Ruan Mengmeng awakens in a stream of gray data, her consciousness hazy as a completely emotionless female voice announces, “Number R714. Soul binding complete. Position: Wandering-Soul NPC. Assigned instance: Midnight Elevator. KPI evaluation period: after each game. Failure to meet the target three times: deletion.” Before she can react, an invisible force stuffs her into a semitransparent, weightless body, and the scene before her abruptly changes to the elevator lobby of a dilapidated office building. She looks down at her hands, glowing with a faint blue light, and an instant storm of thoughts erupts in her mind: “Wait! Didn’t I just work overtime until I dropped dead at dawn? Why do I have to get another job after dying?! Is this double exploitation?”
The voice of the [Proctor] sounds again, announcing the task:
“This round, you must cause at least one player to experience a ‘severe fear response.’ This is defined as a heart rate above 180 or screaming continuously for more than three seconds. Time remaining: 15 minutes.” Ruan Mengmeng spins around in fright, nearly scattering her soul. “I’m too scared to even watch horror movies, and you want me to scare people? Are you trying to scare me to death first?” She tries to hide in a corner, only to discover that her body is floating against her will. The System has forcibly activated the “Basic Wandering-Soul Behavior Pack,” which includes preset actions such as drifting, whispering, and creating eerie gusts of wind. As she floats along, she wails inwardly, “Fine, I’ll float, but can you at least leave out the spinning effects? I’m getting dizzy!”
The first player, Wang Dachui, makes his entrance wearing a panoramic camera and shouting as he walks, “Chat, who else knows? They say the elevator in this place rides itself to the eighteenth floor in the middle of the night. Here we go! Let’s get you some hardcore paranormal content!”
