Alternate Dimension Game: Happiness is all that matters!
Chapter 57 - 55 "It"!

Chapter 57: Chapter 55 "It"!

"The ’Missing Child’s Diary’ is a crucial item that primarily explains the changes brought about by the SAN value system. It’s also the key to breaking the game!"

SAN value, also known as ’Sanity’, simply put, when sanity is low, one will go mad.

Many games have similar settings.

For instance, in the game ’Dark Dungeon,’ excessive stress can cause characters to break down; in ’Hunger,’ running out of SAN value triggers attacks from shadow monsters.

In the ’Paradise script,’ changes in Sanity also cause changes in the game’s narrative style.

"Different SAN values reveal different things."

Corn cakes are a key item that can increase SAN value!

"The missing child recorded in his diary that after eating two corn cakes consecutively on the first day, he was in a high SAN state with the utmost sanity, allowing him to see through the mist and behold the true form of the village."

"But it’s difficult to maintain a high SAN state. After seeing some terrifying things in the village, his SAN plummeted, and he quickly entered a medium SAN state."

"A medium state of sanity is essentially the normal state, allowing one to barely get by in daily life."

"In this bizarre village, SAN values decrease every day, necessitating the daily consumption of corn cakes."

"If not replenished, one will not only go hungry but also enter a low SAN state."

"Under a low SAN state, one’s vision becomes distorted, turning into a dark red background, with tables and chairs mysteriously moving, and strange scenes appear..."

Wang Hao took a deep breath, profoundly terrified, profoundly terrified!

This means there’s an enemy hiding in the house.

Or rather, every resident of ’Paradise’ has the same enemy—’It’!

’It’ only appears in a low SAN state.

You can’t see it in a high or medium SAN state.

It is unknown, ever-changing.

’It’ might be ’Mother,’ ’Pretend Grandma,’ or even the ’missing child.’

It mimics the actions of humans.

Grandma probably isn’t a match for ’It,’ which is why... Grandma left without saying where she was going, just leaving behind a series of strange instructions.

People who look in mirrors experience a rapid decrease in SAN value. Therefore, Grandma forbids looking in mirrors.

The old neighbor also dares not look in mirrors because the neighbor has their own SAN value system.

After seeing himself in the mirror, the old neighbor’s SAN plummeted, propelled by terror, and he quickly stole the corn cakes to restore his sanity, to prevent being taken away.

’The final intent of ’It’ is unjust, which is to take ’me’ away!

Once Wang Hao analyzed this far, he felt his worldview shattering, the pores on his back involuntarily tensing.

All of this, without any hint in the game!

Only through reasoning can one deduce the existence of ’It.’

"No wonder, the game system defined it as a Fifth Level idealist copy, an unimaginable final boss. This ’It’ truly has a sense of grandeur that leaves one astounded."

’It’ is the final boss, the apex of the ’Paradise’ food chain, the hidden perpetrator.

Everyone in the village is troubled by the existence of ’It’!

"Damn, how the hell do you play this! How can I break the game... Can ’It’ be killed?"

He felt both heart palpitations and maniac excitement, his heart pounding "thump thump" as he tossed and turned on the straw mat, unable to sleep.

This reasoning was terrifying but also filled with anticipation, making one eager to start the game to verify these theories’ validity.

But it was too late tonight; staying up all night wasn’t the issue, he didn’t want to play such a thrilling game in the dead of night. Besides, after finally squeezing into Xiaoyue’s room to sleep, he didn’t want to go out again.

"I’ll endure!"

"Wait... If the old neighbor really is the Elder of Li Family Village, what relationship does he have with ’It’?"

After coming up with these questions, Wang Hao wasn’t completely satisfied with merely surviving seven days; he wanted to explore the village as much as possible.

Mystery after mystery arose in his heart like bubbles fluttering about, elusive the moment he tried to grasp them. The game’s characters were too weak, and humans challenging gods was like the ramblings of a lunatic.

Suddenly, he discovered a pair of bright, inquisitive eyes looking down at him.

Oh, it was his cousin.

Han Xiaoyue was genuinely nervous because Wang Hao, lying on the floor, kept panting heavily and rolling around, not sleeping like a wild boar in heat...

"Xiaoyue, do you believe in ghosts?" Wang Hao suddenly asked.

"Ah?" Han Xiaoyue was shocked, the rolling wild boar was actually concerned about such matters and couldn’t help but laugh: "Yeah sure, there are plenty: lustful ghosts, lazy ghosts, alcoholic ghosts, hungry ghosts. There’s even a lustful ghost insisting on sleeping on the floor here."

"What I mean is, is there a third-person ’It’ watching over us in the shadows, wanting to devour us?"

Han Xiaoyue couldn’t help but chuckle: "You’ve said it yourself, reality is reality, virtual is virtual, they should be kept separate."

What sort of thing would dare to watch over you, sir?

Haven’t you seen the group’s name? ’Saving the Multi-universe,’ this room is the safest place in the world, bar none.

...

...

...

At the Black-clothed Guard headquarters, a high-level meeting.

Each holographic image arrived in the conference room at the appointed time.

Overall, the atmosphere was quite relaxed, a conference with such great news was rare in history.

Elder No. 1 cleared his throat and spoke first: "Ladies and gentlemen, regarding the first phase of the investigation report on the Demon God ’Game,’ it is co-written by No. 12 comrade, Investigator C-Class Li Qingshan and E-Class Reserve Investigator Chen Xinyi, providing a detailed description of every feature in the Game Training Camp, totaling 23,000 words."

"Everyone, please take a look at this document."

"Feel free to speak your minds, without too much reservation. Regarding the Demon God ’Game,’ what can we do?"

Each attendee read with seriousness.

After a series of explorations, the Black-clothed Guard preliminarily identified some of the Game’s rules and a level of cooperativeness.

The discovery of this phenomenon considerably relieved all those in the know, even the most composed Elder No. 1 couldn’t help but clench his fist, and the gloom in his brows dissipated somewhat.

A Demon God comparable to ’God,’ almost devoid of malice, in a neutral state!

So rare.

Yes, simply being neutral toward humanity is enough.

What could be more heartening than this?

Compared to the vast Etheric Abyss which is boundless in both time and space, human civilization is but a frail, insignificant speck.