My ‘Healing’ Game
Chapter 493: A Voice That’s Been Punched by an Angel (5200 Votes for Monthly Ticket)

Chapter 493: Chapter 493: A Voice That’s Been Punched by an Angel (5200 Votes for Monthly Ticket)

The woman’s body was connected to the entire building; she had become both the manager and a part of the structure.

Her arms, bound by chains, were raised aloft as she struggled with all her might. The entire building shook, yet she could change nothing.

Her mouth opened, but no words came out; her tongueless oral cavity resembled an excavated hole.

Her gaze was fixed on the Liuli Cat, the woman’s lips trembling slightly as if silently singing past songs to the tune of the music box.

Her back was bound by the Life Rope, the pitch-black ropes intertwined with obsession; they spread across her body like her blood vessels and finally wrapped around her heart.

Now, she no longer resembled a ghost, nor a human, but rather a trapped monster.

"I’ll help you break free."

Han Fei took out the Rebirth Saber, circled around to the woman’s back, the scene before him causing him to frown slightly.

The Life Rope growing from her cardiac region connected to the darkness, sucking her back full of creases.

"You manipulate the regrets within the building through the Life Rope, and at the center of the Plastic Surgery Hospital, there is hatred playing with your fate."

This area differed from the Death Building Area; those three sources of hatred didn’t possess the powerful and insane special abilities of the Butterfly. To ensure nothing went awry in this area, they used the Life Rope to connect all the buildings.

"It could have been a symbiotic existence, so why impose shackles on others? Are they afraid their own status is threatened?"

Raising the gleaming blade, Han Fei struck toward the Life Rope behind the woman!

Before the Rebirth Saber even touched the Life Rope, seven figures crawled out of it, all clad in white coats, seemingly doctors from the Plastic Surgery Hospital, with Liuli as their masterpiece.

Upon seeing one of the figures, Aunt Li got up from the ground, shock evident in her eyes.

"Is it really him?"

The doctors that emerged from the Life Rope were mere spectral figures; they couldn’t stop Han Fei.

The rope woven from obsession, humanity, memories, and despair was easily severed by the bright blade; the seven doctor figures turned into a fake, beautiful face; Liuli’s memories became a black fog filled with screams; the despair transformed into an injured soul struggling futilely within the black mist; the last shred of humanity turned into a song that resonated in the mist, eventually dissipating on the edge of the Rebirth Saber.

When the black fog cleared, both the injured soul and the doctor’s specters had vanished, but within the Rebirth Saber, a woman humming a song had appeared.

She was just a faint figure, yet she drew the attention of other figures within the Rebirth Saber; the most beautiful blessings of humanity surrounded her, listening to her song.

The woman now had her own audience, whether in reality or in the Deep World.

With the Life Rope severed, the woman’s torso withered like a dying flower; all the photos inside the hotel began to shatter, and the figures within the photos gradually faded away.

The chains fell to the floor, and from the distant night came a fierce roar, as if the very hatred within the Plastic Surgery Hospital had sensed something.

"The hatred has been stirred. We need to leave now."

Han Fei and the others could deal with Large-scaled Grudges, but when encountering hatred, they still had to take a detour.

"Anyway, the hotel isn’t going anywhere, and sooner or later, I’ll turn it into a property of the Happiness Residential Community."

The neighbors agreed with Han Fei’s plan, and everyone began to use the remaining time to search for Shen Luo, while also taking away anything within the hotel that contained Dark Energy.

Picking up the music box from the ground, Xu Qin took out a dinner knife and plunged it into the severed tongue, with the Curse emanating from Liuli completely absorbed by the dinner knife.

Xu Qin’s body swayed slightly, then a smile appeared on her face, "The curse of the voice, it turns out to be so wonderful."

After eliminating the curse, Xu Qin placed the music box into the Cry’s Spiritual Altar.

The hatred from the plastic surgery hospital could come at any time, so Han Fei and the others didn’t dare to stay too long.

