Horror Game Designer-Chapter 642: Three Calls

The scene from the nightmare appeared in her home. The horror caused her blood to freeze. “How is this possible…”

Tang Hanlu’s drowsiness disappeared. The cold sweat on her back caused her clothes to stick to her body.

“Key. Right! The house key!” Tang Hanlu grabbed her school bag and dumped its contents on the bed. The textbooks were scattered everywhere, but she couldn’t find the key. Her heart was consumed by a black fog. She felt more anxious. “It’s not in the side layer or the pockets! Where is it? I remember placing it in the school bag!”

Her mother’s phone kept ringing. Cold sweat slid down her forehead. Tang Hanlu didn’t dare to stay in the home for too long, but the corridor was too dangerous.

“Calm down. It might just be a coincidence.” She comforted herself. Tang Hanlu grabbed her phone and came to the main bedroom door. After taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open and looked under the bed. There was no killer and corpse. Her mother’s phone was stuck in the same place as it was in the nightmare. Tang Hanlu swiped the phone and expertly unlocked it. At the same time, she denied the call from two numbers. The ringtone disappeared. Tang Hanlu returned to the living room. She looked through her mother’s contact list. She wanted a way to contact her mother’s colleagues so they could help her inform her mother to come home.

“You are never by my side when I need you the most. You’re always working. Work, work, work! What exactly are you working on?”

Tang Hanlu looked through the list. The contacts were arranged alphabetically. There were some numbers that were marked and prioritised. Tang Hanlu checked twice, and her name was not among those numbers. In her heart, am I not as important as her work and patients?

Due to fear, all her emotions were heightened. Tang Hanlu stared at the person ranked first in her mother’s contact list. His name was Tang Qing, and the note attached to him read, "My only family."

“If he’s her only family, what about me? How can you treat a stranger as your family?” Tang Hanlu didn’t realise that she had started to refer to her mother as you. Tang Hanlu shook her head and tried to calm down, “Since he’s your only family, he should know where you are. Perhaps he can reach you.”

Tang Hanlu called Tang Qing’s number. The phone only rang once before the call was answered.

“I’m very obedient. I didn’t go anywhere. I’ve learned how to make fried rice. Sis, when are you coming home? I miss you. I’m getting scared.” The voice belonged to an adult, but the words were funny and juvenile. Tang Hanlu even heard pride and gloating in his voice.

Is this a retard? He makes it sound like surviving normally is something praiseworthy.

“Sis? Are you calling my mother your sister?!”

“Sis! Is that you? I heard that the puppy who knew how to play with building blocks in the kennel had escaped. Even the kennel caught fire. Are you alright?” Tang Qing’s voice was laced with concern. He was incredibly dumb and naive in his sister’s eyes, but it was undeniable that he cared deeply about her.

“A puppy who knows how to play with building blocks? What are you talking about?” Tang Hanlu stopped wasting time. “You are ranked first on my mother’s contact list. Do you know where she is? Her daughter is at home and in danger!”

“Danger? My sister is in danger! Don’t be scared. I’ll be there soon!” Tang Qing was determined. He hadn’t hung up, but he started to put on his clothes. A lot of noises came from his end. Tang Qing sounded like he had tripped.

“Are you crazy? I didn’t ask you to come here! I need you to tell me how to contact my mother!” Tang Hanlu thought the man was insane. She was about to explain when knocking came from the front door. Tang Hanlu became quiet. She kept praying in her heart, but the worst thing still happened.

“Is anyone home?” The mad woman’s voice resounded outside the room. The scenes from the nightmare kept replaying. Tang Hanlu wondered if they were not nightmares but predictions.

“I have no time to waste!” Tang Hanlu hung up on Tang Qing. She called the police and went through the other contacts on her phone. The second number was for Lee Xinqian. The note was: the colleague who should die.

This time, the phone rang for more than ten seconds before it was answered. Before Tang Hanlu could say anything, a middle-aged man’s annoying voice came through, “Thirteen people stayed in the red house. Six of them have escaped. Is that part of your plan?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Can you reach my mother? Her daughter is in danger! The bad guys are outside the door!” This man wouldn’t be Tang Hanlu’s first choice, but she was desperate.

“Bad guys outside the door? Is it those crazy people in red from Jiujiang?” Lee Xinqian was startled. He slowed down. He gleaned some information from Tang Hanlu’s words.

“I don’t know. Tell my mother to come home quickly!” The crazy woman was right outside her door. Tang Hanlu didn’t dare to speak up. The woman started to slam on her door. Soon, the pervert in the police uniform would show up.

“Okay. I understand,” Lee Xinqian said. “Your mother will be over soon. Stay at home and don’t go anywhere.”

“They will get in. I’ve lost the key. They will get it!” Before Tang Hanlu could finish, Lee Xinqian had already hung up.

“Did he hang up on me? I wasn’t even done. Is he working with the bad people?” Tang Hanlu was scared. She was really unsettled by the nightmare. She checked the third number on the phone. The person’s name was strange. They were called No. 0. Their remark was just one word: ghost.

Tang Hanlu felt the air that entered her body turn cold. She hesitated. However, when she remembered the criminals outside her home, she gathered her courage to dial the third number.

There was no dial tone or empty number reminder. The call appeared to connect to another world. Soon, the walls of her home started to fade in colour. An invisible shadow surged towards her. The lights in the living room went out!

“What is this number? Is it really a call to the ghosts?” Tang Hanlu was in full panic mode. She clicked on the phone a few times before the call ended.

However, the screen didn’t return to normal. The circuit in the room appeared to be cut.

Tang Hanlu stood in the dark. The only light source was her mother’s phone.