I'm just an internet cafe owner

"Exactly, isn't it more satisfying than Resident Evil?"

"Not being able to fight back, doesn't that seem a bit fake?"

"Huh? This looks a little scary..."

As the most normal person among them, she was actually terrified when she looked at the scene.

Liu Yuan also felt that it was about time, and calmly took off his glasses.

"Look, it's just a simple hide-and-seek game. If you hide successfully, that's the name of the game; if you lose, you can play again. You should try it out for yourselves so you can introduce it to your customers when you open your shop."

"it is good!"

Although it doesn't look fun, since the boss has spoken, the employees will definitely have to play it themselves and make recommendations based on the game content.

However, before playing, Kisara subconsciously asked, "What are the rewards for this game?"

"It seems that completing the entire game rewards you with a set of nanomolecules. It sounds like technology, but it inexplicably targets the undead and can greatly restore injuries, similar to a fungal virus? However, it's weaker. But the advantage of this game is that anyone can play it, even if you have no combat talent at all."

Kisara thought seriously and said, "Indeed, games like Resident Evil have a certain learning curve. This game seems to have no difficulty at all. Playing this and then Resident Evil, with the difficulty gradually increasing, feels like a good strategy for beginners."

Mu Geng rarely considered things from the perspective of the internet cafe's interests, a sight that made Liu Yuan feel a little sorry for him.

"But seeing how badly the boss played it in practice, let me teach him how to play hide-and-seek!"

Liu Yuan looked somewhat flustered in the game, even appearing somewhat disoriented in Mu Geng's eyes. She assumed this was because Liu Yuan wasn't good at this type of hide-and-seek game and didn't know where to hide.

And me? I'm a demon! What are demons best at? Of course, it's dodging and weaving. Today, I'll let her teach Liu Yuan how to play games.

These words completely extinguished any remaining kindness in Liu Yuan's heart. He smiled and said, "Alright! Perfect, I'll learn from you. By the way, this game isn't long; you can finish it in five hours at most. You can play through it to understand the game's mechanics, and then I can introduce it to everyone tomorrow."

"Good~"

"Since you guys are so energetic, I'm going to bed now~ Goodnight~"

"Haha, the boss is so weak, go to sleep."

Jibril figured she wouldn't be able to steal any clothes today, so she decided to make some sarcastic remarks.

"Yes, I'm going to sleep."

After saying that, Liu Yuan went back to his room.

Kisara complained, "The boss is really hopeless; he can't even figure out how to play a new game."

Chelsea asked warily, "I have a feeling this game is weird. Is it particularly scary? Maybe I shouldn't play it?"

Jibril retorted dismissively, "Humans are weak. How can you recommend this game to others if you don't play it yourself?"

"Okay, I'll play."

Chelsea steeled herself. It was just a game; how could it eat her? When Liu Yuan was playing...

There were a few mistakes, but it was still fine, wasn't it?

Inside the room, Liu Yuan didn't lock the door this time. Instead, he took out a stool and sat by the door, listening to the sounds downstairs.

"Holy crap! That's terrifying! System, you're really something else!"

That's right! Liu Yuan came back because he got scared while playing a game. Playing games and watching videos on the computer was indeed a game of hide-and-seek.

But once you enter the game, it's a completely different story. The air is thick with the stench of blood and terrifying sounds, along with the constant hunting of your prey. But that's not the scariest part. The scariest part is that you're incredibly weak in the game, the kind of person who gets breathless after just a few steps.

That's not all; what's even more terrifying is that this game is completely immersive. It involves complete emotional engagement and a profound understanding of the world. If previous "real difficulty" games were about balancing your own stats before engaging in combat...

Escape means you become an ordinary person with no ability to resist, only able to survive by hiding in a mental hospital, or even forget your own body outside the game after entering the game.

Liu Yuan, being the boss, instructed the system to reduce the sense of fear when he entered the game, thus ensuring that he didn't embarrass himself during the trial.

But...

"Time's almost up! Three! Two! One!"

As the countdown ended, shouts, cries, pleas for help, and defiant voices came from below.

Liu Yuan silently took out a box of instant noodles from the cabinet and ate it while enjoying the sounds below.

"Hiss~ Ha~"

At this moment, Liu Yuan felt that all his forbearance had been worthwhile. He hadn't expected the system to be so powerful; even the weakened version he was playing with had terrified him. He even said that if it weren't for maintaining the connection between his body and consciousness while acting, he wouldn't have been able to control the changes in his real body.

If he's in this state, imagine what the four network administrators below him must be like.

"System, at what level is this sense of immersion ineffective?"

After a long silence, the system replied: "Completely devoid of emotion, or ineffective at the same level as the Circle of Truth. Some players may not experience such a strong sense of fear due to incomplete souls or excessively powerful hearts."

"But you'll still feel scared, right? That's enough. Come on, let me write a review."

Hearing the terrified sounds below, Liu Yuan silently closed and locked the door, then opened TT and personally wrote a recommendation on the forum.

"Escape is a live-action hide-and-seek game where you can gain courage, confidence, and lost emotions. After completing the game, you can experience the frustrations and desires of ordinary people. Because the game has a short storyline and is relatively easy to complete, it is 50% off! Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

As Liu Yuan posted the recommendation, he heard cursing and crying at the door, while he was happily laughing inside.

The door was a system lock, very sturdy. He'd also replaced the lock cylinder and deadbolted it; he didn't believe anyone could get in.

But at that moment, he heard the sound of a door being pried open and then opened. Through the dark corridor, he saw four pairs of blood-red eyes and questions that seemed straight out of hell.

