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299 The Real Iyashikei Game

‘As the previous owner of the black box, his younger brother became the man closest to God and changed the whole world. The man himself, though, couldn’t even live a normal life, why was that? Why was Fu Sheng killed in the end and had his memories shattered?’ Questions surged into his mind. Han Fei wanted to hurry back into the game, to find the previous manager’s memory fragments. He needed to know the truth. ‘My current area is still considered the starting map. The real world will open after I clear Ziggurat.’ While Han Fei was contemplating these questions, Zhuang Ren started the game again. He controlled the character and once again died at the Ziggurat map.

As the afternoon rolled by, Han Fei had watched Zhuang Ren play the game so many times that he could already memorize the procedure himself. After getting Zhuang Ren’s permission, he decided to give it a try himself. There were many hints inside this game, the kid who caught the butterfly at the Happiness Neighbourhood, the older brother who was unnamed at Pear Blossom Neighbourhood and the Ziggurat which would always bring death with it. The game only had 8 maps but the stories in each of the maps had endless ways of reading them. Zhuang Ren had sought out the most expedient way to clear all the maps but he still couldn’t finish the game.

Han Fei decided to approach the game differently from Zhuang Ren. Clearing the game was not his goal, instead he wanted to find out the message which was inherent in this game left behind by the director. He had personally participated in the human jigsaw case, lived under the same room with the 8 victims, and became the building manager of Happiness Neighbourhood Building 1. He was the person who understood Happiness Neighbourhood the best in this world. When he controlled the main character to interact with the neighbours, Han Fei couldn’t stop frowning. The game’s message and image were warm and peaceful. Even if there was conflict between the neighbours, in the end, they would be resolved peacefully. This was a fully fleshed-out Iyashikei game.

‘This feels like an extremely early version of Perfect Life. It has a pretty and warm appearance but underneath that appearance is a demon who survives on people’s despair and negative emotions.’ That was how Han Fei felt because he had been to the cryptic world himself. ‘This game was made more than decades ago and 8 puzzle pieces were hidden inside the Happiness Neighbourhood map. That coincides perfectly with the details of the human jigsaw case but the human jigsaw case only happened 10 years ago. The director prophesied the human jigsaw case? Or someone started to commit the series of cases based on the game detail left behind by the Director? Could Butterfly have known about the existence of this game? Or Zhuang Ren is the Butterfly? Or… Butterfly is the Immortal Pharma’s Director? This game is not a prophecy but a calling card?’ With that in mind, Han Fei’s heart chilled. But soon, he calmed down again. The chance of the Butterfly being the Director was small but they should know each other. To verify his suspicion, Han Fei planned to reconstruct the human jigsaw case inside the Ziggurat game. To do that, one had to know the killer’s modus operandi, and the location where the human pieces were hidden. Only Han Fei and the police involved in the case would know about these details.

He followed Zhuang Ren’s direction and finished all the side missions. Han Fei bonded with all the neighbours, and the place was radiating with happiness and warmth. When everyone was submerged in this haze of happiness, Han Fei accepted a mission to skin an apple at the kitchen on the 5th floor. After accepting the mission, he didn’t grab the apple but instead went to the first floor to initiate his plan. Zhuang Ren saw through Han Fei’s plan. His bloodshot eyes blinked. He said, “It’s pointless, I’ve tried killing all the NPCs on all the maps, it will only make you fail. The first 8 maps of this game require you to create healing memories, so that it’ll form a great contrast with the upcoming Ziggurat.”

Han Fei ignored Zhuang Ren, he remembered the death of each victim and to his surprise, the game provided him with all the tools to perfectly duplicate the human jigsaw case. The Ziggurat game had a day and night cycle, Zhuang Ren used 10 minutes to clear the first map, in comparison, Han Fei used 20 minutes just to prepare for his first kill. When he murdered all the victims and placed their body parts where they should be, the game really did change. Zhuang Ren, who had played the game to its ends so many times, didn\'t expect this new unexplored development. His eyes were round and his face was colored in shock. On the screen, Han Fei used the 7 victims’ body parts to piece out the last victim—Little Eight.

