I Can Hear the Thoughts of Strange NPCs

Overnight, everyone aged 18 to 40 around the world was dragged into the horror game “Elysium.” While everyone else struggled to survive amid shrieks of terror, Lu Chen discovered something: He could hear NPCs’ inner thoughts. The slit-mouthed ghost chasing players looked vicious and terrifying, but inside she was frantically rehearsing her lines: “Should I pounce next or grab them? The script says ‘grin menacingly.’ What if my mouth cramps up?” The faceless nurse blocking the escape route let out a piercing scream while cursing inwardly: “Why isn’t this player running yet? How am I supposed to do the chase scene if you don’t run? The director’s watching! Please, just run!” The butcher BOSS, who claimed to be immortal, was internally bleeding after a player slashed him: “My costume! I traded points for this last month! It was expensive! Could you at least hit me a little more gently?” While the other players lost their minds in terror, Lu Chen had already figured out the rules: every ghost in this game was just an employee. They had KPIs, scripts, and lines. If they messed up a performance, they’d be demoted or “disposed of.” What they feared most was a player who refused to follow the script. So Lu Chen started doing the opposite: he didn’t run, scream, or panic. He stared at them, chatted with them, and even held a female ghost by the chin as she shrieked shyly, “D-don’t do that. I’m just an employee…” This is the story of a man who refuses to follow the script and a group of ghosts forced to put on a show. But when the truth comes to light, Lu Chen realizes that the most terrifying thing was never the ghosts. It was himself, hearing everything and still managing to smile.