Back in the room, Pei Guang observed Dan Heng's unchanged expression and figured his game had failed to scare him. If it couldn't even frighten Dan Heng, could it really scare Silver Wolf?
With a sigh, Pei Guang was about to dismiss the test, but then he noticed Dan Heng's posture change.
Dan Heng took a deep breath, his body reacting almost instinctively.
Inside the game, when Dan Heng saw Blade approaching, his first impulse was to pull out his weapon, but he quickly remembered this was Pei Guang's game. Real-world weapons wouldn't work here. Moreover, he had already noted that this game had no combat system—players couldn't fight back. They could only run or hide.
The tension in the room spiked as Dan Heng began to sweat.
Pei Guang was shocked. "Wait, my game can actually scare Dan Heng?"
In the game, Dan Heng's thoughts raced. With his trusty bunny not at hand, Herta's puppet absent and no coffee in sight, how could he possibly fight Blade? His only option was to flee.
Blade blocked the way ahead, leaving Dan Heng with no choice but to turn and run.
Watching Dan Heng retreat, Blade chuckled, "Run all you like. Where do you think you'll go?"
Blade's chilling, bloodthirsty voice echoed through the asylum, and Dan Heng, drenched in cold sweat, was now entirely focused on one thing: survival.
Trapped by a dead end, Dan Heng quickly scanned his surroundings and noticed a room with an open door. Without hesitation, he darted inside.
The room was a mess, but Dan Heng remembered Pei Guang's advice:
"If you're in danger, hide in anything—trash cans, cabinets, under beds—just make sure you're not seen entering. The first time you hide, they won't find you."
Without thinking twice, Dan Heng dove into a nearby cabinet.
Blade's footsteps approached, stopping just outside the room.
Blade chuckled darkly, "Heh, you think I won't find you in here? I've got you."
In-game, Dan Heng instinctively covered his mouth, holding his breath. So tense was his state that he didn't even hear the sound of Pei Guang's door opening in the real world.
Without weapons and unable to fight, Dan Heng peered through the gap in the closet and saw Blade's face. At that moment, it felt as if Blade looked directly at him.
Blade sneered, "Hiding in the closet?"
He moved toward the closet, his hand reaching for the door. Dan Heng wasn't afraid, though, remembering Pei Guang's earlier words.
Just as Blade was about to open the door, a noise echoed down the hallway.
"Heh, hiding in the shadows to escape? You won't get away."
Inside the closet, Dan Heng stifled his breathing, watching through the gap as Blade's cruel expression faded as he left the room. Dan Heng realized something: Pei Guang was right—on the first attempt, hiding always worked.
While he had previously dismissed this "hiding trick" as ineffective when Pei Guang used it, now, facing the virtual Blade, Dan Heng acknowledged its value and made a mental note.
But Dan Heng's gaming journey wasn't over yet. Immersed in the game, he began strategizing his escape. Following Pei Guang's example, he scavenged for items—batteries, tools—anything that could help him unlock doors and escape the asylum. But during his scavenging, his eyes narrowed.
"Fuses???"
In this area, the door required fuses to open. Of course, Pei Guang had added a classic horror game trope—the fuse hunt. Inspired by Resident Evil 8, Pei Guang made sure that while searching for fuses there would be no threats, but after finding them…
Dan Heng found the fuses. The moment he grabbed them, footsteps echoed once more down the hallway. The door creaked open, and Dan Heng instinctively raised his camera, seeing Blade's face through the lens. His heart pounded faster.
Hide? There was nowhere to hide now. His only option was to run—hard.
In that moment, Dan Heng swore to never help Pei Guang test another horror game. The PTSD was real!!!
Meanwhile, in the room, March 7th and Stelle watched Dan Heng, who was drenched in sweat, visibly tense. March 7th whispered to Pei Guang.
"Is Dan Heng playing the game you made? Why's he so scared?"
Pei Guang whispered back, "Yep, I set the enemy to be whatever scares him most. If Dan Heng finds it terrifying, I'm sure this will work on Silver Wolf. Stelle, when the time comes, you'll be competing against Silver Wolf to see who finishes the game first."
Hearing this, Stelle was alarmed. "Ah Guang! My invincible Ah Guang! Don't set me up like that!"
Pei Guang reassured her. "Relax, win or lose doesn't matter. If you don't want to face the horror or experience the game, just do nothing. If you wait until Silver Wolf finishes, you won't face anything scary."
Watching Dan Heng's increasingly labored breathing and growing sweat, March 7th couldn't help but admire Pei Guang's clever manipulation. "You've really outdone yourself, trapping Silver Wolf like this. But wait, isn't she a super hacker? Aren't you worried about the game data getting hacked?"
