The message on the wall was dripping with intense hatred. After the game character entered the nuptial chamber, similar blood messages appeared on his body. “This curse is quite doable. As long as we don’t cry, we can survive at Ziggurat.” Han Fei remembered the location of this room but just as he was about to control the character to leave, the picture on the wall started to shift. The groom bled from all orifices but the scarier thing was the woman in the bridal gown and veil had disappeared.
Han Fei instantly moved towards the door but at that moment, all the doors slammed shut on their own and a woman in a bridal gown appeared behind the game character, standing in an awkward posture. Sharpened nails pierced into the character’s neck, she basically pinched and lifted the character up from the ground. Seeing as life drained away from the character, Han Fei did not panic, if anything, it appeared like an epiphany dawn on him. His eyes were not even on his character, instead they were fixed on the bride. He even tried to adjust the camera angle to try to look under the bride’s veil. After multiple attempts, Han Fei finally got a good look of the face under the veil just as his character died. ‘It is her. So she lives in Ziggurat’s first floor Room 3!’
Staring at the bride on screen, a professional smile carved Han Fei’s face, he was genuinely happy. The bride could be considered his aid at the Ziggurat. After knowing her location, he would go find her directly, that would aid greatly in his exploration of the Ziggurat. ‘Even just getting that information makes my trip here today worthwhile.’ His character had already dissolved into a blood pool but Han Fei was still staring at the bride.
Seeing Han Fei like this, Zhuang Ren sucked in a cold breath and silently moved away from the man. Technically there was nothing wrong about the young man before him, but Zhuang Ren just felt some kind of strange energy coming from him. Holding the controller, his character was already dead, but he was still looking at the scary bride ghost with such happiness and joy. It felt like Han Fei knew this ghost, like perhaps she was his first love. Zhuang Ren wanted to leave but then he was reminded of something. His own family was trapped inside Ziggurat and Han Fei said that he was experiencing the same thing, so could the bride really be Han Fei’s family?
Taking in the shock, Zhuang Ren breathed out, “Is that ghost your wife?”
“What are you talking about? Her husband’s picture is clearly on the wall.” Han Fei turned to glance at Zhuang Ren, he couldn’t understand the man’s thoughts.
The sky was already darkening. Han Fei put down the controller and prepared to leave. “Why don’t you stay here tonight? We need to clear this game as soon as possible!” Zhuang Ren’s most desperate wish now was still to see his own family.
“I still have something else to do at night. If everything goes smoothly, I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
“If it doesn’t go smoothly?”
“Then you might not see me again.” Han Fei said in a serious tone. “Do not tell anyone about the game. There should be other people looking for it, other than me. And the person who murdered your family might be one of them.” Han Fei didn’t sugarcoat the truth, he really did think the Butterfly might have orchestrated the death of the director’s family.
“Murder?” Hearing that, the look in Zhuang Ren’s eyes changed.
“I’ve already memorized your family’s names and appearance, I’ll help you pay attention for them.” Han Fei was going to enter the cryptic world’s Ziggurat. If he met Zhuang Ren’s family there, he would try his best to help them. Han Fei had just exited Pear Blossom Neighbourhood when he noticed every pedestrians’ heads were turned towards the east. Han Fei then realized that the sky wasn’t as dark as it should be. He also turned his head to the east and realized there was a giant virtual screen above the intelligent city and it was filled with the number 5.
“That is… the official countdown date for Perfect Life’s OB? Isn’t this a bit much?” Han Fei had spent a whole day at Zhuang Ren’s home so he didn’t realize the chaos which had happened online. Deep Space Tech and Immortal Pharma finally released the final trailer of the game and the trailer didn’t take long to break records for most views of a gaming trailer online. The two giants were preparing for the game’s OB not only on the web but also in real life. The countdown screens were activated at the intelligent centres of the nation’s 7 biggest cities. Han Fei could barely imagine the amount of money that must have gone into this.
On the internet, people held different opinions. Some were very averse to Perfect Life, believing it would ruin humanity, trapping everyone inside their own dreams; others had deep expectations of the game, they saw it as the herald of a miracle, the chance for humans to create their own heavens. However, no matter where you stood on, no one could stop the arrival of the new age. Viewed from the future, this game’s OB might be a turning point in human history.
The changing of time was often initiated by a single individual. Using himself as an axle, Immortal Pharma’s Director had slowly turned the world on its axis.
Han Fei felt dwarfed by the large virtual screen. He stared at it for a while before pulling his attention back. ‘Regardless, this has nothing to do with me, my main goal is still to survive.’ Han Fei didn’t stop to admire the spectacle but took a taxi home. After reporting to the police his location and basic status, Han Fei inspected his room. After ensuring there was no danger, Han Fei crawled into the gaming hub. ‘There’s a reason for its price, this gaming hub is more comfortable than my bed, I should probably just sleep here in the future.’ Han Fei’s rental was so small that he was considering removing the bed and replacing it with another work table to analyse the cases. Time was ticking. As the clock moved towards midnight, Han Fei’s heart pounded faster. ‘The Unmentionable must hate me so much since I’ve escaped from it twice already. If I were him, I would stay at that spot until the end of time to wait for me to return.’
When the clock struck midnight, Han Fei connected all the wires, put on the gaming helmet and closed the hub door. Blood fell and Han Fei saw in his mind a city frozen in blood. Somewhere in the city, something sensed his arrival and a pair of horrifying eyes slowly opened. The moment the eyes opened, Han Fei’s eyes flew open as well. He had appeared on the 2nd floor of the security company.
