That Sense of Redemption in That One Swing

I'm begging you! Can you last a little longer?!

At the same time.

Inside another Outlast scenario.

basement.

Sun Yi gripped the DV camera tightly, its screen already emitting a red warning light, his face deathly pale.

He thought that after experiencing the horrific basement Resident Evil, he had become completely desensitized to such environments.

Even if Lu Xiu did it, it would be the same!

That's what he initially thought anyway.

until.

He actually went to the basement, only to realize that his previous false confidence was utterly childish and childish in the face of Lu Xiu's insane malice.

While the basement in Resident Evil is also full of danger, it offers the opportunity to pick up guns and fight, to defend one's dignity as a human being.

So, the Outlast basement, or rather the entire instance, is a pure collection of malice—it even stripped Sun Yi of all his self-respect as a human being, forcing him to become a primitive creature that can only act on instinct.

Yes.

biology.

When faced with a desperate situation, surrounded by darkness and danger, and without weapons, the option of resistance is essentially eliminated—there is no margin for error, no confidence whatsoever, and stopping means death. This pure passive defense allows fear to fester and grow infinitely in the mind like a bone-deep infection.

This made every minute and every second in the dungeon a form of torture.

He could only relinquish all control of his body to his Survival Instinct.

Like apes that have just learned to walk upright, they rely on their most primal instincts to escape.

However, on the other hand, dungeons constantly force players to actively explore.

For example, right now.

Sun Yi didn't want to go to that dark basement, didn't want to wade into its murky sewage, and didn't want to use the DV's small green screen to watch things. He was afraid of the dark, afraid of whatever might emerge from it, because he had no power to resist.

But you can't pass the level without going.

The despair brought about by this mutual tearing apart is torturous enough in itself.

To make matters worse, that damned DV camera ran out of power.

In the darkness.

The player's only reliable source of power—their eyes—could run out of battery!!

"----Is this some kind of inhuman torture?! I have to manage the batteries in this situation?! What kind of mentality is this?! Why would anyone torture players like this?!"

Sun Yi's feet were soaking in the icy, muddy water in the basement. Looking at the battery icon in the lower right corner of the DV screen, he noticed that the red light had already flashed to its maximum frequency—it simply couldn't last any longer.

In order to preserve the last bit of light that could save his life in a critical moment, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and turn off the DV camera.

He was afraid he really wouldn't be able to see anything at all.

but.

After turning off the DV camera.

The chilling, pure darkness immediately engulfed him.

Sun Yi could no longer see his surroundings clearly.

He swallowed hard and tried to take a small step forward in the dark. The sewage, which was ankle-deep, icy cold, and mixed with unidentified floating debris and a fishy stench, immediately made a splashing sound that was particularly jarring in the silent darkness.

If there's something in the dark—you'll definitely hear it.

The thought uncontrollably popped into Sun Yi's mind, and then his muscles instantly stiffened; he dared not move again.

He could only stand there, holding his breath, like a fool.

But will things get better if we stay where we are?

No, I'm even more terrified.

Sun Yi gripped the DV camera tightly in his hand and smiled bitterly in the boundless darkness.

In fact, ever since entering the dungeon, as a Architect, he had been forcing himself to stay rational and trying to dismantle the dungeon's structure.

He saw a lot.

They all silently wrote them down.

But his understanding of the mechanism didn't make him less afraid.

For example, right now.

Are there any scenes in Resident Evil where characters explore in the dark?

have.

Sun Yi is thoroughly familiar with how Resident Evil uses blind spots and dark environments to scare people.

But Lu Xiu's new scenario, which only involved setting up a broken DV camera that would run out of power, completely shattered all his confidence and psychological defenses.

Knowing won't help!

This is the most desperate situation.

Thump!

A muffled sound suddenly came from the depths of darkness.

"!!!"

Standing frozen in place like a dumb goose, neither daring to move forward nor backward, and even less daring to turn on the DV Sun Yi immediately forgot about the dungeon structure.

He abruptly raised the DV camera, ignoring the low battery warning light, and frantically looked around using the pale green night vision image.

There was no one there.

But he was absolutely certain that what he had just heard was not a hallucination; there really was something wandering around nearby!

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

Aside from the dripping sound of water droplets falling from the rusty pipes above his head, Sun Yi could only hear the pounding of his own heart and the uncontrollable chattering of his teeth from extreme tension.

no.

We need to move the process forward; stopping here will only lead to a dead end.

