Horror Game Designer

“Brother Luo, it’s unwise to split up in an anomaly. It’s better for us to stick together,” Yu Ruolong was a small leader in his gang. At that moment, he stuck to Luo Dong shamelessly.

“That is not better than dying all at once.” Luo Dong shielded his family. He purposely didn’t want the other players to approach his family.

They continued to run for a few meters when Luo Dong’s son suddenly stopped. He paused when he was around three metres from the pool. His legs trembled like he was about to collapse to the ground. Noticing his son’s state, Luo Dong rushed over to carry him and leaned close to his ear. “Don’t force yourself. Relax.”

Luo Dong’s son shook his head and grabbed Luo Dong’s sleeve. “We can’t pass. There’s something very scary in the water! It’s looking at us! We’ll be eaten if we go closer!”

“This pool is built indoors. It looks barely one meter deep. What can be hiding here?” Yu Ruohu mocked. He didn’t mean anything bad. Mainly, he spoke without a filter.

“The fourth floor is filled with big cages and machines to make feed. Where can Manager Nian be? Is she inside the pool?” The hostess aimed her light at the surface of the pool. The water was murky. Some black animal fur and human clothes floated on the water.

“Stop using your power.” Luo Dong warned his son and pulled him behind as if worried that the others would see his son’s face. The moment he did this, it attracted the hostess’ attention.

“There are two ways to get to the fifth floor. Either we go back to the third floor and find another way up, or we slowly walk along the pool’s edge using the iron fence around the pool.” Luo Dong knew the rest wouldn’t let him go, so he willingly analysed the situation.

“What if we run into that deer thing if we turn back?” Yu Ruohu grabbed the iron fence and tried to climb it. “This thing is very stable. As long as we’re careful, we should be able to cross the pool.”

“The core of this anomaly is a mud figurine that has escaped from Li San Hospital. Therefore, all the ghosts have to follow its rules. These figurines will not kill for no reason. Everything they do is to gain the trust of the living.” The hostess revealed some key information. “In a way, we’re playing a game. The mud figurine is the DM. It’s simple to survive at the beginning. We only need to do what it hopes us to do.”

The hostess grabbed the links of the fence. She also thought they should cross the pool. While they hesitated, a weak bark came from the corridor that they used earlier. Yu Ruolong who was about to share his thoughts, quickly shut up.

“Woof… Woof…”

There was no light. The barking came from the dark corridor.

“The barking is coming! Quick! Make a decision!” Yu Ruohu climbed onto the fence, but he didn’t dare to cross it alone. Even though everyone questioned the true meaning of the barks, they started to panic again when the barking reappeared. No one could tell what was behind the barking sound. The fear amplified due to the unknown.

The barking came closer. Yu Ruohu had started moving towards the pool. He kindly eased out a space for his brother.

Luo Dong’s son kept shivering. He resisted getting close to the pool. Luo Dong protected his family. Everything he said was a prediction. If he believed Xiao Wu, they should leave immediately; if he believed his son, there was no need to run from the ‘dog’.

Luo Dong saw Yu Ruohu edge closer to the pool. Luo Dong turned to shout. “Don’t act too rashly. The pool is very dangerous.”

“This is not the time to hesitate!” Yu Ruohu was not a bad person. As he grabbed the fence with one hand, he reached out his other towards his teammates, “Get on!”

Luo Dong shook his head. He let go of his wife. He pointed at the fence beside him and then walked towards the entrance. Luo Dong was making all the preparations. He would stand in the front. If the ‘dog’ was a source of danger, at least he’d buy his family some time.

“Should I… go take a look?” Gao Ming didn’t speak much, but every time he spoke, he would be the focus. Everyone was pondering how to escape, but this dude wanted to take a look?!

Gao Ming pulled Luo Dong back with a smile, “Your family needs you. You can’t take this risk.”

“Calm down! It’s very easy to die in an anomaly. I might not be right.” Luo Dong was nervous. If his prediction were wrong, Gao Ming’s death would be his responsibility.

“Look after your family. Don’t let any harm come to them.” Gao Ming didn’t say much and walked into the darkness.

All the light disappeared. Only the approaching barking remained.

“Don’t be scared. I’m here. Right in front of you.” Gao Ming didn’t think the barking was scary. If anything, he thought it was friendly. The other party desperately wanted to approach him. The barking was trying to tell him something.

He couldn’t understand the barking, but he could sense it through the heart of flesh and blood. The wounded stray exhausted the last bit of its energy to beg a stranger for help. It didn’t know whether the other party was a tormentor or not. It was merely operating on a last bit of hope.

“I’ll cure you and bring you home.” Gao Ming could see anything. He chased after the sound for a long time.

“Woof…”

The stench assaulted his nose. His cells told him to stay away. However, Gao Ming walked towards the barking. He knelt down and stared at the darkness before him. Gao Ming reached forward and felt warm blood. His fingers moved around and traced the shape of a human head.

“A human?”

The man’s vocal chord had been modified. He could only bark. Whenever he did, he would cough up a lot of blood. His head leaned on Gao Ming’s palm, and his heart eased.

“Your injuries are serious.” Gao Ming touched his own heart. Just as he was about to open the torture room door, another bark came from inside his pocket.

The pure black death portrait flowed into the shadow. A big dog with long black fur leapt out.

“Leave him to me.” The blind man uttered using his heart. Only Gao Ming could hear him.

“Can you tell me in general what’s going on with him?” Gao Ming couldn’t see through this darkness without summoning the God of Flesh and Blood.

“I was a human, but all the villagers treated me like a monster. I lived in the dog’s lair and mutated into a big dog after I died. They are humans, too. They still retain a human appearance, but the mud figurine has wiped away their humanity. If everyone treats them as monsters and dogs, they will slowly forget themselves and become real dogs.”

The pet company’s methods reminded Big Dog of his own experience. It was why he stopped Gao Ming and wanted to use his own method to save these victims.