Agreeing to Create Bad Games, What the Hell Is ‘Titanfall’? Chapter 55
“Holy sh*t—”
The game hadn’t even started, and bdd was already freaking out:
“This intro feels like a damn movie! Feels like I’m starring in a film.”
As he spoke, the game screen slowly faded in, like someone was opening their eyes.
The sound from the walkie-talkie also started to come through more clearly—
【…Hey, Investigator? Can you hear me, Investigator?】
bdd froze for two seconds, realizing he was currently sitting in the cargo bay of a truck.
The layout felt like one of those mobile TV broadcasting vans, with shelves on the left side holding all sorts of gear.
A flashlight, camera, EMF meter, thermometer…
The voice calling him was coming from the walkie-talkie.
“Ah… oh, yeah, I’m here, I’m here.”
bdd stood up, grabbed the walkie-talkie from the table, and replied.
【Good. I thought our signal got jammed by a ghost or something...】
The voice on the other end let out a sigh of relief, then continued:
【Listen up, rookie. This time we’ve got a ghost with weaker resentment for you. Your job is to find it and identify its type. Got it?】
bdd nodded, half-understanding. “I… think I get it.”
From the trailer just now, he’d more or less figured out the gameplay: enter a haunted house, use various tools to investigate the ghost’s nature, then deduce its type using elimination, and earn a payout.
He took a deep breath.
This game was nuts.
Other horror games had you avoid ghosts as much as possible, steering clear of them at all costs.
But this one? Nah. It was full-on, “If the mountain won’t come to me, I’ll go to the mountain.” If the ghost didn’t come for you, you went looking for it.
Then, the voice on the walkie-talkie added: 【On the right side of the truck, there’s a whiteboard with your mission details. The more you complete, the higher your payout.】
Hearing that, bdd turned around. Sure enough, the whiteboard listed the tasks—
【Optional Tasks】
【1. Identify the ghost’s type】
【2. Have any team member witness ghost activity】
【3. Find a ghost handprint】
【4. Take a photo of the ghost】
【From our preliminary investigation, the ghost’s name is “Da Jiang,” apparently the lead artist at a company called Golden Wind Games.】
【Try provoking it by talking to it, observe any supernatural phenomena.】
【Remember to open your notebook at any time to record supernatural events, which will help you determine the ghost’s type.】
“F***! They really turned their own lead artist into a ghost and shoved him into the game? That’s wild.”
Seeing the ghost’s name, bdd couldn’t hold it in anymore:
“This game is straight-up unhinged, they really treat their own staff like crap, hahahahaha…”
He burst out laughing, and the chat exploded too—
‘This does feel like something Golden Wind would pull off.’
‘LMAO, just looked it up, Golden Wind’s lead artist really is named Da Jiang.’
‘Dude must’ve had some serious pent-up rage to become a ghost.’
‘This is next-level content.’
‘Gotta be something Bro Sheng pushed for.’
‘The lead artist’s resentment’s probably gonna skyrocket after seeing this…’
The live chat was full of laughter, and bdd’s nerves relaxed a bit.
As he bantered with the chat, the truck gradually came to a stop.
Outside, the sound of rain pitter-pattered.
Following the walkie-talkie’s instructions, bdd had already grabbed the necessary equipment.
Standing at the truck door, he stretched a bit (even though it didn’t really do much in-game).
Then he pumped his fist to psych himself up:
“Alright, bring it on! I’m ready! Any demons or ghosts today, prepare to be brought to justice!”
And with that—
Clunk—
The truck’s back door slowly opened, and the inky darkness of the night crept in.
A pitch-black villa loomed not far away, surrounded by shadows, eerie and still. Only a lone porch light cast a faint yellowish glow.
Even though the game didn’t use “full-sensory technology,” bdd couldn’t help but shiver.
Wait a second.
Was my earlier judgment off?
Maybe this game wasn’t as friendly as it looked on the surface.
What if that trailer was just Golden Wind’s way of luring players in… to kill them?
With that uneasy thought, bdd approached the villa’s front door, slowly inserting the key into the lock and turning it—
Click—Squeeeak—
The creak of the metal hinge was jarringly loud in the quiet night.
bdd raised his flashlight and shone it inside.
Dust floated in the beam, unnervingly detailed. As he stepped into the house, a hollow, indescribable sound lingered in the air, making him feel like at any moment, he might hear a ghostly whisper out of nowhere.
