Saturday, around 1:00 a.m.
Because Dark Forest had been unlocked, the live streaming channels on Danmu Network were bustling.
Especially in the single-player game category, more than twenty top streamers were all playing this supposedly independently developed horror game, labeling their streams as a domestic horror game and drawing in countless viewers.
The game was not expensive either—just 69 yuan, affordable for practically anyone.
Among those streamers, the most popular was Xin Xin, a virtual anime-style female streamer.
With over 1.4 million followers, she not only had a lovely voice, but her anime avatar was also especially cute and pink, perfectly hitting her diehard fans' preferences. They flocked to support her, flooding the stream with Captain subscriptions and gifts!
New games meant fresh content. For streamers, no matter what kind of game it was, as long as it had just come out, streaming it was always the right choice!
At that moment, Xin Xin was curled up in a corner of her bedroom, trembling.
She clutched a Spiked Board in her hands and nervously stared at the door ahead.
Her heartbeat gradually sped up without her noticing, and her pajama-clad body slowly grew hot with fear.
No one had told her nighttime in this game would be this terrifying!
Good heavens, what kind of game was this? It was way too unbearable!
Xin Xin was practically on the verge of tears.
She had heard about this game long ago. Supposedly, the demo had been terrifying.
But since she had never played it herself, she had even scoffed at those claims, assuming the developers had paid for fake promotional hype.
After all, those previous horror games had all marketed themselves with slogans like "terrifying," "horror," and "not recommended for those with psychological discomfort."
But what had the result been?
There had been absolutely no sense of horror!
They had even been unbearably boring, causing no emotional reaction whatsoever. Bland and tasteless—complete trash!
So when she first started streaming Dark Forest, she had only intended to try out a new game.
As for horror?
She had not expected much.
Then—
The Prologue immediately taught her a lesson.
It scared her so badly that she felt like she was clearing mines on a battlefield, terrified with every step and crying out nonstop.
The audience loved the entertainment value. There was nothing more enjoyable than watching a streamer they followed get humbled.
And in the hour or so since the game had unlocked, she had already died four times!
Not counting the scripted death in the Prologue, she had died in four different ways in the area called "Withered Grassland" in Chapter 1!
Beaten to death by a Wild Man, bitten to death by wild dogs, poisoned to death by mushrooms, and swallowed to death by some unknown Blood Mist after staying outside at night.
She had even stepped into Animal Traps twice!
She had not even survived to the second day!
And every time she died, the scene changed dramatically.
The Shelter's layout changed, the locations of resource spots changed, the environment changed, and so on.
Every death and revival was practically a complete restart. Fortunately, the resources she had gathered earlier were retained. Otherwise, she doubted she could have endured this suffering!
So she reflected on her failures, summarized what had gone wrong, and began treating things cautiously from her fifth revival onward.
Only to be taught another lesson by a random nighttime event.
At that moment, she was hugging her Spiked Board in the corner, so overwhelmed by the oppressive atmosphere that she was almost too afraid to keep playing!
Clearly, nothing had happened. Nothing had appeared. Yet an inexplicable sense of panic filled her mind, putting her under enormous mental pressure.
But after glancing at the viewer count and stream popularity, she discovered that at past one in the morning, the numbers had actually risen instead of fallen!
This...
So she gritted her teeth and persisted.
"Wuwuwu, I'm about to lose my mind..."
As she said that, a shadow appeared over her anime avatar's eyes, making her look genuinely terrified.
The viewers in the stream immediately burst into laughter.
"Even Xin Xin has a day like this. She used to dominate FPS games and slaughter everyone, but now she's hiding in a corner and doesn't even dare move. Hahaha."
"The only game that could scare Xin Xin like this is this one."
"Seriously, even just watching the stream, I can feel how terrifying this game is."
"I think this game's difficulty is kind of unreasonable. This is only the first night."
"Above commenter, Xin Xin's got it easy. Go watch the other streamers—their nights haven't been this peaceful."
Xin Xin noticed that comment and immediately asked curiously.
"Not this peaceful? What do you mean? Is something going to happen...?"
But the moment her words fell, her entire body suddenly stiffened.
Rustle—
Rustle—
Wearing headphones, she could clearly hear footsteps coming from outside.
The distinctive sound of steps treading on grass was like the arrival of the Grim Reaper, jolting her nerves.
"I-I hear footsteps... What do I do? What could it be? What's outside!?"
Xin Xin began to panic. Curled in the corner, she gripped the Spiked Board tightly, because it was her only hope of survival.
Even beneath the bright white light, she still could not feel safe.
The viewers began guessing what was outside. Some people who had visited other streamers' channels gave different answers, but no one had a definite answer.
Inside the Shelter's bedroom, there was dead silence.
The white light flickered now and then like a candle, as if it might go out at any moment, making everyone uneasy.
The footsteps outside seemed to be circling the Shelter.
Or perhaps observing it?
Before long, they gradually faded away, growing quieter until they vanished completely.
Xin Xin:?
Had it left?
The sound of footsteps on grass was gone from her headphones, meaning that thing outside was truly gone. She immediately let out a breath of relief.
