I Play the Horror World as a Simulation Game

Looking at the corpse with its head restored, Lan Yan's face darkened. "The resentment is too deep. Ordinary ghost creatures can't kill it."

"Anyway, we've got the puzzle piece. Who cares how deep it is? Just run."

Qin Nuo turned and dashed towards the door, but the corpse suddenly leaped up, blocking their way.

With its head restored, the man spat out his tongue, glaring at the three with a face full of resentment, his terrifying visage covered in writhing veins.

Qin Nuo and Lan Yan took a step back, simultaneously pointing at the blond man. "He's the one who messed with you!"

The blond man's face turned as sour as if he'd swallowed a fly, wishing he could shoot both of them.

Despite his thoughts, the blond man raised his gun and fired two more shots at the man.

The ghost caregiver raised his hand to catch the bullets, but his palm exploded, sending flesh flying.

Yet soon, the hand repaired itself at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"What does a woman cutting off your thing have to do with us?" Qin Nuo said, pulling out a bone-crushing hammer and human bone nails.

"Because..."

The ghost caregiver opened his mouth, but before he could finish, two human bone nails shot like bullets, piercing into his head.

The enhanced enchantment effect made the ghost caregiver scream miserably, his head instantly melting into a pool of blood.

But before the three could reach the door, the pool of blood reformed, grinning eerily. "My resentment lingers in this room. As long as it remains, you can't kill me."

The ghost caregiver's mouth twisted into a sinister smile. "I'll tear off your things too, so you can taste what it's like!"

"Damn, what grudge is this?" Lan Yan and the others took several steps back.

Resentful ghosts are indeed troublesome. If the resentment isn't dispelled, they can haunt you endlessly.

The ghost caregiver advanced step by step, but just then, the door behind them suddenly opened.

A child walked in with a game console, excitedly looking at Qin Nuo. "Brother, look, I cleared another level. Isn't that amazing?"

His eyebrows danced as he spoke, eager for praise.

Qin Nuo and the others: "..."

The child scratched his head. "Why do you all have that expression?"

The ghost caregiver stared at the child, a furious roar of resentment escaping his mouth. "Where did this brat come from, acting like I don't exist?"

As he spoke, his withered arm reached for the child.

But before it could touch the child, an invisible force shattered the arm instantly.

"Huh? Who are you calling a brat?" The child was displeased, glaring at the ghost caregiver.

The ghost caregiver looked at his shattered arm, surprised, but soon his surprise turned to terror as he realized it couldn't repair itself!

"Are you deaf? I'm talking to you."

The child leaped up, slapping the ghost caregiver across the face.

The entire corpse embedded itself into the wall.

The ghost caregiver's expression was one of shock, clearly not comprehending what had happened. When his gaze fell on the child again, it turned into deep dread. ṟ

"I misspoke, sorry, please let me go."

The child's raised hand paused, and after a moment's thought, he said, "Alright, seeing how pitiful you are."

The ghost caregiver secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

But the child tilted his head, mischievously smiling. "Just kidding!"

The ghost caregiver's pupils shrank, and he bolted for the door.

But he was too late. A small hand grabbed him, and like a rice ball, his body was bizarrely rolled up.

The child tossed him into the air, opened his mouth wide, and swallowed the ghost caregiver whole.

"Burp..."

The child let out a satisfied burp, pouting. "This thing really tastes awful."

The blond man and Lan Yan were too stunned to speak.

This little brat was unbelievably fierce!

Qin Nuo hadn't expected the child to swallow the ghost caregiver whole. Amidst his shock, he felt a surge of joy.

With this little brat, they could walk through the night unchallenged.

"Brother, you haven't answered my question!" The child waved the game console.

Qin Nuo picked up the console, glanced at it perfunctorily, and praised, "Great progress, keep it up. Here's your reward."

He handed a handful of Rainbow Candy to the child.

The child was content, part of his happiness from the candy, part from the praise.

That cheerful expression—who would have thought that just two minutes ago, he had viciously devoured a ghost?

