Horror Game Designer Chapter 49: Meat and Desire

The younger daughter got her approval, and she was very happy. She grabbed Wan Qiu’s arm. The room was so smelly, but looking at the little girl’s smiling face, Wan Qiu didn’t feel like leaving. Shadows gathered around Wan Qiu. Suddenly, there were footsteps outside the door. Then, he heard someone trying to unlock the door.

The younger daughter stopped smiling. She turned to her older sister, “The bad guys are here again.”

Wan Qiu ran to the door and looked out the peephole. There were two people in the investigation centre’s uniform sneaking around and marking the doors of the tenants.

“The investigators?” Wan Qiu noticed they were different from Gao Ming. These two had black words on their bodies, and they looked nervous like they’d die if they did not do something.

“They’ve been here before. The uncle opposite, who was a peeping tom, was killed by them,” The younger daughter said angrily.

“The investigators are hunting the tenants?! Where do they get the power to fight the ghosts?” Wan Qiu was confused.

“They ate the meat, not the kind made by mom but the meat at the ancestral hall’s shop.” The big sister held her sister’s hand. “Don’t go anywhere. Stay at home.”

At that moment, there was knocking.

…

It had been some time since Gao Ming entered Si Sui Apartments Building A. He didn’t hear any argument or fighting sounds. It was like the place was no different from a normal apartment.

“With Yan Hua’s personality, there should be some commotion. Did they run into danger too?” Gao Ming was familiar with his teammates. However, in his time, other than Zhu Suisui, no one liked to follow the rules. The corridor was quiet. Other than Gao Ming’s group, no one would come down there.

Soon, oil stains appeared on the stairs. When they reached the first floor, the meat fragrance was obvious. Even someone like Gao Ming, who didn’t have a big appetite, became hungry. Gong Xi didn’t even need to lead the way. The fragrance pulled them forward. New tenants and outsiders probably wouldn’t know there was a hidden floor underneath the blood.

There was no rental unit on underground floor one. Signboards with red frames and white backgrounds decorated the corridor.

“Underground restaurants?” The words on the boards were too old to be read. The edge of the boards cracked. It felt like someone had pinned coffin lids on the wall. He looked down the corridor. Restaurants lined both sides. The meat fragrance came from these places. The old signboards were squeezed together.

Zhu Suisui was lured forward by the fragrance. Her hand landed on the door. Someone moved behind the wooden door. Then the door opened. An old man covered in black walked out. The old man didn’t expect Zhu Suisui, and they bumped into each other. The black cloth fell. The old man’s body was exposed. He had no ears and right eye. He only had one arm. The old man looked scary. There were wounds around his ears, but he looked so satisfied.

The old man picked up the black cloth and covered himself up again. He walked up the stairs.

“Please, come in.” A male voice came from inside the shop. Gao Ming nodded at Zhu Suisui. He carried Zhao Xi and entered the restaurant. The place was rather small. There were no other customers or servers. There were only wooden tables and plastic chairs. Since the place was underground, there was no window and the meat fragrance was trapped.

“Don’t just stand there. Sit.” The man’s voice came from the kitchen. He urged impatiently. The three entered the room and shared the same table. They looked at the menu. The menu had the names of the dishes but no prices.

“Don’t look at me. I haven’t been here before.” Gong Xi pushed the menu to Gao Ming.

“Those without prices are normally the most expensive.” They hadn’t decided when the door was pushed open. The trio was stunned as they turned to the door.

An investigator holding a broken joss stick burst into the shop. His mental state was very abnormal. His lips were wet with saliva. His eyes were unfocused. The investigator ignored the trio. He grabbed the menu and went into the back kitchen. The shop became quiet. A few minutes later, the investigator walked out with a piece of meat. His right arm was gone. He stared at the glistening meat. As the investigator moved, the meat jiggled.

He found a random spot to sit. He didn’t even use the utensil and grabbed the meat. The sauce slid down his fingers. The investigator swallowed and licked his lips. Then, he bit the meat. His teeth tore through the most supple layer. The meat juice squirted everywhere. Then, the fatty meat melted in his mouth. The investigator reached the meaty layer, and he sucked on the juices. The rationality in his eyes slowly disappeared. He started to bite at the meat like an animal. He not only munched on the meat, he even bit his own left hand that held the meat. Blood was mixed with meat juices. The investigator looked at his palm dumbly. Black words crawled in his eyes. The investigator silently stood up and swayed back to the exit.

“Should we leave and follow him?” Zhu Suisui was made uncomfortable by the smell. It evoked all kinds of desire within her. She didn’t dare to stay there anymore. They put down the menu. They were about to leave when the door closed on its own. The old wooden door looked normal, but no matter how hard they pushed, it wouldn’t budge.

“We can’t leave without eating something?!” Zhu Suisui’s mind wavered thanks to the smell. She swung her axe at the door. The axe felt like it didn’t land on wood but a thick layer of meat. The door still didn’t open, but the axe had cut open a bleeding wound on the door.

Zhu Suisui wanted to continue, but Gong Xi stopped her. “Look around! After you hurt the door, the walls moved towards us! The space is getting smaller!”

Blood dripped down the walls, but it didn’t smell bad. If anything, it smelled delicious.

“What do you want to eat?” The man’s voice came from the kitchen again. He didn’t seem to be worried that his customers might escape. “If you want to order, just bring the menu to the kitchen.”
The smell assaulted them. Gao Ming felt very hungry. It was more than just physical. It was mental too.

Desires dominated their minds.

Zhu Suisui’s eyes burned with red. She stared at the plate the investigator left behind. Her lips trembled. She picked up the plate and wanted to try the meat juice and sauce left on the plate.

“Zhu Suisui!” Gao Ming smacked the plate away.

“Why do you need to control yourself? Just come to the kitchen. You’ll love this place.” The man’s voice was alluring.

“What kind of meat you’re selling?” Gong Xi was scared. Due to his grandmother, he never ate meat, but at that moment, he was so hungry that he wanted to eat himself.

“Did you notice that most of the tenants have missing body parts? Have you wondered where those parts have disappeared to?” The man laughed. “No one forced them. They willingly trade everything.”

“They… ate the meat from their own bodies?”

“No. They paid with their bodies and ate their desires.” The laughter stopped. The man’s voice became scary. “When there’s no bottom line, when there’s no other option, they are willing to try anything. That is human.”