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Her lips curled upwards, marking an indescribable beauty. The food that she made was missed by someone, it was simple yet meaningful joy. “If you like it that much, I’ll cook some for you soon. Just hold on a bit longer, we’ll be there soon.” As if worried that Han Fei would fall, she reached out to support him. The system kept telling Han Fei that her friendliness level with Xu Qin was increasing. Han Fei had no idea what he had done, and to be honest, he did not quite care. He really treated Xu Qin as family. Trust went both ways, when he gained Xu Qin’s trust, he was giving his own trust to Xu Qin. Han Fei’s understanding of the concept, family, was very blurry. He had no one who would take care of him like Xu Qin in real life, the feeling was very special.

The Curse Amalgamation who was dominated by hunger and malice in other people’s eyes was for Han Fei, a neighbourly big sister who was gentle, kind, loved cooking and had too many positive traits to count. He couldn’t understand why Xu Qin’s cooking hadn’t gained their well deserved popularity yet. Xu Qin appeared to have a less than stellar impression of the previous building manager because he didn’t favor her cooking. Shaking his head, Han Fei chased away the thoughts in his mind and asked, “Soon? Where are we going?”

“A building on the northern side. There are some people living there but it’s best you do not see them as people.”

“Will it be dangerous?”

“It’s safer than being outside but since Cattle Alley has changed, something must have changed there as well. Come on, I have left something there and they have medicines that can heal your wounds.”

“Medicine?” Han Fei did not ask for more details, he trusted Xu Qin, “Okay, then we should move faster.” After surviving the many brushes with death, Han Fei was finally reunited with his ‘family’. He felt relaxed and his heart warmed with rare joy. He tried to move his lips but it only formed a smile that he knew was acted out. ‘There was joy when Twin Flower was released but the joy then was probably 1/10 of what I’m feeling now. Looks like this Iyashikei game can really help me find my missing smile.’

As they continued to move north, the buildings started to become more unevenly spaced, as if symbolizing the chaos in the manager’s mind. The buildings were filled with holes. They tilted to the sides and all the bricks were dyed red by blood. After they passed several unassuming 4 storey buildings, Xu Qin stopped. She turned back to address Weep and Han Fei, “When we’re inside, no matter what the people inside say, do not trust them.” Han Fei followed Xu Qin into the dilapidated 4 story building. Just as he stepped into the building, the robotic voice sang, “Notification for Player 0000! You’ve discovered the hidden building on the hidden map—The house of the butcher!’

‘This place is the House of the Butcher?’ Han Fei halted, his relaxed nerves were pulled taut again. Spider’s most important writings were Cattle Alley and the House of the Butcher. Cattle Alley represented the world at large that he saw while the House of the Butcher was a reflection of his inner self.

“Stay close to me.” Xu Qin with half a mask entered the building. The building looked normal from the outside but that was not the case inside. The walls between this building and the other adjacent buildings were knocked down. All the rooms were interconnected, forming a giant maze. After much turning, Xu Qin led Han Fei and Weep to a room on the 3rd floor. They stopped before a blood red door, the door had a pig’s face hung on it. It was not a mask, it was an actual face skinned from a monster.

“The people who live here look normal and have normal professions. They present a unified front to fight against the attacks of the pig-faced monsters but in reality, each of them is harboring their own intention. They not only intend to kill those pig-faced monsters, every single one of them wish to murder all the other living creatures residing here as well.” Xu Qin whispered. Ever since they entered the building, her tone started to change. “I can feel the murderous intent from them, every one of them yearns to be the last one alive.”

“To be the last one alive?” Xu Qin’s description reminded Han Fei of Spider’s 9 personas. If this old building was indeed Spider’s heart, to become the surviving persona, one had to murder all the other personas.

Turning the handle, Xu Qin opened the door. A 60 year old plus old man sat inside the room. He seemed to suffer from a serious cataract, his eyes were different from normal people’s. When his lids opened, they revealed eye whites speckled with black substances. The old man was splayed out on the bed, he looked weak. His legs were no longer nimble but he was a welcoming person. Seeing Xu Qin, he pulled back the cover over his legs and tried to get up.

“Thank God, you have returned safely.” The old man shuffled uneasily towards Xu Qin, he seemed to be incredibly worried about her.

“Give me 2 masks, I need to bring them away from here.”

“You want to leave?” The old man was startled before he shook his head helplessly, “You’ve been here for so long already and you still think about leaving? The place is surrounded by monsters, there is no way we can leave! This world is too dangerous, only by staying here that you can be safe…”

“Give me 2 masks now.” Xu Qin ignored the old man’s spiel. She took out her knives and demanded coolly.

“It’s not that I don’t want to give them to you but the doctor said that the masks can only be given to people who are useful to us. The two that you have with you, one is heavily injured and the other is a child. If I give you the masks, the doctor will be angry.” The old man shrunk his head. He kept using the doctor as his excuse, everything was the doctor’s fault.

“What do you mean by people who are useful to you? Is there a specific standard?” Han Fei was interested in this man. In his impression, Spider’s sixth persona, Ol’ Lee was an old man in his 60s. He was kind to everyone on the surface but actually he was incredibly cunning and mad. He was a real psychopath.

“There are monsters everywhere outside this safe haven. It’s so hard to survive in this world. We are the only ones looking out for each other.” The old man scanned Han Fei but his attention was mostly on Xu Qin. “How about this, if you help me with 2 favors, I’ll give you 2 masks.”

“1 favor.” Xu Qin countered in a tone that brooked no argument or negotiation. “If you disagree, we’ll get the masks from the others.”

“Fine, 1 it is.” The old man’s lips parted to reveal black and yellow teeth. “I haven’t seen the author on the 4th floor for a long time already, I hope you can help me find him.” When the old man spoke, Han Fei turned to the mission tab. Strangely enough, he did not receive any mission notification. It felt like the old man’s words wouldn’t affect the system.

Xu Qin nodded and then led Han Fei and Weep out of the room. When they were far enough away from the door, Han Fei pulled on Xu Qin’s wrist, “Sis, I have an idea that I wish to discuss with you. Actually we have a method that can allow us to get the masks faster.” Leaning closer to Xu Qin, Han Fei whispered, “The old man is clearly lying to us. Instead of risking our lives to find the author, how about we cooperate to take down the old man instead?”

A trace of surprise crossed Xu Qin’s eyes as if shocked to hear that they had arrived at the same thought.