The moment he finished speaking, the three spotlights suddenly went out. The cramped space plunged back into darkness, with only the piles of televisions behind the Hooded Man emitting a faint glow that barely illuminated the surroundings.
Play... a game?
Zai Zong froze for a moment.
Before he could figure out whether this game meant 21 Points or something else, he saw the Hooded Man across from him struggling and twisting wildly.
[Let me go! Let me go!! Who are you!? What are you!? Where is this!? What do you want!?]
Zai Zong was instantly dumbfounded by the scene before him.
The performance effects...
This definitely used motion capture!
Holy shit, what a massive production!
But before Zai Zong could finish being amazed, he saw the protagonist he controlled suddenly slam a fist onto the rusty tabletop in front of him.
The tremendous noise stunned not only him as the player, but also the Hooded Man across from him.
[What do you want.]
That voice was right beside him. It had clearly come from the protagonist he was controlling.
Zai Zong immediately understood.
This was a plot sequence?
No way. A card game actually had a plot?
Once Zai Zong realized it, he could no longer keep his cool.
Looking back on his gaming career, he had played quite a few card games.
Landlord, Three-Card Brag, Bullfight, Seven Devils Five Two Three, and plenty more.
Those games had always been ready to play the moment you opened them. The cards were dealt on the spot, and they never wasted much of your time.
No game developer had ever added a story to a card game, either.
After all, puzzle games had no need for such unnecessary extras. It would just be more trouble than it was worth, and might not even sell as well as shooters, racing games, or sports games.
Yet Shuo Guang had done exactly that!
It had added a plot to a card game!
He admitted it—he had underestimated this VR Game.
He had thought that a card game made in one month would be no different from the usual computer games, aside from having a broader field of view because it was VR.
But what was the result?
There were realistic environments!
Character dialogue!
Smooth movements!
And a fucking plot!
My god!
Was this really a game made in just one month?
Before him, after the protagonist finished speaking, the Masked Man on the television shifted into another sitting position and slowly opened his mouth, his voice still low.
[Compared to Mr. Hoffman in front of you, you are clearly much calmer. As expected of the cameraman from that adventure film crew, Mr. Clancy.]
Clancy.
Zai Zong suddenly understood.
So the protagonist he controlled was named Clancy, and the Hooded Man across from him must be Hoffman.
Upon hearing his own name, Hoffman, the Hooded Man, began struggling and shouting again.
[Who the hell are you!? What do you want!? What do you want!!!]
Hoffman's voice carried fear and unease. It was the roar of someone lacking any sense of security, as well as the impulse to bolster his own courage.
As a player, Zai Zong knew nothing would happen to him, so he could not truly put himself in the dangerous situation at hand.
For now, he was only a spectator.
[Oh, Mr. Hoffman. A truck driver with a beautiful daughter and a happy family. But your courage and your temper seem somewhat mismatched.]
Hoffman across from him visibly shuddered upon hearing that.
Because he... had mentioned his family!
The Masked Man chuckled. Without waiting for the two men at the card table to react, he continued.
[What do I want? I have already said it. I want to play a game with you.]
[But pay attention. This game...]
Zai Zong looked up and watched as the Masked Man on the black-and-white television took out a doll, then gripped its head and legs with both hands as though he held a person's life in his hands.
[Concerns life and death!]
Snap—
The doll split in two.
Hoffman's entire body trembled. Clearly, he had seen the image on the television as well.
Only then did Zai Zong realize that there were also piles of televisions behind him.
The Masked Man inside them casually threw the doll away, as though it were worthless garbage.
[The winner can leave this place alive.]
[But the loser...]
At that moment, Zai Zong saw the Masked Man slowly lift a woman's head from beneath him.
Grabbing her long black hair, he brought that twisted, blood-caked face closer, seemingly wanting the two men at the card table to see it clearly.
A chill ran through Zai Zong's heart when he saw it.
The terror on that face had been completely distorted and frozen in place. She had clearly suffered immense pain and torment.
[Will end up like this. Do you understand?]
By this point, Zai Zong could not stop himself from blurting out, "Holy shit."
The livestream chat also erupted in comments because of the scene.
Everyone was spamming praise and shocked expletives.
[Madman! You're a madman! A murderous psychopath! Let me go! Let me leave!!]
Hoffman roared again, but this time there was a trace of weakness and helplessness in his voice.
It was too realistic!
Zai Zong had to admire how professional the voice actor was!
And those movements—the struggling looked exactly like someone trying to escape.
[No, no, no. Please do not be like that, Mr. Hoffman.]
Just as he had thrown away the doll earlier, the Masked Man tossed the woman's head behind him.
[You do not want your daughter and wife to come here too, do you?]
In an instant, Hoffman froze in place as if struck by lightning.
[Please... don't hurt them... I'll do anything you want... please don't hurt them... I'm begging you...]
The Masked Man laughed upon hearing that.
[That's more like it. As long as you defeat Mr. Clancy in front of you, you can go home alive and reunite with your wife and daughter.]
