In this future, the cryptic world had overlapped with the real world. Xin Lu became the largest ghost zone. Most of the city had been dominated by ghosts. However, there were still people who dared to face the darkness. Yan Lan’s appearance surprised Han Fei. She had a rare persona that could allow humanity to walk out of tragedies.
“It looks like one has to follow basic rules when building the altar world. God can’t just imagine everything. He has merely picked the one future that he prefers the most among all the possibilities.
“There’s hope for people in this world, but that path will be hard since God is on the cryptic world’s side.”
Black metal gushed into the tattoo. Yan Lan tore apart the shadow, and black snow fell around her. Strong, violent, and fearless. Yan Lan squashed the ghosts hiding in the dark. She scanned all the buildings. She raised her hand and punched!
The door was crushed. Yan Lan used brute force to pass through the White Building and came out the other side. At the end of the alley was an optometrist hospital planted with flowers.
“The Strange Building of Area B3. Is the gambler back here to gamble his life?” Yan Lan stood in the back alley. She worked her knuckles. The metal on her spine had combined with her tattoos. She strode towards the hospital. There was no fear on her face. There were two balls of inextinguishable fire in her eyes. Shadow consumed Yan Lan. Soon, Han Fei heard a loud boom. The hospital door’s rusted door was sent flying. The center of the hospital caved in.
“That powerful?” In this world, the persona was one’s value. The power within was amplified and everyone was influenced by their persona. Those with weak personalities couldn’t survive here. For them, suicide would be easier than surviving. The humans still alive all had their own persona. Han Fei wanted to stay overnight in the White Building, and Yan Lan was following him. He didn’t know her and her purpose.
“Do I stay here or go back to school?” With the risk of gaining more mental corruption, Han Fei could use the coin, or he could sacrifice both his eyes to get the ghost inside the fake eye to help him for 20 seconds. “I still can’t protect myself. I better go back in the morning.” Han Fei stood beside the window and focused on the Third Optometrist Hospital. Gao Cheng was blind before the tragedy, and he had a fake eye artifact. To get to know Gao Cheng’s secret, Han Fei had to visit the hospital sooner or later. Han Fei glanced at the watch. It had been two hours, but Yan Lan hadn’t left the hospital.
“Strange Buildings are unexplored buildings. Could she be trapped?”
For some reason, Han Fei felt uneasy. His heart pumped, and the room temperature lowered. Han Fei put on the black cap. He realized something was standing outside his door. At that moment, there was a knock. Han Fei wasn’t so stupid to open the door. He looked at the wiggling doorknob and hid the fate coin in his palm. Moments later, the door opened. The landlord appeared at the door with the saving box. He looked at Han Fei greedily, reminding him that it was time to pay the rent.
“You sure are greedy.” Han Fei reached into his backpack to pull out the last paper money. “Greed and fear come in pairs. After satisfying endless greed, you’ll face fear.” He didn’t give the paper money but tossed the coin of fate. As the coin twirled, the face on the coin took on Han Fei’s resemblance. His fate was bound with greed. Han Fei planned to bet everything on this coin toss. Every emotion related to greed in his mind imbued the coin. Han Fei had never viewed himself like this before. He realized his greed and ambition were deeper than any ghost he had met. Even the previous owners of the black box were no match for him. The ambition deep inside his soul morphed into flame and lit up the Strange Mirror. Goa Cheng, in the mirror, looked at Han Fei like the latter was a piece of art. His wish that couldn’t be fulfilled finally saw hope. The mirror cracked, and the coin started to fall. Han Fei could hear the voice from the mirror. “End everything. Destroy everything. I don’t need this switched destiny!”
Gao Cheng saw Han Fei’s ambition and felt Han Fei’s real thoughts. He didn’t stop Han Fei but cooperated with Han Fei to trigger the greedy persona. The coin turned. Han Fei’s face was on the front, and Gao Cheng’s face was on the back. When the coin landed in Han Fei’s palm again, his greed and ambition morphed into an endless abyss.
“Who do you think hates him the most? His innocent victims who were made into an artwork? The people he has bullied? No!
“The person who hates him the most is me. The switch at birth traps me in this hell. I can’t live, and I can’t die.
“Therefore, I’m willing to work with you. I’m the only person who won’t betray you in this world. Let our fate twine together to complete this gamble.”
