"So beautiful!"
Looking at everything before him, Song Ren felt a sense of awe.
He didn't know when the snow had stopped, but the sky was still faintly lit, with distant mist and clouds swirling around. In the distance, shrouded in the mist, was a mysterious village densely packed with low, neatly arranged houses.
There was no sound around, only dead silence.
Behind the village, a massive castle stood, its Gothic architecture enveloped in white mist, adding a touch of mystery. The castle, combined with the village, immediately evoked a religious atmosphere.
For a moment, Song Ren felt as if he wasn't playing the horror game Resident Evil Village, but rather something like Bloodborne or Dark Souls.
The 'flavor' was incredibly rich.
Making his way through a narrow mountain path, he arrived at a cliff-like area, gazing at the spectacular distant scenery. The atmosphere was truly palpable.
If, at that moment, there had been a red in-game message on the ground, or a messenger leaving a note that read: "Ahead, a magnificent view,"
Song Ren wouldn't have felt it out of place.
The only difference, however, was that Ethan was currently unarmed.
After a moment of contemplation, Song Ren set off on his journey to find his daughter.
It was also about finding a daughter, but Geralt, on the other hand, spent his time playing cards, boxing, horse racing, and crude sexual encounters – not missing a single entertainment activity along the way.
But what about Ethan now?
Song Ren walked a step and paused, his mind extremely active. This particular scene made him feel incredibly uncomfortable.
There were no dark scenes, but the atmosphere was the most crucial part.
Aside from the cawing of crows and Ethan's breathing and footsteps, there was absolutely no other sound.
This feeling intensified as Song Ren passed through a mountain path and arrived at the mysterious village he had seen earlier.
It was simply too eerie!
On the ground at the village entrance lay two horses that had long since died, their blood turned dark red.
All the houses around seemed to bear signs of destruction, and even the food on the stove in one house was still warm, as if the owner had suddenly fled. It was clear there should have been people in this house before, but they had disappeared for some unknown reason.
This eerie atmosphere made Song Ren feel a chill spread from the soles of his feet throughout his entire body.
Wells, tightly locked doors – Song Ren cautiously explored the village, but many places were inaccessible to him.
From this, he also discovered one of the changes Chen Xu had mentioned.
That is, the gameplay in Resident Evil Village somewhat resembled the box garden exploration in Super Mario Odyssey.
He could only move within this area, and rooms on the map that had no collectibles would be marked. This meant the gameplay was more free.
But this very freedom kept Song Ren's heart constantly hanging. Because in previous games, if he just followed the prompts all the way to the end, even if he knew jump scares might occur, being mentally prepared would make it a bit easier.
However, in this game, if he could explore freely, he felt it was highly likely he wouldn't be scared to death by high-tension scenes, but rather by his own paranoia.
"Knife, hand sanitizer!"
Fumbling around searching every room, Song Ren finally found something good in a cramped house:
A knife!
And next to it was a particularly eye-catching box, seemingly hinting to players, 'Break me quickly.' With the newly acquired knife, Song Ren lightly swiped, and the box instantly shattered, yielding a bottle of 'hand sanitizer.'
On the relevant UI for Resident Evil Village, Chen Xu hadn't made significant adjustments, keeping it largely similar to the original. Even the model for 'hand sanitizer' hadn't been changed, making it truly authentic.
This familiar feeling made players very comfortable; at least, Song Ren's originally tense heart relaxed a bit. With the knife and hand sanitizer in hand, who could he fear?
"Got my divine artifact! Just need a handgun and I'll be all set!"
Song Ren looked delighted. Even though it was just a small knife and a bottle of 'hand sanitizer,' it gave him a full sense of security, as he was no longer a helpless being.
However, just as he was about to leave the room, he heard something.
"Someone? What's that sound?" Song Ren immediately stopped and looked into the room. There was a curtain, and at that moment, it moved slightly again.
Looking at the curtain, Song Ren hesitated for a moment, then slowly fumbled forward.
Curiosity is always human nature. In real life, Song Ren would surely run as far as possible, but in games, that death-courting mentality always couldn't be suppressed.
Creak—
The sound of his shoes on the wooden floor made a teeth-grating creak. Song Ren cautiously approached with the knife he had just acquired.
Then he suddenly pulled open the curtain.
'Bang!'
"Damn it all!"
A loud shotgun blast startled Song Ren, making his whole body tremble. Damn it, it was a door jump scare after all! Even though he was mentally prepared, when truly faced with the situation, he was inevitably startled.
However, the scene that followed surprised Song Ren slightly. Because behind the curtain wasn't some terrifying monster, but an old man holding a shotgun. The old man looked at Ethan, trembling and appearing extremely frightened.
'Ah! No, I'm not... not an enemy!'
Facing the old man with the gun, Ethan instinctively raised his hands.
'Who are you? Who sent you?' the old man asked in a low voice.
'No one! I had a car accident, on the road...'
But before Ethan could finish, the old man came out of the room, covering Ethan's mouth with one hand. At that moment, a sharp howling sound came from outside.
'They're coming... they're coming.'
Walking into the house, the old man looked outside through the window, appearing extremely flustered. Ethan still didn't understand the situation.
'Who... who's coming?'
'Tell me you have a gun!' the old man looked at Ethan.
'No, why do you need a gun?' Ethan also became nervous.
The old man didn't answer Ethan's question, but ran into the room and handed Ethan a small handgun: 'This is all I can give you! Take it! Quickly, take it...'
'What's going on? What's outside?' Ethan held the handgun, vigilantly looking around.
Bang!
The old man didn't answer Ethan's words, but turned and fired a shot outside. Ethan quickly turned, but saw nothing.
'Stop talking... they're here, prepare...' The old man's hands trembled as he loaded the shotgun.
Clang! Clang!
But at that moment, a noise came from the roof. Before the old man and Ethan could react, the fragile ceiling was directly punched through. The old man, who was loading his shotgun, was directly grabbed and dragged into the dark attic.
Accompanied by a scream, blood splattered down from the second floor, drenching Ethan.
"Old man! The gun! The shotgun! Leave the shotgun for me!" Song Ren felt his voice was tinged with a whimper. He finally encountered an old man, and he was just a Riddler-like character plus an item dispenser? What exactly is outside, tell me clearly! And don't give me the handgun! Leave your shotgun for me!
(End of Chapter)
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