My Iyashikei Game - Chapter 992: Wounds on Mad Laughter
The greedy bastards finally compromised when danger stared them in the face. Han Fei didn’t think the people would reject his suggestion. These people would do anything to protect their wealth and power.
The ‘big shots’ in the room reported to the real rulers behind them. They soon got the reply. They would give Han Fei three days. If Du Jing, Fu Lie, and the police didn’t protect Han Fei, these bastards would really dig Han Fei’s brain out. After all, Dream had provided them with the perfect scapegoat. By cutting open Han Fei’s head, all the players could be saved. In these people’s eyes, Han Fei saw their greed. Human lives were not important to them. The most important thing was the black box.
‘It’s funny. I’m the one risking my life to protect you, but it looks like you’re giving me a chance.’ Han Fei was not a saint. He didn’t pick the same path as Fu Sheng, but he wouldn’t say these things now.
The big companies wanted Han Fei to be the scapegoat, but Han Fei didn’t want to be the goat. It was hard to say who would be the butcher after the tragedy.
Both sides compromised. Han Fei allowed the ‘big shots’ to ask any questions they wanted. Han Fei would answer with yes or no. The atmosphere was no longer suffocating. These people were very good actors. They were better actors than most celebrities. The meeting continued for a long time. This meeting would decide many people’s futures.
Three hours later, Kong Tiangcheng switched off the screen. Han Fei thought the meeting was over, but the ‘big shots’ had another request. They hoped that Han Fei could give a public statement to chill the public anger.
The public was angry so they were pushing Han Fei to take the fall. Three days later, if Han Fei succeeded, he’d be the hero; but if he failed, they wouldn’t hesitate to sacrifice him.
“The public has gone insane, and you need to say something. It’s for you to buy time too.” Kong Tiancheng sighed and left. The other people left too. They didn’t want to be seen with Han Fei.
Other than the workers from Deep Space Tech, only the people from Immortal Pharma remained.
“You didn’t do anything wrong. Just be yourself.” Du Jing and Fu Lie sat beside Han Fei. “Immortal Pharma has done many bad things. We’ll atone for our sins.” Du Jing knew about the cryptic world. If Han Fei failed, the tragedy would return, and everything would be meaningless. That was why she supported Han Fei so firmly. The conference room door opened. A lot of workers walked in. Someone even wrote more than ten scripts for Han Fei. All the workers went to set up the location. The camera lights came on. Han Fei was again the main character. This would probably be his most famous video.
“Start!”
Staring at the camera, Han Fei suddenly didn’t know what to say. He was a masterful actor, but he only felt tired then. He didn’t use any acting skills or force himself to explain anything. Han Fei stared at the camera and said simply, “I’ll bring all the trapped players out. Give me three days. Three days later, a new era will arrive.” The light shone on Han Fei. He hugged the gaming helmet and left. Du Jing and Fu Lie followed behind him. Han Fei realized that the whole floor was sealed off. He couldn’t leave in the next three days.
“Tell us if you need anything.” This was Fu Lie’s first time meeting Han Fei, but he thought Han Fei was a good man.
“I need a place where I can use the helmet. When they find everyone on the list, I’ll guide them into the main hub,” Han Fei’s emotion was still even. He was more impressive than any of Fu Tian’s real heirs.
“I’ll report to you if we have any progress.” After saying that, Fu Lie sent Han Fei into a room filled with cameras. Han Fei had no privacy at all. “This floor is filled with cameras. Only the bathroom attached to your room doesn’t have any camera.”
Fu Lie walked in. After Han Fei and Du Jing entered, he silently closed the door. Then, the calmness faded away, and he asked nervously, “How confident are you? Teacher Du and I have bet our lives on you.”
“No one can guarantee success. Even now, I can’t see the road ahead clearly. All the promises I made were to convince them so that they could give me more time.” Han Fei sat on the toilet. “The anger and unwillingness I showed were all acting. I couldn’t let them see my real thoughts, so I might as well follow their script.”
“Then, what are your real thoughts?” Fu Lie realized he couldn’t really understand this young man.
“I can’t tell you.” Han Fei looked at his hands which had killed so many ghosts. “You’ll be scared if you find out.”
“I’ll be even more scared if you don’t tell me!” Fu Lie sensed a scary presence from Han Fei.