"Boss, do you want to die?"

Chapter 174 Subaru Natsuki's Escape and Play

On the second day of the opening, Natsuki Subaru saw the owner and Ms. Kisara, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Yo! Boss, you're finally back? Hey? What's this?"

At this moment, Liu Yuan's face was covered in large panda eyes from makeup. Looking at Kisaragi and Jibril beside him, he instantly understood what was going on.

"Lost the game, didn't you?"

"You guessed right! By the way, Subaru, we have a new game on sale right now, do you want to try it out?"

"what?"

Natsuki Subaru got excited as soon as he heard about the new game.

What game?

"escape!"

"???"

Natsuki Subaru is a transmigrator. His original Earth had many games, and escape games were naturally ones he'd heard of. He'd also heard that this particular game was a horror game, the kind that gives you a real scare.

Seeing Subaru's reaction, Liu Yuan calmly explained, "This is a horror game, but the nanomolecules you get as a reward for completing it are quite interesting. Don't worry, the ones provided at this internet cafe are absolutely top-notch."

"Then I'll give it a try."

If it were the old Natsuki Subaru, he would have refused without even thinking. A horror game? Or the really scary kind? He's not a masochist; he would never torture his thick-skinned nerves.

But after playing so many games, even those with an extremely strong horror atmosphere like Resident Evil 7 and 8, he became a little cocky and even wanted to challenge this legendary horror game.

He boarded the computer, but before boarding, he also saw Liu Yuanfa's introduction of the new game on the TT forum.

Something's wrong! Something's very wrong!

As Natsuki Subaru muttered his complaints, Nyaruko, sitting next to him, muttered, "What's wrong? It's just that the boss is back. Didn't he say before that he was opening a branch and training new staff? It's obvious that the new store is successful, so he came back."

"That's not it."

Natsuki Subaru looked at the description of Escape on the TT forum, suddenly thought of something, and then asked knowingly, "Boss, are you going to try the new game?"

"Of course! Half price!"

"And judging from the description, it's a hide-and-seek game. The shopkeeper just said the NPCs in the game are incredibly friendly; they treated me to food, drinks, and games, and after I finished the game, a bunch of people gave me a big, enthusiastic welcome. Just for that friendly attitude, I absolutely have to finish the game."

At this moment, Subaru Natsuki fell silent. If he remembered it was a horror game, then it proved that this game was notoriously scary. The fact that Liu Yuan recommended it like this suddenly made him uneasy.

Adding to Liu Yuan's previous statement, he felt that the game's level of horror needed to be taken even more seriously.

It wasn't a big problem, really. Horror games are basically just background music and suddenly appearing faces to scare people. Plus, he already had a mental warning, so he didn't think it would frighten him. However, he didn't tell Nyaruko about it because he was looking forward to seeing her scream.

After chatting for a few more minutes, he opened the game and entered the game world.

"I'm a journalist, here to investigate the truth based on information from an informant..."

Feeling somewhat weak yet excited, Natsuki Subaru strode into the mental hospital. He felt his current state was very strange; his perception of the outside world was extremely weak, and he could only vaguely sense his own body.

He even felt that he belonged to this world, and that his purpose in coming to this mental hospital was to investigate the truth.

This feeling became increasingly pronounced as he got out of the car and entered the mental hospital.

At the same time, his memory of the outside world becomes increasingly weak. If he tries hard to recall, he will remember that he was playing a game. But as he goes deeper into the game, this memory gradually fades.

The moment the game started, his attention was solely focused on investigating the truth and leaving.

"Damn it! What is this?!"

Inside the mental hospital, Natsuki Subaru's breathing was unusually loud due to fear and physical exhaustion, especially in this dark room, he wished he could stop breathing altogether.

Because a mentally ill person was looking for him. This person had no skin left, and although they appeared weak, they possessed immense strength. Upon first encountering them, Subaru Natsuki completely forgot he had the option to fight; he only remembered one thing: escape!

He believed he couldn't defeat his opponent and had no choice but to run away. And that was indeed the case. The first time he was cornered, he fought back, only to find his opponent's body as hard as a machine, yet his massive frame was more agile than a monkey's.

He could clearly see the opponent's movements and even predict his attacks, but his body was just that of an ordinary reporter with only ordinary training. Roll? He was stopped by the opponent's weapon the moment he tried to roll; there was no chance for him to roll at all.

After this counterattack failed, he completely gave up the idea of ​​fighting and only wanted to escape.

He barged into an empty room, locked the door from the inside, and saw a locked cabinet next to it. Without thinking, he entered the middle cabinet and tried to catch his breath.

Inside the empty room, his breathing was so clear, while outside, the psychopath frantically pounded on the door. With each pounding, the door was forced open.

Due to his mental state, the person hunting Subaru only knew that Subaru had entered and was likely hiding here. He checked under the bed and randomly opened a few cabinets, but finding nothing amiss, his completely sluggish mind assumed that Subaru had escaped.

As for why he could run away from a closed room, that's not a question a mentally ill person like him could figure out. He decided to go outside to look for Subaru Natsuki.

As he sensed the person leaving, Natsuki Subaru breathed a sigh of relief. He had been holding his breath for a while, so the sound was quite loud, and it was very noticeable in the empty room.

When Subaru Natsuki realized something was wrong, he saw a pair of blood-red eyes through the crack in the cabinet. Those eyes were filled with chaotic desire, and at the same time, he saw a sentence in those terrifying eyes.

"Got you."

"what!!"

Natsuki Subaru exited the game, and at that moment he felt his heart racing, and even his entire spine felt cold.

"Subaru? What's wrong?"