Han Fei was very clear about his own plan. After he had added his Skill Points, he invested the remaining Attribute Points into Brain Power, bringing his Brain Power Value up to seven.
"This should allow me to control the Paperman for longer."
Just by adding a single point of Brain Power, Han Fei noticed that his brain seemed to work faster, his thoughts were clearer when pondering issues, and he rarely felt that stuck sensation. Additionally, he discovered that his memory appeared to have been strengthened as well.
"Brain Power and Physical Strength are both crucial, but it’s a pity Attribute Points are so scarce. You can’t have the best of both worlds."
Brain Power could extend the duration of controlling Curse Items, and Physical Strength could help Han Fei to escape faster. When he started to invest in Brain Power, it was actually the moment his mentality began to shift.
Climbing out of the Corpse Pit, Han Fei left the hotel and returned to the convenience store.
"Twin Flowers" had already wrapped up filming, and Han Fei wasn’t in a hurry to quit the game. He took Cry and Li Zai and began offering home service.
Throughout the whole evening, the three residents from Happiness Residential Community brought a warmth to the nearby merchants that they had never experienced before.
Han Fei gradually noticed a problem: it was exceedingly difficult for Resentment Souls to retain their sanity. Cry, after consuming part of a Ghost and Monster, suddenly went berserk at one point, ripping at its own body while crying loudly.
Li Zai, during the process of consuming Ghost and Monster, uncontrollably transformed into Li Huo and even clashed with Cry.
The more Ghost and Monster they consumed, the harder it was for them to maintain their sanity. When both Cry and Li Zai were on the verge of losing control, Han Fei led them back to Happiness Residential Community.
Both Li Zai and Cry had grown stronger, and their friendliness towards Han Fei was increasing. Most crucially, with their help, Han Fei had completed several more low-level ordinary tasks.
Level G tasks corresponded to Levels 1 to 10. Before Han Fei reached Level 10, the experience provided by Level G ordinary tasks was still considerable. However, besides experience and some consumable items, there were no other rewards.
"In other games, people would probably have started their second laps by now. I’m still far from Level 10."
Han Fei stood next to the window of the Haunted House 1044, looking out at the city shrouded by endless night, and thought of a phrase once said by an old gentleman—If thereafter we have no torchlight, I shall be the sole light.
The old man in the hotel had given Han Fei a deep shock. In this Deep World, many people weren’t completely hopeless at the beginning. They were slowly assimilated into Monsters by the world; they too were good people initially.
"Is there really a possibility of healing this world?"
He also wanted to be someone else’s hope, but it was just too hard. Survival itself was already challenging.
His head felt dizzy, his body exhausted. Han Fei leaned against the window, glanced back into the depth of the Haunted House, and then chose to exit the game.
The blood, like splashed paint, slid down the pitch-black night sky, and Han Fei slowly lost consciousness.
Removing the gaming helmet, the sunlight fell on his face, and Han Fei looked at the digital clock on the wall. It was already past ten in the morning.
"The main reason I haven’t been driven mad, I guess, is because I can return to reality. Every day I have a clear goal: to survive and quit the game."
The warm light was like a lover’s tender hand, gently touching Han Fei’s cheek. He had never before felt the sun so warm; he just thought it was dazzling, nothing more.
Pulling the covers over himself, Han Fei, exhausted in both mind and body, unconsciously drifted into sleep.
After 3 p.m., Han Fei was awakened by a knocking at the door, and instinctively grabbed the electric shock self-defense device under his pillow.
He had few friends. The only people who had visited before were the police.
He slipped to the door quietly and peered through the peephole to find Director Jiang and the stage manager standing outside.
He opened the door, full of confusion, "Why have you two come to my place?"
"Big brother! We called you more than twenty times, and you didn’t pick up, so we had to come over!" The stage manager said with a bitter smile on his face.
"I thought we had finished shooting the movie so I put my phone on silent, planning to get some good rest," Han Fei explained.
"Hurry up and change your clothes. Sister Long has arranged with the biggest domestic online movie platform. They will stream our movie premiere tonight live on their website and they will also play the latest trailer and promotional video," Director Jiang said, seeing Han Fei’s somewhat helpless: "You are the lead actor of the movie; you can’t miss the premiere!"
"We just wrapped up filming yesterday, and we’re having the premiere today? Is the post-production editing done?"
Usually, movie premieres are promoted a week in advance and would invite many guests and leaders, but Twin Flowers is a low-budget film and couldn’t compare with those big productions.
"We’re short on time. Our film was cut while being shot, and some parts were outsourced. They’re rushing to finish," said Director Jiang, also with dark circles under his eyes, clearly having not rested well for quite some time: "If we miss this slot, the money we invested in promoting the film will be wasted. Besides, your popularity is skyrocketing right now, so we really can’t afford to miss this chance."
After freshening up in the bathroom, Han Fei changed into a new set of clothes: "Let’s go."
"You’re just going to wear that?" Director Jiang covered his forehead, "Maybe I should just ask someone to bring Meng Chang’an’s costume over."
"This is fine. It’s comfortable," Han Fei didn’t care much; his approach to personal image management could be summed up in four words: Go with the flow.
"Although we haven’t invited any heavy-weight guests, it’s still a very formal event. You... what did you just stuff into your pocket?" Director Jiang halted mid-sentence, feeling like he saw something extraordinary.
"A collapsible baton."
"You’re taking that to the premiere?"
"Yeah," Han Fei’s reply was concise and firm, as if carrying it was the most normal thing in the world.
Director Jiang didn’t know what to say anymore. He led Han Fei and the stage manager to the charter car and headed straight to the venue.
Half an hour later, when Han Fei arrived at the venue, he almost thought he had gone to the wrong place.
The electronic billboards and advertisements outside the venue were all for Urban Secret Love. The parking lot was packed with cars, and along the road, there were many young people lining up with the names of their idols.
"They booked the main venue, and we are in a smaller side venue. Honestly, it doesn’t matter much. Online streaming competes over online popularity, not how lively the scene is," Director Jiang said with a hint of bitterness in his tone, unhappy with the arrangements made by the venue, which gave the Twin Flowers crew only a small side venue.
The car stopped at the entrance to the side venue, and as Han Fei got off, no one around treated him like a star; everyone even thought it was a staff vehicle.
It wasn’t until Han Fei approached the entrance and the security guard asked him to wear a work badge to enter that Director Jiang hurried over to explain.
"Han Fei, here are some questions you’ll need to answer. Go memorize them backstage, and then we’ll hurry to do a run-through," Director Jiang said.
Director Jiang ran off to communicate with the host, and Han Fei went backstage.
Zhan Lele and Jinnian were there too, but compared to them, Han Fei seemed very relaxed. He just glanced at the questions, then started thinking about the game instead.
At eight o’clock in the evening, the online live-streamed movie premiere officially began. It was Han Fei’s first time appearing in public.
Bursts of applause came from beyond the curtain. When Han Fei heard the host announce his name, he took a deep breath and walked towards the spotlight.