My ‘Healing’ Game
Chapter 456 Three of Ten Fingers Severed

Chapter 456: Chapter 456 Three of Ten Fingers Severed

Han Fei had spent most of tonight in illusions, and now it was a bit late to start smashing walls.

To avoid being discovered by the boss, Han Fei memorized the position opposite the well and then restored the shelves to their original state.

Carrying a shovel and a pickaxe on his back, he walked through the underground warehouse, carefully feeling the coolness transmitted from the landlord’s ring. There were far more unclean things in the underground warehouse than on the ground level.

"What is this?"

On a shelf very close to the shrine sat a carved wooden box, resembling an antique; just by approaching, one would feel bursts of cold wind.

Wearing gloves, Han Fei opened the wooden box, which contained several blackened zongzi leaves. The leaves’ surfaces were coated with moldy white rice and honey dates that had worms, but eerily, the zongzi leaves themselves were intact.

"These zongzi leaves look so strange, the veins are just like dense blood vessels. Could these be meat zongzi?"

As he moved aside the zongzi leaves, at the bottom of the wooden box was a letter, on the envelope of which three characters could barely be made out—Given to an Old Friend.

Enduring a strong sense of discomfort, Han Fei found a plastic bag to take out the letter, wiped the blood scabs off the envelope, and saw an address.

"White City District, Shahe Origin No.19? I remember the family that orders plain white rice every night also lives in Shahe Origin."

White City District was the richest district, and Shahe Origin was where the rich people lived.

"What iron-clad relationship must one have to send such meat zongzi during festivals?"

Han Fei placed a piece of zongzi leaf and the letter into a plastic bag, intending to head to Shahe Origin after dawn with these items.

Besides the zongzi leaves, Han Fei discovered many goods in the warehouse that were emitting dark energy, including precious silk fabrics, a rusty meat grinder, and an outdated square box television that had been phased out many years ago, among other things.

"There’s at least one ’dirty thing’ on each shelf, all of them positioned facing the shrine, making them seem as if they’re sacrificial offerings to the shrine."

Han Fei scanned the shelves, planning to remove these items sealed in the warehouse that were "contaminated" and let them see the sunlight once again.

"In the Master of Shrine’s illusions, all ghosts and monsters were controlled by the shrine; everyone around was an accomplice, but is that really the case?"

"At that time, he was in a state of extreme despair, his mind fully dominated by negative thoughts, and coupled with the temptation of the shrine, that’s why he saw such a hopeless world."

"Perhaps that world was exactly what the department store boss wanted him to see, where all the good things that came close to the Master of Shrine would be torn apart and twisted into even uglier despair. His goal was to gradually turn the Master of Shrine into a monster, into a servant kneeling before the shrine."

"After going through so much, I can say I understand him the most in this Memory World, but understanding doesn’t mean I will walk the same path as him."

In the illusions, Han Fei had been driven to desperation by all the ghosts and monsters, but now, not only did he not hold any grudges against these ghosts and monsters, he even thought about taking them out of the warehouse.

"They have been persecuted and bullied by the shrine, unable to find peace even after death; if there’s anyone in this world who could help me, it must be among them."

Unable to carry everything out at once, Han Fei could only choose a few small items that were easy to carry and less likely to be noticed, stuffing them into the old lady’s parcel.

When he left the underground warehouse, the bag had acquired a love letter folded into a paper airplane, a wig covered with cobwebs, as well as the blood-soaked zongzi leaves and the letter.

Using techniques for cleaning up murder scenes, Han Fei restored everything in the store to its original state, then carried the old lady’s parcel out of the secondhand store, heading towards the charity donation box behind the department store building.

Huang Li had taken him here once. The donation box built by the department store boss wasn’t far from where the building’s trash was dealt with; maybe, subconsciously, the boss thought of charity as a better destination for garbage.

Using the key, he opened the donation box and placed the old lady’s package inside.

Perhaps because he had been involved in solving too many murders, Han Fei was very adept at handling such scenes and, fortunately, he wasn’t a bad person. If one day he did stray, Xinhu might gain a new supervillain.

Back at the shop, Han Fei acted as if nothing had happened, snoozing on the counter.

"Ding dong, ding dong..."

As day was about to break, the store door was pushed open, and a man dressed in black entered.

From his hat to his shoes, everything was black, as if he had just come from a funeral.

The man didn’t speak to Han Fei but moved around the shop on his own, eventually stopping in front of the shrine that was covered with a black cloth.

"Do you need anything?" Han Fei stood at the counter, asking with a tinge of sleepiness in his voice.

"I wanted to buy this shrine last time, but the clerk said he couldn’t decide and needed to ask the boss." The man slowly turned around, "So many days have passed, I wonder how you’ve considered it?"

It was very cold outside, but the man was only wearing a thin coat. There was also a very complex black tattoo on his neck, resembling a giant python swallowing several human heads.

"Could you tell me which clerk attended to you? I can help you get in touch with them." Han Fei gently slapped his own face, as if trying to force himself to stay alert.

"Thank you for the offer, but he should be arriving soon." The man glanced at Han Fei a few times, then quickly lost interest.

Compared to the living in this world, he seemed more interested in the secondhand goods in the shop.

About ten minutes later, the door to the secondhand store was pushed open again, and Pei Yang, with bloodshot eyes, appeared at the doorway. He was disheveled, with messy hair, as if he had just been awoken.

"Why did you come over?" Han Fei was surprised.

Pei Yang gestured with his hand and headed straight for the man in black. The two spoke in hushed tones for quite a while. During the conversation, Pei Yang kept looking towards Han Fei, as if afraid Han Fei would notice something.

