The lights from the corridor shone on Han Fei’s silhouette, casting him in an angel-like glow.
“Han Fei!” Jin Jun fell to the ground. His hands covered his neck and the way he looked at Han Fei was how a worshipper would view their God. He was at the edge of despair, Jin Jun definitely did not expect Han Fei to come to his rescue. The joy and relief he felt could not be described in words!
“Do you have a first aid kit around? You need to bandage that wound around your neck before it gets serious.” Han Fei’s main goal was the man in grey, saving Jin Jun was a matter of convenience. Studying the man lying on the ground, Han Fei shut the door close behind him. “You’re Ming Mei’s father, aren’t you?” Han Fei removed the man’s mask. Han Fei’s punch was quite heavy. The man’s face was covered in blood but from the general feature, Han Fei confirmed that this man was the wanted criminal. The man in grey refused to answer but that mattered not to Han Fei, “Didn’t you want to take revenge on me?”
Grabbing the man by his head, Han Fei slammed it heavily against the ground. As the man’s head lolled weakly to the side, Han Fei squatted down beside him, “You are Ming Mei’s father and I’m Ying Yue’s brother. Your family has murdered my little sister and you’re the one who needs to take revenge on me? Laughable.” Through Ying Yue, Han Fei knew the sort of despicable things this family of three had done to Ying Yue, things that would have been a silent secret following Ying Yue’s death. “You’ll have to answer for what you’ve done to Ying Yue.” Han Fei was considering how to help Ying Yue exact her revenge when he saw the Perfect Life’s latest gaming hub in the living room. “Jin Jun, I need a favor from you.”
“Of course, anything for you!” Jin Jun, who was bandaging his neck, immediately hopped over like a bunny once he heard Han Fei call him.
“You’re a Perfect Life’s player as well? Isn’t that the latest gaming hub released by their company?”
“I’ve started playing since the 4th CB! In fact, I’ll let you in on an industry secret. I’ve wrangled up some Beta Tester Accounts on the black market. They sell like hot cakes. If you want, I can give them all to you!” Jin Jun’s eyes practically glowed with admiration as he looked at Han Fei.
“There’s no need for that, I only need a small favor. But I’m still not sure whether I can trust you or not.” Han Fei’s eyes wandered over to the fainted man. He knew this was a very rare chance, he mustn’t let it slip.
“You’ve just saved my life, I will remember that forever! Even though you might have doubts due to my career choice, I, Jin Jun, is a man of my words. If you need me at all in the future, I will do everything I can to help!” Jin Jun had a renewed appreciation of life after such a close brush with death. If not for Han Fei, he’d be dead already.
“Okay, I only need you to do one thing for me.” Han Fei eased the gaming hub open and dropped the man in grey into it. “Help him set up a new tester account and get him into the game.”
“Huh? Why?” Jin Jun was confused, “A tester account is worth about several hundred thousand RMB now, are you sure you want to waste it on him?”
“Just do what I say. Even after I leave, ensure that he stays in the game.” Han Fei glanced at the clock. “You can call the police to come get him after 12:15 am.”
“Okay, but I’m afraid he’ll come after me when you’re gone.” Jin Jun said worriedly.
“Well, I have the solution.” Han Fei snapped the man’s wrists. “Now he’s as harmless as a puppy.” Han Fei would never show mercy for these scums. “Remember what I said. You have to ensure that he’s in the game until after midnight.” After giving all the details, Han Fei exchanged contact numbers with Jin Jun before he left in a hurry.
“With Ming Mei’s father’s account number, in game Id, date of birth, his appearance and other details, I should be able to summon him to join me in game tonight!” Han Fei had great anticipation of the new manager talent. However, he had no reason to use it until now. He was afraid of accidentally harming innocent people. Han Fei reached home when it was around 11:30 pm. He had a casual supper and connected all the wires. Before he logged into the game, he gave Jin Jun a call.
After ensuring that Ming Yue’s father was already in the game, Han Fei put on the gaming helmet. Blood curtained his world!
“Welcome to Perfect Life where you are free to choose your own perfect life!” Han Fei’s eyes opened and he was inside Room 1044. With no time to waste, he opened the menu and chose to use the Spirit Farer talent. After he clicked on it, something unexpected happened. The moment the talent was triggered, the menu started to fracture and bleed. Horrifying death masks surfaced from the background and each of them had a name clamped between their teeth!
There was no system notification or explanation. A bloody statement bubbled up in his mind. “You are looking at him!” Han Fei’s scalp numbed. The simple directive appeared to suggest something incredibly sinister. Han Fei took a breath and straightened himself. He started to look for Ming Mei’s father’s name. Soon, he made a discovery. The names carried by the masks had varying depth of color. The deeper the redness, the greater the chance of the soul being summoned.
‘This will take forever!’ Han Fei zoomed in on a face that had no name. He tried to write down Ming Mei’s father’s name on it directly. When the name was completed, the bloody statement echoed again. “You have 80 percent of failure, 10 percent of success, and 10 percent of summoning something else! Are you going to proceed with the spirit-faring?”
Han Fei had been waiting for that moment, “Yes!”
The face came alive and gnawed on the name. Yin energy exploded inside Room 1044, the doors and windows creaked noisily. All the death masks surged towards Han Fei but the latter kept his eyes locked on that one mask which was crucial to him.
He had no idea what would happen next. In that moment, an indescribable fear rose within him. It felt as if the death masks were going to consume him and drag him to join their ranks!
The menu shattered completely and the faces melted into a pool of blood. But the one with Ming Mei’s father’s name gradually took on the man’s shape inside the pool. It floated up closer and closer to Han Fei. Han Fei reached his hands into the pool to intercept him. Han Fei’s hands tightened around Ming Mei’s father. He then tried to pull the man out from the pool, but the moment the face broke through the surface, the man’s mouth opened and emitted a shrill cry. The face and the rest of its body crumbled. Han Fei’s hands were left holding nothing. He thought he had failed. However, when Han Fei pulled his arms back, a ghost face that was half dissolved leaped out from the bloody water.
The name inside its mouth was intensely red. As Han Fei retracted his arms, the thing latched onto his skin and emerged from the pool as well!
Crimson flashed before Han Fei’s eyes. Two panels swoop in slowly from the sides to join each other to reform the menu, it was like the gates of hell closing. When the menu returned to normal, the robotic voice said, “You’ve successfully summoned a wandering soul!”
