My ‘Healing’ Game
Chapter 509: Terrifying Acting Overwhelms (5000 Votes for Monthly Pass)

Chapter 509: Chapter 509: Terrifying Acting Overwhelms (5000 Votes for Monthly Pass)

Having returned home, Han Fei rested for a while before beginning to read books on plastic surgery and aesthetics.

When midnight struck and the first movie of "Mystery Novelist" officially began, Han Fei donned his gaming helmet and entered the Game Box.

The world was congealed in a hue of blood. Han Fei looked towards the distant city, where the bloody figure that had run from deep within the city stopped atop a building, no longer moving forward; the connection between him and his target seemed to have vanished.

Upon opening his eyes, Han Fei hadn’t yet looked around when a system prompt appeared in his mind.

"Attention player number 0000! Your pet Big Evil is in a dying state. Please feed it fresh blood as soon as possible to help it share the burden of the Curse!"

After the prompt disappeared, Han Fei immediately took out Yinghuo’s phone, and it was only after seeing Lele’s message that he knew Big Evil had returned!

This rebellious evil creature was beaten nearly to the point of soul scattering, and only after it had no energy left to struggle did Bai Sinian get close enough to drag it back.

According to the information sent by Lele, Bai Sinian crawled out of Lost Paradise with Big Evil on his back; a pet riding upon a person was indeed a spectacle.

The two of them were now rescued by Mirror God and were under the protection of a level three Shrine.

"Dare to hurt my Big Evil?" Han Fei didn’t know who the assailant was, but he took note of this vengeance.

Calling on his neighbors, Han Fei prepared to head to the Department Store with everyone.

But before that, there was another matter he had to attend to.

Sensing Tie Nan and Yantang’s location through the fog, Han Fei quietly found them and observed them from behind for a while.

Tie Nan’s mental state had also reached its limit, filled with despair and helplessness; he even began to contemplate suicide to leave the map.

Yantang’s situation was much better; he maintained curiosity about everything, continuously trying and failing, yet never discouraged. This person indeed was a rare talent, the only downside being his low Luck Value.

Following them secretly, Han Fei hid in the fog. When Tie Nan made another attempt at opening a door, Han Fei used his Soul-returning Talent on him.

The numb Tie Nan didn’t even realize what was happening before he was pushed through Ghost Gate and left the Deep World.

"Now only Yantang is left by himself, this young man who is almost as capable as Li Xue, can he persevere in such despair?"

Because he saw potential, Han Fei left Yantang for last; he felt that all the pain and despair would become Yantang’s wealth in the future. Huang Ying had already proved that Han Fei’s training system was without a problem.

"Let’s go, to the Department Store."

Avoiding the Plastic Surgery Hospital, Han Fei and his group followed the alleyways between several areas to reach the store.

No sooner had Han Fei entered the store than he heard a strange noise coming from below, and a massive black shadow tore through the ground heading straight for him.

"Boom!"

His Blood Volume dropped to the danger line, and he was also afflicted with Soul Poison. Han Fei clutched his sunken chest, looking at the excited black shadow, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The familiar feeling of soul-piercing pain emanated from the wound. Han Fei lay on the ground, stunned, unable to get up for a long time.

"Oh, this evil creature!"

The neighbors also dared not approach the black shadow rashly, and in the end, it was Xu Qin who helped Han Fei up and handed him several freshly made pieces of meat.

"Building Chief, I have not failed your expectations; I have successfully brought Big Evil back." Bai Sinian climbed out of the hole in the ground, his security guard uniform torn and ragged, his body covered in cracks, yet the dark energy emanating from his soul was many times stronger than before.

After eating the meat Xu Qin had prepared, Han Fei waited for his blood volume to recover before continuing onward. He looked at the nearly five-meter-tall black shadow in front of him and could hardly recognize it anymore.

"Big Evil?"

As his voice rang out, the black shadow began to move toward him with all its might, as if it wanted to run circles around Han Fei.

"How did you become like this?" Han Fei reached out and touched Big Evil’s head.

