Staring at the broken knife, Han Fei was still in shock, he had just escaped a brush with death. Taking in a deep breath, he knelt down beside the severed hand. Han Fei knew that the broken knife was very dangerous but he was unwilling to leave just like that. ‘When I first interacted with the pig-faced monster’s cleaver, the system told me that each Midnight Butcher had to have their own blade and perhaps I might be able to locate my own blade here. From this hint, to access the hidden profession of Midnight Butcher, I need to acquire a blade of my own at Cattle Alley.’
Most of the blades at Cattle Alley were wielded by monsters, even ownerless blades were hard to control due to the spirits that inhabited them. However, this bone-paring knife presented a unique opportunity for Han Fei. Because he had saved Wang Sheng’s life, the spirits inside the knife did not appear to be that hostile towards him anymore. ‘I guess this is what they mean by you reap what you sow.’
It was incredibly hard to find a usable blade at Cattle Alley, made the wrong choice and you’d be dead. However, Han Fei appeared to be presented with an opportunity. After he made all the mental preparation he could, Han Fei reached out for the bone-paring knife again. Noting this, the black anaconda slithered backwards and used its tails to cover its eyes. When his fingertips touched the bone-paring knife for the 2nd time, the chilling presence travelled up his arm into his brain, causing Han Fei to tremble. ‘The 6 spirits did not come out to harm me!’
With this good start, Han Fei was imbued with more courage. He slowly pried open the dead fingers and eventually held the bone-paring knife in his grasp!
“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve successfully obtained a cursed blade at Cattle Alley, will you activate the official Profession Mission to unlock the hidden profession, Midnight Butcher?”
“Yes.” Han Fei chose quite easily. The biggest reason he came here was to do that.
“Optional Mission 1: Use the blade you’re holding to kill a life, it can be any life, a human, a ghost, or an animal.
“Optional Mission 2: Use the blade you’re holding to save a life, it can be any life, a human, a ghost, or an animal.”
Han Fei was presented with two completely opposite missions, to kill or to save. ‘If I choose the later, what counts as saving? For example, can I beat up Xu Qin’s pet and then heal it afterwards?’ If he did not complete a mission tonight, Han Fei wouldn’t be able to log off and he’d be trapped in the game forever. ‘Sigh, I don’t think that’ll work. Xu Qin’s pet is not a human, not a ghost and definitely not an animal, not even the system can categorize it. Furthermore, it just saved me, how could I hurt it?’ After giving it some thoughts, Han Fei chose the first mission, to kill something. Compared to healing, killing was much easier.
After accepting the first mission, Han Fei tried to store the bone-paring knife into his inventory but just as he had that thought, pain jolted his arm. The 6 Lingering Spirits inside the blade still hadn’t fully approved of Han Fei. ‘Who knew it’d be so difficult to acquire a blade I can call my own?’
It was easy to find a blade in the cryptic world but to find a blade that could harm a ghost, now there was where the difficulty set in. Han Fei placed the blade inside his pocket. He did not charge out from the building in a bloodlust to go after a prey, instead he decided to stay inside the house for 3 hours first. However, his plan was disrupted when 10 minutes later, the footsteps returned to the door. The pig-faced monster appeared to have sensed something in the air and returned to patrol around the area.
‘Sheesh, what a stubborn creature.’ The footsteps became more insistent, the person appeared to be narrowing their search area. The black anaconda beside Han Fei coiled with anxiety. ‘I can’t stay here anymore, the owner of the footsteps will eventually find me if I do.’
His body had recovered enough to move. When the footsteps reappeared again, Han Fei held his breath. After the footsteps faded away, he led the anaconda away from the house and turned down the direction opposite from where the footsteps went. With the experience from before, Han Fei did not move in a hurry this time. He slowed his footsteps to ensure that he made no noise. When he reached the first fork, the heavy footsteps returned. The pig-faced woman with the human teeth string around her waist appeared, she seemed to be patrolling this area for a long time already. This time she stopped before the door of the old house that Han Fei just vacated.
Bang! The cleaver fell heavily on the door. With a merciless smile on her face, she gleefully made quick work of the wooden door. Saliva dribbled on her chin as she picked up Han Fei’s scent which lingered inside the house. The veins on her arms popped as she waved the cleaver wildly. The wooden door collapsed and she charged into the house with a roar.
The scene caused cold sweat to bead on Han Fei’s forehead, there was no place that was 100 percent safe at Cattle Alley. Han Fei did not stay to observe, he left in a hurry. But at that moment, the robotic voice in his mind suddenly came with this announcement, “Profession Assessment 1: Detailed-orientated, and quick decision maker, you possess remarkable instinct, sharp mind and a reasonable store of good luck, you are suitable for many profession, including the Midnight Butcher.”
‘Every choice that I made after the mission started, and not only the choices that were made visible by the system, would influence the end result?’
Since he had just escaped from danger, Han Fei did not dare to be too careless. He crossed through the complicated alleyways and tried to memorize the paths as best as he could. Han Fei wanted to do something no one had ever attempted, which was to use his super memory to chart out the map of Cattle Alley in his mind. Only by doing this that the chance to find the exit would drastically increase.
While avoiding the monsters, Han Fei tried every door that he came across. Following the direction provided by the red paper doll, Han Fei dragged his wounded body to perform an extreme mission. After passing 3 forks, with the black anaconda acting as his scout, Han Fei managed to evade encounters with 2 pig-faced monsters. When he entered the 4th fork, he heard a cat’s meow inside the deadly silent alley. The sound was soft but Han Fei heard it clearly. He turned to the trash pile at the corner. A black cat was pressed under some dead bodies and its leg was punctured by a rusted iron fence. The more it struggled, the deeper the fence link pierced into its flesh.
‘Is this a trap? Or someone was drawing pleasure from the torment of this poor creature?’ The cat’s meowing could attract unwanted attention so it would be wise for Han Fei to leave immediately. However, something popped up in his mind. The mission that he accepted earlier said that as long as he used the knife to take a life, his mission would be completed. Here, he was presented with an easy way to finish the mission. ‘Completing the mission though shouldn’t be the most important, the most important factors are the choices that I make along the way.’
Han Fei had the black anaconda scout ahead. After ensuring there were no other creatures hiding inside the trash pile, Han Fei raised the cursed knife and chopped at the fence link. When he helped the injured cat from the entrapment of the fence, the cat dashed away with a speed that did not look like its legs were injured.
‘If this was a trap laid down by someone, when they couldn’t hear the cat anymore, they would come to inspect this place, that means I need to leave in a hurry.’
Putting the knife away, he just took a few steps when the robotic voice commented, “Profession Assessment 2: You who have chosen to kill, have rescued a cat. Perhaps deep inside your heart, you know that someone who could be cruel to animals will be cruel to humans too.”
