Horror Game Designer

Gao Ming opened his eyes and looked at the only table in the room. It felt like someone was standing beside it. Gao Ming’s head felt heavy, like he had just napped.

“Are you awake?”

He slowly stood up. For a moment, his mind couldn’t match up with his body. It was an out-of-body experience. “I did hear a voice.” The anomalies around him disappeared. The world in his eyes returned to normal. The books had normal covers, and the ghostly shadow on the screen disappeared. Even the figurines inside the inner room were replaced by normal medicine.

“Have I woken up? What is the purpose of that question?”

Gao Ming was on high alert. Earlier, the whole building was submerged in despair, but suddenly, everything had returned to normal. “Am I in an illusion, or am I asleep?”

Gao Ming walked to the door and yanked away the curtain. He narrowed his eyes. The situation outside the corridor had returned to normal. The light shone on the yellowed tiles, and the doors to the wards were closed.

“I seem to be having a vision of the past…” The window reflected Gao Ming. He was in the uniform of Hen Shan Penitentiary, and he held a piece of paper in his hand.

“A resit?”

Gao Ming lowered his head. He wore a black coat and held a chain taken out from the torture room. The bloodred chain was made from Doctor Lu’s soul. “The reflection of myself in the glass is a version of myself from the past. He seems to be in trouble.”

Gao Ming didn’t move, but his reflection in the window turned around. He seemed to have opened the door and prepared to leave. Gao Ming decided to follow the reflection and exited the corridor.

The speakers mentioned that the hospital was looking for someone. However, the broadcast didn’t mention the person’s details or names. Gao Ming walked down the fourth-floor corridor. He scanned the wards. A small window was cut into each door to enable the doctors to check on the patients without entering the wards. Gao Ming found his moving reflection in the windows. He raced down the corridor. Gao Ming chased after his reflection. The music turned light and airy. The racing souls ran under the lights. Gao Ming had no idea where his reflection would lead him. He had never encountered something like this.

He raised his hand and pushed open the door with his reflection. His reflection continued to run upstairs. The broadcast raised in volume. It sounded like both a mantra and a song. The broadcast appeared to be looking for someone who could never be found. Mottled stains appeared on the steps. Gao Ming followed the steps until he arrived on the seventh floor.

“The in-patients department?”

The light above his head flashed. Gao Ming pushed open another door. The music from the speakers became crackly and dark. The shiny tiles of the seventh floor reflected Gao Ming. His reflection slowed down like he was looking for someone.

“Room 7001?”

The tiles showed the first ward Gao Ming’s reflection had entered. A dehydrated and thin patient lay on the giant, white bed. Ever since Gao Ming walked in, the patient’s eyes had never left Gao Ming.

“I… am here to look for someone.”

Normally, the shadow would follow the person, but in Gao Ming’s case, he was trailing after his shadow.

“Who are you looking for?” A gentle female voice came out of the male patient’s lips.

“Someone who is like me.” Gao Ming didn’t sense any malice from the patient. He forced a smile, “I’m looking for my past self. What about you? Why are you here?”

The patient pulled away a corner of his blanket. The IV drip needles pierced into his skin. A single IV bag dangled on the wall behind him. “I am resistant to drug treatment, but the doctor said this would be my last session. I will be able to leave this place soon.”

“Then, I wish you a quick recovery.” Gao Ming followed the shadow on the ground. He realised his reflection was rummaging through the shelves in the ward. Why am I looking for stuff on the seventh floor just as the sun is setting? Is there something I need in these wards?

Gao Ming was confused. He lifted his head and realised the man’s eyes were still on him. “Brother, do you mind telling me what time it is?”

“It’s 7.15 pm. It’s dark because it’s about to rain soon.”

“I mean the day and date.”

“February 28th.” The male patient moved to touch the needle. However, his hand hovered a few inches above his actual skin. He touched the air above his hand instead. It was as if his hand had expanded several times, but only in his eyes.

“Half a year ago?” The patient’s details, like when they were admitted, were on the document pasted near the front of their beds. The man was indeed admitted to the hospital half a year ago.

Gao Ming confirmed that he had entered Li San Hospital’s back building before he was thrown into the death loop. “Is the death loop related to Li San Hospital?”

Around that time, the anomalies exploded at Xin Lu. He came to Li San Hospital, and soon after, he was fired from Hen Shan Penitentiary due to his mental issues. After that, he took the ghost bus on the night of the Hungry Ghost Festival. The missing link of fate appeared to be hidden here.

“I hope that you can be discharged from the hospital soon.” Gao Ming’s reflection had left the room, so he moved to follow. “Why did I come to this place to search for stuff half a year ago?”

He entered Ward 7002, and a scream greeted him. A young female patient curled up in the corner. She had long, luscious hair, and she looked barely of age. The girl appeared like she had experienced something traumatising. She’d be nervous in the company of strangers. She scratched the wounds on her body until her nails were covered in blood. “Doctor, I’ll cooperate with the treatment. I’ll not run away anymore!”

Gao Ming was a professional psychiatrist, so he knew not to trigger the girl. Gao Ming from the past and the present made the same choice and exited Ward 7002. “The reflection has the same mindset as I do. He should be my past. But why can I see my past? Am I in a dream?”

The broadcast that was looking for a missing person became clearer. Gao Ming turned to Ward 7003.