Horror Game Designer Chapter 66: Restart

The drenched Xuan Wen carried Gao Ming. They walked through the mud into the night.

“Do you need me to carry you?”

“We’re almost there.”

The storm washed down on them. Compared to the endless nights, they were miniscule. The light in their hands felt like it would go out at any time. After some time, Xuan Wen pushed out an e-bike from behind a tree. She patted the backseat. “Let’s go.”

“I didn’t expect this is how you’d send me home.” Gao Ming got on the bike and held onto the back handle. “Do people from the shadow world rely on motorcycles too?”

“The roads were sealed, and I couldn’t drive here.” Xuan Wen spat out the rainwater in her mouth and stared at Gao Ming. “Never mind. Give me the raincoat and move to the back.”

“Okay.”

Gao Ming was like a kid. He flipped up the end of the raincoat to cover his head.

“The rain will drop on your back.”

“I can feel that!”

Xuan Wen led Gao Ming away from the countryside covered by shadows and drove into the lightless city. The city felt like it was dead. They were the only ones in the world. At midnight, Xuan Wen dropped Gao Ming at Li Jing Apartments. Her breathing was ragged, like she almost died.

“Do you want to come in? I can get you a clean set of clothes.” Gao Ming held Xuan Wen’s arm. “My house is empty now, but my parents might come back with many cakes. We won’t be able to finish them.”

“Is this your first time inviting a member of the opposite sex back home? How did you come up with such a lousy excuse?” Xuan Wen shook Gao Ming’s hand off. She put on the dirty raincoat and rode back on the bike.

Gao Ming immediately ran over. “Xuan Wen!”
“What?”

“Do not go kill the other eight female characters.”

Xuan Wen slowly turned her head around. This was the first time her secret was seen through, “I’m just going home.”

Gao Ming grabbed the bike and stared into Xuan Wen’s eyes. “They will become wounds that will never heal on your body. They will follow you forever. In the end, you will die because of them.”

Seeing that Gao Ming refused to let go, Xuan Wen’s expression changed. “Why do you care?”

Gao Ming stood in the rain and said seriously, “If possible, I do want to care about you.”

“...”

The mud flew into the air as Xuan Wen rode the bike into the night. Gao Ming tried to chase after her, but he got tired quickly. His body was still very weak.

“I hope you can change fate. You are your own main character.”

Gao Ming returned to Li Jing Apartment’s yard. He still had very important things to do. Gao Ming entered his home. Gao Ming didn’t even have the chance to change. He opened the medkit. Soon, the doorbell rang. Gao Ming rushed to get the door.

“Happy birthday!”

When he saw his parents again, Gao Ming didn’t feel fear. He remembered how his parents had saved him when he was trapped by the Evil Ghost. They were created by the shadow world to replace his real parents but they started to feel like his real parents.

“If everything is not a game but my past.

“Then, mom and dad might have been drawn into despair because of me…”

The heart in his chest beat. Gao Ming went to change his clothes with his parent’s nagging. He enjoyed this temporary fun. The bubbles were very pretty, but they were very fragile.

He opened his mouth to ask his parents some questions, but his parents were like puppets, repeating the same actions. Washing their hands, changing their clothes, opening the cake, putting on the candles and then…

The lights went out. His parents morphed in the dark. The candlelight danced and reflected their twisted faces.

Gao Ming didn’t blow out the candles. He looked at his approaching parents and asked, “Who are my father and mother? Even if you are slightly based on them, I apologise for what I did before. I am willing to be your family, and I can stay here. I only hope that you can tell me the truth.”

The kind faces slowly twisted. Gao Ming’s question surpassed his parents’ mind frame. Their smiles turned scary. If Gao Ming didn’t follow the script, they would attack Gao Ming.

“Was it the shadow world who turned my parents into monsters, or were the monsters turned into my parents?”

Sensing the danger, Gao Ming’s heart started to beat. His mutated heart was like a torture room. All the pain and death were hidden there. The memory in his blood was summoned. The torture room slowly opened. A giant ghost appeared behind Gao Ming. it had eight arms and four faces. It was very cruel. It looked like the figurine of the God of Blood and Flesh, but it was different too.

“Couldn’t you answer?” Gao Ming sighed. “I hope everyone is safe and happy.”

The light came up again. His parents acted like normal, sitting beside the dining table.

“The wish doesn’t work if you voice them out. Just keep it in your heart next time.” His parents ate the food on the table. Gao Ming saw the single candle on the cake and slowly stood up. Several seconds later, Zhao Xi would choose to commit suicide. Gao Ming had to leave the shadow world to prevent that tragedy from happening.

“I know you love me, but I’m in a hurry.”

The fade meat smell came from an unknown place. The lights flickered. Gao Ming knew his parents had no special power. They merely couldn’t be killed.

He tied up his parents and sent him into the bedroom. Then, he opened the living room door and repeated the whole process.

The candles on the cake became more numerous. He used three hours to finish the game that he needed three days to finish last time.

The voice-activated light in the corridor came on. The shadow retreated. His parents were gone. Only a death portrait was left on the bedroom floor. Looking at the familiar picture, Gao Ming had a surreal feeling. He read the words behind the words behind the portrait again.

“To my beloved child. You’re already an adult at eighteen. You are a new parent. You will have the key to open the family house door.

“Our house is between the place that exists and doesn’t… As the parent…”

The words were similar to the stranger inside the tunnel, but they were essentially different.

The stranger in the tunnel said that everything Gao Ming had was a gift from fate. He wanted Gao Ming to be the guardian dog of the city and lead the other living humans to stop the horror stories from appearing.

However, the words on the back of the family portrait only told Gao Ming the location of his home. It stressed that Gao Ming was a new parent and he had complete freedom. In comparison, Gao Ming believed the latter.

The clock wall chimed. Gao Ming put the death portrait in his bag. “I’ll take it slow. I’ll save those who need to be saved and kill those who should be killed!”

Situ An’s name appeared in his mind. Gao Ming’s eyes turned bloodshot. “I have to deal with the most dangerous person first.”

Gao Ming put on his raincoat and ran down the stairs. He carried with his medicine.

He ran into the rain. He was about to rush into Building 2 to find Zhao Xi when he saw a familiar figure in the apartment yard.

The person was sneaking outside the balcony of Building 1.

The storm fell on the person. He looked at the woman sleeping inside the room through the heavily rusted net.

His throat moved, and he looked at the single woman. His fingers trembled.

He was so excited. He grabbed the safety net. He had been there many times. Once it rained, he couldn’t control but to come to that spot. His eyes wandered around the room. The man wanted to destroy everything.

He slowly opened his toolbox. He took out the devices. The rain silenced somen noises. He stared at the woman, and his smile became more cruel.

“Take a good night's sleep. This is your last warm night.”

“Qi Yan?”

The man heard someone call his name. The man was very close to him as if beside his ear.