Night Random Event [Revised]

Saturday, around 1 AM.

Because of the Dark Forest's unlock, the Danmu Network's livestream channels were buzzing.

Especially in the single-player game category, the top twenty-plus well-known streamers were all playing this so-called independently developed horror game, tagging it with the title of domestic horror game, drawing in many viewers to watch.

The game's price wasn't steep either—69 yuan, affordable for almost anyone.

Among these streamers, the one with the highest popularity was a VTuber female streamer, Xin Xin.

With over 1.4 million fans, she not only had a pleasant voice, but her anime avatar was especially cute and pink, perfectly hitting the sweet spot for her die-hard fans, who flocked to support her, sending captain gifts flying!

New games have novelty; for streamers, no matter what the game is, as long as it's new, streaming it is the right call!

At that moment, Xin Xin was curled up in a corner of her bedroom, trembling.

She held a Spiked Board in her hands, staring nervously at the door ahead.

Her heartbeat gradually quickened without her realizing it, and her body, clad in pajamas, began to heat up from the panic.

No one told her the game's nights would be this terrifying!

God, what kind of game is this? It's way too unbearable!

Xin Xin was on the verge of tears.

She'd heard about this game long ago, that the demo was supposedly very scary.

But since she hadn't played it, she scoffed at those claims, thinking the developers had bought bots for publicity.

Because in the past, horror games always marketed themselves with slogans like "scary," "thrilling," and "not for the faint of heart."

And what was the result?

No sense of horror at all!

Extremely boring, even—playing it stirred no emotion, bland and tasteless, a total piece of garbage!

So for this Dark Forest, she initially approached it with the mindset of just trying out a new game for her stream.

As for horror?

She had no expectations.

Then—

The prologue immediately taught her a lesson.

It scared her so badly that she felt like she was clearing mines in a battlefield, jumping at every step and wailing constantly.

The entertainment value was a hit with the audience; nothing made them happier than seeing their favorite streamer suffer.

And from the game's unlock until now, over an hour in, she'd already died four times!

Aside from the prologue's scripted death, she'd died in four different ways in the first chapter, an area called the "Withered Grassland"!

Beaten to death by a Wild Man, bitten to death by wild dogs, poisoned to death by mushrooms, and swallowed by some unknown Blood Mist while lingering outside at night.

She'd also stepped into two Animal Traps!

She hadn't even survived to the second day!

And every time she died, the scene changed drastically.

The Shelter's layout shifted, resource points moved, the environment changed, and so on.

It was like every death and revival was a fresh start, but thankfully the resources she'd scavenged before were retained—otherwise, she doubted she could bear the pain!

So she steeled herself, summed up her failed experiences, and from the fifth revival onward, played cautiously.

Then the random nighttime events taught her another lesson.

Now, she was huddled in a corner with a Spiked Board, pushed to the brink by the oppressive atmosphere, almost wanting to quit!

Nothing had happened, nothing had appeared, yet an inexplicable sense of dread filled her mind, putting immense mental pressure on her.

But she glanced at the stream's viewer count and popularity, and found that at this hour past 1 AM, it hadn't dropped—it had actually increased!

This...

So she gritted her teeth and pushed on.

"Wuwuwu... I'm about to lose my mind..."

As she said this, her anime avatar's eyes were shaded over, giving an expression of genuine fear and fright.

It made the audience in the stream burst into laughter.

"Xin Zai's finally getting her comeuppance! She was slaughtering everyone in FPS before, super OP, and now she's curled up in a corner too scared to move, hahaha."

"Only this game can scare Xin Zai like this."

"Seriously, even I, just watching the stream, can feel how terrifying this game is."

"I think the difficulty of this game is a bit unreasonable—this is only the first night..."

"Above, Xin Zai's still doing okay; go check out other streamers—their nights aren't this calm."

Xin Xin noticed this danmu and immediately asked out of curiosity.

"Not that calm? What are you talking about. Could something actually happen?"

Yet the moment her words fell, her entire body suddenly stiffened.

Rustle—rustle—

Rustle—rustle—

Wearing her headphones, she could very clearly hear footsteps coming from outside.

The distinctive sound of treading on grass struck her nerves like the arrival of death itself.

"I-I hear footsteps... What do I do? What could it be? What's out there!?"

Xin Xin began to panic. Huddled in the corner, she gripped the spiked board in her hands for dear life, because it was her only hope of survival.

Even bathed in the glow of the incandescent lamp, it still couldn't bring her any sense of safety.

The viewers in the livestream began speculating about what was outside. Those who had visited other streamers gave different answers, with no definitive conclusion.

In the bedroom of the Shelter, there was dead silence.

The incandescent light flickered now and then like a candle, as if it might go out at any moment, stirring unease.

The footsteps outside seemed to be circling the Shelter.

Or perhaps observing?

Before long, they gradually faded away, the sound growing softer until it vanished entirely.

Xin Xin: .?

Did it leave?

