‘I’ve died 5 times already but at least now I’ve grasped the hidden locations of most ghosts inside the nursery. Compared to the nursery, the kitchen and living room appear to be safer.’ Han Fei had no idea why so many ghosts hid inside the nursery. He had too little information to make an analysis. After using the shard to carve out his own name, Han Fei once again ventured into the room. Similar to before, he used the brazier to stop the girl’s head but this time he dashed towards the master bedroom. To his trepidation, the door was locked. ‘So far only this door is locked, that suggests there is something of interest inside the master bedroom. Looks like I’ll have to locate the bedroom key first.’
Han Fei did not stay but kept on moving. By now he had fully ascertained the head’s attack pattern. Han Fei would raise the brazier to block whenever the girl’s head flung itself at him. While negotiating this deathly dance, Han Fei slowly moved away from the master bedroom and down the corridor. The corridor led to the bathroom. Han Fei did not think he would solve the mission without losing more lives so he tried to make each of his life as valuable as possible!
Han Fei kicked down the door to the bathroom. The slamming door raised such a ruckus that it lured the woman out from the kitchen. Facing both the girl’s head and the woman armed with the knives, Han Fei knew retreat was the wise option. As the girl’s head lunged at him, Han Fei whacked at it as hard as he could before he escaped into the bathroom.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!” The sharp knife chopped against the door. Han Fei could hear the woman growling, she had completely lost her mind. “Can you please calm down? I just want to help you! Can you understand me?!”
Unfortunately, the woman did not cease for rational communication. Room 1091 was practically a den of devil. Han Fei’s hands that gripped the handle froze. While his attention was fully on the woman and the girl, a gushing sound of water came from behind him. Someone had switched on the tap. Turning back to look, black hair oozed out from the faucet. The hair was like rotten seaweed. They emitted a horrible stench. They overflowed from the sink and twined themselves around Han Fei’s feet.
Han Fei’s body was eventually wrapped inside the black hair and his life was constricted out of him.
…
His eyes flew open. Han Fei’s body trembled, “That was my 6th death.” Shattering the frame, Han Fei picked up the shard and recorded the pain on his body. ‘It’s unrealistic to expect me to kill all the ghosts on my own, my only chance at succeeding is to make them turn against each other.’
There was a startling amount of ghosts inside the house. Even after 6 deaths, Han Fei could not tell how many ghosts there were in total. ‘The nursery is the most dangerous, followed by the bathroom. Maybe I should try opening the doors to both the nursery and the bathroom at the same time. Only when they’re onto each other that I’ll be spared. The mission requires me to kill all the ghosts and save all the humans. Of all the entities I’ve met, the most human-like are the middle-aged woman and the toddler with the ruined face. But they barely act like humans. They react so violently when they see me, like I’m some kind of ghost.’ Han Fei lowered his eyes at his death portrait and a thought entered his mind. ‘Wait, is it possible that I am actually a ghost?!’
Picking up the brazier, Han Fei stared at Room 1091. ‘The manager mission is based on the previous manager’s memory. In other words, traces of the manager should exist inside the room, in fact, the manager themselves might be somewhere inside the room now. If only I can meet up with them, that will definitely clear many things up.’ Han Fei knew nothing about the previous manager. He needed more information. However, in his situation, any information needed to be traded with his own life. This was a gamble with his memory on the line, the losing party would lose everything.
Opening the door to Room 1091, Han Fei raised the brazier to block the girl’s head. He was already so familiar with her actions that he could predict her every move. Han Fei sprinted towards the nursery. After pulling the door open, he turned and raced down the corridor. Without taking a break, he kicked the bathroom’s door open. The temperature in the room dropped. The child’s crying wafted out from the nursery. The door to the kitchen jiggled after the woman heard the sobbing.
Han Fei hid beside the kitchen door. When the door opened, Han Fei lunged through it and tried to grab at the woman’s knife!
Perhaps the woman was just cooking because the temperature inside the kitchen was much higher than the rest of the house. To prevent the girl’s head from ambushing him from behind, Han Fei slammed the door close as he rolled into the kitchen. While Han Fei wrestled with the woman for the control of the knife, a ring of keys fell out from the woman’s apron. ‘The key is on her all along? Why would she keep the main bedroom locked? Who is she keeping captive inside the bedroom?’
Han Fei eventually overpowered the woman and got the knife. But when he bent over to pick up the keys that dropped next to the fridge, the door suddenly yawned open. A headless body of a girl pounced forth to pull Han Fei into the fridge. Frost chilled every cell in his body. Pain froze his every nerve. ‘So cold…’
…
His eyes flew open. The first thing Han Fei did, as if on memory, was to shatter the frame and carve out his name and his number of deaths on his arms. ‘A girl’s head will fall down from the front door and a headless child’s body was stuffed inside the kitchen fridge… Assuming this place is housing a family, then the middle-aged woman is probably the mother, the toddler her child and the father, assuming there is one, probably trapped inside the main bedroom.’ Han Fei arranged the web of relationship in his mind. When he was ready, he entered the room again.
Similar to last time, he opened the door to the nursery and the bathroom. The child’s crying summoned the woman out from the kitchen. The moment she did, Han Fei swiped the ring of keys from her apron. Evading the knife lashes, Han Fei raced towards the main bedroom. He only had one chance to get the key right since both the girl’s head and the woman were on his heels.
He chose a random key and stuck it into the keyhole. He twisted it but the lock did not click. When he attempted the second key, the knife already cut into his body. ‘There has to be something inside the main bedroom!’
…
It was not until Han Fei’s 10th death that he managed to get the main bedroom door open!
The moment the door eased open, he slipped into it. Then he used the key to lock the door. The child’s mother hacked at the door with her knife. The girl’s head rammed against it as well. Han Fei knew he had limited time. He turned around to inspect the room, his eyes were soon drawn to the double bed. The stained mattress had a boy about 12 strapped into it. His extremities were tied to the bed posts and he wore a patient’s garb. His eyes were closed like he was sleeping.
‘I’ve now visited all the rooms inside Room 1091. There are most likely 3 humans, the mother and her two children. Who among them is the previous manager?’
