My House of Horrors

“Then you think that option three matches a normal person’s way of thinking?” Fan Chong held his forehead with both of his hands, and that pushed his hair up.

“It’s okay. Spending a night with a dead body, that’s still quite unacceptable for most people.” Chen Ge signaled for Fan Chong to sit down. “The real gentleman doesn’t speak when he watches others play chess. Stop talking, I’m going to be serious.”

The game did manage to arouse Chen Ge’s attention.

“Don’t play it willy-nilly! I suspect there’s a ghost living inside the game, and if you let it out, what are we going to do after you leave‽” Fan Chong had a crying face. When he saw Chen Ge’s serious expression, he was worried.

“It’ll be fine.” Chen Ge ignored Fan Chong and controlled Xiao Bu to walk around the room. Her step-father’s body was in the living room, and it was still bleeding. After choosing three, Xiao Bu in the game seemed to not see the body anymore and started to walk around the room.

“Her home is quite big? I wonder what her parents’ occupations are, and why would her mother’s pajamas contain the key to the dungeon?” Chen Ge was more and more curious about the plot. He controlled Xiao Bu to walk into the toilet and the chat box appeared—’You look at the mirror, and your reflection is missing from the mirror. You escape immediately.’

“The mirror doesn’t show Xiao Bu’s reflection… Is Xiao Bu a ghost, or is there a ghost living inside the mirror?” Chen Ge did not dwell on that for long. He went to the bedroom. The chat box reappeared as he opened the door—’You hear the sound of someone tapping on the wall; it seems to come from the next door. What do you plan to do?’

1. The person sounds like she’s asking for help. Call the police immediately.

2. Jump through the window to take a look.

3. Ignore her and go to sleep.

“Boss Chen, it is the female ghost who’s making the sound. Her head keeps bouncing on the wall. If you pick one, the female ghost’s voice will appear on the phone; if you pick two, half-way there, the female ghost will open the window to capture you; so you can only pick three, but three is a dead end as well. At midnight, the sound will disappear, and you’ll open your eyes to see the ghost’s head pass through the wall.” Fan Chong explained the plot to Chen Ge. “I’ve tried all the choices, and there’s no way you’ll survive.”

Chen Ge thought about it and chose three. “The ghost’s head will come over at midnight, so there’s still chance to struggle.”

After choosing three, Chen Ge found thread and a needle on the bedside table, the tools to make the step-father into a doll. “The details are very spot-on. Even now, I’m curious about the second choice.”

Chen Ge was feeling regret when another chat box showed up—’The bell rang. Someone is standing outside the door.’

“Who would come at a time like this?” Chen Ge controlled Xiao Bu to walk back to the living room door, and the box popped up once more—’The person announces himself as the police. He received a report from the neighbor saying that there was a murder in the area. Someone witnessed a murder and he requested for your cooperation. What will you do?’

1. Open the door and help the police capture the killer to take revenge for step-father.

2. Tell him you’ve already saved your step-father by turning him into a doll.

3. Ignore him and go back to sleep.

Seeing the options, Chen Ge thought about it before concluding, “The person outside the door probably isn’t the police. He’s probably the man in the raincoat from before, the real killer of her step-father.”

“Impressive, no wonder you’re a Haunted House designer.” Fan Chong had played it through a few times before he realized that. He noticed that there was a big difference between him and Boss Chen. The difference was not in terms of intelligence but the agility of the mind. Boss Chen could always easily put himself in the shoes of the crazed killer.

“The man in the raincoat ran into Xiao Bu at the elevator, and now he wants to take care of the loose end, so he’s come back to kill Xiao Bu. This matches how the game is set up.” Chen Ge moved the cursor to the second choice. “If the step-father is saved, this might anger the killer, and after hearing that he’s been exposed, he will go insane and force the door open. Xiao Bu is just a child, and there is no way she will survive. For the sake of safety, we’ll go with three.”

After hearing Chen Ge’s analysis, Fan Chong had to nod. “Option three is best for now, but when midnight comes, the female ghost will come over from the other side, and there will be nowhere for you to run. You can only escape from home, and once you open the door, you’ll realize that the murderer has not left.”

“Meaning, after I chose option three, the murderer who pretended to be the police didn’t leave and waited for me to come out at the door?” Chen Ge looked at the screen. “The design of this game sure is harsh.”

“Yes, all the options lead to death; there is no survival.” Fan Chong pulled on his hair in frustration.

“That’s not entirely true.” Chen Ge thought about it and controlled Xiao Bu to open the balcony window. He clicked on the backpack and dropped the thread and cloth that he had just obtained out the window.

“What are you doing?” Fan Chong was confused.

“Attracting the attention of the other murderer. Didn’t you say there’s a crazed murderer dismembering his victim in the grass?” Chen Ge abandoned the items calmly. He was unable to shout in this game, and there was nothing else around him, or else he would have dropped something heavier.

“Attract the attention of the other killer?” Fan Chong and Fan Dade were lost. This way of thinking was way beyond theirs.

“Most serial killers are lone wolves because they have a flaw in their personality. They will feel unsettled around other people; the only person whom they can trust is themselves. If two murderers cross paths under such circumstances, the biggest outcome is that they’ll get into a fight between themselves.” Chen Ge dropped many items when a man in a factory outfit got out from the grass. He raised his head to look at Xiao Bu.

After sharing a look, Chen Ge immediately controlled Xiao Bu to retreat. “Now it is the most crucial time.”

“Are you sure that he will come up?” When Fan Chong played the game, he did not do this, so he had no idea what would happen.

“You don’t understand murderers. In that shared look, he was probably confirming the floor and the room that Xiao Bu was in. He will definitely come up to silence the witness.” Chen Ge realized something when he said that, and he added, “I am just familiar with a murderer’s MO, don’t get any misunderstanding.”

It was fine if he did not explain himself because once he did, both Fan Chong and Fan Dade shivered. Fan Chong was better, but Fan Dade was completely wrought with worry. He felt this the most as the spectator.

It was the same game. His own brother had played it, and he had almost gotten depression from the pain and despair; however, when Chen Ge played it, it was a different style completely—he was calm and confident. In fact, it felt like he found joy when he was playing the game.