From the eleventh floor to the first, they swept through all the buildings of the hotel, eliminating the remaining ghosts and monsters, but Shen Luo was nowhere to be found.

"Where is he?"

The players looked at each other, and finally, Yantang proposed a possibility, "When we were trapped in the ghost hitting the wall, could he have left the hotel? He was dragged into the elevator by hair and should... have gone downstairs before us."

Considering her own talent, Yantang, halfway through her thoughts, forcibly changed what she was about to say about Shen Luo’s slim chances of surviving, to Shen Luo should have gone downstairs first.

Anxiety permeated the air, and as the hatred approached, Han Fei had to temporarily give up looking for Shen Luo.

"He has his own lucky star; he should be fine."

Han Fei picked up the Spiritual Altar and led the players back into the fog.

Tie Nan was surprised to see Han Fei walking into the fog initially, but gradually they realized that the place shrouded in fog was actually the safe zone.

"Don’t run around in the hidden map, it’s best to stay near the spawn point." Ironically, the building named after death had now become the players’ spawn point, which could be considered a testament to Han Fei’s leadership, giving the Death Building new life.

"Brother Youfu, I want to ask you a question." Liuli Cat, who was not very talkative, spoke up, "It has been almost twenty hours since we entered the hidden map, and I bought the lowest-tier Game Box, which can only run deeply for twenty-four hours. If we can’t exit the hidden map on our own, I’m wondering if I could commit suicide and then leave this place?"

The girl talked about death with an unusually calm look in her eyes, "I would rather choose my own way to die than to be killed by ghosts."

"After death, all your data will be reset, and all friendships and relationships you’ve formed in this world will be nullified — the account Liuli Cat will disappear forever. Are you sure you want to do this?" Han Fei realized that every player who accidentally entered the Deep World harbored some kind of pain they didn’t want others to know about — most of them joined "Perfect Life" seeking some form of healing.

"I joked with my family long ago that if I ever found myself in a supernatural world full of ghosts, it would be easier to just end myself." Liuli Cat smiled, "Besides, I don’t have any regrets now. I chose this name because I’ve always liked Gesheng’s songs since I was little. I never thought I’d actually meet her in the game. The seventh-generation Smart Brain is indeed impressive; it has seen through people’s hearts."

She took a pair of scissors out of her item bar, but before she could make her next move, Yantang grabbed her wrist.

"Please be calm, we still have a chance to leave. Your Game Box can still run deeply for four more hours, and we’ll use these four hours to figure out a way." Yantang never used to care about others — they thought he was unsociable, and he found them boring. But now, Yantang was changing and didn’t think twice as he stopped Liuli Cat.

Life and death have always been the ultimate test of character, and Aunt Li and Tie Nan also came over to persuade Liuli Cat.

Han Fei watched them silently, only speaking at the end, "I can tell you a way to leave, but this method was figured out only after my friends and I, since the beta, spent countless hours on it. It’s the biggest secret of our guild."

Hearing Han Fei speak, the four players all turned their attention to him.

"If you want to know this method, if you want some gains in the hidden map, then exchange it for your friendship. I need you to swear not to divulge this secret and never do anything that would harm our guild’s interests." Ordinary oaths hold no weight, but Han Fei owned a Soul Trading Shrine.

"I promise to follow your commands." Yantang had already made up his mind in the hotel; he even wanted to take the initiative to join Han Fei’s guild to explore the unknown hidden world together.

"You saved us from the hotel, I’ll listen to you," Liuli Cat nodded as well.

Aunt Li looked at the fog, hesitated for a moment, then walked straight up to Han Fei, "Kid, I know I’m old and don’t play games, but I can give you money, give you other things. Can you let me join your guild?"

"Join?" Han Fei hadn’t expected Aunt Li to be so direct; she probably didn’t even know what a game guild was.

"I don’t want to go like this. I’ve been looking for my husband for more than twenty years now. Whether this game is real or fake, I must see him one more time, or I’ll never rest in peace!" Aunt Li was particularly distressed, as her recent experiences in the hotel had brought back memories of the past.

