My House of Horrors

“Even you don’t know who the chairperson is?” Chen Ge thought he could use this question to identify Wu Fei or Patient 10, but he did not expect this answer.

“Everyone wears a mask and has the same black robe on. Even if the people underneath the masks change, we won’t be able to tell.” The first man on the left pointed to himself. “I’m No. 1. Here, your number is more important than your name. If you do not wish to be replaced, you’d better be on full alert.”

His words were meant for No. 12. The woman’s voice was unique, and her story had exposed her husband’s surname and many details about her life. If one wanted to, one could definitely identify her.

Since Chen Ge had heard her voice before, he was fairly sure he knew who she was. To be fair, Chen Ge did not expect the famed DJ to be such an individual.

“The society doesn’t have any other rules except the need to prepare enough ghost stories.” The man’s voice turned chilly. “When the three of you finish telling three stories, we will try our best to complete your wish. Then, it’s your choice to stay or leave.”

“No. 1 has explained everything you need to know.” The man on the right snapped his finger. “Dinner will be served soon, and after that, you’re free to leave.”

Dinner? Chen Ge was suspicious but did not ask. The room thus fell to silence. About half an hour later, there were footsteps in the corridor. The door was pushed open, and the birdman who poked his head in had obvious scratch marks on his neck. “There was an accident, so we might need a little more time.”

“No worry, after all, there’s still quite a long time until sunrise.” The first man on the right glanced at the three new members. “You might not be used to this since it’s your first time, but it’ll get better.”

When he finished, No. 10, who liked Chen Ge’s mask, said, “If you’re in a hurry, you can choose to leave first.”

When he said so, all the other black robes did not say anything, but it seemed like they did not understand why he would say that.

“In that case, I’ll skip the need. I need to rush to find new ghost stories.” No. 11 seemed the most normal among everyone there. He was not used to dealing with these mad people. If not to evade the police, he would not have attended the gathering. The men at the table did not say anything but waved their hands. Their gazes were locked onto No. 10. That day, No. 10 had been acting rather curiously.

Chen Ge had more things he needed to find out about the ghost stories society, and the blood lines in his shadows only needed one or two minutes before they finished knitting. It would be such a waste if he just leaves like that. From how he saw it, since they were all gathered together, it was the perfect chance to round them up in one go!

The chairperson was one of the ten, but they themselves did not know who the chairperson was. In this case, the simple solution would be to deal with all of them.

“Goodbye, we’ll meet again next Wednesday.” The second new member immediately rushed out. The birdman was still standing at the door, his pair of eyes following the man like he was eyeing a piece of meat.

“Will you two be leaving as well?” No. 10 asked Chen Ge and the woman.

“I’m curious about the food served here.” For the first time, there was emotion in the woman’s tone; she sounded excited. “I’ll stay.”

There was sound of running coming from the corridor. No. 11 was close to the elevator.

“I have an emergency, see you again next Wednesday.” Chen Ge walked out of the room. When he passed the birdman, he smelled a faint hint of blood.

“I’m surprised you could walk out alive.” The birdman’s voice was hiding surprise and perplexity.

“There will more surprises in store for you in the future.” Chen Ge smiled at him, the skin mask looked especially scary.

The birdman did not answer immediately. He waited until Chen Ge had left before grumbling, “For some reason, I am not anticipating them.”

No. 11 with the pig’s mask stood beside the elevator. His finger pressed the button hastily, and the number slowly changed.

“Why is it so slow‽” He felt like he was suffocating. Compared to those crazies, the scariest thing he had witnessed in his life was nothing. Especially the fourth new member, how did he manage to survive all those things? “No way, I need to leave immediately.”

The elevator rose but stopped at the 23rd floor. After a long time, the number finally changed to 24 like there was a long distance between the 23rd and 24th floors. No. 11 rushed into the elevator immediately. Not knowing there was someone behind him, he pressed the close door button. Just as the silvery-gray door was about to close, a hand reached out to stop it. Chen Ge walked into the elevator. “Let’s go together.”

The man silently gulped. He wanted to reject, but he did not have the courage to. “Sure.”

After pressing the button to go to the first floor, Chen Ge stood beside the elevator door. After the door was fully closed, he turned back to glance at No. 11. “Will you be coming back next Wednesday?”

“No idea, but if I come across a new ghost story, I will.” No. 11’s tone sounded stiff. He did not want to talk to this man.

“So, you’re worried about that.” Chen Ge laughed. “I know many ghost stories; would you like me to share one with you?”

“You’re willing to share them with me?” Hope rose within No. 11’s heart. If Chen Ge was willing to tell him one ghost story, he only needed to find one more story to get the society to fulfil his wish.

“Of course.” Chen Ge turned around, the shadow behind him pulsating. The blood burst forth like a blood swan opening its wings. “After all, you’re the main character for this story!”

Endless black hair crawled out from Chen Ge’s shadow to cover the entire elevator!

A woman in bright red dress was leaning on Chen Ge’s shoulder, her pale and beautiful face twisted by endless torment.

“Zhang Ya!”

In the enclosed elevator, there was nowhere to run!

Chen Ge dashed forward to yank No. 11’s mask off and then covered his lips. The number on the elevator kept decreasing, but time seemed to have slowed down.

…

When the number reached 1, the elevator door opened, and there was a man frozen in terror lying in the corner.

His heart was still working, but other than fear, there was no other expression on his face. If one took a closer look, one could see his pupils that seemed to shatter like glass beads, and they were bleeding.

Chen Ge hauled Zhu Xiu, who seemed to have turned into a vegetable, out of the elevator. Zhang Ya floated behind him, playing with a new toy in her hand.

The toy looked exactly like Zhu Xiu. When one got close, one could even hear a faded scream.