Horror Preview

Ding-ling-ling—

Ding-ling-ling—

Ding-ling-ling—

A melodious telephone ring sounded in the Pitch Black screen.

It seemed to be moving, starting faintly in the distance before gradually growing louder and louder beside the ear.

Then came a soft click.

The phone had been answered.

A somewhat mature female voice came through.

[Hi, Dwayne. I'm your neighbor.]

[I noticed you haven't left your house for nearly three weeks.]

[I'm sorry, I was a little worried. Is everything all—]

But at that moment, the screen began flickering as though the signal had malfunctioned, static crackling without end.

At the same time, the mature woman's voice instantly turned into a witch-like shriek.

She first let out an eerie, hair-raising laugh, then said something inexplicable.

[She will take over your body and erode your brain.]

[Hehehehehahaha. Ha.!]

[Oh~ Dwayne~]

[The years have gone by so fast. Time is like a bitch, tick-tock. Tick-tock, never stopping.]

[It reminds me of that little girl named Lucy.]

As soon as the words fell, the darkness faded away, revealing a new scene.

Xin Xin, sitting before her computer, smacked her lips and moistened them.

That strange line of questioning left her staring blankly.

As the witch-like shrill voice vanished, a cramped, dim room slowly appeared, filled with all kinds of dolls. It was easy to tell that the room belonged to a cute little girl.

At the same time, sheets of notebook paper drifted down.

They were covered in simple black doodles.

One sheet flashed by, slowing as it passed the camera. It showed a simple drawing of a little girl with a blank, unhappy expression. A sentence was written above her.

'I'm Lucy.'

I'm Lucy.

Xin Xin naturally understood English, so she translated it in her head immediately.

Was this an introduction?

Xin Xin did not quite understand and kept watching.

The second sheet floated down as well, slowing as it passed the camera.

The drawing showed the simple little girl sitting on a simple sofa watching television. But the TV in front of her said something it should not have said.

'Hello, Lucy.'

Hello, Lucy.

Xin Xin still did not understand what it meant. What was the meaning of this drawing?

Then she saw a third sheet gently drift down. The drawing still featured the simple little girl. Behind her stood a Radio.

But that Radio spoke with a human-like voice.

'I want to be your friend, Lucy.'

I want to be your friend, Lucy.

Xin Xin continued translating in her mind.

But then, the music changed.

It became heavy and eerie, giving her a chill down her spine.

At the same time, a whispering sound effect slowly rose as background noise.

[Lucy.]

[I'm here, Lucy.]

[They're bad, Lucy.]

[I'm your friend, Lucy.]

[Your parents don't love you, Lucy.]

[Don't tell anyone, Lucy.]

[Kill it, Lucy.]

[Do it, Lucy.]

[Kill it.]

[Do it.]

Those murmured whispers repeated like the voice of a demon, accompanied by an echoing effect that made Xin Xin's skin crawl.

It also made her realize that what came next might be different from what had come before.

Amid those chilling whispers, another sheet of paper drifted down.

The fourth sheet fell.

Its drawing showed the simple little girl playing with building blocks. But a crayon-drawn humanoid shadow emerged from the television behind her, a terrifying smile exposed where its head should have been.

The fifth sheet fell.

It was still the simple little girl, but her face was no longer blank and calm. It was filled with hatred and ferocity.

The sixth sheet fell.

It showed a gigantic humanoid shadow tightly gripping a treehouse in its hand. Inside it was the simple little girl.

The scene was like a bird in a cage, left to be toyed with, played with, and controlled.

The seventh sheet fell.

It showed the simple little girl now completely together with the humanoid shadow wearing a sinister grin. Beside them was a birdcage containing a little bird named "Peck."

The eighth sheet fell.

The birdcage had been overturned, and "Peck" inside had been split in two, one half held in the simple little girl's hand.

It was also covered in the words Die, Die, Die, Die, making Xin Xin's eyes widen.

Then, in the next instant, the scene suddenly changed, arriving in a narrow, Pitch Black corridor.

A pair of hands appeared from the camera's perspective. It seemed to have become the player's viewpoint.

The left hand held a camera. The right hand held a lit Lighter.

On either side stood solid, thick white walls.

Above, fluorescent lights flickered.

The white light and the Lighter's orange glow reflected harshly off the wooden floor.

It created a strange atmosphere.

At that moment, the camera's shutter clicked, and the flash went off.

In that instant of blinking brightness, huge swathes of horrifying black graffiti appeared across the white walls on both sides.

At the same time, a doorless room, like an abyss, appeared at the end of the corridor.

