Han Fei had completed the prerequisite mission for Midnight Butcher, stayed in the game for more than 3 hours but he did not hurry to log off but instead waited until 4 am. When Chatroom 444 lit up, he immediately entered it.
Anonymous User: ‘Is anyone there?’
Huang Yin (Tester Account Player 0999): ‘Brother, we meet meet meet again. But today I’m not feeling so well, I’m going to log off soon.’
Anonymous User: ‘Oh no, I hope you’re not sick.’
Huang Yin (Tester Account Player 0999): ‘It’s not that, I’ve been through a bit much earlier, so now I feel quite tired.’
Anonymous User: ‘What do you mean?’
Huang Yin (Tester Account Player 0999): ‘You probably won’t believe me, but there is a hidden map connected to my home’s bathroom.’
Anonymous User: ‘?’
Huang Yin (Tester Account Player 0999): ‘I knew you wouldn’t believe me, hell, if I didn’t experience it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it either, but it’s real! My bathroom is the key to open the map. Based on my observation, there’s a slim chance for me to enter that map whenever I open my bathroom door.’
Anonymous User: ‘What is so special about the map? What’s so exciting about it?’
Huang Yin (Tester Account Player 0999): ‘The map appears to manifest your innermost fear into actual ghosts and demons, so that you are forced to face your darkest memory head on.’
Anonymous User: ‘Brother Huang, are you pulling my leg?’
Huang Yin (Tester Account Player 0999): ‘You still don’t believe me?! No matter, when you come to visit me in the future, I’ll bring you along to experience it with me!’
Anonymous User: ‘For real?’
Huang Yin (Tester Account Player 0999): ‘Yes. It’s an indescribable experience. At the beginning, everything is horrifying but at the end of the darkness, you’ll encounter that hope hidden deep inside your heart, the memory that keeps you holding on in the darkest moment. When you wake up from the nightmare, when you’ve experienced the darkest moment, you’ll realize even the simplest bowl of porridge, a normal conversation with others can be such inspiration of bliss! In fact, perhaps that is the real Iyashikei game in Perfect Life…’
Anonymous User: ‘You really think it’s that magical?’
Huang Yin (Tester Account Player 0999): ‘It’s very hard for me to explain. Brother, you’ll see for yourself when I bring you along next time. I’m getting too tired already. I’ll chat with you tomorrow. Good night.’
After leaving the chatroom, Han Fei glanced around Room 1044. He then scratched his chin. ‘The man really appears to have been healed from that experience. Is he not normal or am I not normal…’
He quitted the game. Blood covered his world. He removed the gaming helmet and climbed into bed. ‘After I finish with the shoot tomorrow, I should go and check up on Huang Yin in person.’ He stretched lazily and pulled out his phone to call Jin Jun, “Have you called the police?”
“Big Brother Han, I’m now at the police station. I’ve told the officer everything. You saved my life and detained the culprit.” Jin Jun was very clever. After a while, he suddenly whispered, “I only called them at 12.15 am, I followed your instructions to the tee.”
“You’re older than I am, it’s weird to hear you call me big brother. Listen, cooperate well with the police and we might work together again in the future.” Han Fei turned to look at his crime wall. “I have many exclusives that will skyrocket your career. But you’ll have to follow my instructions on what to publish and how to publish them.”
“Of course, of course!” After hanging up, Han Fei slept soundly. After he woke up, he rushed to the set. Once he arrived at the Northern Street, Han Fei noticed something was wrong. Not only did the number of reporters increase, even the crew members kept tossing strange gazes at him. Theoretically speaking, a topic’s popularity would fade as the time went by but it was the complete opposite for Han Fei. “Is there something on my face? Why are you all staring at me like that?”
“Han Fei, have you seen the morning news?” The floor manager jogged over and said, “You’re on the news again!” Han Fei quickly pulled out his phone. The police had just announced the news that the killer of the toy plushie case had been captured. It was attached with a video message of Jin Jun thanking his savior. The paparazzi painted a very powerful image of Han Fei, of how he arrived like a superhero to save his life and apprehend the criminal.
“Normally, the paparazzi share a sketchy relationship with celebrities. You’re the first celebrity to make a paparazzi to go on public record to express his undying appreciation to you.” The floor manager sighed, “Jin Jun is quite famous in our circle. He has a nose for news, he is behind several big scoops. He’s a senior paparazzi, loved by his editors but hated by most celebrities.”
“I just happened to be there when he was attacked.” Han Fei scrolled through the news. There were already articles with headlines like ‘actor sacrificing himself to save a paparazzi’ and so on, “We better focus on our job. That is more important.” When Han Fei first got on the latest news, he found it quite interesting, but now it felt quite normal.
“I am ultimately an actor. I should remind people of that fact.” Han Fei opened his social media account and submitted his first status. It was the poster of his upcoming movie, Twin Flowers. Meng Changan and Meng Changxi stood back to back, once the poster was released, his social media exploded again!
“What the! You’re really an actor?! I thought you’re an undercover cop sent into the entertainment industry!”
“You look much better here than the ones on the news site!”
“Brother, what kind of case do you plan to solve next? No, I mean what kind of project you’ll participate in next?”
Han Fei couldn’t help but laugh when he read the comments. ‘The cryptic world of Perfect Life is so lifeless because there is no global chatbox. Perhaps I should bring a few more players with me to liven up the place when I have the chance.’ Turning off the phone, Han Fei turned to his job. He was the main character and had the most scenes but he was, as always, the first to finish. Around noon, everyone gathered together for lunch. Like usual, Han Fei found a secluded spot away from others to have his meal alone. He took out his phone and started to search online for information on Qu Yun while shoving food into his mouth.
The landlord’s diary provided certain information on specific tenants. Han Fei planned to use this information to get to know these tenants better.
“I still remember the previous building manager telling me to speed up my exploration speed, that suggests that I’m on a time crunch, perhaps something sinister is coming after me. I need to gather more friends and neighbours as well as level up as fast as possible before they can get me.”