Upon hearing that, Hoffman lowered his head and muttered something beneath his hood, over and over.
Zai Zong frowned and turned up the volume of his VR headset's Bluetooth earphones before finally making out what Hoffman was saying.
[I'll leave this place... I can't die... I'll win... I'll definitely win... kill him... kill him... kill him...]
Those words sent a chill down Zai Zong's spine, leaving him unsure of what to say.
At that moment, the Masked Man on the television announced the rules.
[Do you like card games? Oh, of course you do.]
[I have specially designed a game for you.]
At that very moment, as the Masked Man spoke, the card-dealing machine beside them immediately dealt four cards onto the table before the two men.
Two for Zai Zong and two for Hoffman.
One face-down card and one face-up card each.
[But we will not be gambling with chips.]
A spring-loaded mechanical sound rang out.
Zai Zong was stunned to discover that the Guillotine Blade by the little finger of the Finger-Breaking Torture Device restraining his hand had sprung up!
He could see clearly that the blade was incredibly sharp. If it came down, that finger would definitely be gone!
Hoffman across from him was clearly frightened as well, his body trembling faintly.
[Do you understand what I mean? Hahaha... hahaha... hahahahahaha!]
Amid the bursts of manic laughter, the television suddenly lost its signal. Static crackled across the screen, once again lighting the cramped space.
After the Masked Man's image vanished, Zai Zong found four timed dialogue options appearing before him.
1. Who are you? How were you captured?
2. We should find a way to get out of here.
3. Do we really have to play this game?
4. Pull yourself together! You believe what that freak says!?
He only had five seconds.
With so little time, Zai Zong did not even get the chance to think before instinctively choosing option four.
Very soon, the protagonist he controlled, Clancy, spoke.
[Pull yourself together, man! You believe what that freak says!?]
[I can't die... I need to go home... I need to win... I need to beat you... I'll definitely go home.]
Well, it looked like Hoffman was beyond listening to anything now.
But Zai Zong admired Shuo Guang once again.
Being able to add dialogue choices to this kind of game, giving players freedom and immersion, was seriously impressive.
"Guys, no matter what you think, I love this game! Slap this face again, harder this time! I don't care!"
The livestream audience immediately flooded the chat with comments, while gifts filled the screen.
[Now, I will explain the rules of the game.]
The Masked Man's voice came from the speakers.
Clearly, even without the television, he was still watching.
[Have you heard of 21 Points?]
[The deck in the card-dealing machine contains only eleven cards, numbered from 1 to 11, and the two of you will share the same deck.]
[In other words, it is impossible for you to draw the same card.]
[As long as the total value of the cards you draw does not exceed 21, you will be fine.]
[But if it does exceed 21... your fingers will go snip... and be gone! Hahahahahahaha!]
Hoffman was instantly terrified.
[Wait, wait! This is insane! You can't do this!]
However, the Masked Man's voice directly interrupted him.
[So pray. The game begins! Clancy, you will go first!]
At that moment, Clancy's voice trembled.
[Are you joking...?]
But the Masked Man no longer made a sound.
Still, Zai Zong knew that he had to be watching, observing the card game!
Now that the plot sequence was over, it was time for him, the player, to take the stage.
Two dialogue options appeared before him.
This time, there was no time limit.
1. Give me a card.
2. I don't want another card.
At the moment, he had two cards on the rusty tabletop before him.
One face-down card and one face-up card.
The face-up card was an 8, while the face-down card was...
Zai Zong moved the controller, and Clancy immediately stretched out his unrestrained right hand and flipped over the face-down card, revealing the number beneath it.
It was a 2.
That meant he had 10 points.
Zai Zong carefully put the face-down card back and covered it again.
Then he looked at Hoffman across from him.
Hoffman was fidgeting uneasily and thinking hard, clearly extremely nervous.
He also had two cards in front of him.
The face-down card could not be seen, while the face-up card was a 1.
That meant the visible cards on the table were 1, 2, and 8.
There was still a chance!
Zai Zong immediately selected dialogue option one.
Clancy in the game immediately spoke.
[Give me another card.]
Whoosh—
The card-dealing machine immediately dealt another card in front of him.
It was face-up, and the number was 3.
At this point, Zai Zong's total was already 13, still some way from 21 Points, so he wasn't worried.
Across from him, Hoffman spoke up nervously.
[I want another card too.]
Swish—
The dealing machine immediately dealt him another card.
It was a face-up 9.
That meant Hoffman's face-up cards totaled 10 points, while his hole card remained unknown.
His own face-up and hole cards totaled 13 points.
He still had a chance to draw another card!
Zai Zong chose Dialogue Option 1 again and requested a card.
Soon, the dealing machine let out another swish and dealt a card in front of him.
But this card made Zai Zong's expression change drastically!
This modified storyline differs somewhat from the original game. Please don't flame it if you dislike it.
Thanks to "Dungeon Is So Fun, I Want to Spend Money" for the monthly ticket support. I'm truly sorry for updating so slowly—I'm currently practicing to improve my typing speed.
Before you continue