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“Hard work might not guarantee success but a lack of it ensures that you will have no chance of reaching success.”

“Han Fei, are you sure this is safe?”

“Don’t worry, all my friends are very kind… despite their looks.” Han Fei walked into the pile of stuff. “Brother Huang, as you’ve said, the levelling speed will be much slower at the surface world after the game enters OB, so you should send key mission items and skill books that can help you level up over here. That way, you’ll be able to level up faster than the rest.”

“Okay.”

“Your idea of farming friendliness level is not bad but I don’t think you should limit your target to your colleagues, you should go bigger than that.” Han Fei plucked off the talisman from Xu Qin’s pet and said calmly. “Perfect Life is a virtual metropolis built for and by humans, a place for players to fulfil their dreams. This virtual city will have many NPCs and some of them will have the power to release missions, yes? NPCs such as the mayor and the like?”

“You want me to befriend the important NPCs?” Huang Yin was once again surprised by Han Fei’s brazen thought.

“Furthermore, since the game will be fully handled by the photon computer after OB, these crucial NPCs will only be given more power. You should try to befriend all of them, it will help you greatly in the future.”

“You have a point there! Okay, I’ll go investigate the information on these NPCs and hoard their favorite items. Then I will send them here. After OB starts, I’ll shower them with these items to gain their friendliness level.” Huang Yin was excited. “But some NPCs have unique personalities. Once the player reaches maximum friendliness level with them, they will no longer befriend other players. In other words, they will only be loyal to that one player who gets into their inner circle first.”

“Interesting. In any case, that’s not all. Since the news is already out that all the account info will be wiped following the OB, no matter how valuable the items the other players currently have, they won’t care so much about them. You can thus make use of this opportunity to purchase these valuables from them at a very low price.” Han Fei only provided Huang Yin with a general idea. Huang Yin would have to come up with the details himself, after all, Han Fei had not even played the normal version of Perfect Life even once.

“I’ll go do that now. Summon me back here in another hour!” Huang Yin kicked himself for not thinking about that sooner, he had already wasted a lot of precious time.

“Do you think I’m some kind of teleporter? I can send you here and there whenever I wish?” Han Fei chuckled sadly. “I can only do that once every night and your every single journey here is tremendously treacherous. If there’s any accident, you might end up trapped here for life.”

Hearing that, Huang Yin slowly calmed down. He looked around and curled back behind Han Fei. “Brother, you’re right. Caution is a virtue.”

After discussing all the details, Han Fei used Resurrection to send Huang Yin back. Sitting amidst the pile of talismans, Han Fei took a quick rest before he departed with Zhang Guanxing. ‘The missions at Yi Ming Private Academy have all been cleared. It’s meaningless to stay here any longer.’ He summoned Weep, Drake, and Lee Zai. With Zhang Guanxing and Xu Qin’s pet, they gathered at the front gates. The gates which were covered in dried blood appeared to be accessible to Jin Sheng and Han Fei only.

“Notification for Player 0000! You’ve successfully left the hidden map!” Hearing the system notification, Han Fei heightened his alarm. For him, the highly dangerous hidden map was the safer location. Once he left the school, he would have to contend with all the unknown terrors again.

‘I haven’t been home for a long time already.’ After having all the spirits squeeze inside Weep’s urn for the moment, Han Fei hugged the urn and raced across the street. He entered the back alley of Yi Ming Convenience Store. The human shadows floated out from the wall. They had no malice towards Han Fei, they only came to greet their new boss.

Han Fei hurried back to the Happiness Neighbourhood. Han Fei ran to greet his neighbour before he returned to his home. He sat down and shared his experience with Wei Youfu who was watching the television. Han Fei had a lot of things to share. Wei Youfu had been incredibly worried about Han Fei. After seeing Han Fei back in one piece, his concern finally eased. With a smile on his face, he listened to Han Fei’s story patiently.

The last time they lost contact, Han Fei reappeared carrying the coffin of the convenience store’s boss. This time though, Han Fei returned as the new Patrolling Teacher at Yi Ming Private Academy. He had gotten the ghosts at the school to agree to help the residents at Happiness Neighbourhood. From Wei Youfu’s point of view, Han Fei was like a legend. He kept coming up with miracles that surprised even the dead.

“I believe I’ve heard the name Jin Sheng from the previous manager before. He is the actual manager of Yi Ming Private Academy.” Wei Youfu tried hard to think. “The 8 of us inside Room 1044 have to combine together to have a chance of fighting him.”

