Supernatural Phenomena

After hearing the phone ring, Zai Zong immediately became alert.

He slowly backed into a corner, his entire body tense as he prepared himself for danger.

In his eyes, this was a sign that the plot had been triggered and an event was about to begin.

Yet after a long while, nothing happened apart from the ringing phone.

That left him relieved, but also somewhat disappointed.

However—

Zai Zong looked down the stairs. On the right-hand wall below was a wall-mounted device that occasionally flashed with red light.

It was obviously a telephone. The ringing was coming from it.

"Hmm, looks like I have no choice but to answer it."

Zai Zong steadied himself. Rather than immediately heading downstairs, he first examined his surroundings.

At the moment, he had two paths he could take.

1. Go straight downstairs toward the ringing phone.

2. Turn right and head upstairs, where there was a nearby room with its door slightly ajar.

But an inexplicable red light was spilling through the crack beneath the door of the second room. It did not seem like a good sign.

After hesitating for a long time, Zai Zong ultimately gave up on going inside.

Instead, he chose to go downstairs and trigger the plot.

So, he stepped onto the stairs and cautiously made his way down one step at a time.

At the same time, he kept telling himself that this was only a game.

"Calm down, Zai Zong!"

"You're the most handsome!"

"This is just a game! A game!"

"It's all code! All algorithms! Don't be scared!"

"And what game throws the intense stuff at you right away? They all ease you into it!"

"So I'm not scared. I'm not scared."

The livestream chat instantly flooded with comments.

Several highlighted messages floated past.

One of them, worth 1,200 yuan, said: Didn't someone say earlier that he wasn't scared?

Zai Zong snorted when he saw it.

"What do you know? This is called strategic fear."

"If I act scared first, then even if I get scared later, it won't be because the game scared me. It'll be because I actively got scared in advance, got it?"

"Before the game can scare me, I'll act like I've already been scared. That way, the game doesn't count as having scared me. I'm scaring myself—I predicted the game's prediction. You people wouldn't understand the feeling of holding your own fate in your hands."

The chat immediately filled with comments agreeing sarcastically.

As Zai Zong went downstairs, the phone rang louder and louder.

At the same time, the scene gradually opened up, revealing more of the surroundings.

By the time he reached the wall-mounted phone, the entire lower floor was in view.

It was a place much like a living room.

The space was roomy and furnished with several expensive pieces of furniture.

Three display cabinets taller than a person stood against the walls, decorating the room like guards.

The luxurious carpet on the floor further highlighted the resident's extraordinary status.

Everything looked perfectly normal. There were no ghosts and no abnormalities.

Zai Zong composed himself, approached the wall-mounted phone, and picked it up.

He knew that in games, this was a mechanism used to advance the plot.

If he did not answer it, it would definitely keep ringing.

He had no desire to keep listening to a death-knell-like phone ring in this silent, unfamiliar house.

The call connected quickly.

A somewhat mature voice came through.

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

[I know it's already very late, and I know I'm being a little paranoid.]

[But... I'm sorry. I'm worried.]

[Because I haven't seen you leave your house in nearly three weeks.]

[So could you call me back? Let me know you're all right.]

After those few brief words of greeting and concern, the call ended.

It was clearly not a live conversation, but a voicemail.

The moment Zai Zong heard it, he realized it was the old woman's voice from the trailer.

He knew that this neighbor's voice would later become shrill like a witch's, constantly muttering Dwayne's name.

But now, in the actual game, this so-called neighbor's voice remained normal from beginning to end. It did not turn shrill as it had in the trailer, nor did it give that bone-chillingly terrifying laugh.

It was as though it really was just a friendly neighbor checking in.

Zai Zong did not understand the relationship between these people, nor did he know how to call back. Then again, there did not seem to be a call-back mechanic.

So he put the phone down, and it also revealed a few details to him.

The protagonist he controlled had stayed inside this house for three whole weeks without leaving.

If he had not gone outside for that long, what had he been doing at home?

At that moment, Zai Zong remembered that he had emerged from a room containing nothing but black stains all over the floor.

He also remembered that someone with a gun had killed a mother and her young children in the game's opening.

Then—

Wait!

Could the person who fired the gun in the opening have been Dwayne?

Had he committed suicide, which was why he had not left the house for three weeks and had drawn his neighbor's concern?

