138 The Phone

 

Some used holy water to cleanse spirit, others used ancient artifacts but Han Fei was probably the first to use math to expel evil. This truly brought a new meaning to the axiom, knowledge is power. The boy’s attention was pulled towards the exercise book. The veins on his head subsided and the boy stopped resisting that hard. Under the dim light, a child was working hard to solve a math equation, if not for the horrible stench of decay wafting out from him, this would be a scene perfect from an Iyashikei game. Han Fei sat down beside the boy. When the boy’s consciousness was completely submerged into the book, he tried to ask again. “What’s your name?”

“Big Head, my friends all call me Big Head.” The boy mumbled as if to himself. His eyes never left the book.

“Did you share a room with Jing Sheng? What is your impression of that boy? Did he ever bully you?”

“I don’t like him. He always tells these scary stories. Even when he sleeps, his mouth would continue to move and the stories never end.”

“Sleep-talking? Do you remember what exactly did he say?” Han Fei was curious.

“He said we are all dead and the school is filled with ghosts. He also said that there was a butterfly who flew into one of the student’s brains. It was that student who has been torturing our afterlife and for us to seek freedom, we need to find that student as soon as possible.”

“Do you believe him?”

“Initially I didn't, but I started to see ghosts at the school. The place is very haunted!” Han Fei’s question triggered the trauma within the boy. He almost struggled loose from the curse. ‘Looks like Jing Sheng and Jin Sheng are the same person. He hasn’t changed at all and still likes to tell ghost stories but at this place his stories are all real.’ Han Fei came to the hostel to find Drake, the info about Jin Sheng was a pleasant surprise. Han Fei left Big Head alone with his exercise. Both the boy and his mother were victims of the school. Han Fei planned to invite them to join him at Happiness Neighbourhood after he was done researching the hostel. Han Fei looked around and noticed there was a picture frame on his study table. The frame carried a family photo of 3. Inside the picture, the boy’s head wasn’t that big. “Is this man your father?”

“Yes, my father works somewhere far away but he loves me and my mother. He’ll call us on the phone every night.”

‘Another incident with the phone?’ Han Fei walked towards the phone that sat on the dresser. But before he could do anything, the door to Room 301 opened. Big Head’s mother hurried in. “Teacher Meng, what do you think? Is my son still savable?”

“I’m sure you overheard what the boy and I have talked about behind the door, so why ask the unnecessary question?” Han Fei noted with a faded smile. “The student named Jing Sheng has a lot to do with why your son is in the state he’s in. I will help you investigate Jing Sheng further.”

“Thank you, Teacher Meng!”

“If you really care about your son, I’d advise you to move out from this hostel. This is not a place to raise a child. Why not settle somewhere more permanent? There's a vacancy at the Happiness Neighbourhood across the street. There are more kids his age there. It’ll help him open up to other people.”

“I will consider it.” Just as the woman said that, the phone rang. Hearing the tingle, the woman who had been frowning all night suddenly burst into a brilliant smile. She rushed anticipatorily to the phone and picked it up. “Honey, you’ve not called for the whole night. I was so worried about you.”

“The police are on my tail, I don’t dare to make any call and put you in danger. You better stay at the hostel and don’t go anywhere. I’ll be back to come get you soon.”

“Okay, you have to be careful too.”

“How is our son? Is his headache healing?”

“No, in fact, it has gotten more serious but I have found a very nice tutor, he is willing to help our son.”

“Don’t trust any stranger, have you forgotten how I was framed as the murderer? I have to hang up now, take care of yourself.” The man appeared to sense something and quickly ended the call.

“Was that the boy’s father?” Han Fei asked casually.

“Yes… He’s busy with business and is often not home.”

“No matter how busy he is, as parents, we should make some time for our children.” Han Fei kept bringing up the importance of family and education. The woman nodded in agreement. “It’s getting late, I should be returning to my room.”

“Thank you again, Teacher Meng.” The woman walked Han Fei to the door. After he exited Room 301, Han Fei replayed everything that he saw and heard in his mind, ‘The woman is lying, her husband is a fugitive on the run from the police. But the question is why would her husband know this hostel’s number? Is her husband hiding at this very same hostel? The moment I suggested the woman move away with Big Head, the husband called to stop her. That can’t be a coincidence.’ Han Fei looked quietly around. He felt someone’s eyes on him. ‘Was it really her husband on the phone? Or was it someone else?’ Now that he thought about it, Han Fei realized how sinister the presence of phones was at this hostel. Once he entered the door, he encountered the boss talking to his wife on the phone; after he entered his room, he heard a phone call from a woman asking for help; now he noted the woman in Room 301 maintained communication with her husband through the phone as well.

