699 The Next Ritual

 

“Our picture?” Han Fei, who came out of the nightmare, was covered in curses. He pushed the door open.

A horrible stink wafted out of the room. The small room was filled with colorful paintings. In the middle of the paintings was a chained young man. He held a broken finger and dabbed it with paints.

“No. 4?” The boy was wearing the uniform of the orphanage. However, it had been severely damaged that the number on the boy’s back was blurred.

“Why do you have our picture?” The boy didn’t lift his head and continued to paint on the ground. He was painting another boy. The boy imagined various kinds of death, but he didn’t harm anyone. He was using this method to control his urges.

“I also came from that orphanage like you.” At that moment, Han Fei’s backpack opened. The ugly kitten picked out a picture from within the pages of the script. The picture of the children was hidden inside the script. The present from the painter seemed to be meant for this moment.

Sensing something, the boy lifted his head to look at Han Fei. His bloody eyes blinked slowly. Then, he pounced at Han Fei like an angry leopard!

The chains tightened and cut into the flesh. The boy’s hands stopped before Han Fei’s eyes. He opened his mouth to reveal his broken teeth. His mother and grandmother clipped his fingers and pulled out his teeth to prevent him from hurting others.

“Don’t be so nervous. I can give it to you if you want to look at it.” Han Fei passed the picture to the boy. The boy held it with both hands. His face slowly returned to normal, just like a child who had finally found safe haven. The blood scab on his eyes fell, and some rationality returned to his eyes.

“When you entered Building 11, you should have seen the childhood memory of No. 11, right?” The boy’s voice was soft and gentle. It was completely different from how he acted earlier.

“Yes.” Han Fei didn’t deny it. He noticed that after the boy touched the picture, one of the children’s faces became clearer. The picture appeared to be the key to helping the orphans recover their memory.

“No. 11 and I died a long time ago. We were sent into the cryptic world’s theme park by Fu Tian. There, I think we met Fu Sheng, and he made us a part of the theme park.” After No. 4 touched the picture, he remembered many things. “This memory world belongs to Fu Sheng. Everything revolves around his memory and consciousness. Even though No. 11 and I have managed this place for years, nothing has changed… until your appearance. After multiple deaths, you’ve moved destiny, turning Happiness Neighborhood into a special place.”

“What do you mean?”

“This neighborhood is built based on your memory. As you died, you were assimilated further into Fu Sheng’s altar. Your memories combined with his. You started to lose yourself and became a part of this memory world. That part slowly formed this neighborhood.” No. 4 lay on the ground. “This whole world belongs to Fu Sheng, but this neighborhood belongs to the orphans. This is something you’ve fought for with 99 deaths. It is the biggest aid No. 11 and I can give you.”

Han Fei actively searched for death. While his memory was consumed by the memory world, he was also trying to impact and change this world. Fu Sheng wanted to be reborn in Han Fei’s body, and Han Fei wanted to climb on top of Fu Sheng’s altar to look further down the distance. Han Fei’s gamble paid off. Happiness Neighborhood was no longer a part of Fu Sheng’s memory but was changed by three children from the orphanage. This place contained Han Fei, No. 4 and No. 11’s memories.

“No wonder it feels so strange. This is Fu Sheng’s memory world. When Fu Sheng was young, I wasn’t even born yet, but this neighborhood has signs of my memory everywhere.” Han Fei started to understand it. “With your cooperation, the theme park has changed too.”

“No. The theme park will never change. The tragedies keep repeating themselves, but the children inside the theme park have changed. In the end, every one of us was pared down to a number. We’re merely a footnote in other people’s stories.” The boy’s voice was young, but he had a very mature tone.

“I still don’t quite get what you’re saying.” Han Fei held Rest in Peace. He didn’t have a deep impression of No. 4, but he knew he had a good relationship with the painter from the hospital.

“Initially, Happiness Neighborhood was used to cultivate orphans. Eleven apartments housed 11 different despairs. Even after so many years, Happiness Neighborhood is still used to cultivate despair. The children here have grown from eleven to thirty-one.” Blood leaked out of No. 4’s mouth, and the blood vessels in his eyes wiggled like worms. “This body is a transformation of my childhood memory. I didn’t expect Dream to come after you. You have to be careful of it! Dream, who was from the same period as Fu Sheng, is now an Unmentionable. He is the only ghost who has survived until now. It can impact Fu Sheng’s memory world through Fu Sheng’s memory of him. The eight resurrection rituals Dream has prepared for itself in this memory world have changed. Many rituals are different from before. I suspect his real target is you.”

“In other words, I not only have to be careful of Fu Sheng but also Dream?”

“That’s right. Dream was sealed inside this place by Fu Sheng. He swore to tear Fu Sheng’s soul apart and wipe away Fu Sheng’s existence.” No. 4’s young body started to crack. His stomach bulged. “My childhood memory is collapsing. When you enter the theme park, you need to find the real No. 11 and me.”

“How can I do that?”

“I am buried underground with children’s drawings painted on my body. No. 11 has disguised himself as a visitor. He will contact you.” The boy’s stomach rapidly expanded. He stared at Rest in Peace and jumped into it. “99 deaths. You’ve sacrificed everything to get this chance. I hope you’ll keep on your path and don’t walk the same path as Fu Sheng did.”

