My ‘Healing’ Game
Chapter 208: Mystery Novelist

Chapter 208: Chapter 208: Mystery Novelist

The Outsiders at Yimin Private Academy had been cleared out by the Fierce Ghosts within the academy—they hated Ma Manjiang to the bone, and anything related to Ma Manjiang had been cleaned up.

Han Fei understood them, but after they did this, the tasks that could be triggered within Yimin Private Academy were instantly reduced by more than half.

Spending a whole evening, Han Fei, along with Li Zai and Yinglong, turned Yimin Private Academy upside down. They did not spare any corner until no more tasks could be triggered, and only then did Han Fei exit the game.

"That’s it for Yimin Private Academy; next, I need to focus on Beast Alley," Han Fei said.

After removing his game helmet, Han Fei stretched lazily. He looked at the wall full of victim photos without fear or discomfort. He felt no guilt towards anyone, and even if there really were ghosts in this world, he wasn’t worried about being haunted by them.

"Beast Alley is quite far from Happiness Residential Community, and it’s not easy to safely get there. This hidden profession seems not so easy to acquire, but according to the official website, these types of professions that require one to go to a specific place to change careers are extremely rare and unusual professions, with more talents and exclusive abilities than other professions."

The effort and reward were proportional; at least in terms of fairness, "Perfect Life" had done a decent job.

After playing games all night, Han Fei was completely drained and aching all over. He took a moment to check his personal account; the earnings from "Twin Flowers" online pay-per-view hadn’t hit his card yet, and the reward money for performing a heroic deed wasn’t enough to buy a game box.

"Let’s wait a bit longer; once the game box is here, I can play for longer periods," Han Fei thought.

After placing his gaming helmet properly, Han Fei went back to bed to catch up on sleep. He had only slept for a little over three hours when he was woken up by the ringing of his phone.

After seeing the caller ID, Han Fei felt uncomfortable refusing the call.

"Assistant Xiao, is there something you need? I believe I am scheduled to start shooting only tomorrow," said the caller, Xiao Hui, one of Director Zhang’s assistants.

"All the actors have arrived in Xinhu today, and Director Zhang hopes everyone can gather at the shooting site to get acquainted with each other because we will be spending a long time together."

For other actors, this was a good opportunity to expand their network and broaden their horizons, but Han Fei just found it troublesome.

"What time? And where is it? I’ll take a taxi there," he said.

"A taxi, Teacher Han? You’ve already made it to the list of most promising young actors, don’t tell me you don’t even have an agent?" As an assistant to Director Zhang, Xiao Hui usually dealt with at least third-tier actors, not often with someone like Han Fei.

"I find it troublesome," Han Fei said, after getting the address and hanging up the phone, though he didn’t leave immediately.

The address provided by Assistant Xiao was on the border between Xinhu North Suburb and Old City District, a very remote location. Normally, Director Zhang wouldn’t have had actors gather there.

To be safe, Han Fei shared his plans of going to the North Suburb with Li Xue.

...

Cars parked next to the long-abandoned Fugui Meat Factory, the area bustling with people coming and going, including crew members in hats and workers responsible for setting up scenes.

The roar of machinery, directions being shouted, Xinhu North Suburb hadn’t been this lively in a long time.

"Director Zhang, times have changed; we can completely put all this into a virtual scene, and use technology to create any scene we want," a clean-faced middle-aged man said, covering his nose and mouth, seemingly afraid to breathe in the dust stirred up by the construction.

"A movie is meant to record reality. When you create a scene out of nothing and then use falsehood to shoot falsehood, such a movie lacks a certain texture," Director Zhang said, wearing a safety helmet and directing personally. He wanted to restore the place to what it looked like ten years ago.

"I can’t argue with you," the clean-faced middle-aged man took off his sunglasses, revealing his soft but handsome face, and turned to a stylishly dressed young man. "Little Tong, try convincing Director Zhang."

"I think Director Zhang is right," said the young man, unhesitatingly siding with Director Zhang.

"I bet even if Director Zhang said the moon is square, he wouldn’t argue," a tall woman with a mask stood on the other side of Director Zhang. She wore flat shoes but was still taller than Director Zhang and the middle-aged man.

Several actors gathered around Director Zhang, among them well-established names, popular figures, and award-winners. Such was the pull of a top-tier veteran director.

By midday, Han Fei arrived in Xinhu North Suburb, where the Fugui Meat Factory and the adjacent Meat Factory Courtyard for Family had undergone drastic changes.

To shoot his new drama, Director Zhang had mobilized extensive manpower and resources to refurbish these two buildings.

Looking at the large amount of machinery and the bustling workers on the site, Han Fei really felt like an outsider stepping into a grand mansion, seeing a world he had never seen before.

