my house of horrors
Translator: Lonelytree
Perhaps the hospital director had created too deep on an impact on Sun Xiaojun, a very strong self-doubt appeared in the young man’s heart.
“Do not think too much of it. It does not matter whether you are a Cursed Seed or a Seed of Hope, the fact is you have saved everyone here.” Chen Ge extended his finger to point down the distance. A woman in red raincoat was standing next to a little boy in a blue raincoat. This was a reunion that had been delayed for a long time so everyone was clever enough to not go and disturb the pair of mother and son.
“If not for you, the red raincoat probably would never see her own son again. You have brought many happiness to the people around you and that is more than enough.” Chen Ge kept trying to open Xiao Sun’s mind, to help him see the good that he had done.
“I think I get it now.” Sun Xiaojun nodded his head. “Boss, can I ask a favor from you?”
“Of course.”
“I do not think I will go back to the Haunted House with you, I wish to rebuild a hospital that can really treat pain and despair over this ruin.” A smile appeared on Xiao Sun’s face. “I am a cursed seed who will bring misfortune and tragedy, that is the unavoidable truth, but I will use my own method to prove that the cursed seed can not only bring happiness to myself, it can only help others regain their bliss in life.”
“Then, it would appear like I need to refer to you as Hospital Director Sun in the future.” When he was at the cursed hospital, Xiao Sun had seen tremendous growth. Chen Ge was no longer that worried about him. After handing the ruin of the cursed hospital over to Xian Sun, Chen Ge wandered about the area carrying his backpack. The red high heels who had treated most of the employees stood blankly at a fixed spot. Following her line of sight, there was a heavily battered surgical table before her. Chen Ge could still remember rather fuzzily there was a bloody heart mission related to the red high heels in the black phone, the mission requested Chen Ge to go to a surgical room at the cursed hospital. However, the phone could not be switched on normally now and the surgical room was probably buried alongside the rest of the cursed hospital.
“What are you looking at?” Carrying the backpack, Chen Ge walked to the red high heels’ side. The red high heels shook her head, there was a trace of lost in her blood red eyes. After the hospital director had been vanquished, Xu Yin inherited most of the power left behind by the hospital director while the strange and curious curses inside the cursed hospital was all absorbed by the red high heels. After she had fully digested those curses, she would definitely become the new Demon God wielding curses.
“There are so many ugly things in the world but there are many beautiful things as well. How about you stay at the Haunted House with the rest of you, we will go and explore every beautiful thing the world has to offer together.” Chen Ge had found out about the red high heels’ real name in his nightmare so there did not seem to be any purpose left to do the bloody heart mission in the black phone anymore. The real name was the only weakness for a spectre who specialized in curses. Since the red high heels was willing for Chen Ge to find out her real name, then it proved that Chen Ge had become a person that she trusted with literally her life. Even a living person would have trouble finding a person they could trust fully in the world, much less so for spectres who had experienced tons of torment and despair, it was truly impossible for them to meet someone that could trust implicitly.
After a moment of hesitation, the red high heels nodded lightly. She waved her arms and several cursed threads surged into the ruin. They located a patient’s list under the surgical table. The patient’s list had her previous picture and her life story. The cursed threads tore the patient’s list into pieces, the red high heels had bidden farewell to the hatred and pain from her past.
After dealing with everything at the cursed hospital, Chen Ge and his employees brought Chen Ge’s unconscious parents deep into the red city. Before Chen Xiang left, he had given Chen Ge a precise director to follow. That and the guardianship from several Demon Gods, the group did not run into any danger along the way. They walked past one after another street painted red, one after another building that was stained with blood. Among the thick blood fog, they arrived at the centre of the red city. Seeing the building that was situated at the centre of the red city, everyone stopped moving.
There was a bloody apartment that was 30 stories high near the centre of the red city. Every floor was crawling with blood vessels, giving tenancy to the scariest spectres; the scale of the apartment was not smaller than the abandoned red hospital behind the cursed hospital’s door, it was filled with pulsing veins and blood; there was also a black church that was constructed purely from broken limbs, it gave off a very strong ominous air. There was even a half dead Demon God who was pinned at the top of the building. Every single building near the centre of the red city gave off an imposing presence, but the building right at the centre of the red city appeared so unassuming.
Touching the familiar gates, Chen Ge’s feeling was complicated. Right at the most centre of the red city, there was an old Haunted House, this Haunted House was a complete replica of the Haunted House situated at Jiujiang New Century Park. “Who would have thought this would be the building at the deepest part of the red city.”
