A crazy plan formulated in Han Fei’s mind. If he succeeded, he’d take over the convenience store but if he failed, death would be the best ending he could hope for. “With no risk comes no glory. You’re right, this is a rare opportunity that we mustn’t let slip.” Han Fei’s eyes slowly narrowed, hiding the dangerous glint in his irises.
“How come I have a feeling what you’re thinking is different from what I’m saying!” The candle face moaned. It just wanted to escape from the store. “The boss is very dangerous. The only thing we need to do is to escape while its attention is otherwise occupied! Please don’t attempt anything more than that!”
“I’m just a temp worker on his first day on the job, what really can I do?” Han Fei stared at the white candle. “You’ve stayed here for so long, you should know about that woman’s history, right? What is the Ziggurat that she’s bringing our boss to tonight?”
“The Ziggurat is the most dangerous building in this area. It is next to a hospital two blocks away. The woman in the wedding dress came from the Ziggurat, it was its former tenant.” The candle face placed all of its hope on Han Fei so he answered as honestly as he could. “The body parts that she got for the boss probably came from the Ziggurat as well.”
“The hospital 2 blocks away?” Han Fei pulled up the map in his mind. There was only one hospital nearby called Yi Ming Hospital. The previous manager drew a red cross over it on the map.
“You don’t think the distance will stop the boss, do you?” The candle face sighed. “If the boss’ real body senses a threat or it has been moved or touched, its consciousness will return to its body through some kind of unique method. It is very cautious and will not let any harm come to its body.”
“Then is there a way to stop its consciousness from returning?”
“That depends on the strength of its enemy. If the enemy is powerful enough to demand the full attention of the boss, then it’ll be more unlikely to spare his mind to events at the shop. The other method is to confuse and befuddle its mind, when it’s in that state, its consciousness won’t be able to sense the presence of its real body that clearly.” The candle felt a thread of danger conversing with Han Fei. “In any case, now is not the time to worry about that, we better leave now! I promise that I can help alleviate the pain of the curse from you!”
“The boss is not always this strong, right?” Han Fei continued his questioning.
“The boss started out as a cursed item. It only became stronger through accumulation of resentment.”
“There are many regrets of the former employees sealed up on the back-alley wall, why didn’t the boss just eliminate them completely?”
“The resentment inside the Animated Regrets can enhance its power. The lingering humanity within them also helps make it more like a human.” The candle could not tell whether Han Fei was going to help him or not, for now all he could do was to answer Han Fei’s questions, “In other words, the boss’ consciousness contains the spirits and humanity of the former employees. They do not belong to the doll, they are merely conscripted under its control through forced labor contract. The first thing you were asked to do once you gain employment here is to take a picture. That is the first step of the curse! Once the curse is completed, the doll can deprive you of your humanity at any moment it likes.” The candle explained patiently. “While the curse is still light on you, we need to leave now! The further we are from the cursed object, the weaker the curse will be, it is why the boss bans his workers from leaving the shop!”
“Looks like I was right. The boss’ consciousness combines the humanity of all of the previous workers here. If I can convince all of the workers to form a riot, then it’ll negatively impact the boss. Normally, this might not do much against the boss but when that happens in the middle of a hard battle, it might cause the boss to commit a fatal mistake.” Han Fei’s plan was to stop the boss’ consciousness from returning to the blood red doll. He needed to buy more time.
“I can’t believe this is your first day at work. It sure is unlucky that the boss has recruited you into our ranks.” The candle showed fear around Han Fei.
“I’m only doing this for everyone’s sake.” Picking up the candle, he walked back to the hidden space with the coffin. “Is there a way for me to tell the boss’ current status through the red paper doll?”
“When the boss is unleashing its full power, the paper doll will suck the blood out from its neighbouring body parts, and black symbols will surface on its body.” The candle had given up the fight, he decided to follow along Han Fei to the end. Then again, he did not really have another choice.
“Then, I’ll leave you here to watch over the doll for me.” Han Fei placed the candle on top of the coffin lid. He raced to the staff breakroom. “Hey, don’t leave me here!”
“Aren’t you a ghost? Why are you afraid of a coffin?” Han Fei grumbled. He then tore down all the pictures from the breakroom wall. He took the pictures and headed to the back alley. Facing the moving shadows on the wall, he explained the current situation inside the convenience store to his seniors. When these trapped souls heard that the boss was not in the shop and might be heavily injured, some of them started to fidget.
“Dear seniors, these pictures are the contracts that you’ve once signed. If the current boss really has your best interest in its heart, I wouldn’t have stepped in but as you all know, it does not care about us at all. It has cursed our body, stole our humanity and even trapped us inside the wall! It has exhausted us for everything we are worth but even then, it refuses to let us go! Give an inch and it demands a mile. Do you really wish to live your life on the wall? Do you really want to stay here forever? Do you not want freedom?” Han Fei’s emotion grew firmer, his voice gathering. His words were strong and powerful. “We can’t allow this to continue any further. Tonight we are presented with a rare opportunity, it is time for us to make it pay!” Han Fei gripped one fist in emphasis while his other touched the wall gingerly, “My own power is limited but if we combine our effort, we should have more than a fighting chance. Stay forever inside the wall or attempt an escape, the choice is yours. I won’t force you into making any choices. But I will lead the way. Even if I am the only one, I will rise against the boss’ unlawful treatment of its employees tonight!”
Several seconds later, Han Fei felt an extra weight on his shoulders. He turned around and saw many semi-translucent hands reaching out from the wall. In their current state, that was the most they could do to show solidarity. Han Fei was shocked by the amount of support, he did not anticipate the boss to have wronged so many ghosts. “I will not disappoint you.” Standing in the back-alley, Han Fei shared his plan. He communicated patiently with all the employees’ broken souls. With an order, these incomplete souls would gather their power to resist the paper doll. When all was said and done, Han Fei returned to the warehouse. He stuffed the candle into his pocket and moved some shelves towards the wall, to clear a clean path for himself.
“What are you doing?”
“Is the coffin heavy?” Han Fei cracked his knuckles.
“Brother, why would you ask that? What are you planning?!”
“The stronger the cursed object, the more powerful its curse. Direct contact will probably harm me.” Han Fei took a deep breath and exited the warehouse. He moved the racks to the side. When everything was done, Han Fei stood next to the coffin and stared right at the red paper doll. Time ticked by slowly. Han Fei sweated in nervousness. When it was 3 am, the paper doll inside the coffin started to crack and blood inside the coffin flowed towards it! As blood was injected into the doll, black names surfaced on its paper body!
“Now is the time!” Han Fei kicked open the door to the back alley and shouted loudly. The broken souls howled with all their might, their shouts echoing down the streets!
The paper doll inside the coffin suddenly went berserk. Cracks became more numerous. The paper smile disappeared and its expression turned ghastly.
“Now it’s my turn!” Han Fei closed the lid and moved to place the coffin on his back. His spine creaked from the sudden weight. Han Fei grimaced with effort and rushed out of the convenience store carrying the coffin with the red paper doll!
“Get out of my way!” He rammed through the store’s glass door. The bell tingled incessantly. Han Fei did not stop to even take a breath. With so many ghosts watching in shock, Han Fei hauled the coffin and raced across the street. No one dared to stop this madman!
Bang!
The rusted gates to Happiness Neighbourhood was kicked open. Lugging the coffin, Han Fei headed straight for Apartment 1!
