349 I saw Your Family

 

The Ziggurat was far more dangerous than Han Fei expected, or rather its danger was far beyond the imagination of any normal mind. For a level 13 player, Ziggurat was like a nightmare, it could and had driven a person insane. Death was a release at this place.

‘Zhuang Ren, the Director of Immortal Pharma, Fu Sheng, Butterfly…’ Questions befuddled Han Fei’s mind, he was under a pressure that a comedy actor shouldn’t. After he recovered somewhat, Han Fei crawled out from the gaming hub to pull back the curtain. The sun shone on him and Han Fei slowly closed his eyes, savoring the beauty of the moment. ‘Being alive can feel so unreal sometimes.’ The warmth of the sun rejuvenated his heart. Han Fei felt so foolish at that moment. The fact that he used to spiral into depression due to losing his acting job felt so ridiculous.

‘I could have enjoyed a perfectly blissful life but I didn’t appreciate it, but now that I’ve lost it, I miss it dearly.’ Han Fei turned to the murder wall. He scrounge up something to eat and then called Li Xue. “I have something to report to you. Zhuang Wen’s biological father might be the Butterfly.”

There was a thud from the other side of the line. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, you need to speed up the screening process. The Butterfly is feeling the pressure and it’ll act the craziest in the next few days. If we do not zone in on it soon, it might do something crazy.”

“We can’t find him on the citizenry database but we’re applying to gain greater access. Don’t worry, we’ll do our best to dig it out.”

“Also, remember to protect Huang Yin, don’t let him disappear like Feng Ziyu. It’s best if some of you could move in with him and monitor his mental state.”

“We’ve already done that.” Li Xue paused before she asked, “Han Fei, how come I feel like you’re rushing into things all of a sudden? Have you encountered something?”

“Basically I’m in a race with the Butterfly and the loser will lose everything.” After a few more exchanges, Han Fei hung up, put on some clothes and left. Han Fei didn’t have time for leisure, every second counted. He took a taxi to Pear Blossom Neighbourhood and went straight to Zhuang Ren’s home. After his adventure at Building 4, Han Fei was sure of one thing, there was one more secret on Zhuang Ren. It was because of that secret which prevented the Butterfly from harming Zhuang Ren in real life but instead targeted Zhuang Ren’s family.

After he waited for 3 minutes, the door to Zhuang Ren’s home finally opened. The man looked even worse than the day before. His lips were black and his eyes were filled with blood. Zhuang Ren looked like the walking dead. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t sleep yesterday night, I only fell asleep around dawn.” Zhuang Ren’s voice was hoarse, and laced with fatigue.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

“Not really, I dreamt about my daughter.”

“Your youngest daughter?” Han Fei asked.

“Yes, actually.” Zhuang Ren was surprised, “She said she misses me and wants me to go accompany her. When I was ready to go with her, she was dragged away by a mean ghost who had its hands around her neck.”

“Did you have similar dreams often?”

“I used to but now, I dream about my family every 4 days.”

4 days were exactly the time between two Nights of Resurrection. The ritual in the cryptic world had an effect on Zhuang Ren’s dream in real life. This discovery chilled Han Fei.

“If not for the dreams being nightmares all the time, I wouldn’t mind dreaming of them more often.” Zhuang Ren invited Han Fei into the house. “Have you had breakfast? I have some dairy and fruits.”

“Thank you but I came today because I have something important to tell you.” Han Fei sat on the couch. His tone and attitude was different from before.

“What is it?” Zhuang Ren noticed the unusualness about Han Fei too. After he closed the door, he sat on the other end of the couch and regarded Han Fei with confusion.

“I found your family.”

It was a simple statement but it sounded like thunder in Zhuang Ren’s ears. He could barely register it at first. Several seconds later, his purplish lips trembled and his murky eyes locked onto Han Fei.

“I not only know where they are, I have also met them myself.” Han Fei tossed out the bait. He leaned back into the couch and continued, “But they’re in a very strange state, like they’re charmed by something. They believe that they are still alive and you’re the one who is dead. To reunite with you, they keep selling their souls to the devil to continue a soul summoning ritual.”

Han Fei didn’t wait for Zhuang Ren’s reaction but picked up the gaming controller and started the game. With each of Han Fei’s declarations, Zhuang Ren’s expression changed. Certain things Zhuang Ren hadn’t told Han Fei, but he managed to repeat the same things that the director of Immortal Pharma once told him. His wife and daughters died in real life and Zhuang Ren died in the Ziggurat.

“Where are they now?” Zhuang Ren asked desperately.

“Room 4144 at the Ziggurat. I know the way there, I can bring you to meet your family.” Han Fei didn’t elaborate but turned to look at Zhuang Ren.

“As long as I can see them again, I can give you anything! I don’t see myself living for much long. My house, my assets can all be transferred to your name. Right, aren’t you an actor? I still have some connections in the business, I can help you…”

“That is not what I need.” Han Fei shook his head. “I might have less than 24 hours to live. Money, fame mean nothing to me, I only want to survive.” Zhuang Ren didn’t quite get Han Fei. For him, Han Fei looked perfectly hale, not someone who only had a day left to live.

“Then how can I help you?”

“Tell me everything you know about the director of Immortal Pharma. Has he given you anything else other than the Ziggurat game? Told you something else?” Han Fei didn’t understand one thing, why would the manager at Ziggurat seal up the figurines with Fu Sheng’s memory fragment inside Zhuang Ren’s family’s room?

“I’ve already told you everything I know.”

“You dare to swear on your wife and daughters’ lives?” While Han Fei spoke, his hands were still controlling the in-game character, solving the maps. “Think about it before you answer. In a bit, I will clear my way to Room 4144 to prove that I’m not lying to you. At the same time, I want you to witness for yourself the kind of horror your family is living in.”