Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 459 - 442: The Plot Turns Out to Be Easy to Understand

Chapter 459: Chapter 442: The Plot Turns Out to Be Easy to Understand

Although wearing a hat to cover the face meant the appearance was not visible, for someone who was dedicated to creating beautiful avatars, playing the game with such an Ancient God face was quite uncomfortable.

Zhuge Jun wanted to redo the character creation, but the game mechanics did not allow it.

"Ascension" also featured real-time automatic saves and did not offer the option to selectively return to a previous point in time.

Moreover, the game’s CG in the display was still progressing, so Zhuge Jun could only continue watching in confusion.

The character stared into the Meditation Basin at his own reflection for a long, silent while, as if even he could barely recognize the face as his own.

The next second, the Meditation Basin began to flash with various images rapidly.

These images were clearly scenes from the game, each with distinct features: a majestic church, a gloomy village, an academy filled with scrolls and books, a workshop littered with abandoned Puppet Prostheses, a filthy waste disposal site, a chaotic town, and so on.

However, as these scenes flashed by, it was obvious they were in reverse, as if through the basin, the character was witnessing events that had happened to him.

Not only that, but Zhuge Jun also noticed that this segment of memory began with the town and ended with the town.

Since each scene had its distinct style, this was fairly evident. Especially the majestic church in the town left a deep impression with its imposing presence.

Of course, what Zhuge Jun experienced was clearly only a small part of this church scene. If one were to deduce from the images displayed, the entire city was actually closely linked to this church, which could even be seen as an extension of the church’s various areas.

"So, the town + church should be a huge diorama, right?

"It’s used at the beginning of the game, and then again at the end."

This kind of scene reuse is quite common in similar games. Developers often repurpose large diorama levels to save resources and shorten development time—a clever approach that, with outstanding level design, won’t make players feel cheated. Instead, they might even find them refreshing the second time around.

What was more important, as the images in the basin continued moving backward, Zhuge Jun saw his character’s face was also changing!

The twisted, ugly visage like that of an Ancient God was rapidly reversing, the features that seemed to have been stretched to their maximum dimensions gradually returned to their rightful positions, and eventually, the Ancient God Face settled into the appearance that Zhuge Jun had initially crafted.

"Oh? I see!

"The character creation system in this game is related to the gameplay!

"Although other games have had similar settings, combining this feature with a Cthulhu backdrop is quite intriguing."

Zhuge Jun no longer had to worry about the character’s face, as it had returned to its original state, proving that it was part of the game’s mechanics.

Many games have implemented similar mechanics; for example, players might turn into zombies or wandering spirits for some reason, and they can return to their original human form through special items. Alternatively, adding wrinkles and scars to the original character can represent the character’s aged appearance.

"Ascension" clearly had a similar mechanic, but with different details.

In this game, it’s not just about adding a "Corpse filter" to achieve a change in appearance. Instead, they use the character creation system to make random and significant adjustments to the size, position, color, etc., of certain facial features, thus achieving "Extreme Disfigurement."

From handsome to Ancient God Face, one could clearly witness the entire process of disfigurement.

But the question arose, why develop such a feature in the first place?

And there were many players who actually enjoyed creating Ancient God Faces, so how would this be handled for them?

Zhuge Jun couldn’t guess the game’s logic just yet and could only continue playing to find out.

As the CG scene returned to the town and the character’s face reverted to that of a normal human, the sound of bells seemed to come from a very distant place. Along with the sound of bells, the originally dark sky seemed to brighten a little, with a hint of dawn breaking far away, creating the illusion of sunrise.

But upon a closer look, one would realize that it wasn’t the pale light of dawn, but rather resembled the evening glow of a sun about to set.

At the same time, sounds started filtering through—the creaking sway of a carriage, the noise of axles rubbing, the collision of wheels with the ground, and the rattle of the gaslamps on the carriage...

A horseless carriage, under the waning light of the setting sun, traveled over the slightly uneven cobblestone road, heading towards the distant town.

As the carriage passed by the camera, through the window, one could see the character that Zhuge Jun had created, lying pale-faced with eyes tightly shut, seemingly in great agony.

What caught Zhuge Jun’s special attention was this carriage.

It looked like the slid-knee carriages seen in Western films, only it did not rely on horses for power.

