"Welcome to the login area of the real-life horror game "IN OFF"."
"World map locked."
"Waiting for new players to come online——"
December 31st, end of the year.
A cold, neutral mechanical sound was transmitted to every corner of the earth without omission.
When people heard the notice again, they all showed expressions of horror, fear and despair.
There were a few excited faces scattered here and there.
IN OFF, also known as IF, is a popular translation of "It's Over Once You Come In," while the official Chinese name is:
Die a billion more times
As the most talked-about live-action horror game currently, "IF" has sparked heated discussions around the world. However, only a handful of players have actually played "IF."
The reason is simple.
Because the first batch of players who participated in the internal test of "IF" all had their brain consciousness frozen and fell into a near-death state.
So far, there are no survivors worldwide.
According to the only player who briefly regained consciousness, IF is far more difficult than any other horror game on the market. The tens of thousands of players who participated in the internal beta test, despite their best efforts, could only manage to get through the novice zone dungeon.
The players participating in the IF beta test were all carefully selected by the IF system. They were notorious or had committed many evil deeds. Their psychological endurance far exceeded that of ordinary people, and none of them were ordinary people.
A sober person recounted witnessing an author who had made his fortune plagiarizing, then, upon becoming famous, arrogantly declared, "I'm flattering you by copying you. Without me, who would know your crappy books?" In the dungeon, he encountered a time-traveling version of himself. The other author always published his work before his real self.
The plagiarist writer watched helplessly as his painstakingly worked-out works were accused of plagiarism one after another, becoming furious and mad. He locked himself in a dark room, stuffed all his unpublished works into his mouth, and ended up choking to death on the manuscript paper.
When people opened the door of the dark room, they were shocked to see four big words written in blood on the wall: Plagiarists will be punished!!!
After the news came out, netizens commented one after another.
[Serves you right. What goes around comes around.]
【The evildoers should be made to suffer the consequences of their actions! 】
I have a bold idea: could it be that the essence of "IF" is to fight evil with evil?
If "IF" is a retribution game, then as long as we don't do bad things, we won't be dragged into the game, right?
There are many different speculations about "IF".
However, the only sober person was out of the game for only three hours before his consciousness froze again and he could no longer provide any more information.
The "IF" game does not provide any official access channels. Even in Western countries with advanced technology and a gaming industry far above average, this is the first time they have encountered such a bizarre and terrifying game.
Just when various forces decided to unite and thoroughly uncover the true face of "IF", this horror game proactively brought its official website to everyone's attention, forcing everyone to browse the official website homepage.
As the official website of a popular game, the homepage of "IF" is too simple.
Apart from the bold title in capital letters, the entire page only contains one online document: "IN OFF Game Public Beta Registration Form."
At the top of the registration form, there are three lines of very inspiring advertising slogans.
'Dear players, are you tired of playing the same old horror games over and over again? Are you tired of the cold AI and template lines?'
"IN OFF" has the most invincible, crazy, and unpredictable real-life NPCs.
'Build a brand new world and give you an immersive and unique gaming experience.'
One-of-a-kind?
Of course it is unique!
Because this crappy game is just like its nickname, 'once you enter it, it's over'.
The previous example of being forcibly dragged into the internal test was still lying there neatly, looking like it would not last long.
Only a fool would think too hard to fill out some damn application—
etc!
After a closer look, netizens discovered that the registration form provided by "IF" did not require them to fill in their own information from beginning to end.
Wow, this is an application form for someone else!
The wicked system is just short of sticking the message "Come on, take revenge if you have any, and complain if you have any" on everyone's forehead.
Let me ask you, who doesn’t have a few people they hate?
But sending him into the death game simply because he's 'hated' is way too cruel...
The clock officially points to midnight, marking the beginning of the new year.
The official website of "IF" has been refreshed, and it still has a simple and monotonous style, except for an extra line of jumping text.
【Registration forms accepted: 0001857.】
Seeing that string of numbers, people panicked.
Apparently, while they were hesitating, someone had already submitted the registration form.
In this world, there is love without reason, but there is no hatred without reason.
Hate is more real than love and lasts longer than love.
The person you hate might also hate you. Or maybe you did something that made them hate you when you were unaware of it.
The number of registration forms accepted by the Death Game is limited. While you are still hesitating, your name may have appeared on someone else's registration form.
Never mind, it’s better to strike first!
In just a few minutes, the order of the entire world fell into chaos.
"Go to hell! Hahahahaha!"
"Please, for the sake of our long-standing friendship, don't fill in my name. I don't want to die yet, please!"
