After Han Fei woke up in the memory world, he took over Gao Cheng’s body. In a way, he was very similar to Gao Cheng. They had endless greed and wanted to kill God. However, Han Fei was not Gao Cheng. Just like how Han Fei took over Fu Yi’s body, Fu Yi would come out to disturb Han Fei at crucial moments. He didn’t trust Han Fei and only used Han Fei. Perhaps Gao Cheng had the same plan at first, but as he got to know Han Fei, he started to make a choice different from Fu Yi. From how Gao Cheng saw it, Han Fei was doing things better than he was. To complete his ambition, he could hand everything he had to Han Fei. Gao Cheng hated God so much that he would pay any price to destroy it. Waking up the boy and helping him to meet Ghost Mother was Gao Cheng’s last test for Han Fei. It was his last wish too. This core altar mission was related to Han Fei’s fate. “I’ll bring you to meet your mother and have her tell you in person what she really thinks.”
No matter how hard Han Fei tried, he couldn’t wake up the boy. The boy stayed between the starlight and the abyss. With a sigh, Han Fei left his mind. “No wonder Gao Xing treats the twinflower as his best creation. Gao Xing and Gao Cheng have intertwining fates. One flower will only bloom if the other flower is fully wilted. He wants to replicate that despair on Mad Laughter and me.”
In real life, Gao Xing’s fate was dominated by Gao Cheng. His family, life, and even eyes were all taken by Gao Cheng. However, something changed, and the reverse was true.
“Mad Laughter and I are twinflowers too. But we are more tolerant of each other.” Han Fei lay in bed and looked out at the dark city. The warm starlight shone on every ghost. The greed abyss slowly calmed down. Even the black water faded slightly. When Han Fei woke up the next morning, his mental corruption had dropped to 39. For him, this was already very safe. He put on his clothes and tried to move his body. After three days of convalescence, he was feeling much better. After having a meal, Han Fei grabbed his card to the Tragedy Investigation Department. He wanted to get some missions related to Ghost Mother.
“Teacher Gao, aren’t you still receiving treatment?”
“Humanity is dying. How can I still rest?” Han Fei sounded weak but determined. “Now is the time that everyone is needed. I can’t waste the center’s resources.” Han Fei used actions to prove that he was valuable. Even though he was heavily injured, his heart remembered the innocent being bullied by the ghosts. He volunteered to go to the most dangerous Zone A. Those who didn’t know that he had greed persona would think he was a kind teacher. After receiving a mission related to Shi Wei Eatery, Team 13 departed. Han Fei borrowed a motorcycle from another team. Han Fei moved along the safe path and parked the motorcycle outside Zone A. Even though it was daylight, sounds and smells could attract ghosts because not all ghosts were afraid of the light.
“This is my second time here.” Seeing the red lanterns, Han Fei remembered his previous visit here. “Now things are completely different. I’ve awakened my persona six times. With two Pure Hatreds, a normal Red Building is no match for me.” Han Fei pushed open the front door. “Is anyone home?” He entered the lobby. The dining table was seated with paper dolls. Munching sounds came from everywhere. The temperature dropped. To Han Fei’s surprise, he didn’t feel any discomfort. Han Fei moved through the paper dolls to the back kitchen. If the ghost wouldn’t come out to meet him, then he’d eat everything in the kitchen. Han Fei pried open the ground, and Han Fei summoned Envy. “Boss, if you don’t come out soon, I’ll rob you clean.”
After the blood feast ended, there was nothing important in the kitchen. There were just unknown meat and some ghost blood. “They are not souls, so I have to use them here.” Han Fei summoned Wu Chang. This ghost was very special. He was Gao Cheng’s first ghost. He raised him from an Animated Regret to a Medium Lingering Spirit. It was only a sacrifice away from becoming a Large Lingering Spirit. “These are rare sacrifices. Feast on them.” Through Gao Cheng’s diary, he knew that Wu Chang and Du Niao were Gao Cheng’s best friends. Just on that alone, Han Fei wouldn’t abandon them. With Han Fei’s permission, Wu Chang picked up the sacrifice. The temperature dropped again. The paper dolls all turned their heads to look at Han Fei.
“What are you looking at?” Han Fei took out Rest in Peace. “Call your boss out, or I’ll crush this place.” Three days had passed, but many things had changed. The creaking voice came from the second floor. A family of seven came out of the most luxurious booth. The old man who stood in front was the boss of Shi Wei Eatery.
