As Ben explored the game little by little, he quickly discovered this game's special qualities. It wasn't just the Chinese cultural background of funeral rites in the game.
More importantly, Ben found that "Detention" lacked the unique elements of horror games, specifically sudden surprises.
Jump scares, like when you look in the mirror and nothing scary is happening for two seconds, but then suddenly a sharp scream sounds in your ear and a ghost with dead fish eyes pops out in the mirror.
This kind of design, if overused in horror games, can be nauseating. But if it's a clever arrangement in a certain part, it can have an unexpected effect.
This was used in previous horror games developed by Nebula Games, such as Resident Evil and the demo PT, at certain points.
However, in "Detention," at least so far, Ben hasn't encountered it at all. The fear in the entire game comes mainly from the oppressive atmosphere and his own overthinking.
After playing in this environment for a while and consistently not finding anything scary, Ben's sense of fear greatly diminished. At the same time, as he collected more information, his attention shifted to the game's plot itself.
He also gained a deeper understanding of the game's background.
In the game, Lin Lixun, whom he plays, has a special constitution, allowing him to see and hear things that normal people cannot.
To put it in simple terms, it's like he's a medium. When his colleague Zheng Ming saw Lin Lixun collapsing, in reality, Lin Lixun was seeing things that others couldn't.
"So where's the 'believe in science, reject superstition' part? This isn't scientific at all!" Playing to this point, Ben couldn't help but complain, thinking of the painted slogan he saw earlier at the village entrance.
Controlling Lin Lixun to get out of bed, a radio in the background played some news.
"September 15th, a family of four was found dead in their home in Qingtan Town…"
"The head of the household, Tian Moumou, his wife He Moumou, and granddaughter Tian Moumou died from rat poison. The household's daughter-in-law, Zhao Moumou, committed suicide by hanging…"
"Police speculate that the daughter-in-law Zhao Moumou may have killed the other three due to mental issues before hanging herself…"
Listening to the broadcast about this gruesome murder, Ben clicked his tongue.
This is it!
Combined with some of the clues he had collected earlier, it was clear that this murder case was connected to the previous fire.
He's just not sure if the two yuan he owes Wang Jincai still needs to be repaid.
Following the game's prompts, Ben controlled Lin Lixun to explore.
After a conversation with Dr. Ye Jingshan, who was smoking at the health clinic, he obtained some crucial information. According to Ye Jingshan, Wang Jincai was killed by a vengeful spirit.
This was because Wang Jincai had spread rumors that the Tian family's daughter-in-law was crazy, and that she had gone mad and killed her family, thus incurring the wrath of a spirit.
However, after leaving the clinic room, Ben encountered another person, a teacher named Chen Qingsui.
Unlike the information provided by Ye Jingshan earlier, according to Chen Qingsui.
Zhao Xiaojuan, the Tian family's daughter-in-law and mother of Tian Fangfang, the granddaughter, would absolutely not have killed Tian Fangfang.
She suspected that the doctor in the clinic, Ye Jingshan, was the killer and believed he had the motive.
Tian Yu, the son of the Tian family, had suffered an epileptic seizure and was sent to the town's clinic, but unfortunately passed away after failed resuscitation.
Tian Fangfang's grandfather believed the doctor had caused his son's death and got into a dispute with the doctor, breaking his ribs.
That doctor was Ye Jingshan, and according to the clues provided by Chen Qingsui, Zhao Xiaojuan had visited the clinic on the day of the incident.
But after returning home, the entire Tian family of four was murdered.
Ben explored the game's content bit by bit, gathering a lot of information from fragmented clues.
Zhao Xiaojuan's father-in-law, Tian Xiangrong, had worked at a bank. After being fired, he opened a public phone booth shop in town, but his true identity was that of a tomb raider. He profited by stealing burial objects from tombs to sell as artifacts. He was also very vain, always borrowing money even when he had none, and hoping to win the lottery.
There was also Zhao Xiaojuan and Ye Jingshan. Through clues from their conversations, it was revealed that neither of them were from Qingtan Town. Zhao Xiaojuan had married into the town, and Ye Jingshan had been kidnapped and sold there as a child.
As for the death of Zhao Xiaojuan's husband, Tian Yu, it was because Tian Yu had suffered from epilepsy since childhood, but his parents-in-law, Tian Xiangrong and his wife, never took him to the hospital. Instead, they used various folk remedies, which were ultimately ineffective.
Tian Fangfang's diary also revealed that her former teacher disliked her and often made her copy characters as punishment.
But after Ms. Chen Qingsui, her teacher, arrived, she was very kind to her and played games with her, so she liked Teacher Chen very much.
The diary also revealed some important information: after Tian Yu's death, his grandparents sought out a fortune teller to perform a soul-summoning ritual.
Throughout the game, the various eerie scenes initially creeped Ben out.
For example, the pig's head birthday cake, the strange memorial hall, the creaky Tian family residence, and the sewing machine and radio that made strange noises.
But there were no jump scares at all. Especially after meeting Teacher Chen Qingsui, who also wanted to investigate the truth, Ben even felt like the horror game had turned into a romance game.
Especially when investigating Zhao Xiaojuan's photo studio, Lin Lixun and Chen Qingsui took a strip of photo booth pictures together, adding a warm touch to the entire game.
However, this also allowed Lin Lixun to see Zhao Xiaojuan's past.
In this part of the story, Ben's control shifted from Lin Lixun to Zhao Xiaojuan, and she seemed to be truly possessed by Tian Yu's spirit.
She, who never smoked, started smoking. She, who used to gag at the smell of fish, even began eating fish.
But the next moment, the scene shifted back to Lin Lixun, who found himself in a hell-like setting.
Here, Lin Lixun saw Tian Yu's spirit. Because his father stole from tombs, and he reaped the benefits, he had to suffer in his father's place.
Considering Lin Lixun's character setting of being able to communicate with spirits, if Tian Yu was truly suffering in hell, then who was possessing Zhao Xiaojuan?
Or was there no possession at all?
Was it all Zhao Xiaojuan pretending?
Ben had a vague guess in his mind.
At this moment, a phone call from the past rang. Upon answering, he could hear Zhao Xiaojuan and Chen Qingsui conversing on the phone.
It turned out that Chen Qingsui was not a volunteer teacher but a reporter. She came to Qingtan Town as a volunteer teacher to get a ledger of tomb-raiding buyers from Tian Xiangrong.
She had reached an agreement with Zhao Xiaojuan: if Zhao Xiaojuan could get the ledger, she would find a way to help Zhao Xiaojuan leave the town that had her trapped in the mountains.
Playing up to this point, based on the clues collected, the truth of the entire game was gradually being revealed.
Although the scenes in the game were still grim and the atmosphere still oppressive.
But by this point, Ben no longer felt any fear.
Instead, there was a sense of heaviness.
He finally understood the meaning of the six large characters, "Believe in Science, Reject Superstition," painted in white on the red brick wall at the beginning of the game.
Because the entire game was a complete tragedy born from feudal superstition.
(End of this chapter)
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