Hard Times Mean Diving into Horror
I calmed my pounding heart as best I could, then switched from the broadcast waiting screen to kick off today's stream.
"Porters, hello!"
The porters were already spamming the chat, hyped from yesterday's decision, eager to see just how much I'd freak out during a horror game.
"As per yesterday's roulette, we're doing Apocalypse Resident today. It's a hot new release, so stick around and see how fun it is."
Hoo... messing with my pride like this, huh?
"Don't underestimate me—I've even done bungee jumping before."
Ugh... Bungee jumping or horror games, they're both tests of guts!
After about 20 minutes of just chatting, I launched the pre-installed Apocalypse Resident package. HERA whirred to life, pulling me into a full dive. This world's games were almost all full-dive VR—and of all things, it had to be a horror game, a creature feature that I hated most. My tension spiked so hard my head nearly went blank.
As soon as I loaded in, I checked my surroundings. True to the name Apocalypse Resident, I was inside some abandoned hospital.
"Alright, time to farm."
The one saving grace was that you could fend off or kill pursuers and jump-scare monsters with guns or weapons. But "saving grace" was relative—I had zero confidence I'd even pull the trigger facing those things.
Bang!
"Eek?!"
"Th-that was just a sudden loud noise that startled me. Not because I'm scared or anything."
The chat had this teasing vibe that made me refuse to quit. For my pride—and to avoid hearing more crap like that—I had to push on. Little did I know I'd regret that stubbornness.
"This a battery? Just junk."
I clicked my tongue and tossed the battery I'd farmed.
No time to check chat much. I could reply to some, but my only goal was clearing fast. Plus, with the title set to "KEEN King," I couldn't chicken out. Sure, I'd thought about pride earlier, but this title meant bailing mid-stream would get me roasted as a total hack.
'This is bullshit.'
I was keeping calm so far because no creatures yet.
'Item spots change every run? Trying to kill speedrunners?'
I'm no speedrunner, so whatever. But randomized spots per run? "Learn the patterns" sounded good, but in this AI-advanced world, memorizing might not cut it. Game rules block nanomachine AIs from interfering, so no AI cheats for locations. I even asked HERA nicely to stay out—please don't ruin the fun. A world where humans beg AIs? End times.
Fear was stirring random thoughts.
"Huh? Ahead?"
I turned to look forward from my view.
"........."
Monster, didn't want to see it creature creature creature creature
"Hahaha... run!"
I bolted without looking back.
No sounds behind me. Still, I felt pursuit. Glanced back—
"Eek?!"
Whoosh!
Crunch!
"Hah! Hah!"
I barely ducked, dodging those countless teeth.
But it wasn't over. Before playing, I'd made an exception to my no-guide rule—since it was only three days post-launch, I'd scraped what info I could. That toothy bastard was a low-tier Death Stalker.
'Design's obvious rip-off, right?'
No Quiet Place in this world, but the look, sound sensitivity—it screamed blatant plagiarism. Changing design doesn't make it not stolen.
I barely escaped to a safe zone. Another Death Stalker popped at a corridor corner mid-run—total panic.
'Farm those, and it's boss area.'
Syringe and key. Key opens the door to Chapter 1 boss, Green Wrapper, in the game's unlockable chapter system. Syringe? Info said it inflicts random debuff on the boss, but stabbing it seemed sketchy.
Chat caught my eye—looked down, and yep, shiny item effect.
"This what they call 'dark under the lamp'?"
Dark under the lamp... or more like "can't see the forest for the trees"? Kinda zoned out, but yeah, spot on.
DESCRIPTION: Key to the room with boss Green Wrapper
Jackpot. I'd clear the boss quick, chill till Chapter 2 dropped. Damn, making a living's rough.
"Going in."
Slid the key in, turned. Click. Lock released.
Creeeak!
Stepped in—froze at the coiled green snake.
'Sn-snake?!'
Green = Green Wrapper, but why a snake... Bitten once pre-possession, I like most animals but hate snakes. And they made it a creature? Nuff said.
Like porters said, tiptoed with syringe ready.
"Huh? Whoa!"
Foot tangled, faceplanted.
Scrambled up—Green Wrapper gaping right in my face.
"Can't you give me one pass?"
No dice. Swallowed whole.
16 tries later, cleared Chapter 1. Half were instant fails, half gimmick struggles.
Oh right, end slate for the edited upload.
"How was Ju Ae-ri's first horror guide you've never seen in any攻略? Like it? Sub and like plz."
Cut there, back to live.
"Results matter. Cleared today, so call me scaredy hero again and you're chat-banned."
Time to end. Mentally drained.
"Oh yeah, S-Chat approval came through. Can take superchats from tomorrow. Much appreciate."
"Porters, that's the stream. Sleep well, off tomorrow, see you day after."
......
> BROADCAST OFF
And so my eventful first horror game stream wrapped successfully.