Horror Game Designer - Chapter 217: Treasure
“Is this Situ An’s home in the shadow world?” Su Mo was befuddled as he stood before the bloodred door. Even though he was the main character, he had no idea how he got there. After pushing the door open, the painting of the red raincoat on him slowly disappeared. Xia Yang’s voice also weakened. Summoning the red raincoat to the real world exhausted him greatly, and the red raincoat couldn’t exist in the real world for long.
“Move!” He Yi’s voice came from behind. He led the security members to cross the door, pieced together from dead bodies. He shoved Su Mo easily to the side. He Yi’s breathing became heavy as he remembered the things Situ An told him. He had to defend the path to home no matter what because everything Situ An had was hidden inside the house. “Since Situ An is most likely dead, everything here now is mine.”
When tragedy arrived, morality became the most useless thing. Rules were built on power. He Yi was excited thinking about his future. He walked to the two doors with passion.
“But… Why are there two rooms? Situ An told me there was only one home… Lunatics and butchers? Which is his real home?” He Yi knew Situ An’s personality. He knew things would not be so easy. This should be the last test.
He Yi turned around and aimed the gun at Su Mo, “You. Open the door to the Home of Lunatics.”
“Me again?” Su Mo pressed his lips. He wanted to protest, but the man had a gun. He only had a blanket from the Auntie with four mouths. Su Mo walked on the path weaved by shadow and blood. He paused before the door to the Home of Lunatics. He held the door handle and looked at He Yi uncertainly. Everyone he knew had become part of the door. As a university student, Su Mo didn’t think he’d reach this point. Ghosts, guns, humans and monsters all threatened him.
“Is this the price to pay to be the main character?”
Su Mo faced no resistance as he pushed the door open. The room inside was very normal. Even the colour of the blood faded. The scary things did not happen. The walls of the room were covered in pictures. Every picture was taken without the subject’s knowledge. They lived in Han Hai and had different jobs. The picture came with the subject’s name, profession and simple introductions. They were all different but shared one common point… They were potential lunatics.
“Huh?” Su Mo was unaffected by most pictures. However, when he passed by a picture called Gao Ming, he felt a resistance deep in his heart.
“Why are these pictures here?” Su Mo was studying everything patiently when Xia Yang’s voice appeared in his heart. “Go to the wall and remove the pictures with Gao Ming and Xia Yang’s names.”
“Remove them? Is that good? They are both lunatics.”
“Do it. Don’t be seen by the others!”
Su Mo was urged by Teacher Xia. Using his body to block the other’s line of sight, he removed Gao Ming and Xia Yang’s pictures. The moment the pictures left the wall, the colour faded. This caused a domino effect. Everyone in the pictures turned their heads to look at Su Mo. Their fates appeared to connect with Su Mo’s. Su Mo touched their crazy souls at the same time. The pictures fell from the wall. Then, Su Mo and Xia Yang saw the strange pattern hidden by the pictures. The patterns were not words, but when he saw them, some information automatically appeared in Su Mo’s mind.
“These lunatics living in Han Hai are pawns hidden by the shadow world in the real world. Their lunacy comes from the shadow world. They should be normal people. However, the parent is dead. The limitations on everyone will be removed until the new parent appears.”
Su Mo voiced the information transferred to his head. Xia Yang interrupted him, “Nonsense! I became the way I am because this is the way I want to be!”
“What are you rambling about? Who told you to touch the things in the room?” He Yi stood outside the door and yelled. After he ensured there was no danger, he sent his team in. “Do not miss out on anything. Keep all the pictures. Inspect them carefully!”
Seeing Su Mo still standing there, He Yi said darkly, “Get over here and open the other room.”
The things He Yi wanted didn’t exist in the Home of Lunatics. He placed his hope in the other room. However, he already felt something was wrong. To enter the real home, one needed Situ An’s death portrait. However, neither of these two rooms required a ‘key’ to open.
“Did Situ An give me fake news? Did he have me defend a trap?! Has he hidden the real home somewhere else?”
Situ An would do something like that.
Su Mo walked obediently to the Home of Butchers. The moment he opened the door, he was assaulted by the scent of blood. The room was bloody, and in the middle of the room was a version of Han Hai built from bones. The bone buildings grew out of the flesh.
As Su Mo entered, the tallest bone building collapsed. The whole city was flooded by the blood that oozed from the ground. Screams echoed in the bone city. This seemed to be a sign.
“Many people will die…” When Xia Yang saw the bone Han Hai collapse, he realised something, “Situ An didn’t leave any treasures behind. For someone as selfish as him, he will figure out a way for as many people to die with him once he perishes.”
To open the bloodred door, one needed the cooperation of Jiang Chan, He Yi and Fu Ning. They were Situ An’s final three trump cards. However, they all betrayed him. For Situ An, when the bloodred door was forced open, he had no hope anymore.
…
At 9.04 pm, when the bloodred door was forced open, and Su Mo entered the homes of lunatics and butchers, the internet centre of Han Hai was attacked. Fifty percent of the channels were hacked. A video kept repeating itself.
“Hello. I am the vice president of Han Hai Charity, the vice president of Han Hai Merchant Association and the chief of the east city investigation centre, Situ An. When you see this video, I’m already dead.
“Risking my life, I use everything I have to help you reconstruct the truth. A truth that is the scariest thing you’ll ever see.”