Then who was the protagonist he was controlling now...?

Dwayne?

It was possible!

The game's timeline could very well have taken place before Dwayne shot those people!

With that thought, Zai Zong pieced the clues together in his mind, then revealed an enlightened expression.

"Brothers, I think I roughly know what the plot is now."

"The protagonist I'm controlling should be Dwayne, the one the neighbor mentioned on the phone—the guy who shot and killed people in the opening. Think about it. Earlier, after the protagonist shot someone, he staggered, became dizzy, and clutched his head in pain. What does that tell us? It tells us that the protagonist was already abnormal at the beginning! He was already messed up in the head!"

"And when someone has mental problems, who gets hurt first? Their family! So the woman, boy, and girl in the opening should have been the protagonist's wife and children. And when the protagonist fired the gun, he clutched his head and struggled. You can tell he still had some reason left."

"Based on the neighbor's phone call, the protagonist was clearly normal before. So if he suffered a mental breakdown, he must have encountered or experienced something."

"And what kind of game is this? A Horror Games game! And one with real ghosts, at that!"

"So it isn't hard to guess. The game's plot should be about the protagonist encountering supernatural horrors while he was still normal, then being tormented bit by bit until he became an insane madman. Finally, it loops back to the beginning, where he can no longer bear it, shoots his family, and forms a perfect closed loop."

After saying that, Zai Zong immediately felt proud of his own intelligence.

This was the skill of a gaming veteran with nearly ten years of experience—reverse-engineering a game's plot through tiny details and scattered bits of dialogue.

Not just anyone could do that!

It was no wonder he was known as the fifth of Jiangnan's Four Great Talents.

"So next, we players will witness how the protagonist was gradually turned from a normal person into a lunatic by supernatural horrors."

When the viewers in the livestream heard that, they immediately felt that it made perfect sense!

So they began spamming the chat.

But then a highlighted message worth 100 yuan suddenly appeared.

"If the timeline is before the opening, then what does this 'not leaving home for three weeks' mean? Shouldn't he have stayed inside for three weeks only after the protagonist killed himself?"

Uh.

Zai Zong was instantly at a loss for words.

That actually seemed to make some sense.

If he had not left the house for three weeks, then something should have happened before he stopped going out.

If the timeline was before the protagonist killed his family, then the protagonist, who was still normal, could not possibly have stayed indoors for three weeks. Did he not have a job?

"Well... I can't figure that out either. Let's keep playing and see. We won't get an answer by standing here and guessing forever."

So, carrying those doubts, Zai Zong began formally exploring the house!

Meanwhile, Xin Xin was not thinking nearly as much.

As a MOBA player, she was currently inching through the house in terror, on the verge of tears.

She had originally planned to rank up today, but Radio had happened to release, and her viewers and fans had been clamoring to see the game.

But how could someone who had been scared out of her chair by the trailer possibly stream it?

Even now, touching her butt still faintly reminded her of how much it had hurt back then!

So she said that she would rank up today and stream the new game another day.

The result was that her position as the top gaming channel dropped all the way to seventh.

That was because the six channels ahead of her were all streaming Radio, attracting plenty of viewers. The top one was none other than Zai Zong's stream—the guy who had been eternal runner-up.

Watching him rise to first place felt like being mocked.

So, with no other choice, she bought the game on the spot and installed it.

After changing her stream title, her popularity slowly began to recover, and the number of chat messages gradually increased.

Xin Xin could only curse inwardly.

About ten minutes later, she entered the game as well.

At that moment, she was cautiously pacing down a corridor, terrified that a ghost might leap out from some corner and scare her.

And this corridor looked very familiar. Was it not the one shown in the trailer?

Only, the red door at the end had become a white door. She had no idea what that meant.

She remembered getting scared so badly by a ghost jumping in her face in this very corridor that she fell over.

The thought made her shudder. She quickly shook her head, refusing to let her imagination run wild.

Then, pressed against the wall, she moved forward one careful step at a time, her heart pounding with fear.

She would bet 100 yuan that even a haunted house at an amusement park felt warmer than this place.

"Thankfully, there are lights in the hallway. It's not pitch-black like it was in the trailer."

The moment she said that, the fluorescent light above flickered, then suddenly went out.

The bulb going dark so abruptly startled her badly enough that she instinctively took two steps back in real life.

