Chapter 38: 38

It was a blood red world on the other side of the mirror. Broken flesh, blood, and the Frankenstein monster filled up the small bathroom. Even though the gore was not reflected outside the mirror, the monster might as well be there behind Han Fei from the horror and pressure that the man felt. The smell of blood thickened. Warm water splashed on his skin but it felt like he was being showered with icy cold blood.

Inside the television at the living room, the victims’ warm memories disappeared, they were replaced by the child’s nightmare. Small characters scurried through an eerie jungle before they were hauled back into the dark wooden house by a pair of invisible hands. The monster in the mirror grew larger and larger. The human face at the monster’s heart became clearer. It was the face of a girl, she looked quite young. The face was devoid of any expression, it was as unreadable as a white piece of paper.

‘She is the 8th victim? The one without any official records?’ Han Fei branded the girl’s face into his mind. This would be crucial to solve the case. The mist in the bathroom turned sticky as the monster in the mirror solidified. When it pieced itself back together, it would probably appear in real life just like how it did when Han Fei attempted the tv mission. After witnessing the victims’ individual dismemberment and their reconstruction into a monster, Han Fei’s SAN Value skyrocketed. His body shook uncontrollably but even at that moment, he still had not forgotten his promise to Wei Youfu.

Standing alone inside the mirror, the monster was gaining corporeality. It materialized out from the water mist. ‘How am I supposed to help her?’

The 8th victim was like a princess sleeping inside the monster’s body. She would only appear during these few moments alongside the monster when it attempted to reconstruct itself. Looking from another perspective, this innocent girl could be the scariest of them all for she seemed to be an integral part of the monster, its heart to be precise.

Wei Youfu only hoped that Han Fei could help the girl but he did not give Han Fei any pointer on how to do that. As the monster gradually formed, the girl’s face was layered behind flesh and blood. She was about to be engulfed by the other victims’ bodies. As the girl slowly disappeared and the monster gradually manifested itself, Han Fei knew he would have to do something soon. Turning around, Han Fei glanced through the mist at the Frankenstein monster that easily took up the entire bathroom. He made a crazy decision.

Reaching into the gap between the flesh, and resisting the sense of disgust that came from his arms, Han Fei pried away the flesh and guts that were about to consume the girl’s face. He was going to tear the girl out from the monster’s body! His hands were covered in blood, his and 8 other people’s blood. The sharp bone chips scratched at his skin. Fear and pain tormented his nerves, but Han Fei refused to surrender. More globs of flesh swamped towards the girl’s face. Han Fei gritted his teeth and pulled and pushed at the moving flesh. He was trying to save the girl!

Han Fei had not seen so much blood in his life and this was definitely the scariest thing he had ever experienced. He cleansed his mind and allowed a single purpose to take over his body because if he stopped for even a second to think about what he was doing, fear would overwhelm him. Flabs of meat were peeled away. Han Fei’s body was soaked in water and blood. However, his movement became more agile and proficient. Inch by inch, Han Fei nudged the girl’s head and shoulders out from the monster’s central cavity.

Strands of capillaries snapped loose. Han Fei’s mind was blank. He repeated the same action mechanically until the wall clock in the living room buzzed with noise. It was 4 am, dawn had arrived. Even though it was still dark outside the window, the speed by which the flesh recovered conspicuously slowed. The sleeping beauty’s eyelashes fluttered as if waking up.

Han Fei took this as a sign of encouragement. He stepped on the fallen flesh. He dug in his heels and slowly pulled out the girl’s arm. The water mist dyed with blood. As Han Fei tightened his grip on the girl’s hand and tried to pull her out from the ugly monster, the sleeping girl suddenly opened her eyes. Han Fei had never seen such a gaze before. There was no soul behind the girl’s eyes. She appeared to have no emotion or memory. The clear pupils were like those of a newborn baby.

“I’m here to save you.” In that hell, Han Fei looked straight into the girl’s eye as he held onto her arm. He couldn’t tell if the girl understood him or not. For now he just wanted to drag the girl out from the monster.

The girl looked at Han Fei and her surroundings with open confusion. She did not fathom anything. A self was missing behind her eyes, they were like mirrors that reflected the world that she saw. The reconstruction of the monster lagged behind. However, after Han Fei dug out the girl’s other arm, he stopped. The rest of the girl’s body was pierced through by black threads. They weaved her together with the rest of the monster. Brute force was not going to separate the two.

“Do you know what are the black threads inside your body? Do you know how can I get rid of them?” Just as Han Fei touched the threads, his brain dazed. Malice and despair surged into his mind. The girl did not seem like she understood Han Fei. He had to try again to grasp as much information as he could from her. “What is your name? Do you remember who did this to you?” Han Fei did not know the method to get rid of the black lines so he hoped to find out more about the girl instead. Perhaps she would lead him directly to the killer. Apprehending him would help avenge all the victims.

The girl inside the monster still did not reply. Her eyes danced around before they landed on the television in the living room. The eloping characters were dragged back into the wooden house. They wailed silently. The whole forest echoed with their soundless cries.

A dark image, a dark night, a dark house. Seeing the cartoon, the girl seemed to remember something. She stammered. It sounded like a song.

“Daddy cradled mommy’s head, he said he’d use her hair to make me a new raiment.

“To the canteen, the naughty kids go; but the good kids stay for reward and compliment.

“You should smile, you should cry; but above all, you should always heed father’s advice.

“Big brothers, big sisters sent far away; little brothers, little sisters, their ranks wasting away.

“After I put on daddy’s new clothing, he said I’m still missing a pair of wings.”

After the girl finished, the strange cartoon on the television changed. Millions of fireflies flew out from the dark forest, bringing with them pinpricks of light. The monster in the bathroom started to collapse. The girl’s body was yanked by the black threads into the viscous pool of blood. Han Fei tried to stop it but he was unable to do anything.

‘The 8th victim died at 4 am, right at the moment of dawn.’ Han Fei memorized the girl’s song as he turned to the tv. “Forest, black house, brothers and sisters, new raiment, wings…” There was an influx of new information, these were fresh clues that the police did not have.

“Notification for Player 0000! New Player Mission—Take a Shower completed! Obtained 1 Free Skill Point and the mission reward—the landlord’s diary!” The robotic voice cut through Han Fei’s thought. When he came to again, the oppressive feeling in the bathroom had dissipated by quite a lot.