Suddenly, Qin Nuo remembered something. "You came in, where's Meng?"

"She's outside," the child's words made Qin Nuo uneasy. He rushed to the door, relieved to find Meng standing in the corner, looking at the black blood on the ground and her little feet, her face full of indecision.

Qin Nuo breathed a sigh of relief.

Behind him, the blond man obtained his fourth puzzle piece.

Lan Yan said, "If I'm not mistaken, this is the eighth puzzle piece, right?"

The blond man didn't speak, merging the newly acquired piece with the other three.

At the moment of fusion, a game announcement echoed in their minds.

"Congratulations to players Phantom, Emperor, and Lan Yan for completing 70% of the main quest progress. You've received the main quest clue auxiliary reward—Fallen Angel's Holy Water ×3!"

"Fallen Angel's Holy Water: This is the holy water to punish demons, also the water of hope, possessing the power to obliterate evil!"

"Note: This is the player's only weapon to defeat the mastermind. Use it wisely; each bottle has a single-use effect. If used on any instance NPC, it will lose its effect."

When the voice faded, each of them held a teardrop-shaped glass bottle.

"The appearance of the main quest reward indicates that this instance is entering its final stage."

"Getting the main quest reward isn't entirely good news. The game's difficulty will increase significantly. It's likely that the mastermind will make a move."

"Or rather, it already has!"

Lan Yan and the blond man, having experienced this game process before, showed no shock or joy, only heightened tension.

In the later stages of the game, players would truly battle the main quest NPCs!

If players win, the instance ends early, earning the highest score!

If they lose, all players involved in the main quest progress will be wiped out by the main quest NPC!

"The potion can only be used once. We have three bottles, meaning three chances."

The blond man adjusted his glasses. "At this stage, there's no need to hide anything. Besides the puzzle, you must have other clues obtained from the instance tasks."

"Now we're all in the same boat. Share the clues, and let's pinpoint the most suspicious one."

"This is our best chance."

The blond man looked at Qin Nuo and Lan Yan, waiting for answers.

Lan Yan didn't hesitate, sharing the clues he had obtained.

There were only two, both pointing to the night!

Qin Nuo glanced at the little girl, thought for a moment, and only shared the clue about Room 606, which was connected to Lan Yan's clue.

The little girl's clue wasn't fully investigated yet. Sharing it might disrupt the other clues.

"All pointing to the night?"

The blond man squinted.

What's in the night?

What's the most mysterious?

Only one thing.

Qin Nuo looked up, noticing the other two were also looking at him.

"Seems we all thought of the same thing, the White Shadow!"

"Its identity is the most mysterious, its power the most terrifying. Besides it, I can't think of another suspect."

"If it's the White Shadow, we don't need to uncover its identity. We just need to use the holy water on it."

"If we're right, game over!" Lan Yan said.

Qin Nuo rubbed his chin. "Good idea, but it won't just stand there and let you pour holy water on it, will it?"

Lan Yan laughed. "NPCs are just NPCs, not as quick-witted as humans."

"In an instant, we players can come up with countless strategies, but the game's NPCs only act according to the game's rules. That's their fatal weakness!"

Qin Nuo didn't speak, but he completely disagreed with Lan Yan's words.

If Lan Yan had experienced the Bloodstained Apartment instance, he would never say that.

"What do we do?" Qin Nuo asked directly.

"Use sound to lure it in, set a trap, and wait for it to fall into it. It's that simple!" Lan Yan answered straightforwardly.

Qin Nuo and the blond man exchanged a glance, having no objections.

Though simple, it was indeed the most practical approach at the moment.

"I'll use my holy water first," the blond man said.

If the blond man used his holy water to kill the mastermind, he'd undoubtedly be the MVP, scoring higher than Qin Nuo and Lan Yan.

Qin Nuo wasn't too concerned about the best score reward, so he agreed.

Lan Yan opened his mouth, scratched his head, and waved his hand. "Suit yourself."

