My 'Healing' Game

"So Fu Sheng actually made so many helmets, and it seems each one has been used." Han Fei took off the first helmet, almost unable to hold it steady even with his strength: "The inner walls of the helmet are severely damaged, these solidified fragments should be flesh and blood, who did Fu Sheng give this helmet to?"

Han Fei was very curious to know who the unfortunate person was that, like him, had been targeted by Fu Sheng.

"Some helmets can still be opened normally, and they seem to have retained something inside. Would you like to try?" Du Jing looked at Han Fei kindly, though she was also quite curious herself.

"I..." Han Fei was not even afraid of hatred, yet he had a deep psychological shadow towards the mysterious game helmets.

After hesitating for a long time, Han Fei still decided to give it a try.

He lay on the operating table with the heavy number one helmet in his arms, connected all the wires properly, and when all the indicator lights lit up, he slowly put the helmet on.

The world before his eyes was pitch black, with nothing there. Han Fei felt as if he was trapped in a room without light. He didn't know how big this room was, nor did he understand the purpose behind constructing this room.

Stretching out his hands, Han Fei couldn't touch anything, yet he could faintly hear someone whispering.

It seemed like unconscious murmuring, unclear to the ear.

Han Fei walked towards the direction of the sound. In the darkness, there appeared to be another person, standing facing him. He could see everything about Han Fei, but Han Fei couldn't see him.

"Fu Sheng? Old Building Chief?" Han Fei tried calling out to the figure, but the shadow remained motionless, continuously staring at Han Fei. It was clear he hadn't moved, yet no matter how Han Fei advanced, there was always a distance maintained between them.

This distance allowed Han Fei and the shadow to see each other, but never to touch one another.

A few minutes later, Du Jing, worried about Han Fei encountering an accident, pressed the switch to let Han Fei exit the "game".

"What did you see?"

"In a completely dark room, a shadow stood, not harming me, just watching me like that." Han Fei was somewhat puzzled: "Was it Fu Sheng? Why did he remain silent?"

"Why don't you try another helmet?"

"Okay." Han Fei's courage gradually grew larger, as he successfully overcame his fear of the game helmets.

Except for a very few helmets that couldn't be started, Han Fei, with Du Jing's help, tried wearing almost every game helmet. Inside each helmet was a pitch-black room, with a familiar yet strange shadow standing.

"Only the last helmet is left." Han Fei went to the back of the shelf and took out the last game helmet from a metal box. This helmet looked brand new, numbered ninety-nine.

After connecting the wires, Han Fei lay flat on the operating table, and his consciousness quickly entered a mental room.

"Huh?"

The mental room number ninety-nine was different from the previous pitch-dark rooms; it was blood-red. Han Fei felt as if he was drawn into the brain area of a certain "person".

"Since you've come here, it means I have completely scattered, all traces erased; it also means you've gained the approval of all ghosts and monsters, and passed all the shrine tests..." Fu Sheng's voice came from not far away. Han Fei looked up to see a shadow standing beside a large experimental table.

His body and face had been erased, leaving only a blurred shadow.

"This is an 'Easter Egg' I made, one small surprise I left for you before becoming unspeakable, a loophole I drilled in fate." The shadow watched Han Fei, but it also seemed to be looking at something else. It would not communicate with Han Fei, only recite the pre-set words.

"To get here, you must have suffered a lot, narrowly escaping death countless times, bearing the dual pain in both body and soul."

"I know how hard it is for you, because even I, who gifted you the game helmet, harbored malice. I had more than once thought about being revived in your body, but judging from the current result, I should have failed."

"For me, this ending is somewhat despairing, but people like us have long been accustomed to despair."

The shadow took steps forward, stopping beside Han Fei, gazing at Han Fei, yet seemingly gazing at his every hope and expectation.

"We should have never had a proper conversation, I never sought your opinion, and I recklessly shared the secret of becoming a god with you, making your already painful life even darker."

"I used to think about many words of apology, and fantasized about changing fate, but in the end, I accomplished nothing."

"Actually, I really hope you don't follow my old path, you should go further, see more scenery."

"The future is up to you, you're the most unique owner among all the Black Boxes, everyone thinks you can open the last layer of the Black Box."

The blurred shadow continued walking towards Han Fei, they collided as if stepping into Han Fei's soul, never coming out again.

"Disappeared? Disappeared the instant we touched?"

As Han Fei was still in doubt, the blood-colored room dimmed, shadows erased by fate walked towards him, all having embraced the deepest despair, yet always holding hope in their hearts.

They left no trace in this world, and the blurred shadow seemed to be merely symbolic.

After the first shadow entered Han Fei's body, many shadows brushed past him and completely vanished.

Han Fei watched everything in a daze, those shadows seemed to be the previous owners of the Black Box, appearing before Han Fei, disappearing behind him, all exerting their last effort to bring Han Fei something.

The Black Box on the back of his head was gently opened, salvation and destruction coexisted, layer upon layer delving deeper, various auras began to emerge on Han Fei's body, as if he had become the chosen inheritor selected by all the previous Black Box owners.

The ghostly markings on his body became incredibly complex and precise, resembling the most tragic, magnificent, and beautiful painting in the world.

The pitch-black room vanished, and it seemed like sunlight had entered his heart.

Han Fei removed Helmet No. 99 and then tried on other game helmets, and all the shadows in the mental rooms disappeared without a trace.

"Only those who have experienced utter despair possess the black box, yet each owner of the black box has taken the utmost care to preserve all hope and pass it on to the next successor in the gentlest way."

Han Fei sat on a bloodstained operating table. After receiving help from the former owners of the black box, they would completely disappear, leaving no traces of their existence in the world, as if they had never been. Even Han Fei only knew of Fu Sheng.

