Soon, it was 7 o'clock in the afternoon.
Natalie went live right on schedule on Twitch.
"Hellooo everyone~ Your sister Natalie is here!" Natalie said casually, waving at the camera.
While the viewer count in her livestream started climbing quickly, the comments started coming in.
"Wow, Natalie's actually on time for once!"
"Please don't talk, just let us admire that face."
"I always mute the stream when I watch Natalie."
Natalie rolled her eyes reading the chat but smiled. She was used to the jokes about her voice.
"All right, all right, enough nonsense. We're switching things up today. No 'League of Legends' for now. I'm trying out a horror game my brother recommended. He swears it's amazing."
As she spoke, she began putting on her VR setup, including a running platform, and full-body sensory suit.
"Horror game? Sounds unreliable."
"Yeah, horror games just rely on loud noises."
"What if her brother set her up with a prank game?"
"Calling it now—she's gonna scream and fall over in 10 minutes."
The comment section kept rolling, somewhat dismissively.
Natalie thought as she adjusted her gear.
These days, 'League of Legends' still dominated the domestic game charts, with 'CS' trailing close behind. Everything else couldn't come near to them.
As for horror games? Most people had long given up on them. They were either blood and gore with no real plot, or cheap jump scares paired with loud sounds, nothing original, nothing truly scary.
Natalie could feel the doubt in the chat. Even she started to feel a little unsure.
"Alright then, let's give it a shot." She smiled and hit the start screen.
Immediately her vision darkened. Then, a warning screen appeared before her eyes.
[Warning: Minors under 18 should play under parental supervision.Individuals with heart conditions, mental illness, high blood pressure, pregnant women, and anyone sensitive to fear, panic, or emotional stress are strongly advised NOT to play this game.]
Then, after a while the title slowly faded in with a ripple.
Silent Hill - Demo Beta
"Ooooh scary warning screen... how original"
"Looks like they're trying way too hard. It's just a demo!"
"Come on, Natalie, ditch this and play 'League of Legends'. Your brother totally scammed you."
"This looks cheap... bet it's over in ten minutes."
The chat was still buzzing with sarcastic comments, but the next moment the screen shifted and Natalie found herself standing in a small, dimly lit room.
A chandelier gave off a weak, flickering light. The space was narrow and eerily quiet, and everything from the texture of the walls and the marks on the wooden floor looked incredibly real.
Natalie slowly looked around, taking it all in. There was a closed wooden door ahead, and she even saw a few cockroaches crawling on the floor.
"Damn, guys, this game's graphics are insane. It looks almost like real life." Natalie muttered, her tone changing to shock.
For a moment, it was as if she had really traveled to a real room.
Looking at the cockroaches on the ground, Natalie had a thought, then stepped on it.
One of the cockroaches suddenly burst under her shoe with a disturbingly realistic crunch. The others scattered in every direction away from her.
"Fuck, did you see that?! I just crushed it! Like... actually crushed it!" Natalie's eyes widened in shock.
"And I swear, I felt it," Natalie exclaimed, still shocked.
"When I stepped on the cockroach, there was actual feedback. What kind of game is this? Everything around me feels real!""And I swear I felt it," That foreign sensation under her foot it wasn't just visual. It felt like she had stepped on something for real.
"This game's insane, the graphics are movie level!"
"The lighting, the physics, the detail, it's unreal!"
"You can step on cockroaches and they react! What game does that?!"
"Not just that, did you see the others scatter like they were scared?"
"Natalie, go stomp more! Test how deep this interaction goes!"
Thanks to the voice-to-text chat overlay, Natalie could hear her viewers without needing to look at the screen. Even while in the game, she could interact with them.
She was fired up now, genuinely excited.
"I've never played something like this before!" she laughed, chasing after another roach.
But just as she raised her foot for another stomp, a slow creaking sound echoed through the room.
Creak...
Zhou Yi froze, her heart skipping a beat. Slowly, she looked up.
The door.
The wooden door that had been firmly shut just a moment ago... was now half open
"Wait… when did the door open?" She hadn't touched it. She hadn't even gone near it.
"THE DOOR JUST MOVED!"
"That wasn't automatic! I swear I saw something through the gap!"
"I swear I saw a figure! Right when she looked up!"
"It was a woman, but It was too fast I barely caught it!"
"This just got creepy real quick…"
Natalie's heart skipped a beat.
She suddenly remembered, this was a horror game.
And this… was only the beginning.
840 Words.