I Created a Containment Object at the Start, and Became a God

104: That person is not human!Tom carefully pushed aside the damp vines blocking his path, unable to stop himself from glancing at the scrolling comments and the constant stream of donation notifications on his phone screen, his heart pounding with excitement and nervousness.

He lowered his voice, unable to hide his excitement as he said to John beside him, ”Hey, John! Did you see that? We’re almost at thirty thousand viewers! The gifts are practically flooding in! We’re really going to be famous!”

John was relatively calmer, but his knuckles were white from gripping the high-intensity flashlight so tightly. He licked his lips, his voice trembling slightly, ”I saw... but Tom, don’t just focus on the comments! Stay focused! This place... it’s starting to feel more and more wrong.”

The fog around them seemed to grow thicker, and the smell of rot in the air became even more pungent.

Faint, indistinguishable rustling sounds drifted from the depths of the Swamp, as if something were slinking through the mud.

”Don’t worry!”

Tom mustered his courage and, for the sake of the live stream’s effect, deliberately raised his voice, speaking to the camera, ”Don’t worry, folks! We’re well-equipped! This high-intensity flashlight can temporarily blind it, this high-voltage stun baton is enough to take down a bear, and besides...”

He mysteriously patted a bulging protrusion at his waist.

”We even brought the heavy artillery (gun)! Safety is absolutely guaranteed! Today, we must bring our family the most authentic, most thrilling first-hand footage!”

His bold words sparked another wave of activity in the comments, and the gifts flooded in even more frequently.

However, just as Tom was feeling triumphant and John was scanning their surroundings vigilantly—

”Snap!” A crisp sound, like a dead branch being broken, came with abnormal clarity from behind the dense bushes not far to their front left!

The sound wasn’t loud, but in the dead silence of the Swamp, it was like a thunderclap!

Tom and John froze instantly.

All their excitement and thrill receded like a tide, replaced by a chill that shot straight from the soles of their feet to the tops of their heads!

The live stream chat went silent for a split second, and then, the comments exploded with even more frantic speed:

”!!! What was that sound?!”

”Holy shit! Is it here?! Is it really here?!”

”Don’t just stand there, streamer! Turn the camera!”

”Was it just the wind?”

”Oh my god, I’m so scared! But I really want to see it!”

”Stop shaking the camera! Keep it steady!”

Almost simultaneously, Tom and John jerked their flashlight beams, phone, and camera lenses toward the direction the sound had come from!

Two beams of light trembled as they pierced the thick fog, landing on the large, shadowy patch of bushes in the dark.

”WTF! What the hell was that?!”

John’s heart nearly jumped out of his throat, and he let out a low roar, almost as a reflex. His right hand instantly pressed against his waist, gripping the handle of the Glock 19 holstered in his quick-draw holster, his finger tensed against the trigger guard, ready to draw and fire at any moment!

”Don’t be impulsive! John! Stay steady!” Tom was also startled, but relatively calmer; he quickly lowered his voice to stop his companion.

”What if it’s some idiot looking for a thrill like us, or a lost hunter?! If you fire that shot, we’ll be live-streaming from prison for the rest of our lives!”

The two held their breath, their hearts pounding wildly, eyes fixed intently on the patch of bushes that had made the noise, their flashlight beams sweeping back and forth through the branches and leaves, trying to find any sign of abnormality.

The live stream seemed to have frozen as well, everyone holding their breath.

A few seconds of dead silence felt as long as several centuries.

Suddenly! ”Crash—!”

An agile, light-brown figure bolted out from behind the bushes.

It seemed to be startled by the bright light as well, panicked, lifting its hooves and slipping in the mud, then disappeared into the dark woods on the other side, bounding away without looking back.

It was an adult white-tailed deer.

”Damn it! It’s a deer! It’s just a fucking deer!”

John let out a long, relieved sigh, and his hand, which had been pressing against the holster, relaxed, only then realizing his palms were covered in cold sweat.

He wiped his forehead and couldn’t help but curse. ”Fuck! You scared the hell out of me! It was just a deer!”

Tom also let out a sigh of relief; his tense nerves suddenly loosened, making him feel a bit drained, and he managed to force a smile at the camera.

”Folks, you saw that, right? The ecosystem here is really good, the deer are so big...”

However, the audience in the live stream wasn’t so easily fooled. After the brief shock, the comments were instantly flooded with mockery and memes:

”Hahahaha! I knew it! A false alarm!”

”I’m dying of laughter! Two grown men scared like that by a deer!”

”Best comedy live stream of the year! Didn’t find the Lizardman, found a deer-man!”

”Where’s the streamer’s gun? Hurry up and pull it out to show Mr. Deer how tough you are!”

”Hahaha, I saw a Lizardman earlier too, isn’t Zuckerberg one? Crawling around in the metaverse every day!”

”Let’s pack it up, it’s clickbait again, what a waste of time!”

”Unsubscribing, unsubscribing, too cowardly!”