"I don’t need money, nor do I need anything else, just your secrecy." Han Fei finally turned to Tie Nan, "And you? I know you’re a professional player, but not all pros are created equal. If you can do things that are difficult for ordinary people, perhaps you have a chance to join the top game guilds."

"The top?" Tie Nan was quite tempted, "Don’t worry, I will definitely keep the secret!"

There was no coercion; the four players willingly followed Han Fei toward the department store.

"Brother Youfu, do you top gamers all have your own secret circles? Then do you know Huang Ying?" Yantang asked, and Tie Nan also leaned in eagerly, their eyes filled with curiosity. The god-like player had now become the focus of the entire world.

"Huang Ying?" Han Fei activated his master-level acting skills within his brain sea, took a light breath, and slowly shifted his gaze toward the night sky, "Professional players are divided into several ranks, but Huang Ying alone occupies his own tier. He stands above the top-tier; no one can reach his heights. We often say there’s always a higher mountain, but Huang Ying gives me the impression that he’s like this night sky—no matter how high the mountains are, they only serve to be looked down upon by him."

Han Fei’s words stunned both Yantang and Tie Nan. Even a top-tier player as powerful as Han Fei considered Huang Ying an unsurpassable night sky.

"Huang Ying, a player in a tier of his own, an eternal god."

Amid the casual chatter, Han Fei led the group to the department store.

They entered the store’s warehouse and, under the watch of the Mirror God, completed their vows at the shrine.

The four players had not yet realized that their souls were now bound to the shrine; the vow itself was the content of the trade.

"Now that we’re friends, I won’t hide anything from you," Han Fei said as he took out the Wish Jar from his item bar. "There are many ways to leave the hidden map. The method I discovered with my guild buddies is to search for the key."

"The key?" Yantang and Tie Nan didn’t quite understand.

"The key has to be found by oneself, inscribed with special patterns. Once you find the right key, all you need to do is use it to unlock the door in front of you to leave," Han Fei said as he took out a key from the Wish Jar—the one he had stolen from the shelves upon entering the store: "Now, I have a key reserved for myself, which I can give to one of you four. You can decide amongst yourselves who will get it."

"I don’t need it. I want to stay here," Aunt Li declared, entangled in her obsession and resolutely shook her head.

"My game box is provided by the company. Although it’s rudimentary, it can run non-stop for a week, and every day a staff member will replace the nutrition fluid and handle the waste tank," Tie Nan refused with a wave of his hand. He was a lower-level professional player, essentially a different kind of office drone, toiling away for his guild boss and exploiting himself.

"Then give it to Liuli Cat. My game box is of the highest configuration, so I don’t have to worry about these things," Yantang also chose not to leave.

Han Fei hadn’t expected them to make their decisions so quickly. He handed the key to Liuli Cat and then led her deeper into the dark recesses of the warehouse.

Liuli Cat remained silent along the way. Her brain sea seemed to be consumed by many painful thoughts, like thorns entangling her, much like the Life Ropes that bound the colored glass.

Inserting the key into the lock, Han Fei motioned for Liuli Cat to push open the door, which, in reality, was not locked at all.

"I will definitely keep it a secret. Thank you for saving me," Liuli Cat said before gently grabbing the doorknob.

As Liuli Cat pushed open the door, Han Fei used his soul-returning talent on her, "Your singing is very beautiful. Surely, many people in this world share my thoughts."

After escorting Liuli Cat away, Han Fei emerged from the darkness, looked toward the other three, and said, "The key is just one of the ways to leave this world. You can try many things, but remember never to attempt suicide. Most hidden maps are actually deleted maps, and committing suicide here could potentially harm your brains."

"Understood."

After advising the three, Han Fei took out the music box from the Spiritual Altar and placed it before the shrine, using the shrine’s special ability—Soul Trading.

"Player number 0000, please be aware! Soul Trading used successfully! Please choose one from the following four rewards."

"Option one: Partial experience points."

"Option two: Severely damaged F-grade curse item—Music Box."

