My House of Horrors

After comparing their testimonies and making sure there were no issues, Chen Ge gathered all the living humans together.

“Xiao Bu, you can open the door now.” Other than her two arms, Xiao Bu had found most of her body. She stood before the door, and various bad memories rose in her mind. The blood fog around Li Wan City pulsed, and it surged into the basement. Entrail-like objects crawled out from the blood red ground and poked themselves into the half-open door. About ten seconds later, the old and broken door seemed to recover on its own, and only two empty corners remained.

“Be ready, we only have one minute. If we fail to escape, then we’ll have to wait another day.” The thick fog disappeared once it touched the door, but the two missing corners were sealing up at an observable speed. The blood fog changed into blood vessels, and like needle and thread, they sealed up the opening.

When the two missing corners were blocked, the whole door turned red, and it was slowly pushed open. It was clear that opening a door that had gone out of control had taken a great deal out of Xiao Bu, so Chen Ge and the rest focused their attention.

The blood red door was connected to the ground, and the blood vessels on the door seemed to come alive. Strange noises came from the buildings around them, and in that condition, the ‘door’ was completely open.

“Quick!” The drunkard was the first out, carrying Lee Zheng on his back. Then came the doctor, Fan Chong, and Scissors. Carrying two bags, Chen Ge was at the back. When he left, he turned to look at Xiao Bu. “If you run into anything you can’t handle, remember to come and find me. I’m at Western Jiujiang’s New Century Park.”

Taking a step out the door was like plunging into the deep ocean; there was a temporary distorted sense of gravity, and the eyes needed a few minutes to adjust to the new sight. When Chen Ge reopened his eyes, the ‘door’ behind him was already shut, and the group of people was squeezed inside an abandoned basement.

“Hey! Wake up!” Escaping from the nightmare world, the group felt as if they had been given a new lease on life. For normal people, it was indeed an ‘exciting’ night.

“You are not to tell anyone about what you saw on the other side of the door, and all of you remember how to answer the police’s questions, right?”

“Yes, don’t worry about that.”

They crawled out from Jiang Long’s basement and came to the bathroom. The glass that Chen Ge had shattered the last time that he was there had not been fixed. The residential management had merely hung a wooden plaque on the wall.

“I’ll go to the police station in a bit. You guys should return home. If everything is successful, we will meet up tomorrow afternoon at the entrance to the Haunted House at New Century Park.” Chen Ge took Lee Zheng from the drunkard. This police officer had saved his life, and now, he was in trouble—Chen Ge was not going to leave him behind.

“Please wait a moment,” Fan Chong said with some embarrassment. “Boss Chen, can I go with you? One, I’m worried about my brother, and two, I really don’t dare go home now. What if there’s a murderer waiting for me at home or something crawls out from underneath the bed again?”

The incident that night had left a deep scar on Fan Chong; he would probably think twice about approaching a video game now.

“Okay, then you can tag along for now. If you cannot find a job, feel free to come help me at the Haunted House.” He had worked together with Fan Chong before. There was nothing too special about this fat geek, but he had a kind heart. After a long night, the heavy rain had stopped, but the dark clouds still hung in the sky, and a light drizzle was trickling down.

“We can use our phones now. It is currently 5:30 am, and we will gather at twelve noon. Best find the time to rest now,” Chen Ge said and walked deeper into Li Wan City with Lee Zheng on his back.

“Boss Chen, why are you going back to the city? Is there anything we can help with?” Scissors was passionate. He seemed to see traces of his elder brother in Chen Ge, and that was a sincerity that was rare nowadays.

“I’m going to check to see if the bus is still there or not. It’s too hard to find a taxi in Li Wan City. I feel like it’s best for us to just drive the bus away,” Chen Ge suggested casually like this was something that happened every day.

“You want to drive the haunted bus away with you?” It made some sense on a certain level, but something just did not feel right about it.

“Not using it will be a waste. The shadow used it to entrap us, but now that the shadow is dead, we should inherit its things,” Chen Ge said in a sincere tone. “There’s not absolute morality to object; it mainly depends on who is using it. As long as one possesses a kind heart, everything will be fine.”

“But… won’t we be stopped by the police if we take the bus on the road?” The doctor asked a logical question.

“That’s why we need to move before the sun comes up.” When they spoke, Chen Ge already reached the location where the hearse had last been located, but to his surprise, the hearse was missing.

Is it because I drove the vehicle into the world behind the door? Is the hearse abandoned behind the door? Chen Ge did not get it. In his mind, the blood door’s influence only acted on humans and ghosts; it should never affect inanimate objects.

Is this something to do with the hearse itself? Or is my understanding of the world behind the door still lacking? Chen Ge made the decision to try to get the hearse back the next time that the door was open.

Seeing that the hearse had disappeared, both the drunkard and the doctor sighed in relief. At least they would not need to ride on a haunted vehicle back home.

They walked down the street for a very long time before they spotted a taxi. After the driver stopped, he finally noticed that they were carrying a fainted police officer, and his soul almost escaped from his body from the scare.

“Sir, there’s quite a few of us, do you mind if we squeeze in the back?”

“Of course not, of course not. Where are you going?”

“Drive them home first, and drop me off at the city police station.”

“Of course, of course.”

Perhaps it was fear or something else, but the driver drove so fast. After dropping the other passengers home, it was already daylight. Fan Chong, who was seated in the front was asleep, Lee Zheng was still unconscious, and other than the driver, Chen Ge was the only one awake. He looked out the scenery flying past the window and took out the black phone. He clicked open the message.

“Congratulations, Specter’s Favored, for completing the 3.5-star Trial Mission—Li Wan City!

“Mission Completion Rate ninety-four percent! Obtained the hidden reward—The Mayor’s Will.

“Li Wan City is a town held in the palm of a devil. Only one who is crueler than cold-blooded murderers and scarier than despairing Specters—the most cunning, despicable individual—will obtain this reward!

“The Mayor’s Will: Congratulations for becoming the new owner of the town. After the Haunted House breaks through the stage of Maze of Terror and reaches a new height, you will receive a chance to open a branch with Li Wan City as the background! The actual details will be given after the official unlock is available!”

Chen Ge was stunned when he saw the message. I’ve already dug up three feet under Li Wan City, but the completion rate is still not one hundred percent? Anyhow, this reward is quite interesting.

After another two expansions, the Haunted House would reach a new level, and it was then that Chen Ge could use the Mayor’s Will and open a branch in another city.

“This is somewhat of a safety net, but for now I should focus on the Haunted House at New Century Park. After I’ve found my parents and everything settles down, the other plan can come.”

Chen Ge slid down the screen and clicked open the other messages.