"There are so many people I hate, which idiot should I send in first?"
More people are afraid of the changes that the game will bring to the world. Looking at the rapidly increasing numbers on the homepage of "IF", they clasp their hands together and pray devoutly, hoping that the large-scale desperate reality will end soon.
Seven digits may seem long, but they are actually very short.
At 00:05 midnight, the string of numbers quieted down and froze at '5000000'.
In just five minutes, the official website of the Death Game received five million registration forms.
An average of one million copies per minute.
Even so, the air was filled with voices of regret, regretting that their hands were too slow and they did not send the object of their dislike in.
The mechanical voice sounded again, with an obvious mocking tone:
"Registration forms are now being accepted. Thank you to everyone who has shown great support and cooperation."
"The form is being integrated. Please wait."
In an instant, the world was paused.
Those who have registered or may be registered are waiting for the so-called integration results with their hearts pounding.
The processing power of the IF server far surpasses any other data processor on the market. In less than a minute, the homepage had already reported the registration results to the players who had submitted their registration forms.
At the same time, specks of light appeared out of thin air.
It crossed the mountains, floated over the oceans, flew over the polar regions, and came to the "master" without deviation.
The person chosen by the light was stunned for a moment, and immediately understood what it meant.
In the light, a translucent oval bracelet appeared, shining brightly and dazzlingly.
The mechanical sound of the "IF" game is right next to my ears.
"Congratulations on becoming the second batch of players for IN OFF. Please put on your wristband within ten seconds and enter the game."
"No--!"
"Get away! I'm not wearing it!"
"Who wants to play that damn game?"
"Fuck! Which idiot wrote me in!!!"
"Wuwuwu, someone come and save me..."
The 'lucky ones' who were chosen were full of resistance and on the verge of mental breakdown. Few of them were willing to wear the bracelets obediently.
The system was tired of humans' half-hearted tricks, and without giving them any buffer time, the mechanical voice counted down coldly.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six..."
A very small number of people could not bear the psychological pressure brought by the system and put on the bracelets tremblingly.
More people feel that they can still be saved.
If I don't wear a bracelet, I won't be allowed into the game, and maybe I can get away with it by being shameless.
Some covered their heads and ears, trembling in fear. Some knelt on the ground with tears streaming down their faces, begging desperately. Some players ran desperately, trying to throw off the bracelet.
But no matter how you try to escape, the bracelet follows you everywhere, more inseparable than your credit card bill.
The system's voice played directly in their minds, continuing the countdown at the original rhythm.
"five."
"Your name is..."
"Four."
"Your family members are..."
"three."
“The most important person in your life is…”
Every time the system counts down a number, it will ask a question related to the player.
The questions are different, but they all hit the heart, stripping away the layers of their fig leaf as "human beings".
"two."
"Your darkest secret is..."
"one."
"You are more afraid than death—"
Suddenly, the system sound got stuck here and stopped abruptly.
When it sounded again, the chosen players could clearly hear the happy laughter.
"All players on the list voluntarily log in."
Player: Volunteer!
When the translucent bracelet touched their skin, it seemed to grow onto their body, fitting perfectly to their wrist.
The system voice in my ears suddenly split into a male and a female voice, pressing against each player's left and right ears, announcing at the same time:
"Game start/Dream start."
As soon as the voice fell, a huge gravitational force pulled them into a desolate unknown space. The surroundings were filled with thick fog, and there was nothing in sight.
Based on the outlines of the sky and the ground, the clever players concluded that they, or rather their consciousness, were teleported to some corner of the world.
New players who have just entered the game look around, carefully observe the surrounding situation, and cautiously try to figure out how to play the death game.
Looking around, the open space was densely packed with players. Without a clear understanding of the situation, everyone tacitly chose to wait and see, with no risk of a fight for the time being.
After experiencing too much despair in a short period of time, everyone's nerves were tense and they were about to become lazy.
Sudden.
"The sky is falling."
Along with these four meaningless words, a huge sense of oppression was overwhelming, instantly enveloping the entire space.
Everyone looked up and discovered in horror that the sky was falling at a crazy speed and finally hung right above their heads.
If they were about half a meter lower, hundreds of tons of clouds would become their first burial place.
Three figures emerged from the depths of the mist. On the left was a skinny zombie, seemingly unrecognizable as a traditional zombie. Its body was in pieces, held together by twine. Wrapped around its neck was a taut, thick string, stretching off into the distance, clearly controlled by someone.
