The messages left behind by Feng Ziyu would be incomprehensible to most but Han Fei. “Room 4444?” Han Fei noticed that the Room numbers at Ziggurat had a certain numbering rule to the,—The 1st number was the Building Number; the 2nd and 3rd numbers were the floor number; while the 4th number was the room tally. However, if all four buildings at Ziggurat only had 24 floors, then there wouldn’t be a Room 4444. ‘When I accepted the Death Curse mission, the hint given to me was Room 4444 and now Feng Ziyu is missing and he dreamt that he was in Room 4444…
‘Based on my earlier prediction, there should be an opening connecting the cryptic and surface worlds at Ziggurat, could that opening be Room 4444? It was how Butterfly managed to keep sending non-locals into the cryptic world and turn Ziggurat into its lair? When I obtained the key to Room 1244, the term used by the system was unique. It said I had obtained the key to Heart Room 1244. Looks like it might be more symbolic than I thought. Every room at Ziggurat might be the ‘heart’ of an individual, containing their past and secrets. If that is the case, whose heart did Room 4444 correspond to? The Butterfly or Fu Sheng?’
Han Fei memorized every word in Feng Ziyu’s messages because he might see the man at Ziggurat that night. ‘If I can find Feng Ziyu and rescue him, I’ll get to know the secrets of Room 4444. That might help me get to know the Butterfly better.’ Feng Ziyu’s messages showed that he was at Building 4 and that was the most dangerous building at Ziggurat. Not only the Butterfly but the Singer was there as well.
“Han Fei, do you think it was because of me that the Butterfly came after Ziyu?” Huang Yin’s voice came from the phone, “The Butterfly appears to have the ability to look through people’s memories when it is in their dreams. It should know everything about me but it didn’t come after me but instead it was Ziyu who has gone missing.” Huang Yin’s memory was too normal and that was abnormal for the Butterfly, therefore, its first target was not Huang Yin. Of course, Han Fei didn’t tell Huang Yin that. Cluelessness was the best shield for Huang Yin. “I’ll handle things with Ziyu, but what about you? Did you still dream about your mother at night?”
“Not only in dreams, she appears to have stepped out into reality. It’s hard to explain. For example, I’ve dreamt about her pouring a glass of water for me and then when I woke up, there would be a filled cup of water on my bedside table.”
“Perhaps it was the Butterfly who infiltrated your mind during REM sleep and made you pour the water yourself. After you woke up, you wouldn’t have any recollection of it.”
“Perhaps.”
“Brother Huang, Butterfly’s influence will slowly move from the dreamscape to reality. You can use it to lessen your guilt towards your mother but remember this, it is ultimately a madman pretending to be your mother, you mustn’t ever forget about that!” Huang Yin’s words concerned Han Fei. When Butterfly went all out on Huang Yin, it would be the moment when Huang Yin’s true vulnerability would be exposed. Butterfly would take the wildest revenge on Huang Yin for ‘fooling’ it for so long.
“Understood.”
After hanging up, Han Fei pondered many things but the speed by which he controlled his character didn’t slow. He cleared the maps again and again to reach Ziggurat but always ended up dead inside Room 1244. This series of endless death was like some kind of omen, it was quite unsettling. At 10 pm, Han Fei woke up Zhuang Ren who had fallen asleep. He reminded the director to be careful before he left.
As he exited the neighbourhood, he was greeted by the large virtual screen in the sky. The number had dropped down to 4, meaning there were 4 more days to the OB of Perfect Life. There was a celebratory atmosphere in the air as the public discussed this game which would change the era. As the countdown approached, many players couldn’t reign in their excitement anymore. Han Fei stood out against the ecstatic crowd. Under the shadow of the virtual screen, he walked into the darkness.
After he got home, Han Fei picked up the books on his table to read. In this era, there were not that many readers left. Han Fei didn’t like to read in the past either, but after starting Perfect Life, he fell in love with this obsolete form of entertainment. Only with a real book in his hand could he find some peace. “Psychopathy is hard to define. The general consensus is that psychopathy originates from trauma and pain, or the malfunction of hormones…”
At midnight, Han Fei took one glance out the window. He put down the book, crawled into the gaming hub and put on the gaming helmet. “Time is counting down for me. Playing the game with my life on the line, it’s quite exciting.”
Han Fei who fell back into the cryptic world was not only fighting for himself, he also wanted to save everyone from the evil clutches of the Butterfly. The story of the jumper woman affected him deeply and the sad thing was hers was not an exception to the rule.
The smell of decay crawled into his nostrils and Han Fei’s eyes flew open. The top floor of Building 1 was crawling with blood vessels and the walls cracked. While Han Fei was away, the conflict appeared to have escalated. Without wasting any time, Han Fei rushed towards his destination. He remembered where he stood when he logged off and his location in relation to Room 1244. Several seconds later, Han Fei found himself standing before Room 1244. He took out the key and stuck it into the keyhole. Han Fei could only leave the game after he completed a mission and stayed for 3 hours, therefore, everything came second to completing a mission.
Han Fei had a clear assessment of his situation. Only when the ‘exit’ button lit up could he explore the building more fearlessly. The key covered in black curses slowly turned. As the blood red anti-theft door opened, the black curse on the key crawled onto Han Fei’s palm. But to Han Fei’s surprise, when the black curse came up to the blood red pattern on the back of his arm, it stopped. ‘The bloody pattern is similar to the ones on Big Sin, is it helping me?’
In any case, now was not the time to ponder that. Han Fei pushed the anti-theft door open and walked in. The yellowed talismans slipped from the door. As Han Fei entered Room 1244, the notification from the system came.
“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve completed Grade F Hidden Mission—If I touch you, you’ll die! Obtained 3 free skill points! Obtained unique mission reward—Welcoming Present from Heart Room 1244.
“Welcoming Present from Heart Room 1244: Every object inside Room 1244 contains the memory of its owner, you can choose one and take it away with you. Warning! Selecting the right object will help you increase friendliness level with the owner of Room 1244 but if you select the wrong thing, then she might chase after you forever.
“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve successfully reached level 13, obtained 1 free attribute point!”
Ziggurat was a Grade E Hidden Map. It was highly dangerous but the missions here also provided a lot of EXP. Of course, it also helped that Han Fei was severely underleveled. After all, a normal level 12 player would still be at the Happiness Neighbourhood, so after completing 2 consecutive hidden missions at Ziggurat, Han Fei earned enough EXP to reach level 13.
Even though his overall level was low, thanks to the buff from Midnight Butcher, his stamina was passable. After adding the new attribute point to stamina, Han Fei now had 19 stamina points. The increase in strength was good but the important thing was now he could run faster.
Chapter 325
325 Zhuang Wen
The yellow talismans were written in bloody words. The peeling paint hid black symbols. Burnt paper money littered the living room and various pictures scattered the ground. Han Fei picked up a picture closest to him. It had a woman in shackles, the shackles around her ankles were tied to chains. Her stomach was bulging. She kept her head lowered so her hair covered her face. With one hand supporting her body, her other hand reached towards the camera, as if to snatch it away.
The blackened mattress, the fair skin; the thick shackles, the thin arms; the model didn’t want to be on camera, the photographer clicked the shutter endlessly. It was just a picture but everything was exposed so clearly and brutally.
The sound of metal clashing came from the bedroom. The thin thread tied to the axle moved, causing the bells that strung from it to jingle. A man’s croaks came from inside the room. Underlining the man’s voice was a woman’s scream. It was so gut-wrenching that the pain couldn’t be measured by normal standards anymore. Holding the picture in his hand, Han Fei slowly moved around the living room, he couldn’t be sure if the jumper woman was inside the room or not.
“This place is bizarre.” Strange and incoherent sentences were written all over the walls. The walls were also covered with talismans. The doors of the furniture were all left open, they looked like open caskets in the dark. Han Fei had been to Room 1244 in the Ziggurat game and in real life but neither places were as oppressive as the room in the cryptic world. The moment he stepped through the door, Han Fei immediately noticed the difference about this room. Every single object in this room was leaden with something scary. The horrifying wails were still ongoing. The jingling of the bells was maddening and the man chanted faster and louder. Avoiding the pictures on the ground, Han Fei slowly approached the main bedroom.
A voodoo doll made from human hair dangled above the door. The bedroom door wasn’t fully closed so Han Fei stood outside and glanced through the gap. The main bedroom was decorated like a ceremonial altar. The picture of Zhuang Wen’s mother hung on the wall. Zhuang Wen, who was just a child, knelt on the ground, crying. Her head was pressed to the ground by an extremely ugly man. The man was writing some kind of strange characters on her back. As he wrote, he mumbled incoherently on his lips. His wording was unusual but Han Fei got the meaning for part of it. The gist was that the ghost who possessed Zhuang Wen’s mother had now moved to Zhuang Wen and she had to be ‘purified’. What happened next was suffocatingly inhuman. Han Fei saw the man take out a carving knife. He knew this was a virtual recollection of Zhuang Wen’s memory but he still pushed open the door to stop the ceremony.
As Han Fei opened the door, a girl’s voice came from behind him. “Who are you?”
Han Fei who was incredibly tense was startled and he whipped his head around. A little girl stood behind him. She was very cute, especially her eyes, they were bright and soft, they showed interest towards everything in the world.
“I’m going to save the girl being bullied in there.” Han Fei answered honestly. The girl scrunched up her face in confusion, “Is there another girl here?”
“Wasn’t she…” Han Fei turned back to the main bedroom. The picture on the wall no longer featured Zhuang Wen’s mother but Zhuang Wen herself. The portrait of Zhuang Wen in the bedroom was different from other pictures of her that scattered the living room. Zhuang Wen in the black and white portrait looked relatively normal. Underneath the portrait were 2 human-sized paper dolls, they were covered in symbols and words. Before the paper dolls knelt a pair of male and female.
A middle-aged man who was extremely ugly was carving something into their flesh. The words he carved were similar to the ones on the paper dolls. The middle-aged man was probably performing some kind of ritual to transfer the 2 children’s tragedy onto the pair of paper dolls. The man mumbled things that he once said to Zhuang Wen. The middle-aged man dipped the tip of the carving knife into the cinnabar and slowly carved the evil-warding words on the man and woman’s bodies. The pair kept screaming in pain, the man’s ugly face was filled with heartache but he had to do this. Seeing the exorcist’s children being punished, Han Fei’s expression hardened.
The girl beside Han Fei was confused. She assumed Han Fei didn’t know about the details so she explained, “They are all bad guys, don’t feel sorry for them.”
