Horror Game Developer: My games aren't that scary! Chapter 631: Hello, again [1]

Someone was keeping watch over me.

This fact hit me right from the moment the Gate struck me in the hospital. Even though I could link clues to learn bits about the culprit, I felt a sharp certainty that surveillance was likely happening somehow.

Considering the note tucked in my pocket, I figured Zoey suspected the same thing.

...Or so it appeared to me, at least.

Why else go through all that trouble just to slip me a note?

My fingers twitched with urge. I desperately wanted to check the note, yet acting too blatant wasn't an option.

"Really. What an annoying situation."

I dropped back into my chair, feigning irritation.

No, the frustration was genuine.

I was sure no tech gadgets were spying on me, thanks to Mr. Jingles' thorough sweep, but that didn't ease my mind. What if some item or anomaly was tracking me instead? That would make everything far more complicated.

'Not to mention how the sudden mess kept me from seeing the orphanage kids.'

Mr. Jingles held a grudge against me now.

All I could offer was a vow to return for a visit soon.

Then there was the issue with Rowan's sister.

"Haa."

A heavy sigh escaped me.

Life was throwing curveballs my way.

'Good thing the current mess isn't beyond handling.'

I rose to my feet, muttering, "Time to dive into a new game project. It'll distract me from all this."

One spot existed where surveillance couldn't touch me.

It was the sole place where such a thing proved impossible, so I turned my gaze to the right-side door, approached it, swung it open, and stepped into my game dev room.

"Feels like ages since I last came here. This empty vibe... it's oddly unsettling."

I scanned the room, registering the lack of others, then shut the door and headed to my workstation. Settling into the chair, I reclined and at last fished out the note from my pocket that had piqued my interest so much.

"Let's see what it says."

I unfolded the paper, glanced over the opening lines swiftly, then froze before erupting into laughter.

"What's so funny?"

A familiar presence materialized in front of me, eyeing the paper in my grip with clear bewilderment. I stayed silent and simply passed the letter over.

"Read it for yourself."

Kyle took it without a word, skimmed through it quickly, and his face shifted as he glanced my way. I chuckled again, sinking deeper into the chair.

"Looks like she knew about the surveillance right from the beginning. She's also onto the fact that I'm being watched, which explains her behavior. But here's the hilarious part?"

I jabbed a finger at the letter.

"...She views this as a prime chance. Basically, she aims to exploit the 'clash' between us to snare the one behind Rowan's sister's ordeal and uncover what befell her."

I'd long recognized Zoey's sharp mind. Plenty in this field had to be sharp just to make it through.

Though puzzled on how she pieced it together, this revelation caught me off guard.

A fantastic surprise, no less.

However...

"You know, I don't really like it."

The laughter faded from me.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

With my finger drumming on the table, I rested my elbow there, cupped my cheek in my palm, and kept tapping away.

"I don't like how this whole mess unfolded at all. From beginning to end, the mastermind behind it all remains a mystery to me. How major a player is he in this 'game' we're caught in? A heavyweight, or merely some lowlife flexing after unmasking me?"

Tap. Tap.

Yet that wasn't what irked me deepest.

What grated most was my total lack of command over events.

Throughout, it seemed I danced to his tune precisely as planned. The kicker? I knew it full well and still followed his lead. That burned.

"Looks like you've finally realized your answer."

All at once, the Conductor materialized.

Its gentle laugh rippled through the air as it drew nearer.

"...Seeing it take you this long to catch on, especially with that expression on your face, makes for quite the entertaining view."

Expression I was making?

I glanced at Kyle, who shot me an odd stare before averting his eyes.

Ah, got it.

'Looks like my decision was set long ago, only dawning on me now.'

I clamped my hand over my mouth, barely suppressing a chuckle at the sheer absurdity of it all. Yeah, yeah... I had changed so much from my old self. Back then, I'd brush off something like this, waiting for the attacker to strike again so I could study them better and deal with it properly.

But now, everything had changed.

Waiting was no longer an option for me.

I craved to eliminate them right away. Even more, I yearned to deliver a clear warning.

A warning aimed at all those others probably 'aware' of my presence.

"Yeah, it’s just like the last time. In the Limbo."

My eyes fixed on my hand.

It shook uncontrollably.

"...I wanted to step on them."

Raising my gaze, I locked eyes with the Conductor.

Suddenly, a smile crept across my face.

"Wait, wait."

Yet oddly, the Conductor didn't return the smile. Its usual calm seemed to crack a little as it gazed back at me.

"That’s overkill. You’ll be wasting an opportunity if you do that."

"I know."

"In that case⎯"

"But I’m not right in the head."

I cocked my head at the Conductor, the tremor in my hand fading as it tilted on its own.

"Right now, at this very moment, I am not thinking rationally. I can’t think rationally. My mind is consumed by one thought, and one thought alone..." I paused, dwelling on the horrors from the hospital. "I want to make them suffer. I want them to experience the very same thing I experienced, but far worse."

To bring that about, I'd use every trick and power at my command. Whether it meant overkill or throwing away a prime chance.

That was simply my nature.

I rose to my feet, shifting my focus to the far horizon while twisting the ring on my finger. As I did, the air nearby warped, the environment quivered lightly, and a gust of icy breeze swept into the space.

The chill seeped through my whole body, but I ignored it entirely, gazing steadily at the spot ahead where a shape started to emerge—like a doorway, its hazy edges taking form right there.

As I watched it, my lips twisted into a grin while I stretched out my hand toward it.

’I didn’t expect to see you so soon, but circumstances have made it so that I have no choice but to visit you again. I’m rather excited about what you’ll tell me.’

Dreak King Paimon~