674 Start From Sin

 

“This is impossible. Even my leader came to play this, he wouldn’t be so smooth at it.” Xiao Jia looked at the monitor dumbly. Other games could be solved by talent, but this horror dating sim didn’t need that. Instead, it needed the player to carefully analyze every character’s psychology and to possess the ability to make the correct decision. Xiao Jia hadn’t seen anyone who could survive the first week for his first time playing. The strangest thing was that other people would think a long time before making every decision. However, Han Fei didn’t even blink. It was like he wasn’t playing a game but reflecting on his life.

Lee Guo Er was deep in thought. She saw Han Fei make the same choices as that man. He didn’t hesitate when trying to save someone. He didn’t attempt different choices like the other players. He was drawn into the game like every character was real. Others might think Han Fei was silly, but as one of the models of the characters, Lee Guo Er sensed something unique about Han Fei. She had only sensed that presence from another person before. The two figures overlapped, and her gaze changed. Half an hour later, Han Fei had already unlocked seven female characters, and he started to be chased by the female ghost. When the first female ghost appeared on screen, Han Fei conspicuously slowed down. He stared at the monitor for a long time.

“This female ghost looks completely unlike Xu Qin.” After a sigh, Han Fei returned to normal. He had inadvertently been drawn too deep into the game. He saw himself as the main character. But the strangest thing was that the black cloth over his memory started to tear.

“Why did you stop?” Xiao Jia moved over the chair to sit beside Han Fei. “It was an enjoyment to see you play the game. It was so smooth. Did you have many girlfriends before you lost your memory?”

“I’m thinking about something.” Han Fei turned to look at Lee Guo Er. “This game is developed by your company and based on real events. The male lead is your boss, so is the female colleague in the game you?”

This question was rather rude. Lee Guo Er nodded after a pause. “The male lead was my boss. He died from an illness a year ago.”

“A year ago?” Han Fei grabbed the pen and paper to draw a pair of mother and son. “I met this pair of mother and son at the door of the theme park. Do you know them?” When Han Fei was at his weakest, he went to the theme park through the clue left in the script. He had no idea why he did that. He merely felt it was something important.

“The woman you drew is my leader’s second wife. The boy’s name is Fu Tian. He’s my leader’s second son.” Lee Guo Er recognized them.

“Why would your leader’s wife and child help me? Why did she trust me unconditionally?” Han Fei had some speculation. He asked another question. “Tell me everything you know about your leader and his relationship.” Both Lee Guo Er and Xiao Jia rejected him. Even though their leader was dead, he still occupied a special position in their heart. They were worried that Han Fei would harm his family.

“Don’t worry. I just want to verify one thing.” Han Fei didn’t force Lee Guo Er and Xiao Jia but turned his attention back to the game. In this game which had 99 death endings, Han Fei managed to survive for a month. His affection level for all the female characters was maintained at a curious balance. It was not too high or too low.

“It looks like you’re at the limit too. I knew no one could clear this game.” Xiao Jia grumbled, “The game most likely has no perfect ending. When I first developed the game, my house was haunted. The computer switched open on its own. I don’t even know how to run the guide for the final version…” He mentioned the haunting casually, but when Xiao Jia turned to look at Han Fei before the computer, his fear burgeoned. This scene was too familiar. The ghost who sat before his computer that night appeared to be this person!

Just as Xiao Jia was about to scream, Han Fei triggered the side missions of all the female characters and started the survival’s last count down. With each new choice, the tear on the cloth would get bigger. The choices in the past affected this despairing future. The characters in the game were imprinted on Han Fei’s memory. “I think I know the ending. I wrote it myself.” After rectifying the regrets of the ten women, Han Fei faced his one last choice, death or continue to live. The players had exhausted plenty of energy to survive until this point, so most of them would choose to live, but after a moment’s hesitation, Han Fei chose death. This was a game about salvation. The final goal wasn’t to help the main lead find a happy ending but to aid in his salvation.

“Why? It’s hard for you to get here. Why would you give up now?” Xiao Yu didn’t understand it, but reality proved that this was the best ending. After the male lead chose suicide, an Easter Egg that no one had seen appeared. Another person’s soul walked out of the dead body. The soul looked completely different from the male lead. He was young and had the gentlest eyes. Seeing the screen, Han Fei’s mind rocked. He stared at the soul that walked out of the body! “This is the clue I’ve left for myself!”

There was another soul living inside the male lead. The soul was there to help the leader pay penance. After salvation had been reached, the soul appeared. The soul in the monitor walked towards the corner of the city. He looked at the leader’s former family and friends before fading away.

“So this is the real ending!” The game’s theme was love, but it was filled with traps and despair. All the endings led toward death. Even the dev team didn’t know what the true ending was because the main designer had died. However, Han Fei managed to clear the true ending in his first playthrough.

Lee Guo Er and Xiao Jia looked at Han Fei in shock. The figure buried in their heart fully overlapped with the man before them.

“Leader?”

“It was you who saved me?”

His two former subordinates said at the same time. Han Fei’s brain also pounded with pain!

“I’ve once sought salvation for the man. The game recorded the last moment of my life.”

“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve reached stage seven!”

Two different memories collided. Han Fei remembered some things, but these memories didn’t belong to him. They came from someone called Fu Yi.

