720 Deal
The message on the door caught Han Fei’s attention. Before he recovered his memory, the first thing he did was to find his wife, and that was the start of all the changes.
“My wife is inside the maze? Is this her hint for me?”
“Han Fei, the visitors are catching up. We can’t stay here.” Lee Guo Er held the invitation and stood before the children’s bedroom. “We should pick this path.”
The empty living room felt so lifeless. When Fu Sheng was enveloped by negative emotions, he could have communicated with his parents. Even though his father was a bastard, his mother and stepmother were good people. Unfortunately, he chose to close himself up inside his room.
“The message is on this door, so she should have gone this way.” Han Fei hesitated before following the invitation. He needed to reach the end of despair to get the black box. “My wife has been here for days already. She might have discovered something.”
Footsteps and noises came from behind. Many visitors rushed in. They didn’t have the map or hints, but they had the power of numbers. If they were lucky, they could enter the final room.
“We need to pick up our speed and try not to encounter those visitors.” The whole theme park had gone insane. Arguments were considered polite. The most dangerous ones were the murderers. They killed and destroyed for joy. They ignored all rules. They just wanted to vent their hatred and anger.
Beyond the children’s bedroom door was the long corridor of the hospital. There were six wards corresponding to six patients. Pleading came from Ward 1, child’s crying came from Ward 2, the patient and doctor were arguing madly in Ward 3, and fresh blood oozed out of Ward 4…
The scariest room was Ward 4, but the invitation told them to enter Ward 4. The visitors were getting closer. Han Fei’s group didn’t have the time to hesitate. Behind the door of Ward 4 were two beds hanging in the air. One was filled with pills, and the other bed was covered in knife marks. Lee Guo Er climbed onto the bed with the knife marks and pushed open the ventilation grate on the ceiling.
“The route is hidden there. Those who don’t know the answer won’t find it.” The group crawled into the smelly vent. The more they went, the narrower the vent. Halfway through, they heard the door of Ward 4 being knocked down. The visitors destroyed the things inside Ward 4. A few minutes later, someone removed the vent door Han Fei restored. The sound of a bouncing ‘ball’ appeared in the vents. The rapid thumping was just the beginning. More visitors entered the vents.
“Han Fei, more people are climbing over the walls to enter the theme park from outside. They are going to the maze too! Be careful!” the players’ voices came from Xiao Yu’s mother’s phone. The visitors and monsters had no maps and hints, but there were so many of them. They could get the answer through trial and enter.
“Quick!” After they exited the vent, they landed in the surgical room. The bloody table was scattered with the patient’s garb, and the surgical items were littered everywhere. This was the site of a failed surgery.
“Left side!” There were two doors inside the surgical theatre. The left door had a bloody handprint and a surgical knife. The screams of doctors came from behind it; the urgent calls of the staff came from the right door. They seemed to be rushing to save someone’s life.
The room beyond the left door was another surgical room. But this place was bloodier than before, and the surgical table now had restraining straps. Teeth and threads littered the ground. The pictures of handsome men and beautiful women were on the walls. Cut skins were placed on the tray.
“It seems like someone was forcibly changed to look like someone else.”
“It’s still the door on the left!”
There were more surgical rooms. There were 11 surgeries to turn the patient into a monster, both inside and outside. When Han Fei opened the 12th door, the scene finally changed. The room was different because everything had a thin layer of black mist over them.
“We’re finally out of the surgical rooms. The blood is too scary.” Worm was about to take a breather when he realized Han Fei had stopped. Once Han Fei stopped, it meant that there was something scary.
“The patient left the surgery, but his world is now corrupted by black mist. Everything he sees radiates despair. This person has been fully ruined.” The room was dark and oppressive. All the colors had been drained.
“Doesn’t this mean that we’re on the right way? We’re slowly moving to the center of the maze.” Yan Yue’s mother was rather excited. She had never been here before.
“We better be careful.” Han Fei picked up a random object. The black mist was like spores. It took a lot of effort to remove. “The light in his world is fading, and strange things start to appear. If we continue, we’ll be affected too.”
“You mean… We’ll sink into the maze and become like the owner?” Ever since Qiang Wei entered the maze, he had been uneasy.
“We’re slowly moving to the despair at his core, but not everyone can finish this path. Only those with determination can survive until the end.” Han Fei looked at Qiang Wei. “We’re both from that orphanage. I’m not sure what will happen in the future, but at least I hope you can trust me while we’re here.”
After a short silence, Qiang Wei nodded. “I will.”
“There’s no need to be so serious. We have the map, so it should be easy to find our way out.” Xiao Jia carried his laptop. He had great faith in Han Fei. “Don’t be so pessimistic.”
Perhaps Xiao Jia was a jinx. The players entered the next room and the mist was clearly thicker. The rooms recorded normal days in life but they looked dirty to the maze owner. Everything reeked of despair, and everything reminded him of death. The scariest thing was the black mist started to affect the players. They started to feel the same emotions. “The owner can no longer return. He is rapidly falling into despair.”
