The spotlight that he was owed in real life now shone brightly on him in the cryptic world. Han Fei’s throat quivered as he took in the many gazes that aimed to tear him apart. He was having trouble accepting this level of popularity. Hugging the half heart that represented Kindness, the heart did not harm Han Fei, if anything, it appeared to have calmed down in Han Fei’s grasp.
“Off you go!” Without any hesitation, Han Fei tossed the heart towards the location where the fleshy Spider was. That was all he could do to bring them closer. Han Fei’s idea was noble but what happened next stunned him. The heart wrapped in flesh appeared to be glued to his palm and refused to let go!
Compared to the disgusting and malicious nature of the monsters inside the building, Han Fei’s human warmth, and kindness was like a shining beacon. Spider’s heart appeared to believe that it was safest to stay with Han Fei. Han Fei’s back was drenched with cold sweat. He was in too much trouble himself for others to turn to him for help. He was already at his limit, dealing with the Reader. He wasn’t able to take on the whole building of monsters. He tried to swing the heart off but the thing remained stubbornly stuck. Even the way Xu Qin looked at him was changing. She licked her lips as if wanting to trap him inside the pool of curses.
The Doctor who was not far away was enraged even further. The enmity between them had reached a whole new level.
Spider’s half heart refused to leave. Han Fei also noticed that the heart was covered in scars and wounds, it probably couldn’t move anymore. Now Han Fei only had 2 choices, either he chopped off his own hand or he returned the heart back to the Spider as fast as he could. He gritted his teeth, hugged the heart and changed his trajectory. He raced towards where the fleshy Spider was!
When he made that decision, the system announced in his mind. “Notification for Player 0000! You’ve triggered Grade F Hidden Mission—Spider’s Fate!
“Spider’s Fate: Return the heart of the manager at Cattle Alley to the Spider and help him regain control of Cattle Alley; or consume the heart of kindness and gain control of Cattle Alley for yourself! The choice will decide your own as well as his fate!” Han Fei wasn’t paying attention to what the system was saying at all. He had entered the zone. Similar to athletes at the last stretch of the race, he tuned out the surrounding noises. Furthermore, from what Han Fei knew of the system, it would have nothing helpful to say anyway. Han Fei’s understanding of the system was that it was cold, inhuman and most of the time, a useless observer.
Moving through the obstacle course which was the wreckage of the House of Butcher, Han Fei was as agile as a professional parkour athlete. He didn’t dare to make even the smallest mistake because if he tripped here, he might not have the chance to stand up again. A living human whipping through ghosts and spirits, Han Fei was challenging his limit every single day.
The Reader, Doctor and Xu Qin, these three immeasurably terrifying presences chased after him. However to Han Fei’s surprise, just as the Reader was about to catch up to him, Xu Qin mobilized her curse to tangle over the Reader. Even though the woman had lost her mind, she refused to let anyone else harm Han Fei. It was like she had decided only she could kill Han Fei. The fight between the 3 forces gave Han Fei a chance at survival. He had never run as hard as he did at that moment.
In just a few seconds, Han Fei already had to face death several times. If not for his strong mental constitution, he would be frightened to death already. Han Fei’s goal was to reach the Spider. The 3 scary presences behind him read his mind clearly and they refused to give him the chance to get close to his goal.
He was unable to transport the heart to Spider and the curse on Han Fei was getting harder to bear. The Reader kept drawing Han Fei’s body part on that cursed book. It felt like bugs were biting through his limbs and joints. Han Fei saw with his own eyes how his flesh was slowly being torn apart. The blood capillaries under his skin appeared to work against his own body. Thanks to the buff from Midnight Butcher, he gained resistance against flesh and blood-type curse or else he’d be dead by now.
‘What to do?’ Things could not have been worse. Han Fei tried to get close to the Spider but there was a gulf between them. ‘I need to escape from the House of the Butcher!’
Every decision that he made then could be his last. 1 second of hesitation would mean death. Han Fei’s brain spun rapidly. While he raced through the crumbling ruin, he already made up his next step of plan. Using the holes on the wall as footholds, Han Fei climbed up to the 2nd floor. He shimmied to avoid the stabs from the Doctor’s spidery legs. He dragged his body upwards while keeping his eyes on the Spider. Since he was surrounded on all sides, the only way Han Fei could go was up.
By climbing up the wall, it looked like Han Fei had given up the idea of returning the heart to the Spider. He was more focused on his own survival. The House of Butcher was dissembling. Han Fei finally reached the 3rd floor but he was now even further from the Spider. His body slowed due to the curse. The Doctor and the Reader surrounded him from both sides. When the giant appendages plunged at Han Fei’s head, the man did something no one expected. Tensing all the muscles in his body, he sprinted towards the hole in the middle of the house!
Just like how Spider once fell from the 4th floor, from reality into his inner world, Han Fei jumped down from the hole on the 3rd floor into the torrents of blood and flesh underneath!
Since Spider entered the House of the Butcher, he had formed a raging pool of flesh and blood on the first floor. Any unfortunate soul to have fallen into it would be mulched to feed into the ghastly pool.
Han Fei and the Spider were different individuals but shared surprisingly similar experiences. Han Fei had once stood inside the writer’s room and empathized with the determination and sadness he felt before he made that leap. The current Han Fei was the past Spider. Holding the half heart, Han Fei leaped towards the Spider without any hesitation. He had no idea whether it was despair or hope awaiting him, he could only do the thing that he believed was correct.
The wind howled into his ears as he fell. The wounds on Han Fei’s body tore open and they left scarlet trails through the air. He forced his eyes to open and his pupils reflected the image of the Spider made from flesh and blood.
‘I was the one who destroyed half of your heart so I shall be the one to deliver to you your other half. I’ve helped you cut away the pain and malice, and deliver for you the kindness and hope.’ Han Fei’s body sunk into the pool of blood and flesh. The half heart in his hand was immediately engulfed by the blood and washed towards the Spider who was in the middle of the pool. When the half heart was encased into Spider’s chest, the whole House of the Butcher collapsed. Spider who had only been operating on basic instinct opened his eyes. His murky eyes looked at the devastation around him before they landed right on Han Fei.
