Double-checking the amount in his account, when Han Fei ordered his lunch, he decided to splurge and added 2 more eggs. ‘I shouldn’t be too hard on myself. I deserve some reward. I can’t bring the money with me after death anyway.’
After lunch, Han Fei returned to Northern Street. Today they were going to do another on location scene so Han Fei hopped onto the bus with the rest of the crew. If everything went well, all of his parts would be completed that day. After he got on the vehicle, Han Fei found a quiet corner and sat down. He still preferred his own solitude. He pulled back the curtain and prepared to nap when Director Jiang plopped down beside him. “Han Fei, there’s a big event tomorrow. Will you be interested in joining?”
“What kind of event?”
“It’s a variety show invitation. You’ll play some games with other celebrities and the exposure can help promote the movie.” Director Jiang hoped Han Fei would agree. “You do not have any agency so I believe you should grab these chances to appear before the camera. The show’s crew also hoped that you'd agree, they couldn’t wait to meet you.”
“I don’t think so. I do not have any work to show at the moment. Many people know me from my connection to law enforcement. If I appear before the camera now, I’m afraid it’ll distract from the actual promotion of the movie.” Han Fei leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes.
“You are one unique actor. Normal celebrities would jump on this chance but you still put the movie first.” Director Jiang admired Han Fei. “After this movie is released, great popularity awaits you. I hope that we’ll have the chance to collaborate again in the future.”
“Of course.”
When they arrived at the location, the busy day began. Due to the editing to the script, most of the previous shots couldn’t be used anymore. To catch up to the schedule, everyone was working overtime to produce the product. Han Fei’s last scene ended at 8 pm. Zhan Yueyue and Mian Nian were still working. With Han Fei’s aid and stimulant, these two young actors had improved greatly. However, to quote Director Jiang, they had to act like their lives depended on it to be on Han Fei’s level.
‘Without even realizing it, I’ve obtained the life that I’ve been yearning for in the past but how come I feel so disinterested about it?’ Without participating in the wrap party, Han Fei left early on his own like usual. He took public transport to return to the old city. He just got down from the bus when he heard the sound of rushing wind. Without even raising his head, Han Fei’s body took an instinctual step back.
Bang! A potted succulent landed squarely at the spot he just vacated. The shattered porcelain cut his skin. The loud crash also attracted the attention of all the nearby pedestrians. The training Han Fei got from Perfect Life just saved him. His face darkened as he looked up the apartment building. There was a pair of couples arguing on the 3rd floor and underlying the argument was the sound of a child crying.
‘Is this a coincidence?’ Han Fei took out his phone to call Li Xue. “I’m not sure if this is an accident or not but I almost died. Perhaps the Butterfly is behind this.’”
“What?! Be careful and I need you to get into the cover of a crowd immediately!” After Li Xue asked for Han Fei’s location, she hurried over. After hanging up, Han Fei used his phone to capture the pictures as evidence. Meng Changxi’s words echoed in his mind. The Butterfly knew how to use unrelated things and people to commit murders. ‘My rental is heavily guarded so the Butterfly will have a harder time coming for me there so they’ll have to make use of the opportunity when I’m away from home. But how would they know where to set up the trap?
‘They must have studied my habits closely. My life is extremely regular. Other than going to work, I stay mostly at home. And to travel between these two places, the one place that I’ll have to pass is the bus station.’ Han Fei’s eyes chilled while he stared at the arguing husband and wife. ‘The potted plant fell from the 3rd floor. The pot was heavy enough to claim a person’s life if it hit.’
The police arrived 10 minutes later. They went up to the 3rd floor with Han Fei trailing behind them. Hearing the knocking, the arguing couple stopped. They initially refused to open the door but when they heard it was the police, they chose to cooperate. “We are investigating a murder case, we hope that you’ll cooperate with us…’
The police checked the premise for half an hour and found nothing. The potted plant fell when the fight got slightly physical between the couple. They had many potted succulents on the balcony because this species required plenty of sunlight.
