Horror Game Designer

“Bunch of bastards.” The investigators from Li San Investigation Centre glared at Security Team Four and cursed under their breaths. “Why are they trying to snatch our items at a time like this, instead of working together?”

“Many humans are worse than ghosts. When the tragedy is really here, you’ll see uglier things.” Chen Yuntian patted Bai Xiao’s shoulders and said seriously, “But I hope you’ll never lose yourself. Understand why you are alive.”

Chen Yuntian knew the security members were inhumanly strong. If there were conflicts, they would be on the losing end.

“Captain, thank you for speaking up for me.” Bai Xiao put away the blade. He turned to the corner like he had sensed something.

“The investigation centre was built to protect Han Hai citizens. If I can’t even protect my own people, how can I protect others?” Chen Yuntian headed down the corridor. “I’ve always treated you as my son.”

In the corridor, Team Four moved behind the paper dolls in a unified formation. It was very strange. The elder opened his arms. He was stubborn and aged like he was still living in the last century. The members who followed the elder were armed with guns and bullets. They wore night-vision goggles and various items made by the researchers.

“Leader, aren’t we going to warn those normal investigations? This place has strong Yin energy. There should be more than one big ghost.”

“If they want to die, who am I to stop them?” The elder held plaques with paintings of children on them. He crushed them, and the wailings of children echoed.

“Lead the way.”

He waved his hands, and the white bone hairpins rolled to the ground. They bounced against each other and stopped before the elevator. The old, blue-grey elevator was decorated with a couplet. The old decoration fluttered in the wind. The lights above them flickered.

“Do we have to take the elevator?” Team Four met Gao Ming once they reached Han Hai. After they left the hospital, they became a lot more careful. The elevator light lit up. The number stared at them like an eye. The elevator doors opened slowly like they hadn’t been greased for a long time.

The small booth was covered in various flyers and graffiti of curse words. The elder took out a cigarette, lit it up and placed it on the north side of the booth. The smoke rose slowly. Human silhouettes appeared inside the booth. They stared at the old man.

“Do not linger once you’ve passed away. I’ll send you to where you should go.” The old man waved behind him. A team member carried over a large box. The box opened to reveal stacks of paper money. “Travel safely once you’ve had your fill.”

The elder scattered a fistful of paper money. Then, he reached for a lighter hidden at the bottom of the box. He ignited the lighter, and a burst of fire rushed into the elevator. In the burning lights, several souls struggled in pain. Those who accepted the old man’s paper money howled in great despair.

“How dare you accept the king of hell’s money?”

Standing before the blazing flame, the old man looked like a demon. He stared at the twisting figures in the flames and picked up the white bone pins. He tossed three pins into the flames and pinched the last pin. “If you don’t want to follow them, lead the way.”

After that, he tossed the pin into the corridor. A child’s soul resided inside the pin. After it landed, it rolled upstairs. The elder led his team to follow the pin. A few minutes later, Gao Ming appeared in the corridor.

“What a cruel man. I know how to kill him now.” Xia Yang’s voice entered his ears. He and Gao Ming entered the flames. The elevator moved. The light dimmed. However, a new painting appeared inside the booth.

The apartment citizens who were tortured by the flames shoved a faceless old man into a furnace.

…

The elder paused when he felt a pain prick his heart. He took out a murky jade carving from his chest. Normally, people wouldn’t carve names on jade, but the white jade was carved with the old man’s name. The white jade was cracked. The crack started from the heart of the jade.

“Leader?”

“It’s fine. Keep going.” Following the bouncing pin, Team Four had moved far ahead of Bai Xiao’s group.

When they reached the 11th floor, the cries of a market assaulted their ears. The corridor was no longer dark. Red lanterns hung above the doors. The citizens of this floor set up stalls in front of their homes, selling various everyday items. Most of the items were stained with blood.

“Ghost market.” The elder took out a copper mallet. He took a sip of strong alcohol and drew a talisman. He spat the alcohol at the talisman. A fire consumed the talisman. The old man pasted the talisman on the wall. The voices started to distort. The citizens closest to them slowed down. The elder swung the copper mallet at the citizen. The wall cracked. The citizen was just a painting.

“Is this ghost market painted?” The elder was reminded of Xia Yang, whom they encountered at Li San Hospital. Xia Yang used his own power to delay the entire security team for a long time.

“Is that ghost here?” Before the old man could react, the painting on the wall recovered. The corridor looked like it had no end. More ghosts appeared at the ghost market. Some of them were the original tenants, and others wore the patient outfits of Li San Hospital. The most unsettling thing was some of the mutated ghosts and mud figurines walked the corridors.

“Don’t panic. The devil ghost drew these things. They aren’t real. We just need to escape this illusion.” The old man cut his palm and smeared the blood on his eyelids. “It dares to draw the mud figurines at the hospital. Does it not know that the Dead Gods have a chance to possess its drawings?”

“Of course, I know that.” The citizen who was destroyed by the old man reappeared. Xia Yang’s voice came from his lips. “But I want you to die.”

The members of Team Four opened fire. They wanted to kill Xia Yang, but Xia Yang only laughed. “Can you capture me this time?”

Team Four was trapped by Xia Yang. To cooperate with Xia Yang, a few tenants from Si Sui Apartments came out of the death portrait. The ghost market was not entirely fake.

After ensuring everything was fine, Gao Ming carried the large bag of toys and entered the elevator again. He took out the colourful death portrait of Ah Fang.