A rotten stench filled the air, along with the temperature growing colder, which made Ren feel suffocated as the entire room was filled with shadows; it was still raining.
He was sure that he had arrived at the place where the two worlds intersected. Renu was right; they had actually triggered the ghost story game. He was still staring down at Gao Ming's returning corpse, which was being battered by the rain; this was a serious matter.
Where was Renu? He noticed she hadn't said a word since the start of his meditation. Could she have gone? No, she wasn't like that; she would have most likely tried to check on him. Where was she then?
He shivered as the shadows around him tightened against him. What game had become a reality? That question alone had him feel sick; he would have to fight an entity, and even worse, without Renu.
He had to calm down and analyze what was going on.
The corpse was downstairs. The way this game looks, it feels like it is bigger than the one he had cleared.
A cell phone vibrated, interrupting his thoughts on trying to understand what was going on. It was coming from inside a room, from the sound of it, he crawled towards it to avoid hitting his leg on something. Once he reached the door, he stood up and found that it wasn't locked. He opened it and saw a blinking light on a tabletop. He tiptoed to the blinking light and found it to be some phone; he recognized the shape.
It was Gao Ming's own, but who was calling him? It was well known that he was dead already.
He touched the screen to find that it wasn't password-protected, and numerous messages were popping up. They were all from a group chat named Lovely Neighbours. This was the Well Apartment Building No. 3 group; he knew them.
Just now, a Mr. A tagged all the group members and sent videos. Mr. A just captured Gao Ming's corpse, writing: As God is a witness to me, this is Gao Ming's body again on the ground. I am sure that they carried him away. Why is he back?
The group chat erupted, with many members posting one-word ideas and others sharing random words.
Mr. XY typed: There is something wrong with the videos you sent; it looks like Gao Ming's corpse is in different positions in each video, as if it's moving.
Along with the other members, including Ren, everyone rechecked the videos, and just like that, Gao Ming's body had changed in the different videos.
Mr. A typed: This doesn't make any sense. If he is moving, then that means he is still alive. That makes no sense because he is dead. Let me check the balcony and check another video.
It seemed that everyone in the group would want to capture Gao Ming's body, so he too grabbed the phone and went to the balcony to look down; his eyes widened.
Gao Ming was gone, and the rain washed away the blood stains.
Did he go inside the building? Was he strong? Could he be kicked down? These were questions that ran through Ren's mind.
Mr. A hadn't responded yet.
Mr. XY typed: This isn't good at all. I don't like what is happening here. Do people in their area have access to weapons? Since all phones are disconnected, no other messages can be sent out except for this group chat. Isn't Gao Ming's sister-in-law in this group?
Mrs. Sister-in-Law typed: I am here. I'm unsure about how to approach this matter.
Mr. XY typed: Why is the corpse gone?" Did it enter this building? It has to be because of the way you treated him?
Mrs. Sister-in-Law typed: What is the meaning of that rubbish? His death had nothing to do with me; he jumped out of himself.
A Mr. B typed: Stop fighting, you idiots. I am hearing something right now, climbing up. It is right outside my door.
Mr. XY typed: Are you okay, bro? Let's turn on the group video chat so we can see each other and gain a stronger understanding of this.
Ren found the light switch and turned on the lights. He saw that all the group members had been added to the video chat, including himself.
They were all flabbergasted by the sight of him.
A knocking sound came from Mr. B's video before they could question him; it was a heavy knock, as if someone was repeatedly bumping their head against the door.
Mr. B frowned and went to drag her sofa to block the door. Everyone except Ren in the group whispered 'good job' to Mr. B.
The knocking grew louder, the door panel emitting tiny, cracking sounds.
Ren realized that Mr. B was trapped in his room.
"Guys, I am scared." Mr. B said, but his old, wrinkled face still showed calmness.
Everyone talked to him to calm down and wait. The light in Mr. B's room flickered before switching off, darkness engulfing the room, and the only light source was the faint light from the mobile phone illuminating Mr. B's face.
They heard the door being smashed open and the sofa flipping down.
"Well, everyone, guess this is it." Mr. B said, and through the video they saw a silleotte moving. Mr. B switched on the flashlight, and something with a pale face jumped at him; he dodged it.
The phone landed, leaning on something as it showed Mr. B dropkicking something down, before trying to make it for the buster down, but the entity jumped onto him, and Mr. B screamed, a high-pitched scream of pain.
Just from the edge of the video, they all could see Mr. B being dragged into the shadows, but that wasn't what frightened Ren; instead, he had gotten a glimpse of the face, and he was sure that it wasn't Gao Ming, but rather it was Mr. A.
And now the corpse was climbing upstairs.