The mist was so thick in the next room that it blocked out the sun. Even the optimistic Xiao Jia had shut up. If they moved further, it would be total darkness. The rooms featured many despairing scenes. They followed the invitation and slowly waded into the swamp of despair.
“51st room…” Everyone paused. They looked at the new room. The room had no light. The black mist covered everything. Even if Malice were right before them, the players couldn’t tell.
“Are we still going?” Even with the map and hints, some players couldn’t stand it anymore. They had no idea how many such rooms were there. It was driving them crazy.
“Don’t force yourself. If you can’t do it, then stay. I’ll finish this path for everyone.” Han Fei didn’t force them to move. After a quick discussion with Qiang Wei, the players would turn back to distract the visitors and explore the other side of the maze.
Yan Yue’s mother wanted to follow Han Fei, but she was dragged away by Qiang Wei. Only Han Fei and Lee Guo Er entered the 51st room. They slowly moved through the dark to find the correct way. Actually, Han Fei didn’t want Lee Guo Er to follow either, but the invitation was hers. They couldn’t see anything in the dark. When Lee Guo Er held the invitation close to the right path, it would glow faintly in red.
“Are you afraid?”
“I’m fine.” Lee Guo Er held Han Fei’s clothes. The darkness could consume even light so it was pointless to use a torch.
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”
“It has nothing to do with you. I did everything for myself.” Lee Guo Er touched the things before her. She didn’t seem to be afraid when she was around Han Fei. The black mist obscured everything. They slowed down and took a long time to find the door. Han Fei took out Rest in Peace and used the light of humanity to find the way.
When they came to the 70th room, Lee Guo Er’s body was affected. Black mist crawled into her body, and black blood capillaries appeared under her fair skin. Something was taking over her body. “It’s okay. I can still go on.”
They entered another 10 rooms, and Han Fei started to feel unwell too. The negative emotions started to attack them.
“Are you alright?” Han Fei looked at Lee Guo Er. The latter’s face was white, and her lips were dark.
“I’m fine.” Lee Guo Er pushed open the door. The room changed again. They seemed to be inside the body of some unknown creature. Everyone was made with flesh and blood. It was scary too. Lee Guo Er didn’t rest even though she was at her limit. In fact, she moved faster. She wanted to carry Han Fei as further as she could. Actually, they had no return. Han Fei knew that if Lee Guo Er couldn’t be the next Brain, she’d be a part of the maze.
“I wonder how many rooms are left. But it’s fine. I will never feel despair here. Don’t worry.” Lee Guo Er said softly, “My dream in the past was to trap you inside a black room that only I know. If we fail this mission, then my dream will come true, so I don’t feel despair. In fact, I feel excited and shy.” She wanted to make a sick smile, but she couldn’t do it. The double pressure on her mind and body was too much. Han Fei wanted to say something, but she had already moved to the next room.
92, 95, 98…
When they entered Room 99, Lee Guo Er tripped and fell. There appeared to be black hairs crawling under her skin. The despair inside the maze finally crushed her.
“Room, room on the left.” Lee Guo Er pointed the way for Han Fei. Han Fei didn’t leave her behind. He carried her and opened the door to Room 100. Han Fei was startled. This room was fully dark. Even Rest in Peace couldn’t shine any light through it.
“All the despair comes from this room. This room is the core of the maze!”
Seeing the darkness, Han Fei hesitated. He felt like this room was like an open black box.
“What is inside the room?”
Carrying Lee Guo Er, Han Fei slowly moved into the 100th room.
As the door closed, the surrounding dropped into darkness and silence.
“Am I inside the black box? Was this something Fu Sheng experienced?” He could see, smell or hear anything but despair!
Han Fei tried to find the edge of the room when his hand touched someone’s arm.
“Who is it?”
Laughter started inside the room. The shy laughter gradually became exaggerated until it became mad laughter!
“It’s you?!” Han Fei was too familiar with this laughter. He didn’t think Mad Laughter would be waiting in this 100th room.
“You released me to make a deal with me. Now all five managers have been dragged by me. I’ve done my part, so it’s time for you to do your part.” A voice similar to Han Fei appeared before him. Others would think he was talking to himself.
“Isn’t the deal for you to gain freedom?”
“You’ve forgotten the real deal, but I’ll help you remember it.” Han Fei felt someone grab his mask in the dark. He couldn’t stop it. Before he reacted, the pain came from his face. The mask fell, and Mad Laughter tore off Han Fei’s face!
“I’ll be you from today onwards!”
Blood covered everything. Mad laughter echoed in Han Fei’s mind. When he tried to struggle, he was thrown somewhere far away.
“The deal is completed. I will kill everyone who wants to be reborn in this body and send you to the red orphanage deep inside this brain.”
