My Healing Games

Chapter 700 Water Monster, Water Trick
"Our photos?"

Emerging from a nightmare, Han Fei was enveloped in a curse. He forcefully pushed open the door.

A strong stench of decay emanated from the pitch-black bedroom. The small room was filled with all sorts of crayon drawings, and in the middle of all the pictures was a little boy chained up.

He held a severed finger, dipped it in various paints, and lay on the ground painting.

"Number four?"

Han Fei noticed the boy's clothes; the orphanage's uniform jacket was badly damaged, and the numbers on the back of the boy were somewhat blurred.

"Why do you have our photos?" The boy didn't look up and continued drawing on the ground. This time he was drawing a child who was constantly fantasizing about death, but he didn't hurt anyone. He just suppressed the impulse by constantly hurting himself.

“I’m just like you, a child who came from that orphanage.” Before Han Fei could finish speaking, his backpack was torn open, and the ugly cat pulled a photo out of the script pages.

The children's group photo had been hidden in the script in the basement all along, and this gift from the painter to Han Fei seemed to be intended for use at this moment.

As if sensing something, the boy with his head down slowly looked at Han Fei. His eyelids, which were covered in blood, blinked slowly, and then, like an enraged leopard, he pounced on Han Fei!

"Oh!"

The chains tightened, digging into the flesh. The boy's hands hovered in front of Han Fei's eyes. He opened his mouth, revealing a mouthful of broken teeth.

His mother and grandmother, seemingly worried that he would continue to hurt people, pulled out his teeth and cut his nails.

"Don't get excited. If you want to see it, I can give it to you." Han Fei handed the group photo of the orphans to the boy. He held the photo in both hands, and his ferocious face slowly returned to calm, just like a child lying in the arms of his friends, regaining a long-lost sense of security.

The scabs on his eyelids began to fall off, and a sliver of reason returned to his eyes.

"When you entered Building 11, you must have already seen the embodiment of No. 11's childhood memories, right?" The boy's voice was gentle and calm, completely opposite to his previous behavior, which was more terrifying than a split personality.

“Yes.” Han Fei did not deny it. He noticed that after the boy touched the photo, the face of one of the children in the photo slowly became clear. This photo seemed to be the key to reminding the orphans of their past.

"Number Eleven and I died a long time ago. Fu Tian sent us to the Paradise in the Deep World. Later, we seemed to meet Fu Sheng, and he made us a part of the Paradise." After touching the photo that the painter gave to Han Fei, Number Four remembered many things: "This Memory Shrine belongs to Fu Sheng. Everything operates according to Fu Sheng's memories and consciousness. Number Eleven and I managed it for many years but couldn't change anything until you appeared here. Through countless deaths, you moved fate and turned Happiness Community into a special place."

"A special place?"

“This community was created based on your memories. With each death, you were gradually consumed by Fu Sheng’s shrine, and your memories continued to merge. You slowly lost yourself and became part of this shrine’s world of memories, and this slowly merging part is the Happiness Community.” The fourth boy lay on the ground: “The whole world belongs to Fu Sheng, only this Happiness Community belongs to the orphans. This is what you earned at the cost of ninety-nine deaths, and it is the greatest help that the eleventh boy and I can give you.”

Han Fei risks losing all his memories, dying time and time again, even actively seeking death. While he is being swallowed up by the world of memories in the shrine, he is also trying to influence and change this world.

Fu Sheng wanted to be reborn in Han Fei's body, while Han Fei wanted to climb onto Fu Sheng's shrine and look into the distance.

By burning his bridges, Han Fei indeed won his gamble. This Happy Community is no longer the community Fu Sheng remembers, but has been changed by the three children from the welfare home, incorporating the memories of Han Fei, Number Four, and Number Eleven.

“No wonder I felt strange. I clearly entered Fu Sheng’s memory world. When Fu Sheng was the same age as me, I wasn’t even born yet, but there are traces of me everywhere in this neighborhood.” Han Fei gradually understood: “With your cooperation, it seems that the amusement park has been changed.”

"The amusement park is still the same amusement park, it won't change no matter how many years pass. The tragedy keeps repeating itself, only the children in the amusement park change over and over again. In the end, we all just live as symbols, our lives are nothing more than a number in other people's mouths." The man wearing the number four shirt was lying on the ground. His voice was childish, but his words carried a maturity that was completely out of place for his age.

