Horror Game Designer Chapter 13: Talk

When Gao Ming said he would talk to the victim, the investigator and Teacher Yao thought they had heard wrongly. The victim who killed himself three days ago had returned to the apartment. He murdered all the tenants in the video, but Gao Ming wanted to have a heart-to-heart chat with him.

“Have you lost your mind?” The investigator poked Gao Ming’s arm. He could feel body warmth. “You haven’t been swapped! Why are you acting stranger than ghosts?”

Those who had been swapped would try their best to hide themselves. Gao Ming didn’t even act. He was so honest that his teammates were scared.

“The real hostile ghosts will butcher you at your home. They wouldn’t waste time scaring us through videos. As an experienced psychiatrist, this is more like Gao Ming asking us for help. He hates himself and can’t escape it.” Gao Ming didn’t tell them the real reason.

In the game, My Only Family, the phone created a happy family for the main character. However, the main character was a lazy and selfish man. The scene created by the phone was something the male character would never achieve. Zhao Xi’s situation was the opposite. His phone created a scary reality. When he was alive, he worked hard and without complaints. He was always thankful to his adoptive mother. Even after Zhao Xi lost himself, he wouldn’t do the things created on the phone.

“The game is meshing with reality. If I didn’t actively trigger the horror and allow it to grow, then the tragedy on the phone might happen.”

Gao Ming had the investigator and Teacher Yao enter Room 2607. “Gao Ming will reach this floor soon. I need help from the two of you.”

“What is it?” Teacher Yao held the toolbox. “I’m very ill, and I won’t be long for this world, so just say what you need.”

“Gather everything that is made with cloth. Twirl them into a rope and slide it down the balcony window.” Gao Ming ran into the bedroom and started to work. “The two of you can stay here. I’ll go to Room 2507 to wait for Zhao Xi. I’ll have a nice talk with him on the balcony.”

“Ghosts have no emotions. You are going to get yourself killed!” Even though the investigator looked scary, he was a good man. He admitted Gao Ming’s bravery but worried about him.

“I’ll be at the window. If the negotiation fails, you can pull me up with the rope.” Gao Ming expertly created the rope.

“How about I go to Room 2507?” Teacher Yao unbuttoned his shirt. The veins around his chest pulsed. “I’ve lived long enough, but you’re still so young.”

“I am a licensed psychiatrist. Leave this to the professional.” Gao Ming actually had another plan. To trigger the game’s best ending, he had to persuade Zhao Xi to destroy his own. It was a symbolic gesture. It was hard to persuade a ghost, so Gao Ming thought of a crazy idea. When Zhao Xi killed Huang Mingming, he chose to fall down with him. Gao Ming also planned to die in this manner.

The making of the rope was completed. It was tossed down the balcony of Room 2607. Then, Gao Ming walked out of 2607 alone. Gao Ming pushed open the door to Room 2507, but he didn’t enter it. The sound of crawling came from downstairs. Various gory scenes played in his mind.

“This is quite nerve-wrecking.” Gao Ming took out a lighter to light his cigarette. Then, he sat on the steps.

The dead bodies crawled past the steps. The dead souls slowly approached the living. Hearing the sound of the bones brushing against the floor, Gao Ming focused on the corner of the stairs.

“I have many parents, and it’ll be different every night. My colleague is so good at her job that she killed eight people in three nights. Now, I have a group of passionate neighbours. In a way, my life is quite nice.”

Bloody hair stuck to the ground. Zhao Xi’s broken face slowly appeared between the fourth and fifth floor.

“Are you finally here?”

Gao Ming didn’t run like Xiao Qiu. He didn’t lose his mind like Huang Mingming. In his eyes, Zhao Xi was still the kind older brother.

“Welcome home.” Gao Ming stood up and opened the door to welcome Zhao Xi. He even switched on the living room lights.

“Brother Zhao, I often came to chat with you on my weekends. The biggest regret I have now is to delay your case until after I quit my job.”

Gao Ming walked in front, and the twisted body slowly crawled towards him.

