Horror Game Designer

“Is he…”

Xuan Wen didn’t expect Gao Ming to leave someone outside as a backup. However, based on his conditions, he wouldn’t be able to survive for long.

“A blind man with an injured ear? Did he come out of the big dog’s body?” Gao Ming knew the big dog’s actual persona had always been hiding inside the dark, resentment room. The man was heavily damaged by the evil in the world. He’d rather be a dog than leave his dog cellar. However, he had somehow escaped his cellar and held onto Gao Ming’s arm at the risk of perishing.

“What did he see? Is he here to save me?” Gao Ming felt guilty. He treated the big dog as a friend, but he didn’t expect the man to stay. He even did everything to save him.

“Another poor soul who is tricked like me. If someone treats me as kindly and as selflessly as this man does, I’ll do everything for them.” Xuan Wen mocked. “Look at him. You have to leave as soon as possible if you don’t want him to die because of you.” Xuan Wen handed the little mirror to Gao Ming and pointed at the road outside the apartment building. “Situ An works at the building across the road. However, I can’t use my power here. I can’t enter his workplace. We need to create more loopholes in this world.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Just show up when you’re needed and make use of Situ An in your heart.” Xuan Wen and Gao Ming returned to the yard. The neighbours had gone to rest. The sun shone silently on the old furniture. The drying clothes in the corridor gave off a light detergent scent. Everything was welcoming and relaxing. The place had four buildings, and they surrounded the yard in the middle. Situ An and his mother lived in the innermost building.

Xuan Wen didn’t head there but walked towards Building 1, which was closest to the gate. The old apartment was huge. Some of the tenants transformed their homes into small convenience stores and even clinics. Uncle Zhang’s photography studio was in the basement. The old man had a bad temper. Normally, no one visited him.

“Why are we here? Does Uncle Zhang have any clues on him?” Gao Ming entered the basement with Xuan Wen. He heard Xuan Wen mention Uncle Zhang at the middle-aged woman’s home.

Xuan Wen took out the key and opened the basement door. The place had been cleaned, but the smell of blood lingered in the air.

Xuan Wen switched on the lights, locked the door behind her and said, “Even if he has the clues, he won’t be able to tell us… Because he’s dead.”

Xuan Wen hadn’t changed. In one of the past versions, she killed all the other female main characters. Gao Ming pulled back the thick curtains. He saw the blood leaking out from underneath the bed. He bent down. The purplish face bloated. An old man’s corpse was decomposing at a rapid speed. His eyes were bandaged, and he looked like he was smiling.

“Did you kill him?”

“He killed himself… under my persuasion.” Xuan Wen started to ransack the room. Gao Ming said nothing and took out the small mirror. He aimed the mirror at the old man. The reflection showed a stone figurine of an elder covered in moss. According to legends, one would encounter the Stone Elder when hiking in the deep mountains. The Stone Elder would lead the lost to become the sacrifice to the Mountain God. If the hikers escaped, the Stone Elder would follow behind them until the Stone Elder grew into their spines. With each kill, the Stone Elder would obtain a piece of bloody spine on its back. The Stone Elder under the bed had a complete human spine.

“I can’t use my ghostly power inside the apartment. I used a lot of time to deal with it.” Xuan Wen found Uncle Zhang’s phone in the drawer. She keyed in the numbers Situ An’s mother used to call Situ An. The clear ringing sound came from Gao Ming’s heart. Situ An’s soul was trapped inside the torture room, and he was doing everything to answer the call.

“That works.” Xuan Wen turned around and discovered Gao Ming had dragged the Stone Elder’s corpse out from underneath the bed. He curled the bandage around it. “What are you doing?”

“After it’s wrapped and doused with some stuff, we can seal it inside the closet. That will lower the chance of it being discovered.” Gao Ming expertly cleaned up the scene.

Scratching her head, Xuan Wen studied Gao Ming, “The way you flirt is quite special.”

“Don’t misunderstand me.” Gao Ming moved the mirror. He noticed the blind man’s condition had worsened. His body was bent beyond recognition. “I’m afraid we don’t have the time to kill everyone here.”

“I’ve wasted all of my cards to kill Uncle Zhang. Do you think it’s easy to kill people here?” Xuan Wen rolled her eyes. “Come on. We need to find Situ An’s mother. We can’t reveal any malice and have to help her as best as we can.”

Xuan Wen hid Uncle Zhang’s phone and took out some pictures and a diary from the cupboard. She edited them and rushed to the floor where Situ An’s mother was.

“Auntie, Auntie!” Xuan Wen tousled her hair. Sweat lingered on her forehead. She sounded nervous, but she tried to hide it. After opening the door, her breathing rhythm changed.

“Have you seen Situ An?” The middle-aged woman had no appetite. She had been waiting for news. Once she heard Xuan Wen, she ran over.

“No. But…” Xuan Wen showed great hesitation as if she didn’t know if she should continue or not.

The middle-aged woman looked disappointed at first, but her eyes brightened when she heard the ‘but’. Her emotions were led by Xuan Wen.

“I found something at Uncle Zhang’s place. It has to do with you, but I’m not sure if I should tell you or not.” Xuan Wen ‘accidentally’ revealed a corner of the diary. She was like the friendly girl next door with no mal intention.

“It has to do with me?!”

“To be more precise, it has to do with you and Situ An.” Xuan Wen seemed to have come to a great decision. She closed the door and the curtains to block the ‘sun’ outside. “You suffer from a very rare mental illness. Your son works as a nurse at the hospital and has suffered a lot to accompany you.”

“I know Situ An has suffered a lot. But I’m not sick.” The middle-aged woman was confused, “I’m very healthy.”

“Then, why did Situ An move to the old city and work as a nurse at Li San Hospital?”

“So that he can accompany me when I’m sick…” The woman remembered certain things.

“But where are you now?” Xuan Wen pointed around. “You are at home.”

The middle-aged woman didn’t deny it.

“Everyone in this complex is lying to you. They are part of your treatment. Your home is a giant sick room.”