When you're angry, even ghosts and spirits have to give way, so you naturally won't be afraid.
Yu Nan crossed her arms over her chest, staring at the screen with an almost sinister grin, cursing and swearing in obscene language such as "*** hurry up and give it to me*" and "*** is gone".
Yu Nan's behavior was strange, but Zhu Yao didn't ask any questions and controlled the character to continue moving forward.
The painter walked forward, with things falling down behind him with a clanging sound, the paintings around him inexplicably distorting, and the lights flickering on and off, creating a truly terrifying atmosphere.
Yu Nan remained in that position, staring intently at the screen with a sinister grin, showing absolutely no fear.
Zhu Yao saw a distorted mirror with two candles lit next to it. There were crooked words written on the wall next to the mirror, clearly indicating that something intense was about to happen.
Turning her head to look at Yu Nan with concern, Zhu Yao found that she was still motionless, staring at the screen with a mocking gaze, puffed up like a furry cat that looked down on all living beings.
Zhu Yao played a trick, walking directly towards the mirror without warning. The screen instantly went dark, and a piercing sound, like shattered glass being poured into ears, was heard. Countless black hands pulled the painter into the mirror, and the world seemed to melt and distort, as if the screen was covered with frost.
In the past, Yu Nan would have screamed and been terrified, quickly hugging Zhu Yao at this level of intensity, but at this moment, Yu Nan remained motionless in that position.
Yu Nan: Hehe, **trash.
Is this person scared out of their wits? Zhu Yao waved her hand in front of Yu Nan's eyes, only to be met with a speechless look from Yu Nan.
"You keep playing your game, don't worry about me," Yu Nan said, then continued to glare at the screen, her anger still burning.
'It cannot be destroyed'
The outside world looked like it had been burned, covered in black stains, like black scabs branded onto flesh and blood mixed with mud.
Unable to return to the outside world from the mirror, Zhu Yao decided to explore the 'world in the mirror'. Opening the door led to a long corridor, where she could see a portrait of a German Shepherd standing on the grass and hear the barking of dogs nearby.
The screen distorted again, the pale green picture turned blood red, the dog's skin peeled off to reveal its ribs, its limbs and head turned into bare white bones, standing between the sea of blood and the withered tree, the dog's bark became miserable, like a wail.
Zhu Yao subconsciously looked at Yu Nan, only to see Yu Nan's displeased gaze.
"You just do your thing."
"Honey, remember how you said it would be so nice to have a cat, so our little one would have a playmate? So… I bought a dog! Hahahaha!"
The painter's deep voice began to slur, and he burst into unrestrained laughter, seemingly out of control.
"You're insane, you son of a bitch, you bastard," Yu Nan scoffed.
Zhu Yao: I dare not speak.
More and more strange movements followed, and the painter seemed to be going mad, no, he was going mad. He was frantically searching, and Zhu Yao had no idea what he was looking for.
'A new work by a once-great artist caused the entire gallery to burst into laughter…' The painter tore off the faces and names from the newspaper, leaving the paper in shreds.
"Did you see the red bottle on the small cabinet in the hallway?" Zhu Yao switched the camera's view to a close-up. "Every time this bottle appears, there's something terrifying at the next door."
Yu Nan's arrogance softened a little. "I understand."
Zhu Yao slowly opened the door, revealing a large face... no, a painting. The painting was exceptionally large, completely filling the entire doorway, and the nose of the man in the painting was directly opposite the painter's face.
Yu Nan's hand trembled slightly.
Zhu Yao looked back; the road was blocked, but a very small painting appeared...
"Click!"
The huge painting behind him disappeared, the screen went dark with a loud bang, a long corridor appeared, and a rat scurried across it.
On the screen, the red vase appeared once again.
Immediately afterwards, the ceiling fan in the room ahead slammed heavily to the ground, the chandelier flickered briefly and then gave up, plunging the surroundings into darkness. A mouse scurried past the screen.
Yu Nan listlessly lowered her head and lay back down next to Zhu Yao.
Are you scared?
"Hmm..." Yu Nan's voice was a little frustrated. The anger had passed, and these scenes became desolate and eerie, mixed with the lingering fear of the other scenes just now.
Yu Nan was exhausted, as if she had just vented her anger and was now feeling empty, mixed with fear and trepidation.
Zhu Yao moved slightly, and the ceiling fan that had been smashed on the ground was thrown like a dart, embedding itself hard into the wall in front of the painter from behind.
Yu Nan didn't shout, but instead hugged Zhu Yao cleanly and decisively.
Zhu Yao was already quite adept at dealing with Yu Nan clinging to her like an octopus from time to time. She even made a hugging motion the instant Yu Nan jumped up, and the two looked at each other in silence.
"Um... the red vase is here again..." Zhu Yao glanced at the screen and weakly prompted.
Yu Nan buried her head in Zhu Yao's arms, her heart pounding wildly, not because she was moved, but because she was terrified.
"I'm going to open the door," Zhu Yao reminded her.
Yu Nan closed her eyes tightly, listening to Zhu Yao's voice broadcast.
"After a loud bang, I entered the room. The door slammed shut. There were three candlesticks around me. I lit one, but it was quickly blown out by someone I couldn't see. Darkness enveloped me, and there was a knock at the door."
A ghost knocked on the door, a steady and powerful knock all around.
