CH 436

On his first night of work, the altar owner memorized the price and location of all the merchandise, helped a bullied deliveryman and accidentally killed a criminal. This was recorded in detail inside the diary. He was already under a lot of pressure and accidentally murdering a person didn’t help. His mother was at the hospital and desperately needed the money. He worked 2 jobs but fate played a huge joke on him.

“Murder?” Every entry in the diary radiated suffocating despair and anxiety. From the handwriting, it showed the bad mental state the altar owner was in. Reading the entry caused Han Fei’s mood points to drop, it was like he had written these things and they influenced his emotions.

‘The altar owner has to save his mother so he needs all the time he can get. If he is roped into a murder investigation, he would lose the chance to even see his mother for one last time.’ Han Fei stared at the ugly handwriting. He tore off the page and used a pencil to black out the words. To be sure, Han Fei blacked out the back of the page too and then tore the page into pieces and soaked it in water. When the page dissolved, Han Fei poured it down the pipe in batches. ‘My emotions are being affected by this diary and my mood will fluctuate because of the diary entry. I can’t change the key plots in this memory world and I am slowly acclimatizing to this memory world, eventually I will be like the altar owner.’

Bang! Bang! Bang! Knocking came from the door, Han Fei hurriedly hid the diary. “Coming!”

Opening the door, Han Fei saw a large woman standing there. She wore a red jacket that was several sizes too small for her and she was covered in a haze of cheap perfume.

“I pity you so I allowed you to delay paying the rental for a month but you’re taking advantage of my kindness! Didn’t I already warn you from sneaking back here to live?” The woman’s voice was shrill. “I am not doing charity work. Hand over the rent you owed or else pack up your stuff and leave now!”

“I owe a month of rent?”

“Trying to act dumb?” The woman’s face darkened. Her large fist slapped on the door. “Trying to scam people when you’re so young?”

“Big sister, please hear me out. I will pay you the rent, but I hope you can give me some more time, I just found a job. I have no money on me.” Han Fei made it sound like he was alone in the world and he had no one else to turn to. Han Fei used both his masterful acting and the talent he learned from the cryptic world and finally managed to get the landlady to give him a few more days. After the landlady left, Han Fei’s mood points dropped for 3 points. ‘In this memory world, humans are harder to deal with than ghosts.’

Closing the door, Han Fei glanced at the small bits of rice left in the kitchen and he sighed. ‘These are the altar owner’s experiences? But at least I can go to Wang Pingan’s place to solve the issue of hunger.’ Removing the muddy jacket and shoes, Han Fei rummaged through the dressers to find a change of clothes. At the same time, he checked all the pockets for small change. After some time, Han Fei gave up. The original owner of this house was truly poor beyond belief.

‘The owner has a bank card but unfortunately I don’t know the password.’ Han Fei desperately needed money for his daily needs. ‘I can’t carry on like this, at least I have to be able to guarantee that I'll be able to eat every day.’ Eating was not just for filling up the stomach, in this world, eating also influenced one’s mental state and mood greatly. Drinking a large cup of water, Han Fei lay in bed. He took out his phone to search for some kind of day job. However, before he could do any searching, there was another knocking and this time it was louder than before.

‘Who is it?’ Han Fei stood up to open the door. A man about 30 and wearing a colorful shirt stood outside the door. He looked like a gangster. “So how did your work go last night? Are you satisfied with the job I found you?” The man appeared to be familiar with the house owner because he walked straight into the room and sat on Han Fei’s bed, “It fits your requirement perfectly, nightshift with high pay. To find this job for you, I have to pull a lot of strings.” Han Fei had no impression of this man at all. He didn’t close the door but stood beside it studying the man.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” The man lit a cigarette. “I’ve already found you the job, shouldn’t you pay me the agent fee already?” Han Fei then confirmed the man’s identity. He was an underground agent. The altar owner was desperate so he sought help everywhere. It was through this agent that he found the job at the 2nd hand shop at the mall.

