Han Fei’s brain calculated everything within 0.1 second because he knew time was not on his side. He had to move fast. Both parties were racing against time.
As expected, Han Fei was the first to reach the 4th floor. He held the ring of keys and started to search for the right one. The footsteps echoed closer behind him. To make him more nervous, the heady smell of blood started to permeate the air! The sticky stench almost suffocated his breath.
“Quick! Hurry up!” His musculature and physique training as an actor helped a lot in this case. Even though his heart was shaking, his hands were not. The moment he landed on the right key, he shoved it into the keyhole. As the spring clicked, Han Fei pushed the door open and dashed into the house. He slid the door close and clamped his hands over his mouth. Through the door, Han Fei could hear a beast-like breathing coming from the other side. ‘What the hell is it this time?’
Standing on weak knees, Han Fei forced himself to look through the peephole. There was nothing in the corridor. ‘The sound of breathing has disappeared but the smell of blood is still there!’
Han Fei was not dumb enough to pull open the door to check. He adjusted the angle of his eye and finally caught a human face hidden at the lower corner of the door. ‘The thing from the 6th floor is still here! He’s hiding at my blind spot and probably waiting to ambush me!’
If the old lady from the 3rd floor gave Han Fei a feeling of kindness with a trace of creepiness, then this thing from the 6th floor exuded a sense of madness, bloodlust and cunningness. ‘I surely have been given the best choice of neighbours!’ Han Fei took a step back and wiped away the cold sweat from his forehead. ‘I can’t leave since that thing is waiting outside the door. But to quit the game I have to complete at least one mission. It would appear like my only choice is to complete one of the New Player Missions inside this house…’
To be perfectly frank, the seemingly simple New Player Missions had left a deep psychological scar on Han Fei.
‘In any case, I should wait the 3 hours out first.’ Han Fei stopped to assess his own situation. There was a bloody murderer waiting to pounce at him outside his home and the ghost inside his home would come alive at night. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place. ‘But now I am only level 1. Perhaps after levelling up, things will get much easier.’ Since he was forced to continue this game, Han Fei found solace in this little self-deception. Han Fei took note of the time from the wall clock. Han Fei did not dare to venture too deep into the house. After switching on all the lights, he stayed close to the front door. The smell of blood in the corridor thickened and occasionally there was a strange noise. The thing from the 6th floor was very patient, Han Fei just wished he’d use a more conventional approach to come greet his new neighbour.
‘When I completed the fuse mission, the system hinted to me that forming a peaceful neighbourly relationship is the first step to a perfect life. In other words, the game hopes that I would share a good relationship with my neighbours. Perhaps, this means that I would need the friendship and help from my neighbours to survive in this game.’ Smelling the blood in the air, Han Fei grimaced painfully, ‘This is one hell of an Iyashikei game. I suffer from society anxiety so it formulates a treatment that forces me to face my anxiety or I’d die.’
Time eventually arrived at 3 am. The 3 hours limit was over. Now Han Fei only needed to complete a mission and he could quit the game. His ‘passionate’ neighbour was still posted outside the door. Han Fei’s exit was blocked so after much consideration, he decided to attempt the New Player Mission again. ‘If the ghost reappears, I’ll run out the door. Hopefully the ghost will take care of my neighbour from the 6th floor. Then I’ll inherit his place and keys. I promise to live the best life on his behalf, I won’t let his sacrifice go to waste.’ That was of course the most idealistic situation, but the cruel truth was Han Fei would most likely be killed by his 6th floor neighbour once he opened the front door.
Pulling up the mission interface, Han Fei hesitated for some time before he chose the second mission—watch a television show. Han Fei already knew about the presence of the ghost inside the bathroom from his other new player mission. The first mission would bring him too close in comfort to his ‘housemate’. He could not imagine a world where he’d voluntarily go shower with a ghost.
“Player 0000 has accepted Grade G New Player Mission, Watch a Television Show!
“Mission Introduction: Ever since your move here, you’ve lost count of the times you failed to fall asleep. Stuck with insomnia, you have decided to watch some television.
“Mission Requirement: Please switch off all the lights in the house and switch on the television. Watch any channel for 30 minutes. Please do not move your eyes away from the television screen within these 30 minutes.”
The mission again sounded deceptively simple but Han Fei knew the real challenge it would bring. Since Han Fei was unable to leave the house, there was not much else he could do. He switched off all the lights and switched on the television set at 3.05 am. The old-fashioned television box buzzed noisily. Probably due to bad signal, not many channels were available, most of them consisted of black and white static. The New Player Mission had officially started. With the remote in his right hand and the cleaver in his right, Han Fei sat up straight on the couch and stared transfixed at the television screen.
‘It’ll be fine, 30 minutes will go by in a jiffy.’ Han Fei surfed through the channels. When he stopped at channel 44, homophonous to Death Death in Chinese, there was finally a viewable broadest. The light in the room was dim, and that added to the already blurry state of the broadcast. Han Fei tried to raise the volume but the show apparently was soundless. It appeared to be a cartoon but Han Fei could not recognize it. He had not seen anything like it before. It had such a strange animation style. ‘Is this a cartoon from hell?’
Han Fei leaned his body forward to get a closer look. At that moment, footsteps rang in his ears. The sound was too close to have come from the corridor. As mentioned earlier, the show was a silent one. So this could only mean that someone was moving inside the house!
The footsteps slowly approached Han Fei. He was now sure the ‘person’ came out from the bedroom and made its way towards the man on the couch. ‘Is it the same ghost as before?’
Han Fei did not dare to move and eventually the last footfall was heard right behind the couch. Han Fei was watching television at 3 am alone inside a dim room. Suddenly there was spattering of footsteps and it disappeared right behind him. ‘The thing has left or is it still standing right behind me?’
His Adam’s Apple trembled. Han Fei resisted the urge to turn around and instead fixed his stare on the screen. The animation still had no sound. In the show, the main character had a disability and it was trying to hide from something. Whenever it stopped to rest, a pair of invisible hands would grab at it to pull it back. Han Fei had no idea what the meaning of the animation was but when the character was pulled back for the third time, Han Fei felt a heaviness land on his left shoulder.
It took everything he had to not turn around. He glanced from the corner of his eye and he believed he saw a pale hand.
His heart started to pound involuntarily. Han Fei gritted his teeth as he forced himself to focus on the show, but as he turned his attention back to the television, a scarier surprise awaited him.
A pair of legs emerged from behind the television shelf where the television box sat on. There was more than one ghost inside this house! Han Fei’s body started to shake. Based on how well things were going, he thought about running to the front door and go invite his 6th floor neighbour to come join him before the television.
Comments