712 Deaths
Uncle Ying was a ghost who could move under the sun. His soul had warmth. After knowing Uncle Ying also had a healing persona, Han Fei was reminded of himself. One day if he died, perhaps he’d be buried under the sun like Uncle Ying too.
“No wonder I believed you had the potential to be the Ghost King when I first saw you. You have the same personality as me.” Han Fei had always been curious about the healing persona, and Uncle Ying was a good example. He was sent to the mental hospital when he was young, and his life was hard. However, he was not changed by his environment. He was always optimistic and happy. Honestly, Han Fei envied Uncle Ying. They had the same persona, but their lifestyles were completely different. If possible, Han Fei wanted to bring Uncle Ying out of the memory world.
“If you ask me, I don’t think there’s anything special about me.” Uncle Ying smiled. His smile was child-like. It made people feel comfortable. When he smiled, the lost souls crawled out the corners and slowly entered his body. The dead seemed to have treated Uncle Ying’s soul as their home. Han Fei had seen this situation in another person. He was the old guard at Yi Ming Private Academy. He was protected by ghosts even after death.
“You feel like a kind person. Tell me if you need my help.” Uncle Ying didn’t look any different from a living person. In fact, he was friendlier than most living humans.
After destroying the ritual at Ren Ai Hospital, Han Fei led all the survivors and left. They returned to Happiness Neighborhood. There were more than 5000 survivors in the neighborhood. With the police and the citizen’s help, the news spread. Many people moved towards Happiness Neighborhood. The people who left regretted it because they were not welcome back anymore.
In this city closest to the cryptic world, human destiny was controlled by managers. Happiness Neighborhood was the last sanctuary.
Han Fei also underestimated human potential. Many groups started to go into the city to help other people. There were also special citizens who started to cooperate with their guardian ‘angels’. The tragedy was just beginning. Even though the sun might not rise again, humans would always find a way.
The players from Perfect Life also grew a lot. They became the core of the neighborhood, helping Han Fei maintain the rules and management. Qiang Wei communicated tirelessly with the survivors. They found another 17 special citizens.
“At first, I thought Perfect Life was an Iyashikei game, then I realized it was a horror game, but now it’s a post-apocalyptic management game.” Worm and the other players moved through the crowd, telling them not to panic.
Han Fei summoned all the players. “Thank you for your hard work.”
“It’s nothing. As long as I can leave this place alive, I’d do anything. I won’t touch this horrible game for the rest of my life.” Many players agreed.
“Do you think this will not happen in real life once you leave the game?” Han Fei looked at everyone seriously, “This game is a rare teaching opportunity for all of us. I hope you can treat everything that happens here seriously. If something like this happens in real life in the future, I hope you can be beacons of hope.”
“Real life?” Qiang Wei frowned, but he didn’t continue.
“Go and do what you need to do. Explore the city, save more people, and try to get stronger. There are chances for you to make mistakes. This city is your training ground. You have to get familiar with this nightmare and learn to lead people to survive.”
“Han Fei, what is going on with this city?” Worm looked at the night sky. “What is the goal of the person who destroyed the game rules and brought us here?”
“This chaotic city is an old man’s last advice for me and the last present he left for humanity. Until now, I can’t tell whether he’s a good or bad person, but it is undeniable that we have the chance to pursue bliss because he had once existed.” Han Fei said everything he could say. He left the work to the players, police, and the normal citizens in the city while he rushed to destroy Dream’s last two rituals.
The car rode through the night. Han Fei’s black taxi had become a symbol of the Happiness Neighborhood. More survivors knew of Han Fei, and their opinions of him were drastically different. Some thought he was framed and rushed towards Happiness Neighborhood; the others thought he was the source of all tragedies, and Happiness Neighborhood was his personal slaughterhouse. Han Fei didn’t care about what they thought. He joined the officers he had saved to go to the police station.
With the aid of the officers, Han Fei saw all the accusations against him, including the ‘evidence’ provided by F. There were more than ten murders that were ‘committed’ by Han Fei.
“Captain Zhang, do you really believe something so preposterous?”
“I’ve seen worse, so why wouldn’t I?” Captain Zhang used to be the team’s vice-captain. He had a giant grudge against Han Fei at first, thinking that everyone had been fooled by Han Fei. This was because his years of experience told him that Han Fei had been acting. However, Han Fei’s actions changed his mind. When the city sunk into chaos, Han Fei stood forward to protect everyone. If a person acted until he actually went to save endless people, then it didn’t really matter anymore.
“I work with your adopted father. He would look worried whenever he talked about you. I had no idea what he was worried about until I saw the accusations against you. Then everything clicked. He was helping you clean up the evidence of your crime,” Captain Zhang dropped the documents on the table. “Doctor Han is our most famous coroner. He has his own autopsy room in the medical university and is a special lecturer hired by the university. It would be easy for him to deal with dead bodies.”