That day, the husband was out on the balcony smoking when the wife returned from work early. They got worked up over some small issues and it grew into a fight. The whole process was not complicated. If Han Fei did die, it would look just like an accident. While the police interviewed the two adults, Han Fei walked around the house. In the end, he stopped to look at the cowering child. With tear stains on his face, he seemed the most innocent party.
‘The Butterfly appears to be inordinately interested in children. From Little Eight to Jin Sheng at Yi Ming Private Academy, they were both deeply tied to the Butterfly.’ Han Fei sauntered over to Li Xue. He whispered something into her ear, reminding her to not overlook the child. After that, Han Fei left. ‘Now that the Butterfly is coming after me, I need to capture them as soon as possible!’
The problem was Han Fei was in the open while the Butterfly was still in the dark. ‘There should be more clues about the Butterfly in Perfect Life, after all both Happiness Neighbourhood and Yi Ming Private Academy are related to the Butterfly.’
Back in his rental, Han Fei went online and bought another crop of ebooks, The Study of Success, the Management of Talent, How to become the Students’ Best Teacher, The Power of Education… Han Fei put on the earphone to listen to them while he searched online for information about Yi Ming Private Academy. Unlike the human jigsaw case, most information about this school had been deleted. Han Fei could only find scattered clues and pictures. One of the pictures grabbed Han Fei’s attention. In the pictures, Jin Sheng’s grandparents went to the school gates with flower rings and paper money but they were chased away by the school teachers.
‘Why is there so little information? It feels like many things have been purposely deleted.’ Then again, the Case of the Foretold Deaths occurred much earlier than the Human Jigsaw Case, so the lack of information was understandable. ‘In real life, not many people remember that school, and the evidence would have disappeared with time. But that does not mean the same is true in the cryptic world. There has to be a reason why the previous manager has circled out this school.’
Han Fei remembered blurrily the previous manager’s last words. He told Han Fei to expand his exploration as soon as possible because danger was imminent. Han Fei initially had his reservation about this but his encounter with the singer changed his mind. The singer’s power was beyond his expectation. With such a presence loitering around the neighbourhood, Han Fei needed to get stronger as fast as possible. ‘What have I done to deserve this? Why is it that in both real world and gaming world, people want to kill me?!’
After doing his research, Han Fei practiced another round of fighting skill before he hugged the gaming helmet and sat on his bed. Han Fei connected all the wires and put the helmet on. When the game started, Han Fei’s world dyed red. “Welcome to perfect Life!”
His eyes opened and Han Fei first added his 2 recent Skill Points into Acting and Soul-depth Touch. Then he entered the innermost bedroom to find Wei Youfu.
“Weifu, do you mind following me to Apartment 2, I wish to summon all of the current tenants.”
“Hmm, why?” Wei Youfu leaned against the wall. He looked very fragile. “Some of the tenants will lose part of their power after they leave their room, it’ll be hard to gather all of them before we get their trust. Do you have something important to announce?”
“I have the working id for Yi Ming Private Academy with me. And I have a plan. If I succeed, we will be able to take down Yi Ming Private Academy.”
“Take down Yi Ming Private Academy?” Wei Youfu’s eyes widened, “Haven’t we just dealt with the former boss of the convenience store yesterday night? Aren’t you taking things a bit too fast? You need to rest too, you know.”
“We do not have much time left, every night is incredibly precious to us.” Han Fei looked at Wei Youfu seriously. “The students there are being tortured by horrible ghosts. I have to go save them.”
“You’re serious about this?” Wei Youfu asked again, “Indeed the teacher id can allow you to enter and leave the school freely but have you been a teacher before? How can you tell that your disguise will work?”
“I never intended to become a teacher to begin with, my goal is to become the headmaster.” Han Fei took out the teacher’s working id from his inventory and then shared with Wei Youfu his plan.
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