Chapter 165: Not That It Can't, But At Least It Shouldn't (Seventh Update, Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

Chapter 165: Not That It Can't… But At Least It Shouldn't (Seventh Update, Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

After passing through the catacomb door symbolizing a new cycle, Li Yue fell silent as he faced the scene before him.

The corridor was still the same corridor, but one thing had changed.

Previously, although dimly lit, the corridor at least allowed him to see something.

Now, apart from a single lamp by the entrance, all the lights in the distance had gone out.

"Is this the price I paid for taking the flashlight?"

Li Yue glanced down at the flashlight in his hand, then at the dark corridor ahead, and silently swallowed.

And the radio, which had been silent until now, once again crackled to life, broadcasting the initial news report of the Family Massacre.

Only this time, the sound was intermittent, accompanied by bursts of static, making the dark setting feel even more eerie.

"It's nothing—just a bit darker than before," Li Yue whispered to himself as he cautiously advanced.

Step by step, apart from the radio's noisy static, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

Though, the sound of his footsteps felt slightly… off.

But Li Yue didn't dwell on it. Instead, he quietly recited the core socialist values, hoping to dispel the fear gnawing at his heart.

When he reached the corridor's corner, Li Yue let out a small sigh of relief, his tense nerves relaxing slightly.

Because ahead, next to the radio, there was still light.

Though dimmer than before.

He glanced briefly at the toilet door—it was tightly shut.

Li Yue tried turning the knob, but it wouldn't budge.

And there were no more cries of a baby or the weeping of a female ghost.

As he approached the radio, he noticed something different on the table. On the homeowner's wedding photo that had been there before, a large × now covered the woman's face.

Beneath it was a line of text: Dig it out!

Seeing this, Li Yue reached out and touched the photo. When his finger brushed the woman's right eye, the section of the photo simply tore away.

Staring at the photo, now missing one eye and still smiling blankly into the void, Li Yue swallowed hard. The image was just too bizarre.

Just as he was about to move forward again, the radio beside him, which had been crackling with static, suddenly grew clearer.

'Don't touch that phone dial—We're just about to begin!'

'And also, you can't trust the tap water.'

After those two sentences, the radio filled once again with static.

Don’t touch the phone dial? Can’t trust tap water!?

Wasn’t there a phone on the cabinet around the previous corner?

Why shouldn’t he touch it?

Hearing the radio’s warning, Li Yue instinctively turned his head to glance back at the phone.

But the moment he turned, he understood exactly why he shouldn’t have.

In that instant, a pale, ghastly figure lunged toward him.

At the same time, the game’s camera shook violently. Then, a bloodless face pressed directly against his—finally revealing the true appearance of the female ghost he’d been dreading to see.

Her face was deathly pale, her right eye a hollow socket—her eyeball clearly gouged out cruelly. Her left eye was almost entirely white, with only a sliver of iris remaining, as if she’d suffered inhuman torture like suffocation before death. Yellowed teeth oozed a pus-like liquid.

They were practically nose-to-nose. This sudden shock, combined with the mounting tension and oppressive fear built up over time, exploded all at once.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH——!!!!!!"

In that instant, Li Yue’s vocal cords were pushed to their limit.

Simultaneously, the screen before Li Yue plunged into total darkness.

He knew—this was the gaming pod cutting off the connection between him and the game.

Whether it was the staff intervening or the pod’s self-protection mechanism triggering no longer mattered.

What mattered was—he was finally free!

As the gaming pod immediately opened, Li Yue stepped out, staggering slightly the moment his feet touched the ground.

A nearby staff member quickly steadied him.

"I’m fine… just my legs feel weak," Li Yue gasped.

"Take a moment to adjust. It’s just a game. Breathe slowly," the staff member comforted him.

Meanwhile, Tao Fa and Ye Xun, completely unaware of what Li Yue had just endured during the test, exchanged glances, both feeling a chill.

They knew Li Yue’s capabilities well.

So what on earth had scared him like that!?

"Let me catch my breath… I really couldn’t handle it," Li Yue said, looking around at the people and the spacious room, fighting back the urge to cry.

He had no idea how much psychological pressure that narrow, confined environment in the game had inflicted on him.

Then he glanced at the wall clock—and was stunned.

Twenty minutes!?

That experience which felt like an eternity in the game had only lasted twenty minutes!?

"Li Yue, during this DEMO test, which parts or elements made you feel uncomfortable?"

A staff member approached and asked the usual follow-up question.

Hearing this, Li Yue, still seated and trying to steady his mindset, involuntarily recalled the horrors he’d just experienced. After a moment’s hesitation, he said, "I… I felt uncomfortable everywhere."

Staff member: ???????

Seeing the staff member’s bewildered expression, Li Yue, sitting on the chair, felt a bit helpless.

Because this was his genuine experience.

The realistic graphics feedback, the intricate sound effects and lighting, combined with the game’s oppressive pacing—it truly made him feel uncomfortable on every level.

Listening to Li Yue, the staff member jotted down "pending" in his notebook, then turned to Tao Fa and Ye Xun. "Alright, who wants to go next for the test?"

Hearing this, Tao Fa and Ye Xun exchanged another glance. Their tacit understanding as colleagues led them to raise their hands simultaneously.

Rock, paper, scissors!

……………………

As they used the most traditional method to decide who would be the second to experience the Silent Hill PT test,

In the bright, spacious hall, a group of industry game designers sat quietly. The large screen had been turned off.

Many of the designers didn’t look well—some even appeared pale.

They all stared at Chen Xu, sitting calmly beside them, with strange, almost wary expressions.

No one knew what they had just experienced in those twenty minutes!

They had assumed they’d seen it all—what horror game hadn’t they encountered?

But Silent Hill PT, this simple DEMO—undoubtedly, it had stunned them.

So many people, and they weren’t even playing—just watching. Not even 3D or VR, just a flat large screen.

And yet, the game’s atmosphere had still terrified some of them.

"Mr. Chen, how long is the DEMO’s full flow? What portion did we just see? And what’s the ratio of fear-inducing content?" Meng Zuo asked a question that was on every designer’s mind.

"About a third of the content, roughly. Though it’s a DEMO, I made the gameplay and content fairly complete. The puzzle elements are a bit arbitrary—unless you play it multiple times and study carefully, it’s hard to beat."

"As for the horror content, that turn-around jump scare was just an appetizer. I didn’t insert many scare elements—the jump scare isn’t the core aspect. The real focus is on story and atmosphere creation through the game’s scenes. There are several key points later on. After all, this is meant for testing the Game Department’s VR equipment functionality, to help guide subsequent improvements," Chen Xu explained with a smile.

Hearing Chen Xu’s words, and recalling the images they’d just seen, everyone fell speechless.

That… was just the appetizer?

After holding back for a long time, Meng Zuo finally took a deep breath and solemnly said to Chen Xu, "Mr. Chen, we game developers can make games that are grounded—but being grounded doesn’t mean you should dig all the way down to the Underworld!"

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