"Player 0000, please be advised! You have been infected with a severe soul poison! Seek treatment immediately!"

Ignoring the system’s alert, Han Fei squatted in front of Big Evil, inspecting it carefully.

Having not seen it for a long time, Big Evil’s size had ballooned to five meters, and its appearance had nothing to do with an insect, resembling more a demon’s shadow sprawled on the ground.

Big Evil and Butterfly embarked on two different paths; Butterfly constantly absorbed humanity, played with it, striving to become human; Big Evil, on the other hand, absorbed the most brutal and vicious things from the Deep World, continuously evolving toward the direction of an Evil Ghost.

"Who knows what it’s been eating during this time? It just broke through, and now there are signs of another breakthrough already." Mirror God stepped out from the Shrine, looking seriously at the hole caused by Big Evil, "Han Fei, you’d better get this thing out of here as fast as you can. It seems to have caught the attention of the Unspeakable—only by hiding in the fog is it safe."

"Are you sure it’s not because you’re afraid it’ll destroy the department store?" After touching Big Evil, Han Fei checked its attributes and saw that its Talent had been enhanced, and the Death Intent contained within its body had increased manyfold. Its Loyalty had also improved: "Bai Sinian, what exactly have you been doing all this way? Why have both you and Big Evil gained so much strength?"

"We didn’t really do much." Bai Sinian scratched his head and began to recount the journey: "You told me to take good care of Big Evil. To prevent it from getting lost, I tied myself to it. It was fine initially, but as soon as we left the Death Building Area, Big Evil seemed to sense something and broke away from the team. I intended to stop it, but as you can see, comparatively speaking, I’m more like its pet."

"And then what happened?" Mirror God also became interested.

"Big Evil has a special fondness for Shrines, and it has a unique ability to steal certain things from them. So it led me along, searching for Shrines, burrowing into them, causing destruction. We quickly crossed the Plastic Surgery Hospital and Paradise and entered into the deeper parts of the city."

"That area was even more terrifying than where we are. Emotions and obsessions had turned into ghosts. I was very afraid, but Big Evil became more and more excited. I encountered five Shrines, and Big Evil destroyed four of them. While destroying the fifth Shrine, it caught the eye of the Unspeakable." Bai Sinian adjusted his tattered uniform: "Then we started running, first heading deeper, then making a large loop back here. Big Evil was fast, hardly any Grudge could catch up to it, but probably because it stole something from the Unspeakable, its Death Intent grew stronger and stronger, and the spell cast by the Unspeakable began to take effect slowly."

"You guys are truly daring, daring to destroy Shrines, and five at that?" Mirror God listened with his scalp tingling: "Can you eat whatever is inside the Shrines? Some of those things might even contain memories of the Unspeakable, their cherished obsessions."

"Since it has already eaten them, discussing this now is too late." Han Fei decided to first send Big Evil back into the fog. The fog emanating from his Shrine could isolate the perception of the Unspeakable.

"You underestimate the importance of Shrines to the Unspeakable. That Unspeakable has already come after us, and I can occasionally sense its gaze." Mirror God spoke, advising: "At least until Big Evil can suppress the curse, don’t leave the fog. Also, stay away from bothering the Plastic Surgery Hospital for a while, until we get through this period."

"Alright, we’ll keep a low profile for a while. Once we’ve amassed enough power, we’ll take down the Plastic Surgery Hospital in one fell swoop." Han Fei looked at Big Evil beside him, this symbol of Disaster that consumed something from the Unspeakable, and it had gained tremendous benefits for itself.

Once Big Evil suppressed the curse and digested what the Unspeakable left inside the Shrine, it would become a great help to Han Fei.

Several neighbors lifted Big Evil, and the moment they left the department store, black fire began to burn on Big Evil’s body.

The fire could not be extinguished and only targeted Big Evil. Soon its body was charred with hideous scars.

Not daring to linger, everyone hurried to return Big Evil back to the Death Building.

