553 Negative Fourteen Charm
Han Fei had a very strong learning capability. Surviving in the cryptic world had unlocked his full potential. Han Fei used three hours to complete the game’s theme song and, through that, vent his suppressed emotions. At first, Han Fei was only singing, but eventually, it felt like he was telling his own story.
When the theme song was completed, Han Fei received the notification. “Notification for Player 0000! Grade F Talent—Voice Kissed by the Devil activated!
“Your voice is highly melodious. You’re like a demon in the abyss luring in unsuspecting travelers; Your voice is highly despairing, every note dripping with sadness; Your voice is highly piercing as if the sunray cutting through the clouds, severing the destiny’s shackles.
“Notification for Player 0000! Your talent Cursed Words have been activated!
“Every lyric you sang is imbued with curses. This song is a nightmare weaved from endless curses.
“Notification for Player 0000, congratulations for creating a Grade F Curse—Nameless Song.
“Nameless Song: Curses are formed from pollutions of murderous and hatred-filled obsessions. This song is your curse against fate. You can influence the listeners’ mind subconsciously, evoking their internal despair and lowering their hatred towards you.
“Warning! Reward for creating your first curse—Minus 1 Charm!”
Han Fei was broken out of his reverie by the sudden notification.
“I’ve created a curse?” Han Fei glanced at his attributes, his charm had dropped down to negative fourteen. “This shouldn’t be! I was merely singing about my life!” The song wasn’t even named, and it was already a curse. “I guess this is a good thing. The song will subconsciously influence the listeners. This is a slow-acting curse.”
After Han Fei finished recording the song, he scored the scariest background music from his memory. The sound and music which appeared the hardest to Lee Guo Er were completed by Han Fei in one afternoon.
After paying the rental, Han Fei hurried back to the company. He closed the office door. With Lee Guo Er watching him in confusion, he approached her and took out the headphones. “Here. Listen to this.”
“What is it?” Lee Guo Er put on the headphones. When she heard Han Fei’s voice, her pretty eyes widened, and her face colored with disbelief. The song was like an inescapable nightmare, but at the same time, it was a devil’s warm embrace. The listener knew they would fall into the abyss, but they couldn’t leave his arms.
Lee Guo Er looked at Han Fei in shocked. She had no idea the man was such a good singer. Listening to his song was like experiencing his life.
“Notification for Player 0000! Lee Guo Er’s hatred towards you lowers by 1. Accumulation of 6.” Han Fei was shocked. He hadn’t really done anything. ‘Perhaps Lee Guo Er fell in love with the competent, mature, and talented Fu Yi. What I’ve been doing recently has brought him back to her.’ Fu Yi was a horrible bastard, but it was undeniable that he was really talented too. He graduated from a prestigious university, was a good game designer, and ran a company’s most significant project before the age of 30. He was handsome and most importantly, he knew how to disguise himself.
“So, what do you think of my singing?” Lee Guo Er didn’t seem like she was going to put down the headphones even though the song was long over. She wanted to repeat it. Han Fei’s curse was different from others because people would willingly fall for his curse.
“It’s amazing.” Lee Guo Er took down her glasses to look at Han Fei. The hatred in her eyes was mostly gone. In its place was a special emotion. It was sharper than love but softer than despair. She was like a girl who wanted to pluck the rose from a high wall. She knew she couldn’t reach it but it didn’t stop her from trying.
“Leader, you know how to sing too?” Brother Fake Plant and the other members crowded over. Brother Fake Plant grabbed the headphones from Lee Guo Er and put them on himself. Different people would respond differently to the curse. Lee Guo Er felt an embrace from the devil, but Brother Fake Plant felt like he was swept into an ocean of nightmares, only despair around him and a small light of hope down the horizon.
“This is impressive!” Brother Fake Plant’s head was covered in a cold sweat. He shivered. “I need to watch some funny videos to balance this out.”
Han Fei had all the members listen to it. The first impact was the strongest and eventually, the effect weakened. But if someone listened to it repeatedly, the song would have a curious effect on the listener.
‘The impact will probably be stronger if I sing it live.’ Han Fei was cursing while others were singing. Other singers could gain fans, while Han Fei would gain diehard fans.
Han Fei copied the song. He had Brother Fake Plant keep watch on his friend and had another member contact the Marketing Department. Since Immortal hadn’t started their promotion, they needed all the resources they could get. After doing all that, Han Fei was ready to rest. However, Zhao Qian came to find him. “Fu Yi, come out for a moment.”
