My House of Horrors

After closing his eyes, there was nothing but darkness. The darkness did not represent despair and loneliness; rather, it appeared to be a giant bubble that could envelop all of one’s imagination. The line between memory and reality blurred. As he moved step by step up the stairs, the hard shell of reality was slowly being pulled back. Chen Ge understood why all the Nightmare Missions required him to close his eyes to complete them. He was walking into another world; he was going to see the lingering spirits hiding in the background of the real world.

Counting the number of steps in his heart, Chen Ge soon reached the second floor. His fingertips could sense the dust on the wall, and his nose could sniff out the faded smell of mold. The sound of his footsteps echoed in his ears. At that moment, the important sense of sight had been removed, and the world became so different.

White Tiger hasn’t reacted strangely so it means that I am in no danger for now. Both ground floor and fourth floor have light, so the real trouble should begin after the fourth floor.

Being blindfolded was not that difficult for Chen Ge. He could picture everything in his brain, and his body had gotten used to the height of the steps. All he needed to do was focus and not let himself be influenced by other things.

I should be on the second floor now.

Moving his feet, Chen Ge was moving up to the third floor when he suddenly heard the sound of an agitated argument coming from one of the families on the second floor.

“All you do is drink! Does your family even care about me and the children? Since the pregnancy, I’ve never heard a word of concern from any of you. I’ve paid for every single one of my checkups, and I’ve suffered more than enough under your mother’s attitude!”

“If you feel so badly treated here, leave! If not for the fact that you forgot to lock the front door, Da Bao wouldn’t have gone out and gotten lost!”

“So it’s my fault now? You insisted on leaving at midnight. I am still pregnant with Er Bao. Has your heart been eaten by the dogs?”

“Don’t you dare turn this on me. Let me repeat myself, I was going to work that day!”

The soundproofing of the building was actually not that bad, but the argument was so heated that some physical altercation was involved. About ten seconds later, Chen Ge heard the door open. Someone walked out, and from the sound of footsteps, the person was wearing leather shoes, so it should be the husband. The argument was still in full swing. The man cursed as he slammed the door shut. Footsteps echoed down the corridor, and a heavy cloud of alcohol surrounded Chen Ge. Once the man entered the stairwell, he stopped yelling like he was surprised by Chen Ge, who stood in the stairwell. The footsteps halted before they started to head down and disappear.

How much has the man drunk?

Silence returned, but the alcohol smell did not dissipate. Chen Ge continued to move up. He counted the steps silently, and when he got to the third floor, he noticed that something was off.

How come the smell of alcohol is lingering? Since the man has already left, the smell of alcohol shouldn’t be around anymore… unless he is following behind me!

An image appeared in Chen Ge’s mind. He was walking ahead blindfolded while a drunkard with a befuddled mind and malicious face was following behind him.

When a person is under great pressure, they will bully the weaker party to vent their frustration.

Chen Ge did not turn around. If the man was just a drunkard, it would not be so troublesome, but Chen Ge was afraid that it was something else.

When I was on the way here, the driver said that someone lost their life here not too long ago. The victim was drunk when he died, so the thing following behind me now is probably not a human.

His nose could smell the alcohol, but his ears could not hear any sound.

I’ve gone up to the third floor, and I’ve already run into trouble. I still have more than ten floors to go…

Fear could be overcome. What could not be overcome was the unknown. Chen Ge was in this conflicting emotion. This Nightmare Mission was more difficult than he had expected. He was only on the third floor; it should be no problem if he gave up the mission now and ran away. However, if he continued up, the risk of giving up the mission would become greater and greater.

The chance of getting new Nightmare Mission is very low. If I give up now, who knows when I will next get one?

After stopping for a while on the third floor, Chen Ge started moving to the fourth floor. After getting closer to the light, even with his eyes closed, Chen Ge could feel the change in the brightness. He was sure that he was on the fourth floor.

I’ve gone through one quarter of the mission, and so far, there have been no problems.

Holding the wall, Chen Ge carefully moved toward the fifth floor. When he lifted his feet, his shoes knocked into something. The sound as it toppled over was crisp. It sounded like a china bowl. He bent over slowly and searched on the ground. His fingertips touched an apple, cooked rice, and two wooden chopsticks. The chopsticks were stuck inside the rice, and one end of it was sticky.

Someone laid out this ritualistic food on the stairwell? Has something happened on this floor as well?

Only the ground floor and fourth floor had lights on, so one’s mind could not help but wonder. After replacing the bowl and chopsticks, Chen Ge bowed at the location of the temporary shrine.

“Please forgive me. If you need compensation, you can follow me home when I leave. Feel free to take anything that you like.”

Then, Chen Ge left the fourth floor and went up to the fifth floor. The last shred of light disappeared, and Chen Ge felt the light coming from behind him as he slowly moved up. The fifth floor and sixth floor went by. When he reached the seventh floor, the smell of alcohol disappeared.

He left? If it was the man who died days ago, this sudden departure can only mean that there is something scarier on the seventh floor and above, and he doesn’t dare follow me further. The other possibility is that there is something scary standing before him, and this new thing has scared the man away.

Knowing that something was before him but being unable to see it placed Chen Ge in a helpless situation.

Since the white cat gave no warning, it should be fine.

Chen Ge slightly bent over to lower his center of gravity to prevent himself from tripping. Slowing down, Chen Ge nudged slowly upward. When he raised his arms to the walls again, he was stumped. The sensation that came from his fingertips was not the coldness of the wall, but it had a buoyancy to it like human skin. He stood there for about several seconds before Chen Ge slowly moved his fingers, and through the sense of touch, he confirmed that he was touching a human face!

His Adam’s apple quivered as his body petrified. If this was any other person, they would be screaming, but Chen Ge did not do that; he tried to maintain his calm. His fingers pinched slightly, and through that, Chen Ge understood two things. One, this was a child’s face; two, the face had no warmth like it had been taken out from the fridge, so it was not a living human.

The face has a sharp nose. I think I have an impression of this face.

Chen Ge remembered that when he entered the lobby, there was a missing person notice on the wall. The kid in the notice had such a face.