About ten minutes later, Pei Yang approached Han Fei, "Buddy, I see your leg is injured. You can leave work early today. Go home and get some good rest, and come early for the night shift."

"Can you handle it? You only left after eleven last night, and now before dawn, you’re back..."

"Don’t worry about me, just hurry home and sleep." Pei Yang kept urging Han Fei to leave.

"That guy doesn’t seem like a good person, be careful not to get cheated," Han Fei kindly cautioned.

"Alright, alright, I got it."

Happy to get off work early, Han Fei tidied up the accounts with Pei Yang, then left the secondhand store, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

The moment he stepped out of the store, a murderous intent flashed in Han Fei’s eyes. He clearly saw the tattoo of a human head on the man’s neck—it was the same as the one he had seen on Seven Fingers.

"How did Pei Yang get mixed up with Ten Fingers?"

The conversation between Pei Yang and the man in black had been very quiet, but Han Fei, possessing the damaged right ear of the Master of Shrine, heard everything they said.

Pei Yang had discovered some secrets of the department store’s boss and felt that he would be the next one to die, which is why he approached the man in black for help.

The man in black was a private investigator, constantly investigating matters related to the department store. He and Pei Yang hit it off immediately.

"With Seven Fingers and Eight Fingers dead, the remaining fingers are starting to make their move. Pei Yang is smart, but he’s chosen the wrong ally. Collaborating with Ten Fingers is like throwing himself into the tiger’s den."

Just now, Han Fei had taken the risk of being discovered to give Pei Yang a warning, but Pei Yang was already panicking and wouldn’t listen to anyone else.

"Hope he can hold on till the end."

When disaster strikes, everyone tries to save themselves by any means necessary, but some choose the wrong way. It’s less a rescue than a suicide."

It was getting light outside the department store. Making sure no one was around, Han Fei went to the donation box and took the old lady’s package.

"Off work."

Crossing the stone bridge, Han Fei glanced at the quietly flowing Shahe. His reflection in the water was somewhat blurry, not quite resembling himself; it seemed as if another person was standing in the river, watching him.

"I better go back and get some sleep. In the afternoon, I’ll join Wang Ping’an and head to Shahe Origin."

Han Fei rubbed his hands together. The weather was getting colder, and it was time for him to buy some thicker clothes for himself.

He skirted the park and entered an alley, but Han Fei didn’t get far before he stopped.

There were two alleys between the department store and the place he rented. The homeless man usually hid in the alley closer to the residential area, but today he was in the alley closer to the department store.

Seeing Han Fei approach, the homeless man got up from beside a wooden box and stretched out his hands to Han Fei, as if asking for food.

Having not seen him for a day and a night, the homeless man seemed to have been crippled, now as helpless as the dog in the box.

Disheveled and in tattered clothes, his hands were also covered in grime.

The homeless man had never before actively blocked someone’s path to beg for food; his behavior today seemed out of the ordinary.

"It’s not fully light yet, and the breakfast stall from yesterday hasn’t opened. I can’t buy you food right now," Han Fei continued walking forward, but the homeless man suddenly grabbed his clothes, leaving dirty marks on Han Fei’s clerk uniform with his filthy hands.

His eyes slowly narrowed, Han Fei didn’t say anything offensive to the homeless man and didn’t use brute force to break free.

He gently grabbed the man’s wrist, "It seems you’re starving. Then I’ll go over to the department store and see. I remember there’s a convenience store that’s open 24/7."

With a perfectly normal expression, Han Fei smiled warmly.

Seeing that he was prepared to go back the way he came, the homeless man finally let go.

Two minutes later, Han Fei’s figure was no longer visible on the street. The homeless man was about to go back to his spot near the wooden box, when suddenly the door of a nearby house opened.

A man wearing a nurse’s uniform stepped out, holding a shiny pointed knife in his hand.

"You saved him?" The man grabbed the homeless man by the neck and slammed him against the wall, "You like doing good deeds so much, then you can die for him!"

The knife’s blade moved downward, about to pierce the homeless man’s abdomen, when hurried footsteps echoed through the alley.

Han Fei hadn’t gone far; he had been hiding around the corner.

Without considering the consequences, Han Fei tackled the man to the ground.

"You’re indeed problematic! I knew I had never seen you before!" The man, excited upon seeing Han Fei return, said, "An unfamiliar person has appeared in this unchanging world. Whose memory are you?"

The man couldn’t feel pain, and his strength was much greater than a normal person’s, effortlessly pinning down one of Han Fei’s arms.

"No matter if you don’t want to talk, I’ll can you and keep you in my bedroom."

The man’s other hand grabbed Han Fei’s throat, and as he attempted to throw Han Fei to the ground, Han Fei’s clenched right fist stabbed sharply towards the man’s chest.

"Don’t you know how to fight? Hilarious, do you think your fist can penetrate my chest?"

The cruel smile on the man’s lips slowly solidified, and he felt a hint of coldness in his chest, "A body formed by the concentration of memories...how can it feel cold?"

Looking down, the morning sun’s rays shone upon the brilliant knife in Han Fei’s hand.

With a reverse grip on the knife, he made an upward slash!

The nurse’s head was obliquely severed by the blade.

The body dissolved in the sunlight, and the nurse, in disbelief, stared at Han Fei. He didn’t even have the chance to touch the tattoo on his neck before he was slain by Han Fei.

"I...will remember your face..."

"So talkative." Flexing his wrist, Han Fei got up from the ground, "The tattoo around his neck had six human heads, like a scarf. Was he Six Fingers?"

Putting away the Rebirth Saber, Han Fei turned to look at the corner where the homeless man was holding his dog, his face filled with terror, afraid that Han Fei would kill him to silence him.