Sun Yi gritted his teeth, feeling he couldn't go on like this. Using the last bit of battery power left on the DV camera, he barely managed to memorize the route ahead, then decisively turned off the screen and groped his way forward in the dark.

Splash!

Splash!

The heavy wading sound echoed in the empty, claustrophobic basement.

This sound, so ordinary in reality, now seemed to be guiding a monster in the darkness, sending chills down one's spine.

Finally, after a long and agonizing ordeal.

He saw a glimmer of light! It was a faint, warm light shining through a crack in a door.

Overjoyed, Sun Yi stumbled over as if he had grasped a lifeline.

but----

Click.

The door is locked.

Suddenly ascending to heaven, then plummeting to hell.

Sun Yi leaned against the cold door, feeling utterly exhausted, staring greedily at the faint light shining through the crack in the door. He really didn't want to go back into the darkness.

The resistance was so strong that he wanted to yell "I quit!" and then force-quit the dungeon by opening the control panel.

But his remaining rationality and his pride as Architect held him back—he couldn't back down.

Before entering the dungeon, he boasted to others that he had at least learned 70% of Lu Xiu's skills, so how could he voluntarily quit the dungeon?

"Have you no shame?"

"

Sun Yi pressed the back of his head against the cold door, closed his eyes, and took several deep breaths of the murky air mixed with the smell of mildew and fish.

Then, gritting his teeth, he forced himself to turn away little by little, turning his back to the heavenly light shining through the crack in the door.

To face once again that pitch blackness, like the gaping maw of Abyss, seemingly capable of devouring all reason.

"Please, please, just hang in there a little longer."

He raised the DV camera again, praying that the battery would hold up, quickly scanned the surroundings using the brief, ghastly green light, then abruptly turned off the screen, started walking, and once again trudged through the ankle-deep sewage.

After the light was lost, the claustrophobic feeling of being completely enveloped in darkness brought a wave of helplessness.

With each step he took, the resistance of the water current multiplied his already taut nerves.

Relying on his memory of that brief glimpse from when he turned on the DV camera, he groped his way to his right in the dark, and finally, he saw the faint red indicator light flashing from the generator in the room.

They entered in the dark.

Press the restart switch firmly.

The switch had just been pressed when Sun Yi didn't even have time to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

Splash----

A splashing sound came unexpectedly from the darkness behind him.

Sun Yi froze instantly, feeling as if he had fallen into an ice cave!

He knows!

He really knew! Given the framework of the survival horror game, this kind of scenario was definitely going to happen!

He was perfectly clear-headed, but in this absolute darkness where he was deprived of all means of resistance, he still couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine!

He immediately held his breath, carefully made his way to the door, then raised the DV camera and pressed the switch to night vision mode.

And in the instant the screen lit up...

He saw a naked, emaciated patient carrying a thick iron pipe, striding closer and getting to within half a meter of him!

On that small, pale green screen, the enemy's scarred and crazed face zoomed in Extreme Speed, his distorted features radiating pure brutality and murderous intent!

"Grass!!!"

Sun Yi was so frightened that his heart almost stopped. He didn't even have time to think and turned to flee into the cramped generator room.

But the dilapidated house was only so big. By the time he had circled around the corner like a headless fly and realized what was happening, the monster wielding the iron pipe had completely blocked his escape route and rushed in front of him.

At this moment, the gears of fate turned to the darkest corner.

The last bit of power remaining in the DV battery was completely drained.

With a short, faint sound, the last remaining pale green light went out completely.

Absolute darkness descended.

Call!

Accompanied by the heavy sound of wind tearing through the air.

Bang!!!

The rough, cold, rusty iron pipe slammed solidly into Sun Yi's head.

A sharp pain exploded instantly, and the darkness before Sun Yi's eyes burst open with a burst of physiological golden stars. Thick liquid flowed down his forehead and into his eyes.

In the darkness.

The enemy's location is unknown.

He was hit with a stick.

But amidst that excruciating pain that nearly made him faint, a strangely absurd sense of redemption arose in Sun Yi's heart.

Yes, a sense of redemption.

The extreme torment of waiting for the executioner's blade to fall, the agony of being in the dark, not knowing where the monster Infiltration.

Finally, at the moment that stick came crashing down, it was completely ended.

This strike symbolizes the shoe that had been hanging over their heads finally dropping to the ground.

I'm finally free.

Finally, I'm free from this torture!

Bang!!!

Another blow!

