.

On the virtual screen in front of Hao Ren, data streams refreshed like a waterfall.

[Ding! Received a massive amount of Shock Points from player "Rampaging Dragon Bro" +999!]

[Ding! You've received 10 scare points from viewer "The Cat Who Loves to Eat Fish"!]

[Ding! You've received 15 points of shock from viewer "The Most Handsome Man in the Federation"!]

【…】

The shock value collection database in the background, which originally only had a few hundred points, is now jumping wildly in an unreasonable way.

Ten thousand...

Thirty thousand...

100,000!

Two hundred thousand!

The rate of growth in numbers shows no signs of slowing down.

Hao Ren calmly tore open a tube of cheap instant nutritional paste, squeezed it into his mouth, and tasted like paste as always.

His gaze fell on the data analysis module below the light screen.

[Analysis of the source of fear:]

[Creating an atmosphere of uncertainty: Contribution rate 21%]

[Feeling powerless due to the constraints of rules: 35% contribution rate]

[The uncanny valley effect of paper dolls: contributing 18%]

[Suona background music causing mental pollution: Contribution rate 26%]

"Turns out, the scariest things are the rules and the suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument).

Hao Ren seemed to be deep in thought.

He had watched countless horror movies in his previous life and knew that the essence of Chinese horror lay not in visual monsters, but in psychological suggestion and awe of the unknown rules.

The players in this world are used to solving everything with violence.

Give them a gun, and they feel safe.

But what is the use of the gun in "The Red Veil"?

Would you dare to shoot at the paper doll that might be your "bride"?

Even if it's opened, will it be of any use?

It's just a paper figure.

But it can move, blow out candles, and make you kneel down.

This contradiction, which cannot be explained by existing logic, is the root of fear.

[Congratulations, host! Your shock value has exceeded 300,000!]

[Level 2 item inventory access is now secure; the item list has been refreshed.]

[New redeemable materials:]

[1. Ghost Wall Logic Module: Can generate a loop space, causing players to endlessly spin in the same spot. Exchange Price: 8 Fright Points.]

[2. Sleep Paralysis Module: Forcibly deprives the player of their ability to move and inflicts a feeling of suffocation. Price: 10 Fright Points.]

[3. Horror Opera Sound Effects Pack (Beginner): Includes terrifying variations of classic opera excerpts such as "Exploring the Clear Water River" and "The Locked Sachet." Price: 30 Horror Points.]

【…】

Hao Ren's gaze swept across the product list.

They're all good stuff.

Especially "ghost wall" and "ghost sleep paralysis" are simply the ultimate torture for players.

However, he wasn't in a hurry.

The popularity of "The Red Veil" has only just begun to take off.

He wanted to let that seed of fear fly a little longer.

……

Aurora Entertainment Building, top-floor conference room.

A group of elites in suits sat around a huge circular conference table.

Manager Liu stood in front of the holographic projection, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

The video being projected was of Brother Long kneeling down.

"...These are the most talked-about events online right now." Manager Liu's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"This free game called 'Red Veil' captured more than 70% of our 'Biohazard 9' promotional traffic in just a few hours."

Seated in the main seat was a middle-aged man with a refined and scholarly demeanor, wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

He is Gao Qi, the director of the game production department at Aurora Entertainment.

Gao Qi's gaze fell on the still paper bride in the picture, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"The modeling is rough, the textures are rudimentary, and there's almost no scene interaction," a technical manager said first, his tone full of disdain.

"Aside from the somewhat interesting atmosphere, this thing doesn't even qualify as a proper demo."

"I agree," the planning director chimed in.

"Its core gameplay is a one-time jump scare; once a player is fooled, they won't fall for it again."

"Things that rely on gimmicks to grab attention won't last more than three days."

"Then how do you explain its heat?" Gao Qi finally spoke, his voice calm, yet it lowered the temperature in the conference room by several degrees.

Everyone fell silent.

Manager Liu forced a smile and replied, "Director, this...this is because of that streamer's hype!"

"He deliberately made exaggerated reactions to attract attention!"

"Moreover, this unprecedented 'retro style' offers players a temporary sense of novelty."

"Novelty?" Gao Qi smiled. "Manager Liu, I remember, the creator of this game, isn't his name Hao Ren?"

Manager Liu's heart skipped a beat.

"He...he used to be the art designer in our department, but I fired him because of his terrible work attitude."

"Fired?" Gao Qi's eyes sharpened. "A marginal employee who can be fired at will has produced something that is now putting our AAA masterpiece, which has cost hundreds of millions, to shame."

"Mr. Gao, this was just an accident! He was just lucky, it was a lucky break!" Manager Liu hurriedly explained.

"This garbage doesn't even deserve to be compared to our 'Biohazard 9'!"

"Give me a day, and I promise I'll make it disappear from the trending topics!"

Gao Qi waved his hand noncommittally.

"No need."

He stood up, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and looked down at the bustling city below.

"I understand that the market needs new stimulus."

"But unorthodox methods can never be truly respectable."

He turned around with a confident smile on his face.

"Let the online trolls get involved and steer public opinion in the direction of 'the game using illegal neurostimulants'."

"At the same time, we contacted the Nebula platform and demanded that the game be removed from the platform on the grounds that it 'promotes feudal dross and causes psychological trauma to players.'"

"Yes!" Manager Liu was overjoyed.

"As for ourselves..." Gao Qi paused, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes, "notify the publicity department to release the original artwork of our final BOSS in 'Biohazard Frenzy 9', 'Sew-on Abomination'."

"Let those unsophisticated players see what true horror aesthetics are."

……

And at this moment.

Lin Xue, known as "Professor Iceberg," is a top anchor in the knowledge popularization section of the Nebula Live platform.

A female PhD known for her calmness, rationality, and analytical skills.

Her live stream announcement instantly attracted the attention of the entire internet.

"Tonight at 8 PM, I will scientifically analyze the source of fear in 'The Red Veil' from the perspectives of psychology, neuroscience, and visual illusion."

"It's nothing more than a cheap scam exploiting information asymmetry."

"I will prove that as long as we remain rational, the idea of ​​ghosts and gods is utterly untenable."

Below this trailer are countless comments from players.

[The professor has finally made his move! Quick! Use your paper to smash that paper bride to death!]

[I have a bad feeling... Brother Long's DNA has been altered, can science... withstand it?]

Hao Ren stared at the trailer, the balm still on his lips.

He smiled.

science?

Ok.

Chinese-style horror, its favorite thing is to reason with people.

I'm going to talk about principles you won't understand.

He opened the editing backend and gently typed a new trigger command deep within the game code of "Red Veil".

[When the player gazes at the bride for more than 10 seconds and their heart rate is below 80, a hidden event—"Serving Tea"—will be triggered.]