In the middle was an extremely luxurious throne, with a snow-white-skinned loli sitting cross-legged, holding a purple apple in her hand.
There was a dark fog on the left and nothing could be seen clearly.
The exquisite and cute loli on the throne looked around and took the initiative to greet the players below.
"Hi, new players." The girl held her face in her hands and said with a smile, "We are NPCs of . You can check our information through the player bracelet."
After receiving the prompt, the player fumbled to open the operation panel of the bracelet and first scanned the zombies.
[NPC (Red)] Puppet
Level 50
【Skill】? ? ?
It really is a puppet.
Players with a little bit of common sense were not surprised by this result and continued to scan the girl in the middle.
[NPC (Red)] Apple
【Level】???
The player in the middle only has his name displayed, and all other information is question marks.
Even the name displayed on the page was not sure whether it was the NPC's name or just the apple in her hand.
The novice player who just entered the game turned to the third NPC with perseverance.
Nothing, just a bunch of question marks.
Apple figured everyone had finished scanning and continued cheerfully, "Next, tell me your names."
As soon as he finished speaking, the players' system operation panels collectively jumped to the page for entering ID.
Apple kindly reminds you, "Please note that you can only enter your ID once~"
After hearing her prompt, a player in the crowd muttered, "There's no name change card in this game?"
"Oops, I lost my real name!"
"Help! Am I supposed to finish this game with this stupid ID of 'I want to fuck myself to death'?"
"Clear?" When Apple heard this word, it was as if it had heard the biggest joke of the century, and it covered its stomach and laughed uncontrollably.
The zombie puppet next to her had its strings tightened, its mouth opening and closing as it emitted a chaotic, decaying sound. "Foolish human, who gave you the illusion that you'd entered the game?"
"W-What do you mean?"
"I should have logged in successfully, right?"
"Oh my, haven't you noticed yet?" Apple had laughed enough and benevolently gestured for them to bow their heads. "Broken toys are not eligible to enter IF~"
Following her reminder, everyone slowly and stiffly lowered their heads, and then—
Pupils constrict.
They all saw the hole where their hearts were.
The hole was about the same size as the bracelet, as if drawn with a compass, its opening remarkably round. Threads of unidentified black matter poked out of the hole, gnawing at their bodies.
Feeling the gaze of its 'master', stick figure features appeared on the surface of the black substance, and it forced out a shy and well-behaved smile.
!!!
Laugh at your sister!
"Hehehe~" Apple was amused by the pale faces. He tossed and caught the apple in his hand with interest and slowly gave more information, "Only players recognized by the 'circle' can enter the game."
"You are located outside the circle, which is simply called the novice zone. Only by completing the novice zone dungeons and obtaining the fragments that fill your body will you have a chance to enter the circle."
She paused for a moment, looked around, and explained concisely, "The three of us are all NPCs in the circle."
The last time she entered the game, the players were too weak and died before they even saw the apple. She only condescended to come outside the circle to take a look after hearing that the second batch of new toys had entered the game.
"Outside the circle are just a bunch of weaklings who aren't qualified to be our colleagues. They're awful." Apple wrinkled his nose in disdain. "The newbie circle will be disbanded in seven days. I hope you guys can join it soon~"
One brave player raised his neck, swallowed his saliva and asked, "What will happen after it disintegrates?"
"Huh?" Apple feigned surprise. "Didn't you see the outcome?"
She refers to the first batch of beta test players whose brain consciousness has been frozen and have not yet awakened.
The speculation was confirmed and a depressing atmosphere quickly spread.
Before entering the game, players guessed that the game would be difficult, but they didn't expect it to be so difficult.
According to Apple's in-depth analysis, previous beta testers couldn't even pass the 'terribly weak' novice zone, let alone defeat the boss in the circle.
Apple continued to speak, "Did you read the official website's promotional advertisement carefully? The NPC data of "IF" cannot be calculated, because~"
She jumped onto the throne, spun around, and her skirt fluttered like a butterfly.
"We're not data!" Apple announced loudly. "Your enemies are many powerful life forms that exist or have existed. As long as a life form is strong enough, the system will grant it higher privileges. What kind of dungeon you encounter depends entirely on the NPC in that dungeon and how crazy it is~"
"This game is completely controlled by NPCs. Low-level NPCs can control their own areas, high-level NPCs can control lower-level NPCs, and players at the top of the pyramid can control the world, even the players in the world."
"What do you mean? NPCs can actually control the world?"
"With these rules, it's impossible for players to win!"
"That's right, the game isn't fair at all!"