“How much is it?” Han Fei was a good citizen, he rarely used illegal methods to deal with his problems, unless it was truly necessary.

“1500 RMB! We discussed this already!” The man took out a signed contract from his pocket. The altar owner had signed it with a red thumbprint. “Are you thinking about weaseling out from it?” Slowly closing the door, Han Fei believed this was a necessary situation. He had no idea what the owner’s choice was but he planned to deal with this his way. “Can you give me a few more days? I just started the job, how about I return the money next month?”

“I know you’re lacking in money but we can’t violate the contract, I’m just a runner.” The man lit the cigarette and pretended to think, “How about this, I’ll bring you to a place, it’ll help with your situation.” Perhaps the man sensed the danger or his luck was that good. He stood up to open the door. “Come on, don’t just stand there.”

Han Fei needed to rest. He was very tired already. He glanced at the time but in the end decided to follow the man. “Where are we going?”

“We’ll know when we’re there.” The man led Han Fei out from the neighbourhood. They cut through many alleys and corners before they arrived at a mahjong centre. The place was filled with the smell of smoke. The place was quite deserted.

“Why did you bring me here? I don’t know how to play mahjong.” Han Fei acted like a perfectly innocent student. He wanted to leave but was held back by the man.

“Since we’re already here, we should stay for a while.” He pulled back the bamboo curtain at the end of the room. Beyond it was a relatively clean office. The windows were closed and grilled. Blood stains could be seen on the floor. The ashtray was filled with cigarette butts. The figurine of Guan Yu sat on the office table and the wall behind the table hung a picture of dragon and tiger.

The sound of leather shoes clicked against the floor. Not long after Han Fei and the man arrived, the bamboo curtain opened again. A tall man with a scar on his face entered the room. Without saying anything, he planted himself on the room’s only couch. Not long after the man entered, the door behind Han Fei was closed. A fatty around 200 jin guarded the door. The fatty was covered in fat. His exposed skin had the tattoo of a ferocious tiger.

“Brother Li, this is the student who asked me to find a job for him.” The man acted so obediently before the man with the scar. He didn’t even dare to speak too loudly. The man with the scar said nothing but extended his hand. The man in the colorful shirt understood the meaning immediately. He handed over Han Fei’s contract. The man with the scar glanced at it and then took out 600 RMB and placed it on the table.

“Brother Li, the amount is not right! It’s too little…”

“Is it too little?” The man glanced at the man in the colorful shirt. The latter cowed, he picked up the money and ran. After he left, he closed the door.

“Your name is Han Fei, right?” The man with the scar put the contract away and then took out a new object and placed it on the table. “I’ve paid the money you owe him.”

“Thank you.” Han Fei’s expression changed, his eyes were filled with terror. He staggered backwards but was stopped by the fat guard.

“Don’t be afraid. I heard that your mother is sick and you need money so I’m here to lend you some.” The man tapped on the table. “Once you sign this contract, you can have the money.”

“It’s that simple?” Han Fei walked to the table to pick up the contract. The man had offered Han Fei a contract with an impossibly high interest. If he signed the contract, Han Fei would have to pay for the rest of his life. ‘Was the altar owner forced to do this too?’ Han Fei put down the contract and his expression was fearful.

“I’ve already cleared the debt you owed, if you don’t sign this new contract, you might not be able to leave this place.” The man lit a cigarette, he didn’t see Han Fei as a threat. “I’m sure you know what to do.” The fat guard walked over to stand behind Han Fei. For a student, the pressure created by these 2 gangsters was high.

“I can sign this but can you lend me more money?” Han Fei asked in a shivering tone.

“How much?” The man’s interest was piqued. He was not afraid of Han Fei borrowing money, he was afraid that Han Fei refused to return the money.

“50000 RMB, I will return it to you in the middle of the next month.”

