The physical body fell and the new consciousness coagulated. Han Fei was suddenly hit by a sense of familiarity. This was exactly how he felt when he put on the gaming helmet and booted up the game every time. ‘The world that Spider had once glimpsed, the scenarios he painted in his book, the mental world his personas inhabit, that is the cryptic world?’
The black box can only be hidden in 3 places, inside people’s hearts, inside people’s brains and inside people’s nightmares. Han Fei had no idea why that knowledge materialized in his mind. He tried his best to control his body and followed the director’s instruction. He safely fell through the branches and landed on the safety net. When his body was cushioned by the net, Han Fei turned subconsciously to a spot on the 4th floor like something was calling him. There was a humanoid figure with a white face standing behind one of the windows.
When his body bounced off the net and Han Fei took another glance at the 4th floor, the thing had already disappeared. The safety net was lowered as Director Zhang and the other crew rushed over.
“Han Fei, are you alright?” “That was perfect! That was the best shot we’ve ever had!” “That expression when falling shocked me! Just what was going through your mind then?!” “It was flawless!” Amidst the hubbub, Han Fei kept his eyes on the 4th floor. It was not until Director Zhang grabbed his arm that he recovered. “Han Fei, your hand is so cold, are you alright?”
“I’m fine, as long as the cut is useful. I do not wish to make any more jumps.” Han Fei crawled up from the net and rubbed his hands together. He did not once frown when performing the dangerous stunt but just a glimpse of that thing caused his hands to go cold. This was his body acting on instinct, his heart appeared to stop pumping as he locked gaze with that mysterious figure. The reason behind the previous stunt actors’ mistake was still not clarified but no one cared about it anymore because Han Fei had provided them with something better. The other actors surrounded Han Fei. Even the well-respected Lee Huaiming gained new respect for Han Fei. He had not seen such a professional actor in a long time already.
“With the advancement in technology, acting has become less tiring than before, that should be a good thing but I realize the new actors have something lacking in their performance. It’s not that their acting is not good, it’s like there is a lack of authenticity.” Lee Huaiming looked at Han Fei with admiration. “Before I met you, I couldn't figure out what they were lacking, but today I finally see it.” Han Fei wanted to stand up but Lee Huaiming stopped him. “You need to rest, I anticipate working more often with you in the future.”
“Ol’ Lee, when I asked you about that earlier, didn’t you say you’re already considering retirement? Why the sudden change in decision now?” Bai Xian handed bottles of water to Ol’ Lee and Han Fei. He patted Han Fei on his back. “Your leap will propel you into stardom.” He then added jokingly, “Brother, you’ve placed a great pressure on me! I planned to use this character to aim for the best actor award but now, it feels like I’m weighing down the production progress.”
“Please don’t say that.” Han Fei waved his hands humbly. He did not think he had done anything beyond what he should do, which was to play the role of Spider to the best of his ability. However, perhaps due to his experience in the cryptic world, Han Fei’s best of ability might represent a different threshold from others.
After the first important scene for Thriller Novelist was completed, the movie moved from reality to the mind world, recording the duel between the 9 different personas. After chatting with the other actors, Han Fei went to a corner and used his phone to call Li Xue. He told her everything that he saw when he fell. The police had already set up a perimeter so no matter what that thing was, he would not be able to escape from the plant unnoticed. The first day of the shoot was overall successful. Even though there had been many strange occurrences, the result was good.
Han Fei needed some time to travel from the Northern Countryside to the old city. He was desperate to go home to play the game so after the shoot, he did not stay to participate with the police arrangement. With the accompaniment of a plainclothes officer, he returned to the old city. Compared to the things he needed to deal with in the cryptic world, the troubles in the real world were nothing. Han Fei stopped for dinner and then opened his computer. He found a professional suturing video and started to watch it. As he ate, he took in the knowledge. Han Fei was making use of every single second he had. He might need to perform the suturing on himself that very night. ‘Tissues like muscles which have low tensile force can be fixed with Figure-of-8 suture. When closing the wound, one must be careful with the force applied to prevent damage to the muscle… Hmm, this shop’s beef sauce is not bad, it’s perfect to go with alcohol. Unfortunately, I’ll have to play tonight so I can’t enjoy any drinks.’
When Han Fei was unemployed, he felt like the days went by like years but now, he had the impression there were not enough hours in a day. Before he knew it, it was already midnight. ‘The monster would be out searching for food due to hunger, it wouldn’t be around me anymore.’
Taking a deep breath, Han Fei connected all the wires and put on the gaming helmet. Blood fell and the city covered in darkness froze. Han Fei stopped to feel that sensation, it was indeed quite similar to what he felt when he dropped from Spider’s room earlier.
Opening his eyes, the horrible smell rushed into his nostril. The pain caused Han Fei to grimace immediately. Biting on his teeth, Han Fei knelt weakly to the ground. His body leaned to the side against the trash pile. The torn open shoulder was ghastly to the sight. If he did not deal with it soon, the wound would fester.
‘Thankfully, the pig-faced monster is not here anymore…’ Han Fei was about to sigh in relief when sudden footsteps came from the mouth of the alley, ‘My luck is at a high 9 points, I wouldn’t be that unlucky, would I?’
Before the thoughts in Han Fei’s mind coalesced, he saw a woman wearing a pig’s mask walk out from the corner!
The large body was pulsing with veins. The apron around her waist was strung with a row of human teeth, they were like trophies from the prey she had hunted. Han Fei’s skull numbed. He was too incapacitated to struggle, much less run.
‘The effect of hide and seek is working, that’s why she hasn’t noticed me inside the trash pile yet.’ Han Fei considered the option of playing dead but he had no confidence to be able to trick the animal’s sense of smell. These monsters should be very sensitive to the presence of living food.
With the wall as support, Han Fei struggled to stand up as pain and fear tormented him. Just as he was about to collapse in despair, a small door not far from him opened. There were occasional doors in the alley but most of them were locked. Han Fei tried to kick some down the day before, but they refused to budge.
‘There’s someone inside the house?’ The door opened just in time as if waiting for Han Fei to arrive. Before his brain made the decision, his body was already moving towards it. The last energy was used to topple over the door and into the room. A black anaconda slithered out from the darkness. It silently slid the door close and then laid weakly beside Han Fei’s feet.
“You’ve been waiting for me? You’ve been hiding here since I left?” Touched by the creature’s concern, Han Fei reached down to hug the black anaconda. The action tore at his wounds and he hissed from pain. “I thought you were just a scaredy thing, but I see that I was mistaken. I officially apologize to you.”
