Horror Game Designer Chapter 47: Rats

“Situ An?” When he heard this name, Uncle Wu bent even lower. He wanted to hide himself. “You have to be careful of this person.”

“Do you know him?”

“I used to think ghosts were the scariest thing until I met Situ An at Si Sui Street Apartments.” Uncle Wu licked the wound on his lips. “I have to act dumb and can’t leave Si Sui Apartments because of this man. I can’t escape Han Hai, and if I even act a little bit sane, I might be killed. I thought about sending this recording to the police, but something similar happened before I did. A young volunteer told the police everything he overheard. However, his interview with the police was sent to Situ An. The young man then disappeared in the building forever.”

Hearing this, Gong Xi’s grandma became agitated. The young volunteer Uncle Wu mentioned appeared to be Gong Xi. However, Gong Xi didn’t remember this. He kept kneeling on the ground.

“Situ An… It looks like I need to figure out a way to let him stay in the anomaly forever.” Gao Ming felt strange. He had not met Situ An before, but he disliked this man intensely like something had happened between them in the past.

“That man is a devil with human skin.” Uncle Wu’s eyes showed fear. “The heart of flesh of the killer and the heart of divinity of the God of Flesh and Blood can’t fall into Situ An’s hands. That appears to be the purpose why the charity has been raising ghosts in Si Sui Apartments.” Uncle Wu drew a few lines on the yellow paper. “The killer ghost is in one of the rooms here. It’ll only leave when it kills. However, I can show you the location of the figurine of the God of Flesh and Blood so you can destroy it.”

“Where is it?”

“Underground first floor at Building A. There’s an ancestral hall at the spot where the Yin Energy is the thickest. The figurine of the God is there.” Uncle Wu took out another talisman. “I’m old and weak. I’ll only be a burden if I go with you. Take these talismans. They might prove useful.”

Gao Ming put away the talismans and looked at the paper mannequins. “Are you guys coming? Your killer is here. This is your chance to take revenge.” None of the mannequins moved except the oldest mannequin. It grabbed some white rice from the altar and shoved it into Gao Ming’s pocket.

“What is this for?”
“I use the rice to worship the dead.” Uncle Wu explained, “If you have to eat the meat, the white rice can help you retain your sanity.” The meat was the kind eaten by Bai Xiao. Eating it would make one incredibly tough, but one would lose one’s mind.

“You seem to have considered the worst outcome.” Gao Ming led Zhu Suisui out of the room. Soon, Gong Xi ran out as well. The paper mannequins promised to help protect Gong Xi’s family, but in exchange, Gong Xi had to help Gao Ming destroy the figurine. Most of the tenants worshipped the God of Flesh and Blood, but Gong Xi was an exception. His faith was to protect his grandmother.

“I’ll lead the way. I know where the ancestral hall is.” Gong Xi became the ‘traitor’. Gao Ming carried Zhao Xi and followed behind silently. He started to get to know the shadow world through this game. The tenants were split into four Shapes. This was a delicate microcosm of the shadow world. “The shadow world is not just a tragedy. It is a world with its own rules.”

…

Xuan Wen walked down the corridor and then stopped. She could hear Gao Ming calling her. Xuan Wen turned around and saw Gao Ming walking beside Zhu Suisui. Everything looked normal. They continued to move forward. When they turned the corner, Xuan Wen’s eyes changed. She took out a knife from her bag.

“What’s wrong?” Yan Hua frowned.

“When we were in the shadow, Gao Ming and the other human had been replaced.” Xuan Wen’s voice carried no emotion. She was completely different from when she was beside Gao Ming.

“How can you tell?”

“I can sense Gao Ming’s general location, and the person behind us is not him.” Xuan Wen turned around and hid the knife behind her back. She smiled as she walked towards ‘Gao Ming’.

‘Gao Ming’ was confused. He was about to speak when the knife shrouded in shadow pierced his neck. No blood oozed out. ‘Gao Ming’ turned from shock to madness. He attacked Xuan Wen even though her knife was in his neck.

Xuan Wen’s eyes turned red. She placed her hand on ‘Gao Ming’s’ chest. ‘Gao Ming’ lost control of himself. The shadow within him was attacking him from inside!

‘Zhu Suisui’ waved the axe at Xuan Wen. However, her arm was held back by a steel grip. Yan Hua swung a punch, and ‘Zhu Suisui’s’ body bent. He didn’t give her the chance to react. The fists fell like rain.

There was no blood, but whenever Yan Hua punched, the tattoo on his body became more alive. The shadow on Zhu Suisui was eaten by the ghost tattoo.

Yan Hua only stopped after ‘Zhu Suisui’ was punched to death. When he looked to the side, Xuan Wen had already done dealing with ‘Gao Ming’.

“Leave me to deal with the final cut. Don’t use your fists.” Xuan Wen seemed to notice something as she stared at Yan Hua’s left hand. After Yan Hua killed Zhu Suisui, a few black characters appeared on his hand. It appeared to be a curse. Yan Hua also noticed the black characters, but he didn’t care. “We need to look for Gao Ming. Only he knows where my sister is. He can’t die.”

“Only he knows where your sister is?” Xuan Wen chuckled. “Men are always lying.”

Yan Hua’s large figure meant that he was impossible to hide, but he didn’t want to hide either. Yan Hua punched anything that came his way. The ghost tattoo on his body became more vicious, but more black words appeared on his body too.

“Do you plan to kill all the way there? This is a level 4 anomaly.” Xuan Wen couldn’t stop Yan Hua. They were potential supercriminals. They were extremely stubborn. Other than Gao Ming, they wouldn’t trust anyone else.

“I don’t know what that is. I know that since my fists can damage them, I don’t need to be scared.”

More black characters swam around his skin. Yan Hua became stronger. The tattoo became more complicated, like a real ghost was standing behind him.

…

Wan Qiu followed at the back silently. Suddenly, he realised he was alone.

“Did the corridor change?”

The shadows came from all sides. Wan Qiu was scared. The apartment was darker than before. An indescribable stench was in the air too. Wan Qiu stood at the corner. The unknown caused him panic but compared to the damage life had delivered him, it was not enough to break him down.

“Gao, Gao Ming…” He called softly, and there was no response. The man who promised to protect him had disappeared. His instinct told him that he was in danger. Wan Qiu didn’t know what to do. He curled up in the corner and hugged his legs. Several minutes later, Wan Qiu’s heart raced. His instinct told him that he needed to leave immediately.

He didn’t know where to hide. In his desperation, Wan Qiu entered Room 506 closest to him. Just as he closed the door, a man in a rat’s man appeared. He held a key and the ID of the building manager. He paused at the space where Wan Qiu sat earlier. The man munched something as he removed his mask. His nose twitched as if he was smelling something.

Wan Qiu covered his mouth and nose. He saw through the peephole that the man had a rat’s face underneath the mask!

The building manager who everyone was afraid of appeared to be a rat who had stolen bites of the meat!