504 Doctor Yan
Technically any item could be used as a weapon in Perfect Life, but this was the first time Ironman saw someone use a ceremonial urn as a weapon. Since they entered the apartments, the strange occurrence became more numerous. The Yin energy was like a noose that wrapped around people’s neck.
The man in the funeral wear taunted them again and again. Han Fei decided to not hold back anymore. He needed to find the smiling ghost, complete the mission and leave with the 3 players.
The man in the funeral wear stood facing away from Han Fei. He was fearless. He appeared to be different from everyone inside the mirror. Every paper money on the ground was connected to him, he was the main character of the funeral on the 4th floor. The loose funeral wear fluttered in the wind. The man slowly turned around. A dangerous presence radiated off him.
Han Fei’s skin was stung by the Yin energy and the Ghost Tattoo was triggered. With several neighbors accompanying him, Han Fei charged into the darkness. Despair covered the environment, Han Fei swung the urn at his target!
BANG! The mirror exploded in the air. Every shard reflected Han Fei’s face. When the last shard dropped to the ground, shadows materialized behind Han Fei.
“Why didn’t you want me to come out?” Lee Zai’s thin body was bent to 90 degrees. He smiled at Ironman and Yan Tang. Crying echoed, Weep peeked his head out from behind Han Fei. Drake’s moved out of the way as a table knife wrapped with human skin nailed into the mirror beside the staircase. The crack split like thunder, it shattered everything.
“You won’t escape.” The man in the funeral wear disappeared. Only mirror shards remained of him. However, when they turned around, there was a man in funeral wear inside the large mirror. The ghost could move freely through the mirrors. His special power matched this place perfectly. He was so fast that Han Fei hadn’t even seen his face.
“Looks like I’ll have to ruin the mirrors to stop him from moving around. And I have the perfect solution for that.” Han Fei touched the shadow on the wall. The black anaconda got his meaning. It started to happily ingest the mirrors with Yin energy. Others would have a hard time dealing with ghosts inside mirrors but Han Fei was different. He had a pet that even the system couldn’t identify. This pet ate everything.
“Enjoy, there is still a lot in the building.” The anaconda’s stomach was like a black hole. After digesting the mirrors, it grew even bigger.
“Brother Youfu, why did your family come out of the urn?” Ironman didn’t notice this when they were at the hotel but now that he saw the ghosts up close and personal, he was so frightened.
“Mind your own business.” Han Fei nudged Ironman aside. He and his neighbors turned to study the mirror at the end of the corridor. The mirror was the largest one at this building. There appeared to be another world inside the mirror. Everything inside that world had its own lives and consciousness. Yan Tang and Auntie Lee were stuck in the middle of the corridor. The voices in the auntie’s ears grew louder. The owner of the voice lost patience. It had its voice drill into the auntie’s mind. The pain was intense as the memory that didn’t belong to her exploded in her mind. Normal people couldn’t sustain such pain. Auntie Lee screamed and she collapsed towards the mirror. Just as her head was about to touch the mirror, Yan Tang’s hand and a hand from inside the mirror reached out to grab Auntie Lee.
“Move now!”
The mirror surface was like a bloody pond. Every crack was bleeding with blood. The bride and groom had turned fully around. Worms appeared to move under their missing faces. Then something scary happened. The skin of the couple’s face started to turn outwards. Scars burst on their skin like someone was operating on them. Someone had used a surgical thread to sew a sad expression on their faces. With a loud scream, the couple jumped out of the mirror.
“What powerful resentment.” They were killed when they were happiest, their wedding became their funeral. Even though they didn’t have a face, the scars that popped on their faces represented their feelings. Sadness, pain, and despair. Their negative emotions were like thick threads. The threads would influence the people around them and they would drag them into the mirror.
Wailing echoed in the corridor. The strange thing was, a sobbing sounded beside Han Fei’s too. It was a boy sobbing. The sobbing contained no extra emotion other than despair. He was a child of despair, his biological father loved to hear him cry. His fingers stuck into his skin. Weep was the first to charge out.
The sticky negative emotions became the couple’s weapon. Paper money fluttered everywhere but their attacks couldn’t deal actual damage to Weep. Weep could manipulate anything made from despair. As long as the enemy had despair in their heart, then they could be made to turn against themselves.
While Weep fought with the couple, Lee Zai wandered over to Yan Tang and Auntie Lee. “Not bad, I like the presence on you. Kid, you have a great future. The big sister has impressed me too. One really shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.” Lee Zai’s neck was bent 180 degrees. His upside-down head looked at Yan Tang. The latter was frightened deeply. Lee Zai tried to move the auntie away from the mirror but just as he touched Auntie Lee, the latter screamed in pain. Her orifices started to bleed and her body weakened.
Auntie Lee’s scream traveled a long way down the corridor. It awakened the thing in the dark. The sound of mirror breaking came from the room closest to the 4th-floor stairs. Then a large amount of blood leaked out of the door. The blood appeared to have its own life. After it leaked out of the room, they gathered to become a blood-red monster. His body was larger than normal. He also had no face but someone had used surgical thread to sew on an angry expression.