After the appearance of the dead girl, the cute and warm atmosphere turned immediately. Just as Han Fei placed Little Eight’s body inside Room 1044, the screen turned blood red. Little Eight was like a key that opened the other side of this map!

‘Little Eight is the key!’ Han Fei had heard that repeated many times by different people but he didn’t really understand why. Today, he finally saw it in action. ‘But why is she so unique? What secret is hidden on her?’ Han Fei was muddled by these questions but he didn’t have time to think. The map had changed, the previously friendly neighbourhood was now teeming with monsters and murderers. They would immediately kill when they saw the main character, they had lost their rationality and humanity.

“Why don’t you… hand it back to me?” Seeing the new change, Zhuang Ren worried that Han Fei might be overwhelmed by the monsters but a few seconds later, he realized he was worried for no reason. Using the various items inside the neighbourhood, Han Fei’s character carved a way out for himself. He was so familiar with the game that it felt like he had personally experienced this event before!

The way Zhuang Ren looked at Han Fei changed. The man didn’t even realize that it was the same way he had used to look at the Immortal Pharma’s Director when he was young. Han Fei successfully escaped from Happiness Neighbourhood and then he arrived at the second map. After triggering the change with Little Eight, all the subsequent maps had changed as well. This was the gory version Zhuang Ren had not played before. Just looking at it made his heart wince but Han Fei was perfectly at ease. The 2nd map, 3rd map, 4th map… Han Fei got more and more familiar with the control. The sound of the controller was the only sound inside the room. Han Fei poured his whole attention into the game because he believed there was a great chance he might run into these things inside Ziggurat. So on top of playing the game, he memorized the geography, characters and conversations that he encountered!

His pupils trembled and blood vessels crawled on the edge of his eyes. Han Fei stared at the screen and his hands flew like birds. While he controlled the character, his lips moved, memorizing all the content on screen. Zhuang Ren who sat beside him was stumped into silence, he also didn’t dare to disturb Han Fei. Compared to Han Fei, he appeared so normal and banal.

The 5th map, 6th map… There was no conversation and communication. Maintaining the same pose, Han Fei blew through the red hell. Han Fei, who never had a drop of water from noon to dusk, finally cleared the 8th map. By then the main character was already covered in red and the game screen had turned blood red as well. The room was incredibly quiet. Han Fei and Zhuang Ren stared at the screen transfixed. Blood dripped and the 9th map, Ziggurat finally appeared!

But different from before, the Ziggurat inside the map had its door open. The dark entrance was like the demon’s mouth, waiting for the living to walk in. The hands that held the controller were already soaked in sweat. Han Fei paused for a moment before he controlled the character to approach the Ziggurat. Zhuang Ren and Han Fei’s hearts rose. They had never been inside Ziggurat before. With two of them watching, the character in the game walked towards the door and into Ziggurat!

“You did it!” Zhuang Ren was so excited that it was indescribable. He was treated by so many to be crazy but he didn’t mind because he had a goal to achieve and this was the moment he had been working for.

‘To enter the Ziggurat, one has to know the details of the human jigsaw case and one has to be inside the cryptic world to get the crucial information that Little Eight is living in Room 1044. After knowing all these things, they have to clear all 8 maps which had gotten twisted without dying once. Only then would they have the right to enter Ziggurat.’ Han Fei cleared it at first try but he knew how impossible that was for a normal player. A normal person wouldn’t be able to do this. Compared to Zhuang Ren, Han Fei was so much calmer. He looked at the crimson screen and pushed open the first door they came across inside Ziggurat.

“Please choose a death curse that is most acceptable to you.” After entering the room, this sentence was written on the blood red wall.

Zhuang Ren thought aloud and tried to give it different readings. Han Fei turned to the corner of the room where a colorful butterfly had landed on a dead body. The butterfly was different from any butterfly he had met before. It had 2 scary ghost faces on its wings.