My House of Horrors

When the bus charged into the blood fog, Chen Ge had felt the vibration from the black phone, but he did not look at it due to the sensitive situation that he had been in. Currently, he was standing alone on the second floor with no one around him. He could finally read through the black phone without worry. Clicking the screen, Chen Ge’s eyes narrowed as he read the messages on screen.

“Congratulations, Specter’s Favored, for obtaining a rare ghost—Black Hound. It is made up from ninety percent dog spirit and ten percent human spirit. It was a Specter formed under unique circumstance due to influence from unnatural forces.

“Special power: Mania (Can enter a living human’s people to cause said person to lose their mind and turn them into a mindless beast of aggression. This power can only be activated once every seven days, and every usage will contribute to irreversible wound on the Black Hound’s spirit.”

The first two messages were related to the black dog. Chen Ge was surprised that this ‘pet dog’ that did not appear so powerful would be given such high praise by the black phone.

“Wait a minute, why would the black phone directly treat the dog as an employee at the Haunted House? I didn’t really tame it; all I need was to come into contact with it. Is there a mistake with the black phone? Or when then Black Hound saw me, did he immediately imprint me as his new master?”

Chen Ge had no idea what the relationship between the black dog and the shadow was, but based on the dog’s current reaction, he had a guess in his heart. “Looks like this dog might be the shadow’s few real ‘friends’.”

The meaning of the word friend went both ways. “Should the shadow turn into another person to approach me, I could release the black dog when I am unsure. Perhaps it might lead to unexpected result.”

Having the Black Hound join his team was good news for Chen Ge, but considering how violent the Black Hound’s power was, he temporarily did not plan on setting it loose. Sliding down the screen, Chen Ge clicked open the remaining messages. These messages arrived into his phone when he first entered the blood fog.

“Congratulations, Specter’s Favored, you have entered the scenario for Li Wan City, a 3.5-star Trial Mission. The mission has been forcibly triggered!

“The scenario is extremely dangerous; many unknown changes await. Would you like to choose to retreat now?

“Warning! If you retreat in the middle of the mission, the scenario will be locked forever!”

After reading the three messages, Chen Ge heard the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs. The other passengers were moving up the stairs. They were worried about him since Chen Ge had not come down after so long.

“After all, I’m already inside Li Wan City. Even if there is danger, there is no other option but to move forward.” Chen Ge chose to not surrender the mission.

“Congratulations, Specters’ Favored, you’ve accepted the 3.5-star Trial Mission—Li Wan City.

“Li Wan City: The door has gone out of control, and the group of murderers and Specters party in the shadows of the city. Whenever night falls, every ghost stories turn into reality. The hotel that offered souls for sale, the boy playing hide-and-seek in the hospital, the human skull knocking against the wall next door, the God of Death waving at the junction, the spirit always facing away from you in the elevator, the smiling dog underneath the bed, the red eyes in the armoire…

“Mission Objective: Escape from Li Wan City. The rescue of each innocent victim will add another hidden reward!

“Mission Hint: I’ve watched you cry; I’ve watched you laugh. I’ve watched your joy; I’ve watched your tears. I’ve been watching you; I want to be you. I wish to be your best friend, but why do you keep all the happiness for yourself and only leave the sorrow to me?”

After reading all the messages, Chen Ge memorized them in his heart and then put the phone away.

“Thank God, you’re alright. Don’t scare us like that!” the drunkard yelled a bit too loudly once he saw Chen Ge standing in the middle of the corridor after he got up the stairs.

“Don’t be afraid, I’ve already dealt with the human-faced dog.” Chen Ge pointed at the fainted man on the ground. After reading the message on the phone, his attitude toward other passengers softened. After all, saving one innocent victim would award him with an additional prize. Therefore, be it out of morality or his personal benefit, Chen Ge would try his best to protect them.

“This man was the monster? He doesn’t look that scary.” Scissors held the man’s chin. “There are no visible wounds on his body, and we didn’t hear any sound of fighting downstairs. So, how did he end up being fainted here?”

“You’d better stay away from him. He is just unconscious; he could wake up at any moment.” Chen Ge did not answer Scissors’ question but found a rope inside the house to tie up the man. Then he led the few to leave the building.

After reading the mission notification on the black phone, Chen Ge had a better understanding of Li Wan City. There was a brief introduction on the town given by the phone. It mentioned the hotel, hospital, junction, and neighbor’s home. Combining that with Xiao Bu’s game that he had played earlier, Chen Ge suspected that the hotel and the neighbor’s home mentioned by the black phone were the locales that he had visited when he was controlling Xiao Bu.

The door is in Fan Chong’s residential area. Whether the door is still usable or not, it behooves me to pay the place a visit. It is rather unrealistic for me to visit all these places, so I think I shall only drop by the places that I will pass along the way.

With the decision made, Chen Ge led the few passengers back to the bus. The exterior of the bus was completely covered by the blood vessels, and the engine could not be activated.

“I have a friend who lives in Li Wan City, so I’m quite familiar with this place. Stay close to me. If we’re lucky, we might be able to escape before dawn.” Chen Ge was not lying. There was no sunlight or hope in the world shrouded in blood fog. The sun would only greet them when they managed to escape.

That could be considered Chen Ge’s special power, which was to view the most despairing situation with a positive outlook, to reintroduce hope and brightness into the situation.

To save time, Chen Ge did not enter every building, and to that end, he felt like it was a waste.

If there was more time, I would have the other passengers enter the building first while I hide behind. If anyone dares to harm them, I would instantly jump out.

Using other people as bait when he fished for the reward, Chen Ge had already planned everything. Many dangers hid behind the blood fog, but to their surprise, not many things stood in their way.

“Can we stop for a moment? I wish to take a look inside this residential area.” Chen Ge suddenly stopped. He looked at the apartments next to them and showed an unreadable expression. He was familiar with the buildings there because this was the place that Xiao Bu and her stepfather had lived when she was inside the game.

“This doesn’t look safe; the place is so dark and eerie.” The drunkard was the first to veto the idea.

“Based on our previous experience, the larger the building, the scarier the monster hiding inside. Therefore, there has to be a very scary monster using this place as its nest.” The doctor grabbed his scarf and did not want to move either.

“I do not deny the danger, but as long as you listen to my orders, I can guarantee that you’ll be safe,” Chen Ge said and walked away.

“Hey, you have to be more careful!” The drunkard could not help but grumble. “How come it feels like you’re walking around your house in this place where you could lose your life at any moment?”

“Such a coward, I really don’t understand what you’re so afraid of.” Scissors wiped away the fresh blood from his lips.

“This place is filled with ghosts, murderers, and monsters, and you’re asking me what I’m so afraid of?” Even so, the drunkard summoned his courage. Although he was afraid, he refused to leave Chen Ge’s side.

“Be quiet, I have something to tell you.” Chen Ge interrupted the drunkard and pointed at the bush close to them. “There is a murderer chopping up his victim inside there. Try to keep your footsteps light when you walk past, do not alert him to our presence.”

Hearing Chen Ge’s words, the few passengers looked at each other. Chen Ge was speaking normal words, but when the words were strung in the manner that he arranged them, they had no idea what Chen Ge was trying to express.

“Murderer? Chopping up his victim? Don’t alert him? What is going on here?” The passengers’ minds were befuddled.

“The murderer will come into use later. There’s no time to explain, so just follow my lead.” Chen Ge moved ahead and purposely moved far away from the bush. “The murderer inside the bush is still here. I wonder if the raincoat murderer is still inside the elevator or not…”