Chapter 75: [White Box] I came here to play horror games… [Yuki] (1)

White Box.

It was a game made by a developer called ‘Cream Pie Games,’ and it was originally an adult game.

However, game development was halted because most of the designers ran away.

The endangered developer, instead, turned this situation to their advantage, completely changing the game’s direction and switching the genre to horror.

The horror game born that way surprisingly succeeded, and now it has become a famous game that almost everyone has heard of at least once.

“So, what’s the concept of this game again?”

-Dunno?

-Basically, some organization sends people to explore.

-It’s a story about being dispatched as an investigator to a strange space.

-No, how do you guys know this?

The story was also quite novel (new and original).

I am an investigator for some organization, dispatched to explore a space called ‘White Box.’

The space that unfolded was surrounded by white on all sides, a place where an unpleasant yellow light bulb glowed.

Moreover, perhaps because it was an empty place without a single person, a somewhat eerie feeling began to set in.

Is this that Liminal or Nimin-al thing, or whatever it’s called?

(TL Note: Nimin-al is a play on words by Yuki. 리미널 (Liminal) vs 니미럴 (Nimireol – a mild Korean curse word similar to ‘da*n it’).)

The fear you feel when you’re alone in a place that should be crowded.

I’m not sure because I don’t know much about horror, but I think it was called something like that.

“The Nimin-al Space whatever-effect is amazing.”

-Nimin-al?

-It’s Liminal, right? Lololol.

-Nimin-al, crazy lol.

“Ah, Liminal. Liminal.”

-Pon.

(TL Note: “Pon” is VTuber slang for being clumsy or making a silly mistake.)

-This one’s a total pongkotsu zzzzz.

(TL Note: “Pongkotsu” is Japanese for clutz/ditz.)

-Yuki is a fool.

-Anyway, it’s Nimin-al. That’s what it is, so there.

The chat window burst into laughter because I got one word wrong, but I didn’t have the leisure to care.

I didn’t know what might pop out from the dark place right in front of me, so I was walking very cautiously, feeling extreme fear.

[Chk, chzzk… Chiiik……]

“Eek!!! Wh-what was that just now?”

-Radio.

-Scream, lololol.

-It’s the radio.

-Yuki, you noob~

-Scared by the radio sound?

“Ah, the radio…”

I let out a short scream at the sudden sound of the radio.

Feeling like I’d lost somehow, my face flushed red, but I listened to the radio transmission that followed.

[Ah, can you hear me, D-912? This is Research Lab 2, Dr. Reminal speaking, in charge of the situation.]

“Ooh, Dr. Nimin-al.”

-Dr. Nimin-al, lololol.

-Hey, that’s wrong!

-Lolololololol.

-(草 emote)

(TL Note: 草 (kusa) means grass in Japanese and is used like “lol” because “www” (laughing) looks like blades of grass.)

-Nimin-al lololol.

[The name of the space you will be investigating from now on is ‘White Box.’ It’s a space enclosed by white walls on all sides.]

[Furthermore, it cannot be entered by ordinary means, only by using the lab’s special portal.]

[As for getting out… that depends on you. Well, I wish you luck.]

“If you’re going to put someone in a place like this, you should at least get them out!! This Dr. Nimin-al!!”

-Lolololol.

-Hey, it’s Reminal, not Nimin-al.

-Stop saying Nimin-al, lol.

-For real, lol.

But there was no way the voice from the radio could hear my complaints, and Dr. Nimin-al continued his explanation.

[What you need to do in there is simple.]

[You just need to investigate the special entities that occasionally appear, you know, a monster-like fellows.]

[By investigation, I mean just encountering them is enough. We’ll confirm the rest through the bodycam attached to you.]

[Well, surviving is up to you, though…]

“This Dr. Nimin-al has been picking a fight with me from the start, hasn’t he? Does he want Yuki-chan to die?”

-Calling him Nimin-al makes it sound weird, lololol.

-Assassination attempt, lololol.

-Yuki-chan has a foul mouth…

-But given the setting, it can’t be helped.

-Lololol.

[Hairband donated 5,000 won!]

-The protagonist’s setting is that they were a criminal, and they went to investigate there because they were told their record would be wiped clean. So they get treated a bit harshly.

“Ah, Yuki-chan was a criminal? I didn’t know…”

-It was mentioned at the very beginning, lololol.

-You missed it because you were bickering.

-Lololol.

-Skip-an activated?

(TL Note: 스킵안 (skip-an) likely refers to “skip eye” or the tendency to skip reading/seeing things.)

Come to think of it, I think something similar was said at the very beginning.

Of course, I didn’t see it properly because I was busy fighting with the Yukidan.

Fortunately, I was able to recall that information thanks to the donation just now.

“By the way, if Yuki-chan committed a crime… wouldn’t that crime be bewitching all of you?”

-?

-Don’t be ridiculous.

-Lololol.

-Nonsense button ON.

-Delusional…

-For Yuki-chan, that’s impossible.

-Lololololol.

“No, isn’t it true? The crime of Yuki-chan being too cute. I don’t remember anything else…”

[Zurupettan donated 30,000 won!]

-Sexual harassment. Public indecency. Cyberstalking with sexual intent.

(TL Note: 통매음 (Tongmaeeum) is short for “통신매체이용음란죄” which is a Korean legal term for “lewd acts using communication media” often related to cyber sexual harassment/crimes.)

