526 Second Teammate
“019 has a performative personality, but I’m not sure about 030.” 024 was very innocent. He answered anything Han Fei asked. After gaining valuable information, Han Fei left the cryptic world. His mind and body were exhausted after being controlled by Laughter. It was a miracle he had survived until now. Han Fei ate a few more pig’s hearts before finding Xu Qin. He confirmed Xu Qin was also recovering before he logged out.
The blood froze the city. Han Fei noticed with shock that he took longer logging out of the game. He looked at the blood-red figure down the horizon, and his heart pounded nervously. ‘Why is this happening? Normally, it won’t be so difficult to leave the game.’
Han Fei eventually detached from the blood-red city. Thankfully he was not seen by the Unmentionable.
Han Fei opened his eyes, and the pain came from the back of his head. Han Fei gritted his teeth. The pain made it so that he could not sit up. He could not even remove his gaming helmet. ‘This is so painful!’ After experiencing the terrors in the cryptic world, Han Fei assumed he had already gotten used to pain, but the pain that came from the back of his mind was impossible to bear. He lay there for a long time before the pain receded. Han Fei used the last of his energy to remove the gaming helmet, and then he slept inside the gaming hub. When Laughter controlled his body, he drained Han Fei’s potential and spirit.
Han Fei fainted, and he woke up much later. There was still pain from the back of his head, and his body was fatigued. ‘Looks like I can’t allow Laughter to come out so often. He has clarified for me my limitation. I will need a long recovery period after challenging that limitation.’ Han Fei’s body collapsed after killing Ten Fingers in the cryptic world. He could not even move. He had to rely on Drake to carry him.
Han Fei crawled out of the gaming hub, opened the fridge, and swallowed canned meat. The rush from eating balanced out the pain in his mind. Han Fei leaned against the fridge and watched the meat in his hands. “Looks like I’ll be stuck with meat for the rest of my life. Thankfully, I’ve run into Xu Qin and have various delicious meats in the cryptic world. Even though Xu Qin might curse them, they are like filled cookies. The different curses are like endless surprises.”
Han Fei stood up and took out his phone to look. He had plenty of unread messages and unanswered calls. After the movie festival, more people found him. Han Fei scanned through them and decided he should go and find Bai Xian. Bai Xian had a hard time losing the award, he thought about entering Perfect Life to relax, but an accident happened. Not everyone could survive that impact.
‘If my prediction is right, Bai Xian’s acting skill will have a breakthrough if he survived this.’ Han Fei put on a hat and left his room. When he exited his rental, Han Fei felt the atmosphere in his neighborhood was not right, so he reached to grab the nunchucks in his sleeves. Han Fei continued to move forward without a change to his facial expression. When he approached the neighborhood entrance, two casually-dressed men approached him. They didn’t come close to Han Fei, but they guarded Han Fei.
‘Plainclothes?’ Han Fei slowed down. Once he exited the neighborhood, he was ambushed by the wall of cameras. The group of reporters waited at the neighborhood entrance. There were neighbors from the old city mixed among them too.
“Han Fei, do you have any comments after winning the best male supporting actor? Between Bai Cha and yourself, who do you think is a better actor?”
“The internet has been comparing you to the other young actors, but an A-lister said your acting skill has surpassed the other young actors. What do you think?”
“What is your opinion regarding Bai Cha’s latest statement on the internet? He has made you his biggest rival. He has Deep Space Entertainment behind him, but I heard you have not joined any agency, so do you have the confidence to compete with him?” People were waiting to hear Han Fei’s answer. As the youngest winner of the best male supporting actor, Han Fei’s popularity was the highest among the C-list actors. As long as he continued to release good movies and dramas, he could get into the B-list actors within the year.
Han Fei was quite nervous facing the gauntlet of cameras. He pushed the nunchucks deeper into his sleeve. If the media captured the picture of him holding the weapon, who knew what they would say?