“Is he a Top Lingering Spirit as well?”

“I’m not sure about that, but I do know that he is different from a normal Lingering Spirit.” Wei Youfu treated Han Fei as family and Han Fei felt comfortable around Wei Youfu. This was a feeling of company he never experienced in real life. “What do you plan to do next?”

“I plan to head to Cattle Alley, something is waiting for me there.”

“Cattle Alley?” Something came to Wei Youfu then. “The woman on the 5th floor should be very familiar with that place, she sources a lot of her ingredients there.”

“You mean Xu Qin? She’s back?” Han Fei bounced up with a light in his eyes.

“No, she has been gone for quite a while already. But don’t you worry about her, she’s a curse amalgamation, she has many ways to look after herself.” Wei Youfu comforted, “There have been instances in the past where she has been gone for a long period of time as well.”

“I hope she’s fine and can return home safely soon.” Han Fei sat back down and his shoulders slumped with disappointment.

“This is the first time I’ve seen a living person so worried about a curse.” Wei Youfu raised his brow at Han Fei, “Do I sense some love in the air?”

“What are you talking about? Love, admiration, affection, these are concepts that are too far away for me to grasp.” Han Fei ended the subject. Bringing along all the ghosts who were willing to follow him, he left Happiness Neighbourhood again. Pulling up the location of the Cattle Alley in his mind, Han Fei started to chart his journey. To get to Cattle Alley, he had to cross the junction and walk past another 2 blocks. If he was alone, he couldn’t have crossed this distance. Thankfully he had many friends in the cryptic world. Hugging the urn tightly, Han Fei started his first actual excursion. He wanted to take a look at the scenery on the other side of the junction.

…

Lee Ruonan hadn’t seen her boyfriend for a long time already. She lamented her destiny for always running into horrible partners. At the start of their relationships, they would promise to love her forever but eventually they would all silently slip away and disappear from her life. The only people who hadn’t left were her parents.

“Ruonan! Go and throw out the trash! Your room is stinking up! You’re already an adult, you have to know to watch these things!” The bedroom door was pushed open. Her nagging mother had no idea what privacy was. “How do you plan to find a man to marry if you keep living like this? Or you plan to live off of us forever?” Lee Ruonan very unwillingly dragged herself out from bed. She took out several large black bags from her cupboard and hauled them with difficulty out the front door. The corridor was devoid of any lights. The steps of the stairs were slightly slippery. Lee Ruonan hated this place but she had nowhere else to go.

Walking out from the corridor, she turned to look down the other side of the junction. The convenience store that she never visited appeared to be full that night. “Is there a sale going on? I heard dad say that the store has just got a new boss.” Lee Ruonan pouted. Ignoring the surroundings, she dumped the black bags inside the dumpster. “Goodbye, my love.” Perhaps she used too much force because one of the bags got torn and a heavy stench leaked out. “Sheesh, the trouble I have to go through.”

Lee Ruonan squatted before the dumpster. Just as she was wondering how to close up the hole, she heard a footstep coming from behind her. “Do you need some help?”

The magnetic male voice sent a tremor down her spine. The half-squatting Lee Ruonan turned around and her heart started to beat. An incredibly handsome face stared back at him. He was much more handsome than any of her previous boyfriends.

“No, no…” Lee Ruonan flustered as she was reminded of the fact that she was out there beside a dumpster without make-up.

“Be careful, don’t stay out here for too long. You need to take care of yourself.” After the man said that, he hugged the urn and turned to the wall beside them. The wall was covered with listing advertisements, the man appeared to be looking for a place to stay.

“Are you looking for a place to rent?” Lee Ruonan closed the lid of the dumpster and quickly straightened herself. “I know a fairly cheap and comfortable room! Please wait for me here. I’ll go ask my family about it.”

Lee Ruonan rushed back up the stairs to the 2nd floor. The man was confused. As he stood there, the door of the barbershop situated at the next building eased open. A middle-aged man poked his head out. “Hey! An advice for you, do not stay at that building no matter what. A family of 3 has died there. There was a horrible gas leakage. None of them survived.”

The man was about to say something else when he heard the returning footsteps. With a shiver, he shrunk back into his shop.

“Who were you talking to?” Lee Ruonan asked while catching her catch. “Come on, my dad has cleared a room for you.”

“You’re inviting me to stay with you? Won’t that be a trouble for your family?” The young man was shy. Hugging the urn, he looked gentle and perfectly harmless.