Compared to Director Zhang, the shooting of "Twin Flowers" was just a small affair; their budget and resources were not on the same level.

Quietly standing amid the crowd, Han Fei briefly scanned the area, then closed his eyes to rest, contemplating game strategies in his mind.

Several more minutes passed, and a caravan entered the site.

The door opened, and a silver-haired man in his sixties stepped out.

As the old man approached, the actors who had been talking all turned to greet him.

"Elder Li Huaiming, you’ve arrived."

"Master, hello!"

"The old man looks younger again."

The elderly man getting out of the car was a nationally acclaimed actor and veteran of countless awards—Li Huaiming.

Seeing Elder Li Huaiming approaching, Director Zhang also stopped his work and invited everyone into the Meat Factory Courtyard for Family.

"Our new film ’Mystery Novelist’ will be shot here. I have had the staff check this residential building and have also communicated with the few remaining residents. I will restore everything and present the once concealed truth in its entirety."

Director Zhang introduced the filming location to the actors and led everyone on a tour.

The movie ’Mystery Novelist’ was adapted from a true story, where the writer known as Spider had killed the other eight versions of himself in this building, accomplishing an unimaginable redemption.

Most of the film’s plot takes place within this building. Unlike the other actors who were laughing and chatting, Han Fei squinted his eyes, committing every detail of the building to memory.

Deep World and reality share a special connection, and the Beast Alley that Han Fei was to visit next was precisely the title of the Mystery Novelist’s first book. He felt he might find some clues in reality.

At this moment, Han Fei’s mindset was completely different from the other actors who were just there to act. He was using the opportunity to act as a means to gather evidence and increase his chances of survival.

The goals of both parties were entirely different, and this determined their levels of seriousness were not on the same plane.

After acquainting themselves with all filming locations, Director Zhang invited everyone to a rest tent set up by the staff for lunch, and then the start-up ceremony was held in the afternoon.

Films of their kind seemed to place great emphasis on such rituals. Everyone participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony and group photograph, finishing all activities by three in the afternoon.

Director Zhang distributed scripts to all the actors, and he hoped they could first rehearse inside the family building that evening.

If it were any other director who made such a request, these actors might have refused, but when Director Zhang spoke, they dared not disobey.

Most of the actors returned to their trailers to familiarize themselves with their scripts. Compared to the somewhat dirty and disorderly family courtyard, their trailers were more comfortable.

As for Han Fei, he didn’t have so many concerns. He took his script and went directly into the Meat Factory Building for Family.

Touching the rusted iron railing, his gaze swept over the speckled walls and the clutter-filled hallways, Han Fei truly felt like he was back in Happiness Residential Community.

He took the script and walked up to the roof, looking around.

Spider, the Mystery Novelist, had lived in the family building next to the Meat Factory. This place was quite secluded, and since the Meat Factory had closed down, more and more residents had moved away. The road next door often went half a day without a single car passing by.

"As technology advances, production-inefficient old factories are extensively shut down, thirty percent of jobs in society are replaced by machines, and thus many people’s lives are altered."

Han Fei silently watched the distant Meat Factory. There was a line in his script that must have been an original quote from Spider’s novel—people day by day slaughter livestock, slowly forgetting that they too are merely food in their mouths.

The "they" in the line represented many things, like the rapidly-developing city or perhaps this era, unknown whether good or bad.

"The view from the roof is indeed not bad. I wonder if Spider also once looked at the scenery from here?"

While others were acting, Han Fei was striving to survive. Holding his script, he fully immersed himself into the role of Spider.

In ’Mystery Novelist,’ Han Fei, who played Spider, was just a supporting role, but in real life, Spider was also a dim supporting role in his own life.

From birth till death, he lived in the shadow of split personalities, and even after his death, few people knew his story, and even fewer liked it.

"Beast Alley, the Butcher’s home, I am getting more curious about the world inside Spider’s mind," said Han Fei as he stood on the rooftop, memorizing all the lines before he headed alone toward the fourth floor.

Spider had lived in room 401 on the fourth floor before he died, and after his death, all the residents on the fourth floor had moved out.

The reasons for the tenants’ departure were unknown, but their doors were all pasted with tattered talisman papers and entwined with some faded red ropes, as if Spider’s neighbors were all guarding against some ominous presence.

"Could the ominous presence the neighbors felt be Spider?"

The empty fourth floor looked somewhat intimidating. Han Fei didn’t hesitate and directly reached for the door of room 401.

"Locked?"

Han Fei was slightly surprised. When Director Zhang had previously shown the actors around, the door hadn’t been locked. Why was it locked now?

"Was it the staff?"

As Han Fei pondered this, faint breathing sounds came from above. He turned his head to look.

On the corner between the fifth and fourth floors stood an old man, who didn’t say a word but just quietly stood in the hallway, watching Han Fei’s back.