The group name that hadn’t changed for 14 years was edited just like that, it was not that the new name, Ziggurat’s Tenancy Right and Tenant Support Group was that bad, it simply didn’t fit the overall despairing atmosphere of the group chat.
Blood leaked out from the cracked screen. The profiles of the dead typed out bloody red messages. When Han Fei’s finger touched those strange messages, the sound of ghost wailing could be heard in his mind. The pained wailing contained an undercurrent of confusion. The souls who had been drawn into the darkest night opened their eyes and suddenly realized something had changed in the endless night sky of despair.
Holding the phone with both hands, Han Fei was flustered. He was only checking the extent of the manager’s power, he did not expect for something like this to happen. “The previous name of the chat group was too depressing, I just feel like we should learn to look forward. Furthermore, it is not our fault that this happened to us. A pair of invisible hands was manipulating our lives from the dark. Perhaps by cutting off that pair of hands, we will all find salvation.”
Han Fei looked at the blood that was about to leak out from the screen and the ghostly profiles in the chat group. He was unsettled. In the cryptic world, a phone was invaluable but the function of this phone couldn’t be used casually. Every time Han Fei touched the phone, he would have to pay a certain price.
“Erm… Is it possible to close this chat group?”
The male student was like a zombie. He opened his mouth wide and the human faces inside his body spoke at the same time. “It’s not possible. The phone is Firefly’s deepest obsession and the connection between us and him. Also there is something we have to tell you. We have noticed that after we move into this building of despair, new tenants would often join in the chat group even though we didn’t invite them. Unlike us, they will not be so caring and cautious around Firefly.”
The boy in Room 4094 didn’t expect Han Fei could change the chat group’s name either. Before he could add something else, the phone in Han Fei’s palm suddenly vibrated. “Laughing all Day is requesting a video call!” Han Fei remembered this name from Firefly’s memory. The person was making a video call probably because they wanted to see and confirm certain things.
This was the first time Han Fei had a video call in the cryptic world, he had no experience at all. He freshened up and fixed his appearance because this might be the last recording of him alive.
He clicked the accept button. Before he understood what happened, the phone screen was dragged into a live video of a living room. The room was dark and a single chair was placed in the dim living room. A young man was seated facing away from the camera.
“Laughing lives in Room 4174, he has this illness where he will always laugh no matter his emotions. He could be sad or in pain but he would keep on laughing, he won’t stop. Because of this illness, he was always bullied. In one instance of school bullying, his mind broke. He pounced at his bullies like a mad dog. As he laughed madly with tears streaming down his face, he grabbed a nearby compass and aimed the pointy end at the bully’s eyes.” The student knew about Laughing’s past. “Laughing managed to pull himself back at the last moment. The compass didn’t puncture the bully’s eye. However, Laughing’s whole demeanor, how he was laughing and crying while doing something this crazy, was recorded by the other students. It was uploaded to the internet. After that, not only his bullies, but also his friends, teachers and strangers on the internet thought Laughing had mental problems. Later, Laughing was expelled after the school authority had a meeting with Laughing’s family. From then on, Laughing rarely left home anymore. His illness became more and more serious. His neighbours would often hear laughter filled with pain at midnight.
“To not disturb his neighbours, Laughing insulated his room with soundproof boards. His laughter was no longer able to escape. He too was forever trapped inside that room.”
When the male student told Han Fei about Laughing’s past, the young man who sat alone in the video slowly turned his head around to reveal half of his face. He had a creepy smile. The smile caused the blood capillaries to bulge on his face. They were branded on his face like a curse. However, different from the smile was the spirit in his eye, or the lack of. His pupil was grey, dim and lacking in mirth.
It was a quick look, it was less than 1 second but the face twisted by involuntary smile had seared itself into Han Fei’s mind. Any other person would be frightened by that horrifying, smiling face but not Han Fei.
“I am not Firefly but I am someone just like him. He has created a warm sanctuary for all of you in real life and I intend to create a real home for you in the cryptic world.” Han Fei saw himself as a professional actor. Sometimes, he couldn’t even tell whether he was acting or the habit had become his second nature that his calmness had become part of himself. He thought he would be afraid but when he saw the twisted and pained smile on Laughing’s face, the fear in his heart was replaced by something else. “The forever greyed out profile pictures have all lit up. How much longer do you plan to stay inside your room?” After knowing about Laughing’s past, Han Fei was determined to help him. This was not only because he needed aid from the young man but also Han Fei was sincere about helping the individuals inside the chat group.
