Chapter 82

Zooming in on the photo, Han Fei still couldn't make out what the blurry black shadow was. He stared blankly at the screen, his mind racing.

"The person who took this photo must have done so intentionally, trying to tell me something through it. Otherwise, they wouldn't have used my phone to take the photo, nor would they have kept it on my phone."

"But why would they do this? Could it be that they can't communicate with me, or that they only appear when I play the game? Are they trying to give me a hint this way?"

Han Fei was increasingly puzzled. The photo made his scalp tingle, and the joy of his dream coming true was overshadowed.

"My phone is fingerprint-locked. They moved my body but didn't harm me. The person who took the photo probably didn't mean to hurt me. Besides, the photo was taken the day after I played the game. If they wanted to harm me, they could have done so then."

"Could it be the gravekeeper from the second-hand store who took the photo?"

Han Fei felt that things weren't that simple. He had also noticed various issues with the black box: "Many people are looking for the black box, including the original developer of 'Perfect Life' and the deranged Butterfly. In the future, I might encounter even more strange and terrifying people."

Those people were searching for the black box, but it was in Han Fei's mind. To get the black box, they would have to open his head.

Slowly clenching his fingers, Han Fei remembered the system's reminder when he first exited the game, urging him to speed up his exploration.

"The black box is in my mind, and even if I exit the game, I can't escape it. What I can do now is explore the game, level up, and perhaps the truth is hidden within the game."

Han Fei was lost in thought, staring at the game helmet on the table when a knock came from the door.

Startled, he hid a fruit knife behind his back and quietly approached the door.

Peering through the peephole, Han Fei saw Li Xue standing at his doorstep.

Putting away the fruit knife, Han Fei opened the door, his expression returning to normal: "Why are you here? Did your boss let you return to the criminal investigation team?"

"I want to go back, but my boss has given me a new assignment." Li Xue entered the room and closed the door: "He said that until Butterfly is caught, I should work at the police station and focus on patrolling your neighborhood."

"Does he want you to protect me?"

"Something like that. You are now a key protected individual. Everything around here looks the same, but it's heavily monitored. If Butterfly dares to show up, they will definitely be caught." Li Xue picked up a cup from the table and took a few big gulps of water: "I just came to let you know. Also, new surveillance cameras have been installed in your apartment building. If you're in danger, just wave at a camera, and the on-duty police will come immediately."

"Thank you very much." Han Fei, who was lacking a sense of security, felt much more at ease with the police protection.

"It's my duty." Li Xue told Han Fei the locations of the surveillance cameras in the building and then left.

"The police protection is beneficial to me. At least now I can play the game with peace of mind."

Han Fei glanced at the clock on the wall; it was still early. He picked up a book from the table and started studying.

As midnight approached, Han Fei began to recall the structure of the apartment building in the game: "The last time I exited, I had already left room 1074. When I log in, I just need to run downstairs."

Han Fei rehearsed the actions in his mind a few times, memorizing every move. Then he connected the various cables and put on the game helmet.

The blood-red scene appeared, and without waiting for the in-game prompt, Han Fei, like a cheetah, dashed downstairs the moment he opened his eyes.

He didn't look back, running all the way to room 1044.

Once inside the room, he let out a sigh of relief.

"The mirror on the seventh floor didn't guard the body, so it must be a decent person."

After closing the door, Han Fei went to the bedroom near the living room and lay down on the bed comfortably.

"I'll rest for an hour, then spend an hour reviewing the books I read at home, and another hour practicing combat skills."

Han Fei's rest wasn't about sleeping but thinking. In the bedroom of the haunted house, he pondered all the tasks he needed to complete and the various doubts in his mind. He desperately needed answers.

After the initial three hours, Han Fei opened the attribute panel and first allocated the skill points from the hidden quest to acting. Then he looked at the quest panel.

"The F-class quest 'Human Jigsaw' has two days left. Completing this quest at a higher level would definitely benefit me." Han Fei took out the landlord's spare key from his inventory: "I have keys to all the doors in the building, but they don't have room numbers. I need to try each one, which will take a lot of time. Staying in the dangerous hallway is very risky. It would be better if I could convince Xu Qin to help me."

"Besides the 'Human Jigsaw' quest, there's also a G-class main quest to explore the sixth floor. The intruders on the sixth floor should be mostly dead now. I'll complete this quest first, then exit the game and search for the scattered pieces of the 'Human Jigsaw' in the building."

Han Fei was very clear-headed. He knew how to use the game rules to protect himself, being cautious while maximizing his benefits.

After making his preparations, Han Fei didn't waste any time and quietly left room 1044.

It seemed to him that the building had become a bit quieter.

"Did any neighbors move out while I was gone?"

Leaning against the wall, Han Fei slowly made his way to the fifth floor. He was disappointed to find that Xu Qin still hadn't returned.

"Has something happened to her? She hasn't been home for two days!"

He knocked on the door but got no response. With no choice, he headed to the sixth floor alone.

The intruders on the sixth floor, who had been hunting Han Fei, were almost all gone, making the sixth floor relatively safe.

"When I did the quest to explore the fifth floor, I had to visit all four rooms to complete it. This quest to explore the sixth floor should be similar."

Han Fei took out the landlord's spare key, controlling his breathing as he began to try each key.

Throughout the process, Han Fei made no sound.

Perhaps his high luck value was at work, and he managed to open the door to room 1061 after just a few tries. Inside, he saw a lot of blood and torture tools.

"Xu Qin was right; these intruders can't even be considered human."

After about ten minutes, Han Fei had "cleared" rooms 1061 and 1062, taking everything the system could identify, including some of the effeminate man's poisons and blood bags to accelerate the growth of human pupae.

Han Fei had already visited room 1064 before, so he only needed to enter room 1063 to complete the exploration quest.

Everything had gone smoothly so far, but as he was about to open the door to room 1063, the most eerie footsteps suddenly echoed in the hallway, very close to him.