Horror Game Designer

The things that grew on the meaty walls became stranger and stranger while the voices in their ears became more and more normal. The innocent laughter, the warm conversation and the loving concern…

“The things I hear and I see belong to different worlds.” The fur on the back of the big dog’s neck stood up. This place made him very uncomfortable. “Gao Ming, we should stop moving forward.” The big dog rarely called Gao Ming by his name. This meant that he was really scared.

“Can you hear the voices too?” Gao Ming’s status was different from that of the big dog. He felt the voices were very familiar. Even though the conversations didn’t involve him, he could hear the invitation in them, like his family asking him to come home. He slowly walked down the tunnel. He couldn’t hear any problems with the voices. It was as if he had grown up with them all along.

“Stop moving forward!” The big dog warned. He reached out to bite Gao Ming’s arm. The jaws bit at the air. Gao Ming was right before him, but he couldn’t touch him.

“Shit! Stop listening to the voices!” The big dog barked. He wanted to drag Gao Ming away, but the liquid that oozed out of the intestine matted his fur. Gaps opened in the wall and bit on him like small mouths.

“Gao Ming!” Gao Ming was startled awake. The voices around him disappeared. When he turned around, the big dog was gone. The giant dog that was bigger than Gao Ming was gone. Instead, only a small, plastic toy dog remained. Gao Ming picked up the toy and poked its tummy. It barked cutely.

“Damn. I’ve been separated from the big dog.” Gao Ming quickly snapped to attention. However, he had no idea when he had been charmed. He stood there and looked at the path that he came from. The intestine tunnel was dark and creepy. It was filled with disgusting corpses. The big dog was not with him.

“I have to be more careful and can’t be distracted anymore. Situ An’s home should be here somewhere!”

Gao Ming had his own colourful picture, so he knew the uniqueness of a parent. However, he had never been inside his home, so he had no concept of home. Gao Ming took a deep breath and turned around. He narrowed his eyes.

The disgusting tunnel was gone. Instead, he stood in the corridor of an old building. Holding the toy dog, he turned around again. The tunnel behind him turned into a corridor as well. Everything happened so suddenly that everything earlier felt like an illusion.

“Am I in Situ An’s home?”

There was the sound of a bottle of soda being opened. The bubbles burst through the bottleneck. It gave everything a refreshing feeling. There was a light lemon scent in the air. Laundry hung around the fence. A few kids were playing hide-and-seek in the corridor. The neighbourly uncle slept on the chaise, waving the fan and listening to the cicadas.

The sudden appearance of the sun made Gao Ming uncomfortable. His eyes watered from discomfort. The red in his eyes became more obvious. Gao Ming blocked the sun and looked around.

He wasn’t in an enclosed corridor. On one side was the rooms, and on the other was the yard. The layout was rather similar to Li Jing Apartments. The yard was planted with vegetables and fruit trees. Charging e-bikes and rusty bicycles sat in the garage. The tenants sat in the yard, chatting. The retired uncles and aunties played cards attentively under the tent. Everything was so normal that Gao Ming was scared. He couldn’t see any problem. It was as if he had suddenly woken up from a nightmare.

The kids playing in the apartments were active. However, they didn’t disturb Gao Ming. They were cute and understanding. A rather rotund kid held a bottle of soda. He finished getting the bottle open, but the straw slipped from his fingers. While no one was looking, he quickly picked up the straw and wiped it on the shirt. He stuck it into the bottle and took a quick sip. Perhaps he was too focused. He drank as he ran, and he accidentally bumped into Gao Ming.

The soda soaked Gao Ming’s sleeves. The little fatty was very cowardly. He prepared to apologise and run, but Gao Ming held him back. The little kid looked wronged, and Gao Ming was confused. Was this kid Situ An’s family?

“What is your name?” Gao Ming’s voice was normal, but it still frightened the little fatty. The kid didn’t answer. In the end, Gao Ming had to kneel down and ask in a very gentle tone, “Do you know Situ An?”

The little fatty held the bottle of soda and nodded dully.

“Do you know where his home is?” Gao Ming’s tone was even, but his gaze became sharper.

The kid nodded again. He ran down the other end of the corridor. Gao Ming followed him.

They ran past the lines of drying laundry. The little fatty led Gao Ming to a door in the middle of the corridor. A pair of couplets decorated the sides of the iron door. A delicious smell drifted out of the room. The little fatty seemed to come here often for a free meal. He knocked on the door and shouted softly, “Granny! Granny!”

Footsteps came from inside the room. Soon, the door opened. A middle-aged woman around 50 appeared at the door.

“Granny!” The little fatty held the bottle and ran into the room.

“What a cute kid.” The middle-aged woman rubbed the little fatty’s head lovingly. Then, she turned to Gao Ming, “And you are?”

“Is this Situ An’s home?” Gao Ming’s heart raced.

“Yes. Do you need anything from him?” The woman was very open about it. “He is still at work. Do you want to come in to wait for him?”

Gao Ming looked into the room. The apartment was not large, but it was very clean. Calligraphy decorated the walls. There was a stuffed toy box in the corner.

“Okay.” Gao Ming had just answered when the toy dog barked twice. It startled both Gao Ming and the middle-aged woman. Only the fatty looked at the toy dog curiously.

“Was that him?” The kid appeared to like toys a lot.

“I accidentally squeezed his tummy.” Gao Ming smiled and walked forward. He held the door and sensed his surroundings. Gao Ming was very careful, but it was unnecessary. Nothing scary happened around him.

“My dishes are almost ready. You can wait here, and we can eat together later.” The middle-aged woman wiped her hands on her apron and returned to the kitchen.