"protest!"
Realizing the disparity in combat power, more and more voices of protest were raised.
Before they could take any real action, the zombie puppet above raised its hand. Several protesting players opened their eyes wide, and the world in their vision spun a few times. Then, pairs of upside-down feet appeared and flew past their eyes quickly.
The head fell to the ground, and the bones rolled a long way, but the thoughts and senses did not disappear. Several blurry figures covered with gray cloth appeared in front of them and quickly dragged their bodies away.
The surviving player scanned with the bracelet, and the page displayed: [NPC (no attributes)] Funeral Procession.
In an instant, the entire open space fell silent.
About half a minute later, the protesting players reappeared, seemingly using the game's most common 'resurrection' function. However, their expressions were each uglier than the other. They huddled in the crowd, hugging themselves, their brains trembling.
"Don't say anything careless, huh~" Apple said, smiling and giving a serious reminder. "The system of 'IN OFF' is the fairest. It knows that players are weak, so it gives you the greatest preferential treatment."
"The Novice Zone is the only real-world dungeon in the entire game. All magical skills and weapons are disabled." Apple opened her arms. "Furthermore, you have unlimited lives in the Novice Village."
When players heard that the novice area had unlimited lives, they were not very happy.
IF is billed as a real-life horror game, perfectly preserving the player's senses. Just look at the few players who have resurrected, and you'll see that having infinite lives doesn't mean you won't experience the pain of death.
Moreover, all the beta testers died in the novice zone. Combined with Apple's words, the meaning is self-evident.
Even if there is no death in the novice area and the NPC does not use unrealistic skills, no player will successfully enter the circle.
This means that the probability of survival in the novice area is: 0.
**
“Squeak—”
Su Jing pushed open the coffin lid above his body, slowly sat up, and looked up at the sky with his round head that looked like marshmallow.
Since the NPCs in this game are so powerful, when will they discover:
——A real NPC sneaked into the novice area of "IF".
Su Jing's consciousness began with three lines of scribbled code.
After pressing the Enter key, he lay down in the coffin and became the only NPC in the novice area of the game "IN OFF" with no skills and no levels.
If this game is controlled by a programmer, then the bug of Su Jian can definitely be deleted as soon as it is run.
Su Jing thought so as he lay peacefully in the coffin.
A long time passed, and he didn't wait for the code to be deleted, but heard Apple confidently announce that "this game is controlled by NPCs."
So here comes the question.
Will NPCs decipher the background program and delete the bug?
Probably not.
Su Jing had no choice but to sit up slowly, only to realize how sloppy his modeling was.
The whole body is wrapped in pure white fluffy cotton similar to cloth, forming a human shape. The hands and feet are round, and the abdomen is as soft as cream, like a mummy made of marshmallows.
The material wrapping him was extremely light, weighing only 21 grams in total, and was obviously not solid.
He clumsily used his round hands to pry open the gap in the fabric and found that there was no padding inside the body.
Su Qiong looked up with resentment at the NPC sitting on the throne in the sky. The apple in his hand was more exquisite than all the modeling materials on his body combined.
However, the vague black fog on the left was almost as perfunctory as him.
As a string of codes with basic aesthetic taste, Su Jing quietly lay back in the coffin, ready to press the lid down for himself.
The modeling is too ugly, I don't deserve to live in this world.
Before the coffin lid was completely closed, a small, hooked wing just caught the lid and hung its body upside down on Su Jing's coffin lid.
It is a system clone responsible for transmitting player information to NPCs and monitoring NPCs, evolved into a bat form.
"Wake up, get to work." The upside-down bat issued a system mechanical voice, notifying in a cold tone, "You are an NPC in the novice area. You must complete the tasks assigned by the system and earn your KPI."
KPI?
Although Su Jian was just a string of nascent code, his program ran directly through the game's main server, so he knew the common sense of the online world.
The so-called KPI is the standard used by human bosses to measure the performance of their employees.
It's like a carrot hanging from the mouth of a blindfolded donkey, tempting it not to go crazy or be lazy, and to work hard to grind the millstone.
But the code is three lines.
What’s the use of KPI for code?
Bat: "Did you just hear that? This game is completely dominated by NPCs. The higher the level of the NPC, the greater the power they enjoy. And the standard for measuring NPC level is KPI."
Su Jing thought silently: Oh, it is indeed a radish.
Seeing that Su Jian was unmoved, Bat continued to throw out bait, "High-ranking NPCs can do whatever they want and do anything in the game!"
After hearing this, Su Qi finally spoke...