“I’m not feeling sorry for them, I just felt unsettled because that woman was also once treated like this.” Han Fei silently closed the main bedroom door. As he chatted with the girl, he roamed around to explore the other rooms. Soon he discovered something interesting. Behind every door was Zhuang Wen’s painful memories, Han Fei could see the many horrible things that Zhuang Wen had been put through. But whenever the little girl came close, the events inside the room would change and it would instead show the exorcist’s family being punished.
The room at Ziggurat was an anchor for its tenant’s memory, but Heart Room 1244 didn’t seem to want to show those bad memories to this little girl. After taking a tour of all the rooms, Han Fei stopped before the balcony. He was reminded of the conversation he had with the girl inside the Ziggurat game. He turned to study the innocent girl. Han Fei’s lips opened but he couldn’t bring himself to follow the script written in the Ziggurat game. He ruffled the girl’s hair, “Are you really happy staying here, watching these things day in and day out?”
Blinking her eyes, the girl didn’t seem to understand Han Fei. She thought for a long time before shaking her head.
“Since you’re not happy here, why not leave this place to see the world outside? There are many things that you haven’t seen before outside the door. I cannot guarantee that they will all be good but at least some of them will be able to bring you true happiness.” Han Fei couldn’t change what had already happened in the real world, all he could do was to comfort the little girl in the cryptic world.
“Leave this place?” The girl hesitated. As she pondered that, the talismans on the balcony door started to tremble before they started to peel off and fall. Han Fei knew the source of the jumper woman’s hatred was outside in the balcony so this reaction was probably due to what he said. He immediately grabbed the girl’s hand and backed away. The bells that strung all over the room jiggled crazily. The normal-looking balcony door started to vibrate like it was about to shatter.
“This room is too dangerous, I will bring you somewhere safe.” Picking up the girl, Han Fei didn’t go out into the balcony but started to run out of Room 1244!
As he left the room, the notification sang in his head, “Notification for Player 0000! The mission reward that you’ve selected in Room 1244 is—Zhuang Wen!
“After Zhuang Wen’s child died, unable to accept the truth, she manifested the last of her humanity as a little girl and perhaps this little girl is the real Zhuang Wen. This is Zhuang Wen’s motherly instinct kicking in, even though she has become a monster dominated by hatred, she was willing to give up everything pure and good within her to her child.
“Warning! You’ve taken the last piece of Zhuang Wen’s humanity, you will be forever haunted by Zhuang Wen until you die!”
Before the system even finished, the talismans on the balcony door were reduced to ashes and an eerie voice announced from behind it. “If I touch you, you’ll die!”
Chapter 326
326 Accidental Help
Han Fei didn’t expect the jumper woman to show up so soon. He also didn’t expect to pick Zhuang Wen’s last humanity as his mission reward and brought it out from the room either. ‘She’s going to chase me until I die?!’ Blood seeped out from the gap in the door. As the balcony door was about to explode, Han Fei immediately picked up the girl and ran downstairs. “Let me touch you and die! Die! Die!” With the shriek, all the bells inside Room 1244 shattered. The blood trails crawled through the room like snakes. The seal in this scariest room was being forcibly broken!
No outsider had been able to enter Room 1244 much less take something out from it. The jumper woman was mad, her key was stolen and now even her last piece of humanity was taken away!
Han Fei had done things Butterfly both dared and did not dare to do.
“What to do now? I thought you were the soul of Zhuang Wen’s child, I didn’t expect you to be Zhuang Wen herself!” Holding the innocent girl in his hand, Han Fei raced for his life even though he had just literally started the game. A normal person wouldn’t be able to relax in such an intense Iyashikei game.
“Give me back my child!” The loud voice echoed out from the abyss of Room 1244 and reverberated all over Building 1. It had not been half an hour but the jumper woman appeared to have shattered some kind of binding. She dragged her broken body covered in curses and crawled out from Room 1244. This time she didn’t fall from the balcony but instead used the front door to chase after Han Fei. Perhaps for the jumper woman, this didn’t mean anything but the little girl in Han Fei’s embrace had seen everything. A glint entered her clear eyers. Leaving that room appeared to be the wish once buried inside her heart. And Han Fei had accidentally helped her fulfil that wish.
The jumper woman was trapped inside her room when she was alive and she had never really ‘left’ her room after death. After she was trapped at Ziggurat, Butterfly never gave her the opportunity to leave from the front door either because every time there was a new outsider, she would have to fall from the balcony again and again!
Room 1244 was locked and the jumper woman had to pull the key out from her own heart to unlock it, but that was easier said than done because whenever she tried to touch it, her horrible pasts would come back to haunt her. The jumper woman was trapped inside Room 1244, if someone wanted to help her, they had to risk their lives to pull the key out from her heart but obtaining the key was just the first step. Furthermore, it was already hard enough to survive at Ziggurat. No one would be dumb enough to save a Lingering Hatred, even at the cryptic world, they were treated as ‘monsters’. So it was the jumper woman’s fate to be forever trapped in Room 1244 and became the manager’s tool to clean up Building 1.
But the miracle arrived in the form of Han Fei. He plucked away the woman’s key for the sake of his mission but it was pure coincidence that he grabbed the little girl and ran. With the stars lining up, Han Fei accidentally helped the jumper woman fulfil one of her biggest wishes, she managed to walk out from the house of evil which entrapped her. Complicated emotions entered the girl’s eyes and her body was changing. However, Han Fei was too busy running to save himself to notice all these. The jumper woman was the scariest presence at Building 1, only a perfect red dress could stop her. Han Fei didn’t know what happened at Building 1 after he left yesterday night, his safest bet now was to hurry towards the guard room.
‘Zhuang Wen has been split into different parts, the jumper woman, the divorced mother, the syringe woman and this girl from Room 1244. To have her regain her consciousness, I’m afraid I’ll have to reunite all of her split consciousnesses.’ Han Fei had attempted that many times in the Ziggurat game but he failed every time. But the cryptic world was different from that game, here, he didn’t have the chance to start over. If he died here, it would be truly over.
‘The livestreamer lives on the 8th floor but it’s too early to go find her. My main goal should be the red dress inside the guard room.’ Noisy footsteps echoed in the stairwell. With literal death chasing after him, Han Fei couldn’t care less about subtlety anymore. When Han Fei rushed past floor 18, the safety door suddenly opened. The businessman in mourning attire looked into the stairwell and immediately turned around, “A gentleman makes money the right way.”
Han Fei continued his escape. After Han Fei passed by, a waterfall of redness swallowed the stairwell. The shattered bells, paper money rolled inside the storm of curses and talismans as the jumper woman careened downwards. The businessman who saw this from inside the safety door was stunned speechless. The jumper woman’s only target was Han Fei and because of that, the businessman was spared. After Han Fei and the jumper woman disappeared, he picked up the scattered paper money on the ground and hurried home.
Han Fei created a large commotion as he hurried downstairs but there were not many tenants who were willing to come out to check on the situation. Practically no one dared to stop Han Fei. Han Fei reached the 4th floor, when he was worried about whether there were still people inside the guard room, he saw the door open and Xiao Fang walk out.
“Brother Bai, I knew it was you from the sounds of footsteps!” Xiao Fang said happily. Brother Hwa poked his head out too. His face was pale but he sighed in relief after he saw Han Fei. “It’s great that you’re still alive. Quick, come in, we have many things to tell you.”
“There’s no time for that! Toss me the red dress! Now!” Han Fei didn’t have time for a reunion. “The jumper woman is following behind me!”
Thankfully, Xiao Fang and Brother Hwa were already used to Han Fei’s scale of doing things. They ran back into the room and came out with a red box. “The red dress is inside this box. She has stitched herself back together but there’s something wrong with her…”
“Give me and close the door!” Before Brother Hwa could finish, Han Fei snatched the box with his free hand and raced past the corridor. He still had the girl in his embrace. The horrifying wails soon followed. Brother Hwa and Xiao Fang didn’t have the time to close the door and so they saw the crazed jumper woman crawl past them. The stinging smell of blood almost made them faint.
“My God! What has Brother Bai done to the jumper woman?” Brother Hwa and Xiao Fang looked at the blood-dyed corridor and they shivered. They didn’t dare to imagine the possible answers…
Chapter 327
327 The Hapless Businessman
Han Fei didn’t have the time to care about Xiao Fang or Brother Hwa. His mind was only filled with the image of the jumper woman’s broken body chasing after him!
‘Calm down! I’ve already led the girl out of the room, this is a rare opportunity, I should make use of that! Yes, be calm! To help Zhuang Wen regain her sensibility, I need to attempt to reunite all of her separate consciousnesses. But first, I need to get to the 8th floor to find the female livestreamer and have her put on the red dress. Only a completed red dress will be able to help me stop the jumper woman. While she is preoccupied, I need to find the divorced mother and the syringe woman as well as their children. After that…’ The howling wind drilled into his ears. The scent of blood instantly enveloped Han Fei like a wave. The jumper woman had caught up to him!
Different from resentment, the presence of the jumper woman was darker and colder, that should be her hatred. To evolve from resentment to hatred, there was a gap that one had to cross, even though the jumper woman failed the evolution, she was still a Lingering Hatred. Unable to avoid it, Han Fei raised the wooden box above his head.
Bang! Wooden chips scattered everywhere. The blood red box was shattered by the jumper woman’s twisted arm. The hand covered in Death Curse reached towards Han Fei but it found resistance. Blood coagulated and a bloody wind gathered in the corridor. The red dress, which had the brightest crimson Han Fei had ever seen, appeared to block the Death Curse. In the narrow corridor, two forces collided.
“Give me back my child!” The Death Curse on the jumper woman was boiling, the cursed black characters stuck together, morphing into new shapes. After her last piece of humanity was taken away by Han Fei, ironically enough, the jumper woman no longer just had death and destruction in her mind, as evidenced by the fact that she had demanded something else for the first time. The jumper woman who had been under the Butterfly’s control started to possess her own wants. Compelled by extreme anger, her wounded heart started to beat again.
Han Fei had no idea how big of a trouble he had caused. After all, not even the Butterfly dared to approach the jumper woman’s child. But Han Fei directly stole away the jumper woman’s most important thing, causing the door to Room 1244 to be shattered as a result. If Butterfly didn’t come to Building 1 soon, this place would eventually be demolished by Han Fei and the jumper woman. Both the jumper woman and the red dress were not the complete version of themselves but their conflict was already large enough to overwhelm Building 1. Normally, the manager would have come to intervene but until now Han Fei had not seen the manager.
Blood red cracks appeared on the wall, the nearest doors were torn apart like they were made of paper. The red dress once again bought precious time for Han Fei. He carried the little girl and ran down the corridor to reach the other stairwell.
“Open up! I’ve found your child!” Han Fei knocked on the door of the divorced woman. The boy who hid behind the safety door poked his head out confusedly. He was perfectly hidden, so why would this strange man say that he had been found? “Open the door!”
