My ‘Healing’ Game
Chapter 781: The Silent Pretty Man

Chapter 781: Chapter 781: The Silent Pretty Man

"Sir, are you listening to me?" the man in the small restaurant beckoned to Han Fei, "The meat will still take a while to cook, leave me your address, and I will have it delivered to your doorstep."

"I said I’d wait here, why so much talk?" Han Fei’s thoughts were interrupted, he stared at the man’s simple face; if not for his memory far exceeding that of an ordinary person, he wouldn’t remember the man at all.

"Okay, okay, just wait here then." The simple and robust man seemed a microcosm of a certain group of people, engaging in the heaviest physical labor, with little scheming, giving the most but receiving the least, struggling at the bottom of the dilapidated Old City District, facing disdain everywhere, and enduring the pain of dignity being trampled upon.

The dim light beside the wooden sign flickered, the chef wiped his hands with a dirty cloth, then took a sharp spike and headed toward the back kitchen.

Han Fei felt that the man was about to act, he gently touched the Ghost Pattern.

Just when he wanted to communicate with Big Evil, a stammering voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Need a cigarette?" Previously curled up in the corner, the blind peddler had silently moved behind Han Fei; his eyes gouged out, his face scarred several times, it was almost disfigured.

Han Fei intended to refuse the peddler, but he quickly noticed something very odd.

The blind peddler seemed not to be speaking to him; facing Han Fei’s back, it was as if he was talking to another person behind Han Fei.

"What kind of cigarettes do you have?"

Han Fei suddenly spoke up, startling the peddler, as if he had just noticed Han Fei’s presence.

The flustered blind peddler scrambled to open a wooden box in front of him, containing a large amount of unfiltered loose cigarettes, and a small bag of reddish-brown tobacco leaves.

"This is a specialty cigarette from Red Alley, you can’t get it on other floors," the peddler said mysteriously, "If you can take it to the upper levels, you can exchange it for a lot of things."

"If it’s so profitable, why don’t you go yourself?"

"I can’t use the elevator, and I’m scared of staircases," the peddler picked up a cigarette and offered it to Han Fei, "Want to try it first? Red Alley’s cigarettes, like its men and women, once tried, are unforgettable."

"All right," Han Fei stretched out his hand to receive the cigarette. As he touched the peddler’s fingers, a system prompt sounded in his mind.

"Player code 0000, please note! You have discovered the hidden map blind peddler."

"Blind Peddler: Some peddlers in this hidden map were blinded by people, possibly as a divine decree. However, precisely because they can’t see, they are trusted by people."

"Attention! The goods sold by blind peddlers on each floor are different, with a chance to obtain Special Items."

After accepting the cigarette, Han Fei heard another system prompt.

"Player code 0000, please note! You have obtained a Red Alley Special Item — Blood Smoke."

"Blood Smoke (Grade F Item): Lighting the Blood Smoke temporarily boosts your Physical Strength, numbs pain, but it also corrodes your body and curses your Soul."

"It’s actually a special item," Han Fei picked up the bag of tobacco leaves, "How much for this stuff?"

"One Coin for five cigarettes, or you can exchange with me any item imbued with a Divine Spirit’s presence. If you don’t have any..." the blind peddler rolled up his sleeves, revealing arms covered in curses, "Your name can be exchanged for ten cigarettes, helping me remove a curse will also get you a cigarette."

"Coins are still in circulation in the building?" In just a few minutes, Han Fei had gained a new understanding of this Skyscraper; he put the bag of tobacco leaves back into the wooden box, patted the peddler’s shoulder, "Wait over there, I will go get some money."

After dismissing the peddler, Han Fei entered the restaurant with the Rebirth Slaughter Saber in hand. If this place was a legitimate establishment, he would politely borrow money; but if this restaurant turned out to be shady, he would impolitely take it.

"Is the meat ready? How much longer?"