"What the hell!? Is something intense happening!? Where is it!? Where!?"

Xin Xin hurriedly looked around, but the once-bright corridor had fallen into darkness. Only the gentle moonlight beyond the blinds gave off enough light to keep her from being completely unable to see.

At the same time, a prompt appeared.

The light bulb has gone out on its own. This is a supernatural phenomenon, and such phenomena may occur randomly in the game. They will greatly reduce your sanity.

Please maintain your sanity. The lower your sanity, the more frequently supernatural phenomena will occur. Once your sanity falls to a certain level, you will lose your mind. At that point, good luck.

To restore sanity, stand in a brightly lit place and avoid darkness. You may also collect Anti-Stress Pills to instantly restore sanity.

Xin Xin read the prompt at lightning speed and clicked confirm.

At the same time, she patted her ample chest, relieved that the scare had passed without incident.

Thank goodness, thank goodness.

Nothing had happened. The light bulb had merely gone out.

"And what the heck is sanity? This is the first time I've ever seen a game with a setting like this. It's practically unheard of!"

The viewers in the chat also said they had never seen a game with such a setting.

That meant it was an original official feature.

Seeing those comments, Xin Xin pursed her lips.

"Seriously, it doesn't even tell me what happens if I lose my mind. It just wishes me good luck. How am I supposed to not let my imagination run wild?"

She pressed her lips together and continued forward.

Soon, she left the corridor and arrived at the Entrance Hall.

Before she could finish examining the new environment, a black Radio beneath the staircase leading to the second floor suddenly turned on by itself!

At the same time, Xin Xin found that her vision had become blurry and hazy.

Whenever she moved, it was as though she were underwater, slow and sluggish. And when she moved her head, the objects before her actually left afterimages!

What the hell was this?

Was she dizzy?

Then she remembered the game prompt from earlier.

Encountering supernatural phenomena would lower the character's sanity.

Could this be the visual effect of lowered sanity?

Was the game using the blur, sluggishness, and afterimages to tell the player that their sanity was dropping?

The thought made her shudder all over. She hated this visual effect; it made her feel dizzy and disoriented.

So she hurried beneath the light in the Entrance Hall.

Before long, the image returned to normal. The slow, blurry effect vanished, and the scene no longer left afterimages.

That proved that it had been the effect of lowered sanity.

Because she had encountered the supernatural phenomenon of the Radio turning on by itself.

At that moment, the Radio was broadcasting the host's distinctive announcer voice.

[Oh~ Hello, listeners.]

[Today's weather couldn't be more wonderful!]

[The temperature remained above 77 degrees Fahrenheit, and the skies were perfectly clear—ideal for a trip.]

[Make your plans and take your family to the beach for some fun.]

[Take a day off, put down your busy work, and tell your lover and children how much you care about them.]

[Also, we invited a special guest today. He will share the happiness and joy of family with us.]

[His name is Dwayne Dwayne. Dwayne. Hehehe. Dwayne. Dwayne. (inaudible)]

Xin Xin immediately got goosebumps.

The radio host's normal voice abruptly changed the moment it read out that name!

At times it was shrill and rapid, at others low and slow.

It was as though audio equipment had warped it, stretching and sharpening the sound until it became unbearable!

At the same time, Xin Xin noticed that her surroundings were beginning to turn hazy and blurred, while her movements became sluggish.

This... was another supernatural phenomenon!

I'm still standing under the lights right now!!!

Unable to bear the radio's bizarre voice any longer, Xin Xin hurried over and pressed the radio.

Unexpectedly, the radio actually turned off!

That unbearable voice vanished in an instant.

Before long, her vision returned to normal and was no longer blurred or sluggish.

That meant her sanity was gradually recovering.

At this point, Xin Xin let out a heavy breath and forcefully pounded her ample chest, trying to calm herself down.

Since she had started playing, she had already encountered three supernatural phenomena: the light bulb going out, the radio turning on by itself, and the radio's distorted voice.

Yet she had not even seen a Ghost Shadow! Just three supernatural incidents had nearly driven her to a mental breakdown and made her unable to keep playing!

This was way too torturous!

Xin Xin was on the verge of losing it, but when she saw gifts flooding into the livestream, she gritted her teeth and kept going.

Money was just too good.