“The adoptive mother gave her love to her biological son. The sister-in-law only saw you as a money tree. The other neighbours spread rumours behind your back. Someone even purposely made you into a thief at work because you were too kind.”

Gao Ming looked at the mirror in the living room. He already noticed that the world in the mirror was inverted when he first entered the game.

“You tried your best to present yourself as optimistic, but your heart was tormented by pain. You were the pillar of the family, but no one really cared about your feelings. You often shared with me the small happiness in your life, but you knew how awful your life was. The world you hoped for and the world you inhabited was inverse. You tried your hardest to change it, but the more you struggled, the stronger the despair.”

Zhao Xi’s head was dragged along by the shoulders. The neck turned 180 degrees. He was crawling on the ground, but his face was upside-down as he looked at Gao Ming.

Fear was inherent in humans. Gao Ming’s body trembled slightly. His nails dug into his flesh, but his tone was even. “You did nothing wrong. All the pain came from the outside. I have no right to comment on your life, and I won’t persuade you to give up on vengeance. I only hope that you can learn to be happy. Kind people deserve happiness, and you deserve a family who can understand you.”

Gao Ming had prepared himself mentally. However, when he came close to Zhao Xi’s carcass, he still felt that indescribable fear. He knew he was too weak. His back was against the balcony window. Lightning flashed and lit up Gao Ming and Zhao Xi.

Gao Ming took a deep breath and said seriously, “You do not want to be abandoned and want a home. How about I be your family?”

Thunder boomed. The investigator and Teacher Yao in Room 2607 held the rope tightly. They could barely hear Gao Ming, but from the things they heard, they looked at each other and saw shock. The blood created a red trail through the living room. Zhao Xi was almost to the balcony. His face was inches away from Gao Ming’s face.

“I am not lying to you to save myself. I’m not finding an excuse. I’ve talked to you many times. I know the kind of person you are, so I really want to help you.” Gao Ming took out Zhao Xi’s phone and opened the video. “Be it the happy imaginations or the neighbours’ deserved punishment, I will help you make them become real! The things in the phone are illusions, but we can make them real!”

Gao Ming took a step forward and reached out his hand. “You’ll be my family, and I’ll be your accomplice.”

Zhao Xi stopped moving for the first time. Several seconds later, Zhao Xi raised his twisted arm. The bones straightened, and the creepy sound resounded in Room 2507.

Gao Ming didn’t shy away from this. Other than fear, there was anticipation in his eyes. The wounded hand grabbed Gao Ming, but Zhao Xi didn’t shake Gao Ming’s hand. Instead, his skin consumed Gao Ming’s arm. Feeling the sensation from his arm, Gao Ming sighed. Zhao Xi seemed to have lost his mind. He was controlling Gao Ming’s body to jump off the balcony. Zhao Xi’s body opened like a jaw. Gao Ming climbed away from the balcony.

“Get up now!” The investigator and Teacher Yao screamed. The rope swayed in the storm.

“Wait a moment!” Gao Ming wound the rope around his wrist. He gritted his teeth, overcame his fear and stared at Zhao Xi’s open body. No one could understand Zhao Xi, so he used this method to envelop his neighbours so they were forced to be him. The dead body pressed on Gao Ming. His centre of gravity leaned back. Gao Ming shoved Zhao Xi’s phone into the open wound as well.

“Quickly! Get up!”

Zhao Xi’s face was very close. Gao Ming could see the pain, numbness and sadness in his eyes. The flesh continued to crawl on Gao Ming’s skin. Zhao Xi leaned out of the window with Gao Ming.

The rain wet their hair and clothes. When Gao Ming leaned back, he tried his best to push Zhao Xi into the room!

The collision caused Zhao Xi’s phone to fall out of his wound. The tragedy was written in a different manner. Zhao Xi was inside the room, seeing Gao Ming fall through the rain.

“Pull!”

“Fuck!”

Teacher Yao and the investigator pulled with all their might. Gao Ming’s body heavily slammed into the wall between the fourth and fifth floor. A giant scar cut through his face and blood flowed but he didn’t seem to feel pain.