My Healing Games

Chapter 369 Fireflies and the Night Sky

Han Fei stared at the search page on his phone screen, unable to look away. He couldn't understand why the comedian in front of him would search for such a thing.

In his view, the other person had everything he had ever wanted: to be an excellent comedian, to have many popular works, and to live in a spacious house where he could lie on a comfortable, soft sofa.

The man in room 4094 was the ideal version of himself that Han Fei had imagined. But when he actually saw him, he discovered that the man was not only unhappy, but had even reached a very dangerous point.

"Why is this happening?"

Through their brief conversation, Han Fei could roughly tell that the comedian was a kind and gentle person. When he visited late at night with his child, the comedian's first thought was not about anything dark, but rather that the child was sick and needed help.

"He shouldn't be living like this, a person like him shouldn't be living like this!" Han Fei saw his own reflection in the comedian, and he kept repeating this sentence to himself, more to prevent himself from wavering.

My phone on the sofa suddenly vibrated; I had received a new message.

Han Fei subconsciously touched the screen; it was a private chat.

Jin Tou Ba Nao: "Can you get in touch with Yan Zu? I've sent him a lot of messages and made a lot of phone calls, but he hasn't replied to me."

Jin Tou Ba Nao: "He deleted everything from his Moments. When I clicked to look, there was only a blank page."

Jin Tou Ba Nao: "Are you there, Firefly? You've been posting less and less lately, don't scare me!"

The person called "Jintouba Nao" sent several messages in a row. The comedian, who was still busy in the bedroom, finally heard the vibration and hurriedly ran out.

Picking up his phone, the young man read the message and immediately dialed a number, but no one answered.

I dialed several times in a row, but all I heard was a busy signal. No one answered or hung up, as if it were an invisible black hole.

Why aren't you answering the phone? Didn't we agree on something?

The calm on the young man's face had completely vanished. Han Fei didn't know who was on the other end of the phone, but he could sense the young man's anxiety.

After opening the group chat and sending private messages to numerous people, the young man finally received a reply.

Upon receiving the reply, he stood in the living room, maintaining his posture, motionless, his eyes fixed on the screen.

It was a long time before he reacted, when Han Fei walked over and saw the contents of his phone.

He forced a smile, as was his habit, and made no attempt to hide the contents of his phone. He simply said with a somewhat forlorn expression, "A friend of mine has passed away."

"gone?"

The young man glanced at the night sky outside the window: "They went there."

Saying those two sentences seemed to have exhausted him. His already weary body slumped onto the sofa, like a tattered burlap sack.

He lifted the thin blanket, seemingly searching for the medicine bottle he had placed in the bedroom, or perhaps trying to hide his slightly trembling fingers.

The black phone lit up again, and messages kept coming in. The young man opened the messages in front of Han Fei.

The man acted completely differently than before, replying to each message earnestly. Finally, he opened a group chat called "Happy Community," looked at a profile picture that would never light up again, and wanted to say something, but couldn't type anything.

Jin Tou Ba Nao: "@Everyone, it has just been confirmed that the youngest member of our group left three hours ago. His account data will be kept by Ying Huo, as before."

One day, all I knew was, "Hahaha: 'Yanzu's gone? Are you sure? Did you go to the hospital to confirm?! He's the most cheerful kid in our group, and the doctor said his recovery was going very well! We even made a promise to go online together and mess with the foreign players next time!'"

Like a fish drinking water: "The day before yesterday morning, that child showed me his homework, which he had done very carefully. He clearly said he was going to go back to school."

Looking at the scrolling messages on the screen, the young man finally typed out a few words.

Firefly: "It's true. I contacted his stepfather, but unfortunately, I couldn't persuade him to reconcile with him until the very end. I'm sorry."

The simple-minded man said, "Why are you apologizing? You don't need to apologize to anyone!"

Like a fish drinking water: "We are all feeling very bad, but we must not let our emotions get the better of us. Everyone should remember to take their medicine on time. If Yanzu's stepfather really doesn't want to accept his account, then we will follow the rules and hand it over to Yinghuo."

All he does all day is laugh and say, "Thank you for your hard work, Firefly."

A username and password were sent to the young man's phone. He stared at the username for a long time, then turned on his computer and logged into a virtual game on a social media platform using the child's account.

This game is a simulation/management game. The boy in the game is tall and strong, very handsome, and his signature is "Yanzu Xinhu Branch Ancestor". However, in reality, he is small and thin, often bullied, always framed, and not good at communicating with people or handling various relationships.

The farm he built has been neglected for a long time; he last landed six months ago.

This game requires a social media account to log in and is completely linked to that account. It records all the traces a person leaves online, including a memory screening room, a book of joy, a sad emotion processing station, and so on.

Controlling the little character to walk around the room, the only pay-to-win item in Yanzu's hut is a huge rare-level photo frame. Inside the frame is a group photo with dozens of people, all of whom are game characters, but some of them have turned gray.

Looking at the group photo, the young man slowly lowered his head and looked away.

Han Fei walked up to the young man and gently patted him on the back.

The man could no longer lift his head. He supported himself on the table with both hands, suppressing the sobs, and said in a calm tone, "I met this child in a healing game. In the group chat of that Happy Community, most of the people were also patients. For various reasons, we came together to encourage and support each other, but many of the avatars never lit up again."

Did you create that group?

"It was entrusted to me by an elderly man who has passed away, and I am now the sole manager." The young man was an excellent actor, and controlling his emotions was a basic skill for an actor. When he raised his head again, there was not much pain on his face. He tried his best to show a sunny disposition, even though he was already riddled with wounds.

The young man took out a notebook from the locked drawer and slowly flipped through it. Each page contained different accounts and passwords. He turned the pages very slowly, as if the thin page was very heavy.

Finding a blank page, the man carefully wrote down the boy's account and password. He checked it three times to make sure it was correct before putting the notebook back in the drawer.

“I really didn’t expect that child to leave before us.” The young man stared blankly at the boy’s virtual game character. The child’s virtual account and all his memories remained unclaimed. A living, breathing person, leaving behind only these things: “He was clearly the most cheerful and optimistic person in the group. Every day he encouraged everyone and posted about his positive changes on his social media…”

"But no matter how optimistic you are, you won't be happy."

Han Fei didn't understand why he said those words. He didn't even know who he was talking to. Maybe he was talking about the boy who had left, maybe he was talking about the young man, or maybe he was talking about himself.

(End of this chapter)