My ‘Healing’ Game
Chapter 462: Can the Bad Guy Survive to the End?

Chapter 462: Chapter 462: Can the Bad Guy Survive to the End?

The old man looked at the memorial photos arranged side by side on the wooden table; the wrinkles on his face crowded together.

"My wish really came true, but only after it was fulfilled did I realize that it was my best friend who killed my entire family."

Room 19 was filled with Fierce Ghosts and Wandering Souls; they were busy in different places during their lifetimes and returned to this room after death because of a common bond.

"How could I not hate him?"

A long time had passed, but the hatred in the old man’s eyes had not diminished by the slightest, completely betrayed and sold out by his best friend—it was an eternal obsession for the old man.

"Old man, if you want him to pay the price he deserves, now is a perfect opportunity!" Han Fei, carrying a delivery box, sat next to the old man. If someone looked at this scene from outside the window, they might find it harmoniously bizarre.

"The department store boss’s luck was exchanged from a well; the more important the people to him, the more he could exchange, and he prospered all the way by that well, sacrificing others when he faced failure. But now, he has no close people left around him." Han Fei took out his phone: "Recently, the employees of the Secondhand Store died one after another, very frequently, but the boss’s business did not improve at all; that well can no longer offer him any help."

"People as selfish as him will sooner or later see their families destroyed and end up dying miserably alone." The old man’s gaze slowly shifted from the memorial photos to Han Fei: "I really want to help you, but my family members cannot leave this room."

"They can’t leave?"

"That’s also part of the deal. In a moment of despair, he brought me to the department store. He wanted to show me the enterprise we had built together. In reality, he wanted me to see the black cloth being lifted from the shrine. Under the witness of that shrine, I personally threw the family photo of all my family members into the well. He said that only in this way could all the lost souls reunite. But in return, they could never leave this room. Their souls would be sucked into that well and become nourishment for the shrine if they took even half a step out of the room."

The collective hatred of the old man’s family, after mutating, was extremely terrifying, but individually, they were not as fearsome as the six-fingered child.

"What if I retrieve your family photo from the well? Could you leave then?" Han Fei vaguely remembered seeing many photos floating in the well last night, including the old man’s family photo: "I am willing to risk my life to help retrieve the photo, allowing you to be free forever. But once I get the photo, I hope you can join me in seeking revenge against the boss."

The old man did not immediately agree; his cloudy eyes stared at Han Fei for a long time: "The Dragon Slayer could become a new evil dragon. I hope when the time comes, you will make a different choice than he did."

The somber words seemed to carry a deep meaning, as if this Memory World was constructed from a series of different choices.

"So, do you agree?" Han Fei, carrying the delivery box, stood up: "I will try to bring you that family photo by tomorrow morning."

Having achieved his purpose, Han Fei got up and waved goodbye to the memorial photos, then prepared to leave.

"Wait a moment." The old man lifted an envelope in his hand: "Aren’t you curious about what is written inside?"

"I’m not curious about what’s written in the letter, but I know the department store boss values it highly. There must be something in it that could harm him; having such a thing on me is not prudent, so returning it to its rightful owner is the safest course of action." The letter was severely decayed, and the handwriting was barely legible; tearing it open rashly would ruin the letter.

"This letter contains the last bit of remorse from your boss. He mentioned a woman’s name in it, his ex-wife, named Xu Meng, who particularly liked to wear dresses. Your boss also kept her favorite dress at home, but when I was taken to the department store well, I saw that dress being thrown into the well too." The old man seemed to have spoken too much today, his face grew even paler, his veins appearing like tiny chains wrapped around his skin.

"Xu Meng..." Han Fei had seen a woman continuously trying on dresses on the third floor of the department store, and she seemed to be the ex-wife of the store owner, "Understood, I will try to retrieve the dresses and photos together."

"It’s not just her." The old man raised a finger, "I see a wig in your package. Your boss’s brother wore a wig when he was alive. He was responsible for organizing various charity events for your boss and bought a new house in Shahe Origin just a few years later with full payment."

"The department store owner has a brother? But I remember he was always alone."

"His brother didn’t escape his ruthless clutches either. You can take that wig to number ten in district four of Shahe Origin and see for yourself." The old man picked up a piece of zong leaf from the ground, looked at the blood-red veins on it, and gently stroked it as if touching his own child’s skin, "Take this zong leaf with you, it might be of some help."

"Alright, I’m heading there now."

Han Fei remembered the old man’s words and immediately set out.

As he stepped out of the apartment building and the sunlight shone on him again, Han Fei’s heartbeat finally normalized.

The pressure that family had put on him was enormous. If it weren’t for the old man’s appearance at the end, he might have been torn to pieces already.

"It felt like walking a tightrope, a single misstep could lead to complete destruction." Han Fei thought that if he did not become an actor in the future, he could really consider becoming a police officer. If he went undercover, he might not need his colleagues to intervene, and in a few days, he might become a gang leader; in a few months, he might even lead everyone to surrender.

Deliberately avoiding surveillance, Han Fei, carrying a delivery box, went directly to number ten in district four of Shahe Origin, surrounded by an unusually large number of little white flowers.

It was winter, and Han Fei did not recall any kind of little white flower that blooms in winter.

Even more eerie was that what his two eyes saw was entirely different.