“…Hey. Shut up!”

-Lololol.

-It’s… true though.

-Cyberstalking, sh*t lololololol.

-Well, Yuki-chan is… lewd…

-Sensi?tive.

-This one, despite being pettanko, is an erogaki www.

(TL Note: Erogaki (エロガキ) is a lewd brat.)

-???: Sekushi sekushi~~~

“Stop it!!!”

While the Yukidan and I were chattering, the intro ended.

Along with the turned-off radio, an eerie white noise began to be heard.

Moreover, the occasional sound of something rustling made me flinch unnecessarily, even though no monster had appeared yet.

From now on, what I had to do was roam this vast space and find monsters.

And survive when I encountered those monsters.

“I-I’ll try moving forward for now…”

As the radio sound that had somewhat lessened the fear disappeared, cold sweat began to trickle down.

With sweat-soaked hands, I started to operate the keyboard and explore the surroundings.

The dark space visible in the distance was indeed a place where the lights were off.

I felt like something would pop out if I went too close, so I didn’t bother going that way.

Instead, the place I headed to was a brightly lit space.

That place too had a f*cked up horrifying atmosphere due to the yellowish lighting, but it was still better than the dark place.

“Huh? What’s this…?”

While looking around, I discovered a mysterious white mark.

It was viscous and stretched thickly on the wall, giving the impression of slime.

“Looks like someone jerked off here. But the amount is incredible… Cleaning this up is going to be a pain, huh?”

-Lololol.

-Pervert.

-That’s too lewd…

-Eungit~!!

(TL Note: 응기잇 (Eungit) is an onomatopoeia often used in lewd contexts, similar to a moan or gasp.)

-Sh*t lolololol.

-You’ve lost your mind.

-Are you even capable of daily life…?

“I don’t want to get close to it for now, so I’ll go somewhere else. Yuki-chan doesn’t want to get pregnant, you know.”

-Pregnant, sh*t lol.

-I’m getting dizzy, lololol.

-Huh? Pregnant?

-What is this, really…

-What kind of outrageous remark is that?

Leaving the viewers dazed by my sudden remark, I started walking again.

Fortunately, apart from that white mark earlier, there was nothing particularly suspicious nearby.

I’d have to check the dark areas later, but at least around here, there didn’t seem to be anything strange.

“It’s not as bad as I thought?”

-Yeah.

-It’s easy at the beginning.

-All games are easy at the beginning.

-I’ve seen this somewhere before…-dejavu~ I’ve been in this place before~

“This might actually be an easy win…”

-Hey, that remark is dangerous.

-Flag ON.

-???: It’s an easy win for the super-elite Yuki-chan~

The viewers were chuckling, teasing me, but so far, the game was quite slow.

No monsters were appearing, nor did I have to wander through dark and scary places like a haunted house.

Rather, the moderate brightness created a strange sense of emptiness, but it was still somewhat bearable.

“Alright, then instead of this way, let’s try the opposite side…”

Just as I turned the camera 180 degrees with a confident voice.

A shadow loomed in the narrow passage.

“…Eh.”

With that short word, I froze on the spot.

In front of my eyes, an unfamiliar angel statue stood there, its arms severed.

And all around it, white mucus was splattered everywhere.

“N-n-n-no!!! Wh-what is that strange thing standing there??? A statue that wasn’t there before suddenly appeared!!!”

-Lololol.

-As expected, a guaranteed scaredy-cat reaction.

-Lololololol.

-This is why I watch horror game streams.

-This is a goldmine for reactions.

“Noooooo!!!!!! Go away!!! No, I’m sorry, please just go… I won’t act cocky and say the game is easy anymore, so please, just disappear without doing anything…”

-Lololol.

-No~~~

-The erogaki suddenly became polite.

-Lololololol.

My hands froze, and I stood there motionless.

And during that time, the cacophony coming through the speakers began to gradually subside.

Blink.

Suddenly, all the surrounding lights went out, and the space I was in was plunged into darkness.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!!!!!!!!!! Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!”

-Lololol.

-That scream, oof…

-A clean and clear scream. 10/10.

-My eardrums are gonna burst…

-Bye-bye, my pretty pink eardrums.

-Clip material.

-The VTuber is delicious and her screams are funny.

[Ananas donated 10,000 won!]

-Look at the screen, it’s okay now.

“Kyaaaah… Huh? Is it okay?”

-Yeah yeah yeah.

-It disappeared, lolololol.

-They say she’s a scaredy-cat.

-Noob~

-Originally, if you keep staring at it without looking away, it runs away. But if you look away, it chases you.

-Noob Yuki www.

-Noob~ Scaredy-cat~

-Scared? Lol.

Listening to the viewers, I looked at the screen again, and the angel statue was gone, leaving behind only a lot of white mucus.

It seemed to be a monster that chases you if you look away, just as one of the Yukidan in chat had said.

I’d seen a similar ghost story on the internet before…

Of course, I got scared and left midway through.

“Uhm… I-it’s not because I was scared or anything…”

-What do you mean, not?

-Noob~

-Scaredy-cat Yuki.

-Hey, scared?

“…It’s really not.”

Sniffle.

My tearful voice lacked conviction.

Only after being thoroughly teased by the Yukidan for a while after that was I finally able to continue the game.