“In the first story, the main character was killed by ghosts because he refused to listen to his neighbour’s advice, this implanted the idea in your mind that your home is not safe, and you need to escape from it. If you do not learn from the main character’s mistake, you would encounter the same fate.” Han Fei swept a glance at the AI butler, “The second story worked to enhance that belief. It used a more detailed setting and method to draw you into the scene. In any case, the aim of the videos was for you to voluntarily open the front door and escape from your house.”
At this point, Huang Yin was reminded of the black box the man in black held. Things started to fall in place. “I get it now. The culprit can hack into the housing system to control everything but the security system because it is not part of the housing system, only the house owner can access them with a password. So he must have been waiting outside the door for me to come out.”
“The man should be one of Butterfly’s people. Speaking of which, this is the first time the Butterfly has used a living person to go after someone so directly.” Even Han Fei was not given that ‘privilege’. Of course, there was greater police activity around Han Fei’s place and that perhaps deterred the Butterfly.
“But why would they come after me? I don’t even know who this Butterfly is!” Huang Yin cried indignantly. This was not a joke. He almost died in his home. With that in mind, Huang Yin was appreciative of Han Fei even more.
“Because you have spoilt his plan.” Han Fei was about to go into details when the second warning came from the black box. There would be no third warning. The box would directly explode. The black box was buried deep in his mind. The moment Han Fei revealed anything related to the black box and the cryptic world, the black box would be able to capture it. Han Fei had no idea whether the explosive threat was real or not but he was not going to chance it.
Seeing the hesitation on Han Fei’s face, Huang Yin did not urge, he waited quietly. Huang Yin now not only treated Han Fei as a gaming buddy but also a friend for life. When Death arrived, it was Han Fei who did everything to save him. The previous person who had done that was his mother. Actually Huang Yin had been harboring a guilt towards his mother but he wouldn’t be able to do anything about that, at least not in this lifetime. Huang Yin always had a mature and confident smile for the world but there was a thorn stuck in his heart. This was a past that he could not escape from.
But earlier, there was another person who saved him from the grip of Death. When fresh air returned back into his lungs, he felt like the whole world had changed.
“The Butterfly is the true culprit behind many serial killings, they are also the supercriminal the Xin Lu citizenry database cannot identify. They represent the deepest sin within humanity.” Han Fei had to give Huang Yin some intel before the police arrived. Since he could not reveal the secret of the cryptic world, he used the Butterfly instead to warn Huang Yin. Han Fei had saved Huang Yin’s life in the cryptic world, and he once again saved his life in the real world. Their friendship literally passed the test of life and death.
“Come into the house. Don’t worry, there are no ghosts.” Han Fei supported Huang Yin back into his room. To be honest, Han Fei was at his limits as well. After entering the room, Huang Yin discovered the AI butler was holding a set of table knives which were still in their wrappings. This was the shadowy figure who had frightened him to death in the dark. But now in the bright light, everything did not look that scary anymore.
When they reached the couch, Han Fei collapsed. Fatigue claimed him and the sores jolted through every part of his body. Forcing himself awake, Han Fei told Huang Yin everything that he could. Han Fei trusted Huang Yin implicitly for one simple reason, without Huang Yin’s help, Han Fei would still have been trapped in Jin Sheng’s endless nightmare.
In Huang Yin’s home, he was tired and drained, but at least he could still feel these sensations. If he had fallen into the hands of the blue butterfly and Ma Manjiang, there would be literal hell to pay. When he thought about it that way, a serenity suffused through Han Fei’s heart. In a way, it was a new kind of ‘energy’ that was instilled in him by the Iyashikei game.
After experiencing the cryptic world himself, Huang Yin could be said to be the only living human who could understand Han Fei. It was a pure coincidence that these two became friends. It was like the meeting of one extremely unlucky person with another whose life was a series of unlucky events. In a way, they were quite similar. In fact, Huang Yin did mention that when he first saw Han Fei at the con, the latter reminded him of his younger self. At the time, Han Fei’s social anxiety had not been fully cured. He would feel uncomfortable and anxious among crowds. Huang Yin had the same thing in the past. However, as he grew older, Huang Yin abandoned that self, put on a society-approved mask and started to assimilate into life.
In just a few days, the change to Han Fei couldn’t be laughed at either. However, different from Huang Yin, even though Han Fei was also wearing an invisible mask, he had not abandoned his true self. Huang Yin could see a very deep glow buried in Han Fei’s eyes. This young man appeared to aim to use this barely discernible glow to light up the endless night. After riding over the initial wave of fear, Huang Yin finally calmed down. Honestly, he was quite envious of Han Fei. The young man still managed to keep on walking and glowing so bright after being beaten by life for so many times. It was impressive and inspiring.
“Han Fei, I can see that there are some things that you are not at ease to tell me, I won’t press for details. I know you’ll tell me when you can.” Huang Yin did not know about the black box but he respected Han Fei’s privacy. “I will not tell any other people about this either, don’t worry.”
“That is not that important, Brother Huang. The important thing is you have to get police protection. The Butterfly is merciless and cruel, they are extremely dangerous!” After playing the Iyashikei game, Han Fei understood a valuable lesson, many things in life were fleeting, living to see the sun rise another day was the most important thing.
“Okay.” Huang Yin could feel Han Fei’s sincere concern.
“I mean it. The Butterfly never personally goes after their victims, they are experts at manipulating situations and elements to create accidental deaths.” Han Fei shared part of the information that he had gotten from Meng Changxi with Huang Yin. “Take a look at these. And you need to memorize all the details in there.”
“Must I memorize them?” Seeing the size of the file, Huang Yin did not think a human brain could possibly fit so many things.
“Of course, this information was obtained through the sacrifice of someone’s flesh and blood.” The bell came from downstairs. Han Fei slowly stood up. “We will capture the Butterfly but before that, you have to make sure that you stay alive. I only have a single friend in this world, I don’t want to have to mourn that loss.”
Seeing the sincerity on Han Fei’s face, Huang Yin gave his first genuine smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not the kind to give up easily.”
