Giving Interstellar Players a Horror Ghost Game Shock - Chapter 95

“Hey, what are you looking at?”

It sounded like a casual question, but Ji Yu jumped in surprise. His finger, which had just been about to tap on the message, instantly jerked back, and he instinctively tucked his phone away.

When he looked up, he realized that the buzz-cut guy had somehow walked right up next to him. Meanwhile, the flat headed boy—whom Ji Yu had thought of as a timid companion—was also staring at him with an eerily dark expression.

He hadn’t noticed anything earlier when there were more people around. But now that it was just the four of them, Ji Yu suddenly found that both the buzz-cut and flat headed NPCs gave off an unsettling vibe—something that made his skin crawl. There was no warmth, no familiarity—only a deep, instinctive fear.

He let out a nervous laugh and was about to change the subject when the other guy took another step forward. His voice, once normal, was now chilling, like it had quietly merged with the game’s creepy background audio.

“What were you looking at just now?”

Ji Yu’s heart sank. Even someone as slow to react as him could now tell—something was seriously wrong with his “companions.”

“I…” As soon as he opened his mouth, he realized how dry and hoarse his voice was. His tongue almost tied itself in a knot.

His back felt both hot and cold—like he had just broken into a sweat and immediately caught a chill. The cold wind seemed to blow right through him.

At that critical moment, a flash of inspiration struck Ji Yu—like he had just grabbed onto the last life-saving straw.

“I just… just got a scam text message. It was nothing, really. I was just about to delete it.”

Thank the Central Star System for its relentless anti-fraud campaigns—that left just enough imprint in his brain to help him spin a half-decent lie.

He thought for sure that would be enough to brush them off. But to his horror, the buzz-cut guy merely let out a dull chuckle.

“Oh, really? Then show me.”

Ji Yu nearly lost it.

Seriously?! Why is this NPC making things so hard for a player?! You don’t care how much I have to struggle to deal with you—all you care about is yourself!

His brain blanked out, and all he could do was clutch his phone tightly, as if letting go for even a second would mean losing it forever.

Just then, Liu Tian finally noticed something was off and shot them a strange look.

“What are you guys doing? What, scared already?”

“Who—who’s scared?!” Ji Yu jumped, seizing the opportunity to break away from the suffocating atmosphere. He quickly walked toward Liu Tian.

But even as he moved, he could still feel that bone-chilling stare burning into his back, sharp as needles.

When they finally reached the South Courtyard basketball court, Ji Yu gave a violent shiver.

The court wasn’t big, but it was eerily empty. Not a single soul in sight. There was a streetlamp near the hoop—probably a reward for diligent students who exercised late at night.

The light was a blinding white at first, but as they approached, it began to flicker… and slowly shifted into a dim, yellow hue.

The sudden shift from harsh white to dusky yellow happened so quickly that Ji Yu’s eyes, already narrowed from the brightness, ached from the change.

Startled, he stepped back a few paces—only to feel something rolling beneath his heel.

A dreadful instinct made every hair on his body stand on end. He practically leapt toward Liu Tian and then carefully glanced behind him—

An orange basketball was slowly rolling over from the pitch-black bleachers. It had stopped right at his feet.

“Look! This is definitely the legendary basketball from the South Courtyard court!” the buzz-cut guy said, his voice warped with suppressed excitement.

He called out to the stunned Liu Tian, 

“Don’t just stand there—start filming!”

At that moment, the long-dormant stream chat exploded like a geyser.

[Exactly! Why are you dawdling? It’s almost midnight!]

[We’ve been sticking around all this time not to watch you chat—but to see you act! I mean, do the mission!]

[Don’t be scared, streamer! Even if the severed head basketball doesn’t show up, as long as you pick it up and play for a bit, I’ll reward you with an airship!]

As if to prove their point, one viewer sent over a luxury car gift first. That kicked off a wave of gift-giving as others joined in.

Liu Tian glanced at the backend dashboard and saw the donation total—his eyes nearly popped out of his head.

Without saying a word, Liu Tian took the lead and picked up the mysteriously appearing basketball, then called everyone over to play.

