Chapter 124: Mr. Otto Really Wants to Play Games

In horror games, the vast majority tend to give newcomers a tough initiation.

Even Welt's experience was no exception.

Sebastian arrived at the mental hospital in a daze, only to be knocked unconscious by a hooded man with superpowers.

He woke up to find himself hanging like a pig in what seemed like a slaughterhouse. However, instead of animals, it was humans being slaughtered.

Welt guided Sebastian through the eerie atmosphere, set to classical music, and helped him find a dagger stuck in a nearby corpse.

With the music masking his movements, Sebastian managed to cut the ropes binding his feet with the dagger.

The tension escalated with the next task: to sneak up on the killer and snatch the key to escape without alerting him.

"Okay, when we were hanging upside down earlier, we saw a close-up of the monster's face. We noticed that its left eye is blind, creating a blind spot on its left side. If Haxxor Bunny has paid attention to such details..."

Welt whispered as he cautiously approached the killer from behind. Suddenly, the killer planted his cleaver into the meat and headed to the adjacent room, giving Welt an opportunity. He swiftly grabbed the key and bolted.

"Phew, the horror atmosphere is spot on. Just getting a key is terrifying..."

Welt breathed a sigh of relief, but accidentally triggered a tripwire trap as he attempted to leave the slaughterhouse.

The alarm blared, and the killer approached with a chainsaw.

What followed was a tense chase, with the killer injuring Sebastian's right leg.

Despite the near-disability, Sebastian managed to flee desperately.

However, instead of immediately catching up, the killer activated various bizarre traps, seemingly enjoying torturing Sebastian.

Amidst the frantic escape, Sebastian failed to notice the world's peculiarities, much like a dreamer often doesn't realize they're dreaming.

After countless hardships, Sebastian finally escaped the mental hospital. His leg injury miraculously healed, but outside, the world was collapsing like doomsday.

Fortunately, Sebastian's driver, who had come to rescue the hospital staff and patients, picked him up just in time.

As they fled along the highway, the city began to crumble, yet no one seemed to grasp the world's oddities amidst the chaos.

In a dream, perhaps nothing happens upon death.

But in this world, death is permanent.

As the ambulance raced through a tunnel, they reached a cliff at the end.

Thus, the first chapter concluded with the ambulance crashing off the cliff.

"Our previous speculation seems to be correct. The driver turned into something strange, and this world is likely a dream. Sebastian hasn't realized the truth yet, too preoccupied with survival," Welt analyzed.

Can dreams connect everyone's consciousness?

The chaos of this world, from the sadistic killer to the sudden transformation of the driver, seemed to foreshadow something.

Even Otto couldn't help but itch to play the game.

The game was well-crafted, with its terrifying atmosphere and twisted acts set to classical music creating an indescribable horror.

Hearing Welt's analysis, Otto couldn't help but start to speculate.

"Sorry, Amber, I'll make it up to you later," Otto said as he clicked to download the game.

As for Bianka's exploration of the Sea of Quanta?

All Otto could do was record data and provide a precise beacon for their return when they were ready.

Only, it had been so long, and there hadn't been much response from Gnius.

Otto couldn't help but worry about Bianka. Perhaps he should ask Haxxor Bunny to help search for them in the Sea of Quanta?

Once the thought crossed his mind, Otto hesitated again.

How should Otto put it... he's not sure what kind of price he'll have to pay.

Every time Haxxor Bunny sets a clear price, there's a deeper meaning behind it for her plans.

Even the Aeon of Elation is interested in her, and the concept it represents can't be ignored by Otto.

Should he make contact?

Forget it, let's just play the game. Maybe Haxxor Bunny's assessment of Bianka is just because Bianka hasn't spent enough time in the Sea of Quanta!

Then Otto looked at the game that had already been downloaded and clicked to start playing.

...

"Bronya believes there's no problem with resource allocation, but she's concerned about this safehouse."

"Why's that?"

"Bronya just realized that sometimes, when facing a boss, it's best to run away. No matter how much firepower you have, it's not enough."

Bronie's efficiency in making games is so high that even Bronya who is watching on the side hasn't caught up yet, and many things have already been set.

So Bronya doesn't know much about the content of the game or the flow of levels.

When she actually experienced this game, Bronya was quite scared.

The urgency brought by the boss, the horror atmosphere created by the game, and then the tranquility of Debussy's Clair de Lune.

It's the narration, like squeezing toothpaste, gradually revealing the truth, often in the form of newspaper reports.

If you're playing for the first time, it's not easy to figure out the whole game.

And even Sebastian's own story is revealed bit by bit as the game progresses.

These collectibles aren't hidden deep, but not all players can collect them all.

So it will rely on other streamers to organize these plots, just like Elden Ring and Bloodborne.

"Yeah, all fear stems from insufficient firepower, but when I give you firepower and find it's still insufficient, should you be afraid?"

With Bronie's question, Bronya nodded repeatedly.

"It's because I found that my firepower was insufficient that I was afraid. Sis Bronie really understands this!"

"That's why even though the bullets given in the map are scarce, by the late game, bullets are endless. It's just that some special mechanisms of the boss temporarily render the firepower in your hands ineffective."

