My Iyashikei Game

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“Most participants will not reveal their identities because it’s too dangerous. But there is a strange player in the city. His name is Qiang Wei, but many people call him No. 19.” Lee Guo Er was moved by Han Fei’s suggestion. She couldn’t deal with the ghost alone, so the best solution was to drag more people into it.

“Qiang Wei? That is another familiar name.” Han Fei maintained the same speed as Lee Guo Er as they moved through the shadows.

“Qiang Wei is an orphan and has a strange personality. He has once announced his identity in the game on television, hoping that all the participants will band together. Many people think he wouldn’t survive more than three hours, but the next night, he appeared on the television again. Many people gathered around him.”

“Many people?” Han Fei asked, “How did he gather so many participants?”

“Even though those people wore white masks, the majority of them were homemade. Only a very small portion was actual game participants, but this was already something amazing.” Lee Guo Er didn’t know how Qiang Wei did this. The participants wouldn’t trust each other for the sake of points, but Qiang Wei’s followers trusted him implicitly.

“That’s impressive.” Han Fei's tone changed, “Does that mean we can lead the ghost to them?”

“Yes. Qiang Wei is the only player who has announced his real identity in this game. He has even organized a masquerade ball for players of this game to improve the players’ unity.” Lee Guo Er changed direction. She didn’t trust Qiang Wei and didn’t plan to interact with him, but she had no better choice.

“No. 19, Qiang Wei… No. 19…” Han Fei repeated the number and glanced at his script. He noticed something strange. “The eleventh story is called No. 11, and the 44th story is called No. 4. These two scripts are written with a red pen, and they are longer than others.” It was too dangerous for Han Fei to examine the connection between the two stories slowly.

“Han Fei…” He was thinking about the different problems when Han Fei heard a familiar voice calling him. He was about to turn around when he reminded Lee Guo Er’s warning. He couldn’t turn around!

Rushing down the alley, Han Fei resisted the urge not to turn around. This danger was like adrenaline. While it injected Han Fei with fear, it also made his blood pump. ‘I’ve done something similar in the past! Forcing myself not to look back appears to have awakened more of my instincts.’ Han Fei had lost his past, but his instinct was helping him piece everything back together.

‘I might have participated in similar games before. The player with 99 scores should be me. However, why would I lose my memories? Is the game a scam? Your memory will be stolen once you’ve gained 100 points?’ Han Fei felt like he was slowly approaching the truth. He had to play this game, but this time, he couldn’t be the first to cross the finish line. Han Fei glanced at Lee Guo Er. He needed to help someone become the new winner.

The barely discernible voice echoed. Han Fei found it quite soothing. He often heard strange noises in his mind. Han Fei sometimes felt like he was standing at a junction, and people called his name from all directions. Most of the paths led to death, and only one led to the unknown.

His arms started to pulse with pain again. The scars bled. Han Fei looked down and realized there was a black handprint on his arm. It was like someone had grabbed him. As he tried to follow the handprint and looked back, his body was pulled backward. He quickly looked ahead again. No matter what, he wouldn’t turn back anymore.

At 10.30 pm, Han Fei and Lee Guo Er arrived at a building near the city center. This place was far from the theme park. From the outside, it looked like a normal hotel. There was a large signboard above the door. The title was Perfect Life.

“Perfect Life? Are you sure this is the right place? This place looks like a sex hotel.” Han Fei stopped at the door and studied the roughly-made signboard.

“Put on your mask and make sure your cat doesn’t run around.” Lee Guo Er patted Han Fei’s shoulder. “Do not expose your amnesia. The stronger you are, the easier we can convince them. No one here likes to befriend the weak.” Then, Lee Guo Er put on her mask.

“All of your masks only have smiles and no teardrop…”

They entered the hotel and walked down a long corridor. At the end of the corridor was a bar brimming with flowers and alcohol.

“Three of you, please come with me.” The bartender smiled and led them to the second floor.

“Three?” Lee Guo Er tapped the bartender’s shoulder. “Don’t turn around. Tell me, what does the third look like?”

“He…” The bartender turned around subconsciously, but the third person had disappeared, “Where’s the man?”

“Come with us. Don’t come back out.” Lee Guo Er said directly.

“Okay.” The bartender was pressured. He didn’t dare to ask too many questions. He led them to the room at the end of the second-floor corridor. The door opened, and the music floated out. Instantly, about ten heads turned to the door.

“Welcome to our two new friends!” A very familiar voice said. The man was wearing a plaid shirt. He held a wine bottle and leaned on the couched. The man was the only person not wearing a mask. When he saw the new arrivals, he climbed up clumsily and staggered towards Lee Guo Er. “I’m the boss here. People call me Boss. If you don’t mind, you can call me that too.” Before Boss could get any closer, he was stopped by a long-haired man. “Put on your mask.”

The man didn’t give Boss any face. His voice was cold, but Han Fei found his voice familiar too.