Through his right eye, he saw a ground covered with pristine little flowers, but through his left, he saw a collection of swaying baby skulls.

"There’s something sinister about these flowers."

Continuing forward, as Han Fei reached the entrance of the building, he noticed a middle-aged woman in the garden pruning plants.

"Auntie, could you help me open the building’s entrance door?" Han Fei, struggling with the delivery box, stopped next to the middle-aged woman.

"I don’t live in this building. I just see that no one takes care of the plants here, so I come to water them," the auntie was very nice and spoke in a soft, gentle voice, very tenderly, "Are you sure you got the address right? I remember that no one lives in this building."

"Is that possible?"

"The earliest owner of this building was a very young tycoon who had a big heart and helped many children. He and his brother established a charity foundation together. But, alas, the heavens were unseeing, and he drowned on his thirtieth birthday. His brother was devastated and preserved this building to commemorate his only family member." The middle-aged woman expressed deep sympathy, "Ah, many children he helped came back here after they grew up, bringing various things to pay their respects. But his brother firmly refused to let the children spend money, just asking them to plant a flower in front of the house. Over time, this building became the most beautiful in Shahe Origin."

The middle-aged woman was very talkative and continuously told Han Fei about the previous owner’s many good deeds and how remarkable a person he was.

"He did charity for three years and then paid in full for the most expensive house in Shahe, quite impressive," Han Fei muttered to himself as he approached the corridor entrance after the middle-aged woman had left.

Previously, Huang Ying had brought him a Skill Book of unlocking from the Shallow World. Han Fei had studied it during his spare time. He had been ready to observe the type of lock and try using the unlocking skill, but surprisingly, a light tug was all it took to open the door.

The seemingly sturdy iron door was not locked; it had always been slightly ajar.

"The department store boss’s brother has always been helping him with the charity; I might find some clues in his room."

From the outside, this building was the most beautiful structure in Shahe Origin, but once inside the corridor, one could see withered white petals and various kinds of smelly debris everywhere.

"The department store boss used to have children he helped plant flowers here; was he looking for new trading targets?"

Picking up a tattered petal from the ground, Han Fei saw a flower with his right eye, but his left eye saw a white moth.

"What a crazy and bizarre world," he murmured.

Arriving at room number ten, Han Fei had just raised his hand to knock when the security door swung open on its own.

"Anyone there?"

Holding a delivery box, Han Fei hesitated on whether to just walk in when suddenly a peculiar noise came from inside the living room.

"Snap!"

Following the noise, he saw a picture frame that had fallen in the living room, and an old, yellowed photo had landed in front of Han Fei.

In the photo stood two men, whose appearances and demeanors were completely different. The shorter one was the department store boss, and the other man had a handsome face but a patch of skin on his face clearly differed in color as if resulting from a skin transplant in some unauthorized hospital.

"Is that Boss Gu’s brother?"

Taking out a wig from the delivery box, Han Fei pulled the door open wider and half-stepped into the room.

The luxuriously decorated living room was filled with photos of a man who seemed particularly vain and yet dissatisfied with his own face, as it appeared different in each photo.

"Don’t stay in the doorway, come on in," a very weary voice called from deeper inside the room; it sounded as though the speaker was seriously ill.

"Sorry to disturb you, I have something to give to you."

Stepping on a dust-covered floor, Han Fei had not walked far when he noticed a strand of black hair squeezing out from under the bedroom door.

"Come here, I’m here." The voice sounded strange, as if the speaker were continuously spitting out something as he spoke.

The bedroom door slowly opened, but instead of the owner, bundles of dirty black hair emerged.

"Help me, I can’t breathe, hair keeps growing inside my stomach, help me!"

The black hair, sticking to the walls like a flood, surged down the corridor towards Han Fei.

"I’m just delivering takeout; cutting hair will cost extra." The landlord’s ring gave no response, emboldening Han Fei as he gripped the bladeless knife more tightly.

"Rebirth!"

Sunlight finally penetrated the eternally dim attic; Han Fei stepped on the black hair and reached the bedroom door.

With a swift motion of his hand, he sliced through the black "river" instantly.

Without stopping, Han Fei forged ahead against the flow and grasped the man who was drowning in the sea of black hair.

Using the skill to touch the depths of the soul, Han Fei felt the man’s pain and regret, but not a trace of hatred.

"You’ve been transformed into this ghastly apparition and yet, your heart bears no hatred?"

The man was barely as strong as a newly formed Grudge, which renewed Han Fei’s confidence.

Finally finding someone he could bully, Han Fei attempted to drag him into the living room, but the man’s hair had already fused with the entire bedroom and would regrow as soon as it was cut.

"Thank you, I feel much better now," said the man, who, skeletal with a distended stomach, belched hair whenever he opened his mouth.

"Are you the department store boss’s brother? You looked dashing in the photo; how did you end up like this?"

"I..." the man glanced weakly at Han Fei, contemplating for a moment before asking his first question: "Is my brother dead?"

"You two really do share a deep brotherly bond, asking such a direct question right away," Han Fei shook his head. "If he were dead, I wouldn’t be here looking for you."

"He’s still alive? He pushed his wife, children, best friend, and only kin into a well; why is such a man still alive?" the man lay on the bed, his eyes lifeless, a distinct scar on his head as though burned by fire.