Giving Interstellar Players a Horror Ghost Game Shock - Chapter 72

A pained groan echoed through the darkness, followed by a sickening crackle that sent shivers down the spine.

Everything unfolded in pitch blackness, making it impossible to see what had just happened. But sometimes, the unknown was worse than the truth—trapped in the dark, the mind could only wander, conjuring horrors far worse than reality. Even without seeing a thing, just the thought of what might be lurking was enough to send chills down the spine.

But An Zhi wasn’t like most people.

She felt a brief shiver of fear, but it wasn’t the horror itself that unsettled her—it was the loss of control. She couldn’t move freely in this trailer, and that bothered her far more than anything lurking in the dark.

Rather than fear, she was consumed by curiosity.

What had happened to that girl? What was she trying to say? And could it have anything to do with the strange, indescribable feeling she’d had about the Yin-Yang Road earlier?

An Zhi was a true genius. Whether it was studying or training, she never needed help. Even in the military academy competitions, she never relied on a team—because she was the team.

Life had always been smooth sailing for her. It had been a long time since she felt this way—this burning restlessness, the itch to figure something out.

Then, the sounds stopped.

The grip on her wrist loosened.

It seemed like—

Wait.

It wasn’t over yet.

Her nose twitched. A faint, metallic scent lingered in the air.

Bl00d.

The scent was growing stronger, mixed with the sound of liquid dripping… getting closer… closer…

The next second, bl00d-red letters emerged in the darkness:

“Campus Nightmare 2—A Chilling Reveal!
November 30th—Join Us in Uncovering the Forbidden Night of the Ancient Campus!”

Only when the screen faded to black and the brightness of the screening room adjusted—allowing light to spill over her—did An Zhi snap back to reality. She hadn’t even realized how deeply immersed she had been in that fragmented yet tightly connected storyline.

In fact, when that ominous sound had crept closer just now, she had felt something she hadn’t experienced in a long time—genuine tension.

Without hesitation, she exited the screening mode, opened her terminal, and checked the chat group. As expected, the messages had completely exploded.

【Lonely King: What is this game? I need all the details in one minute! @Xiaofeng】

【Dead Fish: Xiaofeng, don’t make me beg! Just tell me the name of the game! @Xiaofeng】

An Zhi twitched at the corner of her mouth. These guys were really over the top.

【SendingYouPeace: Senior, do you need glasses? The game title literally showed up at the end.】

【Dead Fish: …Stop yelling at me! I admit it! I was too scared and couldn’t finish watching… sob.】

…Yeah, you definitely seemed terrified. You even started sobbing in chat. Is this game really that irresistible?!

An Zhi had the strange feeling that she had awakened some kind of roasting instinct—her mind was overflowing with sarcastic comments, but unfortunately, she was alone in her dorm with no one to share them with.

She let out a sigh, sent the game title “Campus Nightmare 2” into the chat, then quickly opened her terminal and searched for more information.

“The demo version launched alongside the trailer…? Up to three players can enter the game at the same time? So this is a multiplayer game?”

There was also a two-player mode available, while the three-player random matchmaking would only be introduced in the full version.

This game was very different from Campus Nightmare 1. Miss Ye had made it clear—there was no single-player mode, nor would there ever be. Playing alone simply wouldn’t work.

Even though An Zhi wasn’t an expert in gaming, from the trailer alone, she could tell that the so-called research club seemed to be divided into two teams. If a player entered solo, they’d have no way of knowing what was happening on the other side, making it impossible to grasp the full picture of the game.

On the other hand, if two people played together, one on each team, they could use in-game voice chat to relay real-time information, ensuring better control over the situation.

An Zhi thought about asking a friend to join her at first, but then a new idea crossed her mind.

Her lips curled into a mischievous smirk.

“Senior An Zhi! Why did you drag me into this?! I’m a total scaredy-cat, and I’m bad at games too! I’ll be useless!”

Lu Xiaofeng’s consciousness had already been projected into the game’s login interface. He stood there with his arms wrapped tightly around himself, shoulders hunched, looking every bit like a helpless, innocent civilian forced into a battlefield.

An Zhi, on the other hand, stood nearby with one foot propped up on the stone monument inscribed with “Wenhe University,” wearing an expression of utter impatience.

“Aren’t you the one who shared this ‘amazing find’ with me? I figured you must’ve played a lot of games. Whatever, let’s just start with two-player mode.”

Liar.

She’d heard that Lu Xiaofeng had been traumatized by a horror game before—so badly that he swore never to touch one again. That’s exactly why she’d dragged him in.

Lu Xiaofeng had no idea what she was thinking, but he was already on the verge of tears.

If you wanted a gaming partner, you should’ve just said so! I could’ve introduced you to my buddy—he’s a game streamer! He’s way better at this than me!

An Zhi ignored him and focused her mental cursor on the two-player mode. Suddenly, eerie, piercing music filled the air. She had to admit—the soundtrack was excellent. It was genuinely unsettling.

Like Lu Xiaofeng, An Zhi was a sophomore in the Central Military Academy’s Solo Combat Division. Her combat skills were top-tier—she could take on upperclassmen without breaking a sweat. Her aggressive, domineering personality had already made waves during freshman training, and it was no surprise that she ended up leading her entire year.

In other words, when she asked Lu Xiaofeng to play this game with her, he didn’t even have the option to refuse.

So now, with tears in his eyes, he was stepping into his personal nightmare sequel.

He could only pray that Ye Gou would go easy on the demo version and not hit them with full-blown horror right from the start.

Unfortunately for him, what he didn’t know was that Ye Yuxi had no intention of holding back.

She was determined to showcase her favorite horror elements in the demo itself, ensuring that both new and returning players would experience a whole new level of terror!