"Ah----"

Sun Yi out a miserable howl.

[Instance failed]

Accompanied by a cold, indifferent system notification tone.

Swish-

A flash of Bai Guang.

Sun Yi was instantly teleported out of the instance and reappeared at his workstation chair in the Dungeon Resource Management Division office area.

Just landed.

He let out a short gasp, then immediately unleashed a series of wild, uncontrolled punches.

But it didn't hit anything; instead, it swept the things on its table to the ground, making a clanging and clattering sound.

I heard that sound.

He finally came to his senses and looked around.

There was no icy, bone-chilling sewage, no nauseating stench, and no rusty iron pipes rushing through the darkness.

The only sounds were the bright, soft overhead lights in the office area and the faint aroma of coffee in the air.

Several seconds passed.

Feeling the soft, dry cushion beneath him, Sun Yi suddenly realized that he had exited the dungeon.

He stiffly raised his head and looked around.

But the huge office area was unusually quiet.

No one made a fuss, and no one came over to ask him what was wrong.

People around him only glanced at him, seemingly used to it.

Before Sun Yi came out, countless similar incidents had already occurred at various workstations throughout the office area.

The only one who kept watching Sun Yi was Feng Yan, who was sitting next to him.

Feng Yan asked with a complicated expression, "You died too?"

"You too—you're already sitting here, and I asked a pointless question."

Sun Yi let out a long sigh, then slumped into the chair like a lump of mud.

Then.

The two exchanged a glance across their workstations, both seeing weariness and despair in each other's eyes.

Sun Yi asked listlessly, "How was it? Did you learn anything?"

Upon hearing this question, Feng Yan's chubby cheeks twitched involuntarily. "What do you think I could learn in such a short time under those circumstances? How to be startled by close proximity or how to crawl in the dark?"

"Yeah, I naively thought the new dungeon would be like Resident Evil at first."

"Me too."

"But when I took out that DV camera, I realized something was wrong."

"And then, after realizing they couldn't find their weapons, they started to feel desperate, right?"

"Yes—the sense of déjà vu is incredibly strong. Even though I've already been through the Resident Evil, as the story progresses, I still feel terrified and uncontrollably slide into the Abyss of instinct."

"Yes, it's the same process of investigating and exploring in enclosed buildings. It seems to be the same framework, but the unfolding is completely different. The methods may seem the same, but it manages to create a feeling that's different from Resident Evil."

As they talked, they looked at each other again and saw a deep sense of powerlessness in each other's eyes.

"Feng Yan ----"

Sun Yi said helplessly, "Tell me, when we Constructed Instance to imitate Resident Evil, why didn't we think of this kind of setting? Why didn't we think of using the night vision mode of a DV camera instead of a flashlight? Why didn't we think of stripping players of their ability to resist?"

Feng Yan was silent for a moment, then shook his head bitterly. "Perhaps this is what genius is all about; this is the kind of setting they can just casually come up with."

That's really discouraging!

At this moment.

Someone else was teleported out of the dungeon in the office area. The person landed, paused for two seconds, and then started cursing, the cursing echoing throughout the entire office area.

Sun Yi glanced at her, listened to the vulgarities she kept spewing, and remained silent for a moment before saying, "Miss Shen Nian said we don't even have one-tenth of Lu Xiu's strength. At the time, I thought that was too absolute—but now, I think Miss Shen Nian still overestimated us."

Feng Yan: "----Can you tell me something I don't know? I'm already devastated."

"Alright, so what do you think the reward will be? Someone should have already completed it, right?"

What nonsense are you talking about?

Feng Yan looked at him in surprise. "It's only been an hour since the dungeon went live, how could anyone have cleared it?"

"What!?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Yi nearly jumped out of his chair, his eyes widening. "I feel like I've been in a dungeon for a year?! And it's only been an hour???"

"What else did you think I was just lamenting?"

"How many people have died and come back from the dungeon during this time?! People in the office area are used to seeing people teleporting out of the dungeon! Only an hour???"

"Many, but not all of them came back from the dead—"

"What's the meaning?"

"Many people voluntarily give up on dungeons—we're considered lucky here; look at the forums, other players are even more extreme."

"???"

Sun Yi immediately brought up the System Panel, opened the forum, and then entered the spam section.

Just opened it.

He then saw the post telling Lu Xiu to "behave like a human being" prominently displayed on the first page.

Nine out of the dozens of posts below the first one are about the [Outlast] instance.