There were no more footsteps on the grass in her headphones, meaning that thing outside was really gone. She let out a sigh of relief.

"It's gone, gone. Looks like that thing outside left. Seriously, this game has my hands all numb."

The livestream audience immediately chimed in. Some expressed regret, others shared her relief, but all were happy that Xin Xin had escaped unscathed.

As for her, the excessive tension made her thirsty. She picked up a cup to drink water when suddenly, a change occurred!

Outside the house, for some unknown reason, a glaring red light flared up.

Its glow seeped through the cracks in the window, flooding the bedroom with red. Mixed with the incandescent light, it was almost blinding!

This startled her into a daze. She didn't understand what it was, but since it didn't cause harm, she didn't know what to do either. So she could only grip the spiked board tightly and stay alert.

And then.

Creak—

The sound of a door opening came from behind her, making her jump. Her hair stood on end as she quickly turned to look.

But there was nothing.

The closed door had somehow opened on its own.

She lunged forward and slammed it shut. At this moment, overwhelmed by tension, she began to pant slightly.

The sound sparked some risqué comments in the livestream.

"What's going on? What's happening? Did something get in? Does anyone know what this is?"

In her panic, she begged the audience for help, completely forgetting that this was a new game that had only been unlocked for a little over an hour.

The viewers had no idea what was happening either. They were just here to watch their favorite streamer, and they hadn't even bought the game yet, let alone played it.

As for Xin Xin, she was starting to feel parched. Her legs unconsciously curled up onto the chair, as if something beneath her made her uneasy.

Soon, the red light vanished, and the room returned to its original gloomy dimness. But in her headphones, a strange and eerie sound effect gradually crept in.

It was as if something was slowly approaching, putting more and more pressure on her nerves!

[I want to go home]

Suddenly, a voice came from behind her, startling her and stirring a hint of fear.

This room...

Had someone else!?

Xin Xin immediately turned around. There, on the messy, dirty bed against the wall, she saw the thing that had made the sound.

Or rather, a person sitting on the edge of the bed.

He was wearing a neat, clean shirt and suspenders, hunched over as he rummaged through a backpack.

[I will leave this place. I must get out of this damn forest!]

After that, he stopped talking, but he kept searching through the bag, never lifting his head.

"Who is this!? How did he get into my room!?"

Xin Xin was terrified. This man had appeared out of nowhere, without a sound, suddenly materializing.

The viewers in the livestream began offering their suggestions.

"He looks like an NPC? Maybe there's a side quest?"

"Maybe it's for plot reasons or something? Should I go up and see if I can talk to it?"

"Doesn't seem hostile, maybe it's not an enemy? Let's try interacting first, could be an NPC."

"Xin Xin's got company now haha, no more lonely nights haha."

Seeing these bullet comments, Xin Xin nodded to herself and cautiously approached the man who had suddenly appeared.

Nervous, she instinctively glanced around as she drew closer.

When she looked back at the bedside, there was nothing there.

That man

was gone.

Xin Xin froze on the spot, and the livestream viewers seemed just as stunned, flooding the screen with 'Holy shit!'

Just then, another change occurred.

The pitch-black forest began to slowly fill with fog.

The incandescent lamp flickered, dimming and brightening.

The gloomy room flashed erratically. An eerie atmosphere had already descended!

From the headphones came a torrent of unintelligible sounds.

Like a demon whispering in her ear, grating on her nerves and senses!

Xin Xin couldn't bear this torment, but before she could turn down the volume, she saw her controlled character speak a line.

[Something lurks in the darkness. I'd better stay in the light and not get near the walls.]

Then, she saw bizarre, semi-transparent creatures wandering outside the house!

What were these?

Ghosts!?

"Stay near the light. Don't get near the walls. Stay near the light. Don't get near the walls."

The next second, the light went out.

The entire bedroom plunged into pitch black.

In that instant, Xin Xin felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, despair washing over her.

At the same time, a wave of fear and bone-chilling cold shot up from her tailbone, straight to the crown of her head!

With the light gone, countless vicious spirits outside bared their hideous faces, passed through the walls, and attacked her as she fled in panic.

Watching the constantly shaking screen, the splattering blood, and hearing the horrifying sound effects, Xin Xin completely panicked.

She wanted to escape, she wanted to get out!

At this point, who cared about the warning that outside was dangerous?

In her eyes, this shelter was way more terrifying, right?

Staying inside was the real danger!

In the pitch black where she couldn't see her own hand, amidst the wailing of vengeful spirits and the whispers in her ears, she forced herself to endure the pressure and found the door. Just as she was about to pull it open—

The door

opened on its own.

Xin Xin froze. When she saw what was outside the door, her pupils contracted sharply, and fear struck instantly.

The next second, a scream that pierced the sky erupted from the livestream!

This chapter differs somewhat from the actual game, as the first night in the game is relatively safe, without so many random events. The frequent random events in the text are the result of the protagonist's modifications.