The footsteps came and the divorced mother opened the door. She looked afraid.
“Here, this is your child!” Han Fei hugged the girl and ran into the room.
“But my child is a boy…” The divorced mother still had more to say but suddenly the girl in Han Fei’s embrace reached out to caress the mother’s face. When her tiny finger touched the woman’s cheek, the divorced mother was stunned. And a tear leaked out from her eyes. She didn’t even realize she was crying. She couldn’t remember anything, but the tears wouldn’t stop. “Impossible, my child is a boy, he always goes around to find the key and leaves the room when I’m asleep at night. I love him dearly so why does he insist on leaving me?” The divorced mother kept wiping away the tears on her face but the tears wouldn’t stop.
“Your memory has been tampered with, you are Zhuang Wen! And this little girl is your humanity, your most precious thing!” Han Fei used his free hand to grab the divorced mother by her shoulder and shake her violently, “Please remember it! For the sake of your child!” Han Fei screamed louder. The divorced mother’s face changed, the place where the tears touched gave birth to a new layer of skin. She was going through unbearable pain until she finally shrieked.
“Stop lying to yourself! It’s time to face your real self! You represent Zhuang Wen’s spirit of maternity! You are her most important, inseparable part of her consciousness!” Han Fei’s voice echoed in the living room. Zhuang Wen’s mother swung her head low and her hair covered her face. The transformation had already begun but she didn’t radiate too strong of a presence. Just as Han Fei thought this divorced mother was just an Animated Regret and attempted to drag her away with him, the bedroom door opened. A pale face poked out from inside the door, then the face rippled to form a tiny ghost. Soon, another face appeared, followed by another and another. The army of tiny ghosts was forming!
For so many years, the divorced mother had brought back a small ghost home every night and took them as her dead child!
The oppressive negative energy came out from the bedroom. Han Fei’s hand on the divorced woman loosened, “Forgive my rudeness, but I was only concerned about you, you represent Zhuang Wen’s spirit of maternity…” Before he finished, the divorced mother lifted her head to stare at the little girl. Her lips trembled as she said, “Give my child to me…”
“You’re still hung up on that? I can return you the child but not now!” Staring at the tiny ghosts that started to fill up the house, Han Fei decided to exit the room and rushed upstairs! “Stop chasing after me! I’m trying to help you!” The divorced mother’s front door was rammed through by the tiny ghosts and innumerable children handprints appeared on Han Fei’s back. “No way? A memory with just a motherly instinct can be so strong?!”
Without any opportunity to rest, Han Fei gritted his teeth and raced to the 18th floor. Before he got there, he heard the businessman’s helpless sigh, “It’s you again? I’ve already moved from the left stairwell to the right stairwell. Don’t you need to sleep at night?”
“Get out of my way!” Han Fei growled at the businessman as he charged up to the 22nd floor, where the syringe woman was.
Seeing the state that Han Fei was in, the businessman took a silent step back. He grumbled sadly, “A gentleman should never raise his voice for no reason… I’ve already tried my best to avoid you, how is my fault that you keep running into me?”
Chapter 328
328 The Woman in the Red Dress
The businessman was feeling helpless, he had a few words of complaints when he heard rustling footsteps coming from downstairs. Turning to look, his already bloodless face paled further. Endless ghosts of children were rushing up the stairs, carrying a maddened woman between them.
“Another one?” The businessman hurried back through the safety door. “Who the hell was that man? I know the security guards here don’t last long but I’ve not seen a guard who is chased by so many ghosts before. How many guards were there already?” The businessman counted on his finger and occasionally looked through the safety door.
Ignoring the other tenants, Han Fei finally arrived at the 22nd floor. The crying of children drifted into his ears. The bruised boy this time didn’t stand inside the stairwell but instead beside the safety door. The syringe woman had learned from her lesson. To prevent her boy from being stolen away too easily, she had the boy stand closer to the safety door. To her surprise, Han Fei returned. The face of the crazy woman peeked through the window on the safety door. She had the syringe raised. The moment Han Fei laid his hand on the boy, she would plunge the syringe through Han Fei’s brain.
“Wake up please! This little girl is your real child, not him!” Han Fei rushed past the wounded boy, shoved the safety door open and grabbed the syringe woman’s wrist. Using Soul Depth Touch, Han Fei became more attuned to the syringe woman’s emotions. The syringe woman was also a manifestation of Zhuang Wen’s maternity instinct but it had been corroded to a different form. The divorced mother was the version of motherhood Zhuang Wen strove towards, while the syringe woman was a reflection of Zhuang Wen’s own mother. She couldn’t shake the reliance on medication, believed too easily into the exorcist’s words, used her child as a bargaining chip, she was crazy and unreasonable. With Han Fei’s hand around her wrist, the syringe woman’s eyes slowly widened. ‘Last time you kidnapped my child and this time you wish to kidnap me?’
Before the raised syringe reached the intended target, a chilly hand touched the syringe woman’s face. The madness on her face softened, some kind of instinct awakened in the broken heart. The syringe woman was prepared when the safety door was blasted through. She had already raised the syringe to poke at Han Fei. But her hand froze as the pair of confused eyes stared at the little girl.
“Where… is my child?” Her lips mumbled, something appeared to have returned to her.
“We’ll run as we talk!” While holding onto the little girl, he grabbed the wounded boy and continued to run. The syringe woman stood there stunned until the divorced mother came with the group of her ‘children’. The syringe woman’s chest rose and fell like something was crawling out from her heart. “My child, they have stolen my child, that is my child!” Her pupils shook as her limbs morphed. Her nails became as sharp as knives. She dropped the syringe and joined the chase after Han Fei.
‘The jumper woman who was trapped inside Room 1244 has voluntarily left the room of nightmare; the divorced mother who never left her home to search for her child is now outside; the syringe woman who has always been tormented by medication has abandoned her syringe as well. All 3 of them have transformed. Some kind of limitation the Butterfly put on their memory has been shattered.’ Han Fei’s intention was good but the problem was there were now even more people chasing after him. He wasn’t sure the red dress could hold back so many ‘people’.
‘Either way, I need to find the female livestreamer, to have her reunited with the red dress!’ With the plan made, Han Fei raced down to the corridor to enter the other stairwell. When he played the Ziggurat game, Han Fei had tried forcing the 3 separate consciousnesses of the jumper woman together. They wouldn’t attack each other, but they wouldn’t help each other either. It appeared like there were more conditions he needed to meet to make them reform into one. Han Fei assumed the specific condition was the little girl but now he realized that might not be the case.
Han Fei hadn’t played the game for that long that night but the amount of exercise he got from this Iyashikei game was already larger than most other games. As he ran down and down, the walls and floor that Han Fei passed would be imprinted with red children's handprints. Han Fei was like the harbinger of tragedy. All the tenants could now recognize the sound of Han Fei’s footsteps because he wasn’t trying to hide them. Then again, whenever the tenants heard Han Fei now, most of them would stay obediently inside their room.
‘I’m getting close.’ With bloodshot eyes and 2 children in his embrace, Han Fei shouted the female livestreamer’s name. As the door opened, he squeezed his feet into the gap.
“How can I help you?” The girl raised her eyes and saw Han Fei.
Before she could say anything else, Han Fei practically shouted at her, “Haven’t you been curious about the dead woman in Room 1044? I’ll bring you to go meet her! I forgot to tell you but I am too interested in everything supernatural. You haven’t left the room since yesterday night, haven’t you?”
“No, I haven't. Is there a problem?”
“No problem, just come with me!” Han Fei could hear the sounds coming after him. He picked up the 2 children and ran downstairs. The female livestreamer represented the positivity and kindness of the world but even someone like her had a hard time keeping a positive outlook when she saw the army that chased after Han Fei. The mountain of ghosts rushed down the corridor. It was too late for the girl to regret her decision now. The ghosts had blocked her way back home. The moment she stopped, she would be crushed under the wave of ghost children.
The upper floors were like scenes of tragedies but the lower floors didn’t fare any better either.
After a whole night, the red dress had managed to fix herself. She was able to do that thanks to Han Fei’s fearlessness. When she was in the most dangerous situation, he risked his life to save her and created a chance for her to escape. She awakened from the wooden box and the first thing that she saw was the jumper woman who injured her the day before. No matter how generous she was, she couldn’t suffer this offense anymore.
The fight between the two became more intense than before. The red dress dissolved into threads and each of the threads possessed unsolvable pain and resentment. The jumper woman was desperate to find the little girl so she too didn’t hold back. She poured her Death Curse into the red dress. The red dress would get stronger every time she was destroyed. But she had the same problem as the jumper woman, she too wasn’t complete. The red dress was like a weapon, missing some key parts.
Underneath the folds of the red dress, a fair woman slowly appeared. Her face had no expression and her skin was fair and flawless. But underneath her flawless skin was endless scars and wounds!
The horrible rumors and words couldn’t harm her appearance but they sank right into her flesh. They pierced through her heart. The powerful Death Curse entered the red dress. With each black character on her body, the wound inside her would deepen. The red dress could be stitched back together after it was shredded, but the woman herself could not. All the wounds remained inside her body, including the ones from 14 years ago. Facing the pressure from the whole world, she could no longer hide behind the red dress, she had to face them herself. But she was not complete, she was missing the most instrumental part of her consciousness. How could she be expected to face the darkness of the world when she had no light within her?
A long time ago, there was a light in her but she appeared to have lost that light. To ensure that no accident would happen, the manager at Ziggurat dismembered any ghosts who might pose a threat to it; it only needed tools to heed his orders. And now Han Fei was doing the complete opposite, he was piecing the individual tools back into complete characters.
“Quick! There is now only one way for us to survive!” Han Fei was close to the point of conflict between the jumper woman and the red dress. He turned back to the female livestreamer, she no longer looked as collected as she usually did.
“What is it?”
“I’ll find a way to distract the jumper woman, while you take that opportunity to approach the woman in the red dress! If possible, put the dress on yourself!”
“What?!” The girl didn’t expect Han Fei to say something like that. She was interested in the woman from Room 1044 but she was not going to fight her for her dress.
“Believe me, after you put it on, many things will clarify! The dress is yours to begin with!”
What Han Fei said confused the girl until she laid her eyes on the woman in the red dress. Her heart skipped a beat. An invisible line seemed to connect her and the red dress. “Do not hesitate! You are her! And she is you!” After saying that, Han Fei turned to the jumper woman with the little girl. “Your humanity is here! Your most treasured thing is here!” To help the girl buy some time, Han Fei taunted the Lingering Hatred. Only Han Fei would dare to do something like that.
