My Healing Games

Chapter 694 The Shell of a Dream
After much mental preparation, Huang Mao finally accepted the blood-stained phone under the coercion of the vengeful ghost.

He slowly brought the phone to his ear, his heart pounding in his throat: "Hello?"

"I remember you and Fu Sheng were students at the same school. Has he done anything out of line at school this past year?" Han Fei's voice came from the phone. Huang Mao was a little confused when he heard it because Han Fei's voice was different from Fu Yi's.

While he was still wondering, Han Fei spoke again: "You'd better answer me honestly. If you dare to have any wicked thoughts, I'll throw you out on the street this time and use you to lure those ghosts and monsters."

Even though the voice had changed, the tone of voice immediately matched, and all the doubts in Huang Mao's mind vanished instantly: "Hello, Uncle. I'm not very familiar with Fu Sheng either. I heard from his classmates that after working hard for a while, he easily got first place in the whole school, and then he became somewhat... unusual."

"Different from ordinary people?"

"Yes, his communication with the 'ghost' has become more serious. The joy on his face has disappeared, as if the end of the world is coming, but only he knows it." To avoid being used as bait, Huang Mao tried to show Han Fei his other values: "We don't know what happened to him, but from a certain moment, he seemed to particularly hate making choices. He left all the multiple-choice questions on the exam papers blank, and he followed the same routine every day, eating the same food. If that food was sold out, he would rather go hungry than choose other food."

"This isn't just indecisiveness; he's terrified of making choices." Han Fei felt that Fu Sheng in reality had obtained the black box at this moment, and he was about to make the decision that would affect his entire life.

"But he seemed very grateful to you. During his most painful and distressing times, he would write you letters and take out the phone you bought for him to compose text messages. You were his support." Huang Mao was much more articulate than before: "This continued for a while, and then Fu Sheng never came to school again."

Do you know where he went?

“Some people saw him at the amusement park at night, some said he liked to go back to school to study at night, and some said he was dead and they saw his body hanging on the clock of the Times Building.” Huang Mao said, then seemed to suddenly remember something: “Right, about a few months ago, a teacher from the school went to see Fu Sheng. She met Fu Sheng at a plastic surgery hospital in the city. She said that Fu Sheng was surrounded by a lot of special things, and it seemed that he was preparing to sew all those things into his body.”

"He wants to merge with a ghost?" Han Fei frowned upon hearing this. It seemed that Fu Sheng was forced into a corner, which was why he was trying such a crazy thing.

"It might not be a ghost..." Huang Mao turned to look at Xiao You's mother: "Anyway, I heard from that teacher that the things surrounding him did not harm him, and he even advised him not to care about their feelings and to work together to find a way to save more people."

"The ghosts want Fu Sheng to choose to save people; those ghosts are helping him make that choice." Han Fei understood a little why the female student had become like that; the whole thing was much more complicated than he had imagined.

"Uncle, could all of Fu Sheng's prophecies be true?"

"What do you think? Ghosts, monsters, and madmen are appearing all over the city. This is what they call purgatory." Han Fei told Huang Mao to return the phone to Xiao You: "You two stay where you are. I'll take some men over there right away. Be careful to protect yourselves."

……

Sitting in the taxi, Han Fei hung up the phone. He saw the horrific scene outside the window, and even his hardened, cold heart stirred slightly.

In this megacity with a population of over ten million, all sorts of tragedies occur every moment. The sun fails to rise as expected, ghosts emerge from the darkness, and cries and pleas for help become the most familiar sounds to everyone.

"That's terrifying." Xiao Jia gasped, not daring to even look out the car window at the scene.

"Have you noticed something?" Han Fei stared at the scenery flashing by on both sides of the street: "When we came out of the Paradise Family Compound, the situation wasn't this serious. The closer you get to the Paradise, the greater the probability of ghosts appearing, and the more crazy and abnormal people become."

"I don't dare to think about anything now." Xiao Jia held his head. "The deep world is merging with reality, and ghosts and monsters are appearing everywhere. This is more terrifying than the apocalypse. I think it would be easier to die."