"So that's the more frightening part."

Originally holding a gun, acting all high and mighty.

But as soon as you encounter a boss, you're instantly brought back to reality.

No one can accept the despair of suddenly losing firepower!

No one!

Not even Bronie can escape this!

At this moment, Bronya and Bronie's thoughts converged, and they looked at each other tacitly before bursting into laughter.

"Bronya has learned a lot about making games and is very happy."

"Well... then the DLC for Elden Ring, Bloodborne, and Evil Within 2 will be up to you?"

Bronya's laughter abruptly stopped.

"Sister Bronie, you'll definitely give me the proposal, right?"

Bronie just smiled and didn't say anything.

"Are you sure you'll give it to me?"

Bronya wanted to confirm again.

But still no conclusion.

Now she is starting to feel a bit anxious.

"Haha, don't worry, I'm just teasing you. It's totally possible to make proposals and settings."

The subsequent production of excellent works can indeed be more mentally stressful, and Bronya is still young. She is not yet ready to bear these burdens.

Elden Ring and Bloodborne are definitely no problem, as for Evil Within 2, it depends on whether there are still classic works of such layers of horror in this world.

If not, maybe it can still garner a lot of good reviews.

As for not being able to garner good reviews?

Well, then just fall from grace.

Bronie doesn't care too much about these things like being hailed as the Renowned Game Devoloper of the Year, after all, not everyone likes Pokemon or Splatoon.

Just get used to it.

...

Overall, the plot of the entire Evil Within game is relatively simple.

Sebastian, as a police officer, was captured by an organization called Mobius for experimentation.

And this experiment was a consciousness synchronization system built around Ruvik's brain.

Ruvik wanted to regain his physical body, so when he discovered that the brain of a mental patient was suitable to become his vessel, the consciousness synchronization system completely malfunctioned.

After all, these systems were all based on Ruvik's brain, so Ruvik himself was the administrator of the entire system, just lurking and waiting for Mobius to send a suitable experimental subject, one that could bear his consciousness and allow him to revive again.

Later, Ruvik found one, so he began to turn against Mobius. Mobius noticed the problem with the system, so they sent more people in to solve the problem, as they didn't want to abandon this experimental result.

Sebastian was sent into the system in a daze, and with firm determination, defeated Ruvik.

Facing Amber's complex gaze, Otto savored the entire process of the game with mixed feelings.

There's no need to say much about the plot, it's too simple, but the overall experience gained is quite good.

Especially with the infinite rocket launcher at the end, providing a release for pent-up frustration, and it can even be kept for use in the second playthrough, it's indeed a very good design.

But after tossing and turning, Otto couldn't find any useful information, and that so-called STEM system, the consciousness-sharing synchronization system, had major flaws from the beginning. These flaws, to be honest, were not a problem for Otto, for Elysian Realm, or even for Haxxor Bunny.

So Otto was very puzzled.

"Amber, listen to me."

"Well, does the Bishop breaking his own promise mean something very important, right?"

"This consciousness synchronization thing, I suspect Haxxor Bunny is playing a big game, so I need to delve deeper into the game to understand Haxxor Bunny's thoughts and mental state while making this game."

"Has the Bishop reached any conclusions?"

"Of course not yet. It's like I completely don't understand Haxxor Bunny's reasons for making this game, maybe it's just to bring joy to everyone."

The meaning of making games itself is to bring joy to everyone.

Being able to laugh is the ultimate meaning of human existence in the universe, maybe this is Haxxor Bunny's explanation to the existence of the Joyous Aeon of Elation.

Because only Haxxor Bunny has said these words, and only Haxxor Bunny is still in contact with the The Elation.

If you look at it this way, Haxxor Bunny's actions can be explained reasonably.

It's no wonder Haxxor Bunny has caught the eye of the Aeon of Elation.

Creating such excellent games, even Otto, who has been dormant for five hundred years, can find enjoyment in them, and sometimes can't help but laugh out loud.

But after the game ends, there's a sense of melancholy.

Haxxor Bunny is really good at controlling people's hearts.

"Well, Bishop, maybe you should find a way to train Lady Theresa to share some of your work, so you can have more leisure time to enjoy your rest."

"That... would be nice too..."

Otto's eyes lit up at the thought of Theresa in the far east doing nothing, and often hearing reports from Himeko about her using public funds to buy Homu's Moving Castle peripherals.

How should he put it.

To cultivate a future Archbishop, you have to start from a young age. Although Theresa is very excellent in all subjects, she's a bit lazy in terms of mentality.

Still, she has the ability to help himself deal with some of the miscellaneous matters of the Schicksal.

"But, Overseer, Amber suggests that before Lady Theresa can take on the work, please don't let the documents pile up again."

"Speaking of which, Amber."

"Hmm?"

"Do you think those old fogeys of Schicksal can accept Haxxor Bunny, a game producer, to manage Schicksal?"

Amber was shocked.

This is something she can't decide.

So she quickly bowed her head and said, "Overseer, Schicksal is yours alone, and the members of the Elder Council can only protest."

"Maybe~"