“F***, I don’t wanna play this anymore.”
bdd’s scalp tingled!
He spun around on the spot, bolting back outside!
“Sh*t, this game is seriously messed up!!!”
It was just too creepy.
Gu Sheng seemed to really understand the primal fears in people’s hearts.
Whether it was the narrow beam of the flashlight, the ever-present hollow sound in his ears, or the rain tapping at the window panes…
Every detail sent chills down your spine.
And the scariest part?
From the start until now, bdd hadn’t even seen a ghost—not a single shadow.
Yet he could instinctively feel a deep, soul-level dread.
He didn’t know when the ghost might appear, or what it might look like, or even how it would kill him.
And most importantly—
“Wait a f***ing second, guys!”
bdd patted down his waist, checking his gear.
Thermometer, UV flashlight, walkie-talkie, EMF meter, ghost journal…
He had all sorts of detection tools strapped to him.
But what he didn’t have—
“WEAPONS!”
bdd suddenly realized the root of his fear:
“Sht, how am I supposed to play this game with no f**ing weapons?!”
A horror game with no weapons at all?!
He hadn’t played many VR horror games, but he’d seen videos! Those protagonists always had something—guns, knives, something.
But this game?
bdd looked at the random tools stuffed in his pockets.
You’re telling me I’m supposed to storm a haunted house with just these?!
And now that he’d pointed it out, the chat blew up too—
‘Holy sh*t, you’re right! I just noticed—this game has no weapons!’
‘Well, I guess it makes sense. Paranormal investigators wouldn’t carry weapons, after all.’
‘Yeah, but that design choice is seriously f***ed up. A horror game without weapons? That’s terrifying.’
‘Bro Sheng is a master of messing with player psychology.’
‘Yeah, it’s classic Golden Wind. This is what they do.’
‘No weapons in a horror game is peak horror, honestly.’
‘Let’s go! Betting time! I’m putting five minutes on bdd getting kicked out of the VR system!’
‘This is so good…’
‘Let’s start the bets, c’mon, my 50k fishballs are burning a hole in my pocket…’
Gotta admit.
The regular viewers in his chat really had no sense of decency.
The moment someone suggested a bet, the entire chat piled in.
Everyone knew the VR pod had an auto-safety system that monitored heart rate, blood pressure, and other vital signs in real time. In other words, if a player got forcibly disconnected, it meant they’d been scared out of their mind. No room for bluffing.
In no time, the chat was buzzing with bets—five minutes, three minutes, even sixty seconds.
Some were betting on ten seconds.
bdd looked at the ridiculous bets flying across the screen and felt his blood pressure spike.
“Y’all really have zero faith in me, huh?! That’s some top-tier disrespect right there!”
He paused the game and said:
“I mean, I haven’t played many horror games, but I’m not that weak. I can handle a bit of fear!”
Then he told Xiao Ma, “Xiao Ma, open the betting!”
“Five minutes, alright?” bdd announced. “If I get kicked out of the VR pod in five minutes, I’ll give away an YiYou X1 in the stream!”
The chat exploded.
‘Bro Piao, you’re the GOAT! I’m in!’
‘If you wanted to give away a VR pod, you could’ve just said so. No need to sugarcoat it like this! (doge)’
‘Hahahahaha you’re just handing out gifts at this point.’
‘I honestly think you won’t last three minutes, bro.’
‘Betting’s on! Let’s go!’
As the betting opened, a flood of fishballs poured into the “Can’t Last Five Minutes” option.
In just twenty seconds, it had racked up a five-digit number of fishballs!
Meanwhile, the “Can Last Five Minutes” option had a measly 500 fishballs—thrown in by Xiao Ma.
The audience was cracking up—
‘Xiao Ma, blink if you’re being held hostage.’
‘Hahahaha poor Xiao Ma, throwing away 500 fishballs just to keep the boss happy.’
‘Gotta clap for the boss, even if you don’t believe it yourself.’
‘This is so relatable. Feels like me clapping for the boss at a conference.’
‘Screenshot-worthy moment—Xiao Ma’s bittersweet struggle as an employee.’
‘…’
Soon enough!
The countdown ended, and the bets locked in!
bdd unpaused the game and fired it back up!
“Alright, y’all watching? This is what I call the ultimate snakeskin bdss move!”
