My ‘Healing’ Game
Chapter 612: They Abandoned the Only Hope

Chapter 612: Chapter 612: They Abandoned the Only Hope

"We agreed to do a shoot, Tang Yi, you actually started a live broadcast? That’s not very nice, not nice at all."

Before entering the Plastic Surgery Hospital, Han Fei had figured it out, but he felt it was better to pretend to have just discovered it, to give Tang Yi a bit of face, after all, the man was a big shot in the industry.

Opening the live stream on his phone that was tracking him, Han Fei determined the nearby hidden cameras’ locations from the angles shown in the stream.

With a casual wipe, he cleaned off the blood and grime on the wall, revealing the smart tracking micro-camera that had been hidden in a crevice.

Standing in front of the camera, Han Fei looked at the lens, then back at the live stream, where a flurry of comments flew across the screen, blowing up the live effect.

"It’s over, Barbie is done!"

"So awkward, I feel like I’ve been caught cheating, what about you guys?"

"I just wanted to satisfy my peeping desires for once, but you made me lose so completely, tsk!"

"Half an hour into the show, and there’s a killer body slamming people? Are you an actor? Tell me loudly, are you an actor!"

"You, as a killer, can you really take this insult? Stand up now!"

"Other actors fear breaking their image when they go on variety shows, clearly Han Fei doesn’t have this concern."

"I was so angry when I heard Bai Cha speaking, and when danger came, all six of them ran away! They actually wanted to leave the killer to face Han Fei alone, don’t they worry about the killer’s fate? Bai Cha, you have no heart!"

"To be fair, it looked like Bai Cha really got hurt, was there an accident? I feel like normally, Han Fei wouldn’t be so harsh, probably."

"Those actors abandoned their only hope."

There were too many comments, Han Fei couldn’t keep up.

The moment he discovered the live broadcast, the popularity of his stream skyrocketed once more, exceeding the combined popularity of all other streams.

On the other side of the screen, Tang Yi was nervous as well. He had prepared for this day for a long time; it was his meticulously planned new reality show using state-of-the-art technology. In the fiercely competitive variety show market, he took an unconventional approach, hoping to create another miracle.

Live broadcasting the stars’ real reactions let the audience see the actors’ most authentic side.

Tang Yi was also aware that this could offend the actors, which is why he had hired controversial second and third-tier actors. He wouldn’t dare invite A-listers fearing he couldn’t control them with his status.

It turned out he was right. The new reality show was a hit. While the seven stars were kept in the dark, Tang Yi’s live stream topped all major video platforms.

On and off camera, there were various complex relationships among these seven actors. For those wanting gossip, seeking thrills or the reality behind the stars, this was the place to be.

Everything was going as Tang Yi had expected until a short Security Guard began to lose control and didn’t follow the script.

Tang Yi was panicked, but then something even more unexpected happened: Han Fei subdued the killer and found the live stream.

If Han Fei spoke ill at this moment, Tang Yi’s carefully prepared variety show would be ruined, and the involved costs were astronomical.

Tang Yi now deeply regretted not treating Han Fei better before and urgently had someone send a message to the guard’s phone, hinting to Han Fei that they could offer more money.

With the guard’s phone in hand, Han Fei attached the camera he had taken from the guard to his clothes.

"Boss Tang, I can understand your desire to surprise everyone and replicate a real crime scene as much as possible, but what you’ve set up is still too far from a real murder investigation," Han Fei looked into the camera. "Tonight, I’ll expose your setup and hope that in the future you can create a better, more realistic variety show. I also hope the audience watching the screen can appreciate how tough police work really is in their pursuit of criminals. In a peaceful country, they are among the professions closest to danger."

After being deceived, Han Fei wasn’t angry, nor did he fall out with Tang Yi. He was not only willing to continue the game but even elevated the theme at the end of his speech.

Others might have come off as pretentious saying this, but not Han Fei, whose distinguished "resume" hung on the official police website.

The chat was once again flooded with comments, and Han Fei also saw the message sent by Tang Yi’s people, pleading with him to continue the game.

Ignoring the message, Han Fei searched his phone and found the livestream tracking Xia Yilan, who was walking alone in the dark, head hanging low, her face obscured from view.

No one knew what she was doing, even her stream’s chat was filled with question marks—mixed occasionally with praise for Xia Yilan’s Acting, saying she played someone Under Curse just like the real thing.

"Is she on the seventh floor?" In the stream, Han Fei caught a glimpse of a floor number posted on the wall—the number "7".

"What’s she doing there? Who’s calling her?" Han Fei planned to find her later, before clarifying some things, Xia Yilan couldn’t come to any harm.

He pressed the elevator button, and the light above Han Fei flickered off instantly.

The elevator doors slowly opened, and the display emitted a spooky green light.

The pungent smell of paint and blood wafted from the elevator cabin, and there were more bloodstained messages, most of which seemed freshly written.

Picking up the torso of the female corpse, Han Fei threw it into the elevator, and the broken display showed a number—"7".

"Right, Xia Yilan’s floor?" Han Fei hoped for more clues, but the elevator closed without any further prompts.

"Then I’ll go to the seventh floor." Han Fei glanced at his stream; the style of his broadcast differed greatly from the others, to the unaware, it seemed as if he were the killer, chasing the other six stars.

Tang Yi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Han Fei agree to continue playing the game. He also used the security guard’s camera to set up a separate live stream, which provided Han Fei’s first-person perspective.

Before the elevator doors fully closed, Han Fei dragged the heavy corpse prop out again.