Strangely enough, once they entered the fog, the black fire on Big Evil instantly snuffed out. It looked pitifully at Han Fei, finally acting a bit more subdued.

"If you run off like this again, I won’t be able to save you next time."

The curse on Big Evil came from the Unspeakable and Xu Qin was also helpless against it. It could only slowly try to suppress it itself.

After settling Big Evil, Han Fei left the foggy area with his neighbors and searched for a neighborhood level G-class mission in the intertwining alleys of several areas.

"The missions nearby are getting harder and harder to trigger. I’m only level nineteen, and I haven’t even acquired my second official profession yet."

The Hidden Profession of the Midnight Butcher brought a fundamental upgrade to Han Fei, and he was also looking forward to his next Hidden Profession, "Level 20 is a watershed for me, it’s a pity that leveling up is too difficult."

After completing the quest, Han Fei returned to the Death Building. He had been secretly observing Yantang for a long time. Once he was sure that Yantang was far from reaching his limit, he found a safe place to prepare to log off.

He pressed the logout button, and his consciousness detached in an instant. Han Fei looked towards the blood-red city and to his surprise, he found that the blood-colored figure was even closer to them!

"Is it the curses on Big Evil that are attracting it?"

Stealing from the Shrine could indeed quickly enhance one’s strength but also required paying a corresponding price.

"Big Evil can freely enter and exit the Shrine. If I take on another Shrine Inheritance Task, it will definitely be a big help! Just getting past this hurdle, I should have an easier time in the future."

As his consciousness detached, Han Fei opened his eyes.

He removed his gaming helmet and fell asleep in the Game Box.

Some time passed before sunlight streamed into the room.

Groggily, Han Fei climbed out of the Game Box. He turned on his phone to see that there were dozens of unread messages and more than ten missed calls.

"What’s the situation? Has the secret of Deep World been exposed?"

Quickly sobering up, Han Fei checked one by one. Huang Ying, Li Xue, Director Jiang—everyone who had his contact information seemed to have sent him a message.

Huang Ying: "I almost forgot you’re an actor! Have you been resurrected by Spider or something? That acting was too realistic!"

Zhuang Ren: "You were born to be a horror film actor. In my more than thirty years of directing, I’ve never seen such an outstanding performance."

Li Xue: "I’ve always felt that movies, no matter how realistically acted, can’t compare to real life. Your acting is really outrageous. By the way, when you have time, come to the police station to make a statement. After our boss watched your film, he called me in the middle of the night, a bit worried that you might turn to a life of crime in the future, even saying that if you turned criminal, you would be the most terrifying one in Xinhu’s history."

Zhan Lele: "Congratulations, boss! You’ve shot straight to the top!"

Director Jiang: "You’ve taken another step closer to your dream. I knew you could do it!"

One after another, the messages filled Han Fei’s eyes, warming his heart; it seemed that more and more people in the Mortal World were starting to care about him.

After checking the messages, Han Fei looked at the missed calls. Just five minutes ago, Bai Xian and Director Zhang had each called him.

"The day has already dawned; didn’t they sleep all night?" Han Fei thought for a moment and then called Director Zhang.

The phone was answered after a few rings, and music could be heard from the other end.

"Han Fei! How come you just woke up? Come and join the celebration!"

"Celebrate what?"

"Check out the box office rankings, your film ratings, and the online comments about you! I truly have an eye for talent! Mark my words, you are definitely going to be a Movie Emperor!" Director Zhang, a veteran director in the industry, normally only attended very formal events or private gatherings and rarely spent the entire night drinking with actors, as he did today.

Minimizing the call, Han Fei opened the box office ranking to have a look.

It was now 9:30 in the morning, and "Mystery Novelist" had broken the real-time box office record for mystery thriller films with a revenue of 51 million, ranking second on the real-time chart!

The pre-sale box office for "One Third of a Comedy" was more than 10 million higher than that of "Mystery Novelist". However, it was now only 4 million ahead in revenue.

Crucially, after one night since the release of "One Third of a Comedy", its rating had slipped from 9.9 to 9.1 and was still dropping, albeit slightly.