Pei Guang smiled confidently. "Not at all. This was made using my Star Destroyer. Her background says she's a hacker, but she's not the strongest. The Star Destroyer is designed with the galaxy's most advanced AI and can't be hacked. As long as we're still in the side quest stage, just trust the setup blindly."
Stelle asked curiously, "Why only trust it before the main story?"
Pei Guang explained, "Because in games, something that's overpowered is often nerfed once the main story starts, usually because of some unexpected event. But during side quests or minor activities, it's fine. Even if there's an issue, it'll be something comically trivial. If we're up against hackers or anything aligned with that, no problems will arise."
Reflecting on years of gaming experience, Pei Guang had seen countless instances of invincible systems being breached in the most absurd ways after holding off powerful attacks. So, he was confident that as long as they stayed out of the main storyline and avoided obviously weak enemies, his Star Destroyer was invincible. The stronger the opponent, the stronger his system's protection.
Stelle nodded in understanding. "Got it! So in the competition with Silver Wolf, I can just sit back and do nothing?"
Pei Guang gave her a thumbs-up. "Exactly! We're only doing a side quest. No need to stress—just sit back, watch and enjoy. Hey, Dan Heng? What's up?"
Pei Guang noticed that Dan Heng had removed the VR equipment.
Outside the game, Dan Heng steadied his breath. In the game, he had just experienced a terrifying moment. He had found an empty trash bin to hide in, but the character's reaction time was too slow—it took him a full five seconds to hide! Compared to the real-life scenario where Pei Guang could stuff four people into a trash bin in under two seconds, this was agonizingly slow.
Because of this delay, Blade noticed something amiss. He opened the trash bin and viciously stabbed Dan Heng with a sword before dragging him off to play around with cutting off fingers. Unable to take it anymore, Dan Heng quit the game and removed the headset.
Back in reality, Dan Heng panted heavily, his thoughts swirling with what had just happened. The game had taught him a valuable lesson—never be without a weapon. Herta's puppet must always be on hand, and coffee must be readily available!
Pei Guang asked, "So, how was it? Scary?"
March 7th teased, "Look at him! Of course, it was scary. You alright? Want some water?"
Dan Heng shook his head. "I'm fine. The game... it was scarier than I expected. I didn't think it would be that terrifying. Can I borrow it again later? I feel like I need a bit more... training."
Pei Guang pondered. "If even you were scared, then it's definitely scary. I never thought I'd manage to make a game so terrifying that it would scare my own teammates. That's gotta be an achievement, right? Sure, use it whenever you want. Play as much as you like."
Stelle chimed in nervously, "Ah Guang... can I skip it? I'm scared… Your experience is too intense."
Pei Guang reassured Stelle, "Relax, my dear Stelle. The game I made is just a bit scary, that's all."
Dan Heng, now recovering from his earlier fright, turned to Pei Guang and said, "I'm going to take a break. Your game... I think it'll definitely surprise the Stellaron Hunters."
Pei Guang grinned, "Heh, thanks for the compliment! It's mainly because our background items are so powerful. I'm curious what kind of gear we'll get in the next map."
Stelle chimed in, "Another Star Destroyer? A light cone? More special effects?"
Pei Guang shrugged, "Who knows? We'll find out when we get there. Our luck's been pretty good so far—if we got all these awesome things in the starter zone, imagine what the first big map will offer. Also, I'm hoping to snag a healing skill in the next area. Our team doesn't have any healers, which is way too risky."
March 7th raised an eyebrow, "Are you saying I can't protect you?"
Pei Guang shook his head, "It's not that. You're a DPS, after all. A DPS focusing on protection doesn't make much sense. Sure, your ice powers are strong, but if someone gets hurt or is on the brink of death, we'll be in trouble. We need a healer. Early game we can manage without, but later on? No healer, and we're toast."
Hearing this, Dan Heng spoke up with concern, "Are you aiming for immortality?"
Pei Guang laughed, "Hah! You think I need another debuff? How many times do I have to say this—being invincible, immortal, or divine are all just debuffs! Instead of chasing immortality, I'd much rather get some resurrection totems or something practical. All I want is a way to heal wounds and revive someone from near death, that's it."
Dan Heng sighed in relief. If it was just that, the galaxy had plenty of such abilities. His real concern had been Pei Guang randomly deciding to become part of the Abundance faction. If that happened, Dan Heng wasn't sure how the Xianzhou Alliance would deal with someone like Pei Guang.
But knowing Pei Guang as he did, Dan Heng figured that if it ever came to that, March 7th would probably be able to reel him back in without much trouble.
Dan Heng warned, "Good. Just remember—whatever you do, don't turn into an Abomination of Abundance, or you'll have the entire Xianzhou Alliance hunting you."
Pei Guang's eyes lit up. "Oh? Being hunted by the Xianzhou Alliance? Dan Heng, do you have some history with them?"