“I have not joined any agency, and I do not intend to compete with other actors because acting is a hobby for me.” Han Fei was probably the first to be interviewed while holding a nunchuck. “I need to thank everyone for their validation. I hope you’ll be excited about my next project.”
The reporters could not find Han Fei at the venue yesterday night, so they came to storm him at his rental. Han Fei and the two plainclothes were troubled.
“How do you normally train your acting skill? How do you explain your unique presence?”
“Do you have another actor whom you learn from? We have pictures of you walking the red carpet with Xia Yilan. What is your relationship with her?” The reporters bombarded Han Fei with questions, making his headache even worse. Han Fei didn’t know how to answer, for example, his relationship with Xia Yilan. Yes, he valued Xia Yilan and planned to send her back for treatment, but he couldn’t tell that to the reporters. Even Han Fei, who had to face endless ghosts every day, had trouble dealing with the reporters. He tried his best to answer while reaching into his pocket to dial a number. About ten minutes later, a police cruiser arrived. Han Fei smiled brightly when he heard the siren. “I’m sorry, I have something else to do.” Han Fei apologized as he squeezed through the crowd before crawling into the police car. If another celebrity were seen crawling into a police car, it would be big news, but for Han Fei, this was perfectly normal. The reporters surrounded the cruiser. Han Fei had a professional smile as he urged Li Xue to drive away.
The cruiser drove down the road. The officer who was in the driver’s seat and Li Xue in the passenger’s seat finally grasped the horrifying tenacity of these reporters. “Han Fei, you’re so famous now?”
“The fame is fake. They will follow whoever is popular. I believe my popularity will last for 1 or 2 more days.” Han Fei knew the situation very well.
“How about you move to another place? Currently, your neighborhood is crawling with reporters. We are afraid that the Butterfly might be hidden among them.” Li Xue was worried about Han Fei.
“All the more reason that I shouldn’t move. This is the perfect chance to capture Butterfly. If he made a move, he would be captured.” Han Fei said.
“I don’t know how you manage to do this. You are more courageous than most young cops I’ve met. But you need to be careful too.” The driving officer said, “The law enforcement will have a big loss if something happened to you.”
Han Fei shook his head with embarrassment. He should be the actor who assisted the police the most in history. “By the way, how is the man I sent to the station yesterday? Is he awake?”
“We have sent that man to the hospital. He comes from an interesting background. He is not registered in the citizenry database, so he is most likely a fugitive on the run.” Li Xue took out her phone. She could look at the four cameras that stared at Ugly Scar at the hospital.
“He used to be a manager at Immortal Pharma. When you investigate him, do not reveal his identity because he might be carrying Immortal Pharma’s deepest secret.” Han Fei trusted Xin Lu police and told them about Ugly Scar.
“Don’t worry. My teacher has taken over this case. He is very interested in the criminals that you caught.” Li Xue’s teacher was a legend among law enforcement. He fought with Butterfly a decade ago. Along the way, he had uncovered many truths.
The police car drove Han Fei to the smart city. During the journey, Han Fei asked Li Xue to help him find 019 and 030. The police were standing on Han Fei’s side as they peeled back the dark history of Immortal Pharma.
Li Xue dropped Han Fei off at Bai Xian’s neighborhood. Han Fei completed the Id identification, took the voice-activated elevator, and arrived at Bai Xian’s place. Han Fei waited for a long time before the door opened. A haggard Bai Xian appeared at the door. He looked similar to Han Fei. He held his head and looked like he was hungover.
“Brother Bai, did you get online into Perfect Life yesterday night?” Han Fei questioned.
Bai Xian rubbed his head. He thought about it seriously. “I am not sure. I think I have, but maybe I have not. My mind is cluttered. It felt like I was in a nightmare, but when I woke up, I was already kicked out of the game.” Han Fei smiled sadly. Bai Xian’s condition was worse than Huang Yin’s.
“What did you dream about?”
“You will not believe me.” Bai Xian looked at Han Fei seriously. “But I saw the God of Death.”