The jumper woman’s original target was Han Fei. Since he had returned, she disengaged from the red dress immediately. The tattered red dress was covered in Death Cover, the black words were like venomous bugs, eating into the red dress’ arresting patterns. Under the flawless skin, the soul was heavily damaged. The woman in the red dress held her heart, she could feel the pain, the pain which was much harder than the physical pain.
“You… must be very tired. You’ve already done the best you could.” The red dress turned to look behind her, the livestreamer stood several steps away. “Pain, and disappointment tear at your heart, you couldn’t wait to say goodbye to the harsh world. But you still have things holding you back, like your parents’ love, you never got the chance to thank them and really apologize to them.” The female livestreamer looked at the woman in the red dress, her face twisted from pain and suddenly she cried, “It shouldn’t have gone like this…”
The cold heart beat inside the red dress. The livestreamer studied the wounds under the thin skin and she raised her hands towards them. “This is never our choice, was it?” She slowly approached and the girl ultimately reached out to hug the woman in the red dress, to embrace herself.
Chapter 329
329 Death
The Death Curse on the red dress travelled onto the livestreamer but she didn’t let go of the woman in the red dress. Rumours and horrible comments turned into knives and pierced out from the red dress woman’s skin. The female livestreamer was heavily cut but she still didn’t let go. The incurable disease became a poison and seeped into the livestreamer’s body. Her beautiful face paled and her skin shriveled like a wilted flower. She lost her health and beauty but yel she didn’t let go.
“Nothing will make me let go. I know I have an incurable disease, my parents and doctor never told me when I would die so I was born in the company of despair. But it was also these people who gave me hope to keep on living. I wish to share this hope with more people, to have them see the light!” The wilted bodies melted together. The patterns on the red dress came alive as they washed away the Death Curse. “Even if I am doomed, I will use my own blood to paint out the world’s most vibrant red dress. I will keep my head held high, as I walk through the darkness to embrace the dawn!”
The red dress was like the brightest flower blooming in the dark. At that moment, all the red in the world paled in comparison. Resentment, pain and despair were blinded by hope and positivity. The Death Curse was cleansed. The red dress appeared to have shattered something inside her, her body and presence were madly growing. Red dress was slowly approaching Little Eight’s state but different from Little Eight, she had absolute control of her own resentment!
The red dress fluttered among the weakening Death Curse, the woman wearing the dress turned to Han Fei who was fending off the jumper woman. A temporary yet impactful image appeared in her mind. The scattered red dress pieces were picked up one by one, and then the man’s kind face slowly faded away as she was dropped to safety.
‘How could you leave me here all alone?’
‘Wait for me, I’ll go fetch you.’
‘You’ve saved us earlier so now I’ll help you stop her.’
‘If I survive this, I hope we can be friends.’
“You were in the trenches of despair yourself, but you insisted on bringing home to others. You… remind me of me.”
Hugging the little girl, Han Fei was cornered. When he found himself backed against the wall, a set of footsteps echoed from the other side of the corridor. Before he could turn to look, his sight was dominated by the red dress. An unimaginably large Lingering Spirit rammed into the jumper woman, almost shattering her body!
The Death Curse was knocked away before they crawled out from the jumper woman’s body again. As long as she was still alive, the Death Curse would keep on coming. The red dress was rapidly approaching the limit of Large Lingering Spirit, she was now different from the other ghosts.
While the jumper woman was distracted by the red dress, the divorced mother and the syringe woman approached Han Fei. They shared some kind of connection. They could feel each other’s emotions but couldn’t bind with each other. It was as if there was a needle stuck in their hearts which prevented that from happening. “Why won’t this work?” Han Fei turned to the girl in his embrace, “Can you turn them back to normal?” The girl shook her head.
“They treat you as their child, meaning humanity is still very important to them. They should be able to understand each other but there are some problems in the way.” Han Fei frowned. ‘Zhuang Wen’s actual child is dead and it was buried on the balcony in real life. This girl is manifested out as a replacement to that child, so who is currently buried in the balcony of Room 1244?’ Han Fei locked onto the key problem. When he was playing the Ziggurat game, he would die instantly if he dug out the dead body on the balcony. With the red dress buying him time, Han Fei carried the little girl and ran back to the top floor. Pushing open the balcony door, everything he saw was sticky blood and scratch marks.
Han Fei took out Rest in Peace to pry open the brick slathered with guts and blood. A wooden box covered in talismans appeared before Han Fei. The box looked the same as the one in real life so much so that Han Fei had a fleeting suspicion that he was back in real life. Carefully taking out the box, Han Fei removed the layers of talisman and eased the lid open. What he saw made Han Fei speechless. The wooden box housed a dead baby. Its entire body was painted with the Death Curse. Other than that, there was a piece of broken butterfly wing in its heart. All the Death Curse originated from that butterfly wing. “This is the source of Zhuang Wen’s pain and hatred. The Butterfly went after even a dead baby?”
The soul of the baby had already departed, it was now only a vessel to cultivate the butterfly wing. “Perhaps destroying it will help Zhuang Wen’s bodies reunite.”
Holding Rest in Peace, Han Fei glanced at the girl beside him. He had no idea whether this was the right solution or not but he didn’t have other choices.
“Wait a minute.” The girl suddenly stopped him. She grabbed the box. “Show this to them, they will understand.” The girl represented Zhuang Wen’s lingering humanity. Before Han Fei said anything, she picked up the wooden box and ran. When the talismans on the box were peeled off, the bond between the jumper woman and her other consciousness started to shift.
Han Fei and the girl returned back downstairs. Ignoring Han Fei’s warning, the little girl ran towards the berserk jumper woman with the box.
“Give me back my child!”
“Your child is already dead.” The girl stumbled between the blood and despair, a reflection of Zhuang Wen’s childhood in the exorcist’s home. “It is here, it is dead, it won’t be coming back!” The girl’s words attracted the jumper woman’s attention. As the jumper woman turned to her, she picked up the dead body from inside the box. “You have to stop acting like this, it wouldn’t want its mother to do these crazy things in its name! You should know this better than anyone because you’ve lived through that horrible experience yourself!” Zhuang Wen’s own mother was blinded by a ghost and brought Zhuang Wen into the exorcist’s home.
As the girl pleaded, the syringe woman and the divorced mother slowly calmed down. The jumper woman was the opposite, she became even crazier instead!
She kept repeating the promises of death and murder. She would kill everything she saw, she would drag all the happy people and fall down the building with her. “If I touch you, you’ll die! Die!”
The jumper woman’s Death Curse intensified. She refused to acknowledge her other consciousnesses, in fact, she started to regard them with hatred too!
“You won’t be able to persuade her with words.” Han Fei walked to the girl’s side.
“After you destroy the body and we still can’t bind together, then she’ll chase after you until you die.” The girl made a difficult decision and opened her palm towards Han Fei, “Give me the knife, I’ll chop up this poor dead body.”
Han Fei looked at the girl in shock but he didn’t give her Rest in Peace. After she carried the girl out from Room 1244, the system already told him that the jumper woman would chase him forever. “Let me do it.” Shaking his head, Han Fei raised Rest in Peace, “You wouldn’t be able to wield this knife.”
Chapter 330
330 Creature Closest to Hatred
If possible, Han Fei didn’t want to get the girl’s hands bloody. Picking up the dead baby, the ghost tattoo surfaced on Han Fei’s body, his arms turned red as his fingers closed around the hilt of Rest in peace. He was a butcher, killing was his job. “The pain of the world is too heavy on someone so small, I will set him free.” The hands gathered around the hilt and the brilliant blade became the only light inside Ziggurat. The power of the blade sliced through the dead body. The warmth of humanity embraced the young soul which was trapped within the deepest depths of despair.
The thin blade sliced through the baby’s chest, the dark characters melted like snow. The cursed threads that bound around the body were severed. The blade eventually reached the broken butterfly wing. The jumper woman who was not far away radiated the Death Curse out of her body. Her pupils turned black. She was dominated by hatred, every inch of her skin was painted with death and its ugly scent. She charged at Han Fei. At the same time, a shrill wail came from outside of Building 1, like someone was crying as a sharp blade punctured into its heart.
“Why have you become the kind of person you despise the most?” The little girl moved to block before Han Fei. She opened her arms and regarded the ghost which was at least 10 times larger than her. Controlled by some kind of malignant power, the jumper woman slammed her broken palm on the little girl and Han Fei. At that moment, Rest in Peace melted through the Death Curse, and severed the broken butterfly wing!
The macabre yet beautiful butterfly wing was shattered and so did the lock that it represented. As the butterfly wing vanished, the heart of the jumper woman, the divorced mother, the syringe woman and the little girl bled. The shackles around their hearts broke. The Death Curse stopped appearing on the surface of their skin. The connection which was suppressed started to emerge in their memories. The bloody palm halted above the little girl’s head. The jumper woman’s arm was disintegrating. She howled in pain and bloody tears leaked out from her eyes. She was the scariest ghost in Building 1 but at that moment, she was powerless like a child. The Death Curse was rebelling inside her body. The little girl grabbed the jumper woman but her tiny body was immediately flung away. When the girl crawled up from the ground, the syringe woman and the divorced mother came to help her.
Their bodies started to change. A wounded ring appeared around their ankles. A horrible stench leaked out from their unkempt hair. Their eyes were dull, their souls already numb to the pain in their hearts. The hands reached out to steady the jumper woman’s muddled body. The Death Curse travelled to everyone. Anyone touched by the jumper woman would die, that was her Death Curse!
The Death Curse infiltrated into the divorced mother and syringe woman’s hearts. Instead of saying they were killed, it was more like they sacrificed themselves for the jumper woman. When their memories collapsed, the Death Curse that surged into their bodies became dyed with their blood and memories. When the Death Curse returned to the jumper woman, the fractured memories reunited. Her broken body and face was slowly recovering.
“You are never alone. You have to know that.” The little girl opened her arms wide and ran into the jumper woman’s embrace like a child running towards her mother. As she was enveloped by the Death Curse, she melted into the jumper woman’s body. The last piece of the memory puzzle was found. Underneath the jumper woman’s Death Curse, a woman’s face surfaced. She didn’t inherit her mother’s ethereal beauty but she had an arresting presence. Her young face twisted from extreme pain.
When the dead baby dissolved into ashes alongside the butterfly wing, the hatred exploded out from the jumper woman, it shook the entire Ziggurat!
The Death Curse melted into black water and dripped to the ground. The jumper woman’s body reformed itself and the broken face slowly returned to normal. The cleaner of Building 1 officially stepped down from her post. Zhuang Wen with intense hatred had returned to the cryptic world.
The lowered head lifted. Zhuang Wen stared at the window at the end of the corridor. Her black eyes stared at something. Moments later, bloody liquid leaked out from her skin. Her penetrating hatred twisted the whole corridor. “Father, what have you done to me?!!”