Supernatural events occur frequently, the city is stained with blood, and there are too many ghosts and monsters of all kinds, making people seem like mere toys.

Not only Xiao Jia, but all the other players were terrified. This was no warm and comforting game. No post-apocalyptic game was as terrifying and despairing as this city.

"Compared to them, we are lucky. At least we have the tools to fight back." Han Fei looked at the buildings outside the car window. When unknown terror descends, most people can only lock their doors and hide in their homes, waiting for death to knock on their door.

Of everyone, only Li Guo'er drove silently. She didn't participate in the conversation among the others. There was no point in saying anything now; she had to do more to save more people.

A black taxi led the way, followed by the players' two vans. Han Fei's team had expanded to thirteen people, all of whom were handpicked by Han Fei. Their abilities could more or less affect the ghosts.

In fact, Han Fei could have easily abandoned the players, but he had a deeper plan. He wanted to train these players who had died countless times in the world of the shrine's memories, so that they too could have a brave heart and no longer fear the ghosts of the deeper world.

If the deeper world truly spirals out of control and merges with reality in the future, these players might become seeds, taking root and sprouting in their respective soils, growing into large trees that can shelter even more people.

An hour later, Han Fei arrived at the place where Xiao You and Huang Mao were hiding and took them to the plastic surgery hospital.

Han Fei had a very deep impression of that hospital, but there were some specific details he couldn't recall.

Pushing open the hospital door, Han Fei immediately raised his hand, signaling everyone to slow down.

Outside the hospital, screams and wails could be heard everywhere, but inside the hospital, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"There are no ghosts in the hospital? Or is there a most terrifying ghost in the hospital that has already killed everyone?" Han Fei grabbed the blond-haired man and pulled him in front of him: "Lead the way."

"Holy crap? It's me again?" The blond-haired man's lips tasted bitter, and he felt bile rising in his throat. If he could turn back time, he would never have bullied Fu Sheng.

"Stop talking nonsense. Where did your teacher say he saw Fu Sheng?"

"The emergency room in Building 7 is where his mother died." Huang Mao reluctantly walked forward, and Han Fei and all the players followed.

Returning to this familiar place, everything had changed. There wasn't a soul in sight in the hospital; it was as if everything that moved had vanished.

"Han Fei, please save my daughter first. Yan Le's wounds need to be treated properly." The former head also left the Paradise Family Compound with Han Fei, as his daughter's condition was not optimistic.

Yan Le's situation is quite complicated. Under the influence of the butterfly, she was consumed by jealousy and hurt many people. Her mother even killed all the girls that Yan Le was jealous of in order to repair her soul.

This mother and daughter are practically demons; even the players hate them.

“They were wrong, they deserved to die, but they can’t die now. My wife’s abilities can help you.” The former leader tried desperately to persuade Han Fei: “She killed ten people; if they can save a hundred…”

“But the ten people she killed cannot be resurrected.” Han Fei did not argue with his predecessor about this issue. He took out the Resurrection Vein and walked through the wards.

The further you go into the hospital, the quieter it becomes.

The nurses and patients who are usually everywhere seem to have all been locked up. All you can see are pale walls, a pale floor, and half-open doors.

"It seems like someone came before us; many of the ward doors were damaged."

When they reached Building 6, the ugly cat in Han Fei's backpack jumped out and ran down the stairs into the underground passage.

There is a secret underground passage connecting seven buildings in the plastic surgery hospital, and only a very few doctors are qualified to enter it.

"It feels like the temperature has dropped a lot all of a sudden." Xiao Jia unconsciously lowered his voice, as if speaking loudly would attract some monster.

“Look at the walls around you. The patterns painted on them are very similar to the patterns from the Blue and White Tutoring Center’s resurrection ceremony.” Li Guo’er’s fingers gently touched the walls, and the patterns seemed to contract automatically, like living tentacles.

