Chapter 28

Picking up the book from the ice cabinet, Han Fei tried to put the books into his inventory, but it didn't work, and the system didn't give any corresponding prompts.

"I always feel that the books left by the third brother, Meng Chang'an, hide secrets. Through these books, we might be able to figure out what kind of person the third brother really was."

Han Fei tried to flip through the books in the ice cabinet, but all of them were severely damaged and couldn't be read. He had to rely on his exceptional memory, honed from memorizing lines, to remember the titles of the books, planning to check them after leaving the game.

Meng Shi revealed the secret buried in her heart, and all the guilt and unease she had been hiding were now evident. She still knelt beside the ice cabinet.

"Granny, cheer up. You still need to take care of Chenchen. No matter what, he hasn't committed any mistakes, and you can't let a child bear the pain of adults."

Chenchen, though a mischievous child, had never even seen the real world and was killed along with the old woman. If anyone was pitiful, it was he, the most innocent and pitiful of all.

Helping the old woman up, Han Fei carried Chenchen into the bedroom and placed him on the bed: "Granny, I'll come to help you often in the future. If you have any problems, you can come to me upstairs, and we can discuss them together."

Han Fei considered Meng Shi's place a safe house. After logging into the game, he would stay here for three hours, then as long as he completed one task, he could log out at any time, which was perfect.

Meng Shi, still in great pain, didn't know this. She was just surprised: "After knowing all this, you're still willing to help me?"

Meng Shi had already paid with her life for her mistake, but Han Fei didn't plan to mention this. He only wanted to survive in this hellish game.

"Take good care of Chenchen, and don't let him run around. For the sake of this child, you must hold on." After saying this, Han Fei found a pen and paper in the room and prepared to get to the point.

The reason he had been trying so hard to improve the old woman's friendliness and gain her trust was for this very moment.

Han Fei didn't understand this world, and he needed someone to provide him with information. Old Lady Meng Shi had lived here for a long time and was the most suitable candidate.

"Granny, the building manager hasn't appeared for a long time, which likely means something has happened. I want to go to the tenth floor to check."

"The upper floors are very dangerous. It's best if you don't go up." Meng Shi directly advised Han Fei to give up.

"If we avoid it because it's dangerous, the danger will eventually spread to us, and by then, it will be too late to escape." Han Fei picked up the pen: "Granny, you've lived here for a long time. Can you tell me what taboos exist in this building?"

Seeing Han Fei's determination, Meng Shi didn't stop him. After thinking for a while, she said: "The apartment 1044 where you live is itself a taboo, as is 1034 on the third floor. Few neighbors go to these two rooms, and people usually quicken their pace when passing by."

"Are there any places in the building more dangerous than these two rooms?"

"Yes." The old woman nodded: "Something happened on the ninth floor. Apart from the building manager, no one who went up there has come back down. The stairs between the seventh and eighth floors also have problems. After midnight, if you go there, you might end up in another place and see some peculiar things."

"Have you seen them?"

"If I had seen them, I probably wouldn't be alive now. I've only heard about them." The old woman wasn't very brave: "Something very strange happened in room 1084 on the eighth floor. Someone encountered a girl there. When the building manager was still around, he often warned me never to go to the eighth floor alone. The seventh floor seems to be unoccupied, and the neighbors on the sixth floor have moved out, replaced by people from outside the neighborhood. I have little contact with them and usually avoid them when I hear their voices."

"Several people live on the sixth floor, and they are from outside the neighborhood?" Han Fei remembered the neighbor who had visited his place; the person had first appeared on the sixth floor.

"Yes, besides these, there are many other things to be cautious about. For example, if someone calls your name from behind while you're walking in the hallway at night, never turn around. Don't open the door if someone knocks at midnight, as most neighbors here don't visit each other at night. One more thing, if the motion-activated lights in the hallway suddenly go out, be extremely careful, as something might be coming..."

The old woman told Han Fei many things to be cautious about, and Han Fei recorded all of them.

"Granny, you've lived here for a long time. Are there any neighbors in the building you think have good character, suitable to be friends?" Han Fei wanted to unite more people, knowing that one person's strength was limited.

After thinking for a long time, the old woman shook her head: "There's no one particularly suitable to be a friend. If you must choose, I think the tenant in 1052 on the fifth floor is okay."

"The tenant in 1052?"

"Her name is Xu Qin, and she's a madwoman." The old woman seemed to fear that Han Fei wouldn't understand, so she added: "Although she looks crazy, she hasn't harmed anyone. Once, Chenchen accidentally ran upstairs, and she brought him back."

"Alright, I'll try to get to know her and become friends with her." Han Fei wasn't afraid just because she was a madwoman. Compared to his roommate in the haunted house, a madwoman who didn't harm others was almost an angel.

"She's a pitiful person. If you can help her, it would be good."

"Sure, I'll try to help her open up." In the entire building, there were only two people who could potentially get along, and Han Fei was actually quite frustrated inside, but he didn't show it.

They talked for three hours, and Han Fei hand-drew a map, marking all the known taboo areas in the building.

"My ultimate goal is to enter the building manager's 1101 room, figure out why he chose me to play this game, and get all the things he left behind."

"Before that, I need to become friends with the tenant in 1052 and unite as many residents in the building as possible."

Rome wasn't built in a day, and Han Fei decided to explore the game step by step while ensuring his survival.

It was almost four in the morning when Han Fei left the old woman's place. He sneaked into the hallway without disturbing anyone.

"There are more blood-red stains in the hallway, and there are many children's handprints on the railings and walls. It seems that 'Cry' really caused a commotion in this building. This child must have gone through a lot to find me."

Han Fei returned to the haunted house 1044. The room was in a mess, as if a big battle had taken place: "Did 'Cry' come here last night? Sigh, can't we all just get along?"