The windows on every floor of Building 1 shattered and each room number bled. Zhuang Ren ignored everyone else in the corridor and strode downstairs. Every spot that she walked past would be stained black. She came to the first floor and placed her bloody palm on the locked building entrance. A beautiful butterfly pattern traced out on the previously white door. Zhuang Wen cackled shrilly. Her bloody hands caressed the beautiful pattern.
“Mother lost her mind because of you.”
“I was tortured like an animal because of you.”
“My child died because of you.”
“I lost everything because of you.”
“Father, I really, really, really want to kill you!”
Hatred blasted at the door. Now Zhuang Wen was a true Lingering Hatred, she was different from any of the ghosts Han Fei had encountered before. Her hatred was sharper than any knife at Cattle Alley. Nothing would be able to stop her. The butterfly pattern on the door cracked little by little. The locked door eventually caved. Zhuang Wen didn’t hesitate and walked out into the black mist. The mist rolled into the building. Han Fei held Rest in Peace. He wanted to stop Zhuang Wen but he couldn’t find the chance.
‘The father Zhuang Wen mentioned doesn’t sound like the Exorcist. Could her biological father be the Butterfly? If that’s true, I can trace the Butterfly’s real identity in real life through Zhuang Wen!’ Butterfly had always been a mystery but now Han Fei had slowly cornered it. What followed next would be extremely dangerous. If Han Fei survived, he would have the chance to kill the Butterfly!
Chapter 331
331 A Wish
‘The door to Building 1 has been opened, the black mist can bring with it the Singer too. Next I’ll have to find a way to other buildings and search for Feng Ziyu, but before that, I need to obtain the hidden profession of Ziggurat guard first.’ In the cryptic world, every step Han Fei took had to be careful. Han Fei planned to stay for 3 hours at Building 1 first before he left. ‘Zhuang Wen probably has gone to find the Butterfly, hopefully she’ll get her wish.’ Han Fei tried to close the entrance door but the lock had been broken. Even if the door was closed, the mist kept leaking through the gaps.
While Han Fei was fiddling with the lock, a black arm suddenly reached out from the black mist. Han Fei jumped back, holding up Rest in Peace in defense but before he did anything, the arm was bound by blood vessels and then shredded. The blood pooled around the red dress who had arrived at the 1st floor. She studied Han Fei closely, this was such a fragile person, where did he find the courage to meddle in the business of a Large Lingering Spirit and a Lingering Hatred.
“Thank you.” Han Fei put away the knife and walked towards the red dress, “I hope you don’t mind me asking but you wouldn’t have any problem with me being the guard here right?” The red dress nodded because she couldn’t find a reason to say no. “Then can you help me convince the others? I wish to stay here and help more tenants regain their selves. I know I am weak and have no special power. Many times, I can’t even save myself.” Han Fei smiled faintly, “I don’t even know when I’d die but I still wish to tell more people that there are people like me who are still working hard even in this dark world.”
Han Fei’s every word hit the red dress’ heart, that was exactly what she believed in the past. The red dress fluttered, evoking the resentment inside the whole building. She nodded again, “They will agree to it.”
With the red dress following him, Han Fei was no longer as scared as before. He planned to knock on the door one by one and get all of the tenant’s approval. Han Fei personally didn’t want to make things so complicated but this was the system’s requirement, if he wanted to gain the hidden profession, he had to get the approval from all the tenants.
First Han Fei came to the room of the bride. Earlier he had been too busy running for his life to locate her. Han Fei realized that the bride was considered powerful in comparison to most of the tenants here. The most important thing was that she could leave Ziggurat freely. That was highly valued by Han Fei. Han Fei knocked on the door but there was no answer. Han Fei turned to the red dress for help. The red vessels on her dress snaked into the keyholes and every door in Building 1 surfaced with mysterious, arresting patterns, similar to the ones on her dress.
The red dress appeared to misunderstand Han Fei’s meaning. Not only the bride’s room but all the rooms in Building 1 had been unlocked. The doors slammed against the wall, the bleeding room number looked like they were crying. Looking into the room, Han Fei noticed the décor of the room was similar to the one in the Ziggurat game. As he entered the bedroom, his eyes travelled to the wedding picture above the bed. “I run my business with honesty, I will live up to my promise to you. It’s just that I’ve come sooner than expected.”
Han Fei appeared to be talking to himself. No one answered him. There was not a trace of yin energy inside the room, it looked even cleaner than most rooms in real life. “I know you’re here.” Han Fei took out the bride’s veil from his inventory. Just as he prepared to hand the veil over to the red dress, the woman inside the wedding photo started to cry tears of blood. Pale fingers clutched at the frame and a woman over 2 metres tall crawled out from the photograph. Her eyes wandered between Han Fei and the ‘person’ behind Han Fei. Her cracked lips slowly opened but after a long hesitation, she decided to say nothing. ‘I just want a small favor from you, you didn’t need to bring this building’s scariest ghost into my house, did you? You plan to destroy me on your first visit?’
Her heart was deeply conflicted, the bride didn’t dare to speak out of place because she might not have the chance to survive to speak again. “Recently, the situation here is not that peaceful, we can delay our mission until much later.”
“It’s fine now. The jumper woman on the top floor has already left. Currently the most powerful tenant in Building 1 is standing behind me.”
“The… top floor?” The bride looked at Han Fei with disbelief, “You are responsible for the chaos in the building for the past 2 nights?”
“I wouldn’t say responsible but I was part of it, but this is all thanks to you for recommending me a job posting here.” Han Fei smiled at the bride. The bride had the urge to escape but she didn’t dare to make any sudden movements.
“Haven’t you been meaning to enter one of the rooms at Ziggurat? We can go now, I am a man of my words.” Han Fei repeated several times before the confused bride finally said, “I need to enter a room at Building 4, my husband’s eyes are hidden there.”
“Building 4? You know how to get there?”
“I was once a tenant there but my room has been taken over by something else.” The bride tore off the human skin around her neck. There was a blood red key hidden in her throat, “You only need to buy me around 5 minutes away from that thing.”
“Deal, but before that, I need to visit the other tenants here. Why don’t you follow me for now?” Thus another member joined Han Fei’s team. The bride maintained a very far distance from the red dress. Along the way, almost all the tenants approved of Han Fei, they gave Han Fei very high reviews. There was a ghost whose lips were sewn shut who showered Han Fei with praises in sign language. As a guard, Han Fei was glad to be approved by the tenants.
He came successfully to the 14th floor. Han Fei, the 2 other guards, and the red dress stopped before Room 1144. Before they knocked, an old lady appeared in the stairwell beside them. She wore black clothing and the butterfly pattern was barely visible on the back of her neck. Han Fei had met this old lady before. She liked to wander around at midnight, looking for the way out. She seemed to know some things.
“Young man, I’d advise you to not knock on that door. You’ve done very well but you won’t change anything. During the next midnight, everything will revert back to normal.” The old lady looked at Han Fei coolly, it seemed like she had been hiding on the 14th floor.
“How would you know without giving it a try?” Han Fei walked to the old lady, “Granny, you’re a tenant here too. Are you satisfied with my job so far? If you have any suggestions for improvement, feel free to tell me.”
“I wish we can change for a batch of more obedient guards, that way we can all live longer.” The old lady with the hunchback looked at Han Fei like he was some kind of cursed object.
“Granny, did you mishear me?” Han Fei took out a cigarette from his inventory. “I was asking for your suggestion, I didn’t ask you to make a wish.”
Chapter 332
332 Dresser of Death
A suggestion could be made possible; a wish was pure hopeful thinking, there was a great difference between them. Han Fei didn’t light the cigarette but only took it out as caution. Most tenants only had praise for Han Fei when they saw the red dress but this old lady dared to say otherwise, that meant that she was not afraid of the red dress, and thus the reason why Han Fei had to be careful around her.
The old woman heard the threat in Han Fei’s words. The butterfly pattern on the back of her neck rippled as she took several steps back. She advised, “You will kill all of us, you think you’ve saved them? You’ve only made things worse for them. Only in that form could they survive at Ziggurat, you’ve sent them to their death.”
“Just assume for a moment that you are the jumper woman or the livestreamer behind me, would you rather live aimlessly being used by your nemesis as tools or would you fight for that bit of hope?” Han Fei didn’t want to harm the old lady, he always loved the children and cared for the elderly. The old woman was stumped but she still stood before the door of Room 1144 and refused to move. “Admit it, you’re not thinking about them, you’re just worried that you might get caught in the crossfire.” Han Fei might be young but with masterful acting skill, he could easily read through people’s hearts. “No one wishes to die, everyone is trying their best to survive. They have merely been given another option of living.”
“It’s pointless, you’re just wasting your time.”
“That is my time to waste. Haven’t you been searching for the way out? The front door on the first floor is already open, but once you leave this building, you’re no longer a tenant here.” Han Fei agreed to let the old lady go but he didn’t say when. If she really did choose to leave, then he would capture her, force out all of her secrets before he considered what to do next.
“You have no idea how scary the manager is. If it enters Building 1, everyone except the tenants in Room 1044, 1144, 1244 will die.” The old woman pointed at the door behind her, “Before you make a bigger mistake, repent.”
“Now that you mention it, I’m curious. I’ve met the tenant inside Room 1144 before. He looks rather weak in person, why does the manager value him so much?”
It was then that the old lady realized she had said too much. As conflict was about to occur, the door to Room 1144 suddenly opened. The bald madman leaned on the door and looked out in caution. “Dead woman, why are you here again?!” The madman glared at the old lady in black as he waved his hands at Han Fei, telling him to come closer.
“I’m saving you, also… My name is Auntie Jia.” The old lady was irked whenever she saw the madman but she couldn’t do anything about it.
“I don’t care what your name is, I only care that you’re a ghost!” The madman screamed but the strange thing was as offended as the old lady was, she didn’t do anything to harm the madman.
“Since we’re all here, then we should just be direct and open.” Han Fei put away the cigarette and took out Rest in Peace. “Tell me everything you know.” Seeing Han Fei threaten the ghost with a knife, the madman’s expression slowly changed. ‘Are all the recent guards so imposing?’ Han Fei alone was not that scary but when he pulled out the knife, the red dress and the bride walked over. The corridor was covered in red, cutting off the old lady’s escape route. After weighing all the options, the old lady raised her hands to remove her scarf and throw it on the ground. The butterfly pattern was now plainly visible. “Fine, I’ll tell you the truth. This man inside Room 1144 is the body the manager has prepared for itself. If its current body is ruined, it can revive in this man’s body through some kind of method.” The old woman tore off the madman’s shirt.
“The hell?!” The shirt tore apart and the madman’s painted body was revealed.
“He is the manager’s back-up plan, if he leaves Room 1144 for too long or if something happens to him, then the manager will arrive here immediately.” The old woman hoped Han Fei would understand the severity of the situation.