The mirror shattered. After Gao Cheng swapped fate with someone, that person trapped Gao Cheng in the altar world to suffer the worst life. Gao Cheng was a normal person a long time ago, but now his brain was an abyss filled with past memories. The people he cared about were tortured again and again. The children he cared for were made into food. The city that he couldn’t escape from. He tried everything and was left in despair. The memory became the abyss of greed. He buried his humanity and became a monster. “Did I do something wrong? I was not the one who swapped our lives, so why should I suffer the consequences?”
The black mist came out of the abyss. The rotten memories gushed into the coin. With Gao Cheng’s help, Han Fei triggered the greed persona for the first time!
His presence changed. Ghost faces appeared on the coin. Their scary presence surrounded Han Fei.
“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve triggered the Greed Persona!
“Greed Persona: Consume the essence of ghosts to obtain their power! The maximum number of ghosts that can be consumed is based on the player’s greed, ambition, and determination!
“Warning! You will never know when your persona will collapse. Perhaps it’s after consuming ten ghosts or… the next ghost.”
The landlord still stood there. Han Fei suddenly felt that his ugly face was quite cute. The black mist swallowed the landlord whole.
This power consumed the ghosts in their entirety if they were weak.
“Notification for player 0000! You’ve used your Greed Persona to consume a Normal Animated Regret. The Abyss of Greed is empowered. You’ve not gained any new power. Mental corruption +1
“Current mental corruption is 30! Please cleanse it immediately!”
The black mist faded away. Han Fei looked at the saving box on the ground. He had no idea Gao Cheng’s power was so scary.
“Eating ghosts? Just how much torture Gao Cheng has experienced in the cryptic world that he could awaken such a horrifying power?” Based on the info he had been given, Han Fei had a good guess of Gao Cheng’s identity. “The greed persona is scary, but my healing persona shouldn’t be weak either. I wonder what will happen when both are awakened. If the healing persona can heal everything, then does this mean I can use the greed persona’s power without worry?” That was a good thought, but it was hard to put into practice. Han Fei desperately needed more ghost blood. “I need to find Teacher Wang again tomorrow.” When others used too much ghost blood, it was no different from suicide, but it was not the case for Han Fei.
“The landlord has been eaten. If I take away the saving box, this place will return to normal. The supply here might be stolen.” Just as Han Fei contemplated, a figure appeared out of the long alley. Yan Lan was uninjured as she stared at the hostel where Han Fei was hiding.
“How can she be fully uninjured? She didn’t enter the hospital!” Han Fei moved, but Yan Lan had locked onto his location. She leaped into the air. Her metallic knuckles crushed through the ceiling, and she landed in Han Fei’s room. The floor cracked. Yan Lan stood up. “You’re quite the hider.”
Han Fei figured out everything at that moment. Yan Lan kicked the hospital door high into the sky but didn’t enter the building. She did all that to make Han Fei let his guard down to confirm his location. “Hide?” Han Fei switched on Masterful Acting. He was different from how he was at school. He didn’t look like he was mentally corrupted. “The students are going to take the exam in three days. You’re not going to fight me now, are you?” Han Fei held the coin. The black mist surrounded Han Fei. The mist aimed to swallow everything.
“The school’s machine will not lie. Stop acting.” Yan Lan’s gaze was sharp as knives. “Since you’re going to die soon, why don’t you replace my class with yours? That way, more useful kids will survive.”
“Do you think my students are useless?”
“They are orphans with mental problems. Them being alive doesn’t help Xin Lu.” Yan Lan was rude. She was ready for Han Fei’s rejection so she was prepared to fight. The test was a sacrifice. Each class had to give up a fixed number of students to serve the ghosts.
“Both you and Teacher Wang want my students to die for yours. Since you love your students that much, why don’t you resist the school?” Han Fei smiled. “I’m a greedy person. I don’t want any of my kids to die, but I don’t want your kids to die on their behalf either. Their lives are just starting. They shouldn’t be sacrificed.”
Yan Lan frowned. She believed Han Fei had really lost his mind. “I’d rather trust a crazy person than you.”
“Then just wait and see. I’ll turn this city around.” Han Fei put the coin away. His eyes glowed. “One more thing. My students are not orphans. They have each other, and they are my family.”