“50000?” The man stared at Han Fei and then smiled. “Okay, but you’ll not be signing this contract then.” He took out 2 more contracts from the drawer, one was a contract to sell away one’s body. He placed the contracts on the table. As if to persuade Han Fei, the man took out 20000 RMB from a locked drawer and placed it on the table. “Sign them and then you can take the money with you.”

Picking up the contracts, Han Fei studied them and then shook his head. “I won’t sign the ownership of my body and life away. Furthermore, your interest rate is too high, at most I can accept a 2 percent annual rate.”

“Are you seriously bargaining with us?” The guard chuckled. “I’ve seen naïve people before but you have to be the most naïve one I’ve met.” He cracked his knuckles.

“If you can’t agree to that, then there’s nothing for us to discuss anymore.” Han Fei tore apart the contract, he was never going to sign these things. He didn’t care if the altar owner had signed these things or not but Han Fei would not.

“I’ll return you 1500 RMB once I get my salary.” Han Fei turned towards the exit. Then he heard the wind howl. Han Fei leaned back and the fatty missed. His punch landed on the office table.

“Quite an agile man.” The fatty was surprised. Not many people could survive his ambush.

“It was you who made the first move.” Han Fei knew that they never planned to let him go in the first place.

“So what if we did? What can you do about that? We’re merely going to teach you a lesson when you refuse to pay what you’ve owed!” The fatty grabbed a solid wooden club beside the table and swung it at Han Fei. Han Fei didn’t hold back, his speed was much faster than the fatty. He avoided the club. While the fatty readied for his second attack, Han Fei kicked at the man’s knees and pulled on his wrist. As the fatty fell forward, Han Fei twisted the fatty’s arm upwards. The man’s shoulder immediately dislocated, the crack sounded eerie in the office.

Scream echoed inside the room. One of the fatty’s arms was incapacitated. Normally a person would stop at this point but Han Fei grabbed the fatty’s other arm and snapped it as well.

Han Fei’s ears perked. Han Fei raised the fatty’s noodle arm and blocked it behind him. The wooden club fell on the fatty’s arm. The fatty screamed again but no one cared about him.

Han Fei kicked the table over. While the man with the scar had to retreat to avoid the flying table, Han Fei grabbed the ashtray and threw it at the man. At the same time, Han Fei charged forward. Just as the man evaded the ashtray, he was rammed into by Han Fei. Before he reacted, a punch landed on his temple. His world spun. Just as the man tried to stand back up, he felt his wrists being grabbed and a bad feeling rose in his heart.

AH! His wrists were bent into an impossible angle. Before the man could feel pain, his head was slammed into the desk. His ears echoed and pain came from all parts of his body. His mouth was bleeding. 30 seconds later, the man with the scar regained consciousness. He realized he couldn't feel his arms anymore and someone pressed on his head.

“I will return you the 1500 RMB when I get my salary next month, do you have any problem with that?” Han Fei didn’t violate his contract. After all, he did owe them money.

“Of course, of course! We have no problem!”

“Calm down, there’s no need to do anything rash for 1500 RMB.” The man with the scar pleaded, “You are still a student, you have a great future.”

“Future?” Han Fei looked at the 20000 RMB on the table. “I’ll be taking this 20000 RMB, I will loan them according to standard bank interest. I will return the money with interest before next year.”

“That’s not so good.” The man with the scar said, “We’re just runners, if we can’t collect the interest, we’ll have to make up the difference ourselves.” Han Fei ignored the man. He opened the drawer and realized there was no money left.

“If not for the fact that taking a loan from the bank requires plenty of identification, do you think I need to come to you? Using the same interest rate as the bank is already the best I can do.” Han Fei could have just taken the money directly but he had a feeling bad things would happen if he did that so he decided to make the same choice as the altar owner—which was to take out a loan.

The altar owner was scammed by the agent and was brought here. With the owner’s capability, he would have been forced to sign the disadvantaged contract.

“Erm… Okay.” The man looked at the fatty who was still screaming in pain. He didn’t really have a choice, if he didn’t agree, he might lose his arms too. “We’ll sign a contract according to your conditions.”

