Horror Game Designer

“Is the woman singing about the faceless figurine’s past?” Gao Ming discerned the meaning hidden in the song, “The mud figurines belong in the shadow world. They were once closest to God. Why would this one end up in such a deplorable state?”

The ghost music continued. The harrowing tune chilled everyone. The sound was like moving time. Nothing could stop its influence on the human body.

The woman’s hand movements became exaggerated. She waved her long sleeves. Her dance was strange but captivating. It was like a butterfly becoming a fairy or like the sun shining on the palanquin for death. It was eerie but charming. The song reached its climax. The kind man reached the last reincarnation of his lives. He received good karma from the past, but the kind man in the mud figurine changed. He stopped believing in karma. Doing good was a lie perpetuated by God. He was unwilling to be controlled by fate anymore. He planned to become someone worshipped by others.

“Should we ignore her? Let her dance and sing here?” Since the woman didn’t seem like she was leaving the classroom, Fan Li silently closed the window and returned to the group.

“She seems to be conducting some kind of ritual to summon the souls.” Ou Yang Susu hugged Sister Zhang and was rattled, “Sister Zhang learned something like this from her previous employer. She’d know what to do now but she’s currently not in the right mind at the moment.”

“We’ll leave the dancer be for now and head further up.” Fan Li and Brother Lee followed the stairs to the third floor.

The activity room was large. All the doors had been swapped to folding doors, which were easier to open. The sound of prayers came from these rooms.

Fan Li reached out to open a small gap in the door. His other teammates stayed at the lower part of the staircase. They were so nervous that they didn’t dare to breathe too loudly. A few seconds later, Fan Li eased the gap larger. Brother Lee and Bai Shu, who were behind, were so scared, but it was too late for them to stop him. Fan Li opened the door fully. The team looked into the room anxiously, their hearts beating.

“It’s empty?!”

“Isn’t the neighbourhood committee holding an activity here? Where are they?” With courage, Fan Li walked into the activity room.

“Could this be a trap?” Brother Lee hesitated before he followed Fan Li. The interior of the activity room was large, but there were so few things to provide cover. There was no place for people to hide.

“Should we look around?” Fan Li started to rummage through the place. He didn’t want to return empty-handed, “This is the monster’s old lair. Even if we can’t find the mud figurine, we might find out other valuable things.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Bai Shu and Youyou paused outside the door. They stared at the radio playing the recording of the prayers, and they looked unwilling.

As they experienced more anomalies with Fan Li, the riff between them would widen. Their personality was too different, causing minute altercations. However, due to the difference in power, Bai Shu and Youyou must listen to Fan Li most of the time.

“Three minutes. We’ll just stay here for three minutes.” It was only when Fan Li said that that the others entered the activity room.

Gao Ming, who walked at the back, let go of Teacher Liu’s hand. He walked around the activity room alone. Of everyone present, he understood the faceless figurine the most. This figurine that escaped from the black lake was once a very scary presence in the shadow world.

“Faith and will… Everything in Han Hai revolves around these two things…”

The recorded prayers became louder. Bai Shu wanted to shut it off. However, he noticed with fear that even after he switched off the radio, the prayers continued unaffected.

While everyone was around the radio, as they were distracted by the prayers, the God of Flesh and Blood issued a warning. Gao Ming turned to the only bathroom in the activity room. After the power of the God of Flesh and Blood increased, only existence at his level would grab his attention. Gao Ming entered the bathroom and paused before the sink. He tilted his head as he looked at the mirror above the sink. The surface of the mirror was stained with water, making it blurry. Gao Ming’s reflection stood upright as he lightly caressed his face.

“A thing that is obsessed with human faces?”

Gao Ming whispered. His reflection was startled, but he soon recovered. He even smiled, “We have met at Li San Hospital. You were walking in front of me back then.”

“What do you mean?” Gao Ming was not surprised that his reflection spoke. He had guessed the other party’s identity, but he hadn’t figured out why they had targeted him.

“Similar to the God on you, our bodies have perished with the shadow world. We need the living humans in the dream of Han Hai for rebirth. Han Hai is a dream, a cage and also our hope. Everything died, and only Han Hai remained.” Gao Ming’s reflection touched his face lovingly. It seemed to be very satisfied with Gao Ming’s face.

“Is that why Dead Gods like you are looking for shells in Han Hai by stealing the will of the living?” Gao Ming could understand that because he was doing something similar. “If everyone is doing that, I’m afraid not everyone will get a seat at the table.”

After he gained the aid of nine Dream Ghosts, he could wake up from the dream. However, would there be that many Dream Ghosts at Han Hai?

“I have no intention of having conflict with you. I can’t easily utilise my true power. How about we settle this based on the way of the dream?” Gao Ming’s reflection was the faceless figurine’s disguise. This dead God knew many secrets. Seeing the confusion on Gao Ming’s face, he explained the situation further, “Any ghosts and Gods in the shadow world cannot use their power casually in Han Hai. Once they do, they will be targeted by fate. Misfortune will befall them, and they will end up in horrible ways. Therefore, unless it is necessary, we will not show our hands. If there are conflicts between us, we’ll send our chosen children to fight for us.”

The mud figurines from the black lake were still cautious of fate. However, Gao Ming and the God of Flesh and Blood didn’t have such worry. They were already at war with fate.

Cold light suddenly appeared inside the room. Bai Shu had switched on the computer in the activity room. When he saw the screen, colours drained from his face. “Not good!”

The computer was connected to the surveillance cameras. The screen showed the situation outside in the corridors and stairwells.

In the different screens, there were people moving with their heads turned away. They were acting strangely as they all shuffled towards the activity room.

“They are coming.” Gao Ming’s reflection was polite, but his smile was dark and devoid of warmth. “Is Fan Li your chosen? I don’t think he can leave here alive.”