"It's gone, it's gone. Looks like that thing outside really left. Seriously, this game has made my hands go numb."
The viewers immediately chimed in. Some found it regrettable, while others were relieved alongside her, but without exception, they were all happy Xin Xin had escaped disaster.
Meanwhile, she felt thirsty from being so tense. Just as she picked up her cup to drink some water, something strange suddenly happened!
Outside, for some unknown reason, a striking Red Light lit up.
Its glow seeped through the cracks in the window, dyeing the bedroom blood-red. Mixed with the white light, it was actually rather blinding!
She froze in horror, unable to understand what it was. Since it was not hurting her and she did not know what else to do, she could only grip the Spiked Board and cautiously watch her surroundings.
Then—
Creak—
The sound of a door opening came from behind her, startling her so badly that her hair stood on end. She hurriedly turned around.
But there was nothing there.
The closed door had somehow opened by itself.
She rushed forward and slammed it shut. At that moment, overly tense, she began panting lightly.
The sound sparked a wave of not-safe-for-children comments in the stream.
"What's going on? What's going on? Did something come inside? Does anyone know what this is?"
In her panic, she sought help from the viewers, completely forgetting that this game had only been unlocked for a little over an hour.
The viewers did not know what was happening either. They had only come to watch a streamer they followed, and many of them had bought the game without even playing it yet.
Xin Xin's mouth began to feel dry, and without realizing it, she pulled both legs onto her chair, as though something below was making her uneasy.
Soon, the Red Light disappeared, and the room returned to its original gloomy darkness. Yet strange, chilling sound effects gradually began to play through her headphones.
It was as though something was slowly drawing closer, making her mental pressure increasingly unbearable!
[I want to go home.]
Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind her. She was stunned, yet a trace of fear rose within her.
There was—
Someone else in this room!?
Xin Xin immediately turned around. On the filthy, messy bed against the wall, she saw the thing that had spoken.
Or rather, a person sitting at the edge of the bed.
He wore a neat, clean shirt and suspenders, his head lowered as he bent over and rummaged through a backpack.
[I will leave this place. I have to leave this damned forest!]
After that, he said nothing more. He continued searching through the bag without ever looking up.
"Who is that!? How did he get into my room!?"
Xin Xin was scared. This man had appeared out of nowhere, without making the slightest sound.
The viewers, meanwhile, began offering their suggestions.
"He looks like an NPC? Maybe he has a side quest?"
"Maybe it's part of the plot or something? Should she go over and see if she can talk to him?"
"He doesn't seem hostile. Maybe he isn't an enemy? Try seeing if you can interact with him. What if he's an NPC?"
"Xin Xin has company now, hahaha. She doesn't have to guard an empty room alone anymore, hahaha."
Seeing those comments, Xin Xin nodded inwardly and carefully approached the man who had suddenly appeared.
Out of nervousness, she subconsciously looked around as she drew closer.
When she looked back toward the bed, there was nothing there.
That man—
Had disappeared.?
Xin Xin froze, while the viewers seemed shocked as well, flooding the chat with "Holy shit!"
Just then, another strange change occurred.
The Pitch Black Forest slowly began to fill with fog.
The white light began flickering on and off.
The gloomy room flashed continuously. A bizarre atmosphere had suddenly emerged!
A multitude of unintelligible sounds came through her headphones.
Like demons whispering in her ears, they stimulated every nerve and sense!
Xin Xin simply could not endure such torment, but before she could lower the volume, she saw the protagonist she controlled say something.
[Something is lurking in the darkness. I'd better stay where there's light and not get close to the walls.]
Immediately afterward, she saw strange, half-transparent creatures wandering outside the room!
What were those?
Ghosts!?
"Stay near the light. Don't get close to the walls. Stay near the light. Don't get close to the walls."
The next second, the light went out.
The entire bedroom fell into darkness.
In that instant, Xin Xin felt as though she had fallen into an icy abyss, overwhelmed by despair.
At the same time, a chilling terror shot up from her tailbone to the top of her head!
Without the light, countless Vengeful Spirits outside revealed their hideous faces, passing through the walls and attacking her as she fled in blind panic.
Watching the violently shaking screen, the splattering blood, and hearing those horrifying sound effects, Xin Xin completely panicked.
She wanted to run. She wanted to get out!
At that moment, how could she care about the warning that outside was dangerous?
In her eyes, this Shelter was far more terrifying, okay!?
Staying inside was the most dangerous thing!
In the pitch-black darkness where she could not see her hand before her face, accompanied by the howls of Vengeful Spirits and whispers in her ears, she forced herself through the pressure and found the door. Just as she prepared to pull it open—
The door—
Opened by itself.
Xin Xin froze. When she saw what was outside the door, her pupils suddenly contracted, and terror instantly overwhelmed her.
The next second, an earth-shattering scream rang out through the stream!
This chapter differed somewhat from the actual game, because the first night of the game was relatively safe and did not have so many random events. The frequent random events in this chapter were modifications made by the protagonist.
Before you continue