From within it, a hunched little girl with a head full of withered hair, ragged clothes, and no lower jaw trembled as she walked out.

She made a pumping sound like one from the bottom of a dried-up well, echoing endlessly through the dead-silent corridor.

Her filthy feet stepped on the reflective floor with a piercing creak—creak.

When her body was exposed beneath the fluorescent light, the lamp seemed to be disturbed by something and went out with a pop.

In an instant, the surroundings plunged into Pitch Black darkness where nothing could be seen. Only the tiny, insecure glow of the Lighter in hand remained.

But the approaching floor creaks and the terrifying wails that echoed endlessly hammered at the mind, proving that little girl was in the darkness ahead!

And she was getting closer!

"Holy shit. That's a ghost!"

Xin Xin's pupils constricted as she was horrified by the sight before her.

She had thought this game might feature deformed monsters again, or translucent ghosts like those in Dark Forest.

After all, all those trashy horror games before had used that sort of thing, including this Shuo Guang.

She had never seen an actual ghost appear in a horror game before, because developers could never pull it off. They always ended up making some incomprehensible nonsense.

Yet she had never expected a real Vengeful Spirit to appear in this game!

A real ghost!

The viewers in the livestream immediately began spamming the chat when they saw it.

"Fuck! I actually got to see a real ghost in a horror game in my lifetime!"

"Damn, with this quality and that ghost's appearance, who the hell would dare play this!?"

"Holy crap, the walls were completely white, then the camera flash went off and the whole wall was suddenly covered in graffiti. That's so damn creative!!"

"Help! I thought I was brave. When the ghost appeared, I was only startled, but when the light went out and the sounds kept getting closer in total darkness where I couldn't see anything, I completely lost it! I just wanted to run!"

"Relax, everyone. This game is obviously setting the protagonist up to fight ghosts. We just don't know what the weapon will be. It could be a knife, or maybe even a gun."

Xin Xin ignored the livestream comments. She had even forgotten about eating, staring fixedly at the video and wondering what would happen next.

At that point, after the ghost appeared, the trailer's musical rhythm gradually picked up, as if foreshadowing an urgent situation and impending danger.

The player's viewpoint also seemed terrified, hurriedly turning around to get away from the darkness ahead and the little girl Vengeful Spirit hiding within it.

Behind was a long corridor that spiraled and twisted, blood dripping constantly from it.

One fluorescent bulb after another illuminated the passage, while Radios had been casually discarded everywhere, left unattended.

The walls on either side were no longer spotless white. They were covered in flesh and blood vessels.

A thick, winding, endless scarlet umbilical cord was also exposed across the reflective floor!

Holding the camera and Lighter, the player's viewpoint began sprinting for its life through the spiraling, twisted corridor.

Along the way, the Radios scattered beside the umbilical cord suddenly began playing.

A steady male voice came from them.

[Dolores's symptoms are getting worse.]

[The doctor told me she has schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, psychosis, dementia, and other problems.]

[It looks like treatment will only make things worse.]

[Just like that little girl named Lucy back then.]

[She has been detached from reality for a long time.]

[She barely remembers me anymore.]

[Today, she told me she heard her own voice coming from the baby monitor, reciting a string of numbers.]

[How is that possible?]

[She said she could always hear herself crying through the baby monitor. Even after turning it off, she could still hear it.]

[It seems Dolores has gone insane.]

[I can't take it anymore.]

Watching the fleeing camera viewpoint in the trailer, Xin Xin's heart rose to her throat.

Those Radios along the way kept recounting the situation of a woman named Dolores.

From those scattered fragments, she vaguely understood something.

But what did that have to do with the little girl Lucy!?

Xin Xin was baffled, though it was only a trailer, so it was normal not to understand.

At that moment, the twisted passage gradually returned to normal as the player fled.

And a door suddenly appeared ahead!

The camera viewpoint rushed over and yanked it open.

Then—

A pair of deathly pale hands reached out, followed by a deathly pale face wearing a sinister grin.

Aah—!!

"Holy shit!"

Two sounds.

One was a man's scream, the other a woman's cry.

Xin Xin, sitting before her computer, was violently startled.

She had already been tense and alert, waiting for the trailer's viewpoint to escape successfully.

She had never expected a jumpscare behind the door!

That sudden appearance combined with the sound effect made her little heart skip two beats. She repeatedly patted her ample chest and took deep breaths.

Her anime avatar also had shadows cast over its eyes, showing how badly she had been frightened.

At that moment, the trailer was completely dark, as though the player's eyes had been covered.

Only a woman's voice could be heard.

[Darling. Have you seen my child?]

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