“What do you mean, I feel just fine!” Ol’ Lee answered.
“Don’t you feel a bit uncomfortable?” Han Fei was shocked. He looked at Ol’ Lee who was basically a moving mountain of ghosts.
“No, if anything, I notice that you are looking incredibly pale. I know you care about the students, but you have to take care of yourself too.” Draped in dirty stuff, Ol’ Lee who was tailed by a Lingering Spirit started to show concern for Han Fei. It was surreal to say the least.
“Well, as long as you feel fine.” Han Fei tried to adjust his breathing. As a professional actor, this would be a great challenge. He needed to ignore the smell that drifted off Ol’ Lee and the monsters as well as ghosts that latched onto Ol’ Lee. He needed to present himself as a ‘normal person’ like Ol’ Lee.
“You still haven’t explained why you are here. What exactly has happened at this school that got you worried?” Ol’ Lee pressed. He did not trust Han Fei fully simply because of the working Id. Han Fei’s original intention was to show Ol’ Lee Su Mengting’s diary, specifically the entries that were related to the guard. Based on Han Fei’s observation, every mission at Yi Ming Private Academy was interconnected. The diary might help Ol’ Lee recover his memory. His idea was good but just as Han Fei attempted to take out Su Mengting’s diary, the things on Ol’ Lee started to go berserk. They did not seem like they’d want Ol’ Lee to recover his memory. If Han Fei insisted on taking the diary out, there was no telling what the ghosts might do.
“A ruffian has sneaked into the campus at night. He used to be a student here.” Han Fei did not bring up anything related to ghosts and placed the diary back into his inventory. Only then the things around Ol’ Lee started to calm down.
“Why would he come back to school at night? To steal stuff or to commit vandalism?” Ol’ Lee took a seat on the single bed. The resentment of the dirty things that surrounded him was strong enough to cover the entire room. Han Fei who could not stand the smell, politely shuffled away from Ol’ Lee. “The boy’s name is Zhang Guanxing. He comes from a poor family. His father is a drunk and would beat him for no reason.”
“Zhang Guanxing?” Ol’ Lee repeated the name like it was familiar to him.
“Have you seen him before?”
“No, I patrol the grounds every night and you’re the first person I’ve ever met.” Ol’ Lee scratched his head. The ghosts around his head allowed Ol’ Lee’s hand to phase through their bodies.
“You’ve not seen anyone other than myself on your patrols?” Han Fei took another step back. This whole thing smelled fishy. Ol’ Lee appeared to see a different world from what Han Fei was experiencing. He was a very unique presence. “When do you go out for your patrol normally?”
“I have no place to call my own at my old age, so the school allows me to stay here. In return, I will help them look around the grounds at night. Each night, I’ll make 3 patrols on average.” Ol’ Lee answered honestly.
“3 patrols every night?” Han Fei was surprised. To do that and survive until now, Ol’ Lee must have been incredibly lucky or powerful. “Sir, sorry if I appear to be intruding but can your body handle such taxation?” Looking at the dirty things crawling all over the old man and the Lingering Spirit who still refused to leave, Han Fei’s question had a different meaning to it.
“It’s just 3 patrols. It’s nothing. Furthermore, the headmaster came from the same village as I do, so he is particularly kind towards me. He is willing to trust an old man like myself so I shan’t disappoint him.” Ol’ Lee clearly misunderstood Han Fei. “Anyway, I believe I remember this Zhang Guanxing. Come, I’ll help you look for him together.”
Ol’ Lee’s situation was very complicated. He not only had lost his key memories, he had even awakened some ‘unique’ powers. The monsters that crawled over him were the manifestation of that power. Technically, Ol’ Lee was being possessed by these things and his vision was distorted by the ghosts that made his body their host. However, different from normal possession, the ghosts who surrounded Ol’ Lee did not mean to harm him. If anything, they shielded him from the truth because they wanted him to live a simple and uncomplicated life.
Ol’ Lee was a good man so Han Fei believed it would be good for him to follow the old man for now. “Then, I shall thank you in advance.”
Watching the surveillance tape was the simplest hidden mission Han Fei had ever completed and the biggest reason for that was Ol’ Lee. Due to his encounter with the guard, Han Fei could feel his luck changing. Ever since he entered Yi Ming Private Academy, his luck was horrible. Today, he even got separated from the shadow and Zhang Guanxing. For a moment, he even wondered if the system was doing this on purpose because of his negative 9 luck.
Han Fei stood up and pushed open the security room door, he did not want to stay in there even for a second longer. After he left, Han Fei glanced at the mission interface. “Notification for Player 0000! You’ve completed Grade G Hidden Mission—Surveillance Video Tape. Obtained 1 free skill point, friendliness level with Lee Jingye increases by 10.
“Since the mission completion rate is lower than 50 percent, there is no extra reward.
“You’ve challenged 4 tales of horrors. Grade F Hidden Mission, Jin Sheng’s Tales of Horror completion rate: 4/7.”
The main mission was already halfway through. Han Fei planned to head towards the 4th floor of the education block to find Jing Sheng directly. The monster that resembled Ma Manjiang was also around the campus, Han Fei got to meet Jing Sheng before he reunited with that monster to understand what had really happened at this school.
“Ol’ Lee, aren’t you afraid to patrol such a large school alone at night?”
“Well, of course, there is fear but that won’t stop me from doing my job.” The things that latched onto Ol’ Lee formed a cocoon around the old man as he walked down the corridor with Han Fei. “Furthermore, I personally do not believe in ghosts.”
“You know what, me too.” Han Fei very casually glanced behind the old man. The woman who was 2 metres tall, was still following behind Ol’ Lee on her tip toe. Her ruined face was practically breathing down Ol’ Lee’s back. The man would see her the moment he turned around. All the ghosts were doing their part to ‘protect’ Ol’ Lee. Han Fei wondered what would happen if he tried to expose Ol’ Lee to the truth, would the ghosts make him disappear instead?
Ol’ Lee was a ghost who could not see ghosts. In Ol’ Lee’s world, Han Fei was the only person he could meet. With the protection provided by the ‘mobile ghost lair’, Han Fei felt perfectly safe. The only downside was the horrible smell. Without any accident, they arrived at the 4th floor of the education block. The 1st to 3rd floor consisted of normal classrooms, the 4th floor had the labs and extra-curricular rooms.
“The student you mentioned is hiding here?” Ol’ Lee leaned on the window to look into one of the rooms. The ghosts around him did the same. Han Fei did not know whether to laugh or cry. If Zhang Guanxing was really hiding here, he’d be scarred for life seeing Ol’ Lee.
‘What exactly is this guard’s special power?’ Han Fei had never encountered a ghost like Ol’ Lee before. He shook his head to clear the question out of his mind. WIthout more clues, it was pointless to fixate on that problem. Instead, he turned and walked towards the room at the end of the corridor.
