Chapter 27: Can You All Hide in the Closet?

To clear this game, it was both difficult and simple.

If one had no fear in their heart, they wouldn't contract "Fear Syndrome", but for the vast majority of ordinary people, overcoming fear was a very difficult task.

The ending of that game was also quite ironic; city managers, in order to prevent the further spread of "Fear Syndrome", ordered the killing of everyone in the infected areas.

Survivors who hadn't contracted Fear Syndrome were forced to confront the city managers.

"If this game really turned into reality, then we'd be in big trouble,"

The spread of Fear Syndrome would be much faster than ghost stories if it happened as it did in the game, so it was vital to "lock down" the game at its source, no matter what.

"We have to find that missing child," Gao Ming was somewhat anxious, but as soon as anxious emotions emerged, his body immediately began to have other reactions.

Sweating on the forehead, chest tightness and gasping for air, palpitations, a sudden urge to urinate—as a psychological specialist, Gao Ming knew all too well these were the typical symptoms of Fear Syndrome.

Decisively standing up, Gao Ming shouted to the outside, "Everyone, pay attention! Do not believe anything you see, hear, or touch! And don't become afraid!"

He called out loudly, but there was no response.

Stepping off the bed, Gao Ming looked towards the living room and found that there was no one else in room 405 anymore.

"This isn't good, I seem to have been affected without realizing it."

Gao Ming was worried, Bai Qiao and the burly driver considered this Abnormal Event to be of a low danger level because there were no monsters or ghosts, so they took the opportunity to train new members by bringing all the reserve newcomers of Investigative Group One.

A full ten investigators had entered the Abnormal Event, but the event didn't care about numbers; it targeted anyone who experienced fear.

Isolation, terror, collapse—although there were no ghosts in the "Fear Syndrome" game, many people chose suicide to escape their fear.

"I can't succumb to fear; I have to break free to help the others."

Halting the meaningless internal struggle, Gao Ming focused his attention, avoiding any wild imaginings.

Fear was a normal emotion, deeply rooted in the mind; it could help people avoid danger in advance, but excessive fear could turn into a toxic emotion.

If the source of fear wasn't found quickly to interrupt its negative effects, the emotion would grow continuously, dragging people into a cycle of fear.

Emptying his mind, Gao Ming would rather not think at all than imagine the worst-case scenario.

"Ah! Help! Help!"

Suddenly, a cry for help echoed down the corridor; it seemed a new investigator was being chased by something and had fallen in a panic.

"Let me go! Let me go!"

His body seemed to be grabbed, and the cries for help became fainter as he was apparently dragged to a different floor.

Grabbing the door, Gao Ming shook the doorknob wildly, but when it wouldn't open, he kicked fiercely at the door lock.

"Bang!"

The old apartment's wooden door burst open, and Gao Ming looked outside, finding the hallway engulfed in shadow, without a single person around.

Screams and cries arose one after another, incessantly coming from the other rooms on the fourth floor, and Gao Ming's response was direct as he kicked open those doors one by one.

Throughout the entire process, Gao Ming didn't feel any fear; he knew the best way to deal with fear was to confront it.

All concerns, restlessness—if there were any negative emotions, he discarded them all, knowing that only by continuously moving forward, by chasing after fear, could he keep fear at bay!

Gao Ming no longer restrained himself, barreling through like a hooligan, fearless.

"I created the game, I know every move they make, I am the all-knowing and almighty designer, why should I be afraid?"

Screams and calls for help couldn't shake Gao Ming in the slightest. He kept feeding himself positive psychological suggestions, even employing hypnotic techniques, and now, even if a real ghost were to appear, he'd dare to give it a bear hug.

Cries, shrieks, bloodstains, and sinister shadows—Gao Ming was "tortured" for over a dozen minutes, until the shadows in his field of vision started to fade.

A game of such ominous level could have a severely detrimental impact on crowds and posed a vast danger but wasn't too difficult for a special individual like Gao Ming.

"It seems I'm about to be sent out of the game."

"Fear Syndrome" is a group game, and it seems one can leave after overcoming fear.

Glancing at the ugly doll in his hands, Gao Ming stood in the corridor covered with horrific graffiti. If he left now, the new investigators from the agency might be in danger.

Fear is not only self-growing, but it can also spread contagiously. A group of people on the verge of collapse, gathered together, is unimaginable.

"Leaving them here might lead to 'Fear Syndrome' getting out of control and allowing fear to spread."

After a moment of hesitation, Gao Ming made his choice.

The genesis of fear psychology can be divided into four stages. The first stage is positive, reminding oneself that danger might occur.

The second stage is fear reinforcement, where imagination is triggered by experiences in the brain, prompting one to come up with responses.

If one can't escape the predicament and find a solution to the problem, then fear will enter the third stage—the negative cycle, where anxiety, pain, and despair will further fuel the growth of fear.

Finally, it's the fourth stage of fear, where the player is utterly engulfed and buried by fear.

"I should always stay in the first stage. The person behind the scenes controlling the fear tried to drag me into deeper shadows, but alas, it failed." Gao Ming didn't leave but turned around and re-entered room 405. "The others from the investigation bureau might have fallen into deeper layers of fear. To rescue them, one has to embrace fear actively."

Holding a backpack filled with memorial photos, Gao Ming lay in the center of the "blanket fortress," embodying the role of a child, releasing all psychological defenses, and letting fear spread within his heart.

...

Zhu Miaomiao was an exceptionally rare female firefighter in the Old City District. Her physical condition was better than that of most men, and she was incredibly strong.

She once had a happy family, but three days ago, her husband and child disappeared in an Abnormal Event.

Upon learning of the existence of the investigation agency, Zhu Miaomiao promptly joined, becoming a rookie investigator who had not yet been assigned a Black Ring.

She wanted to find her child and husband amidst the Abnormal Event and had prepared herself mentally for it, but when real fear struck, she found she wasn't as strong as she had imagined.

With cold and numb limbs, she hid in bedroom 406, gripping a bloodstained firefighter's axe tightly in her hands.

Her colleagues in the hallway were being dragged away one by one, their screams, and wails tormenting every nerve in her.

She had thought about resisting, but when she hysterically raised her axe to attack the Monster, she heard her colleagues' cries of alarm.

Warm blood splattered onto her, and Zhu Miaomiao thought she saw a colleague collapse into a pool of blood, and in that moment, she felt extreme fear.

Indeed, she hadn't followed the rules. Now, she had forgotten all about them, with nothing but emptiness filling her mind.

"You will never leave this place," said a child's voice in the room. Zhu Miaomiao stood with her axe, her back against the door.

"You've killed a colleague; you are a murderer. Even if you go back, you'll be locked up in prison; you'll never see your child and husband again."

"Who's talking!" Zhu Miaomiao swung her firefighter's axe at the air, and after a moment, the closet doors in the bedroom swung open, revealing a child with pale skin crouching inside.

He pulled out his somewhat deformed arm from the deep closet, waving at Zhu Miaomiao: "I know you're scared; let's hide here together."