76 Mirror God's Game

 

The mirror was placed right in the middle of the living room and it was the first thing one’d see after opening the front door. Han Fei’s reflection was conspicuously missing from the mirror but instead the following was written on its surface—Stay or Die. ‘A mirror that shows no reflection? And why is it aimed right at the door?’ Han Fei had not encountered this kind of interior design before because facing a mirror towards any door was a huge taboo in Feng Shui. In the study of Feng Shui, the entrance is where the air of prosperity and luck enters the house. If you place a mirror facing the door, you’re basically reflecting the good aura back out.

‘The warning is for me to stay inside this house or it goes as far as banning me from even moving an inch of my body?’ In any case, Han Fei didn’t have time to ponder the ambiguity of the term. He needed to lock the front door to ensure his own safety but when he tried to do so, he realized with dawning consternation that the bolt was broken. ‘Damn it!’

Han Fei leaned his body weight into the door as his pursuers slammed into it. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold the bulwark much longer. ‘They can easily corner me inside this house once they get in!’ He was physically weak compared to one of them, much less three. He watched with increasing desperation as the door slowly pried open. ‘I don’t think it’s safe for me to venture deeper into Room 1074 either. The only solution I can see now is to make use of the opening when they crash into the room to sneak out!’

Han Fei gritted his teeth. When the door was pushed open a palm wide, he voluntarily took a step away from it.

Bang! The heavy anti-theft door slammed against the wall. Han Fei’s sudden retreat caused the 3 non-locals to tumble forward from their inertia. They rolled into the room. Han Fei’s original plan was to make use of this opportunity to sidestep the 3 murderers and escape but he forgot to account for the trio’s collective size. The three of them formed such a large wall as they careened forward that Han Fei would have to step deeper into Room 1074 or he’d be crushed under their weight. When Han Fei did so, his back accidentally knocked against the mirror that sat in the middle of the living room.

“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve successfully triggered Grade G Hidden Mission—The Mirror God’s Game!

“The Mirror God’s Game (Grade G Hidden Mission): Once this mission starts, your reflection in the mirror will mimic the first action you do. After that, he will add a new action that you’ll have to mirror. This goes on back and forth between you and your reflection. If the game manages to last for 10 minutes without any mistake, the mission will be successful.”

When the notification rang in his mind, Han Fei did not know to cry or laugh. If he could finish this mission, then he’d be able to leave the game but the problem was there were 3 madmen beside him. ‘That Huang Yin has to be lying to me. These hidden missions are everywhere!’

After Han Fei accidentally knocked into the mirror, 4 figures slowly appeared inside it. They were blurred out but they corresponded to the 4 persons currently inside Room 1074. With the warning from the mission details, Han Fei did not dare to make any drastic move. However, the caution was not reflected in the 3 non-locals. Seeing Han Fei freeze to the spot, they immediately lunged towards their prey. After they made the first step, their reflections in the mirror did the same. However, their reflections halted after they took the first step and then they all lifted their heads to look out the mirror with their dead gaze.

The man with the syringe was the first to notice the problem. He too halted in his movement. One of his friends though was completely overtaken by bloodlust. He only had Han Fei in his mind and strong was the desire to chop Han Fei into pieces. He growled wickedly. He ignored the strange mirror and aimed his knife at Han Fei’s neck. But when he was 3 steps away from Han Fei, pairs of grey arms reached out from inside the mirror to grab the man’s body. No matter how hard he struggled, he was unable to shake loose. Slowly, he was dragged towards the mirror.

Ding!

The non-local’s knife dropped to the ground before Han Fei. The man disappeared into the mirror like he was never there to begin with. Silence blanketed the room and the remaining players did not dare to make any more sudden moves.

‘This is one hell of a scary mirror.’ Han Fei shivered. The non-locals were stronger than he was but that meant nothing when he violated the mirror’s rules. He only lasted for several seconds before he was consumed by the mirror. ‘Meng Si told me the real dangers are on the 8th and 9th floor. But this one mirror is scary enough if you ask me.’

The mirror was bizarre but it had a clear weakness. It was not mobile. Furthermore, the mirror came with a warning so a normal person wouldn’t voluntarily come into the room seeking death. It was pure accident that Han Fei had awakened the mirror. Neither Han Fei nor the non-locals knew about the mirror’s terrifying nature. They say ignorance is bliss but this time their bliss could cost them their lives.

The 3 inside the room did not move. About 10 seconds later, the grey arms reached out from the mirror again. The non-local’s reflections stared at their real counterpart with malice. The feminine man frowned as he observed his surroundings. When he lifted his eyes to meet his reflection’s gaze, the grey arms that were about to reach him disappeared.

“I need to mimic the action of my reflection?” The man was very smart. As he saw the grey hands disappear, he said in the way of explanation. The scarred man who remained caught the hint. He too lifted his head to glare at his reflection. The murderous intention was still thick in his eyes. The grey hands that reached towards the 2 non-locals shrunk back into the mirror. But the arms around Han Fei increased in numbers.

‘Looks like you can’t stay in a fixed pose for too long either. If you do not commit to the next action within 15 seconds when it is your turn, the grey hands will appear.’ It was Han Fei’s turn to do something for his reflection to mimic. Han Fei took a tentative step towards the anti-theft door. His reflection did the same thing and then Han Fei inside the mirror bent over to pick up the knife on the ground. When Han Fei saw this, a very bad feeling rose within him. If his reflection decided to plunge the knife into his heart, wouldn’t he be forced to do the same thing?

This game sounded so simple but it could also be incredibly harrowing. “The grey hands will only emerge if you do not do anything 15 seconds after your turn starts, so please take this slow!” Han Fei told the two others inside the room. Naturally it was not out of concern that he shared this tip, Han Fei only wanted to buy more time. In any case, the two non-locals did not heed Han Fei’s advice. They adopted their own strategy to play the game. The scarred man moved towards the mirror while the feminine man approached Han Fei.

“You want that blood red cocoon, don’t you? I’ll give it to you, I have no use for it. This is not the time for us to fight between ourselves. There are 2 of you and 1 of me. You can easily overpower me. There is no reason to risk your lives in the process.” Han Fei worried that he’d be surrounded by the two men while in the middle of this mission so he used his silver tongue to persuade them to focus more on surviving the game than to kill him. “We are neighbours living in the same building! We should put down our differences for now and try to leave this room alive! If all of us die inside this room then everything will be for naught!”

Taking in Han Fei’s persuasion, the feminine man gradually slowed down. However, the scarred man had a different goal in mind. His face etched with intimidating determination as he took deliberate steps towards the mirror. When it was his turn to do an action, the man raised his knife and thrusted it heavily towards the mirror.