"This time I lit all the candles and found a photo, which was the wedding photo of the painter couple. The faces of both the man and woman in the photo had been crossed out."
The door began to shake violently, as if someone outside was trying to break in, but the painter was the only one in the villa…
The dim room began to fade, the knocking at the door gradually subsided, and Zhu Yao opened the door to find it empty. There were drag marks made of watercolor paint in the hallway, along with a striking red bottle.
"Hmm... The portrait of the man on the wall is distorted, the black fuel has melted away to reveal the human skeleton, and a cane is stuck in the eye socket of the skull portrait."
"Then the painter began to praise the house as wonderful, but he had difficulty walking up and down the stairs and his wife had to carry him into the bedroom."
"In the next room, I turned on a phonograph. As the music started, the images faded, and a glass bottle rolled out of the carpet, containing something red..."
"The painter inserted the tube into the artery and then sucked until his mouth was full of blood. Then he put the tube into a jar, and the blood flowed out continuously. Ugh, the smell of money in his mouth kept him awake all night."
Zhu Yao felt nauseous and vaguely heard Yu Nan whisper in her ear, "***, scumbag."
It's probably... using blood as paint.
Back in the studio, there was a note on the desk: "I can't stand you anymore! You're not normal! You've been trembling and sweating all night! And now you've locked yourself in your studio again! This stupid 'tortured artist' behavior needs to stop!"
It seems that, like the human skin, human blood is also a material for painting, and whenever he obtains material, he returns to the studio to paint.
Zhu Yao walked to the canvas, and the trembling canvas changed. Black outlines appeared on the blood-red mass, as if outlining... another part of the painting was completed.
Zhu Yao was certain that the goal of this game was to achieve the ending through drawing.
"How's your game going?" Wolf Blade suddenly appeared behind the two of them. Zhu Yao could feel Yu Nan flinch in fright, but it wasn't obvious.
Lang Xi's hair was still dripping wet, draped loosely over the towel on her shoulders, and she had changed into pajamas.
Yu Nan said weakly, "It's alright."
Lang Xi glanced at the progress bar, then looked at the dejected Yu Nan: "You guys played that part? I thought Yu Nan would get angry at the screen."
Yu Nan was indeed angry just now, and Zhu Yao couldn't help but think that it was related to the past that Lang Xi and Yu Nan had experienced together.
"Yeah, it's out," Yu Nan said listlessly.
Lang Xi sighed, placed his hand on the back of Yu Nan's neck, and gently stroked it like petting a cat. "Are you imagining yourself as the painter's wife?"
"Um…"
“You are different…” Lang Xi chuckled, “I mean, Miss Yu Nan is not the kind of person who will be discouraged by an injury.”
Yu Nan turned her head away: "But I'm still really annoyed. Even you always laugh at me, saying I'm clumsy... saying I'm no good..."
“Yu Nan,” Lang Xi said solemnly, “your hand cannot be rehabilitated; that is a given reality.”
Yu Nan felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and her body trembled.
“Miss Lang…” Zhu Yao interrupted Lang Xi, “Yu Nan, she…”
"Lang Xi is right," Yu Nan, who had been listless, painfully put her hands in front of her head, scratching her face until it was distorted.
"But... I'm not willing to accept this..."
Yu Nan lowered her head deeply, like a prisoner sentenced to death, or a patient who had just learned that she had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
She was desperate yet calm; her despair was like suffocating black water, suppressed within her reason yet constantly causing a dull ache.
Zhu Yao had never seen Yu Nan so desperate.
"Miss Zhu, I'd like to speak with Yu Nan alone..."
"Let her stay," Yu Nan said without looking up, but instead gripped Zhu Yao's sleeve tightly, like a drowning person grasping at the last straw.
Lang Xi and Zhu Yao exchanged a glance and nodded.
Author's Note:
I don't plan to write about the game in detail. Simply recounting the game would be pointless, not only spoiling the game but also making the plot drag and the article fragmented.
I will speed up the pace of the plot later. Even if there are detailed descriptions of games, they are probably games made by Yu Nan himself. Real-world games will be mentioned only briefly. Thank you, dear readers, for tolerating my terrible writing to this point.
Before Chapter 38
"I'll just say a few words, then I'll go to sleep," Lang Xi said, sitting back in the chair behind the sofa. "Li Ji's new game has been cancelled."
"What did you say?"
Yu Nan looked incredulous; her listless state vanished instantly, and she almost jumped up.
Lang Xi spoke slowly and deliberately, as if afraid that Yu Nan wouldn't hear him clearly: "I mean, Yu Hua's new game was canceled before it was even released."
"Why?"
"The game license," Lang Xi added, "and it's difficult for him to penetrate overseas markets with his pay-to-win reskinned games."
"If this continues to be poorly managed, Tanuki will fall apart."
For a moment, the room fell silent.
"Why are you telling me about Tanuki?"
Lang Xi sighed softly, "Can I still rely on you now?"
Yu Nan shook her head, "At least Li Ji is still a pit, but I haven't even dug my own pit yet, it's not even close to being done... and I can't afford someone as big as you."
"I wanted to go with you back then..."
“I know,” Yu Nan interrupted Lang Xi.
Lang Xi shares the same idea as her, advocating innovation over pay-to-win reskinned games, and has helped Yu Nan a lot in making indie games.