"Option three: Deduct one charm attribute point."

"Option four (rare-level): Randomly acquire one ability or talent from the large-scaled grudge!"

Upon receiving the system prompt, Han Fei was quite surprised. He had been ready to choose the experience points, but an infrequent option had appeared, "To be able to gain the ability of a large-scaled grudge, I must choose this."

"Player #0000, please be advised! You have acquired the F-rank singing talent—The Throat Grasped by the Devil."

"The Throat Grasped by the Devil (F-rank Rare Talent): Your singing can be incredibly captivating, as if a demon from the depths of the Abyss is seducing wandering travelers; your singing can also be infinitely despairing, with every note steeped in pain and sorrow; and your singing can be incredibly loud, like the dawn breaking through the clouds and haze, shedding all the shackles that fate has placed upon you."

After Han Fei acquired this talent, his speaking voice didn’t change much, but when he hummed some melodies, the notes seemed to dance.

"I gained the ability to actively attack with Word Spirit in the Death Building, and now with The Throat Grasped by the Devil, will I be able to heal those Ghosts and Monsters just by talking and singing in the future?"

Having obtained a new talent, Han Fei was still very happy. He then led the three players back into the Fog.

At the same time, a rather disheveled figure crawled out of the elevator shaft of the Wenhua Art Hotel.

"To think that I’m still alive after falling from such a height?"

Shen Luo looked at the dense black hair filling the elevator, feeling a chill run down his spine: "Who is controlling these hairs? Why have they suddenly all stopped moving?"

Looking outside the elevator shaft, the floors, the walls, all the desks and chairs were covered in a layer of bloodstains.

Upon closer examination, Shen Luo noticed many footprints of children’s shoes on the bloodstains. Those footprints had almost touched every place.

"The blood looks quite fresh. Could it be that my companions have all met their demise? Am I the only one still alive?"

Endless loneliness surged towards him, and Shen Luo slumped back down into the elevator shaft: "After death, everything related to the game characters will be deleted, but it seems that’s the only way to leave."

Grabbing the black hair from the ground, Shen Luo twisted them together into a rope and tied it to a pipe.

"Is it really okay to hang myself with someone else’s hair?"

He looked at the still swaying black hair: "Forget it, death is something that is bound to come. Why should I be in such a hurry? After all, I don’t have much going on in reality. The company has closed down, and the boss won’t go back to court for another half a month. I still have plenty of time to look for a way out."

Climbing out of the elevator shaft a bit, Shen Luo saw the bloodstains everywhere and simply couldn’t imagine what had happened inside the hotel.

"This hidden map is too terrifying." Avoiding the bloodstains, Shen Luo decided to leave the hotel first.

As he was about to reach the entrance of the hotel, he noticed that the number of children’s shoe prints on the ground had increased. Looking towards the distance, at the crossroads, there stood a child dressed in white clothes and white shoes.

The child’s skin was pale, and he had an incredibly delicate appearance, possessing a perfect face that no human could have.

"What a cute kid."

Shen Luo was stunned for a moment, but by the time he reacted, the child had already disappeared.

"Now is not the time to care about others. I need to think about where to go next. All my teammates are dead, and I have to face those things alone."

Looking at the twisted streets, Shen Luo hesitated, turning left meant going back into the Fog Area, while turning right meant entering deeper into the city.

After a moment of indecision, Shen Luo took out a pen: "I’ll leave it to luck to decide."

He spun the pen on the ground, and when it stopped, the tip pointed directly towards the Fog Area.

"My luck tells me to head towards the Fog Area, but my luck has always been very bad, so the correct choice should be this way." Shen Luo looked towards the depths of the city: "As long as I use my misfortune in reverse, I might be able to become lucky. When God closes a door, He always leaves a window open."

He strode towards the deeper part of the city, spinning the pen at every intersection, and gradually, there were a lot of advertisements for plastic surgery hospitals on the ground.

"I haven’t seen a ghost along the way; it seems my choice was correct. Facing fate, carving a new path, maybe this is what a true strategist does."