Also known as: If the rules dare to include it, I dare to exploit the bug
When “rules-based horror” invades the world, everyone else is scared out of their wits in the terrifying scenarios. Former programmer Lin Xian, however, finds this bug-ridden world… strangely familiar.
Looking at the Survival Rules for the Happy Apartment, he brings out his three magic weapons: a voice recorder, which plays the ghost’s secret knock on loop; a crowbar, the holy sword of physics; and a bottle of half-finished Coke.
And so the horror story goes completely off the rails:
While everyone else hides from ghosts, he plays a recording of “Mom brought dumplings” for the ghost, overloading the poor thing’s CPU until it crashes.
While everyone else solves puzzles, he paints the endless corridors with fluorescent paint and brute-forces his way through using middle-school geometry.
While everyone else trembles before an indescribable sacrificial offering, his foodie teammate gives it a serious review: “This plate of ‘despair’ tastes somewhere between bitter melon and expired yogurt.”
Later, the global tournament for national destiny is broadcast live. While chosen contestants from other countries show off magic and summon heroic spirits, Lin Xian crouches in a corner, quietly trying to install a Trojan horse in the scenario System’s backend…
Finally, a world-ending boss descends, and the rules collapse. Lin Xian calmly joins the global livestream: “Folks, flood the chat with ‘hahaha.’ We’ll kill it by laughing it to death.”