The speed at which gifts refreshed slowed down significantly, mixed with quite a few heckling comments like ”Scammers” and ”Refund.”

Tom and John looked at the comments, feeling embarrassed, and the excitement and thrill from earlier were largely dispelled by this sudden awkwardness.

John muttered, somewhat shamefully and angrily, ”These keyboard warriors, talking big without standing in our shoes. If they’re so capable, let them try it themselves!”

Tom quickly tried to smooth things over, forcing himself to look calm for the camera, ”Don’t worry, family! Exploration is all about surprises! This just shows there are living things in the Swamp, which is a good thing! Maybe that deer ran out because it was being chased by something? Let’s keep going inside, we haven’t reached the core area yet! The real big guy must be deep inside!”

Although he said that, after this scare, their initial fervor had cooled down quite a bit.

The two forced themselves to keep up appearances and continued to explore deeper into the Swamp.

Along the way, they did indeed encounter quite a few living creatures.

A large alligator, motionless by the mud pool like a piece of dead wood, scared them into taking a long detour.

There were also a few wild boars with protruding tusks and bad tempers that charged out of the bushes, snorting threateningly at them.

Each encounter caused a small commotion in the live stream, but the viewers quickly realized these were just common native residents of the Swamp, having nothing to do with the legendary Lizardman.

Expectations were dashed time and again, the popularity of the live stream visibly dropped, and the comments became sparse, with the sounds of mockery and urging gradually replaced by boredom and disappointment.

”Let’s go, boring.”

”More alligators and wild boars, can’t you see enough of those at the zoo?”

”Confirmed clickbait, unsubscribing.”

Tom and John looked at the declining number of online viewers and the almost stagnant gift donations, filled with a sense of frustration.

Their initial high ambitions had been worn away by the harsh reality, leaving little behind.

Just as they began to doubt whether they would really return empty-handed tonight, and even considered whether to find an excuse to end the live stream early.

Tom, walking in front, suddenly swept his flashlight beam under a crooked cypress tree not far away and saw what looked like a figure squatting there!

”John! Look over there! Someone’s there!” Tom quickly lowered his voice and tapped his companion.

John looked in the direction of the flashlight beam and was also stunned, ”What the hell... We’re almost in the heart of the Swamp, at this time of night, how could someone be here alone?”

The figure had its back to them, curled up by the tree roots, seemingly observing or digging for something.

”Should we go over and ask? Maybe it’s a local hunter who can point us in the right direction or provide some clues.”

Tom suggested, a glimmer of hope rekindled in his heart—perhaps this person knew some inside information?

John nodded, and the two approached slowly and vigilantly.

”Hey! Buddy! Good evening! Why are you here alone?” Tom stopped a few meters away, trying to greet him in a friendly tone.

Hearing the voice, the squatting figure paused significantly, then slowly, somewhat unnaturally, stood up and turned around.

The flashlight illuminated his face.

This was a white man who looked to be in his thirties or forties, wearing ordinary khaki pants and a plaid shirt.

His face was stained with a bit of mud, but his expression was unexpectedly calm, even carrying a hint of... an overly standard smile.

”Good evening, gentlemen.” His voice was gentle, but his tone was a bit flat, ”What are you...?”

”We are... uh... adventure streamers,” Tom pointed to the camera in John’s hand and his own phone. ”We’re here to do a live show about the ’Lizardman’ legend. Are you a local from around here? How much do you know about this legend?”

Upon hearing the word Lizardman, the man’s pupils contracted imperceptibly.

The smile on his face also stiffened for a fraction of a second, but he quickly returned to his harmless, kind expression, waving his hand and laughing:

”Oh, you’re here to look for the Lizardman? Haha, those are all old, worn-out legends, made up to scare children and attract tourists. We locals have heard them since we were kids, and no one has ever actually seen one. Trust me, there are no monsters in this Swamp except for alligators, snakes, and mosquitoes.”

His explanation was reasonable, and his expression was impeccable. Tom and John looked at each other; although they were a bit disappointed, they didn’t think much of it, as they hadn’t really found anything during their search all night.

They chatted casually with the man about the local weather and the dangers of the Swamp, and the man answered each question with a relaxed tone.

A few minutes later, Tom and John felt they couldn’t get anything more out of him, so they politely said goodbye and continued toward their original destination.

The man stood in place, smiling as he watched them leave, until their flashlight beams disappeared into the deep fog and tree shadows.

The comments in the live stream were still trickling in, mostly complaints and guesses.

However, just as the two had walked about a hundred meters and were preparing to re-plan their route, a brightly colored paid comment from a viewer claiming to be a local from South Carolina slowly drifted across the top of the screen. The words on it made Tom and John freeze in their tracks, and a chill shot straight up their spines!

The comment read: ”Something’s wrong... I’m a local hunter. At this time of night and in this season, no sensible local would go deep into the heart of the Swamp alone, especially without any weapons or headlamps, dressed so cleanly, and just... standing there smiling like an idiot.”

...