Chapter 758: Guinea Pig
When the neighbors saw Han Fei walk out with the giant jar, their hearts finally relaxed. “Boss, where did you get this jar?”
“This is a flower pot.” Han Fei had Drake open the black umbrella. However, just as Drake touched the umbrella, it screamed. The black umbrella fell to the ground. The murderous intent surfaced on the umbrella, like needles. They formed the pattern of an altar. Han Fei had seen that altar in the clubhouse’s mirror before. It was made up of dead bodies.
“What a strange umbrella.”
“It’s given by the clubhouse. You can walk through the rain with this umbrella.” Han Fei handed the jar to Drake, and he carried the umbrella. He perfectly melted into this new zone.
“Manager, a lot of people have died under this umbrella. The umbrella is filled with resentment. It is built with resentment. It can help the owner avoid the black rain, but it’ll eventually consume the owner.” Lee Zai had already left, but he realized something was not right when he returned to the theme park. He seemed to have made a decision against his will because he was affected by the black rain, so he returned. “I’ve accidentally drunk a bit of the rain earlier and sensed many things from it. As the manifestation of disaster, I’m very sensitive about this. It seems like it’s protecting you, but it’s actually absorbing something from your soul.”
Lee Zai squeezed under the umbrella and pointed at the altar pattern, which was fading away, “The silence of this unknown zone is encouraged by its owner. Murder is encouraged. Every resident has to be careful of being killed. The clouds above us are like a giant umbrella. They are absorbing the souls of the dead to enlarge itself and then pour out the black rain to bring chaos to the city.”
“I also feel like this place is very scary. It’s like the whole zone is used to cultivate a single ghost.” Drake glanced at the black cloud. “We should leave.”
Han Fei could log off the game already. He walked towards the theme park. Just as the group was about to leave the area, the jar Drake was carrying suddenly screamed like someone who was forced to wake up from a nightmare. After Bu Kaixin left the black rain, it started to wilt. The soul in the skull wailed like it was losing its oxygen.
“Can’t we bring this flower to another zone?” Drake stopped. “Boss, your flower looks quite rare. If it wilts due to changing environment, it’s quite a shame.”
“Do you have any idea?”
“Mirror God and I plan to open a branch of Yi Ming Convenience Store in this zone. How about we keep the flower there?” Drake led Han Fei to the edge where the two zones overlapped. There was an old three-story building. The interior had been designed to be like a convenience store. “The left balcony is exposed to the black rain. We can put the flower there. Plus, we’ll conduct business for citizens of two zones. Even though we don’t have any stock now, I believe that the locals of this black rain area will soon become our loyal customers.”
“You sound so confident.” When Han Fei rescued Drake, he didn’t think Drake would one day open a branch of the convenience store.
“The living pressure at this black rain zone is much higher than at the Ziggurat. The locals here have to purchase items to survive. Furthermore, we’ll provide the revenge killing service. If they can provide the resource, Sister Zhang Wen will help.” Drake’s single eye narrowed. “No one can resist gaining the aid of a Pure Hatred.”
“Your convenience store will be quite convenient indeed.”
“Bringing customers convenience and best service is our goal.” Drake scratched his head shyly.
“You’ve done well. I’ll leave you to manage Yi Ming Convenience Store in the future.” Han Fei entered the shop and placed the jar on the balcony. The black rain fell into the jar. The soul absorbed the rain greedily, and the blood vessels bulged again.
“Thank you…” Just as Han Fei planned to leave, a weak voice came from the jar. Han Fei turned around to look at the jar with disbelief. “Did you just speak?” Han Fei used his talent Flower Language, “How can I help you?” With this ability, Han Fei’s voice could echo deep inside one’s soul. With the buff from Soul-depth Touch, he could communicate with some ‘flowers’ without actually speaking.
“Kill me, kill me…” The soul pleaded.
“If I do that, the gardener will kill me.” Han Fei tried to caress the skull using Soul-depth Touch. Low self-esteem, pain, and loneliness wrapped around the soul like petals. However, Han Fei also sensed a very special emotion, nostalgia.
Bu Kaixin missed the warmth of sunlight, his mother’s dumplings, and the mundane daily life.
“Do you want to go back to real life?” Han Fei pulled back his hand. “I can help you with that, but before that, you have to tell me how you got turned into a flower. I need to understand more about that black rain zone.”
