Chapter 57

"Ah Cheng, are you sure Director Jiang will call?" The female agent paced anxiously around the room. "Why don't you just go back and apologize to the director?"

"What are you so worried about? It's only been 21 hours and 36 minutes. Do you really think Director Jiang won't use me anymore?" Ah Cheng laughed, but his fingers nervously fidgeted with the leather sofa, and his legs trembled uncontrollably. "Everything is going according to my plan. The production team is probably in chaos right now."

"Is that so?" The female agent looked at Ah Cheng's trembling legs and wandering eyes, and could only manage a bitter smile. "Let's wait a bit longer then."

...

"Jiang Yi, do you know the impact of changing the lead actor now? Do you know how much effort I put into getting their company to join us? Do you really think this drama is so well-received?"

"I'll try to control the costs. Besides, Ah Cheng's salary is already too high and unreasonable. Compared to him, the actor I have in mind..."

"Don't keep talking to me. We can delay the shooting for three more days, and you need to calm down." After saying this, Sister Long hung up the phone, leaving Director Jiang and the two screenwriters in the smoke-filled room.

"Director, do we need to revise the script?" The screenwriter took out a hat to cover his nearly bald head.

"Everyone has worked hard these past few days. Take a break for now." Director Jiang lit a cigarette and locked himself in a small room.

Han Fei chatted with the victims' families after leaving the shooting location. He wanted to gather more information and understand his roommates better.

What others saw as ghosts, Han Fei saw as roommates living under the same roof.

He used the victims' past experiences and memories to transform these ethereal ghosts into real people.

"They can't come back, but I will convey your love and thoughts to them."

Sitting with the victims' families and listening to their stories, Han Fei felt a sense of something unprecedented.

It seemed there was a thread connecting the eerie and terrifying netherworld game to this warm and real world. This thread spanned life and death, time, and connected the two.

Sometimes, Han Fei would also ponder whether the existence of the game "Perfect Life" had a deeper meaning.

Around five in the afternoon, just as Han Fei was about to say goodbye to the victims' families, he received a call from Li Xue.

After avoiding the victims' families, Han Fei answered the call.

"Have you found any leverage against Meng Chang'an?"

"It's not related to Meng Chang'an. As the investigation deepened, we found more and more clues, but all of them point to Meng Changxi!" Li Xue's voice came from the other end of the line. "The report from the black room in the ecological forest is out. We found remnants of two people, one belonging to He Shouye and the other to Meng Changxi. We also found surveillance footage from years ago near the street where He Shouye had his car accident, and we saw Meng Changxi. We suspect that He Shouye was not killed in the accident but was murdered by Meng Changxi."

"Meng Changxi killed He Shouye?" Han Fei put the call on hold and opened the victim relationship diagram he had created. "Why would he kill He Shouye?"

"Most likely to cover his tracks. Both Meng Changxi and He Shouye were killers. They were in contact through some means and helped each other kill their targets. To avoid exposure, Meng Changxi killed He Shouye."

"Could someone be framing Meng Changxi?"

"We can't rule that out, which is why we haven't issued a warrant for Meng Changxi's arrest." Li Xue's voice changed. "To catch the killer in the human puzzle case, we investigated all the information about He Shouye and Meng Changxi from their childhood. Meng Changxi was well-disguised, but He Shouye was a real scumbag. He wasn't from the area; he married and had children in the countryside. We visited his former neighbors and found his ex-wife after a lot of effort."

"Ex-wife?"

"Yes, before marriage, He Shouye seemed very honest, but after marriage, he gradually showed his true colors—domestic violence, various perverse hobbies. At first, He Shouye tried to suppress himself, but after He Yuhuai was born, a weak and sickly child, his treatment of his wife and child worsened. Physical and verbal abuse became the norm, and eventually, his wife couldn't take it anymore and fled alone."

"He Shouye often threatened his wife, saying he would kill He Yuhuai if she didn't come back. This forced his wife to report him to the police, and they eventually divorced."

"The main point of contention was the house; neither of them wanted the child with a congenital illness. According to their former neighbors, the child was very pitiful. He had no friends and was always locked inside, living in constant fear, becoming a punching bag for his parents. The sound of the child's crying never stopped."

"The neighbors often heard He Shouye's angry shouts—'Why are you crying? Cry one more time and I'll strangle you!'"

"Perhaps because of his own child, He Shouye intensely disliked children. According to his neighbors, he was normal most of the time, but hearing a child cry would drive him mad."

"Eventually, they split their assets equally, and the child, He Yuhuai, was awarded to his mother. But the next events were heartbreaking. The mother didn't want the child. Once, she took He Yuhuai to a distant place to play hide-and-seek and then left him there alone."

"The mother disappeared with the money, and the police had to return the child to He Shouye. Later, as you know, a wealthy man's child in Xinhu had kidney disease. When He Shouye learned that his child's kidneys matched, he immediately made a private deal with the wealthy man."

"The initial tragedy began with that child. If any of his relatives had shown him a little love and accepted him, the subsequent tragedies might have been avoided."

Li Xue said a lot, and after listening, Han Fei's mind inexplicably conjured up the crying figure from the "Perfect Life" game.

The child who lived downstairs, always standing alone by the altar, a shadowy figure with an indistinct face, no friends, always crying, and endlessly playing a game of hide-and-seek with no end.

"Maybe I should go and keep that child company..." Han Fei silently repeated He Yuhuai's name and decided to visit him tonight.