Chapter 350: A Sense of Domestic Horror Movies
Obviously, a fully immersive experience would be more intense and thrilling, but it might also cause stronger emotional fluctuations in players.
Chen Mo chuckled and said, "For a high-end player like me, who's seen all kinds of storms, I'm definitely going for the fully immersive mode. It's just a simple horror game."
He directly selected the fully immersive experience.
Chen Mo felt a brief blurring of consciousness, like the semi-comatose state just before falling into a deep sleep.
At the same time, a very low system prompt sounded in his ear: "Detecting player's physical condition. Cardiopulmonary function is normal. Breathing, heartbeat, and vital signs are stable. No history of past illnesses or genetic diseases. Health status is normal. Preparing for fully immersive connection..."
The scene shifted, and Chen Mo entered the VR game space.
At this moment, Chen Mo was in a top-down perspective, as if the camera lens was on the ceiling looking down.
Below was the male protagonist, dressed in casual home clothes—jeans and a T-shirt—typing on a keyboard.
In front of him was a laptop, with a chat window open on a communication software. A person named "Red Rose" was sending him messages.
The perspective couldn't be changed at this point, and a narrator was briefly explaining the game's plot to Chen Mo.
At that moment, the protagonist was continuously chatting with this "Red Rose."
"Red Rose: Aren't you having a press conference in City X next week? My home happens to be in City X. Want to come over and hang out?"
The protagonist didn't think twice and typed without hesitation: "Sure."
Chen Mo could no longer suppress his burning urge to rant (tucao).
"Damn, how stupid does someone have to be to use a name as cliché as 'Red Rose'? Even the writers of those low-budget web dramas have more class than this, right?"
Soon, Chen Mo felt his vision sink downward, shifting into the male protagonist's first-person perspective, and he also gained control of the protagonist's body.
At this point, the system prompted: Close the laptop and go to bed.
Chen Mo directly snapped the laptop shut and stood up.
He tried to open the door, but as his hand touched the doorknob, the protagonist muttered to himself, "It's late. Time to rest."
Chen Mo felt a pang of annoyance. Clearly, this was a small, isolated scene. Knowing the game designer's typical stingy nature, they had probably cut out the rest of the house to save resources, leaving only this one bedroom.
Chen Mo was unconvinced. He tried to open the window, smash the door, or use items in the room, but all such actions were strictly restricted.
Finally, Chen Mo sighed helplessly, lay down on the bed, and selected [Sleep].
Obviously, in the VR games of this world, players couldn't do whatever they wanted like in a time-travel scenario. That would be completely uncontrollable, and the development resources required by the game company would increase exponentially.
For a simple example, if players were allowed to freely shoot, kill, or smash cars in the game, then corresponding actions, special effects, performance outcomes, and derivative gameplay would need to be created. The more behaviors a VR game supported and the richer the gameplay, the more resources would need to be invested.
"Horror Mansion" was just a horror game, and it was clear the designer had only built the scene for this one room. There might be nothing outside the room at all. If the player were allowed to open the door and go out, it could trigger some unknown bugs.
The screen went black, and soon it switched to a brand-new scene.
Before Chen Mo could observe his surroundings, he heard Zhao Lei's voice: "Boss, how is it? Have you reached the main scene?"
Chen Mo looked around but didn't see any character resembling Zhao Lei. Clearly, this communication was like an in-game voice chat that wouldn't affect the game's progress at all.
The system prompted: "You can select 'Private Chat Mode' to communicate with friends outside the game."
Chen Mo said, "Yeah, I've arrived at the entrance of this 'horror mansion.'"
Zhao Lei said, "Good, just go in and play through the story."
Chen Mo looked around. The scene was passable—a dilapidated mansion at dusk, surrounded by deep mountains and forests. But Chen Mo would bet five cents that if the protagonist stepped beyond a certain range, the system would immediately prompt him to come back. The outside scenes were just backdrops, not real environments, all blocked by invisible walls.
Chen Mo walked to the door and pressed the doorbell.
"Ding-dong."
There was no response, but the door opened.
Chen Mo thought, "What the hell? In real life, if you encountered such a creepy scene, only a mentally challenged kid would walk in, right?"
But obviously, according to the plot, Chen Mo needed to go inside now.
Suppressing his urge to rant (tucao), Chen Mo stepped into the horror mansion.
The living room was lit by dim wall lamps, and the decor felt somewhat retro. In this slightly gloomy atmosphere, it actually had a bit of a horror vibe.
From inside came the sound of running water. The bathroom light was on, and there seemed to be a faint silhouette of a woman.
"A classic bathroom kill from domestic horror movies?"
Chen Mo was speechless. He now had the illusion of watching a cheap domestic horror film. The game felt aimless, forcibly creating a horror atmosphere, making Chen Mo want to quit after just three minutes of playing.
However, considering he was gathering material for a new game, Chen Mo reminded himself of his professional ethics and endured the discomfort of feeling his intelligence insulted as he continued playing.
The male protagonist approached the bathroom and said in a slightly trembling voice, "Hello? Is anyone there?"
The frosted glass of the bathroom door was covered in steam, but through it, a blurry female figure could still be faintly seen.
The protagonist leaned in. Just then, a piercing scream echoed from the bathroom!
A hand covered in blood slammed against the bathroom glass in front of Chen Mo, producing a dull thud!
"Bang!"
This sudden scene made the male protagonist stumble backward and fall to the ground. At the same time, the background music turned tense, and the bathroom light flickered a few times before going out with a crackling sound.
Chen Mo stood up from the ground somewhat helplessly. To be fair, when he fell, he could feel the impact of his butt hitting the floor—very faint, but the system-forced fall, the bloody handprint, the light going out, the creepy music, and the impact sensation combined were still a bit startling.
But for Chen Mo, it was only a slight scare. This level of horror was still a bit childish. Chen Mo didn't even bother using the fear suppressor.
Chen Mo did a little mental deduction and guessed what would happen next.
According to normal human logic, at this point, the protagonist should immediately scramble to escape the bathroom, open the living room door, and then search other areas—definitely not go back into the bathroom.
So, for the designer, locking the living room door and all other exits, setting up a few traps to scare the player, and finally placing the key clue in the bathroom would be the best choice.