Chapter 755: Feudal Superstition Kills People!

Every time Song Ren completed a horror game, he felt a sense of relief.

The only exception was when he played Resident Evil Village. After all, besides the dollhouse, which was quite grim, the game mostly offered satisfying shootouts against Lady Dimitrescu and later against machines, and Ethan's eventual sacrifice was deeply moving. As for some players speculating that Ethan didn't actually die and writing tens of thousands of words in academic papers, Song Ren completely disbelieved it; he simply assumed the protagonist had died. This way, if there were a sequel in the future, it would be a pleasant surprise, a sure win-win.

This time, playing Firework, made Song Ren feel that same emotion again.

Gold ingots, paper figures, white lanterns, and various other traditional funeral items, along with ghost walls and soul-summoning, terrifying folk legends. Aside from a slight fear Song Ren felt at the beginning due to the Chinese funeral backdrop and atmosphere, the entire game wasn't scary at all.

There were no ghosts throughout, he was just scaring himself. When he reached the part where Lin Lixun and Teacher Chen arrived at Zhao Xiaojuan's photo studio and learned about her past, Song Ren actually didn't feel much fear anymore.

As the game progressed, the fear faded, replaced by a sense of sorrow and discomfort.

It wore the skin of a horror game, but at its core, it depicted a sincere story reflecting social reality.

By the time players progressed through the game, gradually uncovering the truth within and fully understanding the plot,

This sense of fear was replaced by a different kind of heaviness.

Especially the children's song at the end, 'Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road...', completely broke his defenses.

Because another female protagonist under Nebula Games had died.

Although Teacher Chen Qingsui's ending was open-ended, the various death hints in the game, coupled with Nebula Games' notorious history of upsetting players, made Song Ren believe she was most likely gone.

While sighing, Song Ren first exited the gaming pod, then opened the Nebula Games APP on his phone, went into the trophy achievement list, and silently sent the newly acquired Firework completion achievement to Zhang Yi.

No extra words were needed; one achievement trophy was enough to convey his meaning.

While Song Ren was provoking Old Zhang, many players who had completed Firework were also hotly debating various topics about the game online.

After all, this game had too many points worthy of contention.

“Ah! This plot, no more tragedies, no more tragedies!”

“Finally understand the meaning of the opening slogan ‘Promote Science, Break Superstition’!”

“What the heck! I played a horror game, but instead of scaring me to pee, it made me cry!”

“It’s clearly a horror game, it should just be scary and that’s it, why make it so tragic?!”

“So everything was Lin Lixun's world communicating with the dead? Only the very beginning and the very end were real, and Teacher Chen, whom Lin Lixun investigated, was just a ghost, who drowned at the hands of the newspaper people in the end?”

“It wasn't explicitly stated in the game, but it was hinted at through various elements: the red umbrella, the unsent resignation letter, and Teacher Chen’s phantom at the end.”

“That’s not it! Wasn’t the last sticker photo real?”

“Exactly! Teacher Chen must still be alive, just like Ye Jingshan wanted to do at the end, to live on under a different identity.”

“On the surface, it’s a horror game, but the story behind it depicts a tragedy against the backdrop of a poverty cycle.”

“It’s so depressing!!”

“Damn, I thought it was a horror game, but it made me cry!”

“When the children’s song played at the end, I was in tears!”

“May another world have no feudal superstition, no evil, only pure, beautiful, and happy fireworks.”

“Feudal superstition kills people!”

“My body will not rot in the soil; I will die in the sky like a bird.”

The game Firework itself wasn't very long.

Although some puzzle elements were interspersed, they could mostly be solved by simply following the steps.

No deep thought was required.

For most players, the game could be completed in a single evening.

On the Nebula Games community platform, countless players posted their feelings in the forum.

Especially those who were initially afraid and chose to watch videos and live streams to understand the game, thinking they wouldn't be emotionally hurt, unexpectedly found that this game still hid a sharp blade within.

It stabbed them without warning in the final ending, referring to Chen Qingsui in the game.

The main reason for the decrease in fear during the game, aside from the plot and the lack of truly scary scenes, was that Chen Qingsui soon joined Lin Lixun, accompanying him in investigating the family massacre. With a companion, and a beautiful girl at that, the fear naturally dissipated significantly.

However, this unexpected blow at the end was chilling to the core for players.

Of course, it wasn't just Chen Qingsui; it could be said that every key character in the game was endowed with depth and evoked strong emotions.

Some characters made people hate, some made people love, and some made people feel pity.

They were fictitious in the story, yet they allowed players to see the real, vivid, and distinct faces that exist in the mundane reality of the world.

Tian Xiangrong and He Guilan, seeking help from ghosts and superstition, their minds gradually warped and became terrifying. To resurrect their son, they didn't hesitate to sacrifice their daughter-in-law, poisoning her sleeping pills, which sent shivers down one's spine.

Yet, these things exist in reality. The game's opening title proclaimed 'Promote Science, Break Superstition,' but to this day, countless people still believe in ghosts and spirits.

Zhao Xiaojuan yearned to escape her pathological in-laws, to leave this bleak home she once entered for love, but now her feelings had been completely worn away. Like a bird trapped for too long, she longed to soar, to see the colorful world outside.

Ye Jingshan was trafficked to this mountain village. His adoptive parents treated him as their own but hid the fact that he was bought. To repay their kindness, he gave up his dream of becoming a forensic doctor.

Only at the very end did he learn the truth, but his adoptive parents had never mistreated him while raising him. This conflicting emotion prevented him from leaving the mountain, from leaving under the name Ye Jingshan: Ye Jingshan, confined to the mountain.

Chen Qingsui originally went undercover as a reporter to find clues about stolen cultural relics. However, her experience as a volunteer teacher and her own story made her genuinely want to help the children who had never left the area. But in the end, she disappeared due to conflicting interests. Although the game didn't clarify whether she was dead or alive, many players actually hoped that Teacher Chen had simply left under a false name, rather than being harmed.

A trapped bird in a cage, Ye confined to the mountain, Sui falling into clear water.

Trafficking, superstition...

The story is fictional, but are not the things that led to this story still present in reality?

In fact, compared to the game, reality is even more bizarre and profound.

(End of Chapter) <>