“I didn’t expect you to become like this.” Han Fei had seen this family on television before. They studied the art of cooking. After the tragedy, they became ghosts and cooked for other ghosts. “I have no intention of having a conflict with you.” Han Fei flipped the coin. The greed abyss appeared behind him. “You should remember the last time I was here.” The show of strength was to avoid conflict. If Han Fei wanted to kill, he wouldn’t show Rest in Peace so early. “I am Ghost Mother’s child. I want to see her.” A living person called himself the ghost Mother’s child. The boss didn’t know how to answer. Ghost Mother was the most unique ghost at Zone A. No one dared to offend her, and no one dared to be connected to her.
“Shi Wei Eatery is a place you want to defend, and I have something I need to protect too. If you don’t tell me, then I’ll have to force you.” The headmaster opened his eyes. The old man waved at the smallest kid beside him and lifted up his shirt. The kid’s back was written with various menus and taboos. The words were curses too.
“This is a menu someone made especially for Ghost Mother?” Han Fei realized that all the dishes had been flavored with the emotion of regret. “To carve the menu on your descendant’s back. Who could be so cruel?”
The old man pointed above him and didn’t say anything else. He patted the kid’s head. The kid understood and led Han Fei to the third floor. He crawled into the Ghost Mother’s booth and came out with a heavily-damaged nightlight. The Ghost Mother seemed to know that Han Fei would return and left this for him.
“Do I need to switch it on?” Han Fei tried to activate the light but the kid waved his hands. He led Han Fei to the window. He pointed at a few buildings in Zone A and then the clouds in the sky.
“You mean I need to light the lamp at those buildings after dark?” Han Fei had seen many documents at the center. The buildings the kid pointed out were related to education and charity. They were not that dangerous. The kid nodded. He was scared of Han Fei.
“Then, I’ll trust you.”
Han Fei returned to the first floor and pulled Wu Chang back into the abyss. “I will not take these ingredients for nothing. In the future, I’ll protect your family. Of course, the premise is that you didn’t lie to me.” Han Fei left the eatery and came to the orphanage close by. Inside the empty yard, the toys moved on their own. The cartoon paintings on the walls winked. They were cute but looked creepy.
“If I move further, I’ll enter the center of Zone A.” Zone A was one of the most dangerous locations in Xin Lu. There were five known Black Buildings and many Strange Buildings. “The center’s focus is on Zone C. Zone A is dominated by ghosts. If something happens to me, I won’t be able to get any help.” Han Fei put on the cap. When he approached the orphanage, he sensed that something was wrong. There were unfinished food and nutrient pack in the yard.
“The liquid is still wet, and the food is fresh. Someone has just been here.” The survivors in the city wouldn’t waste food. The expensive nutrient pack wasn’t something a normal survivor could afford either. Han Fei had great observational skills. He sneaked into the orphanage and noticed many signs of human activity. “The ghosts have no influence on them. They are more powerful than most ghosts. Are they like the headmaster? A follower of the ghost?”
Han Fei traced the track to the second-floor activity room. Through the door, he heard several voices speaking.
“It’s the birthday of God after 19 days. Have you prepared the gift for God?”
“It has everything you have. It needs what you can’t give.”
“In that case, why don’t we destroy Hope City? We’ll have a city-wide sacrifice to please God.”
“The others won’t agree. They have plans for Hope City.”
Han Fei looked in through the door. There were three men in standard uniform. Next to them were two severely tortured dead bodies. “They aren’t wearing the center’s uniform…” Han Fei had seen them on the center’s files before. Their uniform was unique to the citizens of Hope City, who had high contributions. “Why do these three look so familiar?”
Han Fei finally remembered them. He had seen them in the police station’s file room before. When Mad Laughter entered the altar, many criminals from the skyscraper followed. These three were like Ma Jing. They were killers with the ghost card!
“God gave them special preference, and they have awakened their persona. They seem to have found a good life in Hope City.”
Many killers were good at hiding. Plus, they had no guilt and shame. Even if these people spent their nights dismembering victims, they could chat happily with the victims’ families during the day. Therefore, the people of Hope City didn’t discover their real identity.
“God needs birthday presents too, especially God who has lacked love since he was young.” The eldest among them spoke. “We can’t give him the things he wants, but we can find ways to make him happy. For example, we can torture the people that God hates the most or help God to gain his mother’s approval.”
“Brother Chou, do you have a plan already?”
“My persona has the domination power. I want to dominate that ghost’s soul and replace her to love God.”
The three in the room were actually crazy criminals, so Han Fei was not shocked that they’d think like this.
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