The feeling of brushing past one’s God many times was a strange feeling. After the black merchant saw Han Fei’s soul, his attitude changed, and he decided to help Han Fei. As Mad Laughter’s most devoted follower, he had a small wish. It was to kill the Pure Hatred at the Third Mental Hospital. After the tragedy, that Pure Hatred killed his wife and newborn daughter.
The resentment turned him into a ghost. Perhaps he had participated in the special experiment at Immortal Pharma, and he retained parts of his memory after he became a ghost. He didn’t want to side with the ghosts from the cryptic world, so he chose another path. There were many ‘people’ who shared his view. However, as time passed, some of them lost their mind and became pure evil, while the others were defeated by other ghosts. Eventually, they went into hiding. They stopped relying on their humanity. If the tragedy continued to worsen, they’d become like ghosts from the cryptic world.
“The black merchants are spread all over the city. They can be our eyes and ears.” Everything was going according to No. 2’s plan. “We’ll form our own force where ghosts and humans can coexist.”
“You don’t need to leave the center. No. 4 and I will help you manage the black merchants,” No. 5 stood with No. 4, “It’s a waste for 30 students to stay together. When our persona awakens again, we’ll split up.”
“We’ll talk about that later.” Han Fei’s mission was to protect all his students. “The black merchant has already told me the location of the other ghosts. Shall we go there tonight?”
“We need to get in touch with them as soon as possible.” No. 2 leaned on No. 5’s back. “God’s birthday is coming soon. That day is very important to him. We need to gather more power before that day arrives.” Han Fei consumed all the merchandise the black merchant had. They got back into the car. With the black merchant leading the way, they walked past Zone C to the edge of Zone A.
“The source of the tragedy is at the Immortal Skyscraper. That is one of the buildings owned by Immortal Pharma. The place is responsible for researching medicine that treats mental illness and various medical devices.” The black merchant took the passenger seat. His black robe covered the car. He held the rotten head and refused to let it go. The black merchant had sacrificed most things for the figurine, but he kept this human head. “That day, I left home early. The people at the company all died. After I came back from the hospital, the company had become something else. It was consumed by darkness.” Stuttering words came from the human head. The black merchant had lost the power of speech. He needed to rely on someone else to speak. “Immortal Skyscraper was called Yong Sheng Skyscraper. It was branded as a Taboo Building by the center.” Han Fei recalled the things he had read. “Top Pure Hatred that can rival Butterfly can be found in Strange Building. Something stronger might exist at Taboo Building. We’re going to die if we go there now.” Han Fei was always clear on where he stood.
“We need to find the altar hidden in the memory world. The key to usurpation lies in destroying the old figurine and then rebuilding the new figurine on the ruin. We need to get to the Taboo Building.” No. 4 said with death in his eyes. Or he was death itself.
“I don’t have the capability to guide you there. The core of Zone A can be considered another world. The rules there are different from the outside world. Bad things will happen there.” The human head sighed helplessly. “The tragedy started at Zone A. The scariest ghosts are gathered here. However, all the ghosts avoid the central area. Even Pure Hatred won’t go there.”
“We won’t go to the Taboo Building temporarily.” No. 2 said.
“If you’re interested in the tragedy, you can find another black merchant named Kong Tiancheng. He was once an admin at Deep Space Tech. He stayed at Immortal Skyscraper several weeks before the tragedy. He was involved in some kind of special experiment. He knew many secrets.”
This got Han Fei’s attention. He remembered Kong Tiancheng. “We’ll go to find him tonight.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible. He went missing a long time ago.” The black merchant shook his head. “There’s a rumor that says that he has been trapped by Pure Hatred. Some black merchants saw him around Hope City. He seemed to be finding ways to communicate with humans.”
Han Fei met Kong Tiancheng once at a gaming expo. “Immortal Pharma has been ruined, but their traces can still be seen. Hope City appears to be connected to them.”
“So Kong Tiancheng returned to Hope City to rebuild the connection with Deep Space Tech?” No. 5 nodded. “It looks like we need to go to Hope City to investigate the truth behind the tragedy and to select a new batch of sacrifices.”
“Sacrifices? You need to calm down.” Han Fei quickly said.
“Do you think the city is really perfect? Why do you think it’s called Hope City?” No. 2 looked at the human faces in the mirror. No one could guess what he was thinking. The car drove down the streets. They found a few ghosts who had no hostility towards humans, but they hated the ghosts from the cryptic world. With the black merchant’s help, Han Fei and the kids triggered the altars these ghosts protected. They shook the world’s rules. After showing his connection with the altar, the ghosts’ friendliness level with Han Fei increased. Han Fei didn’t need them to do anything but protect themselves and collect information. On the surface, he was the only one in Team 13, but in reality, Team 13 was as powerful as half of the center.
After leaving the last building, Han Fei felt something. He looked up, and there were a few more weak stars decorating the night sky.
“Starlight is strong. God eventually has to pay for his hubris.” No. 5 then thought of something. He smiled at No. 2. “You and No. 0 are the exceptions.” This gave Han Fei valuable info. Among the 30 children, two had become Unmentionables.
“We’re done here. Let’s go to Hope City.” No. 2 ignored No. 5. They got into the car. “The criminals should have received the message that their subordinates are gone. We can’t give them a chance to eliminate the evidence.” Han Fei drove to Hope City.
…
“Do you know who Little Red is?”
“Recently, I’ve been having this dream. I can’t remember where I met Little Red. We became friends and played together.
“I never told Little Red where my home is, but it kept coming.
“First, it called my friend from downstairs. Then it ran into the corridor and shouted for my name at the door.
“I was afraid. I didn’t dare to open the door, and it kept knocking.
“One day, I opened my eyes and heard my mother talking to someone. They chatted happily. I rubbed my eyes as I left the bedroom. I saw Little Red sitting on the sofa!
“My family loved Little Red. It came to find me more and more. Eventually, my family spent more time with it than me.
“Little Red was slowly replacing me. I couldn’t allow it to continue. I needed to kill it. That day, I hid the knife under my pillow. I called Little Red into the bedroom to play. I remembered how happy Little Red was after I closed the door.
“It was so happy. I pressed it against the mirror and took out the knife.
“The sticky fluid splattered on my clothes and slid down the mirror. I looked up and realized I had become Little Red with my red skin and clothes!
Inside the treatment room of Dawn Clinic at Hope City, a madwoman in a red dress leaned on the doctor. “Ghost Doctor, I feel trapped in that dream. Little Red would always appear.”
“Take your medicine and come for treatment.” The handsome doctor kissed her on the lips. “Take a good sleep… Little Red.” The doctor was satisfied with his creation. There was a sudden knock. He pushed his glasses, adjusted his clothes, and opened the clinic door.
“You still have the mood to treat someone?!” A middle-aged man wearing a black robe appeared at the door.
“Judge? Why are you here?”
“11 of us disappeared at Zone A.” Judge took out a list. “I’m not sure who did it, but someone saw Truck 016 being driven to the Tragedy Investigation Center.”
