Chapter 176: Trending [3]

—Lol, how much commission do you get from this?

—It can’t be that cheap, right? Kek.

—I bet it’s at least over fifty percent. There’s no way he’d advertise a game like this unless he’s going to have a high percentage.

The moment the game was released, the comments flared.

—Hey, at least the game isn’t very expensive. It’s only five dollars.

—That’s pretty cheap. I guess he doesn’t expect to sell that many.

—Looks like I was right lol.

"Tsk. Tsk."

Carmen clicked his tongue as he typed out the message online. As the comments reflected on the surface of his glasses, he brushed his greasy hair back while turning his attention towards the link posted by Idris.

Ever since releasing the link, Idris had been rather quiet.

"I guess he has a sense of shame."

This was an obvious money pull to Carmen. The type that ran rampant among streamers and V-tubers.

"At least he isn’t creating his own coin or some shit. That’s when you know they’re broke."

Chuckling to himself, Carmen ended up clicking on the link, which brought him to the game website. Staring at the title of the game, he chuckled.

"A Twisted Game? What sort of game is that?"

He had seen the entire video. In his mind, the game felt rather easy. It was quite ingenious how it tried to trick the player into looking at the monster, but Carmen didn’t think he’d fall for such an easy trick.

Still, thinking back to the video he witnessed, and the expression that Idris ended up making by the end, he unknowingly found the cursor of his mouse hovering above the [purchase] button.

While he didn’t believe the game would scare him, he still felt intrigued to try it.

"Right, this could be a great way to prove that it’s all a scam. I might even make some views off of it by calling out Idris and his nonsense."

Carmen’s eyes glinted, and he didn’t hesitate to press [purchase].

Moments after the purchase came through, the game loaded on his computer. The icon was a simple top hat, and upon clicking on the game, Carmen was brought to a very plain interface.

"Alright."

He quickly set up his camera and stretched his fingers.

"Let’s get started."

He clicked [Start] and the game began.

Everything from that point went smoothly. He proceeded with the game as he remembered from Idris’s video. He collected the clues, and he sped through the first floor in record time.

"Yeah, this is easy."

Everything was going great.

Until...

It just wasn’t.

"....."

Feeling the hot breath running down his ear. The small shadows that lurked all over, and the sound of items dropping, Carmen found himself frozen in fear.

Tick. Tick...

He felt disoriented. Every sound struck him as a trap, designed to lure him into turning. Everything he saw seemed like an illusion, carefully crafted to deceive him into making that one fatal mistake.

Everything... felt like it was out there to get him, and Carmen felt a sudden sense of suffocation.

He didn’t know what to do.

’What do I do? What do I do? What do I do...?’

His thoughts swam in all directions as he tried to think of a way out of the situation. However, regardless of how much he thought, he couldn’t think of a thing.

And then...

It came.

The Twisted Man.

"Haaaa—!"

What followed was a terrified scream as Carmen fell back on his seat, his face drenched in sweat and his hand trembling.

Staring at the game interface in front of him, he muttered.

"C-cursed."

The game.

It was cursed.

Such a scene didn’t just happen in Carmen’s place. They happened in several floating islands, with many displaying ever more drastic reactions than Carmen’s.

They all realized it then.

Idris hadn’t lied. His reaction was genuine.

And as a result.

The game started to trend.

***

At the same time, within a quiet office.

"So you’re suggesting that we should use this game to train the new hires?"

Slowly lifting his head, the Section Chief scratched the stubble on his chin while staring at Kyle, who stood with his back straight, both hands behind his back.

Kyle wore a black vest over a crisp white shirt, paired with black pants.

He looked rather professional at the moment.

On the other hand, the section chief’s shirt was missing a few buttons, and it hung untucked over his brown pants as he crossed his legs and leaned back in his chair.

He glanced at his laptop.

"...I’ll be frank, I don’t see how this will be of any use."

The Section Chief closed the laptop.

"It’s a nice game and all. I can see it has drawn inspiration from your most recent event, but I don’t see how this will help with the training."

The Section Chief’s words came after trying the game. He, just like Kyle, didn’t see anything special about the game. It was unique, yes, but was it scary?

The answer was no.

He thought Kyle would leave things there, but he was surprised to see Kyle insist.

"Section Chief, I also thought the same, but... that was until I learned that several people got scared by the game."

"Some people got scared? Who?"

To be scared of a game like that...

Who would be so incom—

"It’s Rowan and the exchange members. More specifically, Serelith, Kaelen, and Sarah. The top stars of their respective departments.

"..."

The Section Chief’s thoughts paused for a short moment as he tried to understand Kyle’s words. Eventually, however, his eyes couldn’t help but widen slightly.

"Rowan got scared?"

The exchange members he could get, but Rowan?

The Section Chief was well acquainted with Rowan. He was one of the people whom he personally thought had good potential. To be on par with Kyle and Zoey if given time.

That Rowan get scared?

"Yes, I’ve seen it with my own eyes."

Upon hearing Kyle’s confirmation, the Section Chief drew a cold breath as he stared at the laptop in front of him again.

’If it’s true that the game truly managed to scare them, then it might not be a bad idea to listen to Kyle and use the game for training. I’ll need to do some tests myself and see if the claims are true. I’m not picking up anything unusual from the laptop either, so there doesn’t seem to be any foul play involved.’

Pinching his cheeks slightly, the Section Chief glanced at Kyle.

"...Alright, if what you said is true, then I’ll give it some thought."

"Really?"

Kyle’s brows jumped up in pleasant surprise as he tried his best to hide his smile. Unfortunately, he wasn’t subtle enough to escape the Section Chief’s gaze.

"Don’t be too happy just yet. All I’m saying is that I’ll give it some thought."

Shaking his head, the Section Chief smiled before suddenly recalling something, and his expression turned serious.

Noticing the sudden shift in the atmosphere, Kyle’s expression also turned serious.

"Right, I almost forgot about that."

Picking up a paper from his desk, the Section Chief casually flicked it in Kyle’s direction as he caught it.

"A new mission popped up. I’ll need you to check things around here. You can go with a team or solo. That’s up to you."

As he spoke, the Section Chief noticed the subtle change in Kyle’s expression as he slid a couple of files across the desk.

"I thought you’d be the best person for the mission."

He opened the files and tapped on the map.

"...If I’m not wrong, the orphanage you grew up in is there, is it not?"