Gao Xing, in the memory world, didn’t have a full body. His soul was split into three parts to support this worst support. To complete the usurpation, Han Fei had to find all three parts. After communicating with Kong Tiancheng, Han Fei found out another thing. Killing the three people wouldn’t destroy the altar. Han Fei also needed to use corresponding methods to make them collapse.
“The cleansing ritual is almost over. The patients will come out after dawn. It’ll be hard to escape then.” The doctor didn’t notice the winks from Ah Fu. He thought Han Fei was an ally.
“We’ll leave now.” Han Fei glanced at Bai Xian. Now was not yet the time to bring him away. Han Fei planned to contact Li Xue later and had her help to move Bai Xian. Han Fei carried No. 2 away while communicating with Kong Tiancheng, “Why do you want to get into the core area? If you need it, I can help.”
“Deep Space Tech didn’t die in the tragedy. The best minds have been preserved. I need them to help me complete some things.” Kong Tiancheng didn’t elaborate. This should be his biggest secret. Han Fei nodded. Before dawn, they left the hospital. It was not easy to enter the core zone. Only a small number of people had their rights. They were the real hope of Hope City. Any of their loss would be a loss for the whole city.
“Li Xue should be able to go there.” Han Fei smiled sadly. He didn’t expect that he’d still rely on Li Xue when he was in the altar world.
Han Fei reunited with his students. They had other things to do. Han Fei tossed Ah Fu’s soul into the greed abyss and pulled out Brother Chou. This murderer also succumbed when he tasted only one-tenth of Gao Cheng’s despair. “Tell me. Where are the victims you’ve dominated?”
Brother Chou had a dominating persona. His biggest joy was to control the normal people in the city and then torture them. Brother Chou’s soul was a lot more obedient. He started to point the way for Han Fei. They came to the zone between the outer city and the buffer zone. The citizens who lived here mostly just joined Hope City. They had low contributions. They could barely survive and might run into ghost attacks at any time. Brother Chou took advantage of their desire for safety, tricked them, and took over their bodies.
“These murderers are so kind in the day, but they’re scarier than ghosts at night. They are handpicked by Gao Xing.” When Han Fei entered the zone, he heard some of the citizens asking about Brother Chou. They were worried about him. Brother Chou normally would bring them food and materials he had salvaged from the city. However, his presents normally came with a price. Those who received his ‘kindness’ would eventually become his toys.
Han Fei unlocked the door to the basement when he was hit by the smell of blood. He pulled off the carpet. The secret path to the underground basement had been opened, and there were bloody handprints everywhere. The wind blew out from the basement. Han Fei could hear the sound of chopping.
“Someone has already been here.”
“It should be the criminals from the ghost card case coming here to destroy the evidence.” No. 5 crossed his hands behind his head. “I’d advise you to leave lest you get framed by these people.”
“The sun is coming up in half an hour. This place is not important.” No. 4 also thought it was better to leave.
“Brother Chou’s power can unlock the binding on these people’s souls. Some of them should still be alive. We can’t just abandon them.” Han Fei also wanted to try out Brother Chou’s power. He ran down the stairs.
“It’s already the end of the world. Why care about morality? If you don’t look out for yourself, you’ll die soon.” That was what No. 4 said, but he still followed Han Fei. The steps going down into the basement had been specially treated. A strange fragrance neutralized the smell of blood. As long as it wasn’t too strong, people on the surface wouldn’t notice anything. There were more torn clothes and everyday items. Brother Chou had the habit of stealing the effects of the person he had taken over to fully immerse himself in their lives. After he was tired of them, he would destroy that person fully.
“Brother Chou has awakened several times, so he’s one of the more powerful patrols.” No. 4 touched the walls. “However, I doubt he can build this large underground system on his own. I believe he had help from other people.”
“They exhausted so much energy to build a killing palace?” No. 5 believed things were not that simple. “This place has some other secrets.”
