【This is the Nightmare World!】
【Here, you will experience something you've never experienced before.】
【Be afraid, struggle!】
【The nightmare will eventually become reality!】
That night, after falling asleep, Odilia found herself in the Nightmare World again. The familiar opening lines greeted her once more. Though she'd heard them countless times, Odilia didn't feel the slightest bit scared anymore. In fact, she felt quite "comfortable" – it meant she was back in the virtual game world!
It's worth mentioning that these four opening lines were pretty interesting. The first line immediately tells you where you are, the second line indicates what you'll experience (horror), and the third line showcases the type of gaming experience the Nightmare World offers...
All three lines are quite fitting.
The Nightmare World is truly amazing, even the 0.09 version Monster Hunter World was addictive – this was Odilia's first truly immersive virtual game. The level of detail was incredibly high, almost indistinguishable from the real world. It even simulated pain so realistically that it couldn't be completely eliminated!
As for the gaming experience...
From the game's start to the point where players could officially begin hunting, almost everyone was struggling to play. Death was the norm!
This aligns with the third line.
However, the final line, "The nightmare will eventually become reality," left Odilia a little confused. She wasn't sure what it meant.
"It shouldn't be meaningless. But what does it mean? Do the developers think the Nightmare World will drastically change reality in the future? If this incredible virtual technology were to be adopted worldwide, it's certainly possible..." Odilia murmured to herself.
"But this place is still as desolate as ever. Why can't they create a player gathering area or something...?" Aside from a single gate of light, the place was just endless fog, incredibly rudimentary!
The fog was a bit eerie. If you stared at it for too long, it felt like you were becoming part of the endless mist, making it feel particularly creepy and ominous, urging you to leave.
Naturally, Odilia wasn't interested in studying it. She walked towards the only gate of light.
However, before she could reach the gate, Odilia's system "dinged" with a giant exclamation mark appearing in the center of her vision.
"What is this?"
Never having encountered such a thing before, Odilia naturally stopped and curiously clicked on it.
【A human spirit has been detected near you. You can summon them into the Nightmare World as a player. Do you wish to summon?
Note: If you choose to summon, you can perform a free body scan on the player and activate their special abilities (if any) (under development).
Do you wish to summon?
【Yes】【No】】
This summoning spirit was, of course, the method Zhang Xingyu had come up with. It had two advantages: First, it allowed him to legitimately enter the Nightmare World to play the game. Second, it enabled him to officially meet Odilia.
In the real world, Zhang Xingyu had tried to meet Odilia, but the little girl seemed to be extremely scared of ghosts. Several attempts had ended in failure, only serving to scare the little girl. Thus, Zhang Xingyu gave up on trying to meet her in the real world.
While meeting in the real world was difficult, this incredible Nightmare World offered an opportunity for the two of them to "normally meet and chat".
Not only did Zhang Xingyu's current situation require Odilia's spiritual energy, but future plans involving the Nightmare World would also be much smoother with her help. Plus, it would benefit Odilia as well. Zhang Xingyu believed she wouldn't refuse.
Of course, Zhang Xingyu wouldn't reveal his identity as the dream creator... Even though he'd been scolded by the little girl countless times for it...
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On the other side, seeing this message, Odilia was startled.
"Wow – there's a spirit near me? This, this... could it be the ghost in my room? Could it be... could it be real? And it's here, watching me right now? Does it want to..."
Odilia suddenly felt chills running down her spine. She imagined a white ghost hovering by her side...
"I, I, am the primordial light born from darkness. Light, Light and Darkness' Daughter. A, a mere ghost. There, there's nothing to be afraid of. Hmph, hmph, hmph – pu, put it in the Nightmare World. Se, see what it looks like, this demonic spirit! Su, summon!"
Despite being terrified, Odilia put on a brave face, and the trembling of her hand as she extended it was incredibly amusing.
【Summon the spirit as a player】
Immediately, white light flashed in front of Odilia. Within the glow, a figure gradually materialized.
"Ugh... where is this... I remember I was in my room just now..." Zhang Xingyu looked around in confusion, as if baffled by the sudden change.
Perfect!
Zhang Xingyu thought his acting could get him an Oscar. But the little girl in front of him didn't seem to care about that.
"It, it's a person?! There really are ghosts – !" Although Zhang Xingyu now had the appearance of a normal human, Odilia still jumped in fright.
"Hey, it's rude to treat someone like a ghost... uh... though in that situation, it could be called a ghost... No, no, I'm not a ghost!" Zhang Xingyu said to Odilia.
"Gh, ghosts can talk!" Odilia took a step back, as if ready to run the moment the "ghost" made a dangerous move.
"Don't jump. Where do you see a ghost? Or are you afraid of ghosts? Odilia?"
"Who, who said I was afraid? Huh, why do you know my name?"
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