“Oh?”
“It’s real.” Bai Xian looked at Han Fei. “The man wears a beast mask, and his size… is about the same as you, the golden proportion. He eats fresh human hearts, can control ghosts, and most importantly, he is immortal. Even after a monster about 10 meters large crashed into him, he could still run around covered in blood.”
“That scary?”
“I’ve already picked the least scary part to tell you. You can’t imagine the horror without experiencing it yourself.” Bai Xian’s hands were shaking. He walked to the wine cupboard. “What do you want to drink?”
“Just water will be fine.” Han Fei had been observing Bai Xian since he entered the door. The incident from the night before clearly had left a considerable impact on Bai Xian. The man was now in a state between dream and reality. Bai Xian soon returned holding a glass of plain water and white wine. “Brother Bai, are you sure you should be drinking?”
“I need the alcohol to numb myself. Plus, I have no schedule recently.” Bai Xian sat across from Han Fei. When he planned to throw down the wine, Han Fei stopped him. “It’ll be fine. I have a good tolerance for alcohol, which actor doesn’t?” Bai Xian forced a joke. He finished the wine, and his eyes were red. “I was pushed to examine my life in that nightmare. I felt an overwhelming sense of failure. If I had died then, I would be too ashamed to see my parents.”
“But Brother Bai, you are already very successful.”
“To reach this stage, I have said and done many things that I did not wish. I became a fake person, an embarrassment to my parents.” Bai Xian topped up his wine. He didn’t have anything else to eat. Han Fei noticed that when Bai Xian spoke, he kept glancing at one of the spots in the room. Han Fei turned around and saw two picture frames inside a black and white cupboard. “Everyone wears a mask in the entertainment industry. I look impressive on the outside, but I know I am nothing more than a monkey.” Bai Xian guzzled another glass of wine. “When I was still starting, I crawled with all my might; when I gained some popularity, I became so careful. I couldn’t say what was really on my mind. Now the mask is so firmly stuck on my face that I can’t even remove it anymore.”
“Brother Bai, you need to stop drinking.”
“I’m not drunk.” Bai Xian looked at Han Fei. “Do you know how much I envy you? Not because of your award or talent, but because you can be yourself. You dare to do things that I can’t even imagine doing.” When Bai Xian reached for the wine bottle, Han Fei swiped it. Instead, Han Fei pushed the glass of water he hadn’t touched to Bai Xian. “If you want to, I can bring you on the case with me. But you have to learn basic fighting skills first.”
Bai Xian finished the glass of water. He held his head, and then he suddenly laughed, but the laughter was filled with sadness. “I was shocked when I saw you for the first time on the law channel. When Director Zhang couldn’t find a suitable actor, I asked him to watch Twin Flowers. Do you remember when you came for the audition, I took the stage to act beside you?”
Han Fei was confused too. Bai Xian was a B-list actor, so he didn’t have to do that. “I was afraid that you’d be nervous, so I wanted to help you, but you were such a good actor.”
“Thank you.” Han Fei knew Bai Xian had been looking out for him, but Han Fei had no idea why.
“Do you know why I wanted to help you?” Bai Xian turned to the cupboard in the bedroom with red eyes. Finally, he found someone he could tell these things to. “My father was a firefighter, and my mother was a cop. They had an explosive temper and could argue over the smallest thing. After I got into university, they planned to have a divorce. They didn’t tell me because they wanted to give me a complete summer break. We went out for a family trip, but when we passed by Xin Lu River, a school bus with students crashed over the rails and fell into the river.” Bai Xian could see everything from back then vividly. “My parents did not hesitate. They got out of the car and rushed to help. They jumped into the river with the other Good Samaritans. They saved one after another child. I stood on the bridge watching them until I couldn’t see them anymore. I waited for them on the bridge until the rescue boat arrived until the sun came down and the night descended.
