My House of Horrors

Yang Chen stayed at the back, and his eyes were shining as he calculated. He kept his head lowered and arranged his expression to ensure that no one would be able to see through his thoughts. If you all want to play, then fine, we’ll play, but I will win this round.

Because he had not done it before, that was why he was desperate for success. Yang Chen was enjoying this whole process very much. He liked this sense of excitement; it was something that other modes of entertainment failed to provide him.

There is a ghost mixed within the twelve visitors, and capturing them will clear the scenario.

Yang Chen walked between his friends as well as Ol’ Zhou and Duan Yue. After ensuring his own safety, he silently started to observe the activity of the two editors and Xiao Lee.

The Haunted House boss never plays by the rules. Even Fang Chong and Fan Dade, who sounded like they were eliminated, could still be the ghost. Their earlier disappearance might be preparation for them to appear later in the disguise of victims.

Yang Chen thought of everything. He was very careful and kept adding more speculation and proof to his analysis.

The lights on the wall gave off a weak, yellow glow. The steel door on the side was left half open, and there were water stains on the ground. It was a whole row of rusted freezers inside the room.

“Morgue No. 1?” This sign was written in horrible handwriting by the side of the door. Hu Ya peered into the room—all the freezers were locked.

“Tails?” she yelled into the room, but there was no answer. “Tails wouldn’t have gone to hide inside one of the freezers, would she?”

The two editors went inside the morgue to have a look around. They did not discover anything. The group of people continued to move forward.

The morgue in Jiujiang Medical University was not arranged according to their location but their usage and size. The few visitors continued down the corridor for another three minutes before they came across yet another half open steel door.

“Morgue No. 5? All of these morgues look the same from the inside. Why would the Haunted House boss build so many morgues? What is their purpose? Don’t tell me he is really planning to use these freezers to hide human bodies?” Wang Dan reached out to touch the cold freezer. “This is identical to the ones I read about in the text books. These freezers should be the real thing—perhaps equipment that has been abandoned and somehow ended up in the hands of the Haunted House’s boss.”

When he said that, his expression was not that pretty, and his voice was shaking.

“Abandoned medical equipment?” Xiao Lee ruminated over what Wang Dan had said, and his face started to pale. “Doesn’t that mean that these freezers really have had dead bodies in them before?”

“Indeed.” Yang Chen nodded as he kept his eyes on Xiao Lee. He tried to discern some information from Xiao Lee’s reaction, but unfortunately, Xiao Lee’s reaction was totally normal. “According to my analysis, the lights will go out in another ten seconds. I suggest we stay here in the room and survive this third wave of darkness before we continue our search.”

There were different kinds of monsters hiding in the dark. Hu Ya and Ah Nan knew that Yang Chen was looking out for everyone, so they agreed. The time ticked up. It had been four minutes since the previous lights out, and everything was fine. The group huddled close together, and they turned their heads in unison to look at Yang Chen.

“The lights did not go out—this means that the blackouts are completely random. Perhaps the boss is currently watching us and will make his move once he notices an opening.” Yang Chen had more to say, but he was interrupted by another visitor.

“Stop with the pointless analysis.” Hu Ya shook her head, and she turned to leave the room. “Follow me. As long as we stay together, there is nothing for us to be afraid of.”

This main editor from the supernatural magazine showed her side that took charge. She pulled open the door and headed out directly. Ah Nan jogged to catch up to her.

“That woman sure is interesting.” Bai Qiulin looked at Hu Ya’s back and coughed. “Let’s move. She’s right about one thing. Most of the time, we’re just scaring ourselves—there’s no need for us to be so nervous. Let us not forget that this is just a Haunted House, just a place to scare people. What, you think they have actual ghosts here?”

“Brother Bai has a point.” Xiao Lee exited the room with Bai Qiulin.

“We should follow as well.” Ol’ Zhou and Duan Yue were leaving as well when Yang Chen at the back of the group suddenly whispered to them in a very low voice, “Ol’ Zhou, if you want to win, you two must stay away from those two editors.”

“Why?” Ol’ Zhou turned his head around. He felt like this medical student was acting very strangely.

“I still cannot tell you the real reason now, but just remember this warning.” After that, Yang Chen led Lee Xue and Wang Dan to walk in front of Ol’ Zhou.