“After experiencing so much, I realize that Fu Sheng is a great man. He can suffer the humiliation and betrayal just to bring hope to the city.” Han Fei tightened his fists. “But I’m different. For me, fairness is more important than kindness.”
“You just continue on your path.” Du Jing signaled Fu Lie to shut up and led him away.
The people on No. 2’s list were immediately found. To everyone’s surprise, when they heard that they could reunite with the people from their dreams, most volunteered to enter the game. Due to the high number of people, Deep Space Tech even had to move the spare gaming hubs out. However, that was still not enough. Then, some of the older players stood forward. They were not in the main hub when the tragedy struck, so they escaped. They provided the extra hubs.
Horrible rumors spread across the internet, but many people still worked hard in real life to contribute their part. Twelve hours later, someone entered the room. The worker handed the report to Han Fei.
4/5 of the people on the list were found. Other than a few people, most were willing to enter the game. This number was greater than Han Fei anticipated. They knew that entering the game would bring a risk of brain death, but they were still willing to try. Some of them thought life was too hard, and others really wanted to find the person they were looking for.
No matter the reason, their appearance gave Han Fei hope. “Go and inform Kong Tiancheng to reopen the server. Let these people into the game. We’ll enter the game at 8 am, and we’ll meet up at the main hub.”
Han Fei lay on the bed. He connected all the wires and put on the helmet. Han Fei was worried about the changes in the cryptic world and the surface world. Blood descended. Han Fei had just opened his eyes when he heard No. 2’s voice. “You were gone for so long. I thought you had abandoned us.”
“I’ve finished the task you gave me. All the people on the list will enter the game at 8 am.”
“Good.” No. 2 was impressed. “The city is a bit chaotic now. You’ll personally lead them to the central pavilion. I’ll connect your fate to theirs and attempt to send you to the deepest dream in the altar.”
“How is the success rate?”
“We have no chance for failure.” No. 2 said. “Go back to the base. Do not be disturbed by others. Focus on your job.”
No. 2 unsettled Han Fei. He hurried back to the base. There were people cleaning the blood on the street. The street near the base was filled with broken limbs and flesh!
“A massacre?”
Han Fei pushed open the guild door. He saw a pale Bai Xian sitting on the chair and receiving treatment from the NPC doctor. “Brother Bai, what happened when I was gone?”
Bai Xian struggled to stand up. He looked bad. “The players supporting Dream have started an organized attack. Seven hours ago, the leader of Absolute Truth was killed, the vice president of Merchant Union was injured, and we were attacked too. Those players became killing machines without emotions.”
“What about the others?”
“Huang Yin led the others to support the other guilds. Thankfully, your neighbors are here or else the main hub would have submitted.” Bai Xian coughed out blood. “The players siding with Dream can gain level by killing other players. All the normal players went into hiding. There’s no trust between humans anymore.”
Dream treated players as nutrients. Ever since it confirmed the black box was on Han Fei, it targeted everything at him.
“Contact everyone to come back before sunrise. We need to go to the starter village to protect a batch of new players.” Han Fei knew Dream would attack, but he didn’t think it would be so vicious.
“There are new players willing to log into the game now?!” Bai Xian was pale. “Not long after you left, Dream took over the system. Many players had hunting missions. New players are just feed for them.”
“That’s why we need to protect them.”
“I know, but you have something more important to do.” Bai Xian led Han Fei deep into the base. “Since yesterday night, the merchant kept coming over from the cryptic world to find you. He has something important to report.”
Han Fei’s anxiety was amplified when he saw the merchant pacing around the oil paintings. He ignored the merchant and went to the paintings. The three paintings had changed. In the past twelve hours, the wall around the theme park was swallowed by the mist. The souls saved from Fu Sheng’s altar curled up in the amenities. The laughter around the theme park became cries. The souls trembled in fear.
Ziggurat, the skyscraper, the plastic surgery hospital, and the theme park were taken over by darkness. Mad Laughter stood alone in the several altars. His face was clawed, and some force took over his heart. He was heavily injured, but he still laughed madly. The laughter prevented the hostile ghosts from pushing forward. The black mist on the horizon came closer, but the laughter never stopped.
“Mad Laughter is injured?!”
Dream hadn’t arrived, but Mad Laughter was already injured, attacked by several Unmentionables.
The despair oozed out of the paintings. The flame was about to be snuffed out by the darkness.