My Healing Games

Chapter 863 Exorcism Ritual
Number Two's personality abilities are related to fate. Among all the children, he is the most mysterious. He is also the only test subject besides Number Zero who may still retain self-awareness and knows a great deal of secrets.

“You’re right. No matter what the future holds, I will not stop performing and I will continue to move forward.”

Han Fei gently pressed his hand against Bai Xian's forehead, and the healing starlight, by touching the secrets deep within his soul, shone into the depths of Bai Xian's consciousness.

Bai Xian, who survived the great disaster, had a broken soul, as if he had been torn apart and eaten by a pack of wild dogs, and suffered too much torment and pain.

"Brother Bai, can you hear me?"

Han Fei's will drew near to Bai Xian, and he grasped Bai Xian's hand.

If Bai Xian hadn't met Han Fei, he probably wouldn't have suffered so much and would still be working as an actor.

It was because Han Fei showed him the truth that he became the turning point in his fate, and was targeted by the unspeakable forces of the deeper world.

Tell me, who did this to you?

The starlight was healing Bai Xian's wounded soul. Bai Xian's consciