My ‘Healing’ Game
Chapter 442: One Fifth of Regret

Chapter 442: Chapter 442: One Fifth of Regret

"Excuse me."

The man clad in nurse attire passed by Han Fei, his voice cold and demeanor impassive as if everyone in this world were mere mannequins to him, unworthy of his time or consideration.

"What does this guy do, and why does he have this strange smell on him?" Li Long frowned and steered clear of the nurse.

Unconcerned, the nurse pushed his cart, entering a room at the end of the dimly lit hallway.

"Is he looking for something in this hospital?" When the nurse first appeared, Han Fei had noticed him, memorizing the foul smell that clung to the man: "Could my task be related to him?"

Han Fei knew that for the nurse, all the original residents of this world were nothing more than background, evolved from memories except for the Master of Shrine, hence they were not worth a moment of his time.

Of course, it’s possible that Master-level Brace had already "inspected" all the original residents and found nothing amiss, so gradually, he stopped paying attention to them.

Leaving the payment counter, Han Fei was pondering following the nurse deeper into the corridor when suddenly a series of rapid footsteps echoed from the entrance of the hospital lobby.

The door swung open, letting in a blast of chilly air.

As night began to wane, four burly bodyguards escorted a man in his fifties into the hospital.

The man’s body was emaciated, with small, festering sores visible on his exposed neck and skin.

Seeing the man enter, the on-duty nurse immediately made a phone call and rushed over.

"I heard from the mall manager that one of my employees had fainted?", the man said in a low cough, his physical condition seemingly poor.

"President Gu? You’ve come here in person?" The doctor, who had just been napping, emerged from the room, feigning a diligent attitude as if he had been busily treating patients.

"You know me?" The man was surprised, standing weakly among his four bodyguards.

"I had the honor of meeting you once before.", the doctor said with a beaming smile: "Back then, an elderly person from your store passed away and was brought here."

The doctor seemed to be insinuating something, his smile overly joyous, eyes filled with expectation as if the man might discreetly offer him money.

Surnamed Gu, the man nodded, "How is the patient now?"

"She is out of critical condition, but hasn’t woken up yet, you might need to prepare for a long-term treatment. Her colleague has already covered the initial medical expenses, about the ongoing treatment..." The doctor glowed, like he had encountered the God of Wealth late at night.

"Her colleague?" It was only then that the man noticed Han Fei, but his eyes displayed no surprise, as if it was only natural for Han Fei to be there.

This scene didn’t escape Han Fei’s notice, and although he found it odd, his face revealed nothing.

"Boss Gu has good judgment, your employees are all very loyal and righteous. We told him the situation earlier, and this young man paid the medical bills without a second word.", the doctor appeared to be complimenting Boss Gu, but every phrase revolved around money.

"Alright, I understand. Take me to see the patient first." The man entered the ward with the escort of his four bodyguards, emerging only after several minutes.

It was unclear whether it was for show or if there were other motives, but the man surnamed Gu, in front of Han Fei and two thugs, directly agreed to take on the follow-up medical expenses and even got the money Han Fei had prepaid back.

"President Gu, Huang Li has already resigned, and she isn’t strictly considered our employee anymore." After learning that President Gu had arrived at the hospital, Zhu Wei, who had previously avoided coming for various reasons, arrived at the hospital within twenty minutes.

"Whether she has resigned or not, it can’t change the fact that she worked in my store for a long time. Now that she is unconscious, how can I stand by and watch her suffer?" The man surnamed Gu was in poor health and felt exhausted after only a few words.

Holding the money he had reclaimed, President Gu walked toward Han Fei while four bodyguards wanted to follow. However, he gestured for them to stay where they were.

"Good lad with a kind heart, I wasn’t wrong about you," President Gu handed the money to Han Fei. "This is the money you advanced. Take it. I’ve heard your mother has been unwell for a long time, and you are working several jobs just to save money for her treatment."

Although Han Fei had been in the Memory World for several days, this was the first time he had met his boss.

From the brief interaction, the man surnamed Gu appeared easygoing, lacked pretentiousness, and treated his employees very well—truly the ideal type of boss everyone dreams of.

"Thank you for your concern, Boss," Han Fei said as he took the money from the man named Gu, only to feel something was off the moment he touched it: "You’ve given me an extra thousand."

"What goes around comes around. You deserve this. I always encourage our employees to sincerely do good deeds," the man named Gu stared at Han Fei, showing no sign of leaving, as if waiting for him to make a choice.

"No need, I’ll take what I should and won’t touch what I shouldn’t," Han Fei said, and then stuffed the extra thousand yuan back into the man’s hand.

Hearing Han Fei’s words, the man surnamed Gu and the two thugs by Han Fei’s side were all stunned.

"Having your own principles is good," President Gu smiled for the first time, his smile making people feel uncomfortable. "I remember your mother is also hospitalized here; let’s go visit her together."

Under the doctor’s guidance, they arrived outside the Master of Shrine’s mother’s hospital room.

Looking through the window in the hospital room, there lay a woman who appeared much older than her real age on the single hospital bed.

Her body was emaciated, skin and bones, and she could not sleep normally due to severe pain, only able to rely on pain medication.

"Her mom’s surgery is next week, and the success rate is only about fifty percent," the doctor informed President Gu outside the room.

"If everything is upgraded to the best available, could the chance of surgery success be increased?" The man’s gaze rested on the woman on the bed, his tone carrying a chill as though he himself was the one tormented by illness.

"It can’t," said the doctor, shaking his head, but then he noticed President Gu staring at him.

After hesitating for a while, the doctor changed his response: "If we use the best of everything, the success rate could indeed be improved by another ten percent."

"An increase of even ten percent is good," President Gu pondered for a long time, seeming to have made some decision; he turned to look at Han Fei, "I didn’t realize your mother’s condition was this serious. Well, I’ll cover the shortfall in the costs for your mother’s surgery, and we’ll use the best treatment available. Health is what matters most."

"You’ll cover it?" Han Fei confirmed he hadn’t misheard—the man in front of him wasn’t talking about fronting the money, but directly filling the financial gap for Han Fei.

The Master of Shrine’s greatest wish was to raise fifty thousand yuan within thirty days for his mother’s surgery, and now this most difficult wish seemed to be the easiest to fulfill.

By agreeing to the man named Gu’s offer, Han Fei wouldn’t have to worry about his mother’s surgery costs ever again.

To tell the truth, Han Fei was tempted; no one could refuse under these circumstances.

Assuming the perspective of the Master of Shrine, he was on the verge of collapse now. He couldn’t secure even his basic livelihood, had fallen victim to high-interest loans, and was working double shifts day and night. Most critical of all, he had accidentally killed a man.

If all the prior tribulations had merely placed immense pressure on the Master of Shrine, the act of killing was like a knife plunged into his own heart.

A child instilled with the belief that good people receive good fortune had himself killed someone by his own hand.

"I..." Perhaps agreeing right now was the best option. Han Fei opened his mouth but no words came out.

He recalled a detail. Before President Gu arrived at the hospital, he seemed to have already known Han Fei was there. The man showed no surprise whatsoever about Han Fei’s presence in the hospital.

It wasn’t even dawn yet when the store owner personally hurried over. This indeed showed he was a good person, but what if he had ulterior motives?

Han Fei’s face displayed deep gratitude, but his mind was racing at full speed.

He linked all the events he had encountered since entering the Memory World of the Master of Shrine and made a terrifying discovery.

Tonight, as soon as Han Fei arrived at the store, he heard Huang Li talking about organizing the goods, as the boss had demanded everything be sorted before dawn. And because of the boss’s demand, he had gone into the basement storeroom, where he encountered the transformed Shrine.

If he hadn’t regained consciousness at a crucial moment, he might have already opened the Shrine, triggering unknown consequences.

Another suspect detail was the black cloth covering the Shrine. When Han Fei entered the basement, the Shrine’s black cloth had been uncovered, indicating that the person who uncovered it knew in advance that Han Fei would go down there—everything was targeting him!

Finally, Huang Li was deeply comatose. As an employee who had already resigned, Huang Li could have left after training the newcomer.

She no longer had any utility, and just so happened to have had an accident.

As the staff member at work during the night, if something happened to Huang Li, Han Fei was the most likely person to take her to the hospital.

If the owner of the store orchestrated all this, then it was not surprising to him that Han Fei was here.

And these were not even the aspects that Han Fei found the most terrifying; his thoughts went even further.

The job at the store had been introduced to him by Floral Shirt, who was involved with high-interest loans. Might those, too, be machinations behind the scenes by the store owner?

From the beginning, the Master of Shrine was the prey of the store owner. His misfortunes weren’t natural but likely manufactured!

It was precisely when the Master of Shrine was desperate that he met the store owner, who then made offers of financial assistance that he couldn’t refuse, his heart always mindful of the owner’s benevolence.

Licking his dry lips, Han Fei then thought of a third layer.

The Mad Old Lady couldn’t speak and was hard of hearing; her only son had reportedly also been an employee in the secondhand store, and it appeared as though he had been consumed by the Shrine.

This matter was definitely not as simple as it seemed on the surface. Perhaps all the rumors were true, and the Master of Shrine was the next target selected by the store owner.

"The price of a soul..." A glint of light flashed in Han Fei’s eyes as he realized what choice he ought to make.

"No need. I already gathered most of the money needed for my mother’s treatment. A little more effort, and it should be no problem." Han Fei chose to refuse.

"Your mother has worked hard her whole life without any good fortune; she shouldn’t have to suffer like this." The man spoke softly, "Better treatment could increase the success rate of the surgery. Don’t reject my kindness, and don’t feel any pressure."

"Really, it’s not necessary."

"Why are you being so stubborn, kid! Is this a time to be obstinate?" the Doctor scolded him, while the Nurse chimed in too.

All present encircled Han Fei, and as he was condemned by them and unable to extricate himself, sudden sounds emerged from the hospital room.

The Master of Shrine’s mother seemed to be awakened by the noise. She painfully turned her head to look towards the hospital room door and spotted Han Fei amidst the crowd at first glance.

She uttered his name weakly, calling out for Han Fei.

"The patient’s awake."

The woman was apparently trying to defend Han Fei, even though she was seriously ill herself and didn’t want to see her child maltreated.

The door to the hospital room opened, and Han Fei was the first to walk in.

This was the first time he had seen the woman, but parts of his memory were suddenly activated, and almost unconsciously, he leaned over beside the hospital bed where he could reach the woman’s hand.

"Mom, I’m here to see you."

The disease left the woman’s face pallid, but upon seeing Han Fei, she showed a gentle smile. She didn’t speak a word, just gripped Han Fei’s hand, unwilling to let go.

The parts of the memory that weren’t Han Fei’s own influenced him deeply; his overwhelming guilt and pain, all his inner grievances, were on the verge of exploding.

Unable to pay the rent, unable to find his father who had stolen donations, facing everyone’s blame, the high-interest loans he owed, his hands so full of wounds they even bore stains of blood that couldn’t be washed away.

"I made a choice, but I don’t know if it was right or wrong. I..."

"It doesn’t matter." The woman silently watched Han Fei, her gaze fixed on him: "You have already made the best decision."

For the first time, Han Fei saw such a smile. It was indescribable; not even his master-level Acting could mimic it. For it was something he had always lacked.

"Don’t worry, go back now. It’s almost dawn." The woman released her hand, hesitated for a moment, then gently touched Han Fei’s cheek: "Don’t carry regrets because of me."

"Regrets?" Hearing the woman’s last words, a system prompt sounded in Han Fei’s mind.

"Player ID 0000, please note! You have completed the Shrine Random Task—Money!"

"The choice you made, I could never have made it. Just as what’s happened can no longer be undone."

"The Master of Shrine’s inner regret has been alleviated by 20 percent! You have earned a substantial amount of Experience rewards! You have received your mother’s blessing."

"Mother’s Blessing (Passive Enhancement State): Slowing of mood value decrement, slowing of world alteration rate! Brain Power permanently increased by one!"