I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

Page 574

However, he had previously seen some game concepts that used augmented reality technology, where players would wear smart glasses and real-world objects would appear in the game, allowing players to interact and play in the real world.

For example, the popular Pokémon mobile games required players to go to certain locations in reality to catch Pokémon, which is one way to achieve this.

Lu Ban achieved virtual reality technology in one step with his [Morning Star] project, and now he wants to do augmented reality?

Although Old Eggplant is a gamer, he also has his own thoughts on the gaming industry.

The problem with games today isn't a lack of creativity, but rather a lack of ways to realize it. Many imaginative ideas and gameplay mechanics aren't unthinkable; they're just not feasible with current technology.

For example, people in the past thought how fun it would be if games allowed players to move freely, climb, and fly. However, the code and computer technology at the time could only support characters moving on a plane. It wasn't until later, with the development of computer technology, that open worlds were created. Even so, those open worlds are not completely free; the NPCs in them follow the code and cannot create a real world.

Lu Ban's [Morning Star] clearly solved this problem. In the Night Kingdom, Old Eggplant had interacted with the natives, and they all seemed like real humans, with their own thoughts.

Although many people appear somewhat dull and rigid due to a lack of knowledge, their intelligence is clearly normal.

Therefore, Old Eggplant has always suspected that the Kingdom of Night does exist and is a real place. What Lu Ban did was simply to allow these players to travel there in some way.

In any case, Old Eggplant definitely has to go and see Miskatonic.

Before entering the game, Old Eggplant did some research, searching for information about Miskatole, but only found news about the film festival, which he silently memorized.

Only then did he put on his helmet and enter the Silent Land.

Old Eggplant didn't enter the "Last Lesson" he had been trying to figure out; instead, he pushed open the door to the "Film Festival."

As soon as the door moved, a hazy mist enveloped Old Eggplant, and then he felt a powerful pull coming from the front, sucking him into the doorway.

The surrounding scenery became mesmerizing, like various colored fuels mixed into water, constantly spreading and eventually forming a dazzling array of colors.

These colors, as if they did not exist in this world, flew into the high heavens, between the universe and the stars.

When he came to his senses, Old Eggplant was already standing on the ground.

He first checked his own condition.

At least he looks like a human being.

Old Eggplant was wearing the clothes he had been wearing in the room, and he immediately felt a chill.

He was still wearing a short-sleeved shirt!

It's so cold!

It was winter, December, and Christmas was approaching. The New England region was bitterly cold, which quickly made Old Eggplant's teeth chatter and he curled up in a cold sweat.

"Damn, I should have worn more clothes!"

Old Eggplant knew that quitting the game to change his clothes wouldn't change anything, so he could only brave the cold and look around.

"Where's the promised film crew?"

He found himself next to a wide meadow, which seemed to be a city parking lot, but there was only one car parked there. There were some pedestrians around, and it was getting late. Night would soon fall, and it would definitely be colder then.

Old Eggplant decided to go and check out the situation.

He had only taken two steps when he noticed pedestrians looking at him.

Old Eggplant looked over and noticed that these people all had a strange smile on their faces.

The smiles held no joy whatsoever, as if they were the makeup of a mortician after death. Dressed in suits and skirts, they moved stiffly like puppets in the cold wind.

"...What are you looking at?"

Old Eggplant asked a question, and only then did he realize that he was speaking English. He had clearly forgotten all his English after passing the CET-6 exam, but now he was speaking fluent English.

It makes sense when you think about it. After all, this is North America, an English-speaking region. It would be too difficult to communicate with locals using broken English.

"Is he okay?"

The person looking at the old eggplant suddenly spoke, as if discussing it with the person next to them.

Where did he come from?

"He can do it, and he desperately needs it right now!"

"Yes, he's fine, we'll take him!"

"Sacrifice, sacrifice, he is the sacrifice!"

After exchanging a few words, Old Eggplant saw these people, who had been as stiff as puppets, suddenly move and run quickly toward their positions.

Their running movements were also comical, like babies who had just learned to walk, stumbling and supporting each other, but they were very fast.

Before he could react, Old Eggplant was caught.

His hands were grabbed, and Old Eggplant saw that the skin where they were grabbed...

His skin quickly turned black, as if he had been smeared with dye. He tried to escape, but soon he was surrounded by many people.

Old Eggplant was lifted up, and he shouted, but his mouth was covered shortly afterward.