“In other words, we could use him to lure the manager here? Set up traps to apprehend it here?”
“I didn’t say that!”
“Speaking of which,” Han Fei pushed through the door of Room 1144, this time, his attitude was completely different from last time.
“Brother, why are you siding with them? They are ghosts! They are all ghosts!” The madman pleaded as he stayed near the door.
“There are good people and bad people, the same applies for ghosts. Think of it this way, they are also victims like you, innocent souls who are tortured by the manager. They are not our enemies, in fact, we have the same enemy.” After he heard that, the man slowly calmed down. His eyes were injected with confusion like he found some reason in Han Fei’s persuasion.
“Last time you said you have to return to your bedroom before 4 am or else something bad would happen. I’m curious, what exactly is inside your bedroom?” To get the hidden profession, Han Fei had to obtain the approval of every tenant at Building 1 so he had to make sure there was no one else hiding inside Room 1144.
“I can’t really explain it. Why don’t you come take a look at it yourself? This bedroom appears to be connected to someplace else.” The madman glanced at the clock and pulled the bedroom door open. When the door was open, the madman’s body leaned into the bedroom like there was something pulling him into it!
Without wasting time, Han Fei slashed at the door. The brilliant light of Rest in Peace cut through the black and red door board. A wail came from inside the bedroom, an arm which was disproportionately long snaked back into the dresser which sat at the corner of the bedroom. Picking up the madman, Han Fei looked into the bedroom. The room had a table and bed, most furniture looked normal except for the dresser which radiated death. The dresser appeared to have a life of its own. The cupboard doors were decorated with capillaries and butterfly patterns. It was fixed at the corner of the room and faced the bed in which the madman slept.
“The dresser is a very rare cursed object. The manager can enter Room 1144 through it, this is one of the back-ups it has left for itself.” The old lady said darkly. At this point, it was too late to leave anyway.
“The manager can come here through this dresser? This means that this dresser is connected to Building 4?” Han Fei walked towards the dresser out of curiosity but he was immediately stopped by the red dress. Blood vessels weaved out beautiful flowers to form a cage around him.
“Other than the manager, no one knows where the dresser is connected to and what is inside it. There were a few idiots who tried to look inside it but we never heard of them again.” The old lady sighed. She was about to say something more when she felt Han Fei’s eyes on her. She saw Han Fei look between her and the dresser. Chill crawled all over her skin. She rapidly retreated but it was too late now.
Chapter 333
333 Predictive Dream
“Shall we enter it together? Aren’t you guys curious about the manager’s secret?” Han Fei asked while holding Rest in Peace.
“No, it’s too dangerous!” The bride spoke. Han Fei had to be one of the few who would force a ghost to speak.
“You’re right, it’s dangerous, so how about we find someone to scout ahead for us?” Han Fei took out the cursed chain from the pet store. It was stuck with animal fur. “As the guard, I have the responsibility to protect the tenant here. But we can capture ‘someone’ who is not a tenant, tie this around her and send her into the dresser.” Han Fei didn’t explicitly mention the old lady in black but she had a feeling Han Fei was talking about her. If she remembered correctly, Han Fei did say that she wouldn’t be a tenant here after she walked out of Building 1.
“That should work. But why would you carry a chain around with you?” The madman squatted beside the bed and wrapped the bedsheet around him. He was seen as mad by the other ghost tenants but he was not dumb, “A normal chain wouldn’t be of any use. I’ve entered that dresser before. You’ll faint after taking a few steps for no reason. When I woke up, I was already lying in bed outside of the dresser.”
“You’ve been inside the dresser?”
“Random broken body parts would appear inside Room 1144. At the start, I had no idea where they came from, but I was afraid, so one day, I crawled into the dresser to hide. It was only then that I realized the dresser was connected to somewhere else.” The madman tried to think back to it. “It is very hard to describe. It’s like there’s a nightmare living inside the dresser. Once you fall asleep, all kinds of stuff would crawl out from it, to inspect whether you were really asleep. They would wander around the bed and sometimes even crawl into the bed with you. If you feel a chill beside you, do not look under the comforter, I was given the fright of my life once before.” The tone used was easy but the scene described was horrifying.
The madman sat cross-legged on the bed. He looked at Han Fei and the other ‘people’ inside the room. After a long time he said, “The dresser would only open at 4 am but for the past 2 days, there has been something wrong with it.”
“What do you mean?”
“From the day you arrived as the new guard, the dresser door has been unable to close fully.” The madman’s words reminded Han Fei of something. The madman was the back-up body the Manager prepared for itself and the dresser was the shortcut used to access this back-up. After Han Fei arrived, the path door had been left open, which meant that the Ziggurat Manager felt threatened enough that it had the need to keep the passage open for a quick escape.
‘The day I arrived, the Singer entered Ziggurat as well, the threat probably came from it. Now that I think about it, it was wise for me to lure Singer here with me.’ Han Fei wanted to know the inner workings of the dresser. If possible, he wanted to set up an ambush inside it as a way to eliminate the heavily injured manager. Han Fei was brave, he was not afraid of any manager, in fact, the reason he was here was to find a new manager for Ziggurat. His eyes wandered subconsciously towards the old lady. The chain in his hands rattled, “Now who shall be our first volunteer?”
“This is not the Manager’s only backup. There is more than one such dresser in the neighbourhood. Even if you enter it, you might not encounter the Manager, if anything, you might expose yourself to extreme danger.” The old lady had figured out how to communicate with Han Fei. The man was not afraid of danger and death, only by speaking facts could he be persuaded.
“Haven’t you been meaning to leave Building 1?” Han Fei narrowed his eyes at the old lady, “So why haven’t you left?”
“Even in my dreams, I wish to leave this place but not in this kind of manner.” The old lady touched the butterfly pattern on her neck. “After what you’ve done here, you’re completely capable of becoming Building 1’s security guard or even its new building manager. However, we are different from you. You are a complete soul, we are just pots used to cultivate seeds.”
Han Fei was not an unreasonable person. Since the old lady was willing to share the building’s secrets, he listened patiently.
“I’ve lived here a long time already and have seen too many things, things that you might not even believe.” The hunchbacked lady sighed, “Every single room at Ziggurat represents a heart, these heart rooms trap the tenant’s memory and pain. It’s not that we’ve moved into the Ziggurat but we are part of the Ziggurat. The previous manager of the Ziggurat was an old man. He had no more hope within him, it was his rotten heart which became the foundation of this place. One day he walked deeper into the city and was never seen again.
“About 10 years ago, a new Manager arrived at the Ziggurat. No one knew where it came from and no one understood where its heart was hiding. No one was able to really kill it. From that night onwards, the rules at Ziggurat changed, all the hearts and memories became the Manager’s toy.
“It never kills and would not use its power to destroy any of the spirits, but don’t take that as its kindness. Those who fell into its grasp all wished for a quick death.” The old lady shivered as if remembering something awful.
“Do you know why it never kills?” Han Fei was curious. The Butterfly in real life was someone like that too, it had done all the bad things possible but it would never bloody its hands.
“There’s a legend about this manager, but I’m not sure whether it’s true or not.” The old lady hesitated before saying, “The last Pure Hatred at the Ziggurat left behind this hint before it perished. The manager’s talent has to do with dreams. It saw its own death in a predictive dream.”
“A predictive dream?”
“Yes, the manager dreamt that it was chopped into pieces by a knife. The blade was very unique. The bloodier the target’s hands, the sharper it would be.” When the old lady said that, no one in the room reacted to it. But different from others’ non-reaction, Han Fei had to use his masterful acting to suppress the emotions in his heart. The blade in the manager’s dream sounded like Rest in Peace!
“The manager has been searching for that blade but it is to no avail.” The old lady’s eyes filled with pain. “Perhaps because it had foreseen its own death, its action became even more inexplicable. It started to conduct crazier experiments. He turned all of the tenants into fertilizers to cultivate a different version of itself, so that its replacement could die on its behalf.”
The old lady helped Han Fei understand many times, previously unrelated things were now connected. Things like why the Butterfly never personally murder anyone and why Spider’s Cattle Alley was filled with so many butcher’s knives.
Chapter 334
334 The Butterfly's Dresser
All the coincidences aligned into necessity. The battle between Spider and Butterfly continued, from the result, it appeared like Spider had won by a hair. Han Fei listened to the old lady patiently. She told him everything about the manager. Things he had done inside the neighbourhood. For the manager, all the tenants, outsiders were just tools. Those who had the butterfly tattoo on them were the manager’s victim or ‘people’ who managed to survive its torture, they knew firsthand how horrific the manager was.
“There are four buildings at Ziggurat and the manager mostly stays at Building 4, it rarely leaves it. But some of the tenants suspect that there is a special room in Building 4 that allows the manager to teleport to any location inside Ziggurat. The room is also the manager’s heart room. If you really want to kill the manager, you have to locate that room first.” The old lady never even fathomed resisting the manager but now to survive, she had to give Han Fei everything he wanted. “No one knows where that room is, but it is rumored that the room number is 4444.”
“Theoretically speaking, no room at Ziggurat should have that number. Therefore, it must require a special method to arrive there.” Han Fei turned to the dresser, he felt the need to give it a try. After some thoughts, Han Fei came to a decision. To get other tenants’ approval, he would persuade everyone to see the same goal. And then he’d attempt to enter the dresser. Having the bride stay inside Room 1144, Han Fei led the others to visit the other tenants. Using his own personal charm, he won over the remaining tenants. After getting all of their approval, the system provided Han Fei with the notification.
“Notification for Player 0000! After endless hard work, you’ve obtained the hidden profession—Ziggurat Guard!”
“Are you going to set this up as your main profession?”
“No!”
“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve obtained the side profession, Ziggurat Guard! Randomly acquired 2 talents from 4 of Ziggurat Guard’s talents!
“Profession Talent 1, Death Immunity: When Death Curse is triggered, there is a 10 percent chance that you’d be immune to its effects!
“Profession Talent 2, Patrol: After midnight, your running speed will increase!
“Warning! It will take longer to upgrade past time professions and side professions, upgrading these professions’ talents require 3 times normal EXP. Now that you own 2 professions, you’ve slowly familiarized yourself with the working life. You have seen more and learnt more, your Perfect Life became more colorful because of it!”
“All I’ve seen so far is red, how is that colorful?” Han Fei tried to run in the corridor. The side profession of Ziggurat Guard was far more useful than he thought. Just the effect of Patrol alone was worth it. After returning to room 1144, Han Fei sat beside the bed and stared at the dresser. His eyes were calm like he was pondering something important. No one dared to disturb him. When the exit button lit up, Han Fei stood up and walked towards the dresser. “We mustn’t lose this opportunity, we’ll all go together.” Han Fei picked up the chain. He stood with the madman and red dress while his eyes turned coldly towards the old lady.
