350 The Previous Manager

 

Han Fei played the Ziggurat game not only to help Zhuang Ren but also to help himself. He had triggered the Soul Chaser mission inside the cryptic world and he had to identify the Soul Chaser to survive. He wouldn’t be able to see the Soul Chaser through conventional methods, so he placed all his hope on the Ziggurat game. The earlier maps were solved pretty much the same way but just as Zhuang Wen was about to reunite, Han Fei carried her child into Room 1144.

“Wait, isn’t that a dead end?” Zhuang Ren got increasingly confused by Han Fei’s control, but he didn’t dare to question it. The young man before him had proven many times that his actions were carefully calculated despite how crazy they looked.

Triggering the conversation with the madman inside Room 1144, Han Fei carried Zhuang Wen’s child into the dresser. He zigzagged through the world of red clothing and made his way based on his memory. Even with his photographic memory, Han Fei still found himself lost twice. He only found the other dresser door in his 3rd play through. Predicting the time, Han Fei approached the dresser door when Zhuang Wen was about to catch up to him.

A giant maw appeared behind the door. The black tongues latched onto Zhuang Wen’s humanity and dragged her inside the dresser. Han Fei’s mission had been completed so he hid at the corner to observe the rest. Zhuang Wen shattered the mouth’s teeth, shredded its tongue and then jumped into the dresser. After a long time, seeing as Zhuang Wen didn’t return from the dresser, he controlled his character to follow her.

Slithering down the ‘intestines’, Han Fei found the shattered door deep inside the monster’s stomach. Han Fei signaled for Zhuang Ren to lean closer as he pushed the door open. The familiar layout and furniture held Zhuang Ren’s attention. His murky eyes slowly widened and his silent heart started to beat again. Han Fei’s character exited the dresser. Different from the cryptic world, this bedroom was covered in bloody footprints, both children and adults.

“They thought you were the one who died and had burned your dead portrait.” The character Han Fei controlled edged along the dresser and discovered a mission object inside the fire pot—Dead Portrait.

The person inside the portrait was Zhuang Ren. Behind the portrait was the instruction for the soul faring ceremony, some of the instructions brought chills to Zhuang Ren. “My, my family is staying here?” Zhuang Ren’s arms went up and down. He wanted to grab the controller from Han Fei but was afraid that the character might die the moment he did. Instead, he crawled up from the couch and walked nervously towards the television screen. “What is beyond the door? They’ve prepared this portrait for me? But I…” Zhuang Ren stammered. He had played this game for decades already, time had exhausted his hope. The game had become more of a method of evasion. He didn’t expect that Han Fei could really one day find traces of his family inside the game, the feeling was indescribable.

“Things are not as perfect as you hope. What you’re going to see next will be a nightmare.” Han Fei pushed the bedroom door open. The living room was also covered in footprints and all the furniture was enclosed within a layer of black curse. The place was a domain of death. Even though the place looked the same as Zhuang Ren remembered it, everything was also completely different.

The in game character opened the door to the youngest daughter’s bedroom. Han Fei hadn’t even entered it when the door of the living room swung open. The background music suddenly changed. The music was unlike anything the two men had ever heard, it was not meant for human ears.

“They are coming.” Han Fei had his character hide behind the door. Then Zhuang Ren and he stared at the screen. Soon a woman holding a religious figurine entered the living room, with 2 girls trailing behind her. They walked into the room as if they were unable to see the strange happenings around them. They conversed about the soul summoning ceremony.

Zhuang Ren stood beside the television and his arms trembled. His family was still wearing the clothes they wore on the day of the accident. It was as if they were still alive, forever locked on that day. His family’s death was a huge blow to Zhuang Ren, it ruined his life. He was unable to walk away from the grief even though decades had gone by. He abandoned his job, his social life and was labeled an outcast. He had been playing the game day in and day out, waiting for this moment but now that it had arrived, he didn’t know what to do. His fingers caressed the characters on screen but all he could feel was the coldness and hardness of glass.

“I’ve found them…” His family was unaffected by the situation in the real world. They continued to discuss the ceremony on how to summon the ‘dead’ Zhuang Ren to reunite with them. The conversation filled up the screen. A normal person might not be able to understand Zhuang Ren’s feelings. What he wouldn’t give to be with his family?

“My family is inside the game, I’ve found them, does that mean it’s time for me to face the truth?” Zhuang Ren collapsed to the ground, “Actually I know that I wouldn’t be able to reunite with them anymore, there’s no way I can enter a game. Thank you for helping me fulfill my dream, now I have no more regrets.” At that moment, Zhuang Ren no longer looked as confused as before.

His family was trapped inside a game, and that just sounded preposterous, but he held onto that hope because it gave him the excuse not to face the cruel reality of his family’s death. A false hope was still better than pure despair. But now that he found his family in the game, all he had for his effort was a touch of the cold television screen. He had completed his lifelong dream but he had also lost his last hope. Zhuang Ren suddenly felt incredibly drowsy. He wanted to sleep, and wished that he wouldn’t need to wake up again.

“You’ve already carried on for decades, isn’t it a bit early to give up now?” Han Fei’s voice splashed on his face like cold water. It woke him up immediately. “This game is merely a prediction by the director of Immortal Pharma. Your family is not inside this game, but they do exist for real because I’ve seen them in person.”

Zhuang Ren’s eyes finally moved away from the screen, “You’ve seen them?”

“You might not trust me, but do you not trust the director? Would the man closest to God ever lie to you?” Han Fei controlled his character and continued the game. It was not easy to get to this stage, he was not going to give up now.

