My House of Horrors

Inside the cluttered bedroom, there was hardly a place to stand. The floor was covered with clothes and books, and the coffee table was piled high with empty cans and food boxes. The only place that was relatively clean was the computer table.

“Fan Chong, you’ve been playing for too long. Try to do some exercise by cleaning the room.”

Chen Ge walked to the computer table carefully and looked at the screen. The dark screen had a sentence written in blood—You killed Xiao Bu.

“This looks like it’s written by a child.” Chen Ge had seen similar handwriting in Room 104.

“Don’t wear the headphones when you’re playing; the music will just disturb you.” Fan Chong was very experienced. He clicked on the screen, and the words slowly disappeared. With a flicker, the screen returned to normal. “The controls are very easy; you just need to click with the cursor. Do you want something to drink? How about a can of coke?”

“Sure, thank you.” Chen Ge’s attention was fully focused on the game. The game’s style was clearly aimed at very young girls; the main color palette was pastel, and it looked very cute and warm. “It’s quite amazing that you were able to clear a game like this.”

“I was just bored.” Fan Chong looked rather embarrassed. “Bro! Help me get two cans of cold coke!”

A while later, Fan Dade came in with a tray. “I made two dishes of simple food. You can eat it if you’re hungry.”

After putting down the tray, Fan Dade did not look like he was leaving. He also turned to look at the computer screen. “Boss Chen, you have to be careful when you play. The game has many jump scares—don’t be fooled by the cute images.”

“Don’t worry.” Chen Ge did not touch the things on the tray. He had a habit of not eating other people’s food after he left the Haunted House. Moving the mouse, Chen Ge soon got used to the control. He controlled Xiao Bu to get out of bed and leave the room.

With Fan Chong’s explanation, Chen Ge very quickly grasped the map of the game. The town in the game was almost identical to Li Wan City in real life. After ten minutes, Chen Ge found Xiao Bu’s friend’s home. He was about to open the door to the dungeon when a chat box appeared—’The friend’s house is so big. Should I go take a tour of the second floor?’

This should be Xiao Bu’s inner monologue. After Chen Ge saw that, he turned to ask Fan Chong, “Have you been to the second floor?”

“The only thing noteworthy is the friend’s certificate from winning a contest. I’ve clicked the entire surface using a blanket search.” Fan Chong sounded very certain.

Chen Ge thought about it and still controlled Xiao Bu to go to the second floor. The wall with the brightest paint had a certificate hanging on it. Clicking it with the cursor, the chat box popped up again—’The certificate is awarded to student Jiang Xiaohu for his good performance and good behavior.’

Jiang Xiaohu‽ Isn’t that name of Jiang Long’s child? I saw this name inside Room 104 earlier! Chen Ge stared at the screen for a long time before he recovered. “Only a certificate in such a large room, what is the purpose of this?”

He could not understand it. He controlled Xiao Bu to go back down to the first floor, opened the hidden door, and entered it. The cute style immediately turned creepy and dark. The floor was filled with the petals of wilted sunflowers. Between the crevices of the tiles on the ground, there seemed to be pairs of eyes looking at him. It felt like a sweet dream turning into a nightmare.

“Boss Chen, you have to be careful starting from now. Danger can come from anywhere, and you’ll die if you’re not careful.” Fan Chong started to worry. Gripping the can, his eyes were glued to the screen. After exiting the dungeon, there was the bus stop and the woman in the red raincoat. Fan Chong had already cleared this part, so Chen Ge only needed to follow his guide.

“You said that you got stuck—what part is it?” Chen Ge passed the few challenges successfully. Escaped the woman in red raincoat, hid himself from Ma Fu, lost the drunken artist—under his control, Xiao Bu seemed to come alive and moved agilely.

“After dark, it’s better to not wander the street, or you’ll die from mysterious circumstances. It’s better to hide inside the buildings.” Fan Chong pointed at the top of the screen. “You see the color of the sky? It’s gray now. When it’s completely black, then it’s dark. The game pays close attention to such details.”

“Then what should I do now?” Chen Ge controlled Xiao Bu and stood at a junction. She seemed lost.

“Based on my precious experience, there are ten minutes until night. You have to find a safe place for Xiao Bu before dark. I got stuck here.” Fan Chong put down the can and scratched his head. “You can’t enter normal houses. I tried many places. After dark, you can only enter the hotel and Xiao Bu’s own apartment building in this city.”

“Then, couldn’t you just let her go home?”

“There’s a dead body at her home. There’s a female ghost living next door. Inside the grass at the bottom of the house, there’s a murderer dismembering his victim. I’ve tried many times, and there’s only one ending if I go home, death.” Fan Chong’s eyes were red. “After dark, the game’s difficulty increases tenfold; there’s no way of escape!”

“That’s rather harsh. Then we’ll go to the hotel.” Chen Ge kept calm. He was counting the time.

“It’s even worse at the hotel. The owner is a crazed murderer in disguise. The chef is also a mental patient. Other than Xiao Bu, all the tenants there are insane.” Fan Chong vented everything. “This afternoon, I tried to choose the hotel. In the end, I was chased by the boss for twenty minutes. The game designer is heartless. Once Xiao Bu is touched, she’ll die, and the player only has one life. After you die, you need to start again.”

“Therefore, this is a game that is working against itself?”

“The only way that I can think of to clear this game is to play a night of hide and seek with the boss and leave the hotel at dawn. Other than that, there is no other way,” Fan Chong suggested.

“Let me try.” Chen Ge looked at the watch. “There is seven minutes until night fall. Let me go to Xiao Bu’s home to take a look.”

He controlled Xiao Bu to come to a rather high-end residential apartment. After the style changed, the warm area became dark and cold. All the friendly neighbors had disappeared.

“You’ll die if you go home.” Fan Chong did not have the heart to look. Whenever Xiao Bu died, he had an indescribable sadness in his heart like the game had affected the man in real life.

There was rustling coming from the brush, Chen Ge controlled Xiao Bu to move away from it. She entered the building directly. The elevator opened, and a person in a black rain coat came out. The man kept his head lower. A chat box appeared—’You didn’t see his face, but you remembered his body size.’

Taking the elevator to her home, Chen Ge controlled Xiao Bu to open the door. The box reappeared—’You saw your stepfather lying in a pool of blood in the middle of the room.’

Entering the room, three options popped up.

1. Call the police immediately and ask the neighbor for help.

2. Find a needle and thread to close the wounds and turn your stepfather into a doll.

3. Ignore him and go to sleep.

Chen Ge thought about it and chose the third option.

“Bro, be careful.” After he made his choice, Fan Chong quickly stood up. “Are you sure you want to pick three?”

“You already said that the neighbor is a female ghost, so one is out. Option two doesn’t match a normal person’s way of thinking, and in comparison, three sounds more normal,” Chen Ge answered seriously.