CH 769

“I’m willing to be you, but are you willing to tell me the truth?” Han Fei didn’t lie. He came to this answer after serious consideration. It was unfair for one person to sustain all the pain. The healing persona and black box belonged to Mad Laughter. “I’ve said it a long time ago. You’ll heal them, and I’ll heal you. That is my choice.”

The bell stopped striking inside the Red Orphanage. The redness seemed to fade a little. Raindrops fell on the rails. Time seemed to flow back to the rainy night many years ago. The sound of children came from the orphanage. Their young voices carried a maturity that didn’t match their age.

“Will people stop feeling pain and sadness after they die?”

“They say you can go to your father and mother’s world after you die. But unlike you, I don’t know my parents.”

“Han Fei, can I ask you for a favor?”

“Sure.”

“Kill me.”

The doll in the room was torn apart. The red cotton flew everywhere.

“I don’t want to be a monster. Will you play with me like you once did?”

“Han Fei, why are you ignoring me? I’m now a good kid in the eyes of the teacher. I’ve eaten all my pills and completed all their requests. Why aren’t you happy for me?”

“Han Fei, I don’t understand why everyone is staying away from me. Can you open the door? You’re my only friend now.”

“Can I ask you for one last thing? Tie the rope between my head and my body tightly…” The handmade bust on the corridor rolled to the ground. Between his head and body was a red rope that looked like a blood vessel.

“The doctor said you can eat the pain away from my body. You can ease my nerves, but you’re just a useless child. Stand still! I’m the oldest child here. If you dare to tell anyone about the beating, you’re dead!”

“Cry! Why aren’t you crying? Why are you laughing when you’re bleeding?”

“You’re almost dead from being beaten by me. Why aren’t you fighting back? Use that sharpened chopstick to kill me!”

“Han Fei, I hope you can kill me. Don’t feel any guilt. This is the last thing I can do for you. I’m a horrible big brother, aren’t I?” The only wooden horse in the yard was pushed over. The knife wounds appeared on the horse's belly. The person who cut the horse was on the verge of collapsing.

“I hear that you’re the baddest kid here. You are related to their deaths. Why aren’t you saying anything? Don’t think about hiding anything from me. I’m different from the rest of you. I’m a separate category in the IQ test.”

“What are you worried about anyway? The tests here are nothing for me. Just rest well. I’ll lead everyone out of here.”

“The logic of this world is very simple. The 1 percent genius will lead the 99 percent common people… Don’t interrupt me. I’m not tired. I was careless and accidentally cut my face.”

“Don’t give up! Keep going! We can all graduate successfully! Trust me. I’m No. 2. I’m a genius!”

“They think I’m dangerous so they gave me a fake eye. Doesn’t this prove that they’re afraid of me? They are!”

“Why are you crying? Don’t worry. As long as I have my brain, I will lead you out of here!”

“Han Fei? Haven’t we met this morning? My brain is very blurry recently.”

“Han Fei? When was the last time we met? Was it earlier?”

“Who are you? Have I seen you before?”

“Stranger, can you help me? Push my brain inside this jar out the window.”

“Thank you…”

The flower pot fell from the sill and the sticky soil scattered everywhere.

The children’s voices echoed everywhere. The memories were so clear. Han Fei was already an adult, but their voices still reverberated inside the orphanage. They were trapped here, and so was Han Fei. 29 different voices appeared at different spots of the orphanage. The blood flowers bloomed. Mad Laughter stopped in the middle of the classroom like everything had nothing to do with him, but he didn’t laugh once. Just as the rain was about to stop, the last child’s voice rang out. “Goodbye, Han Fei. The doctor is coming to fetch me. My final hope is for you to be happy daily. Don’t lose your smile.”

As the voice faded away, Mad Laughter started to self-mutilate. The bell in the orphanage started to chime again. Han Fei’s mind churned. He wanted to understand Mad Laughter’s past and he reached out his hand. However, Mad Laughter couldn’t walk out of the shadow. His consciousness was bound by the 30 shackles. Once he touched the past, he would lose his mind. When Mad Laughter was acting crazy, Han Fei’s consciousness was forced out too. In the end, he could only hear the final wishes of the 30 children. “What have they experienced that they’d ask Mad Laughter to kill them?”

The young voices surrounded Han Fei. They were not just numbers. They were each a unique soul.

“The first child to ask for death was a kid that followed the orphanage’s rule. Then, it was the big brother who wanted to ease Mad Laughter’s pain. Finally, it was No. 2 who only had his brain left… And the kid who wanted Mad Laughter to be happy every day.”