Pulling back the curtain to the back kitchen, a rich aroma hit him, something simmering in two large iron pots, various spices laid on a cutting board, and a delicate wooden box alongside a sink filled with greasy bowls and dishes.

"It’s him, the one who came out of the elevator," Han Fei grasped the Slaughter Saber in one hand, blocking the handle with his arm, silently calling out Big Evil’s name in his mind.

He removed the lid from the iron pot, the meat inside was chopped into blocks, its original form unrecognizable.

"Anyone here?"

Han Fei continued walking inside; he heard the sound of chains clashing together.

Turning the corner of the back kitchen, Han Fei saw a Monster chained in the corner.

The creature somewhat resembled a lamb, with degenerated limbs and a body covered in reddish-brown mold, silent, swollen and obese, appearing like a specially bred fat lamb for the restaurant’s dishes.

"Is there really a lamb?" Han Fei was also surprised, he had originally thought this restaurant only served human meat, but they also had other types of meat.

Squatting down, Han Fei stared at the Monster he was seeing for the first time, its neck and waist chained.

The chains, locked on when it was very small, had grown into its flesh as it expanded, forever trapping it in bondage.

"This thing doesn’t bite, right?" Big Evil didn’t issue a warning, Han Fei touched the Monster’s skull with the utmost speed, but the system didn’t give Han Fei any prompts.

"It’s not any special Ghost and Monster, nor a creation of a Divine Spirit, could this be ... a person?"

Han Fei pushed away the mold on the Monster’s face, seeing a misshapen and ugly face, underneath its body lay some syringes and red tobacco threads.

"Could it be that Red Alley’s tobacco leaves grow from a person?" Han Fei grasped the chain, about to test if the Rebirth Slaughter Saber could cut it through, when footsteps sounded from the deepest room of the back kitchen.

A simple and honest-looking man, covered in blood, stood in the doorway with a freshly sharpened cleaver, watching Han Fei, his honest façade gradually twisting into a grotesque expression!

"Sir, how could you come in here?" He step-by-step approached Han Fei, moving increasingly fast, clearly exceeding the limits of an ordinary person.

With just a drop of blood, Han Fei couldn’t afford to be careless; facing his first enemy encountered inside the building, he very cautiously summoned Big Evil.

The massive form instantly collapsed the wall; Big Evil was extremely excited, looking as if it had run into someone else’s shrine to steal offerings.

The aura of Disaster surged around, and the Chef was immediately pinned down by Big Evil, who swallowed his head in the next moment.

"No task completion prompt received. He’s not dead yet!"

Under Han Fei’s urging, Big Evil frantically pumped Soul Poison into the Chef’s body, and with Big Evil’s full force sneak attack, strengthened multiple times in Fu Sheng’s Memory Shrine, it managed to hurt even Hatred, let alone an unknown Chef.

The black Soul Poison flowed through the Chef’s body, tormenting his soul and flesh.

When the Soul Poison reached his heart, something seemed to shatter deep within the Chef’s soul!

As the Chef’s soul scattered, a dark red name was etched onto Big Evil’s back—Zhu Wu.

"The suspect in the Cooked Lamb Case seems to be called Zhu Wu. After Big Evil killed him, why did his name appear on Big Evil’s body? Is it some kind of curse?"

Han Fei communicated with Big Evil, who, heartless and brainless, not only felt no discomfort but seemed even stronger.

"The slaughter ended quickly, but the task is still not completed." Han Fei quickly wiped away the bloodstains on the floor and ran into the deepest room of the kitchen.

The narrow, dark room resembled a prison cell, equipped with various tools for slaughtering pigs, and the Chef seemed to have handmade racks and hook locks for easier slaughtering.

However, instead of a lamb bound on the rack, there was a frail young woman tied up.

Her mouth was sealed, and her body was smeared with various sauces, as if she were being marinated.

With a Slaughter Saber in hand, Han Fei approached the young woman, whose eyes were filled with fear.

