Giving Interstellar Players a Horror Ghost Game Shock - Chapter 13
The audience followed Liver Bro’s perspective and collectively gasped.
There, on the stairs ahead, stood a blurry and eerie figure.
Faced with this unsettling scene, the audience’s first reaction amusingly mirrored that of the Blue Sea University students who had once spectated his misadventures:
[No way… did Fish General run in the wrong direction? Could he really make such a rookie mistake?]
“Wrong direction, my foot!” Liver Bro snapped, swearing in frustration. “Look closely—the clothes on that figure are completely different from what the doll was wearing earlier!”
The audience squinted at the screen and finally noticed: the woman descending the stairs ahead wore a bloodstained white dress, while the exquisitely crafted doll closing in from behind was dressed in a pristine blue gown.
[WTF! They’re pincering him?! How’s he supposed to deal with this?!]
“Don’t panic, guys!” Liver Bro’s words said one thing, but his face, twisted with fear, told another.
Caught between two advancing horrors, he gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and charged forward.
“Screw this! I’ve outrun so many serial killers before—no way am I losing to some measly ghost! Watch me slip right past her!”
Like a gust of wind, he darted past the blue-dressed doll, keeping his head down and avoiding eye contact entirely.
After running a good distance without hearing the sound of pursuit, he finally exhaled in relief.
“See? It’s all just for show. That was way too easy.”
With his pace slowing, he turned his attention back to the chat, ready to banter with his fans.
But at some point, the chat had been overtaken by a single line, repeated over and over:
[Fish General, look behind you!]
“Behind me?”
Liver Bro suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
That was when he realized something heavy was pressing down on his shoulders, as though he were carrying… something.
Slowly, inch by inch, he turned his head.
The thing clinging to his back seemed quite pleased that its prey had finally noticed. Two wooden, ball-jointed hands dangled over his shoulders.
As he turned, something cold and slimy brushed against his cheek—a sensation that made his stomach drop. Though he didn’t manage to see the full figure on his back, what filled his vision was a cascade of smooth, silky hair.
From his throat came a strangled, guttural noise as the terror in his heart swelled to its peak.
For that moment, he wasn’t even thinking about how to get the thing off his back. His mind had gone completely blank, his consciousness spiraling into the void.
A red number—zero—briefly flashed across his vision. Then, the screen flickered, and he was forcibly ejected from the game, returning to the pre-game lobby.
Without even saying goodbye to his audience, Liver Bro yanked off his VR equipment and returned to reality.
Sitting in his room, staring blankly at the ceiling, he looked like a man who had lost all hope.
After several long moments, he suddenly jolted upright as if electrocuted and began patting his back frantically, as though checking for an invisible presence still clinging to him.
This continued for a good two minutes before he finally calmed down, reconnected his equipment, and re-entered the virtual space.
Inside, the chat was already flooded with comments:
[Holy crap! Liver Bro, are you okay?]
[Did something happen? Why isn’t he back yet? Did the ghost actually kill him?]
[Is this some kind of VR horror game invading reality?!]
[Who is this Miss Ye? How did she make something so terrifying?]
[OMG, I suddenly have this feeling—maybe horror games are about to make a huge comeback!]
Seeing that the chat had derailed from worrying about him to discussing the future of horror games, Liver Bro wiped his face and said with a weary voice,
“Don’t worry, everyone. I’m fine. Just… still reeling a bit. Thank goodness this game has a forced exit feature, or else I might’ve been the first streamer to get hauled away by an ambulance on stream…”
[LOL, I’m sorry, but I have to laugh before I start feeling bad for you.]
Liver Bro snapped angrily: “Alright, alright! I admit it—I’m a coward! But if you, my esteemed viewers, are so brave, why don’t you give it a try? I refuse to believe I’ll be the only one scared out of the game!”
[Don’t worry, Liver Bro. Something this awesome? Of course—I’ll immediately pass it on to my friends.]
[Friend: It’s an honor to have you as my friend.]
This game, with its novel and uniquely terrifying design, quickly caught the attention of Liver Bro’s fans, who eagerly recommended it to their own friends and family. Many even edited clips of the ghost’s horrifying face jump-scare to prank their loved ones.
Countless people were spooked by the maliciously edited clips. But their fear soon turned to curiosity—What kind of game could be this terrifying? Following the breadcrumbs, they ended up in Liver Bro’s live stream, bringing in a surge of new viewers.
The streaming platform, powered by algorithms, noticed the sudden spike in popularity and promptly pushed even more traffic to his stream.
Meanwhile, Ye Yuxi, the game’s creator, happened to be scrolling through videos and stumbled upon the live stream.
“Oh, a big-name streamer is already playing my game? That’s so lucky!”
Her eyes lit up. Even though she knew many viewers were just cloud gamers who wouldn’t actually play the game, the attention would still boost her visibility.
Feeling a sudden surge of gratitude toward this unintentional collaborator, she clicked into the stream to see how things were going. In fact, she was so pleased that she decided, If Liver Bro doesn’t feel sufficiently thrilled, I could always reach out and offer him a free horror DLC—just as a friendly gesture.
Unbeknownst to her, Liver Bro had no idea that the developer was plotting to make the game even scarier for him.
After a short break, Liver Bro regained his composure and resolved to clear the first level no matter what—it was a matter of pride! How could a self-proclaimed pro gamer fail like this?
But the moment he logged back in, he nearly collapsed to his knees.
“Why the hell does this stupid game’s auto-save have to start right at the chase scene?! Couldn’t it give me a little breathing room?!”
Cursing under his breath, Liver Bro turned tail and sprinted. He made it back to the platform where the ritual game had been held, only to find it eerily deserted. The desolation almost made him shed bitter tears for his in-game protagonist.
That NPC, Ah Fei… Didn’t he say he’d stick with me? Where the hell did he run off to? With your speed, who needs a savior?!
Fuming internally, Liver Bro scanned his surroundings, feeling the pressure of the two pursuers closing in from opposite sides.
The game wouldn’t create a no-win scenario. If the front and back are blocked, there must be a hidden third path.
Sure enough, between the trees adorned with soul bells, he spotted a faint trail leading off into the distance.
He sprinted toward it, only to find his way blocked by an artificial rock garden.
“Seriously? Who puts a rock garden on a bridge? Are they deliberately trying to mess with me?!”
Turning around in frustration, he almost stopped breathing—
The blue-dressed doll was now only five meters away!
In this moment of extreme tension, Liver Bro’s brain worked at an astonishing speed. He noticed a detail he had previously overlooked.
“Wait! To the left of the rock garden, there’s a narrow path that might lead around it!”
Scrambling, tripping, and stumbling, he darted toward the path. At the same time, an eerie and bone-chilling roar echoed from behind him.
“Crap! The ghost’s speed just increased!” he shouted, unable to describe the feeling, but it was as though something icy and terrifying was about to press against his back.
In his panic, he spotted a blue, makeshift portable toilet. Without thinking, he dashed inside, slammed the door shut, and crouched down, hugging his knees as he trembled.
“Ghost Senior, please spare me… I’m really not tasty… Wuwuwu…”