Chapter 574: Chen Xu, I f***ing thank you! (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)

“Did something go wrong with how I opened the game?”

Song Ren, having re-entered the game, fell silent as he looked at the screen. Since it was the weekend and he didn't have to go to work, he woke up early, simply boiled and ate two eggs, then immediately jumped into the game, ready to continue yesterday's thrilling journey. To prevent any potential spoilers, he hadn't even opened any chat groups, official Weibo accounts, or forums.

Yet, the scene before him plunged him into silence.

After overcoming numerous obstacles, Ethan, who had escaped the ancient castle, returned to the village. Just as the theme song had sung, the werewolves in the village enthusiastically invited Ethan to their homes. Ethan didn't refuse their kindness, blasting them one by one with his shotgun and taking everything he could from their houses.

During this, Ethan also encountered the mysterious merchant Duke again and confirmed a piece of news: his daughter Rose was indeed in four pieces. The other three parts were in the hands of three other lords: Donna the Dollmaker in the valley, Moreau in the reservoir behind the large windmill, and Heisenberg in the factory outside the town.

Initially, Song Ren was completely unconcerned. It wasn't until he headed towards his next target, Donna the Dollmaker, that he realized something was amiss.

Narrow mountain paths, pervasive white fog, and an eerie silence. Especially after crossing a log bridge, the iron gate that had previously been closed automatically opened, and behind it stood a familiar figure: the deceased Mia.

“Is this an illusion? Is Ethan hallucinating?” Song Ren instinctively shivered, looking at Mia in front. He already had a bad feeling.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Don’t scare yourself. What good is fear when I have a gun in hand?” Song Ren looked at the gun in his hand, quietly switching it to the shotgun. This somehow gave him more courage.

'Ethan! Come with me, I have something to tell you.' Mia, holding Rose, turned and walked into the valley, but half-way there, she suddenly vanished. 'Rose is a bit strange, Ethan, you must cure her…' 'Everyone has left me… even Rose… I don't want to be alone.' Mia, appearing and disappearing, spoke unclear words. Ethan followed her to a very eerie graveyard.

“No, why did the atmosphere suddenly turn so grim? Wouldn't it be better to have more werewolves to fight me?” This time, Song Ren genuinely felt a bit cowardly. From the moment he entered the valley until now, he hadn't encountered a single monster, yet he felt a sensation akin to playing the Silent Hill PT DEMO. Even though he had experienced that through videos and with countless bullet comments, the 'vibe' was definitely there.

Moreover, the mechanisms here were very supernatural and deceptive. For instance, at a large gate in the cemetery, the so-called key wasn't a real key; it was a sticky note that read: 'Offer your beautiful memories.' Song Ren didn't understand at first until he saw a photo of Mia and Rose, then he understood its meaning. After placing it, he took an elevator to a large mansion by a big waterfall.

“Don’t panic, don’t be scared! I’m a walking arsenal all by myself, how can they fight me!” He reopened his item inventory, glanced at the hand sanitizer and weapon ammo, and the fear that had risen earlier instantly shattered, his courage inexplicably returning to his body. Taking a deep breath, Song Ren pushed open the mansion's door.

His footsteps on the wooden floor produced a grating, teeth-setting sound. The mottled walls exuded an old, uncomfortable smell, coupled with dim lighting. The narrow corridors flickered between light and shadow, with various turns that made him worry a monster might jump out at his face around the next corner.

“Damn it, I suddenly don’t want to play this game anymore. Wasn’t it good before? How did the atmosphere suddenly turn so grim?”

Even with a shotgun in hand, Song Ren felt a pang of anguish. Although fear stems from insufficient firepower, there's also the saying that fear stems from the unknown.

If something terrifying was laid out right in front of him, Song Ren truly believed he might not be scared. But knowing nothing of the situation, he constantly felt like something intense was about to happen, which only made him more afraid.

He continued down the corridor, but the intense scenes Song Ren anticipated—above, below, behind, or to the sides—none of these potential places showed any abnormality. Apart from the lights flickering ominously twice as he passed a corridor corner, there were no other intense moments.

Thus, Song Ren safely arrived at a small room downstairs. He pushed open the wooden door, and accompanied by a creak, something that bewildered him happened.

Inside the small room, numerous unpainted puppet body parts hung from the ceiling. A white cloth covered something on the table in the middle. But what caught Song Ren's attention the most was the chair directly facing him. On it sat a cloth doll dressed like a bride, clutching a small yellow vial containing Rose’s body parts. This cloth doll was Donna, one of the Four Heavenly Kings who appeared when Ethan was captured by Heisenberg earlier.

“This is definitely a trap, it’s too obvious. Is this Chen Xu’s mercy?” Song Ren looked at the doll and the small yellow vial, not stepping forward immediately. Placing the objective so easily in front of Ethan, coupled with this slightly grim scene, practically screamed to the player: this vial is a trap.

However, this immediately dispelled the fear Song Ren had previously felt. After all, he was scared when he didn't know what was going on. But now? He figured picking up this vial would trigger the trap and the plot. Donna the Dollmaker was about to attack Ethan with her puppets.

And now he was in a narrow room, so it was likely he'd have to fight his way out, or hold out for a while, just like Roach and Ghost defended the safe house in Call of Duty. Thinking this, Song Ren happily searched the room. After confirming there was nothing else to explore or collect, Song Ren finally walked to the doll and reached for the glass bottle.

But at that very moment, the ceiling light flickered twice.

Click! The light went out, plunging the room into darkness. Eerie sounds came from all directions.

'I’ve been waiting for you for a long time…'

'I'll make your child even better than Rose, you'll be with me forever… forever.'

'Ehehehehehehehehe…'

The eerie laughter gradually faded. The next second, the lights came back on, but they were even dimmer than before. The cloth doll and the vial were gone. The white cloth that had been on the table was removed, revealing a puppet modeled after Mia inside.

But this wasn't what terrified Song Ren the most; what terrified him most was Ethan's monologue:

'Damn… where's my gun!'

With trembling hands, he opened the item inventory. Seeing everything empty, Song Ren let out a wail:

“Chen Xu, I f***ing thank you!”

(End of Chapter) <>