Million Views

"Not bad!"

"This one's really good too!"

"Mmm. Mmm. Mmm."

Meng Shu sat at the small dining table, quietly watching his little sister wolf down her food with a ravenous expression.

According to his memories, this family loved spicy food.

And he himself happened to be skilled at cooking Sichuan cuisine—a perfect fit, leaving the girl with greasy lips and not a shred of ladylike demeanor.

On the table were a simple four dishes and one soup.

She alone had swept through a third of it. He had to admit, the girl looked slim, but her appetite was unexpectedly huge.

Meng Xiaoran set down her bowl with a thud, burped, then grabbed a napkin to wipe her mouth.

Her crystalline pupils fixed on her brother, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.

"Bro, when did you learn to cook!?"

Meng Shu held a cup of water, drinking slowly. Hearing this, he just smiled and didn't answer.

"How's the taste?"

Meng Xiaoran nodded repeatedly.

"Delicious! Delicious! Bro, your skills are amazing! Next time Mom and Dad work late, I'm counting on you for dinner, bro!"

Meng Shu shrugged, nodded, and didn't reply, continuing to drink his plain water, taking it as tacit agreement.

Across from him, the girl, after eating her fill, patted her slightly bulging belly, then grabbed her armpit crutches, ready to head back to her room.

"Bro, give me a hand. I'm too full to walk."

Meng Shu glanced at her and nodded.

He stood up, helped her back to her room.

Then he returned to the living room, looked at the clock hanging on the wall—it was already 8 PM. The parents should be back soon.

Sure enough, just as he thought that, he heard the sound of a bicycle outside.

Their family had no car.

Not even an electric scooter, just bicycles.

Meng Shu glanced at the door, turned, and walked into the kitchen, scooping the food out of the pot.

What Meng Xiaoran had eaten was only part of it.

What was left in the pot was saved for the parents.

Just as he set these dishes on the small dining table, the door opened.

His parents in this world had returned.

One look, and he could see their weariness and age.

His mother looked exhausted, as if even walking took effort.

His father wasn't tall, with thinning hair and uneven shoulders.

It was clear that the two of them were striving hard for this small family.

Even as they grew older, they still bore their responsibilities.

When they saw Meng Shu at the table, they froze for a moment, then were stunned again at the sight of the steaming four dishes and one soup.

"These... takeout? Haven't you two eaten yet?"

Meng Shu shook his head and smiled.

"I made them. You came back so late, you probably haven't eaten yet. Go ahead and eat first."

The parents exchanged glances, seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

Since when did our son know how to cook?

The next day, early morning.

Meng Shu got up early and prepared breakfast for his parents.

Simple pumpkin porridge, boiled corn, and fried eggs. He set them on the table and returned to his room.

It was 6:30 AM. The little girl Meng was definitely still asleep, so her breakfast could be ignored.

He'd already eaten his own portion.

So, with a new day ahead, it was time to continue developing the first chapter of Dark Forest.

But before that, let's check how yesterday's uploaded video was received.

With that, he picked up his phone and opened the Danmu Network.

Instantly, the glaring 99+ in the top right corner signaled that this was no simple matter.

Upon clicking to open it, things were even more shocking!

99+ replies, 99+ private messages, 99+ likes.

This was absolutely explosive!

Meng Shu skimmed through them, almost all were marveling at the game's high quality and how terrifying it was, among other things.

Among the private messages, aside from praise, inquiries, and mindless insults, there were also a few claiming to be from various mobile game companies, extending olive branches to him, hoping to hire him.

But even so, not a single company was willing to invest or sponsor.

Even those that extended olive branches were the same—they'd rather recruit him as a person than invest in developing Dark Forest.

It was clear these companies really didn't have faith in horror games.

He returned to the homepage, ready to click on his personal info to find the uploaded video and check the data.

But then, he saw his own video prominently featured in the homepage's rotating recommendations!?

What the—it made it to the homepage recommendations?

Meng Shu quickly clicked on his video, and instantly, his eyes went wide!

1.6 million views, 840K likes, 910K coins, 270K favorites, 140K shares.

These numbers—unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable!

Considering it was just one night, this was explosive, right?

How many videos don't even hit these numbers after a week, yet he had such impressive stats in just one night? It was practically a miracle!

And it also indirectly showed that the audience base was huge.

Moreover, beyond these stats, even now in the early morning, there were still over 1,200 people watching.

The total bullet comments had reached a staggering 19K!

The total comments had hit 9,468!

Even his follower count had gone from the original 4 to over 4,000!

Each of these numbers told him directly: your video is a hit!

Meng Shu's heart stirred with excitement—after all, this was his first video release in two lifetimes.

And to achieve such impressive results, surpassing most others, made his spirits soar.

He glanced at the comments; most people who had downloaded the game said they were scared by its horror atmosphere.

"You're telling me this was developed by one person? I've been educated, don't try to fool me."

"I downloaded and played it last night. All I can say is, it's freaking terrifying."

"I downloaded it too. Holy crap, I feel like the developer is taking revenge on society!!"

"Downloaded but haven't played yet. Is it really that scary? Aren't horror games always just bait-and-switch garbage?"

"Downloaded because of the gimmick of a domestic solo dev, but damn, it scared me speechless."

"Timid people, don't play! Warning again! Timid people, don't play! This is different from those scam horror garbage games on the market—this one is genuinely scary! Don't say I didn't warn you!!"

These comments clearly piqued the curiosity of those who hadn't downloaded the game.

"The live demo looks okay, but I just don't get the top-down view and horror games. Is it really that scary?"

"Could these all be paid shills? For years, it's been a given that anyone who makes horror games fails—small audience, niche, even big companies don't dare to step in. And now some unknown little domestic horror game dares to hype like this? Hard not to suspect it's astroturfing."

"Above, why don't you just download and play it yourself? Those old horror games were all trash. Can they compare? Are you a cloud gamer without a PC?"

"For a solo dev to have this quality is pretty solid. I'll give it a try later."

"What game? Where to download? Can I play it on mobile?"

There were many more comments like these, and Meng Shu figured reading them all would take a whole day, so he stopped scrolling.

As for those extending olive branches, he ignored them too.

Sure, working for others would bring stable income, but in his past life, he had started from scratch as a developer, built his own company, managed it well, amassed considerable wealth, and was a successful figure.

Now, he would naturally continue down that path.

Besides, with the system's help, it was like turning the difficulty of starting a business from extremely hard to just simple.

All he lacked was money.

But now, with Dark Forest getting a bit of publicity, it had gained some audience.

He believed that this promotional effect would soon yield results.