Layers of black boxes were opened, yet there was still a black box at the back of Han Fei's mind, and he still had no idea what it contained.

"Han Fei, what did you see?" Du Jing saw Han Fei's complex expression for the first time.

"Everyone was the most desperate, so why do they all firmly believe in the existence of hope?" Han Fei removed the gaming helmet, gently placing his hand on it.

"I don't know either, but I think you're that kind of person." Du Jing smiled, looking at Han Fei as if seeing her own child: "No matter the final outcome, I think you've done really well. Others might not have done as well as you."

"That's true; Fu Sheng was still hesitating in the small building at level 18, and I have already charged towards hatred..." Han Fei looked around the room with nostalgia, "I initially regarded him as the puzzle of the whole world, only to realize later that he had given me the key to divinity early on."

Everything Han Fei did in the room was observed by Du Jing, who saw the shadow of another person in him: "Let's go; you're still young, and it's not time to dwell on the past."

Upon leaving the Zero Experiment Lab, Han Fei mentioned another matter: "Eternal Life Pharmaceutical's biotechnology is the best globally. Could you make a special game box for me that allows a still-active brain to enter 'Perfect Life'?"

"We attempted something like that a few years ago. The equipment is ready, and from a technical perspective, it's not difficult for us. However, entering the game now requires Deep Space Technology's authorization, and we need the identity information of that brain." Du Jing led Han Fei to another lab.

"The owner of that brain and I were part of the same batch of personality experiments; his number was two. If it's not a problem, I'll bring him today." Han Fei urgently needed the non-human brain power of Subject Two.

"He was part of the same personality experiment as you?" Du Jing seemed reluctant to let too many outsiders know about the personality experiment. She paused momentarily before speaking directly: "The quota and equipment, I'll help you with, but this matter cannot be disclosed to others."

"Don't worry, I'm tight-lipped." Han Fei and the Eternal Life Pharmaceutical staff left in a specially equipped van, transporting Subject Two's brain to Du Jing's lab. Several expert groups collaborated to attempt transferring Subject Two's consciousness into the 'Perfect Life' game.

While the expert groups were busy, Han Fei didn't remain idle. He followed clues given by Zhang Mingli to a street in the Old City District.

The buildings here still retained their appearance from decades ago. Though they looked old, they also exuded a special warmth.

Counting the house numbers, Han Fei stopped in front of an apartment building with a garden.

The garden was filled with flowers, and a few elderly people were playing cards at the entrance. Life here moved at a slow, relaxed pace.

Heading to the third floor, Han Fei knocked gently on a door, and a plainly dressed middle-aged woman opened it.

Though she was quite old, she looked comparatively young.

The woman's features were gentle, creating an impression of softness at first glance, but deep pain and sorrow were hidden in her eyes. Afraid her negative emotions might affect others, she kept them concealed.

"Are you Xuan Xiaoxiao?" Compared to the nightmare, the woman had matured significantly, and Han Fei didn't recognize her immediately.

"Yes." The woman nodded in confusion.

"Take a good look at me; don't you think you've seen me in a dream? What I'm about to say will be very important to you." Han Fei pointed to his face.

The woman's eyebrows furrowed, finding Han Fei's words impolite, and considering him a handsome nutcase.

As she stared at Han Fei and was about to close the door, she suddenly realized that Han Fei's face was indeed familiar, as if she had seen it in a special dream!

"I was in the same car as Zhang Mingli at the time; he was injured, and I drove him to you." Han Fei only wanted to establish his identity, but at the mention of Zhang Mingli, the emotions the woman had suppressed broke through.

After the woman finally calmed down, Han Fei continued, revealing everything about Zhang Mingli to prove he wasn't a fraud: "I can take you to see him. However, in the 'Perfect Life' game, you can enter but not exit for the moment; upon logging in, you might temporarily..."

"It doesn't matter." The woman hurried inside, returning with a bankbook and several bank cards. Very few people use such old-fashioned settlement tools now: "This is all my savings. It should be enough to buy a game, right?"

"Aren't you afraid I'm a fraud?" Han Fei glanced inside the woman's home. Simple, clean, and cozy, the walls adorned with numerous photos of her and her students; this female teacher had supported many students: "'Perfect Life' game equipment, I have a set at home I can give you; I'll help you secure login permissions as soon as possible."

After gaining the woman's consent, Han Fei brought her to the Eternal Life Laboratory, arranging her game box near Subject Two so that, if she couldn't exit the game, someone would take care of her.

Afterwards, Han Fei headed to the police station as the last student of Teacher Li Xue. Despite the police being extremely busy now, someone was specifically assigned to receive him.

Revealing the existence of the eleven Nightmare Shrine decision-makers to the police, Han Fei also obtained two authorization slots through them, inquiring about the documents he sent to the police earlier that morning.

The materials brought from the Shallow World allegedly attracted high attention from both the police and Deep Space Technology, with relevant departments conducting overnight research.

As time passed, the situation in Xinhu had become increasingly unstable, with four million players trapped in the game and more cases of brain death emerging, leaving their families anxious, pained, and frightened every day.

Public opinion was manipulated by malicious forces, putting Deep Space Technology and Eternal Life Pharmaceutical in a passive position. The Mental Paradise they were dedicated to crafting turned into a death trap, a result no one could accept.

The longer it dragged on, the greater the risk of everything collapsing. Executives from major companies and managers of Xinhu hadn't had a restful night in a long time.

Han Fei could also distinctly feel the chill. It had been only a few days, but Xinhu's nights had become desolate, with few cars on the roads after nine o'clock.