No. 2’s ability was related to fate. Of all the kids, he was the most mysterious. Other than No. 0, he might be the only one who still retained his consciousness and knew many secrets.
“You’re right. No matter what the future is like, I’ll not give up.” Han Fei pressed Bai Xian’s forehead lightly. The starlight shone into Bai Xian’s soul. Bai Xian survived the tragedy, but his soul was incomplete. He had been through so much pain and torture. “Brother Bai, can you hear me?” Han Fei’s consciousness approached Bai Xian. He reached out for him. If Bai Xian didn’t meet Han Fei, he wouldn’t have encountered these things. It was because Han Fei allowed him to see the truth that he became the key and was targeted by the Unmentionable.
“Tell me. Who hurt you?” The starlight healed the wounds on Bai Xian’s soul. Bai Xian’s soul slowly calmed down. His eyes flickered as if he could hear Han Fei. The familiar voice caused him to grip his hands.
During the tragedy, there was nowhere safe. He hadn’t sensed this security for a long time already. Han Fei opened Bai Xian’s heart. The many memories were suppressed. Images of torture, near deaths, and deaths of close friends appeared before Han Fei. Bai Xian didn’t have any special persona. He was just a normal person trapped in the tragedy, but he had seen the worst humanity had to offer. As starlight shone into the heart, the briar started to wilt. An empty space appeared in Bai Xian’s heart. He met someone crucial in his life, but that person had disappeared into thin air. This caused his mind to fracture. Many things didn’t make sense.
“That person should be me. I’ve changed Bai Xian’s fate. Bai Xian’s memory is a mess because I’ve been vanquished in this worst future.” After cleaning away all the briar, Bai Xian saw a twisted shadow in the empty space. He seemed to have discovered Han Fei already and was observing him.
“Kong Tiancheng?” The body mutated, but the face didn’t change. Han Fei remembered the man as the higher-up from Deep Space Tech.
“My name is Han Fei. Perhaps you haven’t heard of this name, but you should know that Bai Xian’s attitude toward me is very special. I was killed by God to stop this tragedy. Bai Xian is one of my good friends. It is because of me that he became like this.” The starlight stopped before Kong Tiancheng. Han Fei wanted cooperation, and that couldn’t be gained from coercion. “If you don’t believe me, I can call the black merchant out to have him chat with you.” The greed mist rolled out. The black merchant carefully crawled into Bai Xian’s heart. He told the man about Han Fei and the figurine.
Time was limited. Han Fei tried his best to convince the man. Kong Tianchang was also hesitating. In this city, trust was the rarest thing. After a long time, there was a knock. Everyone was nervous. Kong Tiancheng also knew time was running out. He walked under the starlight. The torment he expected didn’t happen. The wounds on his soul started to heal.
“This place is very dangerous. They know you’re here. I’ll bring you away to somewhere safe, and we can talk there.” Han Fei pulled Kong Tiancheng into the greed abyss. He let go of Bai Xian. He would take Bai Xian with him but not now. With the doctor and Ah Fu urging, he carried No. 2 and made their escape. Once they left, the patrolling doctor came. They placed Bai Xian and a few patients on a cart.
“Where is the hospital bringing them?” Han Fei was worried about Bai Xian.
“It’s almost dawn. The hospital will conduct the fixed removal ritual to cleanse their soul.” The doctor thought Han Fei was part of the group.
Strange music echoed in the hospital. The patients with high mental corruption were pushed to the back lobby. Several persona users stood at different spots. They wore uniforms and gave despairing memory the best welcome. There was a weak light in the night sky. The hospital dome slowly opened. A manmade moon slowly rose. Its light was soft and gentle like the healing starlight. The moonlight showered on all the patients. The persona users used their power to cleanse the mental corruption in the patients. People who experienced tragedy and still tried their best to live were praiseworthy. Han Fei found the reason behind the strength of Hope City in these doctors. Even in the chaos, many people still fought for light. The patient’s wails slowly quieted down. This was the most comfortable moment of their lives.
