Horror Game Designer

The leader of Team One coughed out blood. Half of his hair was white. The wrinkles on his face deepened. The ghost pattern on his skin faded so much that it couldn’t be seen anymore.

“What happened to you when you were inside the door?” Liu Yi wanted to know.

“What you see inside the door differs based on the individuals. When I first entered, I saw many corridors collapsing to become many offices.” The man tried to explain, “The corridors were strung with construction site layouts and best worker medals. I suspect they are made from Ol’ Sun’s memory. They represent his past. Then, the last office represents my past.”

“Did you find the exit?” The other horror game players were more concerned about that.

“I didn’t even have the time to search for the exit. There were people calling my name inside every office. They told me to do different things, and they were things that I hated and were disgusted by in the past.” The man wiped away the blood from his lips. “It was because I had grown tired of that oppressive past that I played that taboo game! That led me to become this deplorable version of myself that I hate the most!”

The past didn’t necessarily mean despair. However, in this Door of the Past, pain dominated everything.

“You are more reliable and trustworthy than most investigators.” The kind Gao Ming helped the man up. He still didn’t know the difference between normal investigators and security members. “I never thought you were a bad person.” After the torture he had been through, Gao Ming’s words warmed the leader’s heart. However, they were meant to be enemies.

“There was something calling me at the end of all the offices. However, I have to pass through all the offices to reach it.” The man pointed at the wrinkles on his face. “The offices hold the memories of our past. When I picked up those despairing memories, I lost parts of myself. Due to my power, I can borrow my future lifespan to nullify that. However, I still couldn’t reach the end. Luckily, I managed to escape.”

“What would happen if you didn’t escape?” The young player from earlier ran over. “Did you see my uncle in there?”

“If one couldn’t sustain the past, one would be left inside the room forever and become a part of the past.” The leader of Team One held the wall and stood up. “The danger behind this door is unrelated to one’s power. We need to find someone who has no painful past to attempt it.”

“Let me!” The young player ran towards the door but was stopped by the kind Gao Ming. “Your uncle is trapped inside. You’ve just experienced deep pain.” The kind Gao Ming stopped the man and looked at the door himself. If they didn’t escape soon, the other monster would come over, and more people would die. The kind Gao Ming wanted to save them, but the pain was hidden in his eyes. Only he knew that his kindness was not given to him by God. He had experienced so many horrible events that compelled him to become a kind person.

“How about… I’ll do it?” The normal Gao Ming gripped the water bottle nervously, “My past is common and typical. Nothing too happy or unhappy has happened to me.” The normal Gao Ming had been hiding in the back. He never thought he’d one day volunteer himself. Perhaps the appearance of the kind Gao Ming had touched him and opened his eyes to a different way of living his life.

“Are you sure?” The kind Gao Ming turned around. He was shocked. He had always seen the normal Gao Ming as someone he needed to protect. “But we don’t have a present!”

“I can give mine to you.” The young player who was stopped by the kind Gao Ming took out an old account book from his pocket. “This is my present. It records the tuition fee my uncle gave me every year.”

“Thank you.” The normal Gao Ming accepted it. He paused beside the door. Those who entered this door were injured or trapped forever. This was the most dangerous thing he had done in his memory. Following behind him, the kind Gao Ming was also worried about the normal Gao Ming. He could see how fearful the normal Gao Ming was. However, it was exactly because of this that he felt like the normal Gao Ming was not that normal. There was no natural fearlessness but trained bravery.

“I’ll go now.” After sending in the account book, the normal Gao Ming grabbed the doorknob. He tried to pull it. The divine patterns on the door sensed something. They rushed at his arms like a snake. His consciousness faded away. The normal Gao Ming sensed a pair of hands reach out from inside the door to grab him. The moment the normal Gao Ming was pulled into the door of Past, the kind Gao Ming who was hidden under the uniform of the investigation centre was affected. His soul was yanked out of his body, and he crumbled to the ground.

The flesh Gao Ming, who stood behind Fan Li, and the rebellious Gao Ming, who hid inside the other room, also fainted. Even though they represented different choices in Gao Ming’s life, they shared the same soul.

Inside the elevator on the ninth floor, the painter Gao Ming was setting up a trap. He turned the elevator booth into a ghost lair. However, before he completed the last stroke, his head slammed into the control panel, and he lost consciousness.

…

The cold breeze blew into his ears. The normal Gao Ming slowly opened his eyes. He entered the door, but he didn’t see any offices or corridors. He realised he was on a bus. The electronic clock moved backwards. The scenery outside the window was dark except for blurry silhouettes of buildings. He turned to look around the bus. His eyes slowly widened as the familiar faces entered his gaze.

“You…”

Hearing his voice, the other passengers slowly woke up. They stood up from their seats and looked at one another in shock. On this bus, other than the driver, there were 51 seats and each seat was occupied by one Gao Ming.

“How am I here too?” The kind Gao Ming was in the first row. He was in his school uniform. His bag was stuffed with snacks, just like how he had originally planned it.

“Hello. Can someone be kind enough to swap seats with me? I can’t do this anymore!” A very timid Gao Ming sat in the last row. He stood up shiveringly and pointed at the seat next to his.

There was a hanging Gao Ming corpse placed in the last row. The corpse crossed his arms before his chest, cupping a strange death portrait.

“Even the corpse is here?! Is it because the security members have sent the fragments into his heart?” The kind Gao Ming clapped his hands. “Everyone, don’t panic. All of us seem to have entered the Door of Past because we appear to form a similar unit. This vehicle of the Past might help us regain our memory.”