In reality, where things were unfulfilled, Han Fei decided to compensate in Jin Sheng’s memories, where he intended to kill Ma Manjiang again and again!
"The blue Butterfly that followed me into Jin Sheng’s memory, if killing it could affect the Butterfly itself, that would be perfect."
Knowing that there was a weapon in the school capable of harming Ma Manjiang, Han Fei was noticeably less panicked than before.
He didn’t act with the impatience of Zhang Guanxing, but instead gradually approached Chu Xia, slowly gaining her trust.
This girl had hidden her deepest wounds at the bottom of her heart. To take out the scissors stuck in her heart, one must first make her willingly open her heart and share her pain and unease.
Her body, full of cracks, trembled, and the girl’s fear and dread of Ma Manjiang made her afraid to speak, and Han Fei didn’t force her.
Some things can’t be rushed; he was not a professional psychologist but a comedian who had become a ’doctor’ through long illness; he had to think long and hard before each word he spoke.
If he said something wrong, it might cause Chu Xia even more pain and make her retreat further into herself.
"It’s not safe on the playground. Let’s find another place to talk," he suggested.
A grey fog enveloped the school, reducing visibility significantly. Ma Manjiang had also grown cleverer, making no noise at all. The whole school was dead silent.
Han Fei didn’t know Ma Manjiang’s current whereabouts; he could appear at any time, making staying in an open area extremely dangerous.
With Han Fei’s encouragement and support, Chu Xia finally stopped crying and picked up her backpack off the ground.
In reality, Chu Xia hadn’t stepped forward to identify Ma Manjiang. Han Fei was unclear what method Ma Manjiang had used, but to prevent any accidents, he couldn’t let Chu Xia and Ma Manjiang meet.
"Find and remove the scissors stuck at the bottom of Chu Xia’s heart before Ma Manjiang discovers her."
After lingering in the playground for a moment, Han Fei noticed that the school’s grey fog had thickened, further reducing visibility and now the air began to carry a faint putrid smell, as if something was starting to rot.
Signaling Zhang Guanxing to be quiet, Han Fei led him and Chu Xia along the edge of the playground, arriving at the back door of Yimin Private Academy.
The school’s back door was locked, and the walls had been fortified and heightened; a new sign hung on the rusty iron door, forbidding students from climbing over it.
The first victim at Yimin Private Academy was Old Li. Han Fei had not yet seen him: "Where could he have run off to?"
While Han Fei was searching for Old Li’s whereabouts, footsteps echoed through the distant fog.
Hiding at the back door of the school, Han Fei could faintly see two or three figures; they seemed to be students of Yimin Private Academy.
"Students who should be in the classroom are appearing in other parts of the school. Could it be that Ma Manjiang is using other students to search for me?"
Ma Manjiang possesses countless faces and is skilled in deception and disguise. The school’s students and teachers all trusted him deeply.
Thinking about it from his perspective, if Han Fei had such an advantage, he would certainly make good use of it.
"The school is only so big; all the students are Ma Manjiang’s spies. It’s only a matter of time until I’m discovered."
In normal games of hide-and-seek, one ’ghost’ chases many people, but since entering the Deep World, Han Fei found that every time he played hide-and-seek, a whole crowd of ’ghosts’ would come looking for just him.
"Since I’m bound to be discovered eventually, I might as well try as many methods as possible before that happens to see if I can kill Ma Manjiang."
Han Fei turned to look at Chu Xia, remembering every single word he had said to her.
Now, he clearly knew which words would lower Chu Xia’s guard and which would close the distance between them. These were all carefully tested and speculated by him.
In some ways, ’Perfect Life’ was the toughest healing game Han Fei had ever played; if he couldn’t get Chu Xia to open her heart, he wouldn’t be able to obtain the weapon to fight back.
Not trying every means to heal the victims would result in being torn into pieces by Fierce Ghosts and Monsters.
Han Fei slowly gained Chu Xia’s trust with his words, as by this time, more than half of the students in the teaching building had already run out.
Ghosts were everywhere, their facial features distorted, dragging their deformed bodies, weaving a large net across the campus.
Before this net had fully spread, Han Fei led Chu Xia and Zhang Guanxing to the back of the dormitory building.
"I’ll go over first."
Han Fei took a necklace from his pocket that Ma Manjiang had given to a female teacher, one that emitted a fragrance and hid Ma Manjiang’s sweet nothings. He placed it around Zhang Guanxing’s neck.
The smell made his nostrils twitch, and Zhang Guanxing felt nauseous and wanted to vomit.
"If Ma Manjiang comes over, wear the necklace and run immediately. Only this way can you protect Chu Xia, understand?" Han Fei stared into Zhang Guanxing’s eyes until Zhang Guanxing whined a few times. Then he felt reassured enough to leave.
The main entrance to the dormitory was unlocked, and the dorm supervisor was not in their office.
On the surface, this seemed like a rare opportunity, but something felt off to Han Fei: the dormitory was too quiet!
"There were students in all the other buildings, but here..." Han Fei didn’t approach. His gaze swept to the mirror in the supervisor’s office, where the reflection of a Ghost could be vaguely seen.
The Ghost, hiding behind the door, had four deformed heads,
"It’s Ma Manjiang’s Monster son!"
Han Fei decisively retreated. Ma Manjiang was not in the dorm, but his son was guarding the entrance.
"He predicted I would come to the dormitory, he knows Jin Sheng might be hiding here."
Ma Manjiang had guessed that Han Fei would come to the dormitory, and Han Fei had also predicted that Ma Manjiang would ambush there. Both sides had anticipated the other’s next move.
The only difference was, Ma Manjiang was the Hunter, and Han Fei was still only the prey.
"No direct confrontation!"
The main entrance couldn’t be used to enter the dormitory, but Han Fei had other ways.
He quietly withdrew and met up with Chu Xia: "I’ll climb to the second floor first; follow me up in a minute."
Han Fei tore his clothes, tied the stray dog wearing the necklace to his back, and then climbed into the second floor of the dormitory via the anti-theft net.
After setting down Zhang Guanxing, Han Fei reached down-stairs, "Trust me, grab my hand."
Chu Xia stood hesitating at the bottom of the building. In such a situation, Han Fei couldn’t speak loudly; he could only show the most trustworthy expression he could muster.
After much hesitation, Chu Xia finally grabbed the first-floor anti-theft net and started to climb up, eventually being pulled into the second floor by Han Fei.
The knife that killed Ma Manjiang was with Chu Xia, and Han Fei would never let Chu Xia leave. Throughout the walking process, he continuously gently comforted and inquired Chu Xia, gradually decreasing her guard against him.
Han Fei opened a crack of the dormitory door and peeked outside.
Along the hallway shrouded in mist, there was a middle-aged woman dressed in colorful clothes with various bright paints smeared on her face.
She was physically bulky and robust but seemed not quite lucid, wandering crazily in the hallway with keys to all the dormitory rooms in her hand.
"The dorm supervisor? Why is she a madwoman in Jin Sheng’s memory?"