“Do you still think I’m a serial killer?” Han Fei asked.
“I…” Captain Zhang looked tired and sad. He and Han Fei’s adopted father had solved many cases together. He still had a hard time accepting his partner was a crazed murderer.
“Come on. Let us go visit Doctor Han’s workplace. Perhaps we might find something.” Han Fei and Captain Zhang went to the evidence room and trace analysis lab. Everything was normal. “Captain Zhang, there’s a discrepancy in the evidence log. Furthermore, Doctor Han seems to be very interested in missing person’s cases. The surveillance shows him entering the case file room and evidence room many times.” Han Fei was very familiar with the police station.
“That doesn’t prove anything.” Captain Zhang said. “Shall we go to the other places?”
Captain Zhang led them to the medical university not far from the station. To everyone’s surprise, the place was mostly unaffected. The staff and students who stayed in school were not affected by the supernatural events. In contrast, it was those who left the school who were never seen again.
Once Captain Zhang arrived, he was spotted by the teacher at the door. They were old friends. “Captain Zhang, you’re finally here. What’s happening with the city? Why are all the calls unavailable?”
“I hear it’s related to a theme park.” Captain Zhang walked to the teacher. “Director Xu, has anything strange happened here?”
“Everything is fine here, except we’re running low on resources. But we don’t dare to leave. The batches of people who left are not seen again, and we can’t reach them on their phones either.
“Strange. Why is this university unaffected?” Lee Guo Er was intrigued.
“It looks like we’re at the right place.” Han Fei stood beside Captain Zhang. “Let’s not waste time. We’ll go to the autopsy room now.”
“You’re… Han Fei?!” Director Xu was shocked. “Captain Zhang, why are you with a serial killer?” Director Xu shouted as he retreated. He looked at Captain Zhang differently.
“There might be some misunderstandings here.” Captain Zhang had other officers with him. “He has been framed. The police have been monitoring him. He hasn’t killed anyone but has been helping the citizens.”
“He must be acting!” Director Xu was careful. He had to be responsible for his students. He couldn’t allow such a dangerous character to enter the school.
“Acting?” Captain Zhang pursed his lips. He was embarrassed to tell Director Xu that he was saved by Han Fei too. “Don’t worry. I can vouch for him. Lead us to Doctor Han’s autopsy room. We might find the truth there.”
“The key to that room has always been with Teacher Han. We don’t have access.” Director Xu was still thinking normally. However, Han Fei lost his patience. He led Big Sin into the school. After Big Sin appeared, Director Xu shut up. He finally understood why Captain Zhang didn’t stop Han Fei. There was no way to stop him.
“Han Fei, something is not right about this university. All the ghosts have been suppressed by some kind of existence.” Yan Yue’s mother pointed at Yan Yue’s chest. “The souls in my daughter’s body are shivering. I also feel very uncomfortable, like my body is burning.”
Big Sin’s reaction was the opposite. After it entered the university, it was excited. It stomped on the ground, and its eyes turned red. “Even when I’m close to death, Big Sin won’t be so excited. What is hidden here?” If Han Fei didn’t hold Big Sin, it would have charged out already.
Without Director Xu leading the way, Big Sin rushed toward the lab. The building was crashed into by Big Sin. It started to dig downwards. The commotion attracted the attention of the other students and staff. They looked at Big Sin in fear and then looked at Han Fei with curiosity. The rampaging monster and the gentlemanly Han Fei were a great contrast.
“No wonder he doesn’t need the key.” Director Xu grabbed Captain Zhang by his shoulders. “Why did you bring him here? If he harms my student, I’ll fight you to the death.”
“The situation now is very complicated. I need your students to be ready. The world has changed.” Captain Zhang sighed. He followed Big Sin into the lab. He and the other officers glanced down the hole in the center of the lab.
The autopsy room was on the first floor. The tools, samples, and dead bodies were underground. These were all handled by Han Fei’s adopted father. No one had access but him.
“The smell is not right.” The underground didn’t smell of Formalin but blood.
“Captain Zhang, look at that pool!” The officer shouted. Captain Zhang glanced over and his eyes widened.
The pool used to store dead bodies was now filled with Han Fei’s pictures. They were all taken when Han Fei was asleep or unconscious.
“Why would your father place your pictures inside the pool meant for dead bodies?” Captain Zhang asked Han Fei, but Han Fei didn’t answer. His eyes were cold.
“99…”
“What?”
“There are 99 pictures here, corresponding to my 99 deaths. Every time I woke up at the hospital, they would fetch me home…”
Han Fei reached his hands towards the pool. His reflection appeared on the surface. Then, more reflections appeared until there were 99 reflections of Han Fei in various states of death. They glared at Han Fei as if questioning him why he had come so late.
