Horror Game Designer-Chapter 643: Floors of Life
Cold, damp and dark. Tang Hanlu hugged her mother’s phone and was as helpless as a little rabbit who had fallen into a wolf’s lair. Fear grew in her flesh and blood. The root pierced her skin. Tang Hanlu felt like what was happening was scarier than her nightmare.
She had never asked her mother about her work. She only knew that her mother was busy and she needed to care for many patients. When she saw her mother’s contact list, Tang Hanlu realised her mother’s job might be a bit special.
After calling ghost, Tang Hanlu felt like the room had come alive. She appeared to be living in someone’s internal organ. The air became sticky, and breathing became a chore. Tang Hanlu looked around. Her home became so unfamiliar. The black television screen, the stainless kitchen tools and the smooth plates had human shadows on them. They were wiggling as they approached her!
Tang Hanlu stuck her back to the wall. Without knowing it, she had reached the front door. Her eyes caught the mirror in the bedroom. In the mirror, a shirt was moving on its own. It looked like something had reached a hand out of the mirror to grab the shirt.
“Someone is really in here with me!” Tang Hanlu was so scared that she could barely breathe. The mad woman outside the door became more agitated.
“Open the door! My child disappeared in this corridor! Can you help me?” The woman’s mental state frayed. Tang Hanlu remembered the story of the mad woman her mother had told her. The woman was a victim. As long as she remained calm, communication was possible.
“In the nightmare, I didn’t open the door. The woman lost her mind after she lost all hope. If I chose to help her, would the situation have changed?” The human figure in the mirror became clearer. Even though Lee Xinqian warned her from leaving the house, this place was too scary. Tang Hanlu grabbed the door handle in the dark. She opened it slightly. She wanted to speak to the mad woman, but when she saw her red clothes and unkempt appearance, she was so scared that she staggered backwards.
The woman heard the click of the lock and became more agitated. She slammed on the door, and her nails dug into the gap. “Let me see the camera! Let me in! Please let me in!”
Tang Hanlu’s brain was empty. She just wanted to trick the mad woman to leave her alone. In her desperation, Tang Hanlu screamed, “It was a fake police officer in a wrinkly uniform who took your child! He hasn’t gone far. He’s hiding in this neighbourhood!”
“Did you see that? You saw him take my child?!”
“Yes.” Tang Hanlu nodded. “The man was tall and young. He has a non-local accent.”
The sound of the mad woman faded away. The place became so quiet. Tang Hanlu stared at the time on her phone. She waited for a moment.
“This was around when the fake officer appeared in my nightmare. However, he’s not here this time. Is it because the mad woman is after him?” Tang Hanlu felt trapped in her home. She checked outside the peephole for a while. After ensuring she was alone, she opened the outer door.
Her mother’s main bedroom door swung open due to the wind. The figure in the mirror disappeared. Everything reflective in the room had a shadow flash by. The thing was going after Tang Hanlu!
At the last moment, Tang Hanlu left her room. She remembered that the mad woman was hiding in the safety stairwell in her nightmare. “The woman was hiding there, but she should have gone after the fake police now. Furthermore, since she was hiding there, it meant that she didn’t encounter the fake police in the safety stairwell. Therefore, that path should be safe.”
Tang Hanlu glanced at the elevator panel, which had its numbers changing. The elevator was in use. Someone was coming up from the first floor.
“I need to hurry up. I’ll be safe once I’m on the first floor!”
Tang Hanlu entered the stairwell. She was greeted by a giant number in red on the wall: 14.
“14th floor. Do I live on this floor? I only remember that I’m fourteen this year.” Tang Hanlu glanced into the stairwell. The walls were covered in missing person flyers, adverts from Immortal Pharma, and vacancies for testers of new medicine. The most glaring thing was a donation box near the mouth of the stairs for a charity organisation under Immortal Pharma. Most things on the 14th floor were related to Immortal Pharma. Tang Hanlu was used to that. She went down to the 13th floor. A lot of math class flyers were left on the ground. The billboard for the excellent tenants in the building was also there. Behind their pictures were their honours.
Tang Hanlu ignored them and continued to run down the stairs. A lot of old books were stacked up on the 12th floor. The 11th floor had many medical bags, plastic surgery advertisements, and trash bags. The 10th floor had floral rings. It looked like a family’s elder had passed away. Tang Hanlu felt like the couple in the death portrait looked familiar, but she was too busy running to take a closer look.
Tang Hanlu slowed down when she reached the ninth floor. The decoration on this floor was warm and welcoming. Confetti was scattered on the ground. A cake box poked out of the trash can.
“When I was nine, my parents celebrated an amazing birthday with me. Then…” Tang Hanlyu scratched her head. She continued to move down, “Why can’t I remember?”
Tang Hanlu skipped two steps with one jump. She grabbed the railing. When she was between the 8th and 9th floors, her pupils reacted before her body. As they narrowed, the blood rushed through her body.
The steps of the 8th floor were covered in bone flowers the size of a small baby’s head. A woman in red died hanging in the stairwell!
Her pale feet barely touched the ground. She swayed in the wind. Her tongue was stuck in her mouth. Her eyes bulged out like a goldfish’s. Her face was bloated!
Tang Hanlu forgot to scream. Due to inertia, Tang Hanlu almost crashed into the body. Energy left her body, and she slumped to the ground.
“When I was eight, I saw a woman hang herself. She was strung from a red door drame. The blood stain covered the ground…”
Tang Hanlu’s feet kicked the ground. Her arms were worn apart. She used both her hands and legs, but she failed to climb up from the ground.
“So, the first memory marker is when she’s eight…” An unfamiliar voice said. Tang Hanlu saw that a man was walking his way. It was the bad guy who bumped into her and might have stolen her house key!
Chapter 643: Floors of Life
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