651 Sacrifices
“The 90th Story—Blue White Tuition Center. Actually, I should have noticed this sooner. The most dangerous Butterfly was living in the forgotten garden. Blue represents melancholic dreams, and red represents the children’s purity. Butterfly was flying in the sea of blue and white flowers.
“Many strange things often happen at this tuition center. According to legends, the building it occupied was once an illegal clinic, earning ill-sourced money by offering unsafe abortions. Later, a girl’s info was leaked. The girl wore a blue jacket and jumped down from the rooftop. She was like a moth flying towards the flames of hell.
“The clinic’s wife died from mysterious circumstances not long after. The clinic began to be affected by strange events. The clinic boss hired many sensei to look over the clinic. Then, someone gave him an idea, telling him to build a kindergarten there. The female ghost liked children, and the children could comfort her.
“But based on my investigation, the purpose for building the kindergarten was more sinister. Many children had been aborted at the clinic. The boss wanted the ghost babies to possess the innocent children so that they wouldn’t disturb the boss. The boss went everywhere to prepare for the kindergarten, but before the kindergarten opened, he had mysteriously disappeared.
“Some say he was killed by the female ghost, while others said he had escaped to another city. Someone even said he was made into a living vessel by the sensei.
“After a few years, this place became a tuition center. Due to the blue and white flowers in the yard, the place was also called Blue White Tuition Center.”
Han Fei closed the script. “There’s something important at the start of the script-- Actually, I should have noticed this sooner. This suggests that all the stories have been recorded in some kind of order. Is it the order by which I’ve explored the locations? Or the order by which I’ve died?”
“Can you not make it that scary?” Xiao Jia scratched his wig. This was his last dignity. “Can you please explain to me what is going on?”
“Is it that hard to understand?” Han Fei put away the script. “The dead body we were looking for has been consumed by some beast. So we need to enter this building to see how the driver planned to complete the Resurrection ceremony. I have a feeling this ritual is very important to me.” Xiao Jia sighed. He still had no idea what Han Fei was talking about.
“Alright. Get down now!” Lee Guo Er was very efficient. After she parked the car, she grabbed the knife and the bag and got down.
“Are you going to stay in the car or come with us?” Han Fei turned to glance at Xiao Jia. “Nine people have died in this car. They might appear at any moment.”
“Is there another choice?” Xiao Jia didn’t dare to stay inside the car. He followed behind Lee Guo Er. Han Fei carried the driver’s documents with him. He was the last to leave the taxi. “I’ll go and take a look. Hopefully, we can give each other a chance for trust to grow.” There were still ghosts trapped in the taxi. Han Fei decided to use them as an experiment to see if ghosts could be his aid. Han Fei hid Company inside his sleeve, and he walked to the front of the group.
Blue White Tuition Center was at the end of the street. It was a dark place. The walls of the building were charred. The fire spread very quickly, and the people inside didn’t have the chance to escape.
“This looks like arson. There were many points where the fire started.”
“The paper says the murderer is still out there. They said the culprit was the children, so the culprit had died in the fire.” Lee Guo Er cleaned out the blood scabs in her hair. “It’s now after midnight. The ghosts’ power is increasing. We better not explore too deep.”
“Okay. I’ll make the decision based on the situation.” Han Fei nodded.
“Hey! What do I need to do?” Xiao Jia grabbed a wooden stick and asked nervously.
“Just don’t die.”
Han Fei took out the driver’s phone. He compared the location of the ritual. He jumped over the fence and entered the building through the window.
“Player 0…”When Han Fei entered the building, the robotic voice came again. This time, it was clearer than before. If this continued, he should be able to hear the whole sentence soon.
The place was charred. Even after so long, the smell of
“My God, this is so sad!” Xiao Jia saw the black table and stool. This place was once filled with the laughter of children, but now, only blackened ash remained.
“Shush.” Han Fei stood on the burnt corridor. His heart raced. The 22 names encased on his heart. He radiated a chilly present. “I can sense that Death is inside this building.”
As Han Fei said that, Lee Guo Er heard strange sounds coming from behind. She turned around and saw a burned man silently turning the corner. Lee Guo Er pushed on her glasses. “There is more than one ghost here. With our current experience and ability, I don’t think we are capable of capturing the ghosts here. I suggest we retreat for now and come back tomorrow.” Lee Guo Er’s decision was well-thought. She was thinking about the team.
“The driver’s body has been stolen. The culprit will notice that soon enough. Then, the Resurrection ritual will be stopped. This might be our last chance.” Han Fei walked forward. He could feel death. Actually, he was more afraid than the rest, but he couldn’t stop. He followed the blackened staircase up to the fourth floor. Han Fei passed by the burned room doors before he stopped outside the last classroom. This door was rather unharmed. It had been cleaned, and it was covered in black curses.
“Can you understand this?” Han Fei turned to look at Lee Guo Er and Xiao Jia. They both shook their heads. “It looks like we need someone who can understand these to join us.”
