Giving Interstellar Players a Horror Ghost Game Shock - Chapter 26

Being the first among the players to get a “game over,” Huang Heng was utterly dumbfounded.

“Wait, hold on! Where’s my research material? It was just in my hands a moment ago! Is this game so petty that it kicks you out for not following the main storyline?”

Unfortunately for her, her brief gaming career had already come to an end. While she could easily start another round, she had more pressing matters to attend to.

Huang Heng was eager to hand over the video footage she’d just collected to her mentor for thorough discussion. After all, she was only a temporary streamer with no binding contract. The agreement was clear: play one round and then return to her own tasks. So, she logged off without hesitation.

For a moment, the livestream’s chat went eerily quiet, only for a few comments to trickle in afterward:

[That ending was… surprisingly casual, yet oddly logical.]

[So, you can get a “happy ending” by simply ignoring the spirit summoning ritual game?]

[Happy ending where? All four NPCs are dead! Judging from the setup, the main storyline likely involves finding a way to save them later.]

[Alright, alright, this stream’s about to end. Let’s move on, folks.]

And just like that, the audience shifted their focus to the remaining two professional streamers.

One of them, Ji Yu, had returned to his safe haven in the restroom and showed no signs of leaving anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Liu Yuling had unexpectedly become the player progressing through the main storyline the fastest.

After retracing her steps back to the main path, she was confronted by the ghostly figure of a woman in white emerging from the restroom. Clearly prepared, Liu Yuling took a deep breath and immediately turned tail, running as fast as she could.

The woman in white stood frozen in shock.

Seeing Liu Yuling’s retreating figure grow smaller and smaller in the distance, she finally raised her voice in desperation.

“Senior—why are you running?! I was just joking!”

Both Liu Yuling and the viewers watching the livestream halted in their tracks.

…What?

Five minutes later, Liu Yuling and the NPC, who introduced herself as Qiu Zi, were walking side by side on the way back to campus.

“Senior, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you. But, wow, I didn’t think you’d be that afraid!”

Liu Yuling let out an awkward laugh, quickly changing the topic. 

“By the way, Qiu Zi, why did you change into that white outfit? From a distance, you looked just like a ghost—no wonder it was so scary!”

At this, Qiu Zi hung her head even lower.

“I’m sorry, Senior. To be honest… I was supposed to act like a ghost to scare you.”

Listening to Qiu Zi’s explanation, Liu Yuling finally understood the antics of this reckless group.

It turned out that although they were live-streaming a spirit summoning ritual game, everyone involved was a staunch materialist who didn’t believe in ghosts at all.

But without ghosts, there wouldn’t be much entertainment value. To keep the stream engaging, they’d set up a few tricks—like timing the candles to go out and ringing the bells at intervals. Meanwhile, Qiu Zi had been tasked with sneaking off to the restroom and changing into a “ghostly” costume to scare Liu Yuling.

While it was essentially a scam, Liu Yuling had to admit the production value was top-notch. She even began brainstorming ways to improve the haunted house event for her university’s next courage test back in the real world.

Sensing Liu Yuling’s silence, Qiu Zi grew nervous.

“Senior Li Hua told us not to tell you! He said your reaction would be more genuine if you didn’t know, so we agreed to keep it a secret. I’m really sorry…”

Liu Yuling felt a headache coming on. She hesitantly patted Qiu Zi on the shoulder.

“It’s fine. You’ve told me now, haven’t you? Speaking of which, what about that moving doll in blue? Was that one of your props too? And how did you suddenly manage to appear in front of me after being behind me? Is there some sort of shortcut I missed?”

“Uh…” Qiu Zi blinked in confusion. “The doll? That’s probably Senior Wen Qian’s prop. She just has to pull a string, and it’ll drop from the tree.”

“But it’s just an ordinary doll, not a robot. How could it possibly move on its own?”

“As for me, I got a bit nervous earlier, and I accidentally got my clothes wet while changing. So, I stayed in the restroom to wash them a little. I was just about to come find you, Senior, but it turns out you were already outside.”

Liu Yuling’s steps gradually came to a halt.

[Wait a second! Based on what she’s saying, doesn’t that mean the woman in white I saw earlier wasn’t her?!]

[Oh no, something’s seriously wrong here!]

“…So, are you telling me the woman in white I saw earlier wasn’t you?”

Humans tend to cling to wishful thinking. Hearing Qiu Zi explain that the terrifying incident might have been a pre-planned setup had allowed Liu Yuling to breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, she’d never been killed by a ghost in the game before. Had she experienced death even once, like some other players, she would have realized such a presence was far beyond human capabilities.

But now, the sudden realization that she wasn’t in the clear after all made her heart, which had just settled, start pounding wildly again—this time with twice the fear.

She recounted the earlier events to Qiu Zi, who first looked puzzled and then lit up with understanding.

“Oh, I get it now! It must be Senior Li Hua and the others secretly hiring someone else to play the ghost!”

“…” Liu Yuling stared at Qiu Zi’s excited expression, wondering if she had misheard.

Was there really someone whose first reaction to hearing such a terrifying story was this logical?

Even the livestream chat couldn’t stay silent.

[Girl, you’re way too naive! Have you considered the possibility that the spirit summoning ritual game actually worked, and you’re in real danger?]

[Honestly, if I hadn’t already watched the streamers’ various ways of dying horribly, I might’ve believed her explanation too.]

After all, ghosts were something no one had ever seen in real life. If not experienced firsthand, who would believe in such incomprehensible entities?

From a rational perspective, Qiu Zi’s guess did seem more plausible.

Though Liu Yuling hadn’t yet faced a ghost directly, she could already sense the decaying stench of death in the air. Her instincts told her the truth might be far more horrifying than Qiu Zi’s assumption.

Just as she was about to say something, Qiu Zi grabbed her hand enthusiastically and pulled her toward the multipurpose building.

“Let’s head to the student council office first! Once everyone else is gone, we can figure out how to set up something even scarier to get back at them! Playing ghost tricks, huh? Let’s see who scares who!”

As Liu Yuling was dragged along, a notification popped up on her HUD. The updated task list directed her to head to the student council office. Resigned, she allowed Qiu Zi to lead her into the building.

The moment she stepped inside, a dialog box appeared on every viewer’s screen:

“As required by the copyright holder, the following livestream content is pay-to-watch. Would you like to unlock it? [Yes or No]”

[What the heck?! I was just getting into it, and now this mood-killer pops up?]

[Fine! I’ll pay, okay?!]

Frustrated but hooked, the audience angrily cursed while frantically clicking “Yes” as if their fingers were on fire.

To protect original content, whenever a livestream featured paywalled material, viewers were required to pay a licensing fee.

Thankfully, the cost wasn’t as high as buying the original game itself—ranging from about 5 to 20 star coins.

At that moment, Ye Yuxi stared at the popup on her screen and fell into deep contemplation.

Why do I have to pay too?!

What kind of nonsense is this? Star coins just moving from one of my pockets to the other?

Wait, no—30% of it goes to the platform!

Grumbling with resentment, Ye Yuxi reluctantly forked over 10 star coins.