Zhao Qian’s voice didn’t sound so right. Han Fei picked up the headphones and left for Zhao Qian’s office. “Has the company approved of the budget? We’re already gaining a player base even though the game hasn’t been released.”
“What happened between you and Du Zhu?” Zhao Qian didn’t answer but asked another question.
“It looks like the company is unwilling to give me a chance.” Han Fei didn’t hide anything. He told her what had happened with Du Zhu. The general story hadn’t changed, but Han Fei made himself into an atoning father and Du Zhu into a mentally-twisted antagonist.
“Notification for Player 0000! Zhao Qian’s hatred towards you lowers by 1!” Zhao Qian’s expression didn’t change, but the system told Han Fei that her impression of him had improved. Fu Yi in the past was extremely selfish, but the new Fu Yi was family-orientated, loyal and a perfect gentleman. He wouldn’t interact too freely with the members of the opposite sex.
“Du Zhu is the company’s biggest investor. Basically, her family is involved in many businesses in this city. You’ll have a horrible ending doing this.” Zhao Qian’s tone softened.
“I have a feeling that I don’t have much time left even if I don’t do something like this.” Han Fei smiled, “Perhaps it’s because I’ve sinned too much. I know I can’t be saved and I didn’t wish for a good ending. All I want to do now is to accomplish a few things before my life ends.” Han Fei didn’t look like he was acting. He was putting his soul in this. “I want to finish this last game and fulfill my team’s hope in me; I want to see my eldest son return to school and walk out of the shadow of bullying; I want to celebrate my youngest son’s birthday and bring him to the theme park; In my remaining time, I want to rectify all my wrongs and then choose the method that they wish for me to die.”
Han Fei suddenly coughed when he finished. He looked down, and his nose started to bleed again. But different from last time, he felt the obvious discomfort. “I’m sorry.” When Han Fei raised his head, Zhao Qian was ready with the paper napkin.
“The company will not approve your budget and the promotion on your game will cease. All the resources will be moved to Immortal.” Zhao Qian announced the bad news, but he seemed ready as she took out a contract from her drawer. “But I can personally loan you half of the budget. You can repay me with the game sales income.”
“What if the game doesn’t sell well?”
“Then, you have to look after yourself so that you can repay me with your life.” Zhao Qian was stern but Han Fei felt more at ease than when she was smiling. Han Fei read through the contract and signed it. “Thank you, CEO Zhao.”
“Don’t need to thank me. The game will be a hit and I believe in your ability, after all, I taught you myself.” Zhao Qian gave Han Fei a copy of the contract and kept a copy for herself. Then she waved him out. Han Fei wiped away his blood and left the office with his contract. Once he was out the door, he leaned against the wall due to the dizziness. ‘I need to do more good things and raise my level using the Good Samaritan’s effect before my body fails me.’ Han Fei would gain two stamina with each level up, and his stamina would have a categorical improvement with every ten increase in stamina.
Han Fei heard Brother Fake Plant scream as he entered the office.
“Leader, what happened to you? Why are you bleeding?”
“Zhao Qian punched me and I was sent flying.” Han Fei joked. “Just focus on your work. This is a workplace, who would be fighting?”
“Who really knows. I saw the news yesterday, and there was a parent who ran to the school to beat up the headmaster in his office.”
“The news… always exaggerate stuff. By the way, was the parent’s face blurred out?”
“It was, but his clothes feel very familiar.” Brother Fake Plant scratched his chin. While Han Fei spoke with Brother Fake Plant, Lee Guo Er stared at Han Fei’s pale face and she seemed to realize something.
Finally, it was time to get off work. Han Fei wanted to work overtime for half an hour to finish the game but he got a call from his wife. “Is there a problem at home?”
“I wanted to go look for Fu Sheng after I fetched Fu Tian, but the teachers told me that Fu Sheng hasn’t gotten to school today!”
“What?!” Han Fei shot up. He picked up his stuff. “Don’t panic, I’ll be there immediately! Where are you now?”
“I’m still at school.”
Han Fei hung up, grabbed his coat, and raced out of the company. In his hurry to leave, Han Fei didn’t notice that both Zhao Qian and Lee Guo Er were standing beside the window to look at him.
They pretended to be busy with something else but their eyes were glued to the same place. However, the emotions in their eyes were different.