Something inside his brain moved. One part of the Red Orphanage’s outer wall disappeared. Mad Laughter’s laughter joined with the voices of the 30 children. Han Fei stopped trying to understand it, but he placed himself into the children’s voices. The dance in the dark changed. Dead souls appeared in the mirrors. They squeezed around the stage to join the ritual. Han Fei on stage was like a priest of yore. The blind elder’s dance was his bridge to commune with Mad Laughter. Han Fei put down his guard and submerged himself in the orphanage memories. He actively reached out to Mad Laughter. The red orphanage slowly merged back into Han Fei’s brain.

The dance ended. The souls in the room sensed something scary and they started to disperse. All the mirrors dimmed. Only the mirror facing the stage reflected Han Fei. Han Fei on stage and Han Fei in the mirror regarded each other. They were the same person, but they felt so different.

Without any communication, small handprints appeared on the mirror. The children in orphanage clothes appeared behind Mad Laughter one by one. They were killed by Mad Laughter but they stood behind him. They would bind Mad Laughter for life. They were Mad Laughter’s everything.

“This mirror can see all the people you’ve killed. He and the other kids are all inside the mirror. I think you know what he means, right?” The elder’s hollow eyes appeared behind Han Fei. “You’ve made your choice and he has made his.” Han Fei didn’t speak. He reached out to touch the mirror but the mirror couldn’t handle it. The cracks soon appeared.

“Not good!” The blind elder quickly shoved Han Fei to the side. He was already very fast, but the cracks had already spread.

Han Fei, who fell to the ground also, woke up. He looked at his stat. Thankfully, the elder was not a bad person, or with his 1 Life Points, he would be dead already.

“It almost broke! Do you know how dangerous that was?” The blind elder touched the cracks in the mirror. “Every mirror here is the eye of God. If you shatter the mirror, it means poking God’s eye!”

“Your God is an Unmentionable, right?” Han Fei pointed at the rain clouds outside the window. “My friend said the cloud in this zone is a ghost…”

“Shush!” The blind elder caressed the mirror with heartache. “The gardener is probably in trouble since she hasn’t returned for so long. We can’t have any other problem here. You better don’t come back in the next few days.”

“Why?”

“Are you seriously asking me that?” The elder huffed. “If you’re really that free, help me deliver a letter.” The elder probably wanted to distract Han Fei. He took out a wrinkled envelope from his pocket. “This zone is split into the inner zone and outer zone. We’re in the outer zone. Take this envelope and follow the street. After a few blocks and when you can see the skyscraper, you’ve reached the inner zone.”

“Inner zone? Outer zone?”

“The inner zone is much more dangerous than this place, but with the clubhouse’s black umbrella, no one would disturb you.” The elder sounded uncertain. “When you’re there, you need to find a bungalow filled with flowers. The gardener should be there.”

“Are there no other hints?”

“The bungalow is very luxury and has a large swimming pool. You won’t miss it.” The elder handed the wrinkled envelope to Han Fei. The system notification came. “Notification for Player 0000! You’ve triggered Grade E Normal Mission, Letter Delivery.

“Letter Delivery: This is a job for the afterlife postman, but everyone believes you can do this. Please deliver the letter as soon as possible without the company of any lingering spirit and pure hatred!

“Warning! The quicker you deliver the letter, the greater the reward! If you take more than 3 hours to deliver the letter, the reward will be halved; if you take more than four hours, there will be no reward; if you take more than five hours, the friendliness level of the other members at the clubhouse will lower, and you might get a random punishment!”

Han Fei needed to complete a mission but he didn’t want to enter the danger zone. “Sir, are you sure I can do this?” Han Fei’s Life Point was still being absorbed by the altar. Even if he continued to feast on Xu Qin’s meat, he couldn’t raise his Life Points to a safe level.

“Who told you to break this mirror? As I said, the mirrors are God’s eyes. You have punched its eye. How can it not be mad?” The elder urged Han Fei to leave. “Go now. You have to hand this letter to the gardener. Don’t trust anyone else.”

“Okay. You have to wait for me to come back.” Han Fei looked at the shattered mirror and then the blind elder.

“You’re only delivering a letter. Don’t be so dramatic.” The elder pulled a black cloth over the mirror and pulled Han Fei out of the dance studio. To ensure that Han Fei left, he personally led Han Fei to the door. After Han Fei led, the elder locked the clubhouse.

“Is he worried about me so he chose to face the danger on his own? The elder is a kind person.” Han Fei said.

Han Fei went to find Xu Qin. With her help, he shoved Big Sin into his ghost tattoo.

“The system told me to go alone without the accompaniment of any ghost. But Big Sin is not a ghost.” Han Fei touched Big Sin’s head. It refused to enter the ghost tattoo. “It’s my cute pet.”