After the angry man appeared, happy footsteps came from downstairs. A child dragged along a human head and appeared on the corridor of the 4th floor. His head slowly turned around. His faceless head had a sewn-on happy expression. The shrill laughter echoed and the boy charged at Han Fei dragging along the human head!
The small body contained immense power. He was very fast.
A giant eye opened on the wall behind Han Fei. The girl holding the fishbowl lifted her head. The cloth she covered her eyes with fell to reveal the dark hollows. The boy was bound by an invisible force. He slowed down. Before he could react, a table knife slashed through his neck. The boy’s head separated from his body. The face sewn from surgical thread was still smiling but under that smile was blood and pain.
“Not everyone can survive Ying Yue’s sight. Anger, sadness, happiness, the emotions are sewn on the residents’ faces. I think I understand why this place is called Mirror Clinic. It helps the monsters who have lost their faces in the mirror to find new expressions.”
The mirrors kept shattering. The whole street could hear it. Footsteps echoed on the corridor. The figures inside the mirrors had all come out. Their faceless heads were all wounded and fixed. The wounds were made into lips, the scabs into eyes and the thin surgical threads carved out the noses and brows. The faceless heads were given fixed expressions. They had different clothes and had different backgrounds but they all crowded towards the 4th floor. Han Fei was thankful that he didn’t destroy the mirrors at the clinic. If he did, he would face this mob back then. If they were surrounded by such a large mob in the small space, they might not survive.
They retreated until they gathered around Auntie Lee. Auntie Lee was suffering from an intense headache. Her eyes were red. As if sensing that the auntie couldn’t take the torment anymore, the voices in her mind stopped. This small detail grabbed Han Fei’s attention. The owner of Mirror Clinic didn’t want to hurt Auntie Lee, he was just calling her. Earlier when Han Fei asked, Auntie Lee said that the voice told her to stay away from Han Fei. Perhaps the voice thought Han Fei was dangerous so he was using his own method to protect Auntie Lee.
“Since you treat me as a bad guy, then I shall take the role.” Han Fei’s eyes shone with malice. His smile twisted like the dark side within him was awakened. With the 2 other players looking on with shock, Han Fei grabbed Auntie Lee by her collar to pull her up from the ground. The light from Rest in Peace glowed. Han Fei placed the blade against Auntie Lee’s shoulders. The auntie’s face was covered with blood. She was still trying to digest the additional memories in her mind. She was too weak to resist. “Your wife is right here. If you don’t want her to die, you better come out.”
With the chilling tone, the wicked smile, and the malicious gaze, Han Fei turned into a different person. He grabbed Auntie Lee by her neck and his fingers pressed into her flesh. Auntie Lee started to struggle as the oxygen was cut from her lungs. When Han Fei was touching a player, he could study their status clearly. He was watching Auntie Lee’s Life Points closely.
“You left like a coward and she had to take on all of your difficulty and despair. Do you know that she has searched for you for 20 years?” Both the Voice bound by the Demon and Cursed Words were activated, every word that Han Fei said now carried special power. “You are already dead but you want her to die with you? You want your son to be an orphan? Just like the orphans that you’ve met. They couldn’t even choose their own lives and were forced to accept the destiny given to them. From their brains to their souls, they were fed with endless despair!” The voice was low and angry. The veins popped. Han Fei’s grasp on Auntie Lee’s neck tightened. “She has used her whole life to find you. She has finally found you but you are going to watch her die?” Han Fei heard a sound come from downstairs, something was approaching. “Looks like you really don’t care about her. Even if she dies before you, you won’t do anything.” Han Fei raised the blade. The glowing blade reflected Han Fei’s vicious gaze.
There was sound of movement from downstairs. Han Fei cackled and stabbed the blade downwards without hesitation! Rest in Peace would be extremely sharp when it was used against a sinful enemy but it wouldn’t harm the people with kindness. That was the special property of Rest in Peace but even so, Han Fei didn’t dare to bet with it. So his stab didn’t aim at Auntie Lee’s neck but his own hand that grabbed Auntie Lee’s neck. That way, he wouldn’t really hurt Auntie Lee. Everything was within Han Fei’s calculation.
Han Fei used masterful acting to its maximum. Just as the blade was about to touch Han Fei’s hand, a mirror shattered at the end of the corridor. A doctor in a white coat charged madly at Han Fei. Han Fei had seen this doctor before. He was standing in the mirror inside the examination room. But no matter how hard the auntie called him, he didn’t turn around. As the doctor charged over, everyone present saw his face. His facial features had been taken away, only sewn wounds remained.
Rest in Peace stopped 1 inch away from his hand. Han Fei sighed in relief. If the doctor was slower, he would have to stab himself. Han Fei hadn’t done that before. Even though he was Rest in Peace’s owner, he was also a butcher. Han Fei released his grasp and patted Auntie Lee on her shoulder.