With that, he pushed the door open and strode into the villa!
“Today, I, Liu Mou, must help my loyal disciple Xiao Ma earn back some dignity… oh, oh, oh…”
Gotta admit, bdd started off strong.
But the moment the wooden floor creaked beneath his feet, his voice faltered, like all the bravado drained out of him.
Clack.
Xiao Ma sighed and rubbed his forehead, while the chat exploded in laughter.
bdd cautiously raised his flashlight, inching deeper into the house.
The floorboards creaked underfoot, making a chilling sound.
He followed the hallway straight ahead, turned left, and arrived at the living room door.
Hsshh—
The living room TV was on, showing static, emitting a faint buzzing noise.
bdd felt creeped out, found the remote, and tried to turn it off, but no matter what buttons he pressed, the TV wouldn’t shut off.
A chill crept through him, and he backed out of the living room, heading to the bathroom.
Whoosh—
The bathroom faucet was running, blood-red water gushing out, spilling over the sink and flooding the floor.
bdd reached out to turn it off but froze halfway.
Because he seemed to see something floating in the murky water—black strands of what looked like seaweed.
At least… he hoped it was seaweed.
He tried to reassure himself, but his mind kept flashing images—solitary heads, hair drifting in blood, hollow eyes staring, pale decayed skulls…
bdd felt like he couldn’t take it anymore.
But he glanced at the timer—only a minute had passed.
He’d never felt a minute drag so long.
Gently closing the bathroom door, he instinctively wanted to return to the front entrance and chill there.
After all, the bet was just to stay inside the villa for five minutes, not to fully investigate it.
bdd tried to cheat a little.
But!
Just as he took a step to head back—
Creak—
A faint floorboard creak came from the corner of the hallway…
“Holy… SH*T!!!”
bdd felt his skin crawl with goosebumps!
He froze on the spot!
No one else was in the villa but him!
So who… was making that sound?
The chat exploded too—
‘Holy sh*t! Footsteps!’
‘Damn, this is creepy as hell…’
‘Bro, I’m watching this stream with headphones on. You know what kind of trauma this is for me?!’
‘Have you thought about how bdd feels right now?’
‘Kinda feels like it’d be less scary to just see the ghost outright.’
‘The footsteps are coming from the entrance, so bdd’s only separated from it by a corner.’
‘I’d call this—Hell’s Romantic Corner.’
‘Hahahaha Hell’s Romantic Corner, I’m done.’
‘Other people turn a corner and find love. bdd turns a corner and finds a demon.’
‘This game’s seriously messed up. It feels like there are ghosts everywhere, but you just can’t see them…’
‘…’
bdd felt like he was suffocating.
A lightbulb went off—UV flashlight! It could reveal ghost traces!
So he switched off his regular flashlight and turned on the UV.
The purple glow cast an eerie hue over the already creepy villa.
Still, he forced himself to scan ahead, preparing himself mentally.
And there it was!
Under the UV light, a faint footprint appeared at the end of the hallway!
bdd’s breathing hitched!
From the shape of the footprint, it was clear—
The toes were pointed toward him. The footsteps… were coming straight for him!!!
At that moment, bdd’s fear skyrocketed!
His hands were shaking, slick with sweat, but he gripped the flashlight and slowly moved it closer.
Yet the footsteps suddenly vanished halfway!
“Did… did it leave?”
bdd’s legs were jelly, and he nervously scanned the area, hoping to spot the ghost again.
But no more footprints appeared. It was as if the ghost had come and gone, just like that.
“Phew—”
bdd let out a long breath:
“I better get out of here. This place is seriously messed up…”
But just as he was about to put away the UV flashlight—
A flash of greenish light flickered across the wall!
bdd’s heart skipped a beat!
He quickly raised the flashlight!
And there—on the wall—was a gnarled, withered handprint, the fingers freakishly long.
Silence.
For a moment, the entire villa was dead silent.
bdd stared at that handprint, his mind blank.
The handprint… was right next to him!
Less than half a meter away!
Which meant—
The next second!
Haaaah—!!!
A bone-chilling breath suddenly hissed in bdd’s ear!
Then!
A blood-curdling scream erupted in the stream—
“HOLY SH*T AHHHHHHHHH—!!!!!!”
【Beep beep! Heart rate exceeded safe limits. You have been automatically disconnected from the VR system…】
The chat went berserk!