‘If every guest here is put under some kind of spell, then the phone must play a huge role in it. Is it the same ghost on the other end of the phone hypnotizing all of them?’ Han Fei was determined to find out what was wrong with the hostel. Staring down the corridor that led down the third floor, Han Fei slowly made his move. Drake registered into Room 304 and he had not been seen since. Something must be hidden in that room. Smell of mould lingered in the air. Just as Han Fei passed Room 302, the door suddenly opened. A fatty arm shot out from inside the door. The person had been lying in wait. The fleshy arm grabbed Han Fei tightly. ‘It’s the fat woman who dropped the pots on me!’ Even with 10 points in Stamina, Han Fei was putty in the woman’s arms. He was slowly dragged into her room. ‘I’m still too weak.’

The door opened wider to reveal a woman’s heavily made up face. She was munching on a piece of bone. She salivated hungrily. “You’ll die sooner or later now that you’re here. In that case, why don’t you die in my arms instead?” The folds of fat on her face jiggled from excitement. The woman was much more powerful than Han Fei. She yanked with extra force as Han Fei neared her door. Han Fei did not expect the woman still had reservation of strength. He tripped and stumbled into Room 302. The reinforced door slowly closed and the last shred of light disappeared from Han Fei’s eyes.

“Many people cross this junction every day but you are different. When I first saw you, I wanted to kill you. The urge is indescribable. I know you will create a more beautiful blood splatter than the rest of them!” The mouth of the woman cracked open to expose yellowed teeth. Han Fei collapsed to the ground. He stayed there as if frozen from fear.

“You are so cute, I can’t wait to kill you! I will kill you little by little, I will make the process last for a whole day! No, that is still too fast, I will take one whole week to kill you.” The woman eased open a drawer and took out a box of razors. She giggled with anticipation. “We’ll start with the legs so that you won’t be able to move anymore.” The fats on the woman jiggled with her every move. The already small razor appeared even tinier in her grasp. “I promise to make sure no flesh is left on the bone.”

The woman rolled up her sleeves and Han Fei saw the trace of a black-red butterfly on her wrist. ‘Why do all the crazy people in this world have the butterfly’s mark?’

Han Fei remained on the ground. His eyes darted about nervously as he watched the woman approach. The woman was much stronger than Han Fei. Seeing how helpless Han Fei was, she giggled even harder, like a girl at the state fair. A shame that she could not see into the players’ inventory. Her grubby hands reached for Han Fei’s calf. As she tried to drag Han Fei into the kitchen, Han Fei finally countered. Using Soul-Depth Touch, he aimed a kick at the woman’s stomach. As the woman groaned painfully from the unexpected strike, Han Fei took out the paper red doll from his inventory and shoved it down the woman’s open throat!

“Weep!” The boy materialized above the woman’s head. He used his power to loosen her mind and the paper doll inside her throat came alive. Blood red needles pierced into the woman’s body. Then the cracked paper doll disappeared!

The woman collapsed to the ground in pain. She stuck her fingers down her throat but her gag reflex was not working. Soon her body became even bloated than before. She tried to make one last attempt at Han Fei’s life but the thin boy riding above her neck kept disrupting her thoughts. The woman was like a beast who lost her mind. She banged against the furniture aimlessly. She panicked. Soon black blood coughed out from her mouth, the blood was mixed with shredded paper. 10 minutes later, the woman’s body paled. When the last trace of blood disappeared, she folded over in the middle of the room. There was a strange rustling and then a hand slowly reached out from the woman’s heart. The blood red doll slowly emerged from the woman’s body. It turned to look at Han Fei and its face brightened with a smile. Then it extricated itself from the woman and toddled over to Han Fei.

‘So this is the power of a Grade F Cursed Object?’ Just the sight of the doll working its power was horrifying enough, Han Fei was glad that the doll’s consciousness had been shattered. He reached out to pick up the doll. He noticed the tears on the doll had lessened. Absorbing negative energy was able to heal the wounds on the doll. ‘Cursed objects are more resilient and scarier than I thought.’

Han Fei stared at the woman on the ground. He actually still had some questions for her. ‘This is your fault really. You ambushed me first.’ Han Fei closed the woman’s eyes. When he brushed against her skin, he did not feel any human suppleness, instead her skin felt as dry as a piece of paper.

 

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