Chapter 726: A Large Batch of Haters Arrives at the Battlefield

Ps: For a game of the horror genre, this ledger shall merely illuminate why the participants are struck with terror, rather than painting the dread itself in vivid strokes.

As for the reason... it is simply because this tale was never meant to be a chronicle of horror; to write it too oppressively would clash with the work's inherent tone.

The nascent stages of "Outlast" are devoid of supernatural phenomena, yet the halls are peopled entirely by those whose minds have fractured, souls tortured out of all human semblance—lunatics, or rather, "monsters."

Driven by the wreckage of a failed experiment, both their physical forms and their inner thoughts have warped into something far more extreme, entirely divorced from the ordinary.

Had one not known beforehand that they were once men, one might instinctively believe them to be fiends born of the dark.

It is best not to fall into their clutches, for the aftermath may well prove more wretched than an encounter with true ghosts; you cannot fathom what an utterly shattered, extreme, half-man, half-monster existence might inflict upon you.

Perhaps nothing they do could ever come as a surprise.

Within the walls of the Origin Square Shop, a gathering of students sat devouring potato chips while watching this particular elf's live broadcast.

Upon the screen, Serra was seen arching her back, treading on tiptoe as she slipped stealthily into a control room.

"How cowardly," Mu Qing remarked, popping a chip into his mouth while sending out a scrolling comment.

"It looks like she’s completely curled into a ball just to walk," Tang Yu and several other students observed with sheer delight.

Serra on the screen resembled nothing so much as a frightened rabbit, her ears pricked high, casting her gaze hither and thither across the chamber. Only after ensuring no peril lurked did she whisper, "This must be the place, right?"

At last, she breathed a sigh of relief.

With that, she began to operate the computer within the records room; since the protagonist possessed knowledge of such machines, no obstacle barred her path as she commenced unlocking the main doors.

"Opening the gates through this control room means we can leave, right? It feels so simple!" Serra spoke aloud even as her fingers danced across the console.

Just then, upon the surveillance monitor beside the computer, a sinister figure abruptly materialized within the camera's view!

"Ah—!" Her hand shook so violently that the mouse went flying.

Looking at the monitor, the priest who had appeared after the protagonist's fall from the upper floor previously now pulled a lever with a sharp click, cutting the power entirely.

Instantly, the control room was plunged into pitch darkness, while from beyond the threshold came the rumbling voice of that obese, demon-like monstrosity.

Amidst the absolute blackness, the heavy thud of footsteps was heard slowly advancing toward the room.

With no exit save for that single door, it was as if the heavens were barred and the earth sealed—she was utterly cornered!

"Yaa—!" Serra wanted to shriek from the depths of her soul, pacing about the room in a frantic, desperate circle.

"There’s a wardrobe behind you!"

"Hide in the wardrobe first!"

"Hahaha, this elf is as timid as a chicken!"

"Hahaha..."

"She looks like she’s about to faint from fright!"

Su Tianji was also watching with great relish, sending scrolling comments while sipping her black tea; separated by a screen, she naturally felt no fear.

"Master, Master, do you guess this elf will get caught?" Fenghua asked hastily.

Almost at the exact moment the monstrous brute smashed through the door and barged inside, Serra flung herself into the wardrobe behind her.

Peering through the narrow slats of the wardrobe, aided by the faint sliver of light filtering from outside the control room, she could discern the fat creature searching the premises, growling in a low rumble, "You've been here, haven't you?"

Immediately following that, Serra, huddled inside the wardrobe, actually watched the monster take step after slow step toward the very cabinet where she lay concealed.

"Clang!" The wardrobe right next to hers was violently flung open.

Finding nothing, the monster paused, and then the subtle thud of footsteps seemed to turn directly toward Serra's hiding place.

A bead of cold sweat rolled down her cheek as the footsteps drew closer and closer.

"Should we come out of the closet?" a tentative comment asked on the screen.

"Yes, yes, yes! If you come out of the closet right now, you'll definitely catch him off guard!" several chip-eating students from the Origin Square Shop chimed in through the chat.

"Then I'm coming out..."

"I'm really coming out..."

Clang. The wardrobe door swung open.

"Ahhh—!" She bolted out as if her coattails were ablaze.

That speed was such that not only the audience, but even the fat monster whose hand was frozen mid-air as he prepared to open the cabinet, was left stunned.

"Ahhhh—!" In a flash, she vanished without a trace.

"My goodness..."

