Horror Game Designer-Chapter 662: Moving in the Dark

“After the great tragedy, Dream disappeared into the blood sea. We found seventeen altars related to him in the taboo game, the inner world and the real world. Twelve of them have been destroyed and the remaining five were taken by Immortal Pharma. This path can connect Han Hai and the real world because we have placed a Dream’s altar each at both this bottom cabin and Han Hai. They are basically anchors.

“It’s simple if you want to return to Han Hai. You just need to push away these people, enter the core of the bottom cabin, find Dream’s altar, initiate the dreaming device and sleep.

“The only thing you need to be worried about is your physical body. Only your soul and consciousness can take this path. Even if your body has been modified by the Blood City, it cannot detach itself from the real world. Therefore, you need to find someone you can trust to take over your physical body so that your body won’t die while you’re away.”

No. 2 didn’t hide anything.

“So was your initial plan to send my soul into Han Hai and take over this flesh that is carved with the Blood City Tattoo?” Gao Ming shook his head. “Even if that did happen, you would fail.” Gao Ming had a bunch of unruly monsters in his heart, the God of Flesh and Blood’s three faces and the Blood City’s lingering spirit. There was also Xia Yang, the neutral chaotic madman. No. 2 would not have his turn so soon.

“If you’re concerned about me, you can take me with you to Han Hai. As long as we enter the inner world, I have a greater chance to find the world saviour’s altar and send a message to him.” No. 2’s consciousness stressed. “I do not mean any malice.”

“That doesn’t matter because you’re already in my torture room.” Gao Ming walked down the metallic corridor to the aquarium-like tank. Many humans floated in the tank.

“The entrance is at the top.” With No. 2 there, Gao Ming didn’t need to rely on force. He easily opened the entrance. However, it got stuck three times because it hadn’t been used for a long time.

The sound of water amplified. Gao Ming and Zhang Ding stood beside the entrance. Viewed from the top, the scene was even more shocking.

“This looks like a corpse pond at a medical school.”

“I can see the similarity. They have given everything for humanity’s future.”

Zhang Ding wrapped Gao Ming with water. They jumped into the tank.

“Wait. There's protective gear…”

They gently nudged away the investigators. These people’s bodies were fragile after the prolonged soak in the tank. Most of them had been modified by Immortal Pharma. Ghosts lived in their brains. The ghosts joined the investigators at Han Hai.

Zhang Ding and Gao Ming kept sinking until they reached the centre of the tank. They gingerly undid the intertwining human bodies and forced a path through.

“You’re almost there. Be careful not to ruin the pipes on them. That is the only thing keeping them alive.” No. 2 sensed everything. The closer Gao Ming got to the centre, the calmer he became. He seemed to have predicted Gao Ming’s ending.

The red warning light was blinding. There were several operating dreaming devices amidst the floating bodies. These devices were more complex than the one Gao Ming encountered in the brain realm game labs.

“The devices operate on their own. You can leave them be. You need to find an available connection.”

Guided by No. 2, Gao Ming came to the bottom of the devices. There was a lab table the size of an adult bed. From afar, it looked like a bed suspended in the abyss of the nightmare. Laying on the table, the device was triggered. The tubes crawled towards Gao Ming. The complicated device radiated a strange blue light. It looked like a malicious deep-sea monster.

After the connection was set up, No. 2 told Gao Ming to relax. Gao Ming sat up like a rebellious kid, pulling the tubes taut.

“What are you doing? How can you dream if you don’t sleep?”

“Even when sleeping, the Dream Ghost is awake.” When the dreaming device was activated, an anomaly appeared in Gao Ming’s torture room. The altar he took from Dream Break Town’s lab started to bleed. The healing cracks opened like eyes. The altar left behind by Dream didn’t lose control, but it sensed something. The Blood City Tattoo surfaced instantly. He worked together with Zhang Ding to yank the table off and entered the device with brute force.

Many delicate parts ran on their own. Shrouded by the creepy blue light, Gao Ming saw the giant altar hidden inside the device.

This altar was larger than any he had encountered. It had beautiful, dreamy carvings. It looked like a butterfly with its wings open. One wing had the imprints of thirteen blood cities, and the other was carved with the inner world rules.

“This is one of Dream’s main altars. The world’s saviours hauled it back from the inner world. They planned to destroy it, but Immortal Pharma salvaged it in the name of research.” No. 2 said with respect. He hated Dream, but he never denied his strength.

From this altar alone, Gao Ming could see how powerful Dream was at his peak. He dared to copy the thirteen blood cities and cover them with his dream wings. He targeted all the blood city owners. With both his hands on the altar door, Gao Ming tried to focus. When the altar opened, the world became quiet. The human world sank into the deep sea. Only the darkness remained.

“Gao Ming! Gao Ming!” No. 2’s voice came from far away, even though he should be in his heart. Gao Ming raised his head. In the dark, he saw a human face. He was sure it was a human face, but he couldn’t see it clearly. Even if he was a Dream Ghost, the power difference between them was too big.

The human face hanging above the darkness noticed Gao Ming. It only took one glance to submerge Gao Ming in the darkness.

Gao Ming felt ants munching on his skin. His organs failed. His skin was peeled off. His flesh wilted. Only his beating heart remained.

The human face was about to look away when a different Gao Ming crawled out of death. He didn’t retreat but took another step forward into the dark.