Horror Game Designer Chapter 44: Bai Xiao

“Bai Xiao might have eaten the meat that he shouldn’t!”

The case happened 20 years ago. Back then, Bai Xiao was just a kid. He couldn’t be the culprit, but he looked just like the culprit. It was too late to run. Gao Ming grabbed the chains and told Zhu Suisui to paste a murder talisman on her axe. “2 against 1. We should have a chance.”

Gao Ming took a few seconds to make those decisions. By then, Bai Xiao had charged down the corridor. The bone-carving knives cut through the night at Gao Ming.

“Be careful!”

Zhu Suisui ran over from the side. As the axe was about to cut Bai Xiao’s shoulders, Bai Xiao evaded with an inhuman evasion. The raincoat was torn open, and Gao Ming saw Bai Xiao’s body. The man’s skin was written with strange script. The black words crawled on his flesh like bugs.

The bones cracked as Bai Xiao’s body crumbled in sections. He looked so excited, like his brain was fried. His bloody mouth grinned. Bai Xiao exploded the potential of his body and lunged forward like a bullet.

Even though Gao Ming had been training his body, he was too weak compared to Bai Xian. Plus, he hadn’t received official training like Bai Xiao. Gao Ming stared at Bai Xiao and calmed his mind to study Bai Xiao’s attack trajectory. Even though he managed to predict Bai Xiao’s attack patterns, he barely managed to evade them.

“Cut him!” Under this duress, Gao Ming could barely evade much less attack. Therefore, his hope was in Zhu Suisui. Zhu Suisui also tried her best, but Bai Xiao could fold his body at impossible angles, and he was incredibly fast.

In the blink of an eye, Gao Ming retreated from the corridor to Building B. He was so close to death.

The knife and Bai Xiao’s smiling face dominated Gao Ming’s sight. The floor was covered with blood. It was slippery and wet. He was very careful, but he was still cornered by Bai Xiao. Gao Ming had no choice but to run into the side room like the other investigators. He slammed the door shut, but the door was destroyed. The ninth floor appeared to be a hunting ground. None of the doors could be locked. A shrill laughter echoed outside the door. The knives cut into the door. It caused Gao Ming’s heart to pound. With his body blocking the door, Gao Ming reached into his backpack to take out Zhao Xi’s death portrait.

“Brother Zhao! If you don’t help me now, you might never see me again!”

Blood dripped on the death portrait. Gao Ming and Zhao Xi were connected through the chains. Shadows gathered towards the portrait. The temperature in the room dropped. The colour of Zhao Xi’s picture faded away. Wounded fingers reached out. The broken hand grabbed Gao Ming’s hand. The smell of blood spread. Zhao Xi crawled out of the picture!

The door was knocked down at that moment. Bai Xiao rushed into the room, but he didn’t expect to see Zhao Xi. The disintegrated body grabbed Bai Xiao. No matter how hard Bai Xiao struggled, Zhao Xi didn’t let go. Zhao Xi carried the burden of life that still crushed him even after death. Blood oozed out of Zhao Xi’s wounds, but it didn’t drip to the ground. Instead, it became the glue to join him to Bai Xiao. He sent the despair he experienced to Bai Xiao.

Bai Xiao’s knives couldn’t deal any real damage to Zhao Xi. His bloody mouth suddenly unhinged, and he bit Zhao Xi’s shoulder!

With some tearing, Bai Xiao bit off a piece of Zhao Xi’s flesh! The scary thing was the wound refused to heal. The strange words on his body also infected Zhao Xi through the wound.

“He’d bite ghosts too?!” Gao Ming ran past Bai Xiao. He used the black chains to detain him. “Zhu Suisui!”

Zhu Suisui raised the axe and slashed it at Bai Xiao’s back. The man wailed in pain. Black words gushed towards Bai Xiao’s back!
“I’m sorry, Leader Bai!”

Zhu Suisui didn’t hold back. The man before her was no longer her team leader but a dangerous madman. The talisman burst on Bai Xiao’s back. Zhu Suisui’s axe cut through Bai Xiao’s chest.

“His heart has been dug away!”

Blood vessels popped on Bai Xiao’s face. His eyes filled with resentment. The black characters on his body melted like snow. He crumbled to the ground. Bai Xiao seemed to lose all support. He was more like a pile of meaty mud.

Gao Ming wiped the blood away from Bai Xiao’s mouth and pulled out the axe. He looked at Bai Xiao. He couldn’t tell if the man was a human or a ghost.

After all the black words disappeared, Bai Xiao reopened his eyes. He was excited to see Gao Ming. He reached into the raincoat to grab something, but he was too weak. His flesh and muscle seemed to have died. They rot like he had been dead for days already.

Gao Ming pulled open the raincoat. Inside Bai Xiao’s chest, he found Bai Xiao’s black band. There were a few recorded voicemails inside.

Record One, “This is the 17th minute since we’ve entered the apartments. People are missing from the team. Two investigators were lost when we crossed the corridor.”

Record Two, “This is the 40th minute since we’ve entered the apartments. The ghosts in this anomaly are all human-presenting. They do not know that they are dead and have human memories. You won’t be attacked if you don’t act strangely. Do not enter the rooms no matter what.”

Record Three, “You can live longer by eating the meat.”

Record Four, “This place is not like an anomaly but more like the real world. Is there really another world?”

Record Five, “I have to stay true to myself.”

Record Six, “The morgue on the fourth floor and the rooms with white lanterns are safe.”

Record Seven, “Do not eat the meat!”

The seven records were Bai Xiao’s last words for the world. He sewed them into his flesh so that the band wouldn’t be exposed.

“When I came to the centre for the interview, it was Leader Bai who accepted me. He’s a great man.” Zhu Suisui was stunned. She didn’t think the first ghost she’d kill would be the person she respected a lot.

“Everyone will die, including you and me. What we can do is to make our deaths more valuable.” Gao Ming examined Zhu Suisui’s hands. Her palms that held the axe had wounds that wouldn’t heal. “What’s going on?”

“When I used the talisman, it appeared to suck the blood from me.” Zhu Suisui took out the other two talismans. “It felt like the talisman has swallowed a part of me.”

Gao Ming examined the talismans closer. He realised that the talismans were made from human skin and each talisman had a ghost trapped inside them.

“Everything here is related to ghosts. Is the shadow world a world made fully with ghosts?”

Gao Ming picked up Zhu Suisui and carried Zhao Xi on his back. He paused near the corridor and then headed to Building A. The shadow mixed with blood. The closer they got to Building A, the faster Gao Ming’s heart beat. It felt like something deep inside the building was calling him.

“Granny Shen said that I’ve participated in the ritual before. Have I prayed to something inside the tunnel?”

The blood on the ground slowly disappeared. The sound of hawking echoed mildly. He lifted his head, and suddenly, he was already in Building A.

Pushing away the drying clothes, Gao Ming saw children playing and adults chatting. Building A didn’t seem to be affected. Everyone was living a normal life.

They looked no different from normal humans except their bodies were damaged in some ways.