The non-locals at Yi Ming Private Academy had been cleared away by the natives. They hated Ma Manjiang so much that anything related to that man had to be wiped away. Han Fei could understand their feelings but it was also true that once they did that, the available missions at Yi Ming Private Academy had been halved. Han Fei spent the whole night turning the school upside down with Drake and Lee Zai, leaving no stone left unturned. Han Fei only exited the game after he ensured that there was no more mission for him to trigger. ‘Now that I’ve cleared Yi Ming Private Academy, I should turn my focus to Cattle Alley.’
Han Fei stretched lazily as he removed the gaming helmet. Staring at the pictures of victims on the wall, he felt no fear or discomfort. He did not do anything wrong by them. Even if ghosts existed in the real world, he was not afraid of them. ‘Cattle Alley is rather far from Happiness Neighbourhood, it’ll be quite a journey to get there. Looks like the system has made it purposely difficult for me to acquire this hidden profession. However, based on the info I got from the official website, hidden professions that can only be triggered at certain locations are extremely rare. They normally come with more professional talent and skills than a normal profession.’ Reward came with risk. At least in this manner, the game was fair. After a whole night of gaming, Han Fei was tired. Before he went to bed though, he took some time to check his bank account. The payment from Twin Flower had not arrived and his bounty money from helping the police was still not enough to purchase a gaming hub.
‘O well, there’s nothing I can do but wait. I’ll be able to play longer after I have the hub.’ Han Fei put away the gaming helmet, and crawled into bed. He only slept for 3 hours when he was woken up by his phone. When he saw the caller Id, he would feel quite sorry if he did not answer it. “Assistant Xiao, how can I help you? I’ll only be joining the cast tomorrow, right?” The caller was Xiao Hui, one of Director Zhang’s assistants.
“All of the actors have already arrived at Xin Lu. Director Zhang hopes that we can all gather at the set, to get to know each other, since we’ll be spending a prolonged period of time together.” For normal actors, this was a chance to build relationships but for Han Fei, it was nothing more than a nuisance.
“Where is it held? I’ll call a taxi to get there now.”
“Call a taxi? Mr. Han, you’re already a famous actor, don’t tell me you don’t even have a manager?!” As Director Zhang’s assistant, Xiao Hui normally dealt with A-listers, Han Fei was a clear exception.
“Finding a manager is too troublesome.” Han Fei hung up after he got the address. However, he did not depart immediately. The address provided by Xiao Hui was at an intersection between the intelligent city and old city. It was extremely secluded. It was curious why Director Zhang would decide on such a place for a crew meeting. For the sake of security, Han Fei sent the info that he was headed there to Li Xue.
…
Vehicles parked beside the abandoned Fu Gui Meat Packing Factory. People in work helmets bustled about. They were setting up the set. The roaring of machines, the shouting of commands and orders, Xin Lu Northern Countryside hadn’t seen so much activity in a long time already.
“Director Zhang, the time is changing. We can easily place all these inside a virtual set. In fact, technology can help us build any kind of set we want.” A middle-aged man who looked clean-cut held his hand over his mouth as if afraid of taking in the workplace dust.
“A movie is meant to record the truth. Making a movie in a fake reality defeats its entire purpose.” Director Zhang, in a yellow safety helmet, directed the scene himself. He wanted to return this place to how it once was a decade ago.
“Still, we must move along with the pace of technology. Xiao Tong, come and help me persuade Director Zhang.” The middle-aged man took off his sunglasses to reveal a feminine yet handsome face. He turned to a fashionably dressed young man to say.
“I think Director Zhang is right.” The young man sided with Director Zhang without hesitation.
“I believe even if Director Zhang says the moon is square, he’ll agree with it as well.” A tall woman in a mask stood beside Director Zhang. Even though she was in flats, she was still taller than Director Zhang and the middle-aged man. The group of actors surrounded Director Zhang. Some of them had been in the business for a long time, others were popular celebrities, most of them had won big awards, that was the power of an influential director.
It was almost noon when Han Fei arrived. By then Fu Gui Meat Packing Factory and Fu Gui Factory Living Compound beside it had a wild transformation. For his new movie, Director Zhang had mobilized a lot of people and money to transform these two buildings. Seeing the machinery and large number of crew members that crowded the scene, Han Fei felt like a deer in the headlight. Compared to this, Twin Flower was really nothing, they were not even on the same level.
