A Thousand Ways to Die

"That can't be!"

Xu Duzhong found it unbelievable.

For a normal game, someone would definitely have completed it and provided a walkthrough within a day of its release. But for interactive video games, which don't require any gameplay, they should have been completed in no time.

How is it possible that no one has gotten the true ending in two days?

Xu Duzhong didn't believe it, so he immediately searched for the video "[The Great Wedding Day]" online.

The result was that I found the highly-rated answers in the "Did You Get It??" section.

"The complexity of this video is unimaginable. Although the total length may only be a little over an hour, the branching paths it contains far exceed the typical 15 to 20 hours of gameplay for a single-player game. And this is only the part that players have already explored. It's hard to imagine how much effort [Motionless] has put into this game during the period without updates, because just filming the footage for this video alone took at least a month."

Nobody has actually completed the game; only people who haven't completed it are praising this video.

After reading several answers, Xu Duzhong opened the video again and tried one of the options suggested by someone that could reliably advance to the later stages.

But the third one was different.

When the carriage stopped again, there were no options to "get out and check" or "stay in the carriage"; only "use the lamp" and "continue onward" were available.

Xu Duzhong thought for a moment and chose to use a lamp to illuminate the area.

He saw the light pierce through the thick fog, revealing a bizarrely shaped monster with Fish-headed people in front of the carriage.

The slow emergence of that thing from the mist sent chills down Xu Duzhong's spine.

"Is this thing real, or just a prop?"

He unconsciously put himself in their shoes.

Interactive videos, especially suspenseful ones, are highly interactive and engaging, making it easy for viewers to immerse themselves in the experience. Combined with the immersive environment of a dormitory and the realistic lighting, Xu Duzhong felt even more present in the scene.

Moreover, the video seemed to possess some kind of magic, drawing his attention.

After examining the stone statue, he drove the carriage around to continue forward. However, less than a minute later, Xu Duzhong saw the stone statue again in the dark fog ahead.

It's exactly the same as the one I saw before.

"Being trapped in a maze?"

He chose to examine the statue and continue forward, but surprisingly, he soon repeated the same thing.

Unconvinced, Xu Duzhong repeated the exercise three or four times before the screen suddenly went dark.

[You, trapped in an endless cycle, may need to find a way out.]

[BAD END: 27]

At this moment, Xu Duzhong realized that he had unknowingly strayed from the game guide he was originally looking at. It was as if he had made a plan after summer vacation, planning to get up at eight o'clock every day, study for four hours, exercise for three hours, and play for two hours, and had even posted the plan on the wall. But when he woke up the next morning, he found that lunch was already prepared. It was as if some inexplicable force had taken away his attention.

Xu Duzhong even felt that the video might have used some psychological techniques to give him this illusion.

He went to the bathroom to wash his face, cleared his head, and went back to continue pushing the videos.

This time, Xu Duzhong didn't directly look for a strategy guide. Instead, he first looked at the experiences summarized by others and some gameplay videos.

Then, he returned to the carriage shrouded in mist.

An hour later, Xu Duzhong breathed a sigh of relief. After seeing the strange-looking person with bulging, fish-like eyes, he was finally able to leave the fog and head towards the Drywater Town.

Only then did he realize that his palms were sweaty and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He was more nervous than when he was taking the advanced mathematics exam.

Xu Duzhong knew that this interactive video had no save function, and every choice would lead to an unknown result. If he made a mistake, he might have to start all over again.

Some students might ask, "Can't interactive videos jump to the previous video node? Isn't that a natural way to save data?"

Xu Duzhong initially thought so too, as did everyone who watched the video. However, people later discovered that the random option in the video title seemed to be truly random; even with the exact same operation, going back to the previous point didn't necessarily restore the previous state.

The video seems to have its own will, circumventing any attempts by viewers to take shortcuts.

Xu Duzhong was extremely cautious, not even looking at QQ or WeChat, focusing solely on exploring the virtual Drywater Town.

He now felt as if he had truly become Trist, adventuring with Lu Ban in this eerie town.

The two entered the Drywater Town, Xu Duzhong breathed a slight sigh of relief. According to the plot description, they could pass the level after attending the wedding, so they were at least halfway there.

Just as Xu Duzhong was catching his breath, he suddenly felt a breeze blowing behind him while wearing headphones.

Then, a soft murmur drifted out.

As the camera moved, Xu Duzhong caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a woman in red in the shaky lens.

"Holy crap, a wedding dress! Is this some kind of ghost bride?"

Xu Duzhong couldn't help but shake his leg to relieve his tension.

In such an immersive video, the sudden appearance of something like this is absolutely terrifying.

He also has to pay attention to whether there are any options that appear, so as not to miss any options and directly enter the next part of the plot.

He saw the camera move, then looked back at the mansion with two large red lanterns hanging in front of it, as if everything before had been an illusion.

"The two of you."

At that moment, a flat voice suddenly came from behind the stereo headphones, making Xu Duzhong shiver. Goosebumps rose from his lower back to his spine, and he trembled slightly as if he had triggered PTSD.

"Holy crap, that scared me to death!"

He had just uttered the curse to ease his fear when he saw the Pale- faced, red-lipped butler-like man behind them, and a chill ran down his spine.

Suddenly, the options appeared on the screen.

Follow the other party

Reject the other party

"Should we definitely follow them? No, that's not right. This person looks very strange. If we follow them, there might be problems. At this point, we should choose a safer option. Isn't this thinking in reverse? Precisely because the other party is strange, we should follow them even more?"

Xu Duzhong quickly made up his mind and prepared to choose to "follow the other party".

Just as he moved the mouse over it, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder.

Xu Duzhong subconsciously turned his head and saw a face right next to his shoulder.

"Grass!"

He hurriedly stepped back, falling off the chair with a thud, his whole body trembling violently, like an elderly person suffering from Parkinson's disease.

"Is it really that serious? Are you secretly doing something bad in the dorm all by yourself? Let me see if you're developing normally."

Xu Duzhong then realized that it was his three roommates who had just returned from the internet cafe and brought him some late-night snacks.

"Don't scare me! You almost scared me to death."

Xu Duzhong hurriedly stood up and turned to look at the computer screen.

Having been frightened, he had inadvertently chosen to "reject the other party," and now everything went black as he collapsed into a pool of blood.

A chilling laugh came from the screen, along with a line of small text.

The nights in Drywater Town are cold. You stayed outside, witnessed something strange, and lost your life. Next time, find a warm room.

[BAD END: 59]