Removing the game helmet, Han Fei slumped onto the bed.
Within just one evening, he had risen from a clerk to a shop manager, a rate of promotion so swift that even he hadn’t anticipated it.
He moved his somewhat stiff body, noticing a slight tremble in his fingers which he then clenched into fists, a little scared after the fact.
He had survived the night and taken possession of the convenience store, seemingly a good outcome, but in truth, reflecting on the entire game process, any single error could have been lethal.
He was gambling with his life, and in the end, he had secured a slim chance of survival.
"I’m still too weak, just at level seven. According to the official ’Perfect Life’ website, players only experience a significant increase in strength once they reach level ten and acquire their first official profession."
"The rules of the Shallow World and the Deep World should be largely the same, it’s just this hidden profession, Midnight Butcher..."
Han Fei couldn’t find any information related to this profession on the official website, nor did he know the future direction or subsequent career planning for it.
In the normal ’Perfect Life’ game, it was very easy to level up in the initial stages, and if one was willing to grind, it took only a day to reach level ten.
The first ten levels are there to familiarize players with the controls, to acquaint them with the game world, the true charm of the game starts after level ten.
Obtaining the profession you desire, experiencing the life you’ve yearned for, and seizing the beautiful and brilliant future, that is the essence of ’Perfect Life.’
However, for Han Fei at this moment, such yearned-for lives and brilliant futures were something he hadn’t even considered; all he wanted was to be alive to see the sun the next day.
"It’s no use thinking too much about it, it’s better to focus on leveling up."
He closed his eyes, emptied his mind, and quickly fell asleep.
Woken up by his alarm clock at a little past eight in the morning, Han Fei washed up hastily and hurried off to the film set.
"I signed a profit-sharing agreement with the production crew; if the movie is a big hit, I’ll receive a substantial sum of money, and then I won’t have to be so anxious anymore."
Rushing to the first floor, Han Fei hadn’t even left the hallway when he came face to face with Li Xue and another police officer.
"You’re not here for me, are you?"
"This isn’t a good place to talk, let’s go to the police car," said Li Xue, her expression somewhat stern, as she grabbed Han Fei’s arm.
The three of them approached what looked like an ordinary police car. Before getting in, the other police officer took out a detection device and swept it over Han Fei.
After confirming that Han Fei wasn’t carrying any dangerous items, he very politely "borrowed" Han Fei’s phone and placed it in a special bag, which seemed to block signals.
Han Fei obediently got into the police car. Li Xue and the other officer didn’t follow him; they just closed the car door and stood guard outside.
"Is it really that formal?"
For a moment, Han Fei even thought the Black Box incident had been exposed, but even if he felt uneasy inside, he showed no sign of it on his face—an actor’s basic discipline.
"Han Fei, Happiness Orphanage Blood-colored Night survivor. Since entering into the citizen’s information system until now, has not engaged in any dangerous behaviors, danger level zero," stated a policeman over sixty, looking down at his smartphone screen in the back seat.
"Who are you?" Han Fei sat beside the old man. He glanced at the elder’s phone with the corner of his eye; there was no information as the old man had recited, only a butterfly with its wings torn off.
"In the recent thirty years, technology has rapidly advanced. What was once considered a miracle is now commonplace in every household. Many people’s imaginations can’t even keep up with the pace of technological progress. The rapidly developing technology changed our lives, but it also brought some trouble. Compared to past criminals, today’s are even more troublesome. They hide deeper, are more dangerous, more vicious and evil," the old man put away his phone and lifted his head to look at Han Fei. He had a very common appearance, the kind you’d forget after one glance, but his gaze was exceptionally special, like a calm, deep sea.
"Old man, I’m in a hurry to go do some filming. Can you get to the point?" Han Fei had a very good impression of the police; there had always been a cooperative relationship between them, and his own social media accounts had even been followed by many official institutions.
"I am Li Xue’s teacher. I have been in the hospital until now, so it’s only now that I’ve come to thank you," the old man’s posture was relaxed, but at first glance one could find no fault with it.
"Because of the Human-body Puzzle case? No need to thank me, it was all within my duty."
"No," the old man shook his head seriously, "because of the Butterfly."
He put away his smartphone and seemed to casually reveal a very secret piece of information to Han Fei, "The citizen information system rates criminals into six categories, from A to F. Outside of these six levels, there is another category of criminals that the citizen information system can’t judge, those who are countless times more dangerous, cunning, and difficult to deal with than Level A, but their danger rating in the citizen information system is always zero."
"I always feel like you are implying something about me," Han Fei knew his own danger level was zero.
"Inside our police department, we call this category of criminal Level S, and some people call them supercriminals. Butterfly has been a supercriminal that we’ve been pursuing for ten years."
"You’ve been pursuing Butterfly?"
"The Butterfly never kills with their own hands. The victims either die by the hands of unrelated people, or by accidents and suicide. Most of the time, we can’t even determine if a person’s death is related to the Butterfly?" The old man spoke calmly, but his eyes were a bit scary, "The victims die in all sorts of bizarre ways, and our investigation on the Butterfly has always been slow, until recently we caught the real culprit behind the Human-body Puzzle case."
"You’ve found a lead on the Butterfly?"
"Meng Chang’an is the only one who has truly encountered the Butterfly. We have pried open his mouth, and as we learn more and more, the Butterfly will likely get more and more desperate, and might come after you," the old man looked into Han Fei’s eyes for a long while, "Today, in addition to expressing my gratitude to you in person, I primarily wanted to warn you. Don’t leave Xinhu lately, try not to go out alone at night, and also try to stay away from schools and hospitals."
"Why should I stay away from those two places?"
"Based on the subconscious brain map reaction shown when we mention the Butterfly’s appearance and identity information, Meng Chang’an’s brain always has a subtle reaction to the professions of teachers and doctors," explained the old man.
"Could it be possible that in Meng Chang’an’s heart, the Butterfly represents teachers who instructed him and doctors who treated him?" Han Fei shared his speculation.
"The subconscious map is only one piece of evidence. From Meng Chang’an, we also found a connection between the Butterfly and another case. That case occurred in the remote suburbs at Yimin Private Academy. Everyone thought that the child’s death was an accident, until our re-investigation revealed there had been a premonition of the child’s death," he continued.
"Yimin Private Academy?" Han Fei showed a look of hearing the name for the first time, somewhat puzzled, "What happened at that school?"