The Haunted Game Designer

The terrifying phenomena shown through the group chat video call on the phone—the layers of approaching eeriness and despair—allowed Gao Ming to roughly confirm which game had turned into reality.

Zhao Xi, who lived in Room 2507, was completely different in personality from the middle-aged protagonist in The Only Family. One was honest and hardworking, while the other was gloomy and lazy. However, their environments were almost identical.

On the surface, they had family and relatives, but only they knew how miserable that home truly was once the door was closed.

"Besides Zhao Xi's corpse, I haven't encountered any other neighbors. I've only heard various sounds. The scenes shown in the phone video were likely the owner's own imagination—those neighbors who were killed were probably the ones who usually looked down on Zhao Xi."

Gao Ming had previously learned some information about Building No. 2 from the community committee aunt.

Wang Kuisheng on the first floor was a small business owner who temporarily rented an apartment in Lijing Apartment to evade debts. Xiao Qiu on the second floor was unemployed—rumors about Zhao Xi and his sister-in-law seemed to have originated from her. Fang Shuqi on the third floor was a technician from the port district—Zhao Xi's leg disability seemed to have been caused while trying to save him.

Scattered negative emotions are difficult to crush a person, but when pressure from all sides converges and becomes inescapable, self-will can be entirely submerged by those emotions—eventually leading Zhao Xi to step into the night sky.

"The Only Family has three endings. To trigger the good ending, Zhao Xi must destroy his phone with his own hands."

The phone played those terrifying videos because Zhao Xi wanted to see such scenes. Gao Ming decided to face the fear head-on and free himself from the influence of the dead man's phone.

"With my strength alone, it might not be enough."

Gao Ming stepped on the shards of window glass on the floor and stopped in front of Room 2707.

"If Teacher Yao isn't in the room, and the scene inside 2707 is different from the group chat video, then it means Teacher Yao is a ghost fabricated by the phone—my previous guess was correct. If Teacher Yao is inside, then there are two possibilities: either my speculation is wrong, or Teacher Yao is also a living person who entered the game."

He knocked on the door of Room 2707. Before Teacher Yao could answer, the security door of Room 2706 beside him slowly opened a crack.

The sound of the door scraping made Gao Ming immediately guard his body, ready to leave at any moment.

"Don't be nervous, it's me."

A terrifying yet familiar disfigured face appeared behind the door of Room 2706. The investigator beckoned to Gao Ming.

"Don't stay in the hallway—come inside, quickly!"

In such a bizarre environment, how could Gao Ming possibly trust an investigator who suddenly appeared? He remained extremely cautious.

"I know you're scared, panicked, and helpless right now! But only I can help you!" The investigator grew anxious.

"We've been caught in an abnormal event. I rushed from Xinhu to Hanhai precisely to investigate similar incidents! I know you have a lot of questions, but the hallway is extremely dangerous—one careless move, and you'll die!"

The investigator seemed to have no malicious intent. He dragged Gao Ming into the room and only breathed a sigh of relief after closing the door.

Scanning Room 2706, Gao Ming slowly picked up a chair leg.

"Why are you here?"

"I told you guys to move out quickly, but you didn't listen. Now you regret it, don't you?" The investigator wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"After leaving Room 2507, I went upstairs to talk to the tenants here. After that, the abnormal event suddenly occurred, and I was unfortunately caught in it."

He pointed to the black ring on his wrist, its red light glowing.

"When you're caught in an abnormal event, communications become distorted and interrupted. We can't contact the outside world—it's as if we've entered another world."

"Communications are completely cut off?"

After carefully thinking it over, Gao Ming's face suddenly turned extremely grim.

He vividly remembered receiving a call from his mother in the previous game!

If what the investigator said was true, then all the calls he had received in that game were actually from "ghosts"!

Gao Ming's heart suddenly grew uneasy. His parents lived in New Hu—had the elderly couple been affected?

"Ordinary people do find it difficult to accept these things." Seeing Gao Ming's intense reaction, the investigator softly reassured him, "Fear is normal, but we still have a chance to make it out alive."

Gao Ming had no interest in explaining anything to the investigator. Instead, he casually asked, "What exactly do you mean by abnormal events?"

"Strange, mysterious, eerie—various inexplicable things and phenomena suddenly appeared in New Hu six months ago, then vanished just as abruptly," the investigator decided to share some information with Gao Ming.

"Six months ago?" Gao Ming was shocked.

"To prevent panic, the news was suppressed. Later, to investigate this sudden paranormal event, the Joint Bureau for Anomalous Disasters was established." The disfigured investigator touched the black ring on his wrist and, right in front of Gao Ming, revealed his identity. "The Joint Bureau for Anomalous Disasters consists of three divisions: Investigation, Archive, and Security. Our purpose is to uncover the cause of these disasters."

"So, what have you found out?" Gao Ming still remembered Li Lin's attitude toward the investigator— even the lowest-ranking members of the Bureau seemed to wield considerable authority.

"All anomalous events follow a certain pattern and occur within a specific range. Beyond that, everything remains unknown." The investigator forced a grim smile, probably attempting to encourage Gao Ming. "The probability of an ordinary person getting caught up in an anomalous event is very low. This kind of firsthand experience of seeing the truth is quite rare."

"You sure know how to comfort people," Gao Ming remarked, digesting all the information. The tunnel he passed through on the night of the Ghost Festival was right at the junction of three cities. He suspected that something from New Hu had entered his body.

"The anomaly has already occurred, so there's no use blaming fate. Face it head-on. If we stay cautious, we'll survive until dawn." The investigator stroked the black ring, revealing text on its surface for Gao Ming to see. "Many investigators in New Hu sacrificed their lives to obtain this information. It can help you stay alive—make sure you remember and follow every rule."

"When caught in an anomalous event inside an apartment building, follow these key survival tips:"

"First, quickly locate all residents and agree on a secret signal for communication, because after some time, the residents in the building may be replaced."

"Second, do not trust any clocks you see—time is inaccurate."

"Third, after midnight, never open the door under any circumstances—unless something that does not belong to you appears inside your home."

"Fourth, do not suddenly turn on the lights. Fifth, do not listen to any audio recordings..."

"So does that mean doing nothing at all is the safest way to survive until dawn?" Following the rules might prevent mistakes, but Gao Ming wanted to solve the problem at its root. "According to these rules, could we just go back to sleep and avoid all misfortune?"

The investigator slid his fingers over the black ring, then solemnly shook his head. "Rule eleven states that you cannot sleep—you must stay awake at all times."

"Thank you for providing me with all these precautions, but I still have things to do." Gao Ming used Zhao Xi's phone to send a message to Teacher Yao from apartment 2707. He needed to confirm something with him.

"All the information you're seeing now was obtained at a bloody cost by investigators. You may doubt its accuracy, but never gamble with your life!"

"Rules are rigid, but people are adaptable..." Gao Ming opened the door to room 2706. As he gazed at the shadow-engulfed corridor, he left half a thought unspoken.

As a game designer, in a way, he was the one defining the rules of this horror tale.

(End of Chapter)

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