Chen Ge pulled open the gates and raised the heavy curtains that normally blocked out the sunlight. Everything here was incredibly familiar. He even had a sense of illusion that he had already returned to real life. “Is anyone home?” With the accompaniment of several Demon Gods, Chen Ge entered the Haunted House. He strode down the corridor and pushed open any door that he encountered but he did not come into contact with any other soul, this place appeared to be abandoned.
“When Kindness disappeared, he said there will be someone waiting for me at the deepest part of the red city, Chen Xiang also told me to come to the deepest part of the red city to look for someone. The fact is I am already here but how come this place is so empty?” After giving it some thought, Chen Ge was suddenly reminded of something. He rushed into the toilet at the first floor of the Haunted House and he saw the bloody cubicle door that was painted with the picture of the demon. There were many blood doors that he had encountered along the way but there were only a handful that was painted with the demon. In that moment, many thoughts crossed Chen Ge’s mind.
“I have been waiting for a long time for you.” A child’s voice came from the mirror inside the toilet. Chen Ge whipped his head around, his eyes fixed on the mirror. He could not stop his own body from moving forward. His hands grabbed the edge of the sink. Just like when he was doing his first Nightmare Mission, Chen Ge stood right before the mirror. “You are my Kindness?”
The child in the mirror had a warm smile on his face. He shook his head lightly. “I used to be your Kindness but now I am the consciousness of this red city.”
“I have seen in the cursed hospital’s memory that you have chosen to join yourself with the red city to save the spectres and spirits in the black tsunami so in essence, you are still my Kindness.” For some unknown reason, Chen Ge did not wish to budge on this issue. The child in the mirror did not argue with Chen Ge, he kept a smile that shone from his heart on his face.
“Can’t you come out from the mirror? I wish to see what pure kindness look like because that is the direction that I hope to model myself after in the future. At least on the surface, I wish for everyone to think that I am a kind person.” Dragging Doctor Skull-breaker’s hammer in one hand, Chen Ge uttered the thought in his heart. “People keep misunderstanding me due to my straightforwardness.” He looked at the child inside the mirror, it felt like he was conversing with another version of himself, there was no need for any secret or tricks.
“I have no corporeal body, I am just a slip of consciousness. I can only show up via possession of something inside the red city and I can never leave the red city.” The child was living deep inside the red city but his voice was particularly gentle and soft, it was comfortable chatting with you.
“After paying such a huge price, you should have gained corresponding enormous power in return as well.” Chen Ge winked, the child in the mirror understood what Chen Ge was hinting at immediately.
“As the consciousness of the red city, I can control all the door that is situated here and I can help the red city expand. In fact I can slowly overlap the red city with the real world.”
“Overlap the red city with the real world?” Chen Ge was shocked. If that was the case, then the importance of the red city’s consciousness was more than he ever realized. Just think about it, if the hospital director’s plan had succeeded, he would be able to control the red city through Chen Ge’s Kindness and that would definitely be a veritable tragedy.
“You have seen a door that has lost control before, right? When something happens to the door pusher and I was not there to close the door in time, the large amount of negative emotion collected inside the red city will creep out from that door and slowly transform the reality around it.” The child looked in Chen Ge’s eyes and explained softly
“Since the appearance of a door can cause the reality to collapse, then why would you still go and open so many doors? You have connected the real world to the red city, the large amount of negative emotion here could have poured back into the real world again.” Chen Ge was confused. Kindness had a heart of pure kindness, he would not have taken such a big risk.
“Then who do you think is the one who created the despair inside the red city and the sea of black fog?” The child in the mirror tossed a question back to Chen Ge.
“The people in real life?”
“Correct, actually there is a well deep inside every single person’s heart that is connected to the sea of black fog. Pain, despair and negative emotions as well as painful memory will rush into the black fog through this well. No one knew exactly where the sea of black fog it, perhaps it originates from a place that none of us can see, perhaps it is hidden at the deepest part of nightmare, or perhaps it is hidden inside every single human’s heart. But no matter where it is, there is one thing that is undeniable. The black fog is spreading at every single moment.” The child in the mirror’s tone turned serious. “If one day, the sea of black fog has expanded to its limit and cannot support human’s despair anymore, what do you think will happen?”
“it will overflow? The despair will pour out from the well deep inside everyone’s heart?”
“Indeed, perhaps for now the sea of black fog has not reached its limit yet, but if no one is there to control it, the day will soon arrive.”
“Every human’s despair and forgotten painful memory will enter the black fog, and that created the sea of it, then what about the red city? What is the reason behind its existence?” Chen Ge initially thought the red city was the scariest existence but now he finally understood even the red city was just a small part of the sea of black fog.
