Horror Game Designer Chapter 24: Fate

Some people said that people’s fate was decided the moment they were born. However, fate was not unchanging. There was only one certain future, and that was that the future was uncertain. Gao Ming reached into the black case and took out the bloody band.

He looked at the three men before him. “How to activate this?”

“Key in your info. After triple verification, you will become its only owner.” The tall man’s expression softened. “I’m glad that you’ve made this choice. My name is Chen Yuntian. Your home, Li Jing Apartments, is within my jurisdiction.”

With the investigator’s help, Gao Ming completed the verification. The moment he wore the band, he could examine everything inside it. Most of the info was collated by the centre. A small part was the experience of the band’s previous owners. The black band represented the highest tech of Xin Lu Intelligent City. It also inherited a person’s bravery and fearlessness.

“You don’t need to worry about your day job. If you don’t want to, you don’t need to quit. We won’t interfere.” Chen Yuntian closed the black case. “But there’s something we need to inform you.

“The old city has the largest population of the 19 districts in Han Hai. The people move around often. It is also where there’s the most anomaly occurrence. We’ve mobilised many people from Xin Lu, but that is barely enough for us to maintain the situation. We’ll provide you with the best benefits, but we hope that you won’t be resistant to some of our orders.” Chen Yuntian always had zero emotions. It was like he had lost human emotions.

“How many anomalies have you met at old city?” Gao Ming was curious.

“21 Level 0 anomalies, 17 Level 1 anomalies, 7 Level 2 anomalies and 2 Level 3 anomalies.”

“That many?” Gao Ming just came out of the tunnel a few days ago. He assumed there would only be a few anomalies.

“There’s no rhythm behind its appearance. They are not connected either. However, one thing’s certain. They appear more and more often.” Chen Yuntian shrugged. “I’ll give you three days to adjust your conditions. Three days later, you’ll join Li Shan Investigation Centre’s first team to replace Qin Tian.”

After watching Gao Ming put on the black band, Chen Yuntian picked up the black box and left with two others.

“Xiao Gao, they didn’t make things difficult for you, right?” Manager Gou and Wei Dayou ran into the room. “These people are so weird.”

“I’m fine.” Gao Ming used his sleeve to hide the band. “Is everyone alright?”

“No one is going home. Everyone is staying at the office. What about you?” Wei Dayou seemed to have found his passion again.

“I’m going home.” Gao Ming left the office, and Xuan Wen was waiting for him with a cup of coffee. “Your gaze has changed. You look more determined.”

“When the horror games become a reality, many players, including myself, will participate. If the power of ghosts fell into bad people’s hands, things would get worse.” Gao Ming didn’t accept her cup.

“Yes. After all, there’s not many who are as rational as you and me.” Xuan Wen very naturally categorised them as the same kind.

“Therefore, I have to speed up and gain more stuff so that I can be more active.” Gao Ming picked up the bag with all the death portraits. “I’ll leave the situation here to you and find out who the hidden killer is.”

“So, you’re willing to trust me now?” Xuan Wen asked mischievously. She called Gao Ming her husband when they first met. Only she knew if she really liked Gao Ming.

“I’ve always believed you.” Gao Ming ran down and stopped a taxi.

“Chen Yuntian gave me three days to prepare, not knowing that I’m more nervous than everyone else.”

He moved the band. The centre had a whole process to deal with anomalies. Different rules for different scenarios like the apartment rule, the school rule, the hospital rule and so on. These rules would greatly increase the investigator’s survival rate. But they wouldn’t help them pass the game.

Gao Ming was patiently studying the black band when the light signal lit up. After he felt a short tremble, he received a message from Li San Centre.

“There’s an anomaly at old city Li San’s Min Long Street. All free agents, please hurry towards it!”

Most anomalies happened at night. It was only two hours to dawn. After Gao Ming thought about it, he had the taxi driver change the destination. He decided to go to see how the centre operated so that he’d be prepared.

The taxi crawled through the city. The skyscrapers faded away to be replaced by old apartments and dark windows. If the old city were the poorest district of Han Hai, then Li San would be the old city’s poorest and most chaotic area. Li San referred to a mountain of illegally-constructed buildings. The concrete buildings were stacked together. Those on the lower floors wouldn’t have any sunlight.

Gao Ming got out of the taxi and walked down a street. Dirty water flowed down the open pipes. It was very smelly. There was scolding and screaming all around. He looked up, and the narrow sky was covered by illegal electrical lines, dirty laundry and boards. Taking a deep breath, Gao Ming walked past a dentist's office. He entered the dark building.

The old metallic door screeched. The old building’s walls were knocked down. The workers in black uniforms were very busy, and most of them didn’t have black bands. Gao Ming received their respect after he showed his band. Among the centre, the band was a sign of status.

“Gao Ming, No. 01919, from Li San Investigation Centre’s Group One, Level One Investigator. Hello. Nice to meet you,” The worker met Gao Ming for the first time. He explained the situation very patiently to Gao Ming. “To understand the anomaly better, Li San Investigation Centre is built in the Li San Buildings where the anomalies appear the most often. There are seven streets. Your Team One handles Min Long Street and Li Jing Street.”

“I got a message to go to Min Long Street.”

“Team One has already departed. You might need to do this alone. Please follow me.”

The worker led Gao Ming to the backdoor. There were many black-modified e-bikes there. “The streets here are very narrow. It’s easier for you to take an e-bike. Each bike has navigation and GPS.”

Gao Ming didn’t waste time. He put on the raincoat and left on the bike. He stayed at Li Jing Apartments, so he was familiar with the surroundings. He only took a few minutes to reach Min Long Street.

The police cordon was there. Four investigators with black uniforms were talking about something.

Gao Ming walked to them, and he showed them his black band. “I’m Gao Ming, the investigator who will replace Qin Tian.”