The blade glowed. Under the boy’s skin, a black cocoon with No. 4’s face showed. It fell out. The cocoon’s despair was stronger than any of the other cocoons. The monster inside was about to surface. The kitten planted its paw on the cocoon. It lowered its head. The nine ghost tattoos flared up and crawled into the cocoon and consumed the thing inside. As more cocoons were absorbed, the ghost tattoos became more alive. Something inside the ghost tattoo called out to Han Fei.

“I’ve already destroyed three of Dream’s rituals. I need to speed up. The longer I drag this out, the more people will die. Despair will spread, and the ghosts will get stronger.” Han Fei didn’t want to be a messiah, but it appeared like he was the only one who still cared about the lives of the common people in this city.

Han Fei pulled out Rest in Peace. The boy disappeared. The bedroom returned to normal. All the eerie feeling was gone. Han Fei walked out of the bedroom and found the old lady. He didn’t tell her that the boy was dead. Instead, he told her that the boy was not in. Perhaps he had run away when she wasn’t paying attention. It didn’t matter if the old lady didn’t believe him. No. 4 chose to run into Rest in Peace. Perhaps he understood his grandmother would only seek peace after he was gone.

The kitten that absorbed the cocoons became different from before. Its fur shone, and its eyes sharpened. It was no longer a weak stray but looked more like the demon’s pet.

“Han Fei, did the old lady harm you?” Xiao Jia, who was downstairs, rushed over when he saw Han Fei.

“Building Four has been cleared. We need to clean up the other buildings.” When they moved towards Building Five, Han Fei called Yan Yue and her father to his side. He studied them closely.

“What’s wrong?” The previous Brain was confused. “Are we possessed?”

“I just think it’s too coincidental for us to meet. It feels like some kind of power is guiding this.” Han Fei didn’t dwell too much on this. He turned to Yan Yue. “What is the next closest resurrection ritual?”

“Go west after you leave Happiness Neighborhood. There’s a large lake there. The fourth ritual is at the lakeside. I believe it has to do with water ghost.”

“Lake?” Han Fei didn’t show much change to his expression, but he was considering many things.

By three 3 pm, Han Fei had cleaned out almost all the buildings at Happiness Neighborhood. The citizens who had been following him moved in. With Han Fei there, they felt less fearful. However, Han Fei was frowning deeply. He had yet to encounter monsters that were formed from pure despair. The sky darkened. Who knew when the sun would come up next? Happiness Neighborhood was shrouded in darkness. The citizens didn’t dare to use the lights. They squeezed into a single building and made sure all the windows and doors were locked.

“We still lack manpower.” Han Fei taught the players how to deal with ghosts and had Xiao Yu and her mother guard the apartment door. Since yesterday night, Xiao Yu’s mother had consumed every ghost they had defeated. She was now a very scary Lingering Spirit.

“I’ll go to the western countryside. I’ll try to be back before midnight.”

Han Fei only brought Lee Guo Er, Yan Yue, and a player with him this time. The player was a former lifeguard and had high stamina. He should prove useful.

The lake mentioned by Yan Yue’s mother was not far from Happiness Neighborhood. The trip only took ten minutes. The strange thing was the black taxi moved away from the lake when they came close. The nine victims inside the taxi didn’t want to go close to the lake.

The sun fell. Darkness covered everyone’s eyes like a giant hand. The taxi’s lights were switched on. The taxi drove a few hundred meters to the lake and stopped by the end of the door. A neon sign sat by the roadside. There was a holiday vacation town by the lake, but the town was deserted.

“Is Dream’s fourth ritual held in this town or inside the lake?” Han Fei didn’t get down of the car. He looked around first.

“I don’t know. I only know it’s related to this lake.” Yan Yue’s mother controlled Yan Yue’s mouth. Her lips moved and finally said. “Right. Dream gave this lake a very special name. It’s called Sea of Brain.”

“Sea of Brain?”

Han Fei grabbed his backpack and opened the car door.

“Lee Guo Er, you’ll stay in the car. The rest of you come with me.” Han Fei grabbed Yan Yue’s shoulders, and they moved forward together. The vacation town was quite small. There were only a few buildings. It felt like the builder vacated the place halfway through the project. “Spa hotel, fishing equipment rental center, boat rental center, tourist center, seafood restaurant…” Han Fei suddenly stopped moving. His nose twitched before he walked toward the boat rental center. “There’s a smell of blood coming from this place. The footprints on the ground are fresh too. The grass is stepped on. Someone was just here.”

Han Fei slowly approached and eased the door of the center open.

A plate filled with food fell to the ground. In the dark, a shadow opened the window and leaped out.

“Did you see that?” Han Fei was confused because the shadow didn’t have a human shape. He aimed his flashlight at the broken plate. It carried a piece of bloody, raw meat. It looked like it had just been torn out of an animal.

“The plate says that it’s from the seafood restaurant, but this meat is clearly from a large mammal.” Han Fei picked up the pieces of the plate. He looked out the window. There was no shoeprint where the shadow left, but there was a trail of something heavy being dragged.

“Isn’t there no living human in this town anymore?” Han Fei took the plate and jumped out the window. He followed the trail to the seafood restaurant’s backdoor.

“Be careful.” Han Fei held Rest in Peace and slowly pushed the door open. A horrible fishy smell hit them. Han Fei looked in.

There was an old lady in rubber shoes and a headscarf who sat before the giant freezer. She stood facing away from Han Fei, scraping the scales using a special knife in the dark.

The freezer had stopped working. The fish inside had gone rotten, but the old lady didn’t seem to notice it and kept working.

The scratches were consistent, and the fish scale flew everywhere.