“Stop looking. We have more important things to do.” No. 2 and Han Fei came to the corner of the hospital and chatted with Kong Tiancheng in the greed abyss.
They were both ghosts who retained their living memories, but Kong Tiancheng was more powerful and rational than the black merchant. His memory was perfectly intact.
“If you’re the person you say you are, then you should know that I’m the manager of a joint project between Deep Space Tech and Immortal Pharma. I’m responsible for a game that changed the world. It was called Perfect Life.”
Han Fei heard that familiar name game. Before the tragedy, Perfect Life was everywhere. Everyone yearned for that mental world and treated it as humanmade heaven. However, after the tragedy, Perfect Life became taboo. No one mentioned it again. All its posters were removed.
“This tragedy is caused by that game.” Kong Tiancheng said with regret. “You can understand that game as a tunnel of consciousness. The end of that tunnel is an actual world of despair.”
“However, in my mind, Perfect Life was a perfect and healing game.” Han Fei believed that even though he hadn’t played the normal Perfect Life before.
“There is no perfection in this world. All the happiness was there due to the pain. Underneath our happiness was endless darkness. This is all the devil’s plan.” Kong Tiancheng’s voice trembled. “I didn’t know it at first until someone opened the door to the cryptic world. All the players in Perfect Life became the source. Their minds were infiltrated by ghosts. Many died, and some became ghosts.”
“Door? Source?”
“The despairing world was connected to the human mind in many places. Due to some reason, the connection was closed. However, about ten years ago, someone used the game to reopen the gate to welcome the despairing world to connect it with real life!” Kong Tiancheng’s soul shook. “At the time, I didn’t know who the culprit was, but I was certain he was underneath the Immortal skyscraper! The killer had very high clearance. He used his power to edit something on the photon computer! Perfect Life’s photon computer was modeled after a black box, and the killer was very familiar with all these!” Han Fei memorized everything Kong Tiancheng said. This might be Gao Xing and Dream’s plan. It might happen in real life soon.
“If we want to solve this from the source, we need to enter the building’s underground and reopen the black box that represents the photon computer.” Kong Tiancheng was agitated. He was a crazy ghost, so not many people believed him.
“Calm down.” Han Fei had more starlight shine on Kong Tiancheng. “Were you at the Immortal skyscraper the night the tragedy occurred?”
“Yes.” Kong Tiancheng nodded.
“What did you see?”
“The world was turned upside down. The night was not above us but below us. The dark place was like a mirror of the real world. Endless ghosts crawled out of it.” Kong Tiancheng pointed at his twisted body. “Those who survived the first wave also became ghosts. The skyscraper was enveloped by some kind of power, and no one could escape.” The fear was still evident in Kong Tiancheng’s voice. A normal person’s mind would break after falling into the cryptic world.
“Immortal skyscraper should be the key building in the altar world. Gao Xing’s altar might be there.” No. 2 suddenly said. He was not interested in solving the tragedy. His first goal was to usurp God and save the other kids.
“Gao Xing… this name is very familiar.” Kong Tiancheng pressed his head. Black capillaries popped on his face. “On the night of the tragedy, there’s someone with this name among the new batch of testers. He has the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.”
“That man is the leader of the three criminal organizations in Xin Lu. He’s the reason behind the tragedy. Do you know where he is now?”
“He should still be inside the Immortal skyscraper. I remember there was a very special and scary ghost in that area. Its eyes are covered with black cloth. It spends most of its time defending the black room that holds the photon computer like a statue. It’ll appear when someone tries to change the path of destiny.” Kong Tiancheng gave Han Fei a valuable piece of info. “But it hasn’t appeared for a long already. According to rumors, its soul has been split into three parts. It corresponds to a sad past, a murderous present, and the perfect future. To kill it, you have to kill the three ‘people’ who embody these three things.”
