Auntie Wang and Xu Yajing, who hid at the back, were shoved to the front. Everyone was so scared, but they didn’t dare to move. The single-eyed young man exuded too much pressure. The ray of the flashlight shone on them. The young man was very happy. He finally had people who were willing to play with him after so many years.
“Don’t move. No matter what they do to you, don’t move.” The young man’s every word seemed to be a hint. His single eye moved around. The testers who hid in the other rooms didn’t dare to breathe.
The young man slowly turned around and switched off the flashlight. After the room sank into darkness, Gao Ming calmed down. He planned to go near the table to get a better understanding of the young man. He believed if he could find the trauma behind the young man’s actions, he could help him.
No one knew what was happening. They only heard a girl scream that there was a ghost. They couldn’t predict what would happen next, and they had no idea what was approaching them in the dark. The testers at the back pushed forward, and the testers at the front shrunk back. Everyone wanted to be in the middle of the group.
“Stop pushing!” Auntie Wang’s voice was abrupt in the dark. She was old and not as powerful as the youngsters. She was originally close to the centre, but she was shoved so far ahead that she was closer to the young man than Gao Ming was.
The flashlight scanned about. Since the people at the back wanted to stay away from the corridor, they pushed Auntie Wang, Gao Ming and Xu Deyi closer to the bedroom where the young man was. The light was blinding. Auntie Wang’s wrinkles folded together. She subconsciously raised her hand to block the glare.
“Did the wooden puppet move?” The young man saw Auntie Wang raise her hand clearly. His bent back slowly righted itself. He took the flashlight and aimed it at Auntie Wang’s face. With trembling teeth, Auntie Wang looked through the gaps in her fingers at the young man’s face. She wanted to look away from him. The moment she did, she saw the contents of the wooden box the young man opened earlier.
“It moved! The wooden puppet moved!” The young man screamed wildly. He grabbed the iron hammer from the wooden box and swung it at Auntie Wang’s head without warning!
The head cracked, and blood splattered everywhere. A bloody flower bloomed in the dark!
This was beyond the tester’s imagination. They were there for a test. No one could have known someone among them would be killed!
The warm blood splashed onto some of them. It was so real. Death was right before them!
Shock evolved to fear. Their expressions changed so quickly. The shrill screams echoed. All the testers scrambled about like headless chickens.
“All the wooden puppets are moving!” Armed with hammers and axes, the young man waved the weapons about. Xu Deyi wanted to resist, but the wooden club was easily splintered. He turned and ran faster than anyone else.
Auntie Wang was still moaning on the ground, but no one cared about her. They shuffled out of the guest room. The young man chased after them with weapons. The room emptied in mere seconds. Rapid footsteps and horrible wails came from the corridor.
The guest room returned to darkness. Other than the dying Auntie Wang, only Gao Ming, who hadn’t moved an inch, remained. No matter what happened, Gao Ming didn’t violate the rules. He was covered in cold sweat. If he wavered earlier, he’d be down on the ground with Auntie Wang already.
“Follow the rules. Strange. Why is there a voice in my head telling me to follow the rules?” Gao Ming glanced at Auntie Wang. He tore open his shirt and gave Auntie Wang a simple bandage. “Why would a psychiatrist like myself know first aid?”
Gao Ming was shocked by his expertise. He looked at the blood on his hands. He didn’t feel fear or disgust like he was already used to this.
Gao Ming already realised the problem when the young man waved the iron hammer around. His heart didn’t move much. Only he dared to remain still in that situation.
The wind blew into the room from the open window. It was very comfortable. Gao Ming looked out at the night sky and slowly opened his palm. “This place reminds me of the nightmare. I feel free. Even my breathing is smoother. Where is this place?”
Gao Ming looked confused and intrigued. Seeing Gao Ming’s reaction, Auntie Wang’s heart stilled. Blood flowed out of her bandage. She didn’t even have the energy to call for help.
Gao Ming walked to the table and picked up the picture frame. It had a wrinkly old photograph.
The picture was taken inside a shop called Original Jiujiang Meat Noodles. The middle-aged man with a cigarette in his mouth was resting at a table. Two kids slurped down the noodles beside him. The boy only had one eye. His body was dirty, and he had a silly smile. The girl wore clean clothes, but there were many scars underneath them. She tried her hardest to pretend to be happy.
Gao Ming put away the picture and looked through the books. There were many entries. They looked like they were written by a kid.
“Every stroke is well written. The handwriting is cute. They look like the handwriting of a young girl.” Gao Ming found a few envelopes at the back of the book. He opened them to realise they were mostly empty. “Have the letters been stolen?”
The envelopes were sent from Jiujiang Orphanage. The recipient was Jiang Miaomiao.
“Is Jiang Miaomiao the little sister the young man is waiting for? Has she been adopted?” While Gao Ming thought about it, he glanced out the window again. His heart sank. The car that was parked outside was gone. The car drove off after leaving them there.
“Is Immortal Pharma purposely sending us here to die? No. We should still be in the test. This place reminds me so much of the nightmare.”