Evening, the sunset glow spilled across the landscape…
The roads were already packed with vehicles, and the sidewalks on both sides were teeming with people.
Some were already heading home from work or school, while others were still fighting away at their posts…
Li Wen, a security guard at Yiyuan Neighborhood, had finished his shift a bit early today and was already home.
Perhaps it was because he had just gotten into an argument with a certain homeowner today, and his supervisor was worried he might cause more trouble, so the shift was arranged this way.
“Phew, standing on guard today exhausted me. I even ran into that kind of unreasonable bastard…”
Li Wen cursed inwardly as he opened the door.
He tossed his sweat-stained jacket onto the hanger by the entrance and closed the door behind him.
He immediately sat down on the living room sofa and turned on the television, planning to watch something he liked, such as a movie on xxTV6.
However, just as he was about to change the channel, an emergency news report suddenly broke in, making it impossible for him to switch channels no matter what he did.
“Emergency notice: Recently, for unknown reasons, posts promoting things such as ‘Psychic Games’ and ‘Supernatural Games’ have appeared on the internet. Everyone, please do not click or believe them. If you discover any related posts, please report them immediately or notify the nearest Youxun Sentry Post.”
“If you have already viewed them, please do not attempt the games. If you find someone engaging in related activities, please notify the nearest Youxun Sentry Post immediately. Repeating…”
On the television, the news played on a loop several times, accompanied by bright, slightly unsettling red text.
To have the authorities step in, it was clear that the situation was quite urgent.
‘Psychic Games… Supernatural Games, what are those things…’
Li Wen stroked his stubbly chin, clearly becoming interested in such things.
After all, it wasn’t common for the authorities to be this cautious.
Although they seemed very dangerous, if he just searched to see the definition of these things… it should be fine, right?
Thinking this, Li Wen picked up his phone and typed the four words “Psychic Games” into the browser.
After hitting confirm, a massive number of posts about “not learning about Psychic Games” instantly popped up.
He clicked on one at random.
The content was mostly about the dangers of Psychic Games, saying that as long as one understood the content of the game, they would be tempted and attracted, eventually stepping into the abyss.
‘Is it really that sinister…’
Li Wen felt his scalp tingle slightly.
He wasn’t the type of person who liked to court death.
Since so many people were saying this, then… he probably shouldn’t…
Just as Li Wen was about to stop looking, his phone suddenly went black for some reason.
It reflected his face, along with a blurred black shadow behind him…
He didn’t notice the black shadow, thinking only that his phone had broken.
He quickly pressed the power button a few times, and finally, the screen lit up again.
However, whether it was an accidental touch or some other reason, when the phone opened again, he had actually entered a mysterious post.
The content of the post… seemed to be called… “One-Man Hide and Seek.”
‘What is this… a horror story post?’
Li Wen frowned.
He hadn’t been interested in this kind of thing before, but today, because of the emergency news, his interest happened to be piqued, so he continued reading…
“One-Man Hide and Seek… as long as you can win this game, it seems you can grant a wish… Tsk, how could there be such a good thing? There’s probably a price to pay.”
Li Wen was dismissive.
He had seen many tropes like this in webnovels, but out of curiosity, he kept reading, completely unaware of the severity of the situation.
“Step One: First, prepare a doll, preferably human-shaped.”
“Step Two: Hollow out the inside of the doll and fill it with rice and your own fingernails.”
“Step Three: After sewing it up with red thread, immerse it in the bathroom sink.”
“Step Four…”
Li Wen seemed to be drawn in by some mysterious force.
By the time he realized this thing… was one of those Supernatural Games, he had already finished reading all the steps.
He looked around somewhat dazed.
Even though there was no one in his house, he subconsciously wanted to confirm certain things.
Afterward, he turned his gaze back to the content of the post.
‘Is this… a Psychic Game?’
Li Wen looked at the final step displayed on his phone, a drop of cold sweat rolling down his forehead.
‘It still feels a bit strange. Maybe… I should quickly notify the Youxun Sentry Post.’
Li Wen switched the screen to the dialer interface.
Just as he was about to enter the speed-dial number for the patrol, his hand stopped in mid-air.
The post said that if one could win the game… a wish could be granted…
‘Grant a wish…’
These words were like a lingering haze, directly shrouding his heart.
Especially when he thought of his confrontation with the homeowner during the day, and his forced agreement with his classmates at the reunion…
‘Since… since this Psychic Game is so strictly monitored by the authorities, then in a sense, is it possible that it really can grant wishes? After all… if it didn’t have any special power, it wouldn’t have such a big impact.’