There were no convenient weapons inside the building, and items like sticks and clubs were too likely to cause injury. In contrast, the solid corpse prop had no sharp edges and even if it was used to hit a living person, it wouldn’t draw blood.

...

When darkness descended, Bai Cha and Xiao Chen both forgot to maintain their gentlemanly demeanor. They couldn’t remember to let ladies go first, and each ran faster than the other.

By the time the six of them had stumbled and rolled into the safety corridor, gasping for air once they reached the third floor, it was Bai Cha who stopped first.

He used his mobile phone as a light to check behind them, assuring that the murderous security guard hadn’t followed.

"Let’s, let’s rest a bit, that crazy security guard didn’t follow us out," Bai Cha said, leaning against the wall with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath.

That’s not right! Han Fei didn’t make it out!" Wu Li went pale after counting the heads, "I just heard a loud noise downstairs like something heavy was smashed, and also heard the sound of a knife being wielded. Could Han Fei be already dead?"

"Didn’t Han Fei help the police solve many cases? He should be fine," Xiao Chen wasn’t sure if Han Fei was really okay, but he definitely wasn’t going back downstairs to check.

"Without light, and no familiar with the terrain, even Han Fei would likely struggle to subdue a security guard with a knife," Li Huang said seriously, her eyes searching the surroundings for hidden cameras. "This show has completely gone beyond the scope of a reality show, we must make Tang Yi stop filming."

"But all of us signed contracts, breaching them would cost a significant penalty."

"Who cares about the money now? Haven’t you seen Bai Cha is hurt? If it hadn’t been for Han Fei kicking him out of the way, he might have been killed on the spot by that security guard!" Li Huang said with a cold face.

"Something’s not right," Bai Cha covered the shallow wound on his cheek, "The more I think about it, the less it adds up!"

"What’s wrong now?" Li Huang frowned at Bai Cha.

"Right after we got to the first floor, the lights suddenly went out and it was pitch black. For no apparent reason, Han Fei started looking towards the abandoned safety corridor where the security guard was! Think about it carefully, at that time the security guard hadn’t shown up yet!" Bai Cha seemed to discover something very important, "Without the security guard showing up, Han Fei looked ahead to where he might appear, which suggests the attack was scripted! And Han Fei knew it!"

The pain on his face, and the embarrassing behavior he had just shown, made Bai Cha feel awkward, his face twisting slightly, "That security guard came at us like a mad dog, and with the lights flickering on and off, none of us had time to react. Why did Han Fei, out of everyone, kick me out of the way? How could it be such a coincidence that he saved me?"

"That’s true," Xiao Chen nodded, "We were all running, but he calmly stayed behind and even managed to save Bai Cha at the crucial moment. Did he and Tang Yi arrange this beforehand? Is he holding the hidden script?"

Xiao Chen and Bai Cha, being wealthy and handsome, were used to being pampered. Admitting their cowardice and weakness on camera was difficult, so they searched for reasons to deceive themselves.

"You should count yourself lucky that you’re only hurt. If Han Fei hadn’t kicked you out of the way, you’d be dead," Li Huang was not about to coddle Bai Cha.

"I feel like the only reason I got hurt is because Han Fei and the security guard weren’t coordinating well. It was their mistake that caused my face to be cut. Once the shoot is over, I’m going to have the company talk to Tang Yi," Bai Cha may have been a newcomer actor, but he had Deep Space Entertainment backing him.

If you think it’s all fake, why don’t you go downstairs and check it out yourself?" Li Huang pointed towards the pitch-black corridor," Han Fei didn’t follow us, so you can run over and save him just like he saved you, pulling him out of the security guard’s reach."

Looking at the dark safety corridor, Bai Cha’s face slowly reddened, "There’s no need for that, I don’t want to be the child who points out the emperor has no clothes."

"You’re just scared, aren’t you? Faster at running and more proficient in talking nonsense than anyone else," Li Huang knew that Bai Cha and Xiao Chen were unreliable, so she turned to Wu Li and Alin, "Things happened so suddenly just now, but if we think about it, we can’t just leave Han Fei there by himself. Whether we are filming a show or something really went wrong, we should go back."

Alin was wearing Han Fei’s coat. She had been scared into tears multiple times and was now terribly conflicted and frightened.

Wu Li also felt they should save Han Fei, but another voice inside him kept persuading him otherwise.

The complexity of human nature was fully demonstrated in this moment, as the five celebrities stood on the third floor for almost ten minutes, until Xiao Chen heard the sound of a table being moved upstairs.

"Did you hear something?"

Everyone looked at Xiao Chen, holding their breath and listening intently.

The sound of wood scraping against the floor came from between the third and fourth floors, faint and nearly imperceptible without close attention.

"Is it coming from upstairs?"

The rest looked at each other, puzzled. As the sound of the wood dragging grew clearer, they approached the stair railing with their cellphone lights, shining them up the stairs.

The altar table that was originally placed in the corridor on the fourth floor had mysteriously been moved between the third and fourth floors, and the large faceless portrait leaned against the stair railing, as if staring at them!

"Who... who moved the altar table here?"

Xiao Chen’s legs went weak, and he was too afraid to breathe too loudly, and the others were stupefied as well.

In the dead silence, the scraping sound rose again, and all the actors watched as the altar table began to move slowly downward!

"It’s coming!"

The large faceless portrait fell from the altar table, as if a faceless woman lunged at them.

All five actors, too scared to linger, started running for their lives.

With a killer on the first floor and the portrait collapsing to the third floor, the five actors had no choice but to rush into the second floor, where the red cake was kept.