“If you can help me reunite with my family, I am willing to pay anything!” Zhuang Ren crawled up from the ground, his bloodshot eyes glowing with determination.

“I’ve already told you what I need. Plus, there’s something else. Meeting your family might require you to pay the ultimate price of your life. You better think about it before making any decision.” Han Fei didn’t urge Zhuang Ren. He continued to play the game and started a game of hide and seek with Zhuang Ren’s family inside the small house.

Zhuang Ren hesitated for a long time before he stood up to head into the bedroom. Half an hour later, Zhuang Ren returned to the living room, lugging a black box. When Han Fei saw the black box, his eyelids twitched, he had seen that box before. When he first purchased the gaming helmet for Perfect Life, the helmet came in a similar looking box!

“The tapes that I showed you weren’t complete. This is the biggest secret I have.” Zhuang Ren opened the box and took out a tape. He slotted it into the tape player. He sped up the video until a part where he enlarged the frame. “This is when the female actor was invaded, pay attention to the mirror at the lower left corner. It happens around the 16th second.”

Zhuang Wen’s mother appeared on screen. She kept talking to herself as she walked deeper into the set. After she turned a corner, she was dragged away by a shadow. Han Fei had seen this before, but what happened next Han Fei had not seen. The female actor called out Zhuang Ren’s name but the face that appeared in the mirror was not Zhuang Ren but the director of Immortal Pharma!

However, the person in the mirror didn’t look at all like the director. His eyes were filled with evil like he was the devil incarnate. ‘Wait, the Butterfly is the director?’ Han Fei’s eyes widened. He continued to watch. The actor’s scream turned harrowing, it sounded like her body was being torn apart. As she was about to die, the sound of a door opening came from the recording. Then a man’s voice said, “Turning into my little brother and living in my former house, do you think that will create a flaw in me?”

“Fu Sheng, why must you be so insistent on interrupting me? I can help you destroy the cryptic…”

“I don’t need help from a ghost.”

Then the recording silenced. Zhuang Ren switched off the player. “The set that you saw was the building where the director once lived. When I saw the man’s face inside the mirror, I was shocked but then the more I thought about it, the more suspicious I found the whole thing.”

“Have the people from Immortal Pharma approached you?”

“On the second day I noticed the face in the mirror, the director personally came to see me, I thought he came to buy the recording off me but he didn’t mention anything related to it. Instead he only left me with a few words.” Zhuang Ren thought for a long time before he uttered, “His eyes that looked at me were filled with pity and then he said something like no one will be able to change the predestined future. Things bound to happen will happen.”

“That’s all?”

“He asked me whether I have played with the game, I told him no and then he gave me this black box. He told me to only open the box when I was in a highly emotional state.”

“Then what did you find in it?” Clearly the tape was something Zhuang Ren added into the box.

“I opened it the second night after my family died. It contained a secondhand therapy device.” Zhuang Ren took out something that looked like the gaming helmet. Compared to Han Fei’s helmet, it looked like a half-finished prototype. Han Fei took a look at the device and the parts were literally falling apart. Some of the fuses had even burnt. “You did this?”

“I don’t know or I can't remember if I did. After I put this thing on, I felt like I was electrocuted. When I woke up, it was already broken.” Zhuang Ren sat on the box, he really couldn’t remember what happened back then.

“Can you lend me this to bring back home? I want to research it further.” Han Fei believed this was the reason why Butterfly couldn’t enter Zhuang Ren’s dream. If he could understand the theory behind it, he could make one for Huang Yin.

“Of course, I have no use for it anymore.”

‘Through these things, I might get to know Fu Sheng and his brother more.’ Han Fei placed the ruined helmet back into the box and then he told Zhuang Ren to go shower and change, “We’ll be heading towards the building next door to investigate the director’s former home and then I’ll find a way for you to meet your family.”

“Really?” Zhuang Ren’s eyes brightened with hope.

“Just be as prepared as you can.” Han Fei didn’t dare to drag Zhuang Ren into the cryptic world willy-nilly. He needed to know more about Fu Sheng and the Butterfly’s goals before he made the decision. While Zhuang Ren took a shower, Han Fei continued to play the game. But perhaps his mind was on other stuff, he was soon killed by the ghosts in Building 4.

‘There’s still time, I mustn’t rush myself.’ Han Fei took out his phone to call Jin Jun. If he remembered correctly, the experienced reporter still had tester accounts for Perfect Life. Han Fei put down the controller. As he talked on the phone, Han Fei exited the room and slunk his way to the building located at the deepest corner of Pear Blossom Neighbourhood. After Immortal Pharma bought this place, they sealed it up completely. There was a 2 metre tall iron fence and it came equipped with an AI alarm and 24 hour surveillance. The security was tough but the restriction did loosen after the director’s death.

Han Fei easily leaped over the fence. He followed the direction from the movie recordings and soon arrived at Building 4. It was at this corner that Zhuang Wen’s mother was ambushed.

`Looks like I should pick up lock-picking.’ Huang Yin did send some books related to that skill to the cryptic world and Han Fei learned some basics about locks from them, but he wasn’t given much opportunity to practice the skill. He took out the nunchucks and opened the old door with brute force.

He swung the door back and forth. ‘Inside the tape, before Fu Sheng spoke, there was a soft door opening sound. I wonder what kind of door he opened.’

Han Fei tried all the doors he could find until he stopped before the door of the dresser inside the bedroom. The sound of the dresser opening was similar to the sound inside the recording. Han Fei looked inside the dresser and realized there was a copious amount of dried blood inside and they formed the shape of a door.