Giving Interstellar Players a Horror Ghost Game Shock - Chapter 85
After witnessing Liu Mang’s chaotic performance at the start, even the audience members who had been rooting for him fell into silence.
【……】
【Is it just me, or does this guy not look like someone who’s going to make it through the whole game?】
【No way, right? Already lost SAN points? None of the other livestreams seem this bad.】
Liu Mang panicked.
“It was an accident! Just a fluke! This game really is something, but from now on, I won’t let my guard down. This ends here!”
While Liu Mang was floundering in a complete mess, on the other side, An Zhi and her teammates had already met up with the NPCs with practiced ease.
Her strategy was simple: “As long as I move fast enough, the traps can’t keep up.”
“A-An Jie, I’ll try my best to last as long as I can…”
A cold wind blew through Wenhe University at night. Ji Yu trembled, but still forced himself to speak bravely in front of their campus legend.
An Zhi glanced at him. Their squad was made up of three people: herself, Ji Yu from the Logistics Division, and Sheng Qingye from the Command Division—her former roommate and regular partner.
“Don’t worry. I’m not expecting you to last long. Even if you’re eliminated, it’s fine. As long as one of us is still in, the whole team isn’t disqualified.”
“…” Was that supposed to be comforting? Ji Yu looked like he was about to cry.
Originally, he was planning to team up with Lu Xiaofeng and Wang Yuze. But then An Zhi suddenly stepped in and yanked him into her squad.
“We need to make sure every team has a real shot at surviving. Wang Yuze, it’s too hard for you to babysit two scaredy-cats. I’ll take Ji Yu.”
And just like that, Ji Yu the liability got drafted by An Zhi.
Now he was on the verge of a breakdown. Before, if he messed up, only his teammates would know. But now he was stuck under An Zhi’s watchful eye. If he embarrassed himself too much and she got annoyed, what if she dragged him onto the dueling stage in retaliation?
Just the thought of this girl—who had zero mercy even for fragile support-class students—made him feel like being murdered by a vengeful ghost might be less terrifying.
There was no way out. He had to survive as long as humanly possible!
An Zhi wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. Her focus shifted to Sheng Qingye.
“If anything dangerous comes up, I’ll go first. You need to think fast—watch how I react and use that to figure out what we’re supposed to do.”
Sheng Qingye was a calm and composed girl. As the top of the Command Division, she was An Zhi’s most trusted partner. The only time she hadn’t fought beside her was during the last interschool match against the First Military Academy—when her mental strength was damaged and she had to spectate instead.
Naturally, she took this match just as seriously, giving a firm nod.
By now, the four NPCs led by Ah Yuan had wrapped up their introductory dialogue with the players. The seven-person party began heading toward the ominous Yin-yang Road.
Just then, Sheng Qingye nudged An Zhi and motioned for her to look at the bullet comments on the livestream.
Players had been split into two factions upon entering the game, and their phones were auto-bound to different streams. Ji Yu was linked to the fixed-camera feed, while An Zhi and Sheng Qingye were using the selfie-stick stream.
A golden bullet comment floated across Sheng Qingye’s screen.
【Feng Ge isn’t in this round? You junior players better be extra careful.】
“This name…” An Zhi furrowed her brows. She vaguely remembered seeing it mentioned in the game’s teaser, but after entering the game, no one had brought him up again, so she’d completely forgotten.
Sheng Qingye said seriously, “These bullet comments aren’t just for atmosphere. Some of them might contain clues for how to clear the game… or they could be traps. Either way, it’s worth checking out.”
An Zhi nodded, then casually slung her arm over Ah Yuan’s shoulder. Though she’d been killed by a fake Ah Yuan in the last game, she was generous enough not to hold a grudge against an innocent NPC.
Still, she’d definitely added that death to her revenge list. One day, she’d settle that score!
“Ah Yuan, by the way—how come Feng Ge isn’t here this time?”
Ah Yuan gave her a baffled look.
“An Jie, did you nap too long or something? Feng Ge went back to his hometown half a month ago. Something urgent came up.”
“This is actually my first time staying at school all the way into August… It’s tough not going home, but for the sake of our work, we just have to endure it.”
Sheng Qingye had played the demo version before and chatted with the NPCs about some of the basic lore.
When she heard that, something suddenly clicked in her mind.
“Why stay until August? Didn’t the teacher say not to disturb the other students? Once summer break starts and most people leave, wouldn’t it make sense for us to finish up and go home?”