Of course, Ji Yu didn’t know how to play basketball.

In fact, he had only just learned from the NPCs that this round object was called a basketball.

But he had other things on his mind. Pretending to be checking the time, he waited for the moment when the two others weren’t looking at him, then quickly glanced at his messages.

[Brother Feng: Be careful. Find a secluded place later. I’ll call you.]

He immediately came up with an excuse, telling Liu Tian and the other two to play while he stood to the side—close enough to keep them in view and not be alone, but far enough that he could speak softly without being overheard.

He had just settled near the bleachers when a shrill ringtone suddenly rang out.

Ji Yu scrambled to pull out his phone, muttering in his heart, How does this NPC know exactly when no one’s near me? It’s like he’s tracking my every move. Then he stared at the red and green buttons on the screen, frozen.

…What do I do here?

He hesitantly swiped at the red button. The call screen vanished the next moment—it had been declined.

Ji Yu: “…”

Wait—I didn’t mean to do that!

Fortunately, the caller was persistent. The phone rang again, and this time he finally answered it correctly.

A cold male voice came through, faintly laced with displeasure.

“Why did you hang up on me? I thought something happened to you.”

Before Ji Yu could explain, the voice continued, “Forget it. Let’s get to the point.”

“I’m currently on the road, heading back to Wenhe University from my hometown. Just ten minutes ago, I suddenly sensed an incredibly strong wave of yin energy erupting from there—like a volcano that had been dormant for years suddenly exploding… The entire campus is now shrouded in it!”

Ji Yu didn’t fully understand, but he could at least grasp that the situation was very dangerous. He immediately panicked, 

“Then what should we do?”

However, the man on the other end seemed to sense something, and his speech sped up, growing more urgent.

“There’s no time—listen carefully. One of them has infiltrated your group. Don’t trust anyone. The more people you’re around, the more dangerous it is. If you can, leave the group immediately. Go hide alone in a dorm room and wait for me!”

Ji Yu shuddered. That weird, creeping unease he’d felt along the way came rushing back to him.

He looked at Liu Tian. Strangely enough, Liu Tian was the only one who hadn’t made him feel uneasy or creeped out. If he had to trust someone, it would be him.

Besides, this was an important plot clue—he had to tell Sister An and the others!

“I should tell Sister An about this—”

He was cut off coldly, “Forget them. Worry about yourself first. Right now, you don’t even have a way to tell who your real allies are.”

Then, the man—Brother Feng—softened his tone a little.

“Just run. I’ll contact the others one by one. It’s too dangerous for you to stay with them right now.”

“If you want to survive, do as I say. I’ll get there before 2 a.m. Once I arrive, everyone will be safe.”

The call abruptly ended with a few beeping tones.

Ji Yu stared at the disconnected screen, frowning.

If you want to survive, do as I say

that line left him feeling a little uncomfortable. He was timid and a bit weak by nature, used to following someone else’s lead. But…

Unlike Sister An, who truly worried about him and treated him like a teammate, this guy’s tone made him feel… inferior. Like he wasn’t being seen as an equal, just a tool meant to follow orders.

Still, it was a major plot lead. After a couple seconds of internal struggle, Ji Yu decided to trust him.

Of course, he still needed to inform Sister An.

But the moment he looked at the phone screen again, he was dumbfounded.

“How the heck do you make a call on this thing?! This interface is nothing like the neural terminal!”

T/L: Hi everyone, I’m back!
Thanks so much for your patience while I was away 🙏 Regular updates will now continue as scheduled. We’ve got some exciting chapters coming up — hope you’re ready! 💥📚

Also, a quick clarification! I made a small translation mistake starting from Chapter 93:

• • The buzz-cut guy is actually the new mysterious member from An Zhi’s team,

• • While the flat-headed guy, the timid one is from Ji Yu’s team.

That’s why in Chapter 95, you’ll see four people: Liu Tian, Ji Yu, buzz-cut guy, and flat-headed guy.

I’ve already gone back and edited Chapters 93 and 94, so feel free to re-read them for better context and a smoother read moving forward. Sorry for the confusion, and thank you for understanding! 🙇‍♀️