First Exploration

Squeak—yah—

With a screeching sound, the door slowly opened.

The next second, what appeared in front of Zai Zong was a cold living room filled with cages and a lot of miscellaneous items.

The ground was a wide, dark red carpet.

Below the wall were two rusty cages covered with tattered cloth.

It seems that something was once imprisoned inside, as several similarly rusted metal chains were discarded on the ground and ignored by everyone.

The living room is spacious, with the only light source being a floor lamp placed in the corner, emitting a faint glow.

At this moment, the doctor controlled by the Zai Zong spoke.

[We need to refuel the generator. There's a broken-down tractor up east of here; maybe it still has some fuel in it.]

As soon as he finished speaking, as if to confirm the problem of not having enough oil, the standing lamp in the corner of the living room flickered twice, bringing a sense of oppression to the dead silence around him.

However, Zai Zong ignored it.

Because he was completely stunned by the scene before him.

"I'm awesome!"

"Brothers! Awesome! Brilliant!"

"It truly feels like being there! I really entered the world of the Dark Forest!"

In his excitement, Zai Zong pressed the remote control and began to look around the messy living room like a curious child.

"Damn! I've played the original Dark Forest twice, and I know the doctor's house in the Prologue like the back of my hand!"

"Imagine a very familiar game that suddenly switches you from a top-down perspective to a first-person perspective like this, with everything else remaining the same. The sense of novelty and slightly unfamiliarity is indescribable!"

Zai Zong picked up an iron chain from the ground, and the brass rust on it was clearly visible in the VR view.

And under the light of the corner lamp, the texture is highlighted, and the craftsmanship is extremely exquisite!

Even the clanging of metal sounds incredibly realistic!

Zai Zong was once again amazed by the Only Game, namely the freedom to 'take anything'.

He blurted it out immediately.

"Damn it, they haven't lost their unique features, but they haven't lost the unique features of VR Game."

[This chain can't hold him back]

Zai Zong:?

The doctor's sudden remark abruptly interrupted Zai Zong, leaving him stunned for a moment.

He looked down at the rusty iron chain in his hand in the VR, then at the cage so close to him, his face full of confusion.

He had played the original game and completed it twice, and had also watched walkthrough videos.

Know all the details and plot of the game.

However, he has some doubts now in the VR version.

because

Does this line appear in the original game?

Zai Zong tried hard to recall, but found that he did not remember this line.

That.

Since that's the case

Is this the first difference between the VR version and the original version?

Zai Zong sensed something remotely and threw down the iron chain.

In my mind, I recalled the doctor's lines from earlier.

'I can't hold him back'

Could this 'he' refer to...?

Zai Zong slightly turned his head and looked towards a room near the cage.

The door was closed.

There's also a Code Lock on top.

From the VR perspective, he could clearly see a dried pool of splattered blood beneath the room.

It seems that some unimaginable bloodshed occurred before.

but

Those Zai Zong have played the original version know that the person imprisoned in this locked room is actually an NPC named ' Mr. Jun '.

Mr. Jun has a younger sister named ' Ms. Qiao '.

Due to the abnormal changes in the forest, Ms. Qiao's body became bloated, and her limbs became thin. She was bedridden and unable to move, losing her ability to live independently.

The doctor tried to treat him, but it was no use, and he escaped the village to save his life.

So Mr. Jun left the village and found the doctor's residence in the forest to settle accounts with him.

Then

Mr. Jun was locked up by the doctor.

The bloodstains on the ground also indicate the violence between Mr. Jun and the doctor at the time.

However, the Zai Zong knows.

After the Prologue switches to the true protagonist, the next step is to fight against this Mr. Jun.

In other words, the boss of the Prologue is Mr. Jun.

Zai Zong sensed something remotely and walked forward to the door with the Code Lock.

He reached out and pushed.

Immediately, the doctor spoke again.

It's best not to open the door. I went to great lengths to lock it inside.

[This isn't it. I tried. I tried.]

Two lines of dialogue left Zai Zong stunned once again.

The first line of dialogue is from the original game.

But in the second line, Zai Zong can use his cousin Huan Huan as a bet, which is absolutely unprecedented!

This is another newly added line, and it's closely related to the plot!

Only those who have played the original version know what the doctor meant by "tried".

That was his effort to heal the villagers!

Unfortunately, human strength is no match for supernatural forces, and they had to flee in disarray.

Moreover, it doesn't matter if you haven't played the original version, as many games are filled with seemingly incongruous lines like this.

Players have long been used to it and don't think about it too much; they just play and that's it.

"The brothers have come up with new lines again. I know the VR version will definitely have a lot of new things compared to the original, but I didn't expect the Prologue to start like this."

"Alright, forgive my ignorance. I thought the Prologue would be a direct copy of the original, with only minor changes to the details."

"I didn't expect the differences between the two versions of the game to start with the Prologue dialogue. I wonder what the differences will be with the original version next."

"Come on, brothers, I'll show you around the house first, then we'll go out and find the real protagonist!"

"It's a pity that we don't have the Desert Eagle. We'll have to wait until it's officially released tomorrow to get our hands on such a weapon."

Zai Zong began to control the doctor to explore the room.

Because it was the Prologue and the doctor's own room, he knew that it was a 'safe period' and there would be no danger.

Moreover, this house can be explored twice.

On the first exploration as a doctor, the boxes containing weapons and the doors containing secrets were locked.

On the second playthrough as the true protagonist, the doors and boxes that were previously inaccessible can now be opened, allowing you to obtain the items inside.

Because of his curiosity about the VR version of "Dark Forest", Zai Zong rummaged through the house and found quite a few good things.

But he knew that once the protagonist switched, all the 'supplies' he had scavenged would be returned to their original places for the real protagonist to use.

Right now, it's just a matter of letting players get used to looting resources.

Furthermore, the main reason the game allows players to control the doctor and explore the house first is so that players can find some documents related to the doctor himself.

For example, a document called ' Medical Notes '.

When Zai Zong found it on the bookshelf, an open book page suddenly appeared on the entire screen.

The top was covered with what he couldn't understand—so-called "medical handwriting."

Then, there are some disturbing case photos.

It was obviously taken by the doctor himself.

On the left side of the book were two black and white photographs, each showing a different foreign woman.

The woman in the first photo has festering sores on her cheeks, from which several small, peculiar mushrooms have grown, covering her entire face.

The woman in the second photo is in a worse state; her eyes have been replaced by two large mushrooms, and unknown plant tendrils have grown from her nostrils, clinging tightly to her skin and twisting and turning.

The scene was so beautiful that viewers in the live stream immediately felt uncomfortable and began to leave comments and criticisms.

"Damn, that's disgusting. Can you even call that a face?"

"Stop! These two photos are going to get me killed!"

"My Zai Zong, what did I do to deserve this? I'll change, okay?!"

"His entire face was rotten, and countless tiny mushrooms were growing inside the flesh. It was disgusting."

"My goodness, my eyes have been replaced by mushrooms, how can I still walk? No, is this even human?"

"Suddenly I feel the original version is better; at least it's not as visually striking."

Zai Zong glanced at the comments, quickly closed the Medical Notes, and then coughed twice.

"Ah, sorry guys, I didn't expect the VR version to have such detailed medical records. I'll be more careful next time and won't make you feel uncomfortable."

"Alright, guys, there's not much to explore in the house. The real exploration will only begin after we switch protagonists. Let's head out and find the real protagonist now!"

After saying that, Zai Zong guided the doctor to the front door.

Reach out and give a gentle push.

With a melodious creak, the door opened.

The next second, a sobbing sound came from outside.