"Visage" Game Released!

Saturday, 8:30 PM.

For most people, this time slot was just the golden hour for watching TV dramas—nothing special.

But for gamers, it was the release time of "Visage."

Admittedly, choosing to launch at this hour was something only they would do.

Because most other games went on sale right after midnight.

They had to pick 8:30 in the evening.

So the moment Huaxia time hit the 30-minute mark, all cyber users who had added "Visage" to their wishlists instantly received text notifications.

And on the Danmu Network, this game was giving streamers an extra boost on the popularity rankings.

Among them, Zai Zong came up with an idea. He simply changed his stream title to: [Streaming Visage at 8:30]

Short, but punchy.

It really did rake in a lot of viewers for him, drawing plenty of people to come watch.

Now, he had already downloaded the game.

To maximize the streaming effect, he turned on his real-life camera, placed it at a distance to capture his full body, letting his handsome figure be admired in the bottom-right corner.

Since it was VR, he couldn't sit at the computer—he had to stand, so a full-body shot was necessary.

At this moment, his stream's popularity slowly climbed to 1.1 million, with over 900,000 concurrent viewers, ranking second in the Danmu Network's gaming channel.

And now, to snatch first place, he was going all out!

"Let me say this first—I'm not nervous, and I'm not scared. After going through Chainsaw Face Wash, you're asking if I'm afraid? Let me put it this way: I am the Iron Gallant Divine Marquis!"

Whoosh—

The stream chat instantly flooded with danmu.

Facing the audience's disbelief, Zai Zong curled his lip, put on his VR headset, grabbed both controllers, and launched the already purchased and installed game on his computer.

"Brothers, I never in a million years thought a VR masterpiece would come from our Huaxia game studio. Seriously, never—because even foreigners couldn't pull it off, but we Huaxians did. It's pretty damn pride-inducing."

Zai Zong was buzzing with excitement. After trying out "21 Points," he had high hopes for "Visage"!

Especially after watching the trailer—instead of fear, he felt a thrill as he clicked to start the game, eager to dive in and experience that immersive sensation firsthand!

Soon, the screen went black as the game began loading.

Then, a warning message appeared before him.

[Warning: The content of this game may cause discomfort. It is recommended for players aged 18 and above with a certain level of self-control. The elderly and those with conditions such as heart disease or asthma are strongly advised to close the game and refrain from playing! The developers are not responsible for any issues arising from this game!]

Seeing this, Zai Zong thought it over and decided to dial back his half-joking attitude.

Sure, those crappy horror games always had similar disclaimers, but he—or rather, players in general—never took them seriously. They just saw it as the devs patting themselves on the back, thinking their game was terrifying.

But with "Visage," it was better to be cautious.

After all, that trailer was genuinely top-tier!

And the previous "21 Points" had been way too real.

This game demanded serious treatment.

Underestimating it would only lead to trouble.

Soon, the game began.

The screen was pitch black.

Then, a soothing, calming melody slowly started playing.

Off to the side, there was a small birdcage, holding a little bird that kept looking around, chirping.

Its voice blended with the menu's gentle music, creating a strangely beautiful harmony!

It had Zai Zong completely entranced.

Though the menu screen had no real visuals overall, it gave off a sense of simplicity without being cheap.

Way more refined than "21 Points'" laughably low-budget blood-drip menu!

"Mm, the music's nice. If I didn't know this was a horror game beforehand, I'd think it was some other genre."

Zai Zong clicked into the settings and cranked every parameter to max—couldn't help it, his rig was beastly, and he wanted to squeeze every drop out of his graphics card.

After tweaking everything, he selected "Start Game."

A loading screen popped up, showing what looked like a damp concrete floor with a toy train sitting on it.

It was clearly some unknown real-world scene from the game—no idea if he'd ever run into it.

But more importantly, in the middle of the loading screen, there was a warning—or rather, a tip—that caught Zai Zong's attention.

It read:

["Visage" is a challenging game. Stay rational, investigate carefully, manage and utilize your resources well, escape their pursuit, and finally—good luck.]

Zai Zong:

"Tch... feeling a bit off, bros. The devs gave two explanations in a row, and even the 'Dark Forest' only has one."

"And that 'Good luck' is way too deliberate. Makes me even more hyped for the game content."