"I don't quite understand what you're talking about." Han Fei gripped the Rebirth Knife. He didn't have much of an impression of Number Four, only that the other person had a good relationship with the painter at the plastic surgery hospital.

"The original Happiness Community was designed to raise orphans. Eleven apartment buildings housed eleven different kinds of despair. Over the years, Happiness Community remains a place that breeds despair, and the number of children there has increased from eleven to thirty-one." Blood seeped from Number Four's mouth, and the blood vessels in his eyes writhed wildly like thin worms. "This body is the embodiment of my childhood memories, but I never expected Dream to target me. You must be careful of it! Dream, who was once a contemporary of Fu Sheng, has become unspeakable. It is the only ghost that has survived to the present. It can even influence Fu Sheng's shrine world through his memories of Dream. The eight resurrection rituals Dream prepared for him in Fu Sheng's memories have changed. Many of the rituals are different from before. I suspect its true target is you."

"So, in this world of memories, I not only have to be careful of Fu Sheng, but also pay special attention to Manager Meng?"

“That’s right. Meng was sealed into the deep world by Fu Sheng. It swore to make Fu Sheng’s soul disappear and erase all traces of Fu Sheng’s existence.” Cracks began to appear on the small body of Number Four, and his belly swelled up slightly: “My childhood memories are about to collapse. After you enter the Paradise, you can go find my and Number Eleven’s original bodies.”

"Where are your true forms in Paradise?"

“I was buried underground, my skin painted with children’s drawings. Number 11 disguised himself as a tourist and he will contact you.” The boy’s stomach began to swell rapidly. He stared at the Rebirth Knife in Han Fei’s hand and lunged at it: “Ninety-nine deaths, you gave up everything to get this opportunity. I hope you can go on smoothly and not repeat the same mistakes and go back to Fu Sheng’s old path.”

A dazzling blade pierced through the boy's abdomen, and beneath his skin, a black cocoon carved with the face of number four fell out.

The deathly intent and despair contained in this cocoon were greater than all the previous cocoons combined, and the monster inside seemed about to break free.

A cat's paw pressed down on the cocoon. The ugly cat lowered its head, and the nine ghostly stripes on its body extended from its fur, burrowing into the cocoon and devouring everything inside.

After absorbing more and more cocoons, the ghost patterns came back to life. It seemed that something in the nine ghost patterns was urgently calling out to Han Fei, wanting to get close to him.

“I’ve already disrupted three of the dream’s resurrection rituals, so I need to speed things up now. The longer it drags on, the more people in the city will die, despair and negative emotions will spread, and the power of the ghosts will grow stronger.” Han Fei didn’t want to be a savior, but right now it seemed like he was the only one in the city who cared about the lives of ordinary people and was willing to help them.

Han Fei drew the Rebirth Blade, and the boy's childhood memories vanished; he was no longer in the house.

The bedroom returned to normal, and all the eerie feeling disappeared. Han Fei walked out of the room and found the old man.

He didn't tell the other person that the boy was dead, but only said that the boy wasn't in the house and might have escaped when the old man wasn't looking.

Whether the old lady believed it or not is no longer important. Number Four chose to run into the death knives, perhaps because deep down he felt that only after he disappeared could the old lady truly be freed.

A meow came, and the ugly cat that had absorbed the power from the cocoon became different from before. Its fur was shiny, and its eyes became sharp. It was no longer a sickly stray cat on the roadside, but looked more like a pet kept by the Grim Reaper, with a cold light in its eyes.

"Han Fei, did that old lady do anything to you?" Xiao Jia, who was waiting downstairs, quickly went up to Han Fei when he came out.

"Building 4 has been cleaned up. Let's hurry and go to the other apartment buildings." As they walked toward Building 5, Han Fei called Yan Le and his daughter to his side and stared at them for a long time.

"What kind of look is that?" the former brain asked, somewhat confused. "Are we possessed by a ghost?"

"I just feel that meeting you all is too coincidental, as if I were guided by some kind of force." Han Fei didn't delve into the matter further. He looked at Yan Le: "Where is the closest resurrection ritual for Meng to this place?"

“If you go west out of Xingfu Community, there is a large lake in the suburbs. The fourth ceremony was held by the lake, and it seems to be related to a water monster or a water ghost.”

