70 Receptacle for the Black Box

 

“There is a butterfly inside Meng Changshou’s brain?”

“The doctor said big brother’s brain suffered abnormal development and it had caused permanent damage. It was a rare situation where biological influence could lead to potentially dangerous psychosis.” Meng Changxi’s every word radiated with chill. “It was at that moment that I realized the animal was not the only sick individual in our family. The big brother who had been helping me and looking after me was equally insane.”

“So Meng Changshou is the butterfly?” Han Fei gasped.

Meng Changxi was shocked when he heard Han Fei say that. “Wait, you knew about the butterfly?”

“What I know is that Meng Changan has been searching for the butterfly, but I have no idea what exactly this butterfly is… Until now of course.” Han Fei paid full attention, he was going to memorize everything Meng Changxi said.

“No, you got it wrong. Big brother is not the butterfly, in fact, the butterfly is not even a person. However, it did manage to corrupt my younger brother through my big brother.” Meng Changxi elaborated. “When Meng Changan started school, his condition worsened, the treatments he attended had no effect at all. The counselling treatments were arranged by my big brother who by then was already working. After the hospital visit, I started to suspect this whole arrangement. Digging through some old files, I found the information about the psychiatrist big brother supposedly hired. The doctor said he had no record of treating Meng Changan at all. So it turns out it was not a psychiatrist who had been treating my younger brother but something else.”

“Something else?” Han Fei noticed Meng Changan used ‘something’ and not ‘someone’.

“Yes, I don’t know how to describe it, the thing is not like us humans.” Meng Changxi peeled back his sleeves. Scars were left on his arms. They looked like a string of numbers. “I’m sure I’ve seen it before but for some reason, I cannot remember its face. To make sure I do not forget the last bit of information I have on it, I recorded everything on my body.”

Seeing the scars on Meng Changxi’s arms, Han Fei’s eyes twitched, “You sure are cruel towards yourself.”

“You have to understand that before I met you, I had no other prospects.” Meng Changxi pointed at his own face. “Nowadays, there are cameras everywhere and they are connected to the central computer. The moment a criminal’s face appeared on camera, the law enforcement would be notified. To prevent capture, I had to do this to my own face.” Due to the layers of ghastly scars, it was hard to tell whether Meng Changxi was smiling or crying, “The thing would treat my younger brother only at night. It saw the human body as a receptacle for the soul. From its perspective, the soul is a life’s true form and it is the soul which transmutes the potential life energy within the body into physical reality. This process is also known as the creation of life.”

“I have to be honest and admit that I do not understand all that. Can you give me a simple description about that thing? What stands out about it? I wish to capture it to avenge my friends.” Han Fei cut to the point.

“Well, there is a tattoo of butterfly wings on that thing’s arm. I cannot remember its face but I do remember that tattoo.” Then Meng Changxi revealed something very important. “It is searching for a box, a box that is filled with the human world’s greatest tragedy, misfortune and despair. The box is supposedly hidden deep inside one’s soul. It searched for that box in my younger brother but the box was not there.”

“A box?” At this point, Han Fei could confirm that the butterfly’s target was the black box in his own head.

“The box would only appear within those born with the greatest misfortune. The butterfly spent years seeking for it but it was to no avail so it planned to create souls which were sick enough to foster the appearance of the box.” Meng Changxi removed his jacket. “10 years ago, the butterfly selected 3 candidates for this project. They were all murderers in the human jigsaw case.”

“There were 3 of them?”

“The first was the orphanage director at Northern Street, He Shouye; the second was Meng Changan and the third, my big brother. At least these are the three that I know of, who knows if there are others out there.”

“Do you have actual evidence to prove that they are the killers?” Han Fei wanted to help Meng Changxi but he also knew that if Meng Changxi had actual evidence, he wouldn’t have to go into hiding. The room sunk into silence. After about 10 seconds, Meng Changxi bit on his already broken lips. He looked at Han Fei and began slowly, “Can I trust you?”

“Of course.”

“You answered too quickly. You do not even know me. I’ve killed He Shouye, I am an actual murderer.” Meng Changxi’s scarred face matched perfectly with his wicked statement.

“I’ve guessed that already, which is why I hope that you’ll surrender yourself to the police after the real culprit is caught.” Han Fei had seen too many gory scenes to have a scared reaction even when he was in the same room as a killer.

“I do not have actual proof but everything I had, I collected and stashed at an abandoned neighbourhood in the countryside. The place is called Happiness Neighbourhood. All the evidence will be inside the bathroom of Room 1044.” Meng Changxi slowly moved his gaze away. “The police will soon catch up to me. When Meng Changan committed those murder, he already decided for me to take his fall. I do not have much time left.”

“The place you mentioned…” Han Fei was startled when he heard the address from Meng Changxi. His home in the game was also Room 1044.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing the first genuine expression on Han Fei’s face, Meng Changxi was confused.

“Nothing, I’m just surprised that you have researched into the human jigsaw case as well. According to the news I heard, the police merely received damning evidence on you for the frozen body case. If Meng Changan has evidence on you for the human jigsaw case as well, why not…’

Han Fei was cut off before he finished, “Meng Changan will not deign to do something like offer the law enforcement an anonymous tip. He was too clever to do that because interaction with the police might lead the trail back to him. Instead, he would have buried those incriminating evidence along the path of the law enforcement’s investigation. He would make it so that the police came to their supposedly unbiased conclusion that I was the killer.”

“Then who mailed them those recordings?”

“If I have to guess, it was my big brother.” Meng Changxi’s voice pained with the mention of Meng Changshou. “I have no idea what is the relationship between those corrupted by the butterfly but compared to Meng Changshou, Meng Changan is the butterfly’s more satisfied product. Therefore, if there is an accident, the butterfly will most likely order my brother to take the blame on Meng Changan’s behalf. They always have a backup, which is why I am wary to come out with my collected evidence.”

“But what do you plan to do after handing all your hard work to me?” Meng Changxi’s statements sounded too much like his last words for Han Fei’s comfort.

“There is no need for you to know that. Just remember the address I gave you.” Meng Changxi’s eyes stared at Han Fei. “If I die, hand over all the things you find there to the police.”