Chapter 26

The suppressed madness, the faintly revealed pathology, the crimson eyes seemed to emit malice at every moment.

The frail body swayed slightly, having lost both arms and a companion, Ku was already weak and had distanced himself from Han Fei.

“Why are you so far away from me?” Han Fei squatted down, looking at Ku standing in the corner, a hint of sorrow appearing in his eyes: “Don’t you want to be friends with me? We can play all kinds of games every day, we can…”

Before he could finish, Han Fei suddenly heard the sound of a spring mechanism behind him, and the tightly closed security door was opened.

When he turned around, the black shadow standing in the corner had already disappeared, leaving only a shattered spirit altar on the ground.

“Do you even refuse to talk to me?”

Standing up, Han Fei’s face was full of pain as he gathered the fragments of the spirit altar.

“My name is Han Fei, I live upstairs from you. If you want someone to play with, you can come over anytime.”

Han Fei did not leave immediately; he walked around the room as if he were looking for Ku.

Pushing open door after door, he finally found Meng Shi and Chen Chen, who were unconscious, next to the overturned bed in the bedroom.

Supporting the two, Han Fei then left Room 1034.

He closed the door of Room 1034, and the cold wind in the hallway blew against his face. At this moment, Han Fei realized he could hardly move, both mentally and physically exhausted.

Enduring the pain, Han Fei found the key on Meng Shi and escorted the grandmother and grandson back to their room.

Closing the security door, Han Fei turned on all the lights in the house, and the cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind.

“Player 0000, please note! The G-level hidden task to find Chen Chen is completed! Meng Shi’s friendliness increased by thirty! You have received the basic reward—+1 free skill point!”

“Note! The rewards for completing hidden tasks vary depending on the completion level! Not only did you find Chen Chen, but you also successfully rescued her, with a completion rate exceeding 100%! Double experience points! Additional unique hidden task reward—exclusive skill Hide and Seek.”

“Hide and Seek (exclusive passive skill, cannot be upgraded with skill points): You are an expert at hide and seek. When you are hiding, your presence is reduced to the minimum, making it easy for ghosts to overlook you. When you are searching, your senses are enhanced, allowing you to notice details that are easily overlooked.”

“Player 0000, please note! You have successfully upgraded to Level 3! +1 free attribute point!”

“Player 0000, please note! You have reached Level 3! Chat room function unlocked!”

Staring at the task panel, Han Fei finally relaxed. Although the task was dangerous, the rewards were substantial.

Not only did he directly upgrade to Level 3, but he also obtained the exclusive skill Hide and Seek.

While the skill description didn’t seem to have any direct use, for the current Han Fei, this skill was very crucial. It reduced the probability of being discovered by ghosts when hiding and enhanced his senses when searching for clues, making it a god-like skill in the early stages of development.

Han Fei allocated the free skill point to acting, bringing his acting level to Intermediate 3. He then allocated the attribute point gained from leveling up to stamina.

He always felt his stamina was too poor, giving him no sense of security.

“I just heard the system prompt saying the chat room function is now open. Are there other players in this netherworld game?”

Opening the attribute panel, Han Fei found the chat room option at the bottom. Clicking to enter, he was shocked.

There were actually 999 chat rooms in this netherworld game, each with its own number. However, bizarrely, all the chat rooms were gray and could not be entered.

“I’m already Level 3, but why can’t I enter these chat rooms? Are these chat rooms not prepared for me? Are there really other players in this game?” Han Fei looked at his number—0000, feeling as if he were the only player in the game.

After resting for a while, Han Fei finally got up from the ground: “The task is completed. Now I just need to stay for three hours before I can go out to explore.”

Han Fei picked up Meng Shi’s key. He had found it earlier to open the door. As he was about to return it to Meng Shi, he suddenly thought of something.

“Meng Shi and Chen Chen don’t know when they will wake up. This is a good opportunity for me to investigate the room.” Han Fei glanced at the locked bedroom door: “Should I trust Meng Shi? Or should I go in and check myself?”

With the key in his hand, Han Fei stared at the door for a long time and decided to give up.

Meng Shi was the only friend he could trust now, and he didn’t want to create a rift in their “harmonious” relationship.

Han Fei extended his hand holding the key to Meng Shi and placed it back in the old woman’s pocket. As he withdrew his arm, the cold voice of the system echoed in his mind.

“Player 0000, please note! Meng Shi’s friendliness increased by ten! You have completely gained her trust! She now considers you part of her family!”

Hearing the voice in his mind, Han Fei immediately realized that Meng Shi was not actually unconscious. She had been pretending to be unconscious, being old and wise.

After completing the task to save Chen Chen, Meng Shi’s friendliness increased by thirty, and it increased by another ten just now. Now, Meng Shi truly considered Han Fei part of her family.

Han Fei’s face showed no expression, as if he knew nothing.

He silently supported the old woman and Chen Chen, then went to the bathroom to find a towel and carefully wiped the dirt from Chen Chen’s face and arms.

After about half an hour, the old woman finally showed signs of “consciousness,” slowly “waking up.” Seeing Chen Chen beside her, she was extremely moved and very grateful to Han Fei.

The gratitude was genuine, as evidenced by the thirty-point increase in friendliness when the task was completed.

“Han Fei, I really don’t know how to thank you. I never thought anyone would be willing to take such a great risk to save someone they’ve only met a few times.”

“When I first moved here, you were the first to come and invite me for a meal, and you even warned me about Room 1044 being a haunted house. I remember all these favors.” Han Fei scratched his head, embarrassed: “Actually, I don’t have many relatives. The first time I came to your place, I felt a sense of home, which is so warm.”

Han Fei’s gaze seemed to be reminiscing about the initial feeling as he helped the old woman to a chair: “Auntie, rest well. I’ll go back upstairs now. If you need anything, just come up to my place. If possible, I would like to consider you as my family.”

Perhaps it was Han Fei’s last words that touched the old woman’s softest spot. As Han Fei was about to leave, the old woman slowly stood up.

“Han Fei, I’m not as kind as you think. I have a secret that has been tormenting me.” The old woman seemed to have aged even more. She took out her key and walked toward the locked bedroom: “I know you are very curious about this house. Follow me.”