Chapter 32: How Did It Suddenly Turn into a Ghost Story?
Chapter 32: How Did It Suddenly Turn into a Ghost Story?
As the conversation between the male and female doctors unfolded, Dong Zhen was finally able to access the controllable interface.
Simple, yet sarcastic dialoguesâlike when approaching the squirrel, he could even witness the bickering between the two doctors.
"Honestly, the game details feel pretty solid. The dialogues are all super detailed, just like Undertaleâeverythingâs meticulously crafted," Dong Zhen commented as he controlled the protagonist.
For instance, when seeing a signpost, theyâd grumble: "In the middle of the mountains, wouldnât this sign just get stolen?"
The dialogue was slightly humorous, and a little threatening to Dong Zhenâs job as a streamer.
Because usually, he was the one making such comments.
Now the game had already made them allâhow was he supposed to react?
"So this is a story-driven game? Feels a bit plain so far," Dong Zhen mused.
Except for briefly moving aside a rock-like object, the entire gameplay so far consisted only of walking and simple conversationsânothing particularly special.
Undertale at least had those bullet-dodging combat segments.
The only real highlight so far was the Music.
From Mirror (Game) to Undertale, and now To the Moonâthe Soundtrack was truly excellent.
As for the graphics, Chen Xuâs version of To the Moon, while slightly improved from the pixelated style of the classic RPG Maker from Dong Zhenâs previous life, could only be described as averageânowhere near outstanding.
While Dong Zhen Sighed with Emotion internally, in the game, Doctors Neil and Eva arrived at their destination: a large mansion.
After knocking, a middle-aged woman opened the door. Introduced as Lily, she was the caretaker for the elderly man named Johnny.
The two children playing piano earlier were her daughter and son.
After the introduction, Lily led the two doctors upstairs.
Meanwhile, downstairs, the two children briefly argued over who got to play the piano next, then sat side by side and began playingâthe same piano piece from before the doctorsâ car accident.
The gameâs theme song?
Dong Zhen speculated.
As Eva and Neil continued bickering, Lily and the Doc explained the protagonist Johnnyâs current condition.
Johnny was bedridden, in a long-term coma, with only vital signs indicating he was still alive.
According to the doctor, he had only two or three days left.
His final wish before passing? To go to the Moon.
But why did he want to go to the Moon? Lily, the caretaker, admitted she didnât know. Although Johnny was her employer, he rarely spoke to anyoneâmaking him seem quite peculiar.
"Damn, this old manâs got big dreams! Wants to go to the Moon? So the main goal of this game is to figure out why he wants to go, then help him fulfill his wish?"
"A Puzzle Solving game? What the heck, now weâre talking! A game for brainsâIâm good at this!"
Based on the information collected so far, Dong Zhen slapped his thigh in excitement.
After talking to caretaker Lily, he obtained a clue: they needed certain key items from Johnnyâs life to enter his memories and alter them to fulfill his wish.
Since a personâs memories span a lifetime, machines alone couldnât access everythingâhence the need for physical mediums.
He let the female doctor handle the machine while he controlled the male doctor, wandering around the house.
"Man, this old guyâs loaded! Huge house!"
"But honestly, this old manâs lucky he got me. Want to go to the Moon? If you wanted to go to Mars, Iâd get you there too!"
As he spoke, Dong Zhen guided the male doctor around, talking to the two kids downstairs, hoping theyâd give him a tour of the house and maybe reveal some clues. But the troublemaking players/griefers demanded he first fetch a candy cane staff for them.
"Man, how annoying are these kids? Whatever, adults donât stoop to kidsâ levels."
Entering the kitchen, the doctor spotted the candy cane staff on a shelfâbut being too short, he couldnât reach it. He had to drag over a nearby stool and stand on it to grab the staff.
"Donât say that! Iâm not the one who canât reach itâitâs the in-game doctor, not me!"
"Iâm a 1.92-meter giant! You think I canât reach a shelf? Come on!"
Dong Zhen twitched at the bullet comments in the live stream room, but he couldnât let up.
"Iâm 1.92 meters tallâthe kind who can jump and dunk!"
After delivering the candy cane staff to the troublemaking players/griefers, he received some clues in return.
When Johnny was still mobile, he frequently visited the catacomb. Also, the piano piece the kids were playing was one Johnny used to play when he was healthy.
Following the kidsâ hints, Dong Zhen headed down to the catacomb, entering a small room.
Pitch black, with only a desk lamp nearby.
But the moment Dong Zhen pulled the switch, the Soundtrack changed instantly.
Eerie. Sinister. Unease.
Combined with the dim yellow light, and the fact that the entire room was filled with colorful paper bunnies...
"What the heck?! Why did it suddenly turn into a ghost story?!"
No warning at allâthe sudden shift in atmosphere gave Dong Zhen goosebumps.
The room wasnât particularly largeâseemed like a storage warehouse.
Handmade paper rabbits were piled on the floor. On the table near the door sat a platypus plushie.
Not exactly terrifying.
But it was psychologically unsettling!
The bullet comments in the live stream room began flooding in.
âThe atmosphere suddenly turned grim!â
âIs this a horror game now?!â
âGuys, spam more commentsâIâm scared!â
âWhy are you all so scared? Itâs broad daylightâwhatâs there to fear?!â
Glancing at the overly dramatic bullet comments, Dong Zhen adjusted his Mindset and began searching the room.
The platypus plushie could be takenâseemed like a key item.
As for the game, despite the grim atmosphere...
Heâd already checked earlierâthere was no horror game tag.
Only labeled as Adventure and story.
No panic. No panic. Even if it was a horror game, so what?
He was a 1.92-meter giantâthe kind who could jump and dunk. Could a mere game scare him?
"Alright, look at you all, so scared!"
"No more talk. Letâs keep going and see what the hell this gameâs really about. Why does the old man want to go to the Moon? Whatâs the secret behind these paper bunnies? Weâll uncover it allâjust wait and see."
Dong Zhen exchanged a few words with the live stream roomâs bullet comments and continued progressing through the story.
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