Giving Interstellar Players a Horror Ghost Game Shock - Chapter 38
Professor Yuan is a professor of the History and Archaeology Department at Capital University.
In the Eight Galactic Systems, the closer one is to the Central System and the Capital Planet, the stronger the people’s sentimental connection to their long-lost home planet.
Because of this, the History and Archaeology Department at Capital University is widely recognized as a prestigious field of study, and Professor Yuan himself has been a frequent guest on numerous official history programs.
He usually has a lot of research to conduct, so he didn’t think much of a game recommended by his current student, Huang Heng, or the video that came with it.
When he was younger, he enjoyed playing games, but as he aged, he grew indifferent, viewing them as mere entertainment and long losing interest.
As for the claim that the game contained a wealth of ancient Earth elements? He dismissed it outright.
In the interstellar age, life, values, and even language had undergone dramatic transformations, creating immense obstacles for historians researching Earth’s past.
With most records from that era lost, even professional researchers like himself found studying Earth’s history to be a daunting task. What could a game designer possibly understand?
However, since the person recommending it was his favorite student assistant, Professor Yuan eventually decided to watch the video he had been sent.
The moment he started, he fell silent, engrossed in the footage of Huang Heng holding a flashlight and a phone in the game.
After watching it three times over, Professor Yuan decisively navigated to the game’s official website.
He considered purchasing it but hesitated, wondering if his old heart could handle the excitement. In the end, he opted to watch streamers’ recorded playthroughs first.
After several viewings and some time to process, Professor Yuan wore an expression of profound regret.
What a brilliant historical talent—why waste it on making games?
However, this “Miss Ye”… Why did that name sound so familiar?
An idea struck him, and he began searching through the archives submitted by the Historical Research Center, his expression shifting to one of astonishment.
The next morning, Ye Yuxi yawned as she woke up unusually early, only to find Bai Siqi sitting in the dorm room.
“Yuxi, you’re finally awake.” Seeing her get up, Bai Siqi hesitated before turning around, her face filled with an unprecedented concern.
“You need to check the StarNet headlines right now—something big happened!”
Ye Yuxi glanced at her roommate’s unusually eager expression. Fixing her with an unblinking stare, she waited until Bai Siqi grew visibly uneasy, then looked away and opened her light-brain device.
#Breaking! Feixun-Signed Designer’s Latest Game Strikingly Similar to Miss Ye’s Recent Smash Hit?
At that moment, the comment section under the headline was already in chaos, and the related tags were climbing in popularity at lightning speed.
Feixun’s newly released game was created by a seasoned designer with years of experience and a sizable fanbase. While it had been a while since their last game, the sudden release of this new title garnered significant support.
However, suspicions quickly arose about why this new game bore such a striking resemblance to the one recently released by DouDou Platform. Both were set in a school as the main map and deviated entirely from interstellar mainstream culture, focusing instead on mysterious post-death themes.
Fans of the veteran designer were outraged at the plagiarism accusations. The comment section turned into a battleground in no time.
Feixun’s PR team and the designer’s own crew wasted no time stepping in.
They presented historical creative logs from the past two weeks, including modeling records for the game. Conveniently, the earliest inspiration log was dated just one day before Ye Yuxi submitted her game to Feixun.
Without making any outright accusations, their insinuations spoke volumes.
Unsurprisingly, the public quickly sided with the big platform and the established designer.
As a newly emerged designer, Ye Yuxi hadn’t yet cultivated a loyal fanbase. Her social media accounts were flooded with backlash, leaving her utterly powerless against the tidal wave.
“This Miss Ye is disgusting! I used to admire her game, but it turns out she just stole someone else’s ideas! What a fraud!”
[Feixun! I always thought you were cutthroat, but this time I support you suing her! She needs to learn what happens to plagiarists!]
[But something feels off. The demo for Campus Nightmares was released half a month ago, with two teaser trailers since. If they wanted to sue, why wait until her game blew up to make a move?]
[What are you implying? Any game designer would be devastated to see their hard work stolen like this. Maybe the creator had to gather their resolve to defend their rights! If you’re not supporting them, at least don’t cast doubt!]
Occasionally, a few calm and logical voices would pop up, but they were quickly drowned out.
The comment section had turned into a gathering ground for the mob condemning Ye Yuxi.
Yet, as Ye Yuxi scrolled through these hostile comments, her face remained calm, devoid of any heaviness.
Bai Siqi, however, felt a sudden, inexplicable panic. She thought back and reassured herself—she had covered her tracks flawlessly. There was no way she’d be found out.
Carefully, she edged closer to Ye Yuxi.
“Um… Yuxi, don’t worry. I trust your integrity. Someone’s clearly pulling strings here—oh, right! You could post the creative history logs from your workspace!”
Ye Yuxi glanced at her.
“Thanks for the suggestion.”
There was something off about her tone, but Bai Siqi couldn’t quite place it. She chalked it up to her own guilty conscience.
Thankfully, Ye Yuxi spoke again at the right moment.
“I’ll talk to the platform about this later. You should go eat—I need some time alone.”
Bai Siqi quickly nodded and turned away, nearly laughing out loud as she did.
She could already picture Ye Yuxi, devastated and sobbing alone in the dorm.
What was she being so arrogant for? Sure, she got lucky and made one decent game. But no matter how good an independent designer was, crossing a big platform was a death sentence!
Once she was alone in the dorm, Ye Yuxi logged into her creative workspace.
As expected, all records detailing how she painstakingly developed her game were gone.
Truly, they were willing to go to any lengths.
But still, Ye Yuxi wasn’t fazed. She only felt a little amused that her contingency plans would actually come in handy.
She had once thought that, despite Bai Siqi’s many flaws, she understood the line between right and wrong. But now, it was clear: never overestimate someone’s moral bottom line.
“Since you chose to betray me, don’t blame me for being harsh.”
From the moment she decided to become a true designer, she’d been meticulous about intellectual property protections, leaving more than one safeguard in place.
While taking on a behemoth like Feixun might seem insurmountable for the average designer, her game wasn’t as simple as those interstellar citizens imagined.
As she watched the other designer tearfully recount how they had painstakingly created the game’s setting, Ye Yuxi’s lips curled into a cold smile.
Her game’s settings weren’t arbitrary creations—they were backed by over a millennium of cultural heritage.
First, she called Professor Wang Yuqing, who had always supported her. After receiving a positive response, her spirits lifted significantly.
She had the evidence, but winning the battle of public opinion would require a force even Feixun couldn’t manipulate.
Had the seeds she planted half a month ago borne fruit? Why hadn’t anyone reached out? Did no one believe her, leaving her plan to wither?
Sighing, Ye Yuxi decided to contact DouDou Platform and then nudge her intended “witness”—the Historical Research Center.
Just then, a message arrived.
[Poor College Student: Miss Ye, I noticed you’re online, so I hope it’s okay for me to message you. Here’s the thing—my advisor saw your game and compared it to a report submitted to the Historical Research Center half a month ago. He’d like to meet you to discuss the ancient Earth cultural elements in your game…]
Ye Yuxi narrowed her eyes and smiled.
Done.