After saying Bai Cha’s name, Han Fei turned to the elder. “We’re now on the same boat. There’s no need to hide anything. Getting to know each other will help us face the threats more effectively.”
The elder was persuaded by Han Fei’s masterful acting. He pondered for a long time before he pulled down a leaf from the strange plant on his back. “I’m a waste product that had fallen off when God was creating another creation. I have no name, just the number 100. My soul is the broken flower pot. My core is the flower grown on my back.”
“The plant on your back is a flower?!” Han Fei couldn’t say he recognized it.
“Yes. A flower that even God can’t appreciate.” The elder didn’t continue this topic and looked at Sister Hong with alertness. “The two of us have exchanged our secrets. What about you?”
“I’m just a normal woman at Red Alley.”
“Can a normal citizen know so many secrets?” The elder didn’t believe her, but they still needed to stay at her place that night, so he didn’t push. The sound of water in the bathroom stopped. Xiao Zhu, who changed into another set of clothes, walked out. Her emotions were more stable. “Thank you.” Her thin body was like a twig that could be snapped at any moment. Xiao Zhu walked to the bed and pulled out two bone coins from the pile of smelly clothes.
“Keep it. I don’t lack money. I normally use them to feed my pet.” Han Fei rejected Xiao Zhu. Just as he was about to ask something else, there was a strange footstep from outside. The person appeared to be walking around in wet shoes. The people in the room shut their mouths in unison and turned to look at the door. The person outside appeared to be looking for someone. He would randomly open the doors to check. If the people inside dared to resist, the cursing would turn into screaming. Sister Hong signaled for everyone to stay put as she snuck to the door. She looked out through the gap. A few Disciples in red raincoats swayed past her door. Perhaps Han Fei’s luck was too high. The Disciples didn’t stop at their place.
“The Disciples rarely come to the sixth floor. Did something happen?” After those people left, Sister Hong shared her suspicion.
“Aren’t those the Messengers patrolling outside?” Han Fei walked over too. He saw the water trace on the ground and understood that Sister Hong’s Disciples were the system’s Messengers.
“The Disciples are God’s most fanatic believers. Sometimes I even suspect they have no self-consciousness but are puppets. But the scariest thing is, normally, they act just like normal people. They will only show themselves when someone blasphemes God.”
“I get it now. God uses Disciples to manage the skyscraper.” Others might not be able to identify Disciples, but Han Fei could do it easily with the system. This was good news. “Inside the skyscraper, we can survive as long as we don’t anger God.” Hiding around was not Han Fei’s style. He wanted to find an exit from this land of sin.
“The Unmentionable has trapped all the evil and sin here. In that case, why don’t we eat the other sins to become the most poisonous threat?” Sister Hong and the elder just wanted to hide, but Han Fei was ready for a big fight. This was their difference.
“Don’t act too rashly.” The elder reminded him.
“Chaos is a rising step. This place has no rules, and boundaries. As long as we can be fast and effective, we can be our own Dictators.” The ambition in Han Fei’s eyes burned like a flame. Even Sister Hong didn’t dare to look at him. “You and Xiao Zhu have been bullied here. Have you not wished to bully those people back and torture those who have once tortured you?” The Voice of the Devil and Masterful Acting made it so that it wasn’t that hard for Han Fei to persuade Sister Hong, “If you cooperate with me, I can make you the new ruler of Red Alley.”
Honestly, Sister Hong was moved. The dullness in her eyes faded further. “What do you need from me?”
“First, I need you to tell me about the regulars at that restaurant. I will find a way to deal with them. Then, I need you to tell me everything about the current ruler of Red Alley.” Han Fei sounded very different from a Sin Seeker, but he was very convincing.
“The regulars are not on the floor. Zhu Wu often delivers to other floors. Someone on the upper floor loves his meat and gifted him an elevator card.” Sister Hong’s ambition was lit up by Han Fei. She started to explain to Han Fei. “The owner of Red Alley is rather unique. You might not believe it, but the owner is actually a set of clothes.”
“Clothes?” Han Fei and the elder were confused.
“Deep inside the sixth floor, there are a few deep red rooms. An extremely ugly man with a pockmarked face lives there. All the neighbors call him the monster, but everyone looks after him because he is the craftiest tailor here.
“The man is extremely ugly, but he adopted a very cute girl. As time passed, the girl became more beautiful. She was like a flower rising above the mud. The tailor protected the girl. Everyone could see how much he loved the girl. He gave all the best things to the girl. Everyone believed their relationship was the purest thing in this land of sin.