Bu Kaixin didn’t believe Han Fei. He thought Han Fei was merely toying with him. As Bu Kaixin curled back into the jar, Han Fei believed he had to give the man some hope to pull him out of despair.
“I have no idea why they’re planting flowers, but I wish to turn all the flowers back into humans.” Han Fei whispered the words, “Spirit-farer.”
The ghost door slowly opened. Jin Jun appeared holding a shovel. He fell on his butt. “Han Fei?” Jin Jun looked at Han Fei with confusion, “I was digging a cemetery with Huang Yin. Why did you call me here?”
“Do you have some daily food like dumplings in your inventory?”
“I do. What do you need them for?” Jin Jun opened his inventory and took out a bunch of food and drinks.
“I’m raising a flower, and I want him to feel the warmth of the surface world.” Han Fei moved all the things to the balcony and showed them to Bu Kaixin.
“Flower?” Jin Jun was even more confused.
“Can’t you see such a big flower? If you want, I can gift you one in the future.” Han Fei tapped on the jar, and Bu Kaixin’s soul appeared on the broken skull. “In the future, I’ll send them all to the surface world.”
When Jin Jun smelled the dead body in the air, he didn’t dare to say anything lest Han Fei really gifted him a flower.
“This is your favorite dumpling. There is also other delicious food. I can help you regain the things you’ve lost. In fact… I can even help you meet your family.” When Han Fei said the last sentence, Bu Kaixin’s expression finally changed. The blankness in his eyes faded away.
“I wish to see my mother…”
“If she’s still alive, I promise you I’ll fulfill that wish.” Han Fei had Jin Jun clear up his inventory. Then, before Bu Kaixin’s eyes, Han Fei used Resurrection to send Jin Jun back to the surface world. “Now, you’ll wilt when you leave the black rain. After we solve this problem, we’ll try to have you meet your mother. You have to try your best to live. You wouldn’t want your mother to see you like this, right?” Others relied on fertilizer and techniques to raise flowers, but Han Fei relied on the flower’s innate potential. After witnessing Han Fei’s power, Bu Kaixin’s attitude changed. He became chattier, and no longer saw himself as a flower that would wilt at any moment. When Han Fei communicated with Bu Kaixin, he realized something shocking.
An Unmentionable had formed a bridge between the black rain zone and real life. It had been searching for suitable members to join the clubhouse. If one fulfilled the harsh conditions, there was a chance that one might be sent to the black rain zone. 99 percent of these people would die in the transportation process. Bu Kaixin was one of those. But there were success stories too.
Bu Kaixin was once a member of the murderer’s clubhouse, but he hadn’t killed anyone. He joined the club merely to describe his missing older brother. They looked similar, so Bu Kaixin sneaked into the club, disguised as his brother. He also discovered the unknown side of his brother. Animal, cruel, and crazy, these words were not enough to describe his older brother. After knowing the truth, Bu Kaixin despised and hated his brother. He wanted to leave, but it was already too late. After he saved the clues he found, the core members of the clubhouse located him. He couldn’t remember what happened next, but when he woke up, he was already a flower.
Bu Kaixin told Han Fei his mother’s address. He hoped Han Fei could help him check in on her. In return, Bu Kaixin told Han Fei details about one of the core members. “The man’s surname is Xia. He always wears a guinea pig mask. He’s around 1.8 meters tall. He looks so harmless, but he’s a real devil. He is in the childcare business. He always smells of milk powder.”
Han Fei memorized everything. He had Drake stay behind to look after Bu Kaixin, and then he logged off.
Han Fei opened his eyes and crawled out of the gaming hub. He rushed to the computer and logged in as Sunny Boy. He looked through the chat logs of the Death Chat Room. Han Fei found the few comments before the last admin disappeared.
“I don’t want to waste time on these randos.”
“Something big is about to happen because Xia Tian is coming.”
“Just wait and see.”
After that, the account didn’t release any new comments. And the chat room had a new admin.
“Is that a code name for the core members making their move?”
Han Fei calculated the time and realized that this happened around when Butterfly had its Resurrection Night.
“This bunch of rats has hidden so deep.”
Suddenly, one of the mods pmed Han Fei. Han Fei hesitated and then accepted the message. A very gory image appeared before Han Fei.
“Newbie, let’s play a game.”
“What game?”
“Find the difference. If you can find 10 differences in this person, I’ll bring you to somewhere fun.”