‘Maybe… maybe it’s precisely because it really can grant wishes that the authorities are trying their best to hide its existence?!’
Something called greed rose within his heart, directly suppressing his previous thought and his rationality.
‘Let’s try it. If something really goes wrong, I’ll just rush out of the house and call the Youxun Sentry Post. Yes, that’s it. No matter what, I have a way out.’
Li Wen finally convinced himself and suddenly stood up from the sofa.
‘Then… first…’
Li Wen walked into his room, opened the wardrobe, and pulled out a doll from the bottom that looked somewhat similar to him.
The cheek area had already turned slightly black.
The eyes were glass beads, and the hair was a wig sewn directly onto it.
Overall, it had a distinct sense of Guiyi.
This was something one of his bad friends had intentionally given him, modeled after himself.
However, he felt it was quite ugly, so he had kept it here.
It could be used as a medium.
The steps said… to first dig out the things inside… and fill it with rice and his own fingernails.
Li Wen followed the instructions one by one, then used thread to sew it up.
Unfortunately, because he rarely did this kind of thing, he accidentally cut his finger, and a few drops of blood soaked into the doll.
Glug glug…
While Li Wen was busy putting a bandage on his wound, the doll’s eyes… seemed to roll a few times.
Afterward, Li Wen filled the bathtub in the bathroom with water and placed the doll inside until it naturally sank to the bottom.
“Next… take out a knife and stab it into its body…”
Following the steps, Li Wen took a small knife from the kitchen and suddenly stabbed it into the doll’s body, chanting under his breath: “I found you. Next… it’s your turn to find me.”
After the stabbing, Li Wen looked at the doll lying motionless in the water.
He felt a slight palpitation, but since he had already reached this point, it seemed inappropriate… not to finish it.
Next, turn off all the lights, then take a mouthful of salt water, and find a place to hide…
As a house of only about 50 square meters, there weren’t many places to hide inside.
Li Wen looked around the living room and didn’t see any suitable spots, so he went to the bedroom and immediately locked onto his wardrobe.
Because the wardrobe was positioned directly facing the bedroom door and the bathroom outside the living room, if that thing really appeared, he would be able to notice it immediately.
After turning off the bedroom lights, Li Wen opened the wardrobe door and hid himself inside.
‘It is now… 9:37 PM…’
Li Wen glanced at his phone and silently noted the current time in his heart.
Since the post didn’t say when it would take effect, he could only wait.
During this period, he couldn’t fall asleep.
If he let the salt water in his mouth flow out because he fell asleep, he would be finished.
Thus, time passed minute by minute…
Darkness was like a catalyst; in this environment, a person’s senses and emotions would be infinitely magnified.
The sound of vehicles outside the window, the sound of the television in the living room, and even the dripping sound from the leaky faucet in the bathroom could be heard clearly.
‘Does this game really work? This salt water is really uncomfortable to hold…’
Unease, discomfort, and impatience… these three feelings mixed together, making Li Wen once want to open the wardrobe door and leave.
However, just at the moment he was about to lose his resolve…
Tap… tap…
From the direction of the bathroom, there seemed to be… the sound of footsteps?
‘Wait, footsteps? No way… that thing, it can’t really be out looking for me…’
Li Wen’s nerves tensed.
He tried to hypnotize himself into thinking it was just a sound from upstairs, but… the position the sound came from was not like that.
‘It’s fine. I still have this mouthful of salt water. As long as I can successfully spit it onto it, I’ll win.’
Li Wen comforted himself this way, even though he was already shaking.
Driven by intense curiosity, Li Wen pushed the wardrobe door open just a tiny bit.
The gap in the middle was just enough for him to see the living room and the bathroom door.
Despite the visibility in the entire house dropping significantly because all the lights were off, with the help of the light from the television in the living room, he could vaguely see… the originally closed bathroom door was opening, little by little…
Mmph!
Gulp…
Perhaps because he was too nervous, Li Wen subconsciously made a swallowing motion.
The mouthful of salt water… was swallowed into his stomach because of this action.
No… this is bad!
Li Wen instantly felt that things were going terribly wrong.
He wanted to rush out, but… at the bathroom door… a thing was already standing there…
‘What should I do… right! Send a message! Send a message to the Youxun Sentry Post!’
Li Wen picked up his phone and quickly pressed the speed-dial number for the Youxun Sentry Post.
“Hello, this is the District 7 Patrol Outpost. Is there anything we can help you with?”
“Save me…”