Players who were watching Lucas's live broadcast couldn't believe their eyes.
One by one, they rushed to report the strange anomaly to the system backend. The response was unusually quick. The system didn't pretend to be inactive this time. Instead, it displayed a prominent notice above the broadcast screen:
[The fourth-level instance "Orphanage" randomly captures real-life data during the evolution process. This issue will not be explained further. The right of interpretation belongs to Thriller Games. Thank you, players, for your feedback.]
"That's basically the same as saying nothing!"
"The system just silenced Lucas to keep everyone from digging into the truth!"
"Now I'm really curious! What the hell is going on in that orphanage instance?!"
For a moment,
The forums of Thriller Games exploded with discussions about the Orphanage instance and Lucas.
The threads dominated the homepage. It wasn't just ordinary interest. A rebellious wave of curiosity surged among the player base.
"Seriously? You guys hype someone new up every few months!"
"Yeah, every so often someone gets called a god-tier player. Where are they now? Most are either gone or dead."
"It doesn't matter how many SSS ratings someone has. Brag all you want, but where's the actual record? Only the real elites leave behind 15+ records."
A war of words had ignited:
Does Lucas have the qualifications to become a god-tier player?
The debates were fiery, polarized, and relentless.
Then, in the middle of the uproar, a massive announcement detonated across the forum:
[Thriller Contest List Released! Lucas Makes the Cut!]
Not only was Lucas on the official list,
But the system also added a rare and striking note:
[Note: New player Lucas, due to his outstanding performance, was added to the Thriller Contest list by exception following a special review by the jury.]
Everyone was stunned.
"Lucas has only cleared four instances and already earned a spot?! That's even more terrifying than Blue Kill at his peak!"
"Isn't that enough evidence already? The examination instance should've made it clear!"
"Honestly? I wasn't surprised. I saw this coming. He earned it."
"Remember that guy asking to see Lucas's 'capital'? Where is he now? Lucas only cleared four dungeons and still got in by exception! That's real capital!"
The player base did not expect this outcome.
But surprisingly, the first to respond wasn't Lucas himself.
It was the Five Tigers Guild.
They made a swift update to their previous bounty notice:
[Five Tigers Guild: Seeking contact information and address of player Lucas. Our guild sincerely wishes to establish cooperation with Lucas. Players who can provide valid leads will be handsomely rewarded.]
It was obvious:
From their standpoint, collaborating with Lucas now outweighed the need to save face.
Within the next two days, the buzz surrounding the Thriller Contest list announcement only grew louder.
Meanwhile, suspicions about the Orphanage instance deepened.
And then, someone found a clue. A real clue.
An old news report resurfaced online, and the headline photo immediately caught everyone's eye.
The girl in the photo had her face pixelated for privacy, but what she held was unmistakable:
A doll. A doll that many players recognized from the Orphanage instance.
"That doll... it's not normal. I've seen hundreds of game models. This one's different."
"It looks like Annabelle, but there's something more sinister about it."
Then came the chilling opening line of the news report:
"The tragic death of a young girl has drawn widespread social attention. Our reporter interviewed an employee from the Sunshine Orphanage..."
The report included several unedited statements from orphanage staff. Below are the most disturbing excerpts.
---
Reporter: Can you tell us a bit about the little girl's background?
Employee: Uh... sure. I'm not super educated, so bear with me. But the little girl's family? It was twisted. Her mother was seriously disturbed.
Employee: I mean... her mother was abused by the father, and everyone knew it. One night, she killed him. Not just killed—she chopped up the body and stuffed the remains into a life-sized doll.
Employee: And she gave that doll to her daughter! The rumor is, when the body was found, the little girl had been watching it all along!
Employee: I mean... what sane person would do that? Her mom must've been a total psycho!
Reporter: So the girl was then sent to Sunshine Orphanage?
Employee: Yeah. Her mom went to prison, obviously. The girl had nowhere else to go.
Employee: She was quiet, well-behaved mostly... but there was something off about her. Real off.
Reporter: What do you mean by that?
Employee: She was obsessed with the doll. Carried it around constantly. Told the other kids it could move on its own. I think she had some psychological trauma... like, real bad.
Reporter: Was there anything else you noticed? Any clues about her death?
Employee: Not really. I just know that when someone checked on her one morning, she was already cold. The coroner called it an accidental death, but... I don't know. I always felt something wasn't right.
Reporter: Thank you for sharing that.
---
Back in the game world, players began connecting the dots.
"Wait a minute... that ghost girl singing in the Orphanage instance's corridor... she's the one from the report, isn't she?!"
"If the timeline matches... that means Lucas was in the orphanage right after this incident!"
A shiver rippled through the community.
The ghostly lullaby echoing in the game had suddenly taken on a whole new meaning.
Theories exploded.
Threads flooded in with interpretations of the doll, the little girl, and the implications of real-world data influencing in-game events.
Some argued it was genius.
Others called it a morality violation.
But one thing was clear:
Thriller Games had crossed a line between fiction and reality.
The doll wasn't just a horror prop anymore. It was a symbol—a representation of grief, madness, and possibly something even darker.
And at the center of it all was Lucas, whose broadcast had triggered the chain reaction.
The system might have tried to downplay it, but the truth was out.
The orphanage wasn't just a dungeon. It was a portal to real pain and forgotten tragedies.
And now, thanks to Lucas and the players who cared enough to dig deeper, the mask was slipping.
Whatever came next,
The world of Thriller Games would never be the same again.
--------------------------
Visit our Patreon for more:
Get membership in patreon to read more chapters
Extra chapters available in patreon
patreon.com/Dragonscribe31
--------------------------------------------