Zai Zong's room wasn't too big, but it wasn't too small either.

Right now, wearing his VR headset, all he saw was the game's loading screen.

Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal, but after seeing the prompts, he suddenly got this feeling that reality might not be so safe.

It got to the point where he couldn't help taking off the VR, warily scanning his room.

Then he felt a bit embarrassed, quickly put the VR back on, and silently cursed himself for being such a coward—this was his own home!

Shrugging, the game officially began!

"Here we go, bros!"

As soon as he said that, Zai Zong's vision went pitch black.

Countless fine dust particles swirled and floated up.

A dim incandescent bulb flickered faintly overhead, lighting up the surroundings.

The camera slowly panned down; gray-white dust, like splashing snowflakes, danced endlessly, dazzling the eyes.

During this process, the creator's name slowly appeared.

Meng Shu

"So that's Shuo Guang's real name. Man, first time I've known it."

Just then, a conspicuous message worth 20 yuan floated through the livestream, asking: Bro Zai, are you scared?

Zai Zong immediately snorted, putting on a deep voice to reply to that 20-yuan message.

"Bro, this is just a game! Even if it's horror, even if ghosts are real, so what? At the end of the day, it's still a game. As long as it's a game, it's entertainment. If you get scared, that means you lack practice. Go hit up '21 Points' for a Chainsaw Face Wash, and you'll graduate."

For these fans who loved to spend money on tips, Zai Zong replied half-jokingly.

Anyway, everyone was used to it, and it wouldn't offend anyone.

That was just his persona.

Right then, the company info finished displaying, and the scene shifted to a table.

On the table lay a Revolver and six scattered bullets.

That strong sense of familiarity—Zai Zong instantly recognized it as a clip from the trailer.

At the same time, it indirectly confirmed that the trailer was actual gameplay.

If nothing unexpected happened, the Protagonist would grab the gun and kill the person tied to the chair.

In the trailer, he only killed one woman before the scene cut.

Now that he was playing for real, would he go through the whole process?

Zai Zong didn't know; this was still a real-time rendered opening cutscene he couldn't control, so he just watched.

In the game, the opening demo played out in first-person.

Those hands slowly picked up the Revolver, examined it, and loaded bullet after bullet into the chamber.

Then he slowly stood up, staggered over to the woman, raised the gun, and aimed it at her forehead.

"Wait, wait."

Zai Zong immediately pressed the menu button, pausing the game.

He let out a breath, shook his hands, and spoke up.

"Bros, uh, it's a bit too real. Playing this with VR is totally different from watching the trailer on a computer! I don't know how to describe it, but when I raised the gun just now, all I could think was that I was about to kill someone, and I had to stop myself from that impulse."

"Holy crap, the VR immersion is just different. I don't know if you guys can feel the game's atmosphere, but look at this model—it's too lifelike! The opening is first-person too, making me feel like I'm really about to kill someone. That feeling is, well, really unsettling, you know?"

Just then, a message worth 30 yuan floated by, saying: You're scared, aren't you?

Zai Zong got instantly annoyed.

"Bro, you're joking. I told you, this is just a game. What's there to be scared of in a game? Bring it on!"

Zai Zong pressed the menu button again, and the real-time rendered cutscene continued.

Now, in Zai Zong's eyes, the woman in front of him, struggling and whimpering, showed no trace of being a model under the lighting effects.

Her movements were also incredibly realistic, hard to distinguish.

It was like a real person was begging him for mercy, and that desperate will to live hit him directly.

So much so that Zai Zong couldn't bear to look!

Even though he knew it was a game, it still felt too real—overly real, to the point where it gave him a very uneasy feeling.

Maybe he should just close his eyes?

After all, with the VR on, the audience wouldn't know he'd closed them. He could stay calm, build his image—why not?

Zai Zong thought this over and was about to shut his eyes when—

A massive gunshot rang out.

Blood splattered everywhere.

The VR screen was dotted with specks of crimson.

It left him completely dumbfounded.

Third chapter done, 8,304 words total! That's basically four chapters! Never thought typing would be this exhausting, especially toward the end—even choosing words and structuring sentences became a problem, the prose flowing like plain boiled water. Frustrating! As expected, the best state is always during the first chapter!

Thanks to 'Where There's a Scallion, There's a Future' for the monthly ticket support!!