After that nauseating "dinner" incident, the players all lost their appetites. They lay in twos and threes on the relatively clean ground, looking up. There was no sky here, only a massive, cold, rust-stained metal dome, with countless pipes and cables intertwined like the veins and nerves of a giant beast, obscuring the faint light from the upper Hive City, leaving only eternal gloom.
A silent oppressiveness permeated the trenches, and fatigue and nausea were etched on everyone's faces.
Finally, a player spoke weakly, breaking the silence: "Playing this game… is a double torment for both body and mind."
His words were like a stone thrown into stagnant water, immediately causing ripples.
"Exactly…" The other players nodded in agreement. One of them covered his eyes with his arm, his voice trembling slightly, "I think after this closed beta, I'll never touch another war-themed game in my life."
"I think so too," another grumbled indignantly, "This game dev better not let me find their address, or I'll definitely go offline to have a chat with them about life!"
Amidst the chorus of complaints, Robert, however, looked thoughtful. He gazed at the oppressive metal firmament above and slowly said, "Perhaps… this is the game dev's goal? They intend to create an anti-war game?"
"Will you still play?" another player asked, his voice sounding weak. "I probably won't play anymore. I feel like from now on, whenever I hear words like 'fighting' or 'war,' I'll… I'll feel sick…"
"No way, buddy, is that PTSD already?" the player next to him said in surprise, but then he also sighed, "Although… I probably won't play again after this either…"
"The game dev might really be going for the 'This War of Mine' route," a player echoed. "I have to admit, they succeeded. I, too, will never play war-themed games again, including this one."
An atmosphere of quitting the game permeated the player group. However, Robert shook his head and said firmly, "I still plan to continue playing. At least, I want to experience the full story of this game. I am, after all, a game VR streamer; if I don't experience it fully, I don't have much right to speak."
"A game VR streamer? I knew your Name sounded familiar!" As soon as he finished speaking, a player next to him suddenly slapped his thigh and sat up, "Dr. Dixy Normous, right! I've watched your videos! I even followed you! Big shot, since you're continuing to play, I plan to continue playing too! Can I get a friend slot? Let's play together later!"
Robert didn't expect to meet a fan here, and he readily agreed: "Of course, we are all closed beta players, this is fate."
As he spoke, he skillfully opened his data panel, ready to add a friend. Then, he froze.
"Uh… where do I add friends in this game?" He searched through the rudimentary UI interface. "Wait, does this game… even have a friend-adding function?"
The player who had asked to add a friend also searched his own panel for a while, then finally gave up dejectedly: "It seems… there really isn't. This is too incomplete! I definitely need to report it to the official team later, it must be added!"
Just then, Robert seemed to suddenly think of something, looking thoughtful. He suddenly spoke: "Don't you think it's strange?"
Everyone looked at him.
"According to our previous deductions, the game dev is pursuing ultimate realism and… uh, torment," Robert analyzed, "But, would they really let us just sit around doing nothing for several hours? That doesn't fit their style."
He sat up, his expression becoming serious: "Think about it, from the moment we entered the game, every torment has been 'with content.' The bumpy troop carrier was to let us experience the actual situation of soldiers on the battlefield; the chaotic battlefield was to let us feel the cruelty of war; that pot… that pot of soup, was to let us understand the dark essence of this universe. These are all carefully designed 'contents' that bring strong emotional impact."
"But, 'idly waiting for several hours,' what is that? That's boredom, not torment. For a game, boredom is more fatal than pain. Given the level of this game dev, I don't think they would make such a basic mistake."
In the indescribable dimension of the warp, the God of Information, Terrabyte, "listened" with interest to Robert's analysis. A ripple of something akin to astonishment spread through His consciousness.
The logical chain of this "Dr. Dixy Normous" was so clear, His inferences so rigorous, that if Terrabyte hadn't been certain that He had never interfered with the players' specific thoughts from beginning to end, He would almost have been convinced that all of this was indeed a script He had pre-arranged.
Robert's words were like a shot in the arm, invigorating the disheartened players. Upon closer thought, it made sense. Although this dog game dev was inhumane, in the matter of "how to torment players," he had at least so far shown great creativity and substance, not just simple AFK punishment.
"Dr. Dixy Normous is right!" a player exclaimed, slapping his thigh. "This is definitely not just a rest period; this must be the calm before the storm! The dog game dev must be up to something bad!"
"Then Dr. Dixy Normous," another immediately pressed, "how do you think the dog game dev intends to torment us next?"
Robert thought carefully, going over all the details from login in his mind. Suddenly, as if he had hit upon a crucial point, his eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "Do you still remember what the Commissar told us at the beginning?"
The players were all confused: "The Commissar said a lot of things, which sentence are you referring to?"
Robert almost verbatim repeated Commissar Walter's tone, which carried a hint of encouragement and brutal reality: "If you're lucky, you might even pick up a finely crafted boltgun!"
He pointed to the pile of corpses not far away that still reeked, his voice full of confidence: "This is the hint the game dev gave us! A hidden quest clue!"
"We were able to find a lasgun from the pile of corpses before, which proves that 'scavenging' is at least one of the game's mechanics! The Commissar's words weren't just casual; he was telling us that there are even better things in there!" Robert grew more and more excited. "There are still good things waiting for us to find in there!"
The players were all convinced by Robert's well-reasoned and confident words. Fear and nausea were replaced by a more primal, player-specific desire—the craving for better equipment. Those who had just looked utterly dejected now had greedy glints in their eyes.
One of them suddenly understood and couldn't help but exclaim, "Good heavens! There's even a treasure-hunting segment after fighting monsters; this game dev is really good at mashing things up!"
Terrabyte in the warp smiled faintly: "Since you're all so good at self-rationalization, it seems I can't not cooperate."
He subtly manipulated information and energy: "In that case, let me give my lovely players something good to eat… After all, the game does need some positive feedback, and it can also be considered a reward for helping me with the closed beta."