Horror Game Designer

“A voice from the taboo zone? Is our teacher inside the taboo zone?” Class 13 had a new educational method. Their teacher gave them the homework from another room over. The art teacher didn’t mention any punishment for failing the homework, but everyone knew it wouldn’t be good.

The windows and doors of Room 2103 shut off. A clock hung above the blackboard. The number on the clock face was minuscule. The needles were crooked and moved in a strange manner.

“The doors aren’t locked, but they can’t be opened.” Xi San tried the doors. He held the pencil and paced around.

“That’s so annoying. Can you stop?” Du Bai wanted to splash the paint on Xi San.

“All five paintings look like a crazy person made them. How can we find the specific one?” Xi San ignored Du Bai and came to check on the others. In reality, most of the students were lost too. They didn’t dare to make guesses. In the past, they might fail if they guessed wrongly, but at this place, they might die.

“Gao Ming, which painting do you think was made by a crazy killer?” Liu Yi and Wang Jie were smart. They both came to Gao Ming.

There were two psychiatrists in class. Zuo Bo was mad. The other was Gao Ming. He was the class’ hope.

“All five paintings describe the same scenario of students sitting in class. For the first painting, the students are depicted using the simplest lines. The painter tried their best to reconstruct the original scene.

“For the second painting, the seconds were blackened by the painter. The brush strokes were so strong that they almost ruined the canvas. This is a sign of aggression. The painter should be someone aggressive. If he’s the killer, then it is a crime of passion. That doesn’t fit the definition of a crazed killer.

“The third painting is the most special. It is the only painting to use a lot of colours. The tables, chairs, blackboard and lights in the classroom were painted red. The students were drawn in black lines and then supplemented with red paint. This painting is visually impactful. Its presentation is more from the victim’s perspective. I only sense anxiety and pain in this painting. There is no exciting.

“The fourth painting is the most professional. It’s like a photograph of the original scene. The brush strokes are as sharp as a knife. Every student’s expression is so lifelike. The techniques employed are highly impressive, but they don’t reflect anything of the painter. Or rather, the painter has perfectly hidden his real thoughts.

“The last painting looks the most normal, but take a closer look. This painting is the one that is the most discomfiting. Many details expose the painter’s twisted mentality.” Gao Ming stood up and walked to the fifth painting. “The painting uses a minimal amount of soft lines. Even the table edges and points are highlighted. The painter’s aggression is much stronger than that of the second painter. Plus, he knows how to hide it. He spends most of the time suppressing his urges.

“Now, look at the painted students. Some are fighting, and others are arguing. However, pull your attention to the students at the corner. When the painter drew them, their hands subconsciously reached towards their lower bodies. Be it male or female, the sexual characteristics are emphasised. It shows a strong desire in the painter. Even when he painted these side characters, he was breathing heavily.” Gao Ming walked past the five paintings and had a rough guess. “The killer’s painting should be between the fourth and fifth paintings!”

“Such expertise!” Xi San had to give Gao Ming a thumb’s up. “It’s nice to be in the same class as you!”

Gao Ming didn’t dare to accept Xi San’s praise because the mud from the flood was still stuck to Xi San’s neck.

“Zuo Bo, what do you think?” Gao Ming walked down and stood beside Zuo Bo. They were high school mates and were supposed to have a good future.

“The… fourth one!” Zuo Bo gripped the pencil tightly and started to draw on his canvas. “Because the fourth painting expresses nothing! Why would a killer tell others he’s a killer?”

“You have a point.”

Gao Ming helped them narrow down the scope. They started to choose between the two paintings.

“We only have 30 minutes. We shouldn’t waste time.” Xi San chose the fifth painting. Before he started painting, he even reminded Wang Jie out of kindness.

“If I’m a killer, what kind of painting will I draw?” Wang Jie had this thought in his mind. He stared at the fourth painting, and his hands started to mimic it subconsciously. With his painting skills, he couldn’t mimic it perfectly. It was more like he was painting a derivative of it.

Time was ticking, and the students started to work. Gao Ming picked up his pencil too.

“I hate drawing.” The moment he held the pencil, Gao Ming thought of Xia Yang for some reason. The man died in his own painting and had his corpse drawn himself. Gao Ming had no idea how Xia Yang came up with such a preposterous idea.

Gao Ming couldn’t confirm if Xia Yang were dead or not. He couldn’t be alive because he had a corpse. He couldn’t be dead because his corpse had drawn him out. Xia Yang was… dead-like.

The tip of the pencil touched the canvas. Gao Ming started to mimic the fifth painting. He drew very fast. It was like he didn’t even need to think. However, as he drew, he noticed a problem. His hand that held the pencil appeared to be controlled by some kind of force to keep drawing.

“Why did you stop drawing?” Xia Yang’s voice suddenly appeared in his right ear. Gao Ming turned to the right. Wang Jie held the pencil like a knife. His eyes were red, and his soul appeared to be sucked into the painting.

The other students didn’t look so well either. Their bodies leaned forward like they wanted to crawl into their paintings.

The scariest thing was as they completed their paintings, the artroom where they were started to change. It became the classroom in the paintings.

“They are drawing the moment they were killed.” Xia Yang’s voice returned. Gao Ming took out the death portrait.

Gao Ming lowered his head to look. He noticed that Xia Yang’s portrait had changed. Xia Yang’s corpse was painting but he wasn’t painting himself but the students of Class 13.

On the canvas, the storm slammed against the window. The sky darkened. There was blood all over the artroom. The students were scattered on the ground like puzzle pieces. Only Gao Ming stood alone in the middle.

“I’ll make sure you’re the only one who survives.”

The other students wouldn’t have expected that while they were pondering how the art teacher would punish them, Gao Ming had already murdered them in the death portrait.

This troubled Gao Ming too. He hadn’t figured out how to deal with the art teacher next door and a new problem arose with Xia Yang’s death portrait.

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