To be precise, in his 'marshmallow' form, he has no ability to speak, and communicates directly with the system through brain waves.
Su Qiong: "Can you hire a programmer to help me improve the code?"
“…” The bat was silent.
Hiring programmers is an external behavior. No matter how great the NPC's authority is, it cannot be separated from the game itself.
Su Qiong lowered his head and cupped his soft belly with both hands. "Then, can you insert the keyword 'abdominal muscles' into my code?"
“…” The bat fell silent again.
Damn, NPCs don't have the ability to tamper with the program.
Su Jian got the answer from its silence, was extremely disappointed with the garbage system, and slowly closed the lid of his coffin.
"Wait, there is a way!" The subsystem that thought it was omnipotent became anxious and pressed down on his coffin lid.
The wings shook, and a mimic cloak fell off.
Although it was just a low-level prop used to blur the appearance, the subsystem still hurt for a while.
You know, the relationship between the system and NPC is equivalent to that between slave owners and slaves.
As a low-level slave, Su Jing has made no contribution and his KPI is zero, yet he still gives props to this freeloader.
Su Jing slowly picked up the props, and the two big words "so ugly" clearly appeared on his round, faceless head.
Look at Apple again. The ice-blue cape she wears is exquisite and beautiful, and it has gorgeous pink diamonds.
I’m so envious.
Su Jing was almost crying with envy.
The stingy bat felt really hurt, and ordered Su Jian to work while cursing.
Su Jing grabbed a cloak from the system and put it on. Then he reluctantly got out of the coffin and looked at the place where he was born.
This is a bounded equilateral triangle space, and at each vertex of the triangle stands a sturdy, towering tree.
The tree is so tall that you can't see its crown when you look up. Its thick trunk is divided into sections, a bit like bamboo, and the surface of the bamboo is covered with milky white fruits the size of a fly's head.
The white fruit squirmed and squeezed together, with thin, thread-like tentacles extending from its surface, emitting a strange smell.
The branches were pitch black and slender, like willow branches. They all hung down from the treetops, and the ends were all tied to the coffin board of Su Jian.
Between every two big trees, there is a void display screen. There are three in total, representing the three divisions of the novice area.
The display screen in front of Su Jian lit up, and through the screen, he could see countless new players being teleported to the dungeon entrance.
In the center of the screen, there is a multiple-choice question.
[NPC Su Jian, please choose your initial attribute: red or white.]
"What do you mean?" Su Jing was confused.
Bat puffed out his chest and said, "I am a noble system. I don't want to answer questions from low-level NPCs who have no contribution to the game."
"Oh." As a string of code without curiosity, Su Jian stretched half a foot towards the coffin.
"Stop! Okay, okay, I'll make an exception this time and not deduct your KPI!" Bat, terrified of this NPC who was known for playing badly, explained fiercely, "Red Name and White Name are the two major NPC factions. White Name is responsible for guiding players and helping them pass levels. Red Name, on the other hand, is responsible for providing dungeon energy and guarding the circle to prevent players from passing."
"Both Red-named and White-named NPCs can earn KPIs by completing their respective tasks. But—" Bat whispered sinisterly, "All high-level NPCs in the circle are Red-named. They slaughter players and White-named NPCs..."
Before Bat finished speaking, he glanced over and found that Su Jing had already pressed the 'white' option.
"Ah!" The bat's fur stood up, and it flew around Su Jian. "Are you deaf?! I was clearly hinting that red names have more advantages in the game!"
"I'm not deaf, because I have no hearing at all." Su Qiong touched his nonexistent ear and said slowly, "I know that red names have more advantages."
"Then why did you choose Baiming?"
"I don't need so many KPIs." Su Qiong lifted a corner of his cloak and explained, "The world of code is very pure. Three lines of code can't produce the effect of twenty lines. I will do as much as you give me."
bat:"……"
Reject PUA in the workplace and start with the code.
"Alright, alright." Bat's head was swollen with anger. He turned himself over and poked at the display screen in front of him irritably. "NPC Su Jian, the white-named one, is heading to the first dungeon now to help the players there clear it."
"The theme of this dungeon concerns the most widespread and incurable terminal illness in the human world."
"The name of the disease is just like your name—"
"poverty."
On the screen, the novice players assigned to copy one, upon learning the theme, all showed distorted expressions like "Stop cursing, it hurts" or "What nonsense are you talking about?"
And a certain code that is free from the control of money reveals a clear ignorance.
——Where’s the horror game you promised me?
poverty.
What's so scary?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
