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

The night is getting darker.

On the Nebula live streaming platform, Lin Xue's live stream room was already packed with viewers.

The number of online viewers exceeded five million.

This number even surpasses that of many top-tier celebrity concert live streams.

In the center of the screen is a woman with a cool and aloof demeanor.

She wore frameless glasses and a simple white lab coat, with a study filled with various books and instruments in the background.

She is Lin Xue, known as the "Iceberg Professor".

"Good evening, everyone." Lin Xue's voice was calm and pleasant.

"I know that everyone came to my live stream today for this recently popular game - 'Red Veil'."

On the large screen behind her, the black-and-white cover photo of "The Red Veil" appeared.

The comments section immediately started scrolling.

[Let's fight! The professor confronts the paper bride head-on!]

[I'm all set to take notes, to see how this hellish thing works.]

Protect our professor! Don't let her follow in Brother Long's footsteps!

Lin Xue adjusted her glasses, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

Before we begin the game, I'd like to share a few psychological concepts with you.

"First, there's the 'uncanny valley' effect."

"When a non-human entity, like this paper figure, resembles a human to a certain extent in appearance and movement, humans will feel disgust and fear towards it..."

"Secondly, there is the fear of information asymmetry."

"The suona, paper money, coffins... these elements are completely foreign to our Federation's cultural system."

"And the unknown is itself a powerful source of fear."

Lin Xue paused for a moment, then concluded: "Therefore, the horror of 'The Red Veil' does not come from how sophisticated the game itself is, but from its opportunistic exploitation of cultural barriers... It takes advantage of our ignorance."

"Today, I will shatter this ignorance."

Lin Xue's tone was full of confidence.

"I have connected multiple physiological monitoring devices, including heart rate, EEG, and skin conductance."

"I will let the data tell everyone that the so-called 'mental pollution' is nothing more than a normal physiological reaction of arrhythmia and adrenaline surge."

"Now, let's get into the game."

After saying that, she calmly put on the neural connection headband.

The live stream screen was split in two.

On the left is Lin Xue's calm and composed face in reality, and next to it is a steadily beating physiological data graph.

On the right is the game's first-person perspective.

[Game loading...]

[Friendly Reminder: This game contains strong psychological suggestion...]

Lin Xue directly selected "Skip".

It's black in front of you.

The soul-piercing suona sound rang out precisely on time.

"Yes, it's here." Lin Xue's voice remained steady. "High-frequency, penetrating instrument sounds can easily cause people to feel irritable and anxious."

"This is its first psychological trap."

She opened her eyes and saw the courtyard filled with paper money.

"By using visual symbols, the imagery of 'death' is reinforced, thus deepening the psychological suggestion."

She walked step by step toward the old house, each step feeling like she was dissecting a frog.

"The threshold is very high. This is a style of ancient architecture. In psychology, a high threshold gives the person entering a sense of ritual of 'crossing the boundary,' making you subconsciously believe that the inside and outside of the door are two different worlds."

The comments section was filled with praise like "I learned something new".

[As expected of a professor, he analyzed this game so clearly!]

[So it was all a setup! Now that you mention it, I don't feel so scared anymore.]

Lin Xue walked into the main hall.

Green candlelight, black coffin.

Her physiological data showed that her heart rate rose slightly from 75 to 82.

"Using unusual colors to create a sense of unease."

"Green light does not conform to our understanding of candlelight and will arouse suspicion."

"As for this box..."

She walked up to the coffin and even reached out to knock on it.

Bang bang.

"It's made of solid wood and the workmanship is quite good."

"In our culture, boxes are usually used for storage."

"But combined with the previous death symbols, the author is probably trying to imply a 'container'."

"A container holding the 'unknown'."

Her analysis made the millions of viewers in the live stream feel like their IQs had been raised.

It turns out that what is called terror, when broken down, is nothing more than a combination of psychological techniques.

Just then, the blood-red mission objective appeared.

[Mission Objective: Lift the bride's red veil and complete the wedding ceremony.]

Lin Xue's gaze fell on the armchair next to the coffin.

The red-clad paper figure had been sitting there for some time now.

The chat in the live stream froze for a moment.

Even with mental preparation, the menacing red paired with the eerie green light still delivered a strong visual impact.

Lin Xue's heart rate jumped to 90.

"The core element of terror, the embodiment of the 'uncanny valley effect'."

Instead of backing away, she took a few steps forward and carefully observed the paper figure.

"Look, its joints are reversed, and the proportions of its head and body are also out of proportion."

"These details are constantly telling our brains: This is not a person, this is a dangerous substance."

She stood there in front of the paper figure, quietly looking at it.

She didn't use foul language to provoke him like Brother Long, nor did she immediately lift the veil.

She is analyzing and deconstructing.

Ten seconds passed.

Her heart rate, after a long period of calm analysis, even slowly dropped from 90 to 85, and then back to 80.

The viewers in the live stream breathed a sigh of relief.

[Professor is awesome! His heart rate actually went down!]

See? As long as you're more indifferent than it, it can't do anything to you!

[Paper Doll: What's wrong with this year's players? They're not playing by the rules at all!]

But just as Lin Xue's heart rate dropped below 80, the paper bride who had been sitting still suddenly moved.

It slowly picked up a cup of tea that had appeared beside it at some unknown time.

Then, facing Lin Xue, he made a "please" gesture.

At the same time, a new line of blood-red words appeared before Lin Xue.

[Hidden Event: Serving Tea.]

The bride offers you tea; please kneel to accept it.

[Rule: Gifts from elders cannot be refused.]