71 One Last Time

 

“Don’t act too recklessly!” Noting Meng Changxi’s tone, Han Fei immediately persuaded, “The police have been to Dong Hwa Ice Factory, they know about your plan. Even if you go to Xin Lu’s international business centre now, you won’t be able to get close to Meng Changan, it’ll only deepen the police’s suspicion on you.”

“The plan was written for the police to see. I would update my plan daily but I have never written the actual plan down on paper.” In other words, no one but Meng Changxi himself knew what his plan entailed. “Meng Changan and Meng Changshou are both killers but the real culprit is that butterfly. Even if my brothers are brought to justice, the butterfly who caused this whole tragedy will still walk free. It is hiding behind the scene and has never shown itself.”

“Then all the more reason for us to take it slow. We can start by apprehending Meng Changan.”

“But I don’t have time to take it slow.” Meng Changxi turned around to reveal the festering wounds on his back. “I carry the name of a mother-killer, my life has been long and painful, now I just wish for a satisfactory closure.” Han Fei could empathize with Meng Changxi but he still wanted to stop the man but Meng Changxi was adamant. “After you find those evidence, be careful of your own safety.”

“You’re not in a place to worry about me.” Han Fei countered.

“Listen, you are too deeply involved in these cases so the butterfly will eventually get to you! So you cannot be too careful. I’ve spent a decade hiding from it but even so I’ve almost died from accidents several times. I’m sure they were all the butterfly’s doing.”

“But you just said they are accidents. How is the butterfly involved?”

“The butterfly is a master manipulator and planner, it is an expert at creating coincidences. Two supposedly unrelated events might combine together to be your death trap.” Meng Changxi warned Han Fei. After that, he pointed at the front door. “Leave this place and do not turn back. Pretend that this meeting has never happened, hopefully that’ll confuse the butterfly for a little while longer.” Han Fei stood unmoved, he knew this would be the last time he saw Meng Changxi. Seeing Han Fei’s hesitation, humanity shone on Meng Changxi for the first time, he patted Han Fei’s shoulders, “In the past decade, the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me is to meet you in my final days. If you really want to capture the butterfly; if you really want to avenge the dead; if you really want to find out the truth, then follow my instructions.” Meng Changxi forced a smile but it was a ghastly one as it tore at the scars on his face. “Sorry about that, I’m sure it was not a pretty smile. I haven’t smiled in years already, so that was the best I could do.”

Meng Changxi’s last statement touched Han Fei. “I hope your plan goes without a hitch, good luck.”

After that, Han Fei left Wei Youfu’s father’s home and hurried towards the address given to him by Meng Changxi. As technology moved forward, the city grew in size. Many people would rather squeeze in the hive-like highrise, than stay in the countryside alone. Traversing the barely-used roads, Han Fei eventually found Happiness Neighbourhood behind an abandoned chemical plant. The place was deserted. Wild grass was everywhere. The walls were severely corrupted by rain and a sign warning of dangerous structure stood at the entrance. However, even the sign was from years ago. It was rusted and could topple at any moment. “This building is also 10 storeys tall, similar to the apartment in the game but the layout is completely different. Most of the rooms have wooden doors instead of steel doors.”

With open curiosity, Han Fei headed into the building carefully. A moldy smell lingered in the air. Trash and heavily damaged furniture littered the corridor. There was a thick layer of dust over everything. It appeared like even squatters stayed away from this place.

When Han Fei arrived at the 4th floor and glanced at Room 1044, a strange feeling overwhelmed him. It was like the real world and the gaming world had overlapped. He grabbed the door handle and with a slight push, realized the pivot was already broken. Han Fei shivered as he entered the room. It was daylight but the room was eerie. Paper furniture decorated the living room. “It’s like the place is meant for the dead.”

Due to the way the room was built, sunlight was blocked from entering the living room. The paper furniture had rotten from inside due to the heavy moisture. “Meng Changxi told me the stuff is inside the bathroom.”

Making his way through the paper furniture, Han Fei entered the bathroom. He noticed one of the tiles was arranged differently. Han Fei lifted up the tile and found a bloody envelope and a note by Meng Changxi. 7 addresses were written on the envelope, they corresponded to 7 rooms in this building. According to Meng Changxi, the 7 rooms contained the body parts of the 7 victims from the human jigsaw case. This appeared to be part of the ritual. After one connected the locations of the 7 rooms, it formed the outline for a pair of butterfly wings.

“How much does the butterfly know about Perfect Life’s cryptic world and the black box? Why would a building in game mirror a building in real life so closely?” Han Fei memorized the room number for all 7 rooms and then opened the envelope. It contained more information about this building. As Han Fei read through the files, he realized it was not a coincidence that the killer had chosen this building to bury the chopped-up body parts. This building was a famed haunting spot. There were plenty of strange rumours surrounding this place. It was a famous suicide spot at Xin Lu.

Taking out his phone, Han Fei searched for Happiness Neighbourhood on the internet and the result stunned him. The news articles read like a ghost story collection. “The butterfly placed the victims’ body parts strategically inside this building and then used their remaining flesh and the 8th victim to sew out the scariest human carcass. The cadaver fitted its requirement for misfortune, pain and despair but from the result, it does not look like they have managed to find the black box.”

Han Fei continued to read the material left behind by Meng Changxi. Other than details about the human jigsaw case, there were also plenty of notes on the butterfly. He was about to dig in when his phone pinged with a hot news update. Normally Han Fei would have ignored these but this time, it was different. The news was attached with the picture of Meng Changxi!

He clicked on the link and it sent him to a livestream. A bare chested Meng Changxi sat before the camera calmly and coolly regarded the people around him. He looked like he was at some kind of recording studio. “I will not harm anyone in this room, provided that you do not interrupt the signal or play any tricks.” It was unclear who he was talking to. But eventually he turned to face the camera. “Meng Changan, I know that even if I sacrifice my life, I won’t be able to get close to you so this is the only method of communication that I can think of. It is time for us brothers to talk.”