Horror Game Designer

The rotting dough was mixed with old fruits. The cake didn’t look appetizing, but Ah Fang treated it as a treasure. He carried it carefully to the coffee table. He peeled off the thin saran wrap. The smell of formalin and cleaners assaulted his nostrils. Ah Fang placed the lit candles beside the cake.

“This is my first time having a birthday celebration and the first time someone made a cake for me.” Ah Fang closed his hands, mimicking the scenes he had seen on television. His expression was serious when he wished, “Mom, I know you’ve always been by my side. Can you sit down beside me?”

The nails scratched the glass. The old ceiling fan creaked noisily. The bugs crawled inside the cracks in the tiles. A force was compressed inside Room 1601. The owner of the room heard Ah Fang’s wish, but she didn’t want Ah Fang to see her. The flames on the candles danced. The light-yellow flame slowly turned red. A wisp of black smoke wafted out.

Mottled lights swayed on the wall. The mirror bled. Two arms filled with wounds appeared in the dark. The black hair covered her face. A woman in a bright red dress stood at the door. She blocked the door as if worried that her children would run away from her, causing her to lose something important again.

However, based on the anomalies inside the room, it was clear that the woman’s feelings were conflicted. She didn’t want to part with Ah Fang, and she didn’t want to harm him either.

“That’s right. You must be my mom! My mom has always worn red! She loves red clothes!” Ah Fang couldn’t see the woman’s face. He jogged over to the woman. His tiny stature formed a great contrast to the ugly woman. One was cute and innocent, and the other was crazy and scary.

The small hand grasped the edge of the red dress. The woman glanced at the boy’s bloodied hand and quickly retreated into the shadows. “I’m not your mother. I’m a ghost.”

“Okay, ghost mom.” Ah Fang didn’t let go. “Thank you for your cake.”

“I’m not your mother…” The woman’s head was almost touching the ceiling. She lightly nudged Ah Fang away before disappearing into the dark.

“Another hide-and-seek?” Ah Fang giggled. With the little dinosaur's tail swaying, he ran to the coffee table. He puffed up his cheeks to blow out the candle. When the room was fully dark, he placed his hands over his heart and whispered, “I hope everyone can stay with me. I hope everyone finds happiness and is as happy as me.”

After making his wish, Ah Fang ran into the bathroom to wash his hands. The faucet was dripping blood, but as Ah Fang twisted it, clean water flowed out. He wiped his hands and said thank you. He ran back into the living room to taste the cake, but strangely enough, the cake grew legs and ran away.

“Hey! Put down the cake mom made for me! I’m going to be mad!” In his pyjamas, Ah Fang chased after the smelly ‘cake’. A scary ghost was reflected on the television, but the ghost didn’t harm Ah Fang. It only raised the cake high so that the boy wouldn’t consume rotten food.

Different from the scenario inside the room, the atmosphere outside Jia Mei Apartments was heavy. Chen Yuntian and Bai Xiao led the people from the Li San Investigation Centre and stood to the left. The leader of Team Four and some of the investigators stood to the right. They appeared to be in a conflict.

“Hand over the blade. That is not something you can control.” The leader of Team Four was old. His hair was white. His face was wrinkled, but he was no weaker than Bai Xiao. He radiated a weird presence.

“That is for me to decide. Even if I can’t, it is not within your jurisdiction.” For Bai Xiao, Gao Ming had gifted him this weapon that could harm ghosts. Why would he hand it over to someone else?

“Even if the investigation centre wants something, we have to trade it with contribution points. Isn’t this too much for you to demand a weapon so brashly?” Chen Yuntian knew the security members were not to be trifled with, but he sided with his people. “The investigators risked their lives to enter the anomalies. No one has the power to snatch their winnings.”

“Winnings?” The old man scoffed. His face was similar to a paper doll’s. When he smiled, his wrinkles folded together to mimic old newspaper. “The blade he holds is made by the ghosts of the shadow world. Who knows how many lives have been sacrificed to it? I smell a familiar scent on it. It reminds me of the mud figurines at Li San Hospital. What is your connection to the ghosts at Li San Hospital?”

“Are you kidding me? Can’t you come up with a better excuse?” Bai Xiao drew his blade and glared at the old man. He joined the centre to protect more people. However, as he found out more and more, he realised the centre was not as good as he thought.

“Stop arguing.” Jing Tuoshen’s driver stood in the middle to mediate. When the leader of team four came, he was quite happy. However, when the old man saw Bai Xiao’s knife, he changed instantly. He wanted to take away Bai Xiao’s knife. Revenge was one thing. The other was he was scared. After they escaped from the hospital, the mud figurines escaped with them. He was worried that these objects related to the hospital might lure the figurines over.

Just the thought of the figurine buried deepest underneath the black lake caused the old man’s scalp to numb. His tone firmed up. “The investigators and security members have different responsibilities. I’m doing this for your own good.”

“Do you even listen to yourself?” Bai Xiao tightened his grip on the knife.

“Fine. When you’re dead, the knife will fall into my hands eventually.” The old man didn’t choose direct conflict, but Bai Xiao was already a dead man in his eyes. He waved his hands, and a few paper dolls crawled out. He took a deep look at Bai Xiao before he went up the stairs with the other security members.

The wind moved the branches in the yard. The leaves fluttered to the ground. The paper dolls removed the keys from the door handles. They giggled as they did so.

Team Four's attention was on the apartment. After all, during the anomaly, the building interior had to be the most dangerous. They didn’t realise a pair of eyes were watching them.

Gao Ming, who had changed, stood at the corner. Different from the security members, he carried a large bag of toys.

“Stay back. Let me.” Xia Yang’s voice entered Gao Ming’s ear. His even tone hid a trace of hatred.