Horror Game Designer Chapter 515: Hidden

“We need more time to plan this out.” Gao Ming was also interested in the deep-layer nightmares, but he knew that he was still too weak to interact with them.

“Of course,” Bai Feng was rational. “The manor owner will not surrender easily. In fact, he has already discovered my plan. That is why he has been framing me as the scapegoat.”

“What do you mean?” Zhi Ge held the axe. He didn’t let his guard down.

“The manor owner probably has completed the switch. I am just the smokescreen to confuse the rest of you.” Bai Feng was calm. “The owner tried to switch with me when he applied the ointment on me, but he realised my constitution was firm. He couldn’t gain full control of my body.” Then, Bai Feng turned to Gao Ming, “You should have noticed how differently the manor owner treated you, right?”

“Yes. He explained many things to me, but he was very impatient with Xu Deyi.” Gao Ming nodded.

“Your determination is stronger than all of us. I can see that, and the manor owner can see it. He will have a hard time to take control of your body. In that case, he only has two choices: either gain your trust or kill you,” Bai Feng had figured out everything, “The tales he told you were to enable his escape.”

“Then, do we still conduct the ritual mentioned in the letter?” Gao Ming waved the letter.

The room was silent. Bai Feng was about to scream when Yao Yao’s scream came from Room 2009. Zhi Ge’s pupils trembled. He gripped the axe and ran downstairs.

“The show is about to start.” Bai Feng followed him slowly as if she already knew what would happen next. Putting away the letter, Gao Ming followed too.

Everyone gathered at the door to Room 2009. The fire in the fire pit had been extinguished by cold water. Yao Yao, in a red dress, was tied to the bed. Her white wrists had welts from the struggle.

“Save me, Zhi Ge! Untie me!”

Yao Yao was overwhelmed by fear. She wiggled in the bed. The manor owner collapsed in the corridor. It looked like he was knocked out while he was chasing after someone. The oil lamp was knocked over. The light reflected the owner’s face. The key thing was the hunting rifle was gone.

“The owner is unconscious. It looks like he has completed the switch and is hiding among one of us.” Bai Feng scanned everything coolly before her eyes settled on Yao Yao. Yao Yao was the biggest suspect. She was alone with the manor owner and completed a ritual with him.

“Zhi Ge, help me!” Yao Yao’s face was white. Her body wouldn’t stop shaking from the cold.

“In the sister’s story, the owner escaped the door and hid inside a doll. While the sister was asleep, he took over her body. Then, he swapped his soul with the sister with a ritual.” Gao Ming looked at Yao Yao with judgment. He believed the manor owner was not that dumb.

“Nonsense! You’re doing this because I said you were newbies, and I was unwilling to help you!” Yao Yao continued to struggle. “None of us have heard of that story before. You didn’t mention it earlier but chose to mention it now?! You’re trying to frame me!” Yao Yao yelled in the face of death. Her eyes glowed red. Even Zhi Ge hesitated.

“Keep her tied up for now.” Gao Ming didn’t want to argue with Yao Yao. “The owner is unconscious. It means that he hasn’t placed Yao Yao’s soul into his previous body but hid her somewhere else.”

“Don’t listen to him! He’s lying to you!” Yao Yao scratched her skin on the rope so much that her skin bled.

“But there is another possibility: Yao Yao is another smokescreen. The real owner has swapped with another tester.” Gao Ming said darkly. “Have you noticed this detail? Bai Feng said that she and the manor owner could see how firm my determination was. However, the manor owner purposely asked me to bring the fire pit to his room. If not for the accident, I would be the one tied to the bed now.”

Everyone looked around strangely. Even Yao Yao had no idea what Gao Ming was planning.

“He knew it’d be hard to take over my mind, but he chose me to join him in the ritual. He wanted to prop me up as a suspect like Bai Feng.” Gao Ming’s eyes moved between Yao Yao and the manor owner. He couldn’t see any flaw. “You guys are close to Yao Yao. You’ll notice something is wrong with her once you spend more time with her. We will temporarily keep both of them around us. We will use this time to open the other doors and reveal the whole truth.” Gao Ming bent down to find the four keys from the owner’s pocket. “We’ve opened the door of Pain and Sadness. There are two more rooms. One is behind the firewood storage, and the other is on the fourth floor.”

Zhi Ge undid the ropes around Yao Yao’s ankles. Then, he tied up the owner’s wrists. They ran to the first floor. After they left, the water in the drenched fire pit gathered to form a sad face. His face was blurred as if he was heavily injured.

“The owner is unconscious, and the rifle is missing. We have no way to deal with the ghosts. If we encounter the ghosts outside the manor, we’ll split up to lure them away from our goal.” Gao Ming moved the heavy door open. The snow and frost fell on his face to form long scratches. “Let’s go!”

The oil lamp felt so tiny in the snow. They raced through the snow. The most cowardly Xu Deyi turned back to look. There were dead hikers climbing on the manor walls. They were bound by ropes. With ice picks, some of them had crawled into Room 2001.

“Thankfully, we’ve left the manor.” Just as he said that, Xu Deyi noticed a hiker turn back to look at him. The frozen body slid down as if trying to crawl towards him.

“Focus.” Gao Ming was the first to come to the brick house. He took out the Resentment Key and inserted it into the iron door.

The snow continued to fall, but the small room was colder than it was outside. It was dark and creepy. The old radio turned slowly and played the crying of a boy. The walls were covered in scratch marks. The ceiling and floor were pasted with many pictures. The room reeked.