“But one day, the girl stopped appearing. The tailor looked for his adopted daughter everywhere, but he couldn’t find her. He became crazy, angry, and twisted. The neighbors pitied him at first, but no one expected the things that happened next.
“One late night, the adopted daughter returned to the sixth floor. She had been made into clothes. She was worn by the tailor, so she would never leave the tailor’s control. Then the neighbors found out the truth. The tailor’s love for his daughter was twisted. He was also the man who killed the daughter’s biological parents. He couldn’t think of parting with his daughter, so he turned her into clothes.
“There were many people who knew the truth. Those who had the ability moved to the other floors. The rest became the ghost tailor’s prey. He became his own daughter and the craziest monster on this floor. He was dominated by a desire to patch the human skin he was wearing. The red lights around Red Alley weren’t to create an atmosphere but to cover up the bloodstains.” At that moment, the system rang. “Notification for Player 0000! You’ve triggered Grade E Mission—The Case of the Ghost Tailor.
“The Case of the Ghost Tailor (Hidden Map Mission): He has personally created many things, but no matter how hard he tries, he can’t create love.
“Mission Requirement: Kill the Ghost Tailor and destroy his new clothes.”
Han Fei narrowed his eyes. “After killing the tailor, Red Alley is ours. This is worth doing.” The calm tone said some horrifying things. Han Fei touched his ghost tattoo. He had made his decision. “Sister Hong, lead the way. We’ll go there now.” There was no detailed plan and strategy. Han Fei was so determined that the others were shocked. They didn’t know that Han Fei was desperate to finish a mission to earn the right to leave the game.
“There are other special existences like Zhu Wu in Red Alley. Isn’t it too rash for us to do this?” Sister Hong hesitated.
“When they react, it’ll be too late. If they stand in our way, they’ll become the new sin on my body.” Han Fei opened the door. Sister Hong and the elder followed. The three entered the maze again. Without the guidance of a local, people would easily get lost here.
After turning several corners, Sister Hong pushed open the door to a room filled with trash. There was sheared skin at the corner and a lot of hair. “After you leave through this room’s backdoor, you’ll reach the deepest part of Red Alley. Sometimes, the residents of the other floors will go there to play.” Sister Hong’s voice trembled like she had remembered something scary. “They have many ways to unleash their sins and evil. That place is their heaven and our hell.”
“Trash should be taken out.” Han Fei said. The darkness of this skyscraper really opened his eyes. The three entered the room. Suddenly, the elder turned to look at the corner. “What is that?”
The trash rolled to the ground. A humanoid body was moving. Its chest had been dug out. Black mould grew on its body. Its arms were longer than normal. Its eyes were bulging. The eyeballs were like glass balls. They were covered in grime, and things moved inside the pupils.
“This room is about to become a Mausoleum. After some time, it will complete the transformation to a monster.” Sister Hong sighed. “There will be fewer hidden pathways.”
“Can we kill it?” Han Fei took out Rest in Peace.
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“It’s pointless. It is already dead. The more you try to kill it, the faster it’ll grow…” Then Han Fei cut the head off with Red in Peace. To Sister Hong’s surprise, the struggling soul inside the body was cut through by Han Fei. It morphed into light and entered the blade. The unique mold and worms disappeared. The mutating ghost was dispatched by Han Fei.
“How did you do that?” Sister Hong was shocked. Mausoleum was the hardest room to clean up on the floors below 50, but Han Fei did just that.
“That’s my other ability.” Han Fei sensed the humanity absorbed by Rest in Peace. He didn’t expect to find the brilliance of humanity in this place. This citizen of Mausoleum was once a good person. Perhaps they were so kind in life that they were targeted by God.
Sister Hong walked through the room and stopped before a door covered with mold.
She tore off a corner of her shirt and grabbed a black key hidden under a piece of wooden board.
“You two need to pretend that you’re forced here by me.” Sister Hong tried the lock twice before she opened the door. The dark red light and mist oozed out. Sister Hong put the key in her pocket and entered the door with her head lowered. The shrill screams came from the rooms lining the corridor. There were other sounds as well.
Half-dead ‘clients’ collapsed in the corridor. They sucked on blood cigarettes. Their organs and limbs had been harvested, but they didn’t seem to feel the pain. They puffed on the cigarettes until the brownish-red mold climbed all over their bodies.
“How is this heaven?”