All the players were stunned when they heard Gao Ming. They thought that he had died. They didn’t think he was still alive. His silhouette became clearer until Gao Ming appeared before everyone. He looked just like how he was before, not one hair was out of place.
“Impossible! I saw something scary! It was a big, black dog made completely of shadows!” The hostess thought everything was within her control. She realised she was wrong.
“Fuck! You survived?!” Luo Dong sighed in relief. Gao Ming’s appearance meant that his prediction was not wrong. The barking didn’t mean danger. Xiao Wu should be the ghost’s pet.
“What was barking? Did you find out?” After Luo Dong said that, he felt like Gao Ming wouldn’t answer. After all, this was a discovery Gao Ming traded with his life.
“Your son was right. It was a human who was barking. The figurine at this company can turn a human soul into an animal.” Gao Ming pointed at the path that led to the third floor. “There should be a human trapped inside the office toilet. He was asking us for help.”
“Then, why didn’t you save the person who was barking?” The hostess saw a scary dog earlier. She was sure Gao Ming was lying. “There was no light at all in the corridor. How could you be sure it was a living human who was barking?”
Gao Ming showed his bloody hands. “I touched the man’s face. His mouth was filled with blood. He wanted to tell us something, but he couldn’t speak. Once he spoke, his mouth would spit out blood.” The hostess still didn’t believe Gao Ming, but Gao Ming didn’t care. He walked straight to Luo Dong.
“Hey!” Out of kindness, Yu Ruohu reminded Gao Ming, “Don’t get too close. His son… is not human.”
“Not human?” Gao Ming stopped to study Luo Dong’s family.
“His family might be ghosts, but have they harmed you? If not for his son, we would have died on the third floor, right?” Gao Ming’s words surprised everyone. “Be it humans or ghosts, we need to focus on those who can help more people survive.” Gao Ming walked towards Luo Dong with a smile, “You don’t need to worry. Dead Water Forum is very welcoming. Even if you have been corrupted by the shadow world, as long as you are willing to help Han Hai, you are a qualified horror game player.
“The tragedy is coming, and the citizens are doing everything they can to survive. What is wrong with that?” Gao Ming asked the hostess. “Investigation centre elites like you will not understand the pain of the commoners like us. We have nothing. We just want to live.”
“Investigation centre elites? Is Midnight Horror built by the investigation centre?” Luo Dong and Yu Ruolong didn’t even consider that.
“There’s a blood band around her ankle. That is a communication device shared by all security members from the centre.” Gao Ming exposed the woman.
“I’m curious about one thing. Since you said Dead Water Forum will accept everyone, why can’t you accept the investigation centre? We share the same goal. We want Han Hai to be safe.” The woman was honest. She stopped hiding after she was exposed.
“The biggest difference between you and the ghosts is… you are faker than ghosts. You act like you want to help Han Hai, but you do the opposite under the surface. Half of the chaos in Han Hai was created by the east city investigation centre’s former chief, Situ An. Was he not with the centre?” Gao Ming stood with Luo Dong. “You can try to copy Dead Water Forum. As long as you don’t change, Dead Water Forum will not disappear.”
“No one is willing to become horror game players. We are forced to protect ourselves because the investigation centre is unwilling to protect us.” Luo Dong agreed with Gao Ming. “Let’s go back. The pool is too dangerous.”
Yu Ruolong and Yu Ruohu hesitated. After all, Gao Ming was right. Luo Dong’s son hadn’t harmed them.
“That guy is lying. There’s a scary dog hiding in the dark. I saw it with my eyes.” The woman smiled as her eyes changed.
Gao Ming believed there was a misunderstanding, but he was too lazy to explain.
He returned for Luo Dong because, in one of the futures, he joined the investigation centre and replaced Situ An as the East City investigation centre chief. Unlike Fan Li, Luo Dong had great management skills and high potential.
Luo Dong protected his family as they moved into the dark. Just as they were about to leave the fourth floor, the iron cage near the staircase suddenly exploded. The explosion stopped Gao Ming and Luo Dong’s family from leaving the fourth floor.
The stench in the air thickened. A giant bubble surfaced out of the previously calm pool. The pool seemed to boil. Dirty things like fur and hair floated up.
The warning lights turned red. The machines in the iron cages started operating on their own. Bags of rotten meat were transferred from the higher floors. They were crushed into meat paste and flavoured with spices.
As the machines operated, the fragrance of meat overwhelmed some of the stink. The prepared pet food was sealed and placed in the corner. The remains were sent into the pool.
There was a gurgling sound. The water turned murkier. A large shadow appeared underneath the layer of oil.
“What is that?” Yu Ruohu, who was hanging on the fence near the pool, was extremely nervous. He didn’t dare to move.
The shadow in the water became larger. However, it didn’t break through the surface. Instead, it seemed to disintegrate and disappear.
Strange sounds echoed in the pipes on the fourth floor. The monster in the pool seemed to have split into multiple parts and surrounded them.
The pipe near the exit burst from the pressure. Black coils of hair flowed out of the pipe.
No one dared to move as they stared at the broken pipe.
A few seconds later, a slender child’s finger reached out of the hole in the pipe. Attached to the finger was a fully mutated tendril that was impossibly long!