At this point, disagreements wouldn't benefit anyone.

"Who's going to lure the White Shadow?" Qin Nuo asked.

The blond man adjusted his glasses. "I got the eighth piece."

Lan Yan shrugged. "I'm on my last life. If I die again, the holy water is gone. You wouldn't want that, right?"

Both of their gazes fell on Qin Nuo.

"Don't you have your buddy? He can protect you. You're the best choice!" Lan Yan patted Qin Nuo's shoulder with a smile.

Qin Nuo knew he couldn't escape, so he agreed.

"Are you going to talk all night, or are we leaving?" The child came over and asked.

Qin Nuo stood up, patting the child with a smile. "We're planning the most exciting event of the night."

"And we're the main characters!"

"What kind of event?" The child was skeptical.

"Secret for now, but it's about to start."

Qin Nuo spoke with enough mystery to make the child excited. He stopped playing his game, riding on Qin Nuo's shoulders, asking questions nonstop.

...

A few minutes later, the three found a relatively spacious room.

There were enough hidden corners, and the hallway at the entrance was a dead end, easy to block off.

It was the most suitable location.

The three quickly agreed and began preparations.

To be safe, Qin Nuo had Meng hide in a secret compartment in the room, instructing her not to come out no matter what she heard.

Meng was scared by this, but she nodded obediently.

Ten minutes later.

In the room, Qin Nuo pulled up a chair in the open hall and sat down.

The child sat beside him, curiously looking around.

Lan Yan and the blond man hid in the darkness on either side of the door.

Opening a glass bottle, the blond man expressionlessly poured the holy water onto the blade of a naginata. With the holy water's blessing, the blade gleamed coldly, appearing even sharper.

Then, the blond man nodded to Lan Yan and Qin Nuo before disappearing into the darkness.

The two didn't notice that the blond man's glass bottle still contained some holy water...

Lan Yan made an OK gesture to Qin Nuo, took out a metal ball, and also melted into the darkness.

Everything was ready.

Qin Nuo took the gun Lan Yan handed him and fired a shot at the ceiling.

Bang!

The gunshot shattered the silence in every corner of the asylum.

In the darkness, many things were stirred.

Then, they rushed towards the source of the sound...

"Brother, what's going on?" The child watched Qin Nuo toss the gun aside and asked.

"The person who hit me is coming soon. Let's see if you can help me get revenge."

Qin Nuo spoke while taking out the Grave Ghost Stone, instructing the Blood-Eyed Ghost to be ready to act at any moment.

The White Shadow was terrifying.

He had to be fully prepared!

"Oh, no problem. Whoever comes, I'll help you beat them up!" The child seemed relaxed, patting his chest.

Then he added, "Eating them is fine too."

Qin Nuo was silent because he felt the air rapidly turning cold.

Moreover, the air currents grew more intense, windows being blown open one by one.

Qin Nuo wiped the sweat from his forehead, lowering his crossed leg, and stared intently at the darkness at the end of the hallway.

In the darkness, many things appeared.

But fearing the oil lamp, they quickly dispersed.

Finally, a white shadow slowly emerged from the darkness.

It was here!

Qin Nuo held his breath, his voice low and emerging from his throat. "Buddy, it's here."

The child also saw the shadow, putting away his game console.

The White Shadow's gaze was sharp, fixated on Qin Nuo with intense killing intent.

Then, it charged forward swiftly!

At the same time, the child jumped off Qin Nuo and walked towards the White Shadow. "Those who bully my brother won't have a good ending."

However, when the child reached the door, he suddenly stopped.

Qin Nuo was puzzled.

Lan Yan and the blond man hiding in the darkness were also puzzled.

The child turned his head, his pale face covered in beads of sweat.

He smiled at Qin Nuo. "Brother, I'm sleepy. Going back to sleep. If anything happens, you know what to do!"

With that, the child passed through a wall and vanished...

Qin Nuo was full of questions, not even having time to react.

Just like that, he ran away?