Horror Game Designer

Chapter 90: Dead Water Forum

Qin Tian’s face meant that he was always feared by others, but he didn’t care. He worked hard.

“My teacher has always been like this. If you have any discovery or run into any problem, you can contact me directly,” Zhu Suisui left her phone number. Before she left, she took a few more glances at Gao Ming. She felt like the man was special. She felt safe around him.

After the investigations left, Gao Ming calculated the time. Different timelines crossed his mind.

“I have no one in the centre. I do not know Situ An’s current location. The old fox will be extra cautious after he realises Doctor Lu and Qing Ge have been killed.” Gao Ming knew that Situ An was very careful. If not for the press, he wouldn’t even show up in public. “Is it because he has killed too many people?”

There was another path presented to Gao Ming. That was for him to join the east city investigation centre, but it could expose him easily.

“I’ve eaten the God of Flesh and Blood. Situ An would have to trigger a different Level 4 Anomaly. This might be his fate.” The more he wanted to stop it, the more likely it would happen. Gao Ming had a certain understanding of fate’s power.

“Before Situ An completed the mission given to him by fate, I would run into accidents if I tried to kill him. A small detail could cause the whole house of cards to crumble.” Gao Ming predicted everything that could have happened in the next three days.

“Since I can’t find Situ An, going into the east city centre alone is too risky, and it is a waste of time. I should use this time to strengthen myself.” Gao Ming recounted his death memory. He once selflessly exposed all the game details and got everyone to play the games so everyone could benefit from it.

That time, Gao Ming stood on fate’s side, but he ended poorly. The players who got the most benefits made Gao Ming their final target. Through careful planning, they forced Gao Ming to his death. Of all the human players, Gao Ming remembered two people the most. One was the top player who came up with all the hunting plans, Dead Water, and the other was Gao Ming’s old schoolmate, Zuo Jun.

Dead Water was the first player who discovered that horror games had become a reality. Before Gao Ming released the news, he had already cleared seven games. After Gao Ming released the guides, he wanted to kill him. For him, the benefits should be his because he was a genius. Gao Ming broke the rules. Dead Water was an internet name. Gao Ming once tried to track down this person. He only knew that Dead Water once worked at Han Hai Sewage Disposal Factory. He was the founder of the first reality horror game forum.

The second player who left a deep impression on Gao Ming was Zuo Jun. Back in high school, Zuo Jun was honest and simple. He wore glasses and was large and tough. However, the man was very cunning. He also relied on himself to clear the gamers. Then, he joined the investigation centre and rose to the position of captain. He worked with both the police and the ghosts. As he ruled over the centre, he joined the players to set up the killing trap for Gao Ming. Zuo Jun was the one who had the best life after graduation before the tragedy arrived.

“In Liu Yi’s graduation photo, Zuo Jun has colours. Does that mean he is chosen by the shadow world? Or is he loved by fate?”

After some thought, Gao Ming confirmed his target. Compared to Zuo Jun, he wanted to kill Dead Water more. It was not that Dead Water was more evil, but after Dead Water cleared the first game, he obtained a very special death portrait. It was because of that portrait that he managed to clear the other games.

“There’s still time. After I kill him, I’ll take over his forum so that the players can have a platform to communicate freely.”

Gao Ming made dinner for himself and Wan Qiu. After that, he entered the rain. The police cars already left, but the cordone at Building 2 was still there. There were many neighbours hanging around to look. “They sure are free.”

He took a taxi to Da Zai. Gao Ming didn’t head directly to the Sewage Disposal Centre but took a long detour on foot. At 9 am, Gao Ming perfectly avoided all the cameras and sneaked into the factory. He had mastered many skills beyond his scope as a psychiatrist.

Standing in the surveillance blind spot, Gao Ming found a place to hide from the rain. He took out his phone and logged into a forum, Han Hai Environmental Engineering Sewage Treatment’s Latest Technology Exchange Forum.

The forum talked about topics exploring sewage treatment. It looked normal at first. After clicking on the second page, Gao Ming entered a thread–Knowledge about Waste in Life.

The posts inside this thread were all nonsense. Normal people might skip over it. Only players could understand the content. The technical terms were all stand-ins for actual terms. Sewage referred to areas where humans and ghosts lived together; Sewage treatment referred to different methods used to exorcise ghosts. There were three sewage treatment methods: physical, chemical and biological. For example, in the process of biological treatment, methods were decided depending on whether the microbes in the sewage were aerobic or anaerobic. However, in reality, aerobic meant living humans who had been replaced by the shadows, and anaerobic meant dead people who had been controlled by ghosts. Through different cryptic messages, Dead Water built a platform where it was safe from monitoring. He slowly became the centre of the players using his talent and luck.

Gao Ming not only wanted to take over Dead Water’s death portrait but also the admin power of the forum.

“The tragedy isn’t here yet. Only I know who Dead Water is.”

His heart beat. The death memory stimulated Gao Ming. He walked past the elementary sedimentary pool and came to the break room.

After the tragedy occurred, many people tried to track down Dead Water. Some suspected the factory too, but they got no results. They made a directional error.

Three years ago, there was a severe food poisoning case at the factory. However, the case came to nothing. Only the canteen manager was replaced. The culprit was Dead Water. He wasn’t an employee at the factory. He was the new ingredients buyer for the canteen that got the job three years ago.

Gao Ming walked past the break room. He made no sound and came to the corner of the corridor. The sound of keyboard typing came from the break room. Gao Ming stared at the thread. He was currently chatting with Dead Water on the forum. After the post maker stopped replying, the typing in the room stopped.

The door opened. A young man, about 20, walked out. He didn’t like to be with others. He would leave when there were little people around.

“Bunch of idiots. Why would I share how to survive with others?”

The young man munched on a betel nut and looked around. After making sure the corridor was empty, he opened the locker. A baby’s crying came from the locker. The young man revealed a sick and excited smile.

“Baby, didn’t you say you love me? If you beg me now, I’ll give it to you easy.”