Chapter 21

Han Fei did not immediately accept the task of finding Chen Chen, as it was not the right time yet.

He had just logged in and could not freely exit the game. If he were caught by the Cry at this moment, he would likely find even death a luxury.

In fact, Han Fei had already planned everything in his mind. Before accepting the task of finding Chen Chen, he needed to complete another task and stay for at least three hours.

By then, he could exit the game at any time, which would be like having a trump card for survival.

Han Fei acted as if he hadn't heard the prompt in his mind, helping Meng Shi sit down on a chair in the living room: "Grandma, don't worry too much. I will definitely find a way to save Chen Chen later."

"I'm worried about you. To save my own family, I don't want to sacrifice others' happiness again!" The old woman seemed to be under great pressure, feeling very distressed.

Han Fei understood the hidden meaning in her words but pretended not to: "You just saved my life. Even a small favor should be repaid with a great one, let alone saving my life!"

Seeing Han Fei's sincere expression, the old woman slowly lowered her head. She seemed to be recalling something from the past, with a hint of guilt in her eyes: "You're a good boy. Wait here a moment, Grandma will get something for you."

The old woman entered her locked bedroom, rummaged around for a while, and then came out with a jade pendant with a mottled surface.

"Grandma doesn't have much to offer, but this small jade pendant was left by my mother. When I was a child, I was afraid of walking at night, but wearing this made me feel more secure." The old woman handed the jade pendant to Han Fei: "If you don't wear this, I won't let you do such a dangerous thing."

Seeing the old woman's firm attitude, Han Fei reluctantly accepted the jade pendant.

As he touched the pendant, the voice in his mind appeared again.

"Player 0000, please note! You have obtained a G-level item—Meng Shi's Amulet."

"Meng Shi's Amulet (G-level common item): An amulet prepared by Meng Shi's mother for her."

The description was brief, and Han Fei wasn't sure of the pendant's specific function, but in his experience, most amulets could ward off evil.

Feeling a bit embarrassed for receiving an item for free, Han Fei said: "Grandma, I won't be picky. I'll take the item. Is there anything else you want me to do?"

"Nothing else."

"Taking your item makes me feel bad. Think about it, any task will do." Han Fei wanted to receive another task from Meng Shi: "I see you're using candles instead of lights. Is the fuse burnt out again? I can help you fix it!"

"No, no, it's best not to turn on the lights. Only the firelight can reveal the Cry."

"Then let me help you clean the house! Sweeping, mopping, cleaning windows—anything you need!" Han Fei immediately started to prove his sincerity, diligently helping the old woman clean the areas she usually found hard to reach.

At this moment, he seemed simple, enthusiastic, and straightforward, and Meng Shi's friendliness towards him was steadily increasing.

The old woman watched Han Fei busily cleaning the house, her gaze gradually softening. She looked at him with a kind expression, as if he were her own grandson: "Why don't you stay and chat with me? My children are all far away, and they haven't come back in a long time. The house is always so quiet."

"Player 0000, please note! Meng Shi's friendliness has reached friendly! A G-level common task—Listening and Company—has been triggered. Do you accept the task?"

Han Fei had been waiting for this moment and decisively chose to accept.

He moved a chair and sat beside the old woman.

Meng Shi started by talking about everyday matters, but gradually, she began to recall things from many years ago.

"Once, a woman adopted three children for various reasons. The eldest was the most honest, with no particular skills or bad intentions."

"The second was a baby she found abandoned in the hospital. His face was a bit deformed, but he was very smart. He was the gentlest and kindest of the three brothers."

"The youngest was very mischievous, with a completely different personality from the eldest and the second. If someone hit him, he would always retaliate. The woman often scolded him for fighting, but he never argued back, though she knew he never thought he was wrong."

"Every time the woman scolded him, the youngest would run out of the house. He liked to burn ants and cut worms in half, then watch them."

"Whenever the youngest ran out, the woman would silently follow him. Among the three brothers, she loved him the most and worried about him the most."

"The second was very smart but never showed it. Even if he could get a perfect score, he would deliberately score average. The youngest, on the other hand, was always the best, competitive and combative, tough on others and even tougher on himself."

"Days passed, and the three children grew up and became more sensible. The woman thought she could finally enjoy a peaceful life, but unexpectedly, the second and the youngest fell in love with the same person."

"The second was the first to get married, and the woman never understood why the second, with his deformed face, was the most popular."

"When the second returned to his hometown for his wedding, the youngest helped in the kitchen, slaughtering all the chickens, ducks, and fish needed for the banquet."

"The youngest never showed up at the banquet or spoke to the second."

"After returning home, everything seemed to calm down, and the youngest's temper improved. But the woman had a vague sense of foreboding."

"Not long after, the woman found a dead crow in the refrigerated truck the eldest used to transport cold drinks."

"The careless eldest didn't think much of it, but the woman felt something was wrong. She suspected someone else had used the truck."

"The dead crow seemed like a bad omen."

"The woman started to pay attention and found bird feathers, animal fur, and tiny bloodstains in the truck."

"She disinfected and cleaned the truck each time, but soon, the same things would reappear."

"She checked the truck's GPS and found it had been tampered with, showing nothing. To find out, she asked a friend to install a small GPS tracker in the truck."

"Later, the woman discovered the truck always went to the same place. On a night when none of the three brothers were home, she decided to follow the truck."

"Based on the GPS, she went to the outskirts of the old city. When she entered an abandoned villa, she saw her three children fighting each other."

The old woman's voice trembled as she continued: "She also saw a corpse not far from the three children."

She stopped speaking, clutching her chest, looking very distressed.

Hearing the old woman's story, Han Fei was shocked. He had originally thought only one of the three brothers was the murderer, but it turned out all three were involved!

Not to mention the second and the youngest, the seemingly ordinary eldest had perfectly deceived them when Han Fei and Li Xue came to ask questions.