721 Heart Hotel
“No wonder I didn’t receive any invitation. My name and soul have been taken by Mad Laughter…” The pain came from everywhere, but it was most intense on the face. Han Fei’s face felt like it was being burned by fire. He gritted his teeth. Mad Laughter had taken part of his memory, so Han Fei didn’t know about the real details of the trade. He struggled to stand up, but it was like his body wasn’t his. He crawled down a random direction for a few meters before he fainted.
The insane cackles slowly faded away. Han Fei was abandoned by the world. Mad Laughter took away Han Fei’s face, and he would live Han Fei’s life. People would see the new Han Fei, and they had no idea the real Han Fei was abandoned inside this black and dark room.
After some time, the feeling of burning receded slightly. He could hear the phone ringing. A faint glow of light appeared before his eyes. He raised his head to look, and a lingering spirit enveloped by kindness was kneeling before Han Fei holding the phone.
“Fu Sheng?” The Lingering Spirit was Fu Sheng, who was trapped by Dream inside the mirror. Han Fei had helped him leave the mirror, and he entered Rest in Peace. In the previous memory world, Han Fei changed Fu Sheng’s fate, but in the end, Fu Sheng still chose his old path. He left his kindness and memory at the plastic surgery hospital, and he went to the theme park alone.
The Lingering Spirit smiled when he saw Han Fei awaken. He passed the butcher’s knife and mask to Han Fei and then started to walk. The room in the middle of the maze was very large. It was like there was no horizon. Fu Sheng’s kindness was the only candlelight. He carried a weak light and led the way for Han Fei. Time lost its meaning. There was no direction. Han Fei silently followed Fu Sheng’s kindness, and they walked for a long time. Fu Sheng only stopped when the wounds on Han Fei’s face stopped bleeding and the feeling of pain weakened. He turned back to smile at Han Fei. His body dispersed in the darkness and was blown away by the despairing wind.
“Fu Sheng!” Han Fei reached out but grabbed nothing. He looked down the direction Fu Sheng had disappeared, and he saw weak light coming from there. “Is that the exit?” Han Fei moved toward it, and the light in his vision became clear. A few minutes later, he finally saw everything clearly.
In the endless darkness, there was an old and decrepit hotel. The light came from the hotel windows.
“Why is there such a building in the center of the maze? Why would Fu Sheng’s kindness lead me here?” Han Fei slowly moved towards the hotel. Other than the word ‘Heart’, the other words on the signboard had been eliminated by the passage of time. “Is this the secret at the center of the maze? A hotel called Heart?”
Han Fei hesitated when he was at the door of the hotel. He resisted the pain and put the smiling face back on. “I look too scary without the mask. I better put it on.”
Han Fei pushed the door open. At that moment, he felt like everything related to the black box within his body was rapidly fading. It was just a simple gesture of entering the door, but it had taken away all the ghost tattoos from his body. The feeling was very strange. It was like a person falling into the water, but when the body touched the water, the body and soul separated. The body floated on the surface but the soul sank to the bottom.
“I should be inside the black box, right?” There were many layers to the black box. Han Fei felt like he was inside one of its layers. He looked carefully into the hotel. This old building didn’t look like it was anything special. Beside the main door was the hotel’s lobby. At the corner of the lobby was a corridor that led to the backyard and a wooden staircase that led to the second floor. Everything looked normal, but the abnormalities were the travelers inside the hotel.
Many eyes turned to Han Fei as they heard the door open. Many people had already gathered there. Han Fei’s eyes scanned everyone, and his eyes finally settled on the couch in the lobby. A handsome man with his face was carefully taking care of the fainted woman on the couch. The handsome man was Mad Laughter. The unconscious woman was Lee Guo Er. Mad Laughter had taken everything away from Han Fei. He carried Lee Guo Er to the hotel. He wanted to fully replace Han Fei and obtain everything that once belonged to Han Fei. Feeling Han Fei’s gaze, Mad Laughter smiled politely as if this was their first meeting. Other than Mad Laughter, everyone was very serious. The atmosphere was heavy, like something scary just happened here not too long ago.
“You should find a place to sit first.” The man standing in the middle of the lobby told Han Fei. He wore a police officer’s uniform. He was tall and radiated justice.
Tied to the wooden chair next to the officer was a middle-aged man who was heavily injured. He wore bloody clothes. He only had one arm, and his face and neck were covered in bruises. “Heavy injuries and one arm…” Han Fei was instantly reminded of something. However, he didn’t say anything. He walked to the corner and sat down.