In fact, in the real Victorian Era, Britain possessed the world’s most advanced automotive technology, and early Daimler cars shared certain similarities in appearance with horse-drawn carriages.

And in the world of "Blood of Lies," because the energy source for driving carriages has become the essence formed from the solidification of Unclean Blood, and with the beyond-the-times, unimaginable puppet mechanics technology, there was no need to preserve overly complex engine structures on the vehicle, making it look more like a traditional carriage.

Seeing this, Zhuge Jun had a small question.

He clearly saw the energy device on the carriage, which was a cylindrical container on both sides of the vehicle, and it was transparent, so one could clearly see that it seemed to be some kind of special crystal.

But according to the small amount of "Blood of Lies" plot known so far, these essences or crystals are formed by the condensation of Unclean Blood, could it be that humans of this time have already calmly used human blood as an energy source?

Moreover, with such a huge consumption of essence in this world, how could human blood alone supply enough?

This seemed to be an area in the plot that was not quite logical or consistent, but Zhuge Jun didn’t think too much about it, perhaps there would be a patch as the plot progressed.

"Coming here was an undoubtedly wise decision, as everyone knows, Charlton City is the world’s leading prosthetic production center today, our puppet prostheses not only suffice to completely replace your original arm but can even do many things you wouldn’t even dare to dream of!"

"And in terms of pricing, it is quite affordable.

"Furthermore, in the process of installing a puppet prosthesis for you, we will also provide a complimentary "Blood Therapy" service, which not only strengthens and revitalizes your health but also eradicates potential diseases in your body.

"In summary, we greatly admire your service as a career military officer in the colonies, and we ask you to trust us, as the best medical team in Charlton City, we will also perform a perfect prosthetic surgery for you."

At this point, the scene resembled a first-person perspective, as if the game’s protagonist was lying on a special surgical table, while a doctor-like person was intimately explaining the details of the service beside him.

Even the surgical tables in this world were quite unique; while they retained the overall architectural style of the true Victorian Era, they were not as rudimentary or filthy, and also had some technological elements, such as the shadowless lamp above the surgical table which displayed a complex mechanical structure.

After the doctor finished the introduction, he took a beautifully crafted puppet prosthesis from the side and connected it to the character’s left arm in the game.

The screen began to shake violently as if the protagonist was enduring intense pain, but his body was tightly bound to the hospital bed, so he could do nothing.

As the blood from the infusion bottle kept dripping, the protagonist’s vision became increasingly blurry, eventually turning pitch black.

After a moment of a black screen, the protagonist finally fully awoke, not knowing how long he had been unconscious.

And when he turned to get out of bed, he found that the originally tidy operating room had become a complete mess, and it was empty.

...

"Not bad this time, I actually understood the plot right off the bat!

"Nitiandang has regressed, President Gu has regressed, sigh!"

Zhuge Jun even felt a bit proud.

You know, the previous similar game by Nitiandang was "Ascension," which was confusing to play; far from understanding the game’s beginning, players would still feel muddled after playing for nearly ten hours, with the two worlds constantly switching enough to drive players completely insane.

By contrast, the beginning of "Blood of Lies" was much clearer.

The protagonist was a soldier, or a mercenary, who had lost an arm in combat in the colonies.

The place he came to, Charlton City as the doctor mentioned, could basically be regarded as one of the most developed cities in this world, having not only top-notch puppet manufacturing technology but also advanced medical capabilities represented by Blood Therapy.

Although the process of installing a puppet prosthesis seemed painful, it could after all be soothed by Blood Therapy.

Once the surgery was completed, the protagonist would no longer be disabled, but could once again bounce back onto the battlefield.

Only, when the protagonist woke up, it seemed that something very bad had happened.

It was a bit like the plots of some zombie movies: the protagonist falls unconscious during surgery, and then during this process, an earthquake suddenly triggers a zombie virus outbreak, causing chaos where medical staff flee to safety, leaving the protagonist behind.

When he awakes, only confusion remains.

"What’s going on? Am I still in the country?"

It was more or less that kind of feeling.

"Okay, following the usual pattern, something very serious must have happened in this city, be it an earthquake, a zombie outbreak, a rebellion of the puppets, or a conspiracy by a mysterious organization, anything’s possible.

"But that’s not important, because all I know is I’m ready to go on a rampage!"

Zhuge Jun rubbed his hands in anticipation, controlling the character to leave the clinic’s operating room and head outside.