24 If You Only Have 24 Hours Left

 

Han Fei exhausted the acting skill of his life within that few short minutes. He kept urging himself to get into this new character but even so he could not stop his physical body from shaking!

This was not a point against his acting skill, but a proof that he was a living, breathing human being. Gasping for air, Han Fei collapsed on the bed. Once he closed his eyes, he could see the sea of children around him. ‘Even though I have managed to fool them for now but I will reappear inside that room the next time I log in. What if Weep goes against his words?’ Pulling on his hair, Han Fei felt his brain shutting down, ‘Weep will go berserk when he fails to find me. The last hint I dropped might compel him to go look for me at the other apartment units. The perfect scenario is when I go online next, Weep is away at my neighbour’s place.’

Han Fei had that bit of hope left but he knew the chance of that occurring was small.

‘Weep is a scary character. When I looked into his eyes, I felt like he was looking into my soul. If I showed even a trace of flaw or cowardice, he would most likely kill me on the spot.’ Thinking back what he had done, Han Fei shivered from fear. ‘This feeling of having my life dangled in another person’s hands is horrible. If I can survive this night, I need to level up as fast as I can and collect as many items as possible.’

Han Fei gritted his jaw in determination but moments later, helplessness and despair draped over him. The chance of surviving that night was miniscule. If he logged into a room filled with ghost children, he had no confidence to escape with his life intact. ‘Tomorrow night should be my last time playing the game.’

Studying the gaming helmet on the table, Han Fei did not know what to say. He was just a normal person, naturally he had fear of death. With his nerves pulled taut for so long, the strain drained Han Fei once he exited the game. However, he found himself unable to fall asleep. He was just a young man, he had a whole life ahead of him. He’d always assumed there was plenty of time to achieve his life goals but at that moment, he realized how ubiquitous death featured in a person’s life. ‘I assume there will always be a tomorrow but now I realize that is not a constant. Should tomorrow not arrive, how will I assign the last 24 hours of my life?’

His anxious nerves refused to settle down. Han Fei logged into a music streaming site and selected a few relaxing songs. No matter how advanced technology became, music would always provide sanctuary to the soul. Night passed by without leaving behind a trace. As dawn arrived, Han Fei took out his phone and scrolled through his contact list which was only half a page long. Han Fei was an orphan, he did not have a happy or even normal childhood. Seeing others pampered by their parents, he’d remind himself to stay strong and power on. There was no one to help him in life but himself. He had not experienced romantic nor familial love before. The world was not kind to him but he wanted to face it with laughter and joy. He liked the sound of people laughing. The laughter was like drops of water, providing sustenance to his lonely and parched soul. This was one of the main reasons he wanted to be a comedy actor.

Ending the music, Han Fei looked out the window at the rising sun. The world resuscitated with light.

“Dawn has arrived.” Opening the window, Han Fei rearranged the gaming helmet to its reserved spot. He could not change what had happened so instead of worrying about the past or the future, why not treasure the present?

He was reminded of a quote by Charlie Chaplin-- Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm.

Han Fei entered the bathroom to prepare for the day ahead. He looked at himself in the mirror. To his surprise, he saw no trace of despondency.

“In the face of death, many troubles appear so unimportant and frivolous. Is that the power of this Iyashikei game?” Han Fei changed and exited his home. It rained yesterday night so the air was particularly fresh. He inhaled deeply and was about to step forward when he heard children crying. The young man, who, at that moment, was particularly sensitive to children crying, startled involuntarily as he turned to the source. Two children were standing under a large tree, mumbling something between sobs.

“Don’t cry, what happened?” Han Fei walked over and consoled the two kids.

“Xiao Guai is stuck on the tree and can’t get down!” Han Fei titled his head up and realized Xiao Guai was a small kitten. The kitten mewled piteously, evoking the sense of compassion in others.

“Help me take this.” Han Fei removed his jacket and climbed up the tree. ‘It feels like my body is lighter and my movement more agile. Will the improvement in the game affect my status in real life?’ Han Fei managed to get the kitten down from the tree after much coaxing. “Take good care of it. Do not let it run away again.” The two children nodded while hugging the kitten. It was a cute picture.

Seeing the smiles on their faces, Han Fei was weirdly reminded of Weep. ‘They are all children, so how come the difference between them is so big? Is it possible that Weep was once an innocent child like these two?’

Patting the dust away from his clothes, Han Fei left his neighbourhood. Not long after his departure, Zhao Ming, Zhang Xiaotian and Li Xue walked out from behind a well-hidden car parked at the neighbourhood corner.

“Will a twisted supervillain help two children save their pet cat?” Zhang Xiaottan commented hesitantly.

“Don’t let your guard down! Have you forgotten what the captain said? Supervillains are all experts at manipulating the human mind! This is probably just one of his disguises.” To be honest though, Zhao Ming was having second doubts. No matter how you looked at Han Fei, he did not scream supervillain or at least the kind of supervillain they had in mind.

“How is he a supervillain? He looks nothing like the supervillain I’ve encountered.” Li Xue stood at the back. Her words immediately caught Zhao Ming and Zhang Xiaotian’s attention. “Although to be fair, I’ve only encountered one supervillain in my life. I was on the escort team tasked to send the man to prison. It was just to escort one person but the whole street was cordoned off and it involved the cooperation from many different departments.”

“Sister Li, you’ve seen an actual supervillain before?! What does he look like?” Zhang Xiaotian asked with curiosity.

“I didn’t get the chance to see his face. He was locked inside a specially-made safe box. His whole body was shackled. I only remembered there was a butterfly tattoo on his exposed right hand.” Li Xue shrugged. “Stop asking me, you should know these things are confidential. We better turn our attention back to Han Fei.”

“Sister Li, since you do not think Han Fei is a supervillain, why did you volunteer to join us on our surveillance mission?” Zhang Xiaotian was confused.

“It’s because I’m afraid that you two will do something stupid and harm an innocent person.” Li Xue then walked away. “Neither of you have sleuthing and tailing experience, so please stay far away from me.”

The three officers dressed in casual outfits stayed silently behind Han Fei. They hoped to witness a flaw in this “supervillain’s” disguise but they got nothing. Along the way, Han Fei stopped to help many people. He was kind, gentle and loving. He exuded such selfless love that you’d think he was a saint reincarnated.

His action fitted the system’s danger rating perfectly. If this kind of person did not score a 0, then something was definitely wrong with the system.