“I’ve already given you a verbal promise, so don’t worry, I will return it within the year.” Han Fei took away the money. “Unlike you 2, I’m a good guy.” Han Fei released his grasp on the man’s head. “You know where I work and where I stay, you can send people to watch me. But remember if you dare to go after my mother at the hospital…” Han Fei picked up the solid club and swung it at the office table. The club shattered and splinters flew everywhere.

“Understood! Understood!” The man with the scar responded quickly.

“I will return the money, see you.” After Han Fei left, the man finally sighed in relief. “Are all students so dangerous nowadays?”

When Han Fei left the room, the man with the colorful shirt had disappeared. Han Fei didn’t go to find him because he needed to rest. His mood points had started to drop again. ‘Why is my mood point dropping? I’ve used my own power to borrow the money I need, I should feel happy. Is it because I’ve violated some kind of rule?’ Han Fe left the mahjong centre and walked back home. Pedestrians filled the streets but Han Fei couldn’t fit in, he was different from these puppets. Han Fei sped up. He passed the cement bridge. When he entered the second alley, he encountered the homeless man again.

The man who was curled at the corner was bruised and bleeding. He was probably just beaten up. The man grabbed his tattered comforter and hugged the limping dog, they looked pitiable.

‘Am I qualified to give others charities?’ Han Fei tightened his grip on the money in his pocket. He walked away from the alley and turned towards a shop to buy meat buns for 3 and 2 bottles of water. He returned to the alley. He didn’t give the homeless man money but instead placed the buns and water before him. “Eat them while they’re hot. I promised you I’d help when I have money.”

The homeless man was very surprised. He kept thanking Han Fei and repeated, “Good person, thank you. Good person has good karma.” Han Fei had a feeling the homeless man said these things for a reason. However, no matter how he asked, the homeless man would only repeat that.

‘Will good people really have good karma? The owner’s mother has taught him that, he even mentioned it in his diary.’ Leaving the homeless man behind, Han Fei walked back to his rental. He reached the end of the alley when he saw a boy carrying a blue school bag cowering at a corner, he appeared to be crying.

‘It should be way past school hours now.’ Han Fei didn’t plan to mind the extra business but when he passed the boy, he noticed several toys were placed before the boy and the toys were from the same series as the toys in the paper box at the 2nd hand shop. He stopped. Han Fei knelt down before the boy. “Boy, why aren’t you at school?”

The boy raised his head. Tears stained his cheeks. “Father didn’t want me to go to school, he also didn’t want me to play with other children. He said bad things would happen if I go to school and it was me who caused my mother to get sick.”

“This is the first time I heard a parent telling their child to stop going to school. Is your father a doctor?” Han Fei asked.

“Don’t know.” The boy shook his head. “My father never did tell me what he does for a living. He left home after dawn and then returned before dark. His body is extremely smelly and he needs to shower for a long time to remove the smell.”

“Extremely smelly?” Suddenly the boy picked up the toys and looked behind Han Fei nervously.

‘Someone’s here?’ Han Fei turned around and saw a man in western suit standing silently several metres behind him.

“Yi Yue, haven’t I told you not to talk to strangers?” The man ignored Han Fei. The man’s tone was more than stern, it was like he was threatening the child. The man walked over to grab the boy. “Come home with me! If you keep on running away, your mother will get sicker!”

“Toys, father, the toys are still on the ground…” The man ignored his child as he walked towards Han Fei’s rental apartment.

“Such a strange man, his presence is different from the other residents I’ve met…” Han Fei stared at the man and his eyes widened. When the man moved, Han Fei spotted the tattoo of a human skull on the back of the man’s neck!

‘Ten fingers?’ In the cryptic world, members of Ten Fingers would carve a human skull on their body whenever they killed a person to trap their victim’s soul.

‘This shouldn’t be a coincidence, I’m surprised they live still so close to me!’