“Stay away from the two editors?” Ol’ Zhou scratched his chin in thought. When Yang Chen walked from him, surprise and understanding crossed his eyes. He took in a cold breath. “Could it be that there are some issues with those two editors?”

Yang Chen did not provide any further explanation for Ol’ Zhou. The seed had been sown, and now he only needed to wait for it to grow. The lights in the corridor did not go out, and the group of visitors passed by Morgue No. 6 and Morgue No. 7. They did not run into any danger or scares. However, it felt like they were experiencing the calm before the storm.

When they walked past Morgue No. 7, the temperature in the corridor seemed to have dropped. The smell of formalin in the air seemed to have turned heavier as well. The group of visitors had arrived at the crossing point between the underground morgue’s outer perimeter and middle section.

There was a half-taken down wall standing in the middle of the corridor, and tons of trash was piled up around the hole in the wall. The pile included wooden chairs, bent guard rails, and a few mannequins with limbs that were twisted at weird angles.

“Is this not the end of the scenario yet?” Wang Dan was wearing a short sleeve top, and the cold air crawled onto his skin through the opening. The entrance that led to the next zone was very small and blocked by so many things—it felt like those undisclosed location.

Hu Ya walked to the hole and used her phone to illuminate the darkness. She just wanted to see what was on the other side of the wall, but when the light shone through, she was given a sudden glimpse of a girl who looked like Tails holding her phone and walking into some corridor.

“Tails? And she’s holding her phone? Who is she on the phone with?” Hu Ya slammed her palm against the wall and yelled down the corridor, but only her screams echoed back at her.

“I just saw Tails! Ah Nan come and help me move these things away!” Hu Ya gripped the broken table and chairs. Probably out of concern for the visitors’ safety, the edges of these objects had been sanded down. They were not sharp. In a way, that was also a sign that they were meant to be moved.

“We should go and help.” Ol’ Zhou was kind. He and Bai Qiulin as well as Xiao Lee moved forward to lend a hand to help the two editors clear the way. The three medical students stood to the side with their arms crossed. Yang Chen looked at Hu Ya and Ah Nan silently, fully on guard.

He did not believe what Hu Ya said one bit, and he had a feeling this was a calculated trap.

Such a coincidence that she saw her missing friend? Isn’t this too much of a coincidence?

The more he studied these three editors, the more suspicious Yang Chen got. The three of them had entered the Haunted House last, and they probably did not even sign the disclaimers. Furthermore, their occupation was editors for supernatural magazine, so their threshold for fear should be very high. That identity meant that they did not have the need to purposely create this image that they were fearful and scared. That was a good disguise to assume.

When I suggested to follow the human head earlier, it was the male editor who strongly argued for us to check out the warehouse first. It was since then that the series of weird events happened. Also, back then, Bai Qiulin warned us of the danger of staying at the junction, but they insisted on investigating the place. That is highly suspicious.

When the chef and his brother were assaulted by the monsters outside at the corridor, all three editors were inside the warehouse. They seemed to know beforehand that the visitors outside would be attacked, and they created the perfect alibi for themselves. The most important thing is, there isn’t anything inside that warehouse, so how did Tails, one of the editors, disappear?

There is a hidden passage behind the printer, but under normal circumstances, the first thing one would do when faced with this situation is not to run into the tunnel alone to explore but scream to get help from other people. The woman by the name of Tails purposely ran down the tunnel behind the printer to create the illusion that she has disappeared, and that created the perfect excuse for her friends to take charge of the group!

It is truly a perfect plan. The disappearance of their friends caused the two remaining editors to get agitated, so even if they do anything out of line, it can be understood and forgiven as nerves and worry.

Yang Chen’s eyes gradually glowed with light.

So, they have already planned everything from the beginning. No wonder they have been unable to reach Tails via her phone. It is not as they said. She has not lost her phone—Tails never planned to accept the call in the first place.

There were too many suspicious points about the way that the three editors had acted. In Yang Chen’s eyes, the only valid explanation was that the three editors were the ‘ghosts’ assigned by the Haunted House boss to infiltrate the group of visitors!

I should have been able to realize that sooner.

Cold sweat could be seen sliding down Yang Chen’s forehead.