"Lake?" Han Fei remained expressionless, but his mind was racing with various thoughts.

Around 3 p.m., Han Fei had cleaned up all the buildings in Xingfu Community, and the residents who had followed him moved in one after another.

With Han Fei here, everyone's fear was somewhat dispelled. However, Han Fei himself frowned, as the conjoined monsters he had seen before, formed entirely from despair, had not yet appeared.

The sky darkened again, and after this sunset, I wonder when the sun will rise again.

The Happiness Community was shrouded in darkness, and the residents dared not turn on the lights. They could only close the doors and windows and squeeze into one building.

"We still don't have enough manpower." Han Fei taught the players how to deal with the ghosts and monsters, and then had Xiao You and her mother guard the apartment entrance.

From last night until now, all the ghosts and monsters that Han Fei and the others killed have ended up in Xiao You's mother's stomach. Now Xiao You's mother's body has swelled up several times its original size, making her a terrifying existence among the resentful spirits.

"I'm going to the western suburbs. I'll try to be back before midnight. You guys protect everyone."

Getting into a black taxi, Han Fei set off with only Li Guo'er, Yan Le, and a player who was a good swimmer. That player had been a lifeguard and was a pure stamina-focused player, so he should be able to help out in a pinch.

The large lake that Yan Le's mother mentioned was not far from Xingfu Community, and Han Fei and his group arrived there in just over ten minutes.

What's rather strange is that when the black hearse approached the lake, it turned onto a side road away from the lake, and the nine victims inside seemed unwilling to go near the lake.

The sun set early, and darkness, like a giant hand, blinded everyone.

The headlights came on, and the hearse drove along the dirt road near the lake for several hundred meters before finally stopping at the end of the road.

Neon signs gleaming coldly stand by the roadside. There's a resort town by the lake, but it seems deserted right now.

"Was the fourth ritual of the dream held in this small town? Or in the lake?" Han Fei didn't get out of the car; he cautiously observed his surroundings.

“I don’t know the specifics, I only know it’s related to this lake.” Yan Le’s mother manipulated Yan Le’s body, her lips moved, and after a long pause, she said, “By the way, Meng gave this lake a very special name, called Brain Sea.”

"Mind?"

Han Fei nodded, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and opened the car door.

"Li Guo'er, you stay in the car and be ready to provide backup at any time. The rest of you come with me." Han Fei grabbed Yan Le's shoulder, and the two walked forward side by side.

This resort town isn't very big, with only a few buildings. It seems that construction was only halfway done before the developer absconded.

"Hot spring hotel, fishing gear rental center, boat rental center, visitor information center, fish restaurant..."

Looking at the buildings on both sides of the road, Han Fei suddenly stopped. His nostrils twitched, and he turned and walked towards the boat rental center.

"There was a faint smell of blood in the room, and the shoe prints on the ground were fresh. The weeds had been trampled down and hadn't recovered yet, indicating that someone had just stayed here."

Han Fei quietly approached and reached out to open the door of the boat rental center.

"Snapped!"

A plate full of food fell to the ground, and a figure in the darkness opened the window and jumped out.

"Did you see that thing?" Han Fei asked, puzzled. The dark figure that had just left wasn't human-shaped.

I took out my flashlight and shone it on the broken plate. Inside was a piece of raw, bloody meat, as if it had just been torn from an animal.

"The plate says 'Fish Restaurant,' but the meat is from some kind of large mammal." Han Fei picked up the broken pieces of the plate from the ground and looked out the window. There were no shoe prints where the dark figure had left, only a trail left by a heavy object.

"Is there no one left in this resort town?" Han Fei jumped out of the window with a shard of a plate in his hand. He followed the tracks on the ground to the back door of the fish restaurant.

"You two watch your backs." Han Fei gripped Wang Sheng and slowly opened the door, a pungent, fishy stench wafting out.

Holding his sword, Han Fei looked inside.

An old woman wearing rubber shoes and a headscarf was sitting in front of a huge freezer. Her back was to Han Fei, and she was scraping fish scales in the dark with a specially made knife.

The freezer in the kitchen had long since stopped working, and the large amount of fish and meat stored inside had rotted, but the old man seemed oblivious to the stench and continued with his work.

A rustling sound rang out, and fish scales splashed everywhere.

(End of this chapter)