The rating for "Mystery Novelist" was somewhat off the charts, as a night passed, the score was still 9.9!

Box office and critical acclaim, a double harvest!

Han Fei gained nearly five hundred thousand followers overnight, and in "Mystery Novelist," he contributed several textbook-level classic shots. Last night, the search term Han Fei and Spider even burst into the national hot search rankings.

The influence of theatrical release films is much greater than that of online films, and although Han Fei played only a supporting role this time, his character was the central axis of all nine actors—he held up the backbone of the entire play! In the past, people like him would usually be referred to as acting veterans.

Han Fei’s acting was recognized by everyone this time, and he also completed a thorough transformation through this film.

Looking at the online selection for outstanding young actors, it’s simply laughable in comparison.

Not just Bai Cha, among his peers, no one’s acting can be mentioned in the same breath as Han Fei’s.

If they were to act alongside Han Fei in a scene, they would probably be suppressed by his aura to the point of speechlessness.

The proof is in the pudding, as the gap in their acting skills is now so wide that even laypeople can easily see it.

Under the post that originally opened betting on who would be this year’s outstanding actor, some people have started to revote after watching both films.

"I’ve seen both of their movies, really, this isn’t a competition at the same level."

"I also wanted to save face for Bai Cha, but after watching the film, a phrase popped into my head—’a mantis trying to stop a chariot.’"

"The character played by Han Fei gave me a feeling that he is the character himself, that no one else but him could play this role, no one else would do it justice."

"Bai Cha’s portrayal of a student is also passable, but just passable, mediocrity at best. I strongly suggest you all actually go to the cinema and see for yourselves, ’Mystery Novelist’ will shock you! Especially that moment at the end!"

"I actually thought they were on the same level of acting, I truly dishonor the title of a film critic. I know you won’t believe me, and I won’t spoil it, but let me give you a very small example."

"In both movies, there are scenes where the actors are angry. Bai Cha’s anger is like throwing a tantrum without control, while Han Fei’s anger simmers in his heart, and you can feel a kind of static tension. His emotions flow from inside out, and when his rage finally bursts forth, he’s like a rising flame!"

Just take some snippets from both movies, and Spider, played by Han Fei, interprets the character with every move. Bai Cha’s performance isn’t bad either, but it’s just too far behind when compared to Han Fei’s.

Some netizens who hadn’t yet seen the films felt that the praise was exaggerated, and they continued to show support for Bai Cha, but there was no response from Bai Cha’s side.

Many netizens, who love to watch the excitement and don’t mind if it gets bigger, ran over to Bai Cha’s page to leave messages, asking for his opinion on not being as good as Han Fei in acting, and Bai Cha’s management started to delete posts and control comments in large quantities.

On the online poll for outstanding young actors, votes for Han Fei began to surge, but oddly enough, when Han Fei was about to catch up with the other party, the website said that voting was suspended three hours early due to technical reasons.

Technical reasons are understandable, but now there’s actually no need for a vote to determine who the real outstanding young actor is.

Han Fei’s social media followers continue to soar, and his ranking in the popularity index for actors keeps climbing, and he is about to officially rise to become a third-tier actor.

Watching the overwhelming discussions online, Han Fei could understand Director Zhang’s feelings now.

Several movies were released at the same time, but the topics and popularity of "Mystery Novelist" clearly overshadowed the other films.

It was Director Zhang’s first time shooting a mystery thriller film. When no one had high hopes for it at the beginning, it ranked second on the presale chart; when everyone thought it would only have a small breakout before being overshadowed by "One Third of Comedy," its total box office is now about to catch up with "One Third of Comedy."

Thriller horror is about to overtake comedy romance, with two completely different viewer bases, and now they’re battling neck and neck.

"Han Fei! Come celebrate! With this trend, we have no problem breaking a hundred million on the first day at the box office! As the word-of-mouth continues to ferment, our box office will climb even higher!" Director Zhang hadn’t produced anything of note for three years, but this time he had made a comeback in the mystery thriller genre.