Standing quietly among the crowd, Han Fei scanned his surroundings before he closed his eyes to rest. He started to envision his gaming plan for that night.
After another 10 minutes, a trailer drove into the set. The door opened and an old man about 60 with silver hair walked out. Noting the old man’s arrival, the other actors moved to welcome him. “Elder Lee, you’re here.” “Master, good afternoon.” “Sir, you look much younger today.”
The old man was a national treasure, an actor with too many awards to count—Lee Huaiming. After Lee Huaiming arrived, Director Zhang stopped what he was doing and invited everyone to join him in the living compound.
“Our new movie, Thriller Novelist will be shot here. I’ve had the worker inspect this whole building and we’ve communicated with the remaining tenants. We will do our best to reconstruct everything and unearth the truth that has been buried here.” Director Zhang led them on a tour of the set. Thriller Novelist was based on a real person’s mental struggle. The author who had the pen name Spider, orchestrated the murders of his 8 other personas at this building to achieve self-salvation. Most of the scene would be shot here. Different from the other actors who were still laughing and chatting, Han Fei narrowed his eyes and memorized all the details that he saw.
The cryptic world had a special connection with the real world. Cattle Alley, which was Han Fei’s next destination, was also the title of Spider’s first book, thus he believed he could draw some clues from the author’s real life. Han Fei was treating this tour differently from the other actors. They were here for a paycheck while Han Fei was here because this might provide him with a greater survivability in the Iyashikei game. They were there for different goals and that naturally meant the attitude they held was completely distinct from each other.
After familiarizing themselves with the living compound, Director Zhang invited them to the resting tent set up by the workers for lunch. They would have the opening shot ceremony that afternoon. People in the entertainment industry could be quite superstitious. They went through a series of necessary rituals and when everything was done, it was already 3 pm.
Director Zhang handed every actor their own script. He hoped that they could run over the lines among themselves at the living compound that night. The actors wouldn’t have agreed to such a demand if it did not come from Director Zhang. Most of the actors returned to their trailers to read the script. Compared to the old living compound, their trailers were more comfortable.
Comfort though was never Han Fei’s concern. He accepted the script and walked towards the living compound. Touching the rusted iron gates and scanning the mottled walls and corridors stuffed with trash, it felt like he was back at Happiness Neighbourhood. He took the stairs up and looked around. Spider once called this place home. This place was very secluded. Ever since the meat packing factory shut down, more and more tenants moved away. It was rare for even a car to pass by this place nowadays.
“As technology continues to propel forward, old factories with low market competition shut down one after another. 30 percent of employment will be taken over by machinery and human lifestyle will be forever changed by this.” Han Fei stared quietly at the meat packing factory. There was a line in his script, it was most likely lifted directly from Spider’s book—The men slaughter the livestock day after day, the endless gore numbed the men to the knowledge that they too are food for the others. Regarding this ‘others’, there were many interpretations. It could be this rapidly expanding city, or the forever moving cog of time.
‘The view at the rooftop is amazing, I wonder if Spider has once enjoyed this view as well…’ For others, this was just an acting gig, but for Han Fei, his life was on the line. He held the script and placed himself fully into the character of Spider.
Han Fei who played the role of Spider was just a side character in Thriller Novelist. This was because even in real life, Spider was also an easily-overlooked side character in his own life. Since he was young, he lived in the shadows of his other, more vibrant personas. Even after death, no one knew much about his story, much less appreciated his genius.
‘Cattle Alley, the House of the Butcher, I’m getting more and more curious about the world in Spider’s mind.’ Han Fei stood at the rooftop and memorized all the lines. Then he walked down the stairs to head to the 4th floor. Spider lived in Room 401. After he died, everyone on the 4th floor moved away. No one really knew why they left. But now as Han Fei entered the floor, he noticed that all of the rooms were plastered with tattered talismans and twined with fraying red threads. Spider’s neighbours appeared to be warding against something evil before they eventually were forced to move.
‘Could these things be meant to ward against Spider?’ The empty floor felt quite hollow and discomfiting. Han Fei strode towards door 401 and pushed it open.
‘It’s locked?’ Han Fei was confused. When Director Zhang led the tour earlier, he even opened this room for them to have a quick look so how could it be locked so soon? ‘Did one of the workers lock it?’
Han Fei was contemplating this when a light breathing sound came from behind him. He turned to look. Standing at the landing between the 4th and 5th floor was an old man. He stood there silently, staring at Han Fei’s back, not saying a word.
