After entering the game, an uncontrollable cutscene appeared.
There was a little girl sleeping on the sofa. She seemed uncomfortable with her sleeping position, so she instinctively shifted her arm to get more comfortable. At this moment, the front door of the house was gently pushed open.
A man tiptoed in, talking on the phone at the same time.
Gery had never seen the little girl from the promotional video, but he recognized the man who walked in.
It was the man called Joel in the game.
But that wasn't what surprised him the most. What surprised him.
Was Joel's appearance in the game.
From his looks, it was clearly a younger Joel.
So Nebula Games has spanned over ten to twenty years in the game's timeline?
This was content hidden by Nebula Games.
As a professional game reviewer, Gery was experienced and immediately understood the key.
But the question was, what was being hidden?
With curiosity, Gery continued to play the game.
'Tommy, I... Listen to me.'
'Yeah, he's the contractor, okay? I can't lose this job.'
'I understand... Can we talk about it tomorrow?'
From the dialogue, it was clear that, like most men facing a midlife crisis, Joel was also in danger of losing his job.
Not noticing the little girl on the sofa, Joel turned on the lights in the room. The light woke the girl up from the sofa.
'Why aren't you asleep yet? It's already late.' Joel leaned on the sofa, rubbing his temples, worried about his work.
'Oh no, what time is it!' The little girl looked panicked.
'You've already missed your bedtime.' Joel said with his eyes closed, leaning on the sofa.
'But luckily, it's not too late today!' Turning to see the hour hand hadn't reached twelve yet, the little girl breathed a sigh of relief and took out a pre-prepared gift from under the sofa.
'Here you go! You always complained about your watch being broken, do you like it?'
'Honey, this is great! But... it seems to have stopped.'
The father and daughter had a few playful jokes, giving a very warm feeling.
'Goodnight, sweetie.'
Covering the little girl with the blanket, Joel gently closed the door after saying goodnight.
At the same time, the lighting and color tone of the game screen began to change noticeably, indicating the passage of time.
After a few seconds, the bedside phone woke the sleeping little girl.
Gery also found that he could now control the game.
Following the system's prompt, he answered the phone.
It was Uncle Tommy calling, looking for Joel, the little girl's father. The content of the call was a bit confusing.
However, before the little girl could ask Tommy why he was looking for Joel so late, Tommy hung up the phone.
So the little girl started looking for her dad.
It wasn't a first-person view, but an over-the-shoulder perspective, which also surprised Gery a bit.
However, unlike ordinary players, as a professional game reviewer, Gery also noticed some hidden content.
That is, the subsequent plot will involve character switching, or character switching within the same scene.
Gery explored every corner of the house.
Many items were interactive, and he also collected quite a few clues.
Clothes, sneakers, computers, posters, CDs, and Gery also found a Switch connected to the TV. But unlike in the original "Uncharted," the Switch in "The Last of Us" couldn't be turned on.
And some of the collected content made him feel warm.
For example, on the table, there was a card the little girl had prepared for Joel.
'Dad, you're often not home, you hate my favorite music, and you don't like my movies, but strangely, you still manage to be my best dad every year. How do you do it?'
'Happy birthday, yay! – Love, Sarah.'
However, soon in the bathroom, an article in a newspaper shattered the warmth Gery had just felt.
He wasn't playing a heartwarming dollhouse game, but a post-apocalyptic themed game!
This was a recent newspaper, and the content provided enough hints.
'Hospital admissions surge in the district, with a 300% increase due to bizarre infections; FDA discovers more contaminated crops, expecting widespread recalls; Woman goes mad, kills husband and three others...'
When he arrived in the living room, the open TV seemed to be reminding Gery even more that this wasn't a heartwarming dollhouse game, and the apocalypse was about to arrive.
On TV, a blonde female reporter was reporting on related events, with burning shops behind her.
But then a more violent explosion suddenly came from inside the shop, and the signal was cut off directly.
Sarah in the game quickly ran to the window and saw towering flames in the distance.
Police sirens wailed outside, and Sarah looked somewhat scared.
Combined with the suddenly lost TV signal, the whole game atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Controlling Sarah in the game, she searched for Joel while calling out his name.
At the same time, Joel's phone suddenly rang on the shoe cabinet, but Joel wasn't there.
Sarah walked over.
The phone displayed multiple missed calls, all from Uncle Tommy, along with a text message from him.
'Where the hell are you? Call me back!'
'I'm on my way.'
Line after line of police cars sped by outside. A dog barked in the neighbor's yard, but the barking stopped after less than two barks. After the police cars passed, it was silent.
This made Gery swallow hard, wondering if it was a horror game like "Resident Evil: Village"?
Before he could think further, the door was pulled open, and Joel, with a panicked expression, walked into the house. When he saw his daughter Sarah, he told her to stay away from the door and took out bullets and a handgun from a drawer.
At this moment, an infected, deranged man covered in blood suddenly smashed through the glass door.
Joel stood in front of Sarah, and after issuing a warning, he did not hesitate to shoot the neighbor who had broken in.
The subsequent plot was a simple and direct escape from the apocalypse.
Joel, Sarah, and the already arrived Tommy prepared to leave the city.
Phones and radio stations had lost their signals. In the car, Tommy and Joel discussed the situation of the infection.
On the road, Joel and the others encountered a family who wanted a ride. There were empty seats in the car, and Tommy wanted to take the family, but Joel stopped him.
The traffic jams at intersections, car accidents, and the appearance of zombies perfectly shaped the tense atmosphere on the eve of the apocalypse.
After a period of escape, Joel and Sarah reached the highway.
Soldiers ahead shot down the zombies chasing Joel from behind and communicated with their superiors.
"We're saved!" Gery let out a long sigh of relief. The continuous chase had made him extremely tense.
But the next scene completely baffled him.
Through his headphones, the soldier ahead was still communicating with his superior.
'Sir, there's a little girl here... But... Yes, sir.'
At this moment, Joel seemed to understand something and tried to persuade the other party: "Listen, man, we just survived Outlast, we just want to..."
Before he could finish speaking, gunshots rang out.
Without any hesitation, Joel immediately turned around and rolled down the slope behind with Sarah in his arms.
The soldier also chased them down, aiming his gun at Joel.
Just as Joel thought he was finished, a gunshot sounded, and the soldier fell.
Tommy, who had previously provided cover for Joel, arrived in time.
But the next moment, Sarah beside him let out a painful sob.
Blood was continuously flowing from Sarah's abdomen.
Clearly, she had been shot during the recent events.
Joel comforted Sarah while pressing his hands tightly against the wound, hoping to save her.
But all of it had no effect.
Blood stained Joel's clothes and hands, and Sarah, lying in Joel's arms, sobbed in pain.
Her voice grew weaker and weaker until it disappeared completely.
Blood was still flowing from the wound, but Sarah's heartbeat had also vanished.
A desolate guitar melody slowly began to play against Joel's grief.
The game screen also began to slowly darken.
The more heartwarming it felt before, the more cruel it felt at this moment.
Gery, playing as a reviewer in the game, was completely stunned.
Boss Lucas is back with his knife overnight!?
Looking at this scene, he had only one thought in his mind.
That was: How bold!
(End of chapter)
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