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“Come, I’ll teach you. Move faster!”

Worm was a masochist, but that didn’t mean he had no fear. He stood up shakily. He was forced to learn from Han Fei. While they were ‘cleaning up’, Han Fei asked Worm the things he wanted to know. “What happened on the night you kidnapped Du Zhu?” Han Fei got straight to the point. This was the thing Worm refused to remember. “Something very scary.” Worm stammered. “We saw that woman changing her medicine.”

“How is that scary?”

“The medicine she uses is different from usual. They are human faces with different expressions.” Worm’s shoulders shook. “The faces were still alive like they had just been torn from living humans. Other than the medicine, there were many medical dregs in her room.”

“You mean ruined faces?”

“Yes and no.” Worm shook his head. “These medical dregs are young and pretty women. The human faces grew on them. After the faces were harvested, the women wouldn’t die, but they would age. I discovered another strange thing. The medical dregs were called Du Zhu too. It felt like Du Zhu had imbued a part of herself into those women. After they grew Du Zhu’s faces, they would be eaten by Du Zhu.”

Han Fei was a well-versed cryptic world traveler, but this was the first time he heard something so strange.

“I know you might not believe me, but that is the truth. I was so afraid when I saw Du Zhu changing her medicine. However, Qiang Wei took that moment to make his move.” Worm’s eyes were filled with regret. “I shouldn’t have joined that mission. Every light at the hospital went out after he nabbed Du Zhu. It was like we were fighting with the dark.”

“Then how did you manage to escape?”

“I, I…” Worm stammered for a long time before confessing, “I’ll not lie to you. Actually, I have two personas. I fainted when Qiang Wei came out with the bloody Du Zhu. It was my other persona who saved me and brought out Du Zhu.”

Han Fei knew Worm wasn’t lying. He knew Worm had the talent, Vulnerable Personality. One had to fulfill stringent requirements to force out the other persona. Worm had to be in extreme danger. This also proved that things were really dangerous for Worm back then.

“You don’t believe me?” Worm squatted beside Han Fei. He didn’t dare to look the man in the eyes.

“I do. Trust is the most important between teammates.” Han Fei snapped the dead doctor’s bones so that he could fit into the cupboard. “I heard outside the door that the doctors planned to turn you into medicine and send you somewhere else.”

“There is a surgical room under every building. The place can remove a person’s memory and personality. I saw a patient taken away. When he returned, he was a completely different person.”

“It’s underground?” Han Fei nodded as he wiped the blood from his hands. “Other than the underground surgical rooms, did you hear anything else useful?”

“We better escape as soon as possible. The hospital has a unique way of finding Du Zhu. The medicines called Du Zhu are connected to Du Zhu. I believe they’ll find her soon.” Worm said sadly, “When she returns, we’ll all die.”

“Do you know where all the medicines are hidden?”

“They should be in Building Seven, but I can’t be sure.” Worm thought. “The hospital categorized the patients into seven categories. The most serious cases are at Building Seven. Apparently, that building is the most important and dangerous at this hospital.”

“Okay, then we’ll visit the underground surgical room at Building Five, then we’ll go to Building Seven.” Han Fei stunned Worm.

“Are you sure? Just the two of us? If we don’t escape now, we won’t have the chance again.”

“This hidden map is only so big, and we can’t hide forever.” Han Fei broke Worm’s last hope. “I already told you players that you have to cooperate with me if you want to survive. However, some of you refused to listen to me.”

“My other teammates are still alive?”

“They are still alive, but I wish they’re dead.” Han Fei led Worm to the door. “In the morning, when I sent you to Building Five, a very tall doctor accepted the cart at the door. Do you remember where he went?”

“A very tall doctor?” Worm followed behind Han Fei. “I think I remember him. He pushed me to Building Six. As we were about to enter Building Seven, he realized I was faking being unconscious, but he didn’t expose me.”

“And then?”

“He entered Building Seven alone to finish some paperwork for me. Then, I was sent to Building Five.” Worm recalled. “Is he your friend? I felt like he had saved my life.”

“Building Seven again…” Han Fei nodded. “It looks like a trip there is inevitable.” They exited the ward, and Han Fei closed the door. From the outside, the ward looked totally normal. No one could tell the massacre that had happened inside. Worm saw this, and it made him even more afraid.