Ah Yuan looked at her with an odd expression—one that was a strange mix of excitement and anticipation, like they were doing something thrilling and taboo.
“Well, I checked the calendar and realized that August 18 happens to fall on the Ghost Festival! You know, Zhongyuan Festival! The legendary day of spirits! When I was home, my mom wouldn’t even let me go out on that day. So I figure there must be quite a few people who believe in this stuff. If we livestream on that day, it might bring in a ton of viewers!”
“!” Ji Yu, who had been huddling quietly like a quail, swore he definitely felt a chill pass by the moment Ah Yuan said “Ghost Festival”! He tugged helplessly at his thin shirt, face full of despair, practically wanting to wear a sign that read: Don’t court death.
An Zhi’s mouth twitched at the memory of all the ghost stories tied to this school.
She didn’t know if it would attract more viewers, but it would certainly attract more ghosts.
Just then, she noticed Ji Yu had stopped walking at some point. He was staring stiffly at a pitch-black building nearby, like he’d been possessed.
An Zhi immediately realized he must have seen something he shouldn’t have. She walked over and gave his ear a sharp tug.
“OWWW! It hurts, it hurts!”
Even with his pain receptors reduced by 50%, Ji Yu still cried out. He really didn’t want to be woken up like this ever again.
An Zhi’s voice was cold as she warned him, “Don’t look too much. Don’t think too much. Control your eyes and your brain. Stay close to us. That’s the only thing I’m asking of you.”
Inspired by Sheng Qingye’s earlier point, An Zhi had a hunch that the upcoming “food offering” game might contain some hidden clues. That’s why she wanted to participate directly. But if Ji Yu got eliminated early, the two of them would be forced to spectate instead.
She didn’t trust leaving the NPCs and gameplay out of her sight. No matter what, she had to drag Ji Yu along until they made it through this round.
What else could Ji Yu say? He could only nod like mad.
Once they arrived at the location, the event unfolded exactly like the demo version. This time, though, Sheng Qingye stayed off to the side to observe, while An Zhi and Ji Yu got to take part in the game.
An Zhi saw the NPC’s subtle trick perfectly—there were already deep cracks all over the bowl. It looked like it could shatter at any moment, but unless you looked very closely, it was hard to notice. No wonder the viewers didn’t catch on either.
As soon as the camera turned away, Ah Yuan dipped a piece of paper into bl00d and expertly drew a circle on it, clearly not her first time faking this ritual.
She caught An Zhi watching her and even gave a cheeky wink.
Once the chicken bl00d began to overflow, everyone turned their backs. They waited silently for the bowl to crack after Ah Yuan’s question.
For Ji Yu, this silence was pure torture.
In the stillness, his hearing suddenly became razor-sharp. He could hear the leaves rustling in the wind… and the sound of light footsteps, tap tap tap, moving across the ground…
Wait a minute. Whose footsteps were those?!
A cold sweat rolled down Ji Yu’s forehead.
The steps were light, like a playful child hopping around.
They circled the bowl once—then the sound slowly got closer and closer to him…
Don’t come near me!
Ji Yu was screaming inside, crawling mentally, but his body stayed completely frozen.
After a few seconds, the footsteps vanished.
Ji Yu held his breath, unable to relax at all. His back was soaked in cold sweat.
Then he heard a little girl’s voice, practically right next to his ear, sighing in disappointment.
“Not tasty at all.”
…If it’s not tasty, go find something else to eat! Why come to me?!
Ji Yu was nearly losing his mind. Ever since this little ghost girl had set her sights on him, he’d lost a solid 10 points off his SAN value. His legs felt weak, his vision blurred.
Just then, the child’s giggling echoed through the silence—sweet and innocent.
“Gege, this one’s yummy.”
T/L Notes:
Hello readers! I just wanted to let you know that there will be a small change in how I translate the chapters from now on. Instead of using “sister” or “brother,” I’ll be using “jie” (姐) and “ge” (哥) to keep the natural flow of the conversation more in line with how Chinese novels sound. Honestly, after reading the novel myself, I felt like “sister” and “brother” didn’t quite capture the feel of the original — I’m just so used to the Chinese phrases now!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you prefer retaining some of the Chinese phrases/words to keep the vibe, or would you rather have everything fully translated into English? Your feedback means a lot to me! 😊