He was carried to the street, where there were still many pedestrians at night. Old Eggplant's mouth was covered, and he made whimpering sounds.

He wanted to ask for help from those around him, but Old Eggplant noticed that the passersby all had the same eerie smiles on their faces.

Old Eggplant was startled. In the blink of an eye, he had been carried into a church.

He saw that behind the altar of the church stood a statue of the Virgin Mary, but the statue's eyes were covered with a black cloth, giving it a somewhat taboo feel. What was most intriguing was what the Virgin Mary was holding.

Normally, this should be Jesus in his infant state. Although the religion itself does not give God a specific image, idolatry exists in some sects. They give God a specific image to worship, and their faith is fanatical.

And now, in the arms of the Virgin Mary, in the swaddling clothes, is a clump of black, sticky fluid.

The slime was like the deepest night sky, or an unknown abyss; just one glance was enough to rob a human of their reason.

Within the slime, delicate tendrils were developing and spreading outwards. Old Eggplant seemed to see countless eyes between the chunks of flesh, and something resembling goat hooves. He knew nothing more.

Old Eggplant's consciousness went haywire; he found himself in the center of a complex, bizarre pattern painted with an unknown bright red pigment.

"It can be used for sacrifice."

Old Eggplant heard a man wearing a long black robe with his face covered by a hood speak.

The next moment, the obsidian dagger pierced Old Eggplant's chest. He felt a piercing pain, and before blood could gush out, Old Eggplant had turned into a puddle of mud, soiling the exquisite ritual array.

The man holding the obsidian dagger paused, looking at the dagger in his hand, then at the others, and tilted his head.

Chapter 777 Fate Has Its Own Way

Holy crap!

In the sea of stars, Old Eggplant suddenly woke up, panting heavily, only then realizing that he was in a virtual world.

But the pain I felt just now was so real, like being stabbed through the chest with a rough knife.

He couldn't help but touch his chest.

Thankfully, everything is alright.

Thinking of this, Old Eggplant took off his helmet and returned to reality.

He checked his chest again and was relieved to find no wounds.

It is said that if virtual reality technology becomes advanced, players may sometimes experience phantom pain, which is when the stimulation is only in the game, but the body thinks that it has actually been injured, resulting in phantom pain.

In some medical experiments, subjects are asked to place their hands out of sight, and then a fake hand is placed on a table to imitate their own. Through a series of progressively more intense stimuli, eventually, when the doctor hits the fake hand with a hammer, the subject will think that he has been hit by a hammer and jump up.

Old Eggplant closed his eyes and recalled what he had just seen.

A sinister smile, a terrifying sacrificial ritual, and a newborn monster held in the arms of the statue of the Virgin Mary.

Old Eggplant had never seen such a creature before.

The lump of flesh was covered with endless tentacles, swaying like a tree. The eyes within the flesh were filled with the deepest malice, and the limbs, which resembled goat hooves, challenged Old Eggplant's nerves.

Whenever he recalled the creature's appearance, he felt as if ants were crawling all over his body, which sent chills down Old Eggplant's spine.

"Sacrifice? Was the sacrifice they just mentioned real?"

"Is the Miskatonic Film Festival a true sacrifice?"

"Those college students making movies probably don't know these things; they're in danger?"

Old Eggplant realized that his mission was to witness the ending of the movie, but he was captured and disemboweled without even meeting the filming crew, which was really embarrassing.

But it's not a big problem. Isn't the point of playing games to grow, experience, and eventually reach the ending through repeated deaths?

He hurriedly prepared to put on his helmet and continue fighting.

Suddenly remembering how he had been shivering earlier, he immediately went to find some thick clothes to put on, and turned off the air conditioner because it was too hot.

Pushing open the door again, Old Eggplant returned to Miskatonic.

He found himself back near that meadow.

However, it had already gotten completely dark, just like when I left the game, the game time continued to move forward normally.

This is so true.

Old Eggplant was about to walk towards the lit RV when he suddenly saw the residents next to the grass.

The residents still wore eerie smiles and stared warily at the old eggplant.

"Damn, are we not going to do it again?"

Old Eggplant had a bad feeling and was about to run away when he heard the whispers of those people.

Why is he back again?

"Can it be used for sacrifice?"

"He's no good, there's something wrong with him!"

"Get away! Stay away! Get away!"