The Ghost Game Chapter 3

Damn, what a lazy name. So half-assed.

But then the screen flickers twice, and an image of me hanging myself appears!

Black background, red wedding dress.

Eerie background music.

Sickly green game title with blood stains.

Chinese horror aesthetic.

Next to the game title is a small figure hanging by a noose, swaying left and right in a phantom breeze.

The person's face is mine!

The hanging person is me!

I nearly drop my phone in shock.

Thinking back to everything that happened today, I figure Ryan must have messed with it while I was at lunch.

Just to make me look like a fool at work!

Whatever. It's just some low-level prank.

I'm bored anyway, so let's see what highlights this pervert programmer has built into his horror game.

I click start. Instant load.

One bedroom, one living room—the layout of Ryan's rental apartment.

A couch facing the wall with a projection screen.

Playing an adult film.

What confuses me is that the woman in the film has Sarah Chen's face!

A perfect body from every angle, wearing only a sheer mesh negligee.

You know, that barely-there look is the most seductive.

Ha, leave it to a programmer who loves beautiful women to make a horror game with such a "wholesome" theme.

Then the bathroom door opens, and out walks Ryan—completely naked.

He's even wearing little devil horns and holding a riding crop.

Holy shit, this is too wild.

I thought they'd just hook up directly, but they're into roleplay?

Ryan, you dog, you really came through. You said you'd share photos of the beautiful woman, but I didn't expect you to livestream this!

Should I give Ryan a surprise and call him?

Nah, better not. Don't want to scare little Ryan's... you know.

When I snap back to attention, the game screen suddenly goes dark, everything glowing an eerie green.

The game's background music is the classic "Yin Yang Road"!

Just the intro is enough to give you instant goosebumps.

But then something even more terrifying happens!

Ryan is sitting on the couch with his head thrown back, foaming at the mouth, his tongue torn out and thrown on the floor.

And on the projection screen, the woman with Sarah's face, completely naked, flash-appears right in front of Ryan.

She picks up the tongue from the floor like it's a precious treasure, cradling it in both hands, her eyes filled with a twisted, devout reverence.

That look sends chills down my spine, cold sweat crawling up my back. I suddenly feel like my room is filled with phantom winds.

Logically, if Ryan's pranking me, why would he curse himself?

Nobody in this world, not even a crazy person, would curse themselves to death!

A bad feeling wells up inside me. I quickly call Ryan.

It goes straight to voicemail!

I call Sarah. Same thing.

But the Ghost Game won't close no matter what I do!

The woman in the game licks the blood off her fingers, then suddenly looks up and stares directly at me.

"Don't worry... your turn is coming soon!"

Then I get a text from Ryan.

[Haha, bro, I didn't lie to you, right? This game is terrifying, isn't it?]

Damn it, these two are having such a good time, they're teaming up to scare me.

I knew it. How could ghosts possibly exist in this world? I curse under my breath, take a shower, and go to bed.

Tomorrow after work, I'm making Ryan treat me to dinner. He's paying big time to satisfy my anger.

The next morning, it's the police knocking on my door.

Ryan is dead!