“I never said I’m joining you.” Han Fei ignored Xiao Jia. He pushed open the classroom door. The fire had ruined many things but not the lock on this door. Han Fei pushed with all his might, but the door didn’t budge. However, a yellow cloth fell from the top of the door. Han Fei picked up the cloth. It said that once the door was opened, the evil ghosts would be released, and the world would sink in tragedy.
“We should heed its advice and go home.” Xiao Jia suggested.
“Why should we heed the advice from a piece of cloth?” Han Fei kicked at the lock. The cursed door was opened. Han Fei’s heart raced. His blood seemed to join with the 22 names on his heart. His body temperature dropped, and his gaze turned cold. Han Fei’s eyes narrowed. Lee Guo Er and Xiao Jia behind him sucked in a cold breath.
The flame turned the previously clean walls and floor into a ruined face. Among the cracked tiles was a pile of tables and chairs. The broken tables and chairs were bound together with thin red threads. The body of a boy was hidden inside the tables and chairs. He was facing down with his back to the ceiling. His limbs were squeezed between the tables and chairs. The body didn’t touch the ground or the red thread.
“I heard a rumor that if one wanted to be resurrected, the body couldn’t touch the ground or they’d turn into zombies.” Xiao Jia added, “I can’t remember which movie that’s from.”
“Look at the boy! The paper says that the driver’s son died in the fire and his body was charred, but this boy has perfect skin! He is not the driver’s son!” Lee Guo Er entered the classroom too.
“Xiao Guo, you’re so brave. I don’t even dare to look at the body.” Xiao Jia added, but the two ignored him.
“Not necessarily.” Han Fei took a few steps forward and knelt to examine the body from another angle. “The boy’s face and chest are all burnt. Only the skin on his back has recovered. However, I don’t see any sign of sewing, so this is not skin transplant. Has he used some other method to make the body grow new skin?”
“What should we do now? Should we destroy the tables, chairs, and red threads and kill the mutated body inside?” Lee Guo Er took out her knife. “It should get us quite a lot of points.”
His former colleague now took out a knife whenever she felt like it. Xiao Jia didn’t know how to feel.
“Don’t rush. This ritual is quite interesting.” Han Fei extended his arms to look at the many scars. “Can a dead person really be resurrected?” He had scanned through the conversation between the driver and the black profile. The strange man taught the driver nine methods of resurrections. All nine of them relied on killing. Instead of resurrection, it was more like using lives to trade for lives. To revive his son, the driver believed the strange man. He killed nine people, and he also became a puppet. However, he still failed. His son’s body only grew some new skin.
“Even if the body opens his eyes, it won’t be his son inside the body anymore.” Han Fei had Lee Guo Er and Xiao Jia captured the curses inside the classroom with their phones. Based on the conversation the driver had with the strange man, Han Fei found four unique items used for the ritual at the four nautical points of the room. There were things like soil drenched the blood, live animal sacrifices, jade bottle filled with black liquid, mirrors used by the dead and so on.
“Han Fei, we’ve taken down the pictures of all the curses. Let’s leave now.” Xiao Jia urged. He was really afraid.
“No. How can we surrender the points like that?” Lee Guo Er looked at the boy inside the tables and chairs. “We should kill it.”
“Don’t rush. Don’t forget the real reason we’re here.” Han Fei wanted to help the souls inside the taxi so that he could have his own hearse. Having a vehicle was too important in this dangerous city. Han Fei handed the collected items to Xiao Jia and walked to the tables and chairs construct. He knelt on the ground and looked at the body inside. The boy was strung in mid-air. The pictures of nine living humans were placed under him. On top of each picture was the victim’s personal effect like keys, nail clippers, lipstick and so on. The human faces on the pictures were scratched away. The victims’ items were bound with black hair and joined with the boy’s body.
“This is strange.” Han Fei’s eyes watered. He seemed to have triggered one of his abilities. The souls inside the pictures waved at him, asking him to save them. Han Fei bent low, took off the clown mask and then squeezed into the construct made from tables and chairs.
“Han Fei, what are you doing?”
“Pay attention to the surrounding. I’ll go in to take a look.”
Han Fei was very careful. He didn’t touch any of the red thread. His heart pounded. The deeper he climbed, the more afraid he became. He also started to get this horrible smell. Black liquid dripped out from the dead boy. The body wax soaked the pictures on the floor. They formed a strange curse pattern.
“Someone is coming from the corridor!”
“Han Fei! Something is coming!”
Han Fei’s teammates warned. He climbed underneath the boy’s body. The victims’ pictures were within reach. His heart pounded abnormally fast. Han Fei gritted his teeth and reached his hands towards the pictures.
His fingertips touched the pictures. As he was about to pull his arm back, the stench assaulted him!
He looked up and the dead body was staring at him. The face had been ruined. Several bloody holes looked at him.
Han Fei reacted quickly. While he cut the dead body, he swiped the pictures from the ground.
The red threads were pulled. The charred tables and chairs trembled. The body inside seemed to have moved.