“When I saw them next, they were both asleep.” Bai Xian’s mind was blurry. He reached for the bottle, and this time Han Fei did not stop him. “I respect people like them. I admire their courage, and I want to be like them, but slowly I have changed. I became obsessed with fame and power. I became numb and cold.
“I have no idea what happened to me. When I realized the problem, the problem could no longer fix it.” Bai Xian rubbed his temples. “If this were the past, I would continue to lie to myself. After all, everyone who had my experience would become like me. That was my belief until I saw you.”
“Because I have been helping the police?” Han Fei felt like he should come clean, but Bai Xian cut him off before he could say anything.
“There are many reasons. When I first sent you back to your rental, I was shocked. I did not expect you’d give away your salary to the victims’ families and live in an old rental on your own.” Bai Xian tried his best to explain. “Do you know that feeling? Just when you think everyone is wallowing in the mud with you, you turn around and see someone floating up the mud and soaring into the air.
“When I joined you on the first case, I was scared, but I felt so alive. It was why I followed you the second time.” Bai Xian held the bottle. The lack of sleep and alcohol made his legs unsteady.
“Brother Bai, those are all in the past. If you want to have a new life, then I can bring you with me every time I go capture the criminals.”
“That… won’t be necessary.” Bai Xian’s body slid downward. Thankfully Han Fei caught him in time and moved him to the couch. After some time, Bai Xian adjusted himself. He leaned against the sofa and woke up slightly.
“Brother Bai, the reason I’ve come today is to ask for your permission.” Han Fei stared into Bai Xian’s eyes and asked in a severe tone, “If I say, whenever you log into the game in the future, you will meet that many scary ghosts and monsters, will you continue to play the game?”
“Will I?” Bai Xian held his chin. He gave it serious thought. After a long time, Bai Xian touched the ring around his finger. “I will.”
“Can you tell me why?”
“My wife is still inside the game. Compared to the scary ghosts, she is more important.”
“Wife?” This time it was Han Fei who was shocked. He stared at Bai Xian’s custom-made ring. It looked very similar to the Grade E Rare Item—Nameless Hero.
“Brother Bai, what have you experienced in the game?” Han Fei realized that his friends were all very unique. Butterfly tortured Huang Yin, and Bai Xian, who was supposed to be a bachelor, had silently married in-game.
“I just told you many things about me. I didn’t have anyone like you in my life, so I bought the game to unwind. Isn’t it marketed as the best Iyashikei game?” Then Bai Xian told Han Fei what had happened to him over the past few days. When everyone else was busy leveling up, Bai Xian wandered around. His initial luck was very high, and he had two talents. He had a valuable account, so everything he did was successful. He found many unique items. But when he was level 5, he encountered something that he refused to face ever again. He visited the Thousand Lakes outside of the city and triggered a random event.
The boat with many students capsized. Seeing the students struggle in the rapids, Bai Xian forgot that these people were just NPC, and he jumped into the water. Bai Xian helped the children get to the shore. His level was low, so his stamina was terrible. Soon he was exhausted. Bai Xian’s body became heavier, but he did not give up. He wanted to save those children. The icy water rushed into his nose and mouth. Bai Xian’s Life Points dropped. He felt Death’s clutches around his neck. There was no air left in his lungs.
But at the moment, he still didn’t give up on the students. He tried his best to send them to the bank. Then his stamina was exhausted. Bai Xian started to sink. He looked at the water surface that strayed away from him. He was reminded of many things. Death was painful. Bai Xian slowly closed his eyes, but at that moment, someone grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the water. The person who saved Bai Xian ended up being his wife. She was the only female officer at Thousand Lakes.
To quote Bai Xian, when he saw her, his life changed. The game became more than a game.
“Right then, I experienced the feelings of both the savior and the saved. I understood why my parents made the choice they did.” Bai Xian was a good man. Han Fei also confirmed that Bai Xian was the person he was looking for.
“Brother Bai, I need you to log into the game again tonight. I will show you the true face of the world.”