They said that their magazine is called Primal Fear, but I have not even heard of this publication before. It is probably just a random made up name. When we first entered the Haunted House, the male editor promised to cooperate with me, but it did not take him that long to turn on me and slowly replace the three of us who are the most experienced here and take on the leadership role silently.

After the fear faded away, Yang Chen swiped the sweat from his forehead.Thankfully, I’ve been paying them close attention. This time, I will not follow them blindly into death anymore.

Yang Chen moved his gaze away from the three editors, and his hands gripped together.

I have to figure out a way to expose them. This scenario itself is very big—it is just like a maze. To enter the central hub while evading the attacks from the monsters and to find the pictures under thirty minutes is virtually impossible. The Haunted House boss would not have come up with such an impossible design, a scenario that cannot be cleared—that would make the game lose its purpose. If I think about it that way, the key to clearing this underground morgue is probably still related to those five pictures.

Yang Chen thought back to everything that the Haunted House boss had said.The pictures of the five victims are going to help clear the scenario, but how exactly is that possible? Will one not be attacked by the monsters if one is holding the picture? The boss probably will not come up with design that is so simple and mundane. The usage of a protection seal aside, what could be the usage for these five pictures?

Before entering the Haunted House, the boss specifically stressed the term ‘victims’. This means that the individuals in the five pictures should be dead people. His brain churned and Yang Chen had his hand holding his chin. Five pictures of the dead…

His eyes suddenly widened, and Yang Chen’s body shook violently as a thought flew through his mind!

I’ve got it! The individuals in the five pictures could very well refer to my team mates! They represent five dead people! Meaning the five ghosts that have mixed into the visitors’ group!

His heart was bouncing all over the place. Yang Chen felt like he had discovered the real method to clear this underground morgue.

The true requirement for clearing the underground morgue is not to leave the scenario with the pictures but to find the five ghosts hidden inside the team! The five pictures are the most crucial hint given by the boss!

His heart started to race erratically. Yang Chen was overwhelmed by excitement. He had seen through the Haunted House boss’ ploy and grasped the hidden rule.

“Ol’ Yang, are you okay?” Wang Fan saw Yang Chen suddenly wave his fists and turn ecstatic. He was worried about his friend’s mental state, scared that he had suffered from some kind of breakdown.

“Don’t worry. This time, I’ll definitely help you clear this scenario!” Yang Chen’s lips curved up with a smile. His eyes that locked onto the two editors were as sharp was knives. Five pictures of the five victims. So, the Haunted House boss has already given us such a big clue from the very beginning. There are five ‘ghosts’ hidden among us.

The six visitors that came after us are newcomers. This means that of those six visitors, five of them are Haunted House workers. The boss sure is evil!

Of the twelve visitors, five of them were ghosts! Who would have thought that‽

Yang Chen assessed the six visitors that did not sign the disclaimers all at once in his mind. The possibility of the three editors is the biggest. That Primal Fear is definitely fake. The next suspect is the chef who suddenly ran away and his little brother. The last one is Xiao Lee.

After giving it some serious thought, Yang Chen felt like he had understood everything. Xiao Lee came in alone and doesn’t know the rest, so if he is not the ghost, then there is only one remaining truth.

The three editors as well as Fan Chong and Fan Dade are all Haunted House actors. Fan Dade suddenly going berserk combined with his brother’s help created a scary atmosphere, causing the real visitors to sink into terror and suspicion. Then three editors cooperated to take over the group’s rhythm and lead the visitors deeper into the abyss of despair to experience the scares that are lying in waiting. This is too scary—this place sure is insane!

Five people corresponded to five pictures, meaning five different ‘ghosts’! Yang Chen had already confirmed the identity of these five ghosts. He pushed his fingers into his pocket as he tried to formulate a message and silently send it to Lee Xue and Wang Dan.

“What are you three standing over there for? Come over and help. Don’t stay here for too long. The junction is the most dangerous place.” Bai Qiulin looked at the three medical students and shouted at them.

“We should go help them.” Lee Xue felt uncomfortable. She and Wang Dan joined the others and slowly cleared out a path.

By then, Wang Dan, Lee Xue, Xiao Lee, Bai Qiulin, and the two editors were at the entrance of the corridor. Ol’ Zhou and his wife were standing on the further corner while Yang Chen stood at the far corner alone. He had been looking for the chance to publicly expose the two editors.