"Can this Western reporter truly run that fast...!?" The legion of viewers watched in absolute bewilderment.

...

While... these spectators were enjoying the spectacle so merrily, across the world in a certain mage's alchemy chamber.

The chamber was adorned with numerous exquisitely crafted sculptures, and hanging upon the wall was a promotional poster for "The Forgotten Forest," a mystic realm from the "Crystal Stone Workshop," bearing the signature crystal emblem in the upper right corner.

"How frustrating..." The characters upon the magical parchment leaped into view. "Lately, the Blizzard sycophants are growing more numerous. Every time I see them praising that 'Blizzard Workshop,' it fills me with rage."

"It vexes me to death. Yesterday I purchased a mystic realm from the Crystal Stone Workshop, only to be looked down upon by someone playing 'World of Warcraft.' What is wrong with the Crystal Stone Workshop's realms? What do they mean by 'World of Warcraft is a complete world, vast beyond borders'? Why would I ever need it to be that large?" —from Mage Dery of the Starry Magic Association.

"How do their mystic realms manage to be so exceptionally crafted... I have someone over here who plays 'Legend of Sword and Fairy,' and he boasts to me every single day. I have no way to refute them; my only counter is to say 'you are merely worshipping foreign things.' I only just bought a realm from the 'Duran Workshop' yesterday, and today they come preaching 'Legend of Sword and Fairy' to me?"

"They’ve practically praised it as the origin of the world!" —from an anonymous mage of the Radiant Holy Kingdom. "In any case, I make it a point to slander this 'Blizzard Workshop,' 'Softstar Workshop,' and 'Ubisoft Workshop' once a day. Seeing anyone use their mystic realms makes my heart uneasy. Confound it, last time I mentioned that the Duran Workshop's realms were decent, someone immediately brought up the matter of the Duran Workshop meeting its defeat in the Silver Moon Forest, asking if my face ached from the slap. It infuriated me! And you cannot best them in argument; it feels as though we have no leverage now."

Just then, a mage participating in the discourse spoke up: "Have you all not read the latest issue of 'The Mysteries of Mystic Realms'? Master Aus, Master Laiwu, and several other venerable masters have spoken. They claim that 'Legend of Sword and Fairy' promotes theft—that frequently appearing heroine is nothing but a grand thief, a style utterly improper. They even demonstrated that playing games like 'World of Warcraft' and 'Legend of Sword and Fairy' is equivalent to treason!"

"What?!"

"Playing these things equates to treason?!" The mage who had been reclining upon his lounge chair, clad in robes patterned with stars, instantly sat upright as though injected with chicken blood, crying out in immense exhilaration, "Well spoken! When was this said? Let me see."

"These are all conclusions summarized by those masters after rigorous investigation and research," the mage who spoke previously replied.

Soon, line after line of information manifested upon the magical parchment:

"Be sure to stay far away from these mystic realms; a warning issued by the masters."

"Astonishing! It turns out a mystic realm is not the more complex the better; masters claim what a realm requires is professionalism."

"Masters claim using these mystic realms may carry suspicion of treason; come see if you are among the users."

"..."

There were many more, and once touched with a magical mark, the detailed contents could be displayed.

"My goodness...!" He felt himself instantly standing upon the highest peak of moral righteousness.

"I shall forward all of these this very day, hahahaha! I feel as though I am fighting a holy war, my compatriots!"

"Let me tell you a secret: a short while ago, I infiltrated the 'World of Warcraft' magical forum. Now that I am going to post these inside, they will surely explode."

"...Are you not afraid of being beaten?"

"How can they strike me? Do they even know my whereabouts?!"

"The issue is... these arguments do not seem to possess any actual evidence."

"Who cares about the details, as long as it takes down those arrogant brags?" It was as if he held a keyboard in his hands, completely fearless.

"Hahaha, exactly! I’ll send this to the people around me anonymously when the time comes," another mage, Deri, chimed in. "There's a little punk living near me who plays *World of Warcraft* and brags about it to me every single day. I'll send this to his dad today. When his dad sees this, let's see him try to praise Blizzard again when he gets home... Hahaha, I bet he'll get beaten half to death!"

Meanwhile, far away in the Silver Moon Forest.

A silver-haired elven elder gazed at the messages. "These human masters... their data seems to be laid out quite clearly..."

"Elder, shouldn't we take some people to check out that 'Origin Internet Club' and see what Elder Xivi is actually up to?" It felt as though treason were truly afoot, prompting an urgent need to lead a party over to investigate.

"Yes!"

.