Chapter 35: The Landlord's Remains

‘Eye model, leg model, hand model, lips model… This murderer has gone after the victims’ prettiest body parts and used them to piece together the 8th victim. Is this the metamorphosis mentioned by the killer?’

‘Information for the first 7 victims can be found online but nothing is available on the 8th victim. Even the law enforcement did not release any information regarding this mysterious 8th victim…’ To confuse things even further, when Han Fei did the new player mission of watching the television, he encountered a monster who had the faces of only 7 victims on its body. ‘Is the monster the 8th victim?’ Han Fei wanted to get to the bottom of the truth. He was roommate with the victims and could empathize with their pain and despair. Whether to avenge the victims or to have a better survivability in the game, Han Fei would try his best to apprehend the killer.

The current situation inside the haunted house was very bizarre. As the only living human, Han Fei was curled under the quilt in the bedroom. Out in the living room, several figures facing away from him were watching a television show with no content. Everyone appeared to be waiting for something to happen. The light from the television screen illuminated the blanched faces. As the time ticked by, the temperature in the house slowly dropped.

‘What are they waiting for?’ Just as the night reached its thickest moment, the whole gaming world started to become a bit abnormal. The sound of nail scratching came from the walls, the voice-activated lights flickered on and off, the wooden boards on the window cracked and there appeared to be worms wiggling on the outer walls of the dilapidated apartment. However, no matter what happened outside Room 1044, the few figures sat transfixed on the couch.

It was not until 3 am that the image on the screen gradually clarified. In the dark living room, 5 individuals, who died from a horrible death, sat facing the television. They seemed to be searching for something through the television. ‘What are they looking for?’ Han Fei stole a glance through the gap in the quilt. The static on the tv screen slowly cleared to show the lifeless visage of the 5 victims who sat in the living room. Every single body was desecrated. Blood drained from their faces. Milky white pupils trembled inside their sockets. They were staring at their own reflections on the television.

‘What is happening?’ Han Fei was extremely unsettled. His eyes turned to the screen. Behind the victims’ reflection, the background started to fill in. First came the living room, and then Han Fei saw the half open bedroom door at the corner of the screen, he also saw his own eyes blinking through the gap in the quilt. ‘How is it that I’m part of the show?’

The television was like a surveillance camera capturing a live feed from inside the haunted house. The poor victims scanned the screen carefully. They were looking for something or someone inside this house!

‘They’re not looking for me, are they?’ Han Fei had just spotted himself inside the television when the child who sat at the edge of the couch stood up. He sauntered slowly towards the television screen as if he had noted something. ‘Am I cursed by children or something?’ It was now 3 am. After another 5 minutes, Han Fei would complete the mission. No matter what, he would endure past this last 5 minutes. To prevent himself from being discovered, Han Fei crawled deeper into the quilt and waited for the system announcement. ‘No matter what, I’ll have to persevere for the last 5 minutes. If the ghosts lunge into the bedroom, I will be prepared to tussle with them! It’s just another 5 minutes, I can do this!’

The temperature continued to drop. Han Fei’s heart pounded heavily. He had no idea whether the ghosts entered the bedroom or not. He imagined the ghosts surrounding him on all sides of the bed. Time could not have moved slower for Han Fei. Opening the menu, Han Fei focused on the exit button. Suddenly, he heard the sound of the door opening again. This time, the person appeared to have directly walked into his bedroom.

‘If I can walk out of this place alive, I will help you find your killers! After all, we’re staying under the same roof. I’ll come to accompany all of you at night and I’d burn paper money for you in the day. Please give me a chance, my dear friends and family.’ Han Fei was so nervous that his internal mumblings made no sense anymore.

“Notification for Player 0000! New Player Mission, Sleeping has been completed! Obtained 1 Free Skill Point! Obtained the mission reward, the landlord’s keys.

“Notification for Player 0000! Due to the slight increase in the New Player Mission, you have also obtained an additional reward, landlord’s cigarettes x3

“Landlord’s Keys (Grade G Blood Red Item): After the landlord passed away, the building’s spare keys disappeared. Perhaps it was stolen by the other tenants or borrowed by ghosts.

“Landlord’s Cigarettes x3 (Grade G Blood Red Item): After the landlord passed away, his 3 kids laid 3 cigarettes out before his ceremonial urn in his memory.”

Hearing the sound in his mind, Han Fei gave out a long breath. When he saw the exit button lit up, he felt everything was right with the world again. ‘Life truly is a journey. I now have Wolverine’s nerves of steel, nothing can put me down anymore!’ Han Fei glanced towards the inventory and all the newest mission rewards were there.

‘All of the New Player Missions reward me with the landlord’s items. Is the game trying to model me to become the new landlord? Looks like there is a purpose for me to complete all the new player missions. The landlord’s keys will come in very useful. The hint given by the system is not wrong, completing all the new player missions will help me get to know this world better.’ Han Fei was thankful that he did not abandon the new player missions. The lucrative rewards of the sleeping mission helped assert his decision to take on the showering mission.

‘The 3 new player missions should correspond to 3 rewards related to the landlord. The ring can help me detect the presence of ghosts, the key I can use to open other apartment units. I wonder what kind of reward I’ll get from the showering mission.’ Humans were compelled by greed. After Han Fei was sure that he could quit the game at any time, he decided to push his luck further. ‘I still have one hour to complete the shower mission. I should try my best to complete all the new player missions!’

Slowly peeling off a corner of the quilt, Han Fei was astonished to see Wei Youfu standing at the bedroom door. The latter used his body to block the other ghosts’ line of sight into Han Fei’s room.

‘When the hell did he appear?’ Han Fei then realized Wei Youfu was probably the person who came out from the innermost bedroom when he was all curled up under the quilt. Staring at Wei Youfu’s back, Han Fei had a feeling that Wei Youfu was different from the other ghosts in this house. The other ghosts were physically impaired, but Wei Youfu’s body was fully intact, or at least it was on the surface.

‘Youfu doesn’t seem like he’s hostile towards me. This differentiates him from the other ghosts. Is it possible that he still retains part of his humanity and memory?’