“Surviving here is already hard enough, why the insistence to court death? Can you complete something even a Pure Hatred cannot?” The old lady unwillingly headed towards the dresser. Just as her hands touched it, the capillaries on the doors bulged, like they were coming alive. The capillaries crawled onto the walls. The gap between the dresser door emitted a horrible smell. Before the old lady even opened the door fully, an arm reached for her and pulled her into the dresser. A ‘person’ disappeared just like that. The madman scurried backwards to hide.
“You’re the manager’s backup, so it won’t hurt you. You have to know how to make use of that to your advantage.” Han Fei explained to the madman, at that moment, it was hard to tell who was the mad one. The closer it was to 4 am, the more changes occurred inside the bedroom. Han Fei opened the dresser with the red dress. There were many clothes hanging inside the dresser, they were drenched in blood. The red dress entered first, then she waved at Han Fei to follow. Han Fei grabbed her wrist and the madman. They entered the dresser together. He parted the clothes before him but to his consternation, there were more and more clothes and the blood stains on them became heavier. It looked like dead bodies hanging around them.
The dresser looked small from the outside but inside it was like a maze, there were bloody clothes everywhere. The only person who could provide security to Han Fei was the red dress. But as they walked, Han Fei noticed something was wrong. Even though the hand that he held also had on red clothes, it was not a red dress.
‘Is this an illusion?’ Since the person didn’t stop, Han Fei didn’t let go either. He turned back and realized the madman was missing. And when he turned back to the front, he was only holding a red shirt sleeve. Holding the sleeve, Han Fei looked around. Each of the bloody clothes represented a dead spirit. ‘Is this the Butterfly’s dresser? Since no one knows what it looks like, could these be the appearances that it could put on?’
Han Fei didn’t panic. He knew most cursed objects had special power. ‘I saw with my own eyes the red dress enter the dresser. She is a Large Lingering Spirit, a normal Grade F Cursed Object wouldn’t be able to trap her. The most logical thing I should do now is to wait for her to return.’ Since the exit key had lit up, Han Fei was fearless. Furthermore, he still had one more cigarette in his inventory. If he ran into danger, he would light it up for protection.
About 10 seconds later, something disturbed the clothes not far away from Han Fei. They swayed, suggesting that something was moving in the dresser. Putting the paper doll on his shoulder, Han Fei crouched down holding Rest in Peace. He followed the trail of moving clothes before fixing his eyes in a direction. The thing inside the dresser appeared to sense Han Fei’s eyes on it. Grey long arms reached out from the darkness. It rustled through the bloody clothes, the sound was enough to make a normal person’s mind go insane.
The distance between the two drew closer. Han Fei held his breath, he was ready to kill.
Chapter 335
335 Man-Eating Dresser
Bloody clothes hung everywhere. Most of them had been worn by someone dead, every clothes here represented a despairing memory. In this maze made from the dead’s memory, Han Fei ran into his first danger. The red dress and the madman who entered the dresser with him disappeared. Han Fei, who was stranded, was discovered by something inside the dresser. The slender arms were of varying lengths so they clearly belonged to different people but they appeared to grow on the same body.
The bloody clothes were pushed aside. The hands snaked into the pockets. They searched for any remaining objects, derived from them the wearers’ last memory and then feasted on them like snacks. There was no wind inside the dresser but all the clothes swayed slightly.
More arms reached out from the mysterious direction. The pale fingers appeared to have noses and ears because try as Han Fei to hide, he was inadvertently discovered. The arms became more brutish as they shoved the bloody clothes out of the way. One of the arms seemed to sense something. Like a snake, it suddenly slithered towards Han Fei!
Pulling out Rest in Peace, Han Fei prepared to activate Ghost Tattoo but at that moment, a music box several metres to his left was toppled over. A strange yet familiar music echoed inside the dresser. The moment the music started, the pale arm instantly changed direction. From the angles Han Fei didn’t even notice before, several more arms appeared, crawling towards the music box. ‘There were so many of them?’ Han Fei honestly only saw one arm but in reality, there were five of them which were silently approaching him.
The bloody clothes behind him touched Han Fei’s cheek. A weight fell on his shoulder and Han Fei sighted a bandaged hand press down on his body. Turning back, Han Fei saw a 30 plus woman standing behind him. Her right arm was bandaged and she held a fruit knife in her right arm. Without saying anything, the woman used her eyes to signal Han Fei to follow her. They crouched low and silently retreated. The woman appeared to know the closet very well. Through the location of the blood stains on each clothes and the size of the blood stains, she was able to tell her direction. After leading Han Fei for a few minutes, she stopped.
“Why did you enter this place?” With her body still crouching, the woman finally spoke. Her voice sounded like grating glass, it was a torture on the listener’s ears.
“I keep feeling there is something wrong with my dresser. I have this recurring dream that I am inside the dresser. Honestly, at this moment, I can’t even tell I’m in a nightmare or in reality.” Han Fei’s expression was flawless. Fear, panic, forced calmness and the barely suppressed anxiety. It was hard to imagine a face could express so many emotions so naturally.
“This is not a nightmare, we're somewhere worse than a nightmare, everything you experience is real.” The woman curled into the bloody clothes and tried to hide herself among them.
“Then how did you get here? Looks like you’ve been here for quite some time already.” Han Fei studied the woman. She was of average build but she had great upper body strength. Her biceps and triceps were toned.
“I’m here to search for my son.” The woman whispered, “I can’t remember when I came in here. Back then, my son used to cry at night. One night, he ran to my room to tell me there was someone watching him from inside the dresser and he was very scared.”
“You didn’t think too much of it at the time?”
“I went to his room and checked the dresser, there was nothing inside.” The woman’s voice was raspy. “In any case, I decided to sleep with him that night but during late midnight, I was woken up by a noise. I opened my eyes and discovered my son standing before the dresser all alone. He was mumbling something on his lips… I couldn’t really hear him that clearly but I believed he was saying—’she is my mother now, please don’t come back to find me, it’s too dark inside the dresser’, or something like that.
“The bedroom’s light was off. I was so scared so I didn’t move. The dresser door slowly opened and I saw the clothes hanging inside. When I thought everything had returned to normal and my boy was just sleep-walking, the clothes parted away to reveal a woman’s face, she looked 90 percent like me! But the scariest thing was, she appeared to be looking at me and the more she stared at me, the more she took on my face!
“I sat up from bed and switched on the light. But that didn’t make things better. I saw my son still lying in bed, while the boy in front of the dresser had disappeared but the dresser door was left open. I shook my son awake. He rubbed my eyes and asked me innocently, ‘Mom, what’s wrong?’
“When I heard him call me ‘mom’, my heart chilled. There was an instinct in my heart that questioned, ‘Is this really my son?’
“From that day onwards, I felt like I had gone insane.” The woman gripped the knife and when she spoke, she looked around with alertness. “When my son was at school or out playing with friends, I would hear his voice inside the room, and see his shadows run across the house.
“I knew I had to investigate the origin of the dresser. I bought the dresser from a flea market. The workmanship was exquisite and the price was cheap, at the time, I thought I had a steal. When I went back to ask, only then I was told, someone had once died inside the dresser. I was ready to go home to destroy the dresser. My son who was supposed to be home had disappeared. The only possibility I could think of was that the dresser had stolen away my son.” The woman’s hand that held the knife burst with veins. “I didn’t dare to damage the dresser because it might steal my son forever away from me. From that day onwards, I guarded beside the dresser every night. I slept during the day and stayed beside the dresser at night but nothing happened.
“That continued for a long time, until one time, I was too tired and accidentally drifted off to sleep at night. When I opened my eyes again, the closed dresser door opened. The clothes appeared to be hiding something behind them. I pushed apart the clothes and grabbed the fuel and matches which I had prepared. As I poured the fuel, I crawled into the dresser. I was ready. If I couldn’t find my son, I would return before the fuel ran out and burn the damn dresser.
“But to my surprise, this dresser appears to exist between reality and dream. I didn’t take that many steps before the smell of fuel dissipated. I noticed the trail had gone dry. I tried the matches but none of them would light.
“To make matters worse, there are all kinds of monsters living inside the dresser. They started to hunt me. I was lucky that I was able to survive until now.”
Chapter 336
336 Feng Ziyu's News
“Monsters? What kind of monsters have you met here?” Han Fei didn’t fully trust the woman. It was impossible for a normal housewife to survive inside this monster-infested dresser with just pure luck.
“The monsters with many arms that we encountered are the most common one. They are like parasitic moths commonly found inside dressers. They rustle through the clothes to find leftover objects to feed on the wearers’ memories. I call these multi-limbed bugs the Scavenger. Other than these Scavengers who feed on memory fragments, there are humanoid monsters or rather they used to be humans. They have lost their identities so I call them The Lost. A long time ago, I had a partner who roamed this dresser with me, but one day, he suddenly disappeared. The spot where he occupied turned into a set of bloody clothes, they were the exact same set he was wearing before he went missing. I believe he had joined the Lost.
“The Scavengers and the Losts normally wouldn’t come after us, there are far more dangerous monsters here. One of them will disguise themselves as the dresser door. If you open them, you’ll not find the exit but a gaping maw waiting for you.
“The other kind of monster looks just like humans and they are the most dangerous. They will morph into clothes and melt into the surroundings. When you get close to them, they will bind and slowly consume you.”
The Butterfly’s dresser was a space between nightmare and reality, dominated by people and monsters lost in it. This creepy dresser might have to do with Butterfly’s talent. Han Fei knew that Butterfly’s favorite tactic was to enter people’s minds and then use their dreams to slowly influence reality.
“It’s amazing that you have managed to survive here for so long.” Han Fei said sincerely, “Can you remember how long you’ve been here?”
“There is no day and night cycle here so I really can’t tell. At first, I did try to keep a track of time but time eventually runs away from you. Now I can’t even tell whether it’s day or night outside this dresser.”
“Then how did you manage to take care of your everyday needs? Is there food and water here?” Han Fei regarded the woman with suspicion, this was a suspicion a normal person would have. Although to be honest, Han Fei already had a guess in his heart. The woman was probably already dead, she was just a ghost who had not yet fully forgotten about her past.
“Water…” The woman was silent for a long time before she lifted her head. “I didn’t want to tell you this early lest I scare you away. But since you’ve asked, then I shall not lie to you. Come with me.” The fruit knife in her grasp shook. She was very nervous like an inexperienced hunter. The blood stains on the clothes around them thickened. After evading a few more Scavengers, the woman led Han Fei deeper into the dresser. Strange voices whispered into his ears, it was like the lingering spirits on the clothes were talking to him. The deeper he went, the more unsettled he felt. The clothes were getting bloodier, some were so fresh that the blood was still dripping. If he leaned closer to the clothes, he could even hear groans of pain.