“There should be all the travelers.” The officers looked at everyone. After a pause, he pulled off the cloth covering the dining table in the lobby. “In other words, the killer is among us.”
The smell of blood rushed into the nostrils. The dining table had a male carcass. The back of the victim’s head had been hollowed out, and the brain had been taken away. Next to the victim’s head was a black box.
“How long have you been trapped here? Don’t you know how chaotic the world outside is? The most immediate thing we have to do is to find the way to leave and not waste our time here anymore.” The man who spoke appeared to be a visitor to the theme park. He accidentally found his way here and couldn’t leave.
“Are you finding excuses for the killer?” The officer glared at the man. “Or do you prefer to stay with a murderer? Are you not afraid that they’d continue to kill and make you their next target?”
No one retorted. The officer nodded. “Everyone, I need you to tell me your name, occupation, what and where you have been yesterday night.”
The hotel was silent. After a long time, the oldest elder coughed twice. His body was frail, and he couldn’t sit there for long. “I’ll be the first. I’m the owner of this hotel. I’ve been running this place, but I have a bad memory. I can’t remember when I opened this place. I think it was before the theme park was established. I’ve been here ever since.” He moved his body with difficulty. “Yesterday night, I was boiling hot water in the lobby. I didn’t see anyone suspicious. I can’t be the killer. Even if I want to kill, I don’t have the energy.”
A young man in a ghost mask quickly poured a glass of water and handed it to the boss. “Xiao Fu is the hotel’s only server and he’s my grandson. I plan to give the business to him in the future. He has no motive to kill.” The boss protected the young waiter beside him very well. Han Fei’s eyes focused on the server. He felt very similar to F.
The officer nodded and turned to the only conscious woman in the lobby. “Are you a visitor to the park too?”
The woman looked tired, but her eyes were firm. “I’m not. I entered the maze to find my son. His name is Fu Sheng and I have to bring him home.”
Han Fei moved his eyes away when he heard the woman’s voice. He was afraid he couldn’t control his expression even with Masterful Acting. The only conscious woman in the lobby was his wife. She managed to reach this place without a map and hints.
“Don’t make me urge you. Keep on going. No one is going to fool me.” The officer didn’t pressure the woman and turned to the next person.
“I’m the theme park’s magician. I’m here to escape from the chaos outside.” A handsome man sat beside the woman. His voice was rather feminine. He wore rings on every finger, and many dolls hung from his body.
“I’m also here to avoid those crazy people.” The middle-aged who countered the officer said, “You can call me the Scriptwriter. I came to the theme park to find inspiration. Who would have thought I’d get so much inspiration that my head feels like exploding.”
“Scriptwriter?” Han Fei’s gaze settled on the man. His backpack was once filled with scripts, but his backpack was missing now. After the scriptwriter spoke, the lobby was silent again. Everyone turned to look behind the scriptwriter.
A dirty girl curled at the corner of the lobby. Her face was carved in fear. She seemed to be a mute with mental problems.
“I don’t think a little girl is capable of murder.” The middle-aged scriptwriter picked up the water from the table. “But she might be the witness. She’s so scared because she saw the killer.”
“Next one.” “Is it my turn?” The young man who had Han Fei’s face stood up. He was quiet, reserved, and polite. “My name is Han Fei. I’m an actor.”
Everyone turned to look at him, but everyone’s gaze was different.
“What is your relationship with this woman? Why are you taking care of her?”
“She is my subordinate and friend. Without her help, I wouldn’t reach this place alive so I wouldn’t abandon her no matter what.” Mad Laughter said the same thing Han Fei would have said. His voice was similar too.
“You’re quite loyal.” The officer grabbed the rope and pressed the single-armed man onto the table. “I’m a detective. I followed the fugitive to the theme park and finally captured him. This man is the fugitive.”
The man was very weak. He looked at the officer with regret and pain. He shouted, “Don’t believe him! I’m the real officer, and this person is the fugitive!”
No one around him believed him. The officer looked at the man with a cold smile.
“There’s one last person.” The officer ignored the fugitive. Everyone turned to Han Fei in the mask. “What’s your name?”
“My…” The blood under the mask was still wet. Han Fei knew Mad Laughter was staring at him. Han Fei continued in a throaty voice. “My name is Fu Yi.”
At that moment, the only conscious woman’s eyes changed. She looked between Han Fei and Mad Laughter before her gaze settled on Han Fei.