“We can ask him directly.” Han Fei focused his attribute on stamina, so if he could use strength, he would. He kicked Brother Chou back into the black water, and soon Brother Chou confessed everything. There was a small altar hidden underground. He didn’t know the use either. The smell of blood thickened in the air. Han Fei’s group went deep into the basement. There was a strange temple built at the end of the corridor. The temple had two doors, one on each side. Four human-head paper lanterns hung on the door beam. The temple walls were mottled. This small temple appeared to be moved from somewhere else.
“Be careful about worshiping at an abandoned temple.” Han Fei didn’t see any survivors, only blood staining the ground. He could hear someone calling Gao Cheng’s name. He had encountered something similar once. Ghost Mother called him just like this too. However, the voice this time was different. This voice sounded more like a peer calling Gao Cheng. Han Fei followed the voice, and he saw a kid about five standing on the altar inside the temple. His upper body was flesh and blood, but his lower body was made from mud. A large blood capillary bound him to the altar. The wind blew off the black cloth that covered the bottom of the altar. Underneath the altar were many survivors squeezed and broken. They ‘willingly’ became the foundation of the altar thanks to Brother Chou’s power.
“Is this Gao Xing’s altar?”
Han Fei moved forward as Rest in Peace appeared in his palm. He represented Gao Cheng, but strangely enough, the kid on the altar didn’t have any hostility against Gao Cheng. He smiled as he called after Gao Cheng.
“What is happening?” Han Fei was confused. However, he didn’t put his guard down.
“Haven’t Kong Tiancheng already told you? The ghost has been split into three parts. One part is the child who has the worst childhood.” No. 2 saw the young boy on the altar. “Having your eyes stolen by your friend. Isn’t that a despairing thing?”
The details were hidden in Gao Cheng and Gao Xing’s past.
“This child figurine is symbolism. There have to be more figurines for Gao Xing in this world. We need to find the most important one.” No. 2 had Han Fei lift up the butcher’s knife. “Kill it. No. 0 needs a lot of sacrifices. Since you don’t want to murder the innocent, then we have to fight other Gods for the resources.
“A large part of Unmentionable’s power came from the altar. With each destruction of its figurine, its power will be affected in real life.” No. 2 reminded. “But you have to be ready. This figurine is very well-fed. It contains part of God’s memory. Once it is destroyed, this world will mutate even more.”
“I’m ready. But you guys have to look after yourselves.” The light lit up Han Fei’s face that bore no hesitation. He rushed into the temple and swung at the figurine!
The blade fell on the figurine’s neck. The child cried. Bloody names appeared on his skin. They were the names of the victims. Rest in Peace was blocked for the first time as it was embedded in the figurine.
“Your blade is sharp but too gentle.” No. 1 suddenly appeared beside Han Fei. He grabbed the altar and used brute force to separate the figurine from the survivors. Then, he punched the lower half of the figurine. The victims’ names started to fade. Rest in Peace wasn’t stopped anymore. The blinding blade cut through the figurine.
The figurine started to crack. The boy widened his eyes at Han Fei. “Didn’t mom tell you to be nice to me? Why did you kill me? I’ve already given you my eyes. Why did you kill me?”
The shrill voice contained a power Han Fei couldn’t understand. The basement started to collapse, and the temperature of the whole altar world started to drop. Han Fei chopped up the figurine. He discovered a beating heart inside the figurine.
“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve discovered Grade D sacrifice. Sacrifice it to God to review great rewards!
“Warning! The earlier you sacrifice it, the higher the chance for your God to be revived! You have to get more sacrifices as soon as possible!
“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve destroyed the Unmentionable’s flesh figurine and slashed through part of his memory! You’ve entered the second stage of Gao Xing’s altar world. The second stage will increase the difficulty. The rewards for all missions are better. The ghosts are no longer bound by rules. The time of day will be shortened!
“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve attacked an Unmentionable before level 30 and destroyed part of his memory. You’ve gained a rare talent—Ignorance is Bliss.
“Ignorance is Bliss: Permanent +5 to stamina! After you trigger this talent, half of your Intelligence will be transmuted into Stamina! The effect lasts for 10 minutes!
“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve been cursed by the Unmentionable. All the ghosts related to the Unmentionable will now target you!”