Still, she needed to calm down before facing the rest of the game.

Since the front door was right here in the Entrance Hall, should she try opening it and going outside?

After all, this was VR. In terms of freedom, it might allow actions other games could not.

With that thought, Xin Xin turned around and had barely taken a step.

When the radio behind her suddenly came back on.

There was no longer a host's voice coming from it.

Only bursts of static echoed through the quiet Entrance Hall.

She froze in shock.

"Didn't I fucking turn it off!?"

She hurriedly turned around and looked toward the radio.

The black device was now glowing with a Red Light and emitting piercing static.

Rather than immediately turning it off, Xin Xin warily scanned her surroundings from the Entrance Hall.

The place connected in every direction.

Directly opposite the front door was a tightly shut door. Beside it stood a staircase leading to the second floor, with a cane leaning against the railing.

To her left was another closed door, with a ring of keys hanging from it.

To her right was the corridor she had come through.

The Entrance Hall was spacious, yet it gave her no sense of security whatsoever.

It even felt as though something could jump out and attack her at any moment!

So she clenched her teeth and, after carefully confirming there was no danger, stepped forward and turned off the radio again.

In an instant, silence returned.

And she breathed a sigh of relief.

Honestly, before Dark Forest and Visage came out, no Horror Games had ever made her this jumpy. Never!

Not even 21 Points had!

Only after those two games came out had she experienced this feeling.

Xin Xin let out another breath.

After looking around once more, she quickly walked over to the front door.

But before she could twist the handle, the sight outside caught her attention.

The door was outlined with gold trim and fitted with decorative glass, giving her a clear view of the outside.

Beyond the door, the night was hazy and silent.

Rainclouds filled the sky, and a light drizzle fell steadily.

Waves of fog spread across the Town's streets, swallowing every building in sight while leaving them faintly visible, like a fairyland!

The damp ground reflected the surroundings.

There were no pedestrians on the road, and she could not hear anything besides the rain.

It was as though she were the only person living in this Town, cut off from the rest of the world.

Looking outside through the glass door, Xin Xin suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of loneliness.

The next moment, she snapped back to her senses, shook her head, and steadied herself.

"Don't let the game's atmosphere affect me. First, let's see if I can get out of this house."

She immediately cast aside that loneliness and reached out to twist the handle, but it would not budge. The door was clearly locked.

"It won't open. Well, that makes sense. How could an indoor game possibly let you go outside?"

As Xin Xin looked at the unopened door and prepared to give up.

A highlighted message worth one hundred yuan suddenly floated across the screen.

It read: Why not try smashing the door open with something? The outdoor scenery looks so realistic, so they obviously modeled it. And this game's physics engine seems really strong. What if you can actually smash it open?

Seeing the comment, Xin Xin shook her head.

"The game settings definitely won't let it open. Outside is probably just a prerecorded scene."

With that, Xin Xin stopped lingering by the front door and began exploring the Entrance Hall.

She opened the coat cabinet beside the door and tried picking up a pair of leather shoes from the floor.

She actually picked them up!

Not only that, she tossed them in her hand a couple of times and found that they seemed to have real weight, bouncing back and forth in her palm.

Impressive!

This was the freedom of VR Games!

Something computer games could never do!

Xin Xin threw the shoe in her hand at the front door.

With a bang, the door remained perfectly intact, while the shoe fell to the floor.

There were even sound effects!

And physical collision effects too!

"Can I pick up anything?"

Xin Xin looked around and spotted the cane leaning against the stair railing.

She stepped forward and grabbed it, but before it had even warmed in her hand, the cane turned into specks of white light and vanished completely.

"Uh?"

"What happened? Why did the cane disappear?"

Just as she stared in astonishment, a game notification appeared before her.

All-Seeing Eye

You have unlocked Lacan's chapter. From this point on, you will investigate the stories of the Mansion's Past Residents and learn about the bizarre experiences they once went through.

The next chapter will be horror and supernatural stuff. I wonder if I can capture that feeling with my current skill level. I'll do my best! Also, I've seen all the games readers recommended, and I'll incorporate them later on. Thanks to "Enthusiastic Dishonest Merchant," "But Won't Say No," "Reader 4032," "eweeew," "Book Friend 6141," "TTLmc," and "Clear Moon Return" for the monthly tickets! Thank you all!