Chapter 46

Han Fei is not a detective; it's better to leave solving the case to the police. He is only responsible for providing clues.

After determining his role, Han Fei felt a bit more relaxed: "Before catching the culprit, I must keep a low profile and act like everyone else."

He glanced back at the shooting location of the "Flower of Evil" production, somewhat worried that the killer might come looking. After all, the movie they were filming was based on a real case, and many serial killers have the perverse habit of admiring their own 'works.'

After a simple meal, Han Fei returned home.

When he pushed the door open, he didn't enter immediately but first checked to make sure no one was inside.

"Every day, I'm on edge, and now I'm starting to develop some strange habits."

He closed the door, turned on the TV, and the rented apartment finally felt a bit more lively.

After a comfortable hot shower, Han Fei sat in a chair, holding a dumbbell in one hand and a book on criminal psychology in the other: "The development of a criminal mindset to the point of personality change indicates that the criminal mindset has become fixed. Correcting such a fixed personality requires extremely detailed, complex, and long-term work..."

Water wears away stone; learning is a long process. Han Fei, who dreamed of becoming a comedian, felt that as long as he persisted, he could definitely become an excellent auxiliary police officer after his acting dream was shattered.

At 11:50 PM, Han Fei connected all the wires, hugged the game helmet, and lay down on the bed.

"I still can't communicate with the victims in the 1044 haunted house, but they seem to have no intention of killing me for now, which is a stroke of luck in an unfortunate situation."

At midnight, Han Fei put on the game helmet, and as the blood-red light descended, a cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind.

"Welcome to Perfect Life! You can now choose your perfect life."

Opening his eyes, Han Fei looked at the eerie, cold living room and smirked: "You could have given me more options."

The digital clock on the wall pointed to midnight. Han Fei picked up the kitchen knife and looked toward the deepest bedroom in the haunted house.

In the entire 1044 haunted house, only the door to that bedroom was tightly shut.

Han Fei didn't have the courage to knock on it yet. The seven victims could barely maintain their sanity when they were separate, but when they merged, they became a monster dominated by despair and pain.

"I've completed all the beginner tasks, so it looks like I'll have to go out tonight."

Han Fei opened the task panel. The original three beginner tasks had disappeared, and a new task appeared—visit the neighbors on the fifth floor and greet them.

"Just from the task name, it seems like a healing game." Han Fei scratched his head: "Meng Shi said that a crazy woman named Xu Qin lives on the fifth floor. She's nice and can be a friend. Since I have to do this task anyway, I might as well visit her on the fifth floor."

In real life, Han Fei would avoid people he didn't know well and preferred to be alone, but in the game, he became particularly fond of making friends.

"What should I bring as a gift to meet the new neighbor?" Han Fei looked at the kitchen knife in his hand: "Forget it, I'll decide after I meet her."

After making his decision, Han Fei turned on the TV, trying to see if he could lure his roommates out.

If his roommates helped him trigger a new task, he wouldn't have to leave his warm and safe home.

Until 3:00 AM, Han Fei watched the TV for three hours with no signal, flipping through all the channels several times, but his roommates still didn't appear.

"I have to go out and do the task." Han Fei picked up the kitchen knife and checked his inventory: "The landlord's ring can detect ghosts, and the landlord's key should open all the doors in the building, but the keys have no numbers, so I'll have to try them one by one. The landlord's diary is blank, so I don't know what it's for yet. As for the landlord's three cigarettes..."

Han Fei clicked on the inventory and took out the landlord's cigarettes.

"The landlord's three children offered three cigarettes after the landlord's death. These cigarettes are consumable items, but I don't know what will happen when they are lit."

"The initial sleeping task and the more difficult sleeping task are incomparable. If the difficulty and rewards are proportional, then this additional reward should be quite good."

In the kitchen, Han Fei found a lighter and decided to light a cigarette if he found himself in a desperate situation.

After organizing all his equipment, Han Fei went to the security door. He first looked through the peephole to make sure no one was nearby before opening the door.

Throughout the process, Han Fei made no sound.

The hallway was pitch black, just looking at it made him feel uneasy.

"The beginner protection period is over, and the ghosts may be more active than before. I have to be careful all the time."

To prevent the door of the haunted house from closing, Han Fei moved a chair from the living room and wedged it against the door.

This way, he wouldn't have to open the door when he returned, saving time. Additionally, if a neighbor curiously entered the house, they could all gather for a meal, though the neighbor might end up lying on the table.

Taking a deep breath, Han Fei quietly left the 1044 haunted house.

He moved his feet slowly. This was the first time Han Fei had gone out after the beginner protection period ended, and he could clearly feel that something had changed in the apartment building.

His body felt as if it was sinking into a thick, black sea, and his consciousness was continuously descending.

Han Fei's hand touched the wall, and he pressed his body against it, moving upward so that no one on the upper floors would see him.

Han Fei had never been to the fifth floor before, and he moved very slowly, taking a full minute to reach the middle of the fourth and fifth floors.

Looking up, Han Fei stopped.

There were four households on the fifth floor, and one of the doors was open. A dark figure stood at the entrance.

At 3:00 AM, in the dead silence of the hallway, a person standing quietly at their open door was a bizarre sight.

Han Fei didn't dare to move forward, but the dark figure in the hallway seemed to have seen him. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared.

"What was that?"

The dark figure was gone, but the door was still open. Han Fei was now very worried that something might pull him into that room if he went over.

The dark doorway was impossible to see through, making him feel extremely uneasy.

"Xu Qin lives in room 1052, and the dark figure was standing at 1051..."

Han Fei shifted his gaze to room 1052, and the courage he had mustered up dissipated.

The door of room 1052 was covered in the word 'death,' and dark brown bloodstains seeped from the bottom of the door.