Gery had no idea if the others were scared.
Right now, he was completely frozen.
He had just entered a new loop again.
From the locked room around the corner, the sound of a crying baby grew louder and louder.
"Waa… waa…"
But when he reached the wooden door at the end of the hallway, the door that was open before suddenly slammed shut by some invisible force and locked tight.
The baby's crying stopped instantly.
Now the only sound was the creaking of the hanging lamp swaying above, making that sharp squeaking noise that grated on his nerves.
And then, a creak came from behind him.
The door where the baby had been crying earlier—it sounded like it had just opened!
Staring at the wooden door in front of him, Gery didn't dare turn around.
Based on the earlier radio broadcast he heard on his first trip down this hallway, he already had some guesses.
That baby crying… could it be the child who was murdered?
And that sound of the door opening—could it be the pregnant wife killed by her husband?
Was she standing right behind him now?
What does she look like?
Thinking about this sent a chill through his whole body.
He stood there for about ten seconds, took two deep breaths, and then turned around in a flash.
But everything was dead quiet. Not a sound, nothing moved.
Seeing that, Gery let out a small sigh of relief.
"So now it's the next stage. Can I go inside this room now?"
Looking at the half-open door, he walked forward slowly, still guessing in his head.
The moment his hand touched the doorknob—
A white figure suddenly appeared through the crack of the door. A pale, ghastly face stared straight at him, and with a loud bang, the door slammed shut.
"Holy shit!"
Just like the story of the man who loved dragons but feared the real thing, the amazing horror atmosphere of Silent Hill PT had already made Gery so nervous that he even thought, "If I really see a ghost, then fine, at least I'll know what killed me."
But after suddenly seeing this, he couldn't handle it at all. His innocent vocal cords also suffered under pressure that no one should have to bear.
"You mean I can still keep playing this game? Am I really that strong mentally and brave?" Gery swallowed hard as he stared at the game screen still going on.
Before, during other tests, some people had their sessions stopped because of certain elements and were told to take a break.
At that time, Gery thought that was the sign of a weakling.
But now, he had never wanted so badly to be one of those weaklings.
Because the pressure this game was putting on him was way too much.
Whether it was the graphics, the sound effects, or the lighting, Lucas had pushed the horror atmosphere to the absolute limit.
Gery just couldn't understand why such an "underworld" kind of game existed in the world of the living!
Could a normal person really make a game like this?
Staring at the tightly closed bathroom door, Gery took a deep breath. At that moment, the door that had been locked at the end of the hallway opened again, and its meaning was obvious.
It meant he could step into the next endless loop.
The only good news was that Gery could now confirm that the female ghost in the game was the same victim mentioned on the radio earlier.
He went through the basement door again, and the scene beyond it was still the same as before.
But Gery, being observant, noticed that there were more cockroaches in the house now.
And what made him feel even stranger was that the baby's crying sound had been replaced by a woman's voice.
"Ha… ha… uh… ah… mm… uhh…"
It was a chilling sound, not quite a laugh, not quite a cry, and filled with a heavy bubbling tone.
It felt just like someone's throat being choked, with saliva stuck inside while groaning in pain.
As he moved forward, the light grew dimmer and the woman's voice got louder.
At the corner, Gery's body gave a slight shiver.
Because under the distant light stood a tall female ghost whose face was hidden.
At that moment, Gery felt as if a giant hand had gripped his heart.
He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and walked straight toward her.
The unknown is the scariest thing. Why was he so afraid before?
Wasn't it just because he didn't know there was a female ghost? Wasn't it just because he didn't know when she would appear or what she looked like?
Now that the ghost was standing right in front of him, what was there to be scared of!?
But the moment Gery stepped forward, his heart sank—just like the light in front of him that suddenly went out.
Courage rises once, fades the second time, and is gone the third.
The ghost vanished into the darkness again. The bravery he had just gathered leaked away before he could even use it, and that old fear of the unknown returned.
It was even worse this time because now he knew there was a female ghost in the house, but he didn't know where she was hiding to watch him.
Behind him, above him, behind him again, inside the closet, in the small bathroom… it felt like she could be anywhere.
Gery shuffled forward like an old lady crossing the street. The ghost's gurgling voice kept sounding, making his skin crawl, until he reached the spot where she had been standing earlier. Only then did the lights come back on.
When the lights flashed on, countless cockroaches scattered, making Gery's scalp tingle.
He swallowed hard and stepped through the basement door once again.
Now he finally figured out something about this Silent Hill PT demo.
Every time the loop repeats, something creepy happens in the hallway.
So what would change this time?
The first half of the hallway was still the same as before, but after the turn, Gery noticed that the bathroom door, which had always been closed, was now open.
Taking a deep breath, Gery walked into the dark bathroom and found a faintly flickering flashlight on the floor.
It was obvious that in this pitch-black bathroom, the only way to see anything was with this flashlight.
He swallowed again as he made the character slowly crouch down to pick it up.
The moment he picked it up, there was a loud bang behind him.
The bathroom door had slammed shut. At the same time, the faint sobbing of a baby returned.
Following the sound, Gery shone the flashlight toward it, and in the sink lay a deformed fetus that hadn't fully developed.
The moment the light hit its body, the soft sobbing suddenly turned into a loud wail.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
At the same time, outside the door, Gery clearly heard the sound of high heels approaching.
He didn't even have time to react.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The doorknob was being yanked wildly, and with the ghost woman pulling from outside, the bathroom door kept opening a crack. Through that gap, he could even see that pale figure outside.
In the dark, the flashlight that was supposed to stay on started flickering again.
The sound of the rattling doorknob outside, mixed with the cries of a baby, instantly broke down Gery's mental defenses.
"Stop pulling! It has nothing to do with me, I'm begging you, let me go!"
"The one who wronged you isn't me, it's your husband isn't me!"
"I didn't kill you, I didn't hurt the baby, stop pulling!"
In the game, Gery controlled his character to crouch in the corner of the bathroom, rambling and shouting as a way to vent his fear. His voice even carried a hint of sobbing.
At that moment, he swore that ever since he could remember, he had never been this scared in his life.
Why hadn't the link to the VR capsule been forcefully cut yet?
Was the function broken?
Gery's mind started running wild. Just when he felt like he was about to lose it completely, everything suddenly stopped.
The baby's cries went silent, the ghost woman outside seemed to vanish, and the locked bathroom door opened a crack.
Taking a deep breath, Gery slowly poked his head out and stepped forward. Everything seemed to return to normal.
He waited there for a while, but nothing happened. The only thing that stayed the same was that door leading to the next loop.
It looked like an ordinary door, yet to Gery it felt like the gaping jaws of a beast waiting to swallow him whole.
"Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony, freedom…" After hesitating a moment, Gery softly recited the core values to himself as he stepped forward.
(End of The Chapter)
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