Horror Game Designer Chapter 42: Strangeness

Auntie Busybody didn’t close her door. She watched Gao Ming until they left Building B’s fifth floor.

“Didn’t the anomaly start in Building A? Why did the tenants of Building B become ghosts as well?” Zhu Suisui paled. When she looked at Auntie Busyboard, she almost screamed.

“Auntie Pang was normally in the morning. Perhaps she was killed not long after we left.” Gao Ming shook his head. “No. It’s more like she has been assimilated into the shadow world.”

The talisman he held was unharmed. If Uncle Wu didn’t lie, Aunties Pang and Busbody were not bad ghosts. Neither of them dared to enter Building A directly. It was the centre of the anomaly. They wanted to check the perimeter first.

They walked down the stairs. Soon, Gao Ming heard footsteps. A young man with dyed yellow hair and ear piercings wandered in the corridor. He wore black clothes. His fingertips bled. He lowered his head like he was looking for something. Gao Ming didn’t want extra troubles, but when he passed the young man, the latter grabbed his wrist. At that moment, Gao Ming wanted to use his chains, but the young man didn’t do anything else but study Gao Ming.

“Can I help you?”

“I saw you with the black bracelet. I thought you were a human animal that escaped from the ghost market.” The young man giggled and let go.

“Human animal?” The black bracelet should be the investigation centre’s black band. Clearly, the young man had met other investigators.

“They are different than us.” The young man’s long bangs were blown away to expose the scary scars on his forehead. “They’ve touched the taboo.”

“Should we remove the bracelet to prevent misunderstandings?” Gao Ming asked casually.

“No. They are different from us essentially.” The young man rolled up his sleeves to show off the bloody arms on his arms. “I love to collect them.” The young man walked up the stairs. The red lantern shone on him, but he had no shadow.

“Boss, do you remember the young man that was killed at Building A 20 years ago? He was a small gang member. He was chopped by knives in the corridor for stealing from his boss.” Zhu Suisui shivered. “His name was Ghostie. He was family with Auntie Busybody.”

“We’ll go to the first floor first.”

Gao Ming told Zhu Suisui to remove her black band. God of Flesh and Blood was not his game, but he had to be more careful. Paper money was scattered on the stairs, and fire bowls were placed at the corners. A faint fragrance lingered in the air. Every family there prayed to some Gods for safety. All the windows in Building B’s first-floor corridor were blocked off by wooden blocks and talismans.

However, the building was infested with ghosts. What were these things for?

Gao Ming looked down the corridor. Someone was burning paper money. He slowly approached. He stopped when he was about 4 metres away from the person. It was an old man. He was very thin. His limbs looked like sticks. The old man looked like he’d be blown away by the wind, but he carried a giant male baby on his back. The baby had an adult head. He kept munching on the old man’s shoulder. If he felt like it, he would attack the elder. If the elder wanted to put him down, he would grab the elder by his neck. He pierced his fingers into the old man’s body to grab his bones.

“Stop walking forward.” The door next to Gao Ming suddenly opened. A man’s voice came out. Gao Ming turned to see a dark room. He took out his lighter. Then, he saw there was a grave inside the small room. A middle-aged man with a kind smile knelt on the grave. The man’s shoes were inside the soil, and he hid his hands behind the gravestone.

The middle-aged man continued, “The old man’s name is Zhou Ji. Life has not been kind to him. It’s one thing that his son doesn’t work. He even forces his father to pretend to be ill to get government aid.”

“He’s a parasite.” Zhu Suisui stared at the elder. She didn’t understand why his life was so hard even after he died.

“I agree. How about we work together to remove the man-child from the old man?” The middle-aged man suggested, “You only need to lure Zhou Ji over.”

“Sure.”

“Help me close the door first, so he won’t hear our plan.” The middle-aged man said casually. Gao Ming walked to the door, but as his hands were about to touch the door, he quickly pulled back. At the same time, arms reached out from behind the door. They failed to grab Gao Ming.

The middle-aged man changed instantly. His kindness was gone. His body sunk into the grave, and arms crawled out of every part of the room.

Gao Ming and Zhu Suisui ran out. At that moment, the door was slammed closed, and all the arms were locked in.

“Are you here to look at rooms?” A chilly voice suddenly asked. Gao Ming and Zhu Suisui turned around to see a wrinkly old lady standing behind them. Her gaunt hand held a yellow talisman. Once she placed the talisman in the middle of the door, the sound inside the grave room stopped.

“Most of the rooms here are locked. If they open for you, the tenants mostly want something from you.” The old lady coughed. She shook her ring of keys and raised her head. “Have you found a room you like?”

The old lady didn’t have any pupils. She was short, but Gao Ming felt a lot of pressure, like he was standing before a giant beast.

“Who are you, granny?”

“They call me Granny Shen.” The old lady shook her keys and walked down the corridor. When she passed by Zhou Ji, she glanced at the baby on his back. Instantly, the baby let go of Zhou Ji and started to cry.

“I’ll send you to the ancestral hall if you keep crying.” That instantly shut the baby up. He crawled behind Zhou Ji in fear.

Granny Shen took out a key and opened the room at the end of the corridor. This room was closest to the public restroom and was the place where Yin energy gathered.

“Granny, can we enter your room?” Gao Ming was worried. The granny’s place was special. There were figurines of all kinds of ghosts and talismans inside her room.

“If you are here to look for rooms, wait for me outside; If you want to find your way back, come in so we can talk. Somethings can’t be said outside.” Granny Shen rummaged through the stacks of talismans. After some consideration, Gao Ming and Zhu Suisui entered the room.

The anomaly had gone out of control. Everything was dangerous and strange.

“Granny, why are the people here so strange?” Gao Ming had seen Zhao Xi’s ghost. He mostly retained his human appearance.

“The false is real, and the real is false.” Granny prayed to some God. “The normal might not be real, and the strange might not be fake. Maybe what you see now is their real appearance.”

Granny Shen lit white candles and sat on the only chair in the room. “Soon, you’ll become like them. You’ll become your truest selves. By then, even if you want to leave, you won’t be able too.”