“We’re here, I call this place the canteen.” After a half an hour of trekking, the woman finally stopped. She picked up the clothes beside her and after apologizing to it, she placed it in her mouth. The blood flowed into her body and her eyes turned crimson. After she had her fill, she turned to Han Fei. Blood dyed her lips and teeth red. Blood splattered down her face. She looked just a monster, different from the housewife that she presented herself as earlier.
“I have scared you, haven’t I? Don’t forget that I’ve also saved you earlier.” The woman put down the clothes. “This is the only way if you want to survive here. Initially I was very against it too but I have no other choice. I have to save my son. To do that, I am willing to do anything.”
“You are a great mother.”
“Don’t patronize me. When hunger and thirst catch up to you, you’ll make the same choice because it is the only choice.” After the woman drank the blood, her own capillaries started to bulge and her face paled. Whenever she spoke, 2 voices emitted from her throat, but the other voice was extremely weak. Han Fei now understood why the woman’s voice was so unique. To survive, she had literally absorbed countless people’s blood.
“Other than me, have you met anyone else here?”
“I have but most are at the edge of madness. Some have turned into the Losts, others would become part of the hanging clothes soon.” The woman looked at her skin which was turning red. “Actually that is the other reason why I’ve saved you.”
“What is it?”
“I feel like I won’t be able to resist for much longer. If I turn into a set of clothes, I hope you’ll bring me with you instead of leaving me here among the hanged.” The woman didn’t force Han Fei, she negotiated with him, “And if it’s possible, help me look for my son. When he disappeared, he was wearing pyjamas with bear print. If he’s still alive, please take care of him for me; if he has been changed into clothing, please put me next to him. Okay?”
“Don’t be so pessimistic, perhaps we can find him and leave this place together.”
“I hope so.” The woman clearly didn’t believe Han Fei.
“I am serious.” Han Fei was about to ask for more information when the woman suddenly waved for him to bend low. The clothes not far away started to sway and soon they saw a 40 plus man with balding head and formal shirt tumble out from the maze of clothes. He didn’t notice Han Fei and the woman. He was half-crouched on the ground as he moved slowly forward. “What is this place?!” The middle-aged man’s face was twisted from fear. His mental state was unstable. He didn’t dare to make too much noise lest he attracted the monster. He could only rely on himself. The middle-aged man crawled some more but all he could see was red. Everything was red. “What is happening?!” The man’s emotions frayed. Before he lost his mind, Han Fei and the woman came out from their hiding spots.
“Don’t worry, like you, we’re trapped here as well…”
“Don’t come any closer! Stay right there!” When the middle-aged man saw the blood on the woman’s face and the knife she was holding, he warned shakingly.
“I’d advise you to keep your voice down. If you attract the monster’s attention, do you think you can run faster than us?” Han Fei already put away Rest in Peace before he showed himself. Raising his arms in surrender, Han Fei slowly approached the middle-aged man. “Brother, looks like you haven’t been here for that long. Am I right?”
“I can’t tell how long it has been, perhaps about 10 hours? I stayed still for a long time before I was forced to move because I saw the monsters coming towards me.” The middle-aged man was extremely frightened. Han Fei’s calming voice was like a balm to his soul.
“Can you tell me how you got into this place?”
“I don’t know!” The middle-aged man pulled on the little bit of hair he had, “My upstairs neighbour was making a lot of noise at midnight. I couldn’t sleep so I went to give him a piece of my mind. But when I arrived, his door was left open.”
“And you entered his house? Why didn’t you call the police?”
“At the time, I was so angry I didn’t think that much. When I got in, there was no one around. Just as I was wondering whether to call the police, I heard a sound coming from the bedroom. I pushed open the door to take a look.”
“And you saw someone inside the dresser?”
“I saw my neighbour lying in bed, he was sound asleep. I believed he was faking it because he was just making all those noises earlier. But when I touched his face, I noticed something was wrong.” The man said with regret. “His face was so cold, there was no human warmth.”
“That means he has been dead for some time already, it was not him who made all that noises, but probably the actual killer.” Han Fei analysed.
“That was what I thought, but at that moment, my brain suddenly went dizzy and I collapsed. When I woke up again, I was already inside this place.” The middle-aged man pouted, “The stock that I bought just had a sharp rise recently, I thought my luck was finally changing, but I guess I was wrong.”
“The person who placed you here probably wanted to get your neighbour but got you by accident. Can you tell me more about your neighbour?” Han Fei was confused. The middle-aged man sounded like he was just dragged into the dresser not too long ago. The Butterfly should have been busy dealing with police and Huang Yin, it wouldn’t go after random people.
“That neighbour of mine is very strange. We’ve been neighbours for years but I shared less than 3 words with him. He was a hermit and avoided all human interaction. I heard from the other neighbours that he used to work at a big company but due to some trauma, he became like this.”
“Worked at some big company?” Han Fei narrowed his eyes. “Do you know his name?”
“It’s Feng Ziyu. He was getting weirder recently. He acted so strangely like he was living in some kind of mysterious world that only existed in his mind.”
Chapter 337
337 Run!
“It is him!” When the middle-aged man mentioned a big company, Han Fei already thought of Feng Ziyu. Back when the Ziggurat map hadn’t been deleted from the surface world, Feng Ziyu and his colleagues were the last to enter the neighbourhood, so it was understandable for the Butterfly to go after him.
“Feng Ziyu kept a very low profile and rarely interacted with people. If not for the sounds coming from his apartment, I would have thought the unit above me was empty.” The middle-aged man frowned with regret. “I should have minded my own business. The sensei already told me that I would face a major hurdle around age 40.”
“I’d advise you to trust in yourself rather than in fate.” Han Fei picked up the middle-aged man, “Has your neighbour acted unusually recently?”
“I haven’t seen him for the past few days, I believe he has been staying at home. Oh, wait! I kept hearing knocking in the corridor at night, I believe it came from his door!”
“Knocking at night?”
“Yes, it’s always around midnight. I thought he was calling some kind of service, after all, he has been alone for so long.” The middle-aged man shrunk away from the clothes and carefully nudged closer to Han Fei. “Other than the knocking, I can’t think of anything else.”
“Can you remember the spot where you first woke up?” Han Fei wanted to trace his track, to see if he could find his way to Feng Ziyu’s place.
“I can’t, but I believe it’s from that direction.” The middle-aged man pointed behind him. “I was too flustered to note the route I was taking. But I did remember one thing. The spot where I woke up was scattered with shredded clothing and they all had black characters on them.”
Feng Ziyu had gone missing in real life. Based on the last messages he sent to Huang Yin, he was probably led by Butterfly deep into the dream and Room 4444. Assuming Room 4444 was the channel Butterfly used to connect the real world and cryptic world, then Feng Ziyu should be inside the cryptic world as well. The middle-aged man’s appearance here was an accident. Butterfly most likely dropped him into the dresser because it had no use for someone like him.
Han Fei tried his best to string all the limited information together. ‘Real world, dreams, cryptic world… Is it possible that Butterfly in Room 4444 could connect to people in the real world via dreams and then use the dresser in Room 4444 to send these people from real life into a cryptic world? After all, Room 4444 technically shouldn’t exist in Ziggurat, it wasn’t part of the Ziggurat. But in that case, what is Room 4444? Is it really a room?’ With the black box and Spirit Farer talent, for Han Fei, the entire Perfect Life game was his Room 4444. As long as people logged into the game and fitted certain requirements, he could summon them to the cryptic world. If that was the case, what would Butterfly’s Room 4444 look like?
‘Looks like I’ve been fooled by preconceived notions and assumed that Room 4444 has to be a room. But one thing’s for certain—If Room 4444 doesn’t physically exist at the Ziggurat, then perhaps this dresser is the only way to get there.’ With that in mind, Han Fei knew he couldn’t waste anymore time. While he could quit the game at any time, he needed to locate the exit as soon as possible.
“Come on, let’s go to find the spot where you first woke up.” Han Fei supported the middle-aged man and turned to the silent woman beside him. “Come along, I have promised to help you find your son.” Han Fei who used to have social anxiety now had unconsciously become the core of the group. Before the pressure of survival, he had metamorphosized. Walking through the maze of bloody clothes, time lost its meaning. The despair on the middle-aged man’s face thickened but whenever he thought about giving up, he would see the determination on Han Fei’s face. He couldn’t find any trace of fear on Han Fei’s face. This man who was much younger than he was, inspired him with power. The confidence and ease came from within, like he already had the solution in his mind and could leave this godforsaken place any time he wanted. Influenced by Han Fei, the middle-aged man and the woman didn’t feel as defeated as before. Han Fei had planted a small seed of hope within them—perhaps they really could find the exit.
There were more bloody clothes. After some time, Han Fei who was at the rear of the group suddenly tapped on the middle-aged man’s shoulder and then whispered into his ears. “Do not look back and maintain this speed.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Tell the woman before you that there is a monster disguised as bloody clothes following behind us, tell her to speed up after a minute to try and see if we can shake it off.” Han Fei used the most peaceful tone to describe something incredibly scary. They had been targeted by the scariest creature inside the dresser. The middle-aged man relayed Han Fei’s message word for word. A minute later, the woman suddenly raced off. Han Fei and the middle-aged man who were prepared followed after her.
After knowing it had been exposed, the monster revealed its true identity. Two red arms reached out from the sleeves and a face stitched up with patches of fabric appeared on the clothes. The red pieces of fabric were sewn into the flesh. The clothes had become part of it and it became part of the clothes. It moved very fast like a red shadow, it quickly caught up to Han Fei’s group.
After some running, the difference in stamina between the 3 survivors could be clearly seen. Han Fei ran at the front completely unfazed, the woman followed closely behind him, the middle-aged man though was already gasping for air. His legs were weakening. If they abandoned the middle-aged man now, Han Fei and the woman would have an easy escape. With the middle-aged man’s size, the monster would take a long time to digest him.
Perhaps due to fear, the middle-aged man tripped on a pile of clothes on the ground. When he collapsed, the man’s face turned ashen. At that moment, he was consumed by despair and his previously pristine shirt surfaced with patches of blood stains.
“Give me your hand!” Han Fei kept his eyes open even when he was making his escape. After so many experiences of running for his life, many things had become part of his instinct. Seeing the bloody clothes monster rapidly approach, Han Fei grabbed the middle-aged man’s arm and ran at his full power. Buffed by the talent of the Ziggurat Guard, Han Fei’s running speed was ridiculous. If someone saw Han Fei running like this in the middle of the night, they would think he was the ghost.