“I need you to tell me everything you know about Fu Yi.” This time, Han Fei’s tone was firm. After a temporary discussion, Han Fei had clarified many things. He also realized why the mother and son helped him. “The wife recognized me. She is the first to notice something was wrong.” Han Fei pieced together the fragment in his mind. “Fu Yi’s eldest son is called Fu Sheng. The paper craftsman at Happiness Neighborhood Building One’s top floor is called Fu Sheng. Everyone in this city who wants to kill me has the surname Fu. What happened in one year? I have saved him from the abyss, so why is he so insistent on killing me?”

“Fu Sheng left the city half a year ago to pursue his study overseas. But I saw him once at the theme park.” After Lee Guo Er knew the truth, she looked at Han Fei with complicated emotions. “He was lost in the theme park in the end.”

“The real Fu Sheng was lost in the theme park, but many madmen with the surname Fu appeared in the city. They are like Fu Sheng from various stages of his life.” Han Fei closed the game. “Perhaps I should tell Fu Sheng’s mother about this so that she could get her son back.”

Many things had been answered. Han Fei looked at the screen, and his eyes landed on the shortcut for Plants versus Zombies. “Two memories and two kinds of helpers. There are ghosts and humans. We’re not too bad even compared to the five other forces.” He had Xiao Jia transfer the game’s save file to the laptop. Han Fei listed out all the characters in the game. “So this is how you use the affection level.”

The night was thick outside the window. It was about time for Malice to come alive. These ghosts that even the theme park couldn’t control would start their hunting soon.

“There’s still one hour to dawn. Take the laptop and help me find Fu Sheng’s mother.” Han Fei stood up. His voice was cold. He didn’t sound tired at all.

“But we just came back.” Xiao Jia frowned. “My leader would never ask me to work overtime.”

“I’m not asking you to work overtime. I’m trying to find a path to survival for you.” Han Fei walked to the living room. “F will not sit idle. He has the power to see the future. Tomorrow will be the start of chaos. The line between day and night will blur.”

In the past, Lee Guo Er might still counter Han Fei with her own opinion, but after she found out Han Fei was the soul that possessed that man, she became his best assistant. The two put on their white masks and opened the door.

“My god! You two are too hardworking!” Xiao Jia followed behind, hugging the laptop. He looked apologetically at Xiao Yu. “Sorry for dragging you into this.”

“It’s fine. I don’t want to be separated from my mom either. I will fight whoever that wants to do that.” Xiao Yu held the phone and her eyes shone with determination.

The few got into the taxi again. This was the twilight hour. Everything that moved would become Malice’s target. To warn all the players, blood-red fireworks exploded above the theme park. The giant eyes exploded in the sky. The bloody sky represented the imminent danger.

“Last time, we were lucky to not run into any Malice, but we might not be so lucky this time. So be prepared.” Han Fei knew this better than anyone. “I’ve heard about first-generation ghosts from Mad Laughter. I believe Malice is the first-generation ghost.”

“First-generation ghosts? Does this mean they were created?”

“I have no idea who the first ghost is, but I know Director Fu’s orphanage has been tormenting the orphans for them to achieve a certain state, like No. 11 and me.” Han Fei’s eyes were sharp. “There is a deep secret hidden in this city, and I will unearth it!”

The taxi drove through the night. When it was half an hour to midnight, the neon billboards on the skyscrapers started to flicker. The mindless advertisements were replaced by a red alert. There was red everywhere.

“Han Fei! Why are you and Lee Guo Er on the big screen?” Xiao Jia gasped.

Han Fei looked out the window. He noticed the police had released the latest grade A warrants. Lee Guo Er, who was suspected of killing Du Zhu, was ranked first; F, who was suspected to be a serial killer, was ranked second; Han Fei, who had schizophrenia and had killed many people, was ranked third; the manager of Perfect Life Hotel, Qiang Wei, was ranked fourth…

The police had released 11 warrants. Each name was written in the most dangerous red color. They were all mad people whose hands were covered in blood.

“Now, you’re both fugitives!” Xiao Jia was scared. “That F appeared to have the same mind as you! Did you know he’d do this, so you dragged him along?”

“He can tell the future. When I make any decision, I have to consider the worst outcome.” Han Fei’s white mask was dyed red by the red light. “This is nothing. Even though I know I’m a good person, and I do remember people calling me the Soul of Evil.”

Xiao Jia shivered when he listened to this chilly voice. There were 11 people on the screen. Some were categorized by the danger rating as Grade A, and some were delineated by the police as Grade A. Xiao Jia and Xiao Yu shuddered. There were 11 Grade A fugitives, and they were in the car with two of them. Lee Guo Er grabbed the steering wheel steadily and drove through the night.

“We’re almost there.” About 10 minutes later, the black taxi slowly entered the old neighborhood.

Before they got up the building, they heard rapid footsteps. A few players in white masks walked out of one of the buildings. The leader was in a black trench coat, holding a sleeping boy.

“F?”

Han Fei pushed open the car door. In his suit, he got down. “You are always one step ahead of me. Is that your power?”

Han Fei stood in the middle of the road, blocking the exit.

“Move.” F’s voice was calm and emotionless.

“I can do that but you have to leave behind two things.” Han Fei tied the red strings to his hand.

“What do you want from us?” When F spoke, the other players moved out from behind me.

“The black knife that can’t kill me, and the child in your arms who was raised by me.”

The streetlights flickered and went off. The curse crawled along the red threads. Han Fei stood in the shadows, his eyes under the mask fixed on F.