“Qiang Wei, stop acting so aloof. Give up. We are not leaving this place.” Boss grumbled in a haze of inebriation. “I don’t even want the black box anymore. I’ll give you a new goal.”

“You’re drunk.” The long-haired man waved. “Worm, get Boss to his room.”

A short man with scars on his arms walked out of the corner. He was about to drag Boss away when he saw the scars on Han Fei’s arms.

“Can I see your arm?” Worm pushed Boss back to the couch. He walked towards Han Fei and pointed at his arms. “You have the same hobby as me.” Han Fei rolled up his sleeves. The many scars caused the people in the room to suck in a cold breath.

“I can’t believe I’d run into a kindred spirit here. We should be friends in the future.”

“Worm, bring Boss to his room.” Qiang Wei interrupted Worm. He stared at Han Fei with suspicion. “You should know our rules here, right?”

“I can provide you info about a ghost.” Lee Guo Er shared her experience from the night before. She also explained her current situation. She was targeted by a ghost, and it was coming here. After that, everyone turned to Worm. The white masks blocked their faces. Han Fei had no idea what they were doing. Worm returned after dropping Boss in his room. He looked at Lee Guo Er and found nothing. But when he approached Han Fei, he staggered backward while shivering. “He, he is a dead man!” Worm hid behind Qiang Wei. The others in the room tensed.

Han Fei didn’t feel uncomfortable being glared at by the many masks. He was confused too. Why didn’t he feel anything?

“I should warn you not to run your mouth.” Lee Guo Er took a step back. She was there to take about cooperation. She didn’t want to be prey.

“Qiang Wei, Worm, I really saw the ghost outside. They aren’t lying.” The bartender suddenly spoke. He pointed behind Han Fei. “When they entered the hotel, a man in patient’s outfit followed closely behind him with his head lowered. I was curious about their relationship at the time.”

“Perhaps he has been tailed by the ghost for too long.” Lee Guo Er explained. She knew she was the ghost’s primary target.

The room was silent. One minute later, Qiang Wei pulled Worm back and raised his hand. “We’ll vote. Raise your hand if you don’t think they should join us.”

There were two females behind the bar. After they saw Qiang Wei raise his hand, they raised their hands too.

“We’ve been sacrificing our people, and we still don’t understand what a ghost is. You forbade us from hunting other players. How much longer should we wait?” A bald man with a muscular body stood up. “I think they should join. We can use this chance to see what a ghost is.”

“You have a point.” The people around the bald man agreed.

“Thousand Nights, F, what do you think?” Qiang Wei frowned, and his voice lowered.

“I’m fine with anything. I surrender my vote.” The man called Thousand Night was very high-profile. He looked like he was on vacation than in a death game.

Qiang Wei couldn’t control Thousand Nights. He turned to the last person in the crowd. The man wore a black trench coat. He was imposing as he toyed with a black invitation card in his hands. “I don’t mind them joining, but the premise is that they aren’t lying.” The man put away the card and stood up. The man wasn’t tall, but once he stood up, everyone shut up. Even the music turned eerie. After finishing his wine, the man walked towards Han Fei and Lee Guo Er. “We should go to that building you mentioned now.”

“Since the ghost is following them, we should lay the trap here.” Qiang Wei was more cautious.

“We don’t know anything about ghosts. Staying here will make us sitting ducks. Instead, we should try to understand the ghost’s past and the reason it came into being. Only then, we have a chance to gather more points and send everyone out.” The man turned to Qiang Wei. “The window of opportunity is closing. If we don’t grab this, we’ll regret it.”

“Only three of us have the invitation card. Compared to the ghost’s past, I’m more interested in your past.” Qiang Wei put down his hands. Most people had agreed for Han Fei and Lee Guo Er to join.

“I’ll tell you that later but not now. I can only say that I know this game better than you do.” F stood beside Qiang Wei. “Who else wants to come with me? Please report to Qiang Wei.”

“I’ll come with you.” Qiang Wei sounded annoyed. Technically, he was the leader here.

“If both of us die, then everyone will really be stuck here, so one of us has to stay here where it is safe.” F then grabbed Worm. “He can come with me.” The players started to pack their stuff. 15 minutes later, seven players, including Worm and F, left Perfect Life with Lee Guo Er and Han Fei. Perhaps there were more of them, the ghost didn’t follow them, and Han Fei stopped hearing people calling his name.

“We need to finish exploration before midnight. I hear that ghosts will be scarier after midnight.” Lee Guo Er had finished her goal. She led the players to the spot marked in the script, Happiness Neighborhood Building 11. This was the location where No. 11 was seen last, the place where his last adopted parents stayed.

The closer Han Fei was to the apartment, the harder his heart skipped. It felt like he had once stayed here. ‘Will my real parents be here?’

The old apartment buildings were built close together. Each building had its number. They were going to Building 11, but Han Fei stopped at Building 1.

‘There’s a light here left open for me. That’s right. This is my real home!’