“Stay close to me.” Han Fei placed the paper doll inside his pocket. Worm and he walked towards the stairwell. Han Fei perked up his ears, and he heard light footsteps and wheels rolling coming from upstairs. Han Fei shushed Worm and slowly moved up the steps.

“Aren’t we going underground? Why are you moving up?” Worm grabbed Han Fei’s shirt.

“The people upstairs might discover us.” Han Fei carried his knife and moved up. Instantly the lights on the fifth-floor corridor went out. Only a trolley used to transport dead people remained on the empty corridor when the lights came back on.

“Brother, let’s go. There’s no one here.” Worm saw the trolley, and his heart pounded. Several seconds later, the lights went out again. The trolley wheels creaked in the dark. Worm shivered. He was reminded of that scary night. He persuaded Han Fei again. “We’re supposed to go underground. Why are we on the fifth floor? We shouldn’t find unnecessary trouble.” He grabbed Han Fei, but he only got the air. He was stunned. His lips were dry, and his palms were sweaty. “Han Fei, where are you?” The wheels creaked closer, and Worm’s heart jumped faster. He felt the dark was infinitely long. Finally, the lights came back on.

Worm looked ahead, and he saw Han Fei standing beside the trolley. The lights behind Han Fei came on, but the lights before him remained closed. The man stood between dark and light. “How… did he run faster than the trolley?”

Static returned, and the lights flickered again. As the lights went out, a blinding light flashed. The trolley tipped over, and all the lights on the corridor returned to normal. Worm widened his eyes as he stared at the returning Han Fei. The man was holding a thin patient’s list. “That’s all?”

“What else do you expect?” Han Fei put the list away. It wasn’t hard for him to collect five clues. “Since that was your first time, I’ll dismiss it. But next time, when I told you to be quiet, you need to shut up.”

“Of course!” Worm nodded heavily. He was very confident after he saw how powerful Han Fei was. “Big brother, can you tell me how you did that? Can you teach me?” Everyone wanted to know how to deal with ghosts in this scary world.

“Now, you…” Han Fei wanted to say something when the pain shot through his head. Then, his nose started to bleed. He almost fell.

“Han Fei!” Worm moved to support Han Fei. He looked at this, and his confidence was shattered again, “One has to pay so much to deal with ghosts?”

Worm wanted to say something more, but Han Fei pushed him away.

“What’s wrong?” Worm was confused. He had no idea what he had done wrong. Then he saw something staggering. Han Fei held the butcher’s knife and swung it at his head!

“Don’t!” Worm gasped and fell to the ground in shock. The blade cut through the head. Han Fei opened his eyes. His eyes were muddled. “Do you think I can’t kill you since you’re hiding in my head?”

“But, but I’m right here…” Worm held the staircase banister and stood up. He didn’t dare to get close to Han Fei. Worm’s knees gave out, and he knelt to the ground again. He thought he was crazy for having two personas, but he realized he was a small case after meeting Han Fei.

Han Fei calmed down after a long time. His face was icy. He glanced at Worm on the ground. “What are you doing there?”

“Lunar New Year is almost here, so I thought to kneel to you for saving me.” Worm remembered what his doctor told him. When dealing with a schizophrenic patient, one should go along with everything they say.

“As the trump card of Absolute Truth, can’t you be more useful?” Han Fei dragged Worm up. They were about to move downstairs when strange voices came from above them again.

“We’re going to the first-floor basement. To ensure that we’re not discovered, it’s quite logical to clean up the other floors.” Worm followed obediently behind Han Fei. Now, he agreed with everything Han Fei did.

“You have a point.” Han Fei calculated the time. Since they were already on the fifth floor, what was one more floor upwards? He moved quickly, and several minutes later, he gained a new patient’s list. At the same time, the system said, “Notification for Player 0000! You’ve gained Grade F Clue—Building Five’s Name List for People with Imperfect Personalities!

“Building Five’s Name List for People with Imperfect Personalities: There is no perfect persona in this world, like the world itself is not perfect. The people on the name list are sent underground. These imperfect people are the foundation of this absurd world. Their growth allowed me to reach perfection. Gathering three Grade F clues will grant the player one Grade E clue!”

Han Fei placed the patient’s lists together. Han Fei noticed the writing on the edges. He ran downstairs with the new clue. “The patients have been moved underground to have their personalities removed. If I go now, I might still meet them.”