"Attention player 0000! You have triggered a critical turning point in the Cooked Lamb Case! Different choices correspond to different rewards!"

"Option one: Release your inner sin, silence the witness, and receive double the experience bonus, and unlock the next phase of the Cooked Lamb Case!"

"Option two: Complete the unfinished meal of Zhu Wu, continue delivering meals to customers on other floors, and permanently gain a Special Ability of the murderer Zhu Wu! Also, unlock the next phase of the Cooked Lamb Case!"

"Option three: Save Xiaozhu. Failure of the Cooked Lamb Case mission, no experience rewarded, and increase Xiaozhu’s friendliness by three! And Sister Hong’s friendliness by one!"

"Attention! Please make a choice within ten seconds!"

For Han Fei, Xiaozhu was just a stranger; killing Xiaozhu would advance him to the next step of the mission and even secure a permanent task reward.

The system’s voice seemed like the Devil tempting Han Fei, but he was very clear-headed; strangers were people too.

Han Fei untied the rope, urging Xiaozhu to quickly wipe off the sauces from her body.

"Hurry up! Don’t linger here."

Han Fei had made his choice; he wouldn’t let himself become the new murderer in the Cooked Lamb Case, even if it meant gaining the murderer’s Special Ability permanently.

While Xiaozhu was changing clothes, Han Fei didn’t idle. He rummaged through cabinets; in a hidden compartment in the closet, he found a dozen coins made of human bones stained with blood.

All the coins were of different sizes, but they all had one thing in common: each was carved with a shrine constructed from corpses.

Upon seeing these coins, Big Evil acted like a stray dog smelling meat, rushing up to Han Fei and staring eagerly at him.

"You want to eat these coins?"

Han Fei remembered that Big Evil loved to destroy shrines and was fascinated by the Unspeakable aura, almost desperately biting into it.

Picking the smallest Bone Coin, Han Fei tried tossing it into Big Evil’s mouth; it immediately crunched it up, looking quite happy.

"What kind of Monster have I raised?"

After feeding Big Evil a few more coins, Han Fei tricked Big Evil back into the Ghost Pattern.

He continued searching, quickly finding an elevator card in the Chef’s outer jacket, which bore the number 11.

"Attention player 0000! You have successfully discovered the Hidden Map Special Item—Elevator Card No. 11."

"Elevator Card No. 11: Possessing this card allows you to take the number eleven elevator! Different elevators in the building go to different floors, and some may encounter unexpected issues during the ride."

"This is a good thing for escaping." Han Fei secured the elevator card and helped Xiaozhu out of the kitchen, then doubled back to the restaurant, arranging the scene as if the Chef had gone out and not returned.

Destroying evidence was Han Fei’s forte; his skills had been honed to a high level through continuous practice.

After handling everything, Han Fei left the small restaurant, intending to chat with the blind vendor, whom unfortunately, had already disappeared without a trace.

Returning to the cabin, when the woman in her thirties saw Han Fei bringing Xiaozhu back, her numb expression turned to surprise: "How did you convince Zhu Wu to release her?"

"Who’s Zhu Wu? When I arrived, I just saw her tied up on the rack." Han Fei didn’t spell it out, but the woman understood his implication; she quickly shut the room door, searched for her own clothes, and handed them to Xiaozhu.

"You two hide out in this room for now." The middle-aged woman took the initiative to speak; the more she observed Han Fei, the more she felt he was different from other residents in the building, even her tone of voice changed somewhat.

Simultaneously, Han Fei also received a system notification.

"Attention player 0000! Cooked Lamb Case mission failed! Pretty Man profession passive feature triggered, Charm doubled, increase Xiaozhu’s friendliness by six, and Sister Hong’s friendliness by two!"

With the friendliness increased, Han Fei prepared to deeply question the two building residents to truly understand the horrors of this skyscraper.