“It seems Meng has been here before.” Han Fei pieced together the scattered fragments of memory in his mind: “Fu Sheng and Meng have been mortal enemies since a long time ago. After the Deep World was sealed off, it seems that Fu Sheng and Meng were both imprisoned in the Deep World.”

Fu Sheng had the support of other managers back then and inherited their ideas, but even so, he still couldn't completely kill Butterfly. Now, Han Fei has nothing and is at odds with everyone. How far can he go?

"The maniacal laughter comes from the blood-red orphanage deep in my mind; he should be considered another version of me." Han Fei had no external support, but he had realized something long ago: when he fell into despair, he could only save himself.

The ritual patterns on the ground have become connected, which looks very eerie. It seems that the dream is preparing to use the entire hospital as an altar to sacrifice all the doctors and patients in the hospital.

"If I hadn't changed the fate of the plastic surgery hospital, it would have imprisoned the vast majority of desperate and insane people in the city, whether they were rich people who were crazy about life and beauty, or ordinary people who were driven to collapse by life. The holes in their hearts would have been exploited by the butterfly, and they would have become sacrifices for its resurrection."

Han Fei knew this hospital was important, but he never expected that Meng, the manager of the amusement park, would also have her eye on it.

As you continue downwards, the color of the patterns deepens, and bloodstains begin to appear mixed in.

When they reached the second basement level, all the patterns had been replaced by various kinds of hair. Hair taken from patients and doctors covered the ground, and Han Fei finally saw the first living person in the hospital.

"Du Jing?"

When Han Fei saw that face, a name popped into his mind: after Du Shu died, her younger sister Du Jing became the new head of the hospital.

In her mind, fate had been changed; the person who was supposed to die was saved by Han Fei, and everything should have been moving in a good direction. However, Du Jing did not find happiness.

"Why is this happening?"

The new dean, Du Jing, held two sharp pens in her hands. One pen was inscribed with hatred, and the other with love. She knitted them like a sweater, weaving through the black hair that covered the floor.

Heads hung between the second and third basement levels, some belonging to patients, others to doctors. The dream gave everyone the fairest ending, leaving them to remain immersed in the nightmare woven by butterflies until their deaths.

Seemingly sensing something, Du Jing suddenly stopped what she was doing. She turned her head, her gaze sweeping over everyone, before continuing to braid her black hair.

"Du Jing?"

Han Fei noticed that the other person's gaze was dull and depressed, as if they had lost all hope and become a puppet at the mercy of nightmares.

As Han Fei walked forward, he saw Du Jing weaving different things out of the patients' black hair: children's clothes, soccer balls, and people he could never forget but could never see again.

With each item woven, a patient's head closes its eyes, as if Du Jing is stealing each patient's wishes and hopes in this way.

The things she weaves will exist for a time, and then the hair of the dead will become part of the huge patterns on the walls.

"Dreams leave all the negative emotions to the living, stealing the only beauty they have left?" Han Fei tried to stop Du Jing, but she didn't react when his hand touched her. However, when he tried to stop her from continuing to weave, Du Jing suddenly went crazy, waving her pen and shouting her daughter's name as she attacked Han Fei.

"Could it be that the dream took away her daughter and used her daughter to threaten her?" In reality, Du Jing's daughter is still alive and has even become a friend of Fu Sheng and Fu Tian: "Perhaps it was Fu Sheng who saved that girl back then, but unfortunately, in reality, no one knows of Fu Sheng's existence except me."

After walking past Du Jing, Han Fei arrived at Building No. 7 through the underground corridor, where he witnessed the most shocking scene since Zizai woke up in the hospital.

The entire underground of Building 7 was hollowed out, and the bodies of patients and doctors were used as bricks to build a downward-facing Building 8.

Between Building 7 and Building 8, there is a huge mirror with a person's birthday written on it. Inside the mirror is a young man who looks a lot like Fu Sheng.

"The butterfly in the dead building took me as a vessel for resurrection. Could the vessel that the dream chose for itself be the former Fu Sheng?"

(End of this chapter)