Auntie Lee held her neck and slowly opened her eyes. She saw the doctor before her. The man she had searched for 20 years appeared just like that, it felt surreal. 20 years had passed. Auntie Lee had lost her youth but the doctor was similar to how he was 20 years ago. Looking at the ruined face, Auntie Lee raised her hands. She could sense that the man was the person she was looking for. Without the mirror in the way, even though 20 years had passed, she could recognize the man with one glance. “Where have you been?”
Auntie Lee walked towards the ghost. This lingering spirit who was feared by many was the deep memory in Auntie Lee’s heart. The doctor stood in the middle of the corridor. He didn’t dare to raise his head, afraid that his face would frighten Auntie Lee. Seeing Auntie Lee walk towards him, the Large Lingering Spirit took several steps back.
“Why did you leave 20 years ago? You didn’t tell me anything, I didn’t even know how to explain it to our son.” Auntie Lee’s tears mixed with blood. “I lied to the child that you have gone overseas to over. But he wanted to see you… I hit him when he was nine because he called you an irresponsible father. He said that you have to be dead to not come back home!” Auntie Lee staggered towards the doctor. The doctor finally stopped. The husband and wife from 20 years ago stood face to face. Auntie Lee grabbed the doctor’s coat tightly as if afraid that he might slip away again. The corridor was extremely quiet. Ironman and Yan Tang seemed to be deep in thought. Perhaps this reminded them of something that happened to them.
“Why should we be afraid of ghosts? She wants to see him so badly, perhaps a world with ghosts is not so bad.” Yan Tang suddenly commented. He lowered his head. “But this is just a game. It is crazy to think this world might become reality.”
Auntie Lee was at her limit. She was old and had already spent 2 days in-game. She met her missing husband and her heart couldn’t take all this. Her face was frighteningly pale.
“Big sister, don’t stay too close to him or you’d die.” The living would be hurt once they were close to a Large Lingering Spirit, even if the doctor had already tried his best to hold himself in. “If you die here, you won’t see him again and will lose the only chance to save him.”
Once Han Fei said that Auntie Lee finally let go.
“Your wife has gone through so much to find you. You should know what it means now that she is here, right?” Han Fei stared at the doctor. “You need to come with us and leave this hospital’s zone. That way you two can be together and you will find salvation.”
The wounds on the doctor’s face moved, he wanted to make some expression but it only caused him to bleed. After a long hesitation, the doctor shook his head. At the same time, other monsters walked out from the different corners of the building. They all had no faces, some of them had sewn-on expressions. Some of the monsters were quite powerful but they all listened to the doctor.
The doctor touched the blood that leaked out of his wound. He knelt down before Auntie Lee and wrote this on his white coat, “Penance”.
“Penance? You’ve murdered those people? You’ve joined the murder party?” Auntie Lee was reminded of the cruel images she saw at the hotel. The doctor shook his head. He wrote a few more words—A woman, I ruined her face.
This was not a good way to communicate so the doctor took out a thick patient’s record from inside his coat. Everyone in the building had their own patient’s record, it described why they had lost their faces. It included the doctor’s as well. Auntie Lee accepted the records. While she looked through it, Han Fei wandered over.
The doctor’s real name was Yan Mo. Because he had ruined a woman’s face, he was punished to stay here to create an even more perfect face for the woman. He could use the faces of any patients at the clinic as long as he could create a prettier face. Before he completed his task, his soul would be bound to the woman’s Life Thread and his face was locked at the plastic surgery hospital.
“Life Thread is not a problem. I can help you sever it to create the false impression that you have died, provided that you are willing to come with us.” Han Fei needed someone who knew the hospital well. Plus the doctor had a special power that allowed him to control patients without faces.
The doctor shook his head again. He stood facing Auntie Lee. If he had a face, it would be filled with guilt.
“If you are worried about these patients, we can bring them with us.” Han Fei looked at the faceless monsters. He was curious about them. Why did the hospital need so many faces? Just to create the perfect face?
Han Fei was confused. The hospital had at least 3 Pure Hatreds and their powers were completely different. The woman could steal other people’s faces and either the white shoes or the paint worker had the power of creating Life Threads. The last Pure Hatred’s talent was still unknown. When Han Fei said he could bring all the patients with him, Doctor Yan hesitated.
“You better make the decision soon. Your wife’s condition is bad. If we don’t leave soon, she might die here.” Han Fei said directly. They were surrounded by faceless patients. The bride and groom as well as the man in the funeral wear walked out of the mirror.
The doctor wrote down another bloody message on his coat—No one can leave the clinic unless you can break that mirror.
The doctor nudged Auntie Lee lightly away. He walked to the end of the doctor, stepped on the red cloth, and shattered the large mirror. There was a door hidden behind the mirror. The door was covered with beautiful faces. The doctor took up a shard and cut through his body. He mixed Yin energy with his blood and slathered the mixture on all the faces. The faces that drank his blood opened their eyes. After all the faces saw the doctor, the door opened.
The melodious laughter echoed in everyone’s ears. The doctor wrote—The smiling face I’ve created for her is inside. No one can leave this clinic alive without destroying her.