“The reason humans are humans is because even in the deepest despair, they will retain the last shred of hope. The black fog is a pure manifestation of despair and pain, it represents death and emptiness, the red city though is the last shred of hope in human nature, the heart that yearns for salvation constructed this city of blood and isolates it from the black sea. As the sea of fog continues to expand so will the red city, but normally speaking the speed of expansion of the red city will be much slower than the speed of the black sea and there is where I come in.” The child in the mirror explained patiently to Chen Ge.
“You wish to use the red city to destroy the sea of black fog?”
“As long as people still have despair in their heart, the sea of black fog can never be destroyed. What I wish to do instead is to draw the most despairing soul in the real world into the red city and use their power to strengthen the red city and at the same time, prevent them from being taken by the black fog.” The child in the mirror looked out the window. “Every single blood door in the red city represents the most despairing soul. The red city has grown several times in size over the years are all thanks to these souls.”
The existence of the door was to transport the most despairing soul into the red city. After Chen Ge grasped the notion of this, there were many other questions that popped up in his mind. Reaching into his pocket to pull out the black phone, Chen Ge placed the phone with the shattered screen before the mirror. “It was you who was behind dad’s phone, right? It was you who had been guiding me step by step?”
The child in the mirror did not deny it. “Do you still remember your first Nightmare Mission? The mission started at this place, when you closed your eyes, I was standing inside the mirror looking at you. In fact, it was just like now. We were able to see each other but we are unable to touch each other, not ever.”
“in other words, it was also you who sent me the details and information of each mission?”
“Most of the time.”
“I get it now, that is why there is the term ‘trial’ before each star mission, for example 2 star trial mission Mu Yang High School, 3 star trial mission Third Sick Hall and so on.” Chen Ge caught up very quickly. “But there is still something that is befuddling to me. The props and scenarios in my Haunted House, how did you unlock them so fast?”
“That was actually what I was about to tell you next. As the red city continue to expand, the red city itself become unstable, despair started to spread and the spectres were going at each other. They are unable to achieve salvation at this place, for them to really let go of their resentment and despair in their heart, I am afraid that is no other option but for them to return to real life.” The child in the mirror used the gentlest voice to say the craziest thing. “I wish to make this red city into an intermediate point between the sea of fog and real life.”
“have you lost your mind? If so many Red Spectres and ghosts were to be released back into the real life, several hundred km around Jiujiang will be turned into a haunted town.”
“That is why I have been trying with it very carefully. I only unlocked one scenario each time, starting from the weakest to the strongest. You have cooperated with me perfectly, so far there has been no accident, the fact that you are standing here now is proof that my plan is a success.” The child in the mirror glanced at the black phone. Threads of black and red blood vessels appeared inside the toilet and they crawled into the phone. “This phone contains my only lingering spirit, I used all the power innate within the red city to make it possess part of the red city’s power. The scenario at your Haunted House is the reflection of the world behind the door, but they will grow in the real life, becoming the medium that connects the red city and the real world.”
The cracks on the screen were slowly being healed by the blood vessels. The blood vessels gave off a presence that could rival a Demon God, the child in the mirror appeared to be using the flesh and blood of a Demon God to repair the black phone.
“The negative emotion of living humans will be consumed by spectres and the spectres’ dying wishes and obsession can seek salvation in real life, that is the most effective way to keep the red city stabilized while expanding it. But stabilizing the red city is just the first step, my real goal is still that sea of despair. I cannot completely wash the sea of fog away but I will control the red city to bring it under control as much as I can, and strive to salvage more despairing souls.” The child in the mirror handed the fixed black phone back to Chen Ge. “before this, I have been in a very dangerous position, the director from the cursed hospital stole my body from the body and have trapped our parents. He would keep using them to come and disturb in his attempt to take control of the red city but now I do not need to worry about him anymore.” The child in the mirror could not leave the red city but the cursed hospital could move freely through the black sea. If not for Chen Ge’s intervention, should the hospital director managed to consume Chen Ge’s parents, the ending might be completely different.
Holding the fixed black phone, Chen Ge was reminded of the first time he found the black phone, it felt like that was just yesterday.
“Do you still have any other question?”
“yes, actually there is something that has been bothering me, since I am here now, I might as well ask you in person.” Chen Ge switched the phone back on again. “There is a spinning wheel inside the black phone, I can spin it by collecting the screams of visitors. I have spun it many times but I have never obtained anything that is remotely good. I just wish to know the rewards that are listed on the app, do they really exist? Like spirit fruit that can extend my lifespan? Medicine that improve one’s body?”
“Those are just white lies that are meant to push you further, there are only spectres, objects related to spectres and items left behind by the dead in the red city inside the Wheel of Misfortune.” The child in the mirror admitted freely.
“How can you be a spirit of Pure Kindness with such shamelessness? That truly has given me a renewed understanding of my own self.” Chen Ge looked at the light that slowly lit up the phone screen and he shook his head lightly.