Looking into that eye, Han Fei moved the camera to include Firefly. “He has protected your past so let me help you lead you into your future. Tonight is a vital night and it is the only chance for all of us. I do not need you to place your full trust in me. I only hope that you will give yourself a chance and give Firefly a chance.
“Firefly who is the pillar of your community has completed his promise, he is the last person to leave the group. He has guarded all of you until the very end, until his soul is wounded and his spirit is broken. Are you really going to sit back and watch him sink into darkness?”
Han Fei gave Laughing some time to think while he manipulated the phone. “One of my souls has entered Firefly’s consciousness. One of my habits was retained by Firefly. Whenever I feel defeated and need a booster, I would read the words that I have left for myself on my phone. The advice that my soul left for me was, the best actor in the world is you going about life; but Firefly has left another advice for himself.” Han Fei only noticed this when he got the phone and logged into Firefly’s account. Firefly had a post that was viewable only to himself—“I cannot forget about them, their hearts can no longer warm themselves so I have to hold onto them tight. If I let go, their hearts will forever be frozen in ice and sink into the bottomless depth of darkness.” Han Fei recited the words written down by Firefly, he didn’t inject too much performance element into it. The purity and sincerity of the words were the power behind it.
“Firefly has thought about death many times. For him, death is not difficult, the real difficulty is to keep on living. I know you will be able to identify with that. Resisting the torture of the soul and combat the negative emotions in the mind before finding the courage to keep on living.
“Firefly has warmed you and in return, you all have provided him with support. But now you have been used by the manager to pull the man who carried everyone’s spirit into Ziggurat.
“Do you know? If you let him die now, it is not a release for him but you would have destroyed everything that he has worked for. If you are really sincere about helping him, then you have to let him go, let him return to the place where he belongs. Allow him to carry on with all of your hope and anticipation, then he will truly become the existence that proves that hope is real!”
When Laughing saw Firefly’s profile lit up, he sent the video call invitation immediately. Throughout the process, he said not a single word. Sitting alone before his phone, he was the perfect listener. Laughing couldn’t even remember why he made this call in the first place, his mind was just echoing with Han Fei’s words. At the Ziggurat, no one was like Han Fei. His face froze with yet another smile but this smile was slightly different from usual. Gradually the smile turned into a guffaw as blood tears leaked out from the man’s eyes. Underneath the maddening laughter, Han Fei believed he heard, “Firefly will not perish in the eternal darkness.”
After the video call ended, Han Fei had more confidence regarding the plan that night. He turned to look at Firefly beside him. He leaned over to help Firefly ease more comfortably onto the couch but was surprised to find that Firefly’s expression was no longer as numb as before. He stared at the screen. It was as if after the conversation with Laughing, Firefly’s weak consciousness was triggered and the memory inside him was awakened. Perhaps by chatting with more of Firefly’s chat group friends, Firefly could slowly return to normal. Han Fei instantly put that to the test and realized it was true. Thus Han Fei started to reach out to those profiles with familiar IDs from Firefly’s memory. Like Firefly used to, Han Fei consoled and encouraged these people. He approached them one by one and shared with them his thoughts. This masterful actor was also an experienced patient. He had done a lot of research into psychiatry so he knew what he was talking about. Han Fei soon gained the approval of some tenants. His role as the manager was accepted by more and more people. After he chatted with most of the group managers and was arranging their information in his mind, the phone vibrated again. “No. 4204 is requesting a video call!”
“Those who have received help from Firefly would have an actual id. The tenants who joined the group chat after would use their Room number as their id.” The male student warned Han Fei. “You better think twice before answering this call.”
“Since they have joined this group, it means that they too wanted to change.” After giving it some thought, Han Fei decided to answer it. Most of the tenants here only had one 4, other than the male student and Laughing, they were quite weak.
“Room 4204? This person is living on the 20th floor?” Based on Han Fei’s experience from Building 1, tenants from beyond floor 20 were generally scarier. The call was connected. Before he could say anything, blood splattered on the screen. Then he heard a familiar voice say, “Soul-summoning? But I am not your family, I don’t even know you. However you do not dare to harm me and will even listen to my every word. For me, you’ve committed murders and dismembered bodies. Looks like my speculation is correct. My soul has infiltrated your family member’s body. This is interesting. You are supposed to be ghosts but you are as cowardly as a man.” The voice was leaden with madness and a desire for destruction. Han Fei gawked with disbelief when he heard the voice. He was certain that the voice belonged to himself. ‘My own soul is in Room 4204?’
Han Fei had lost 3 souls, and they formed 3 consciousness, 1 for Han Fei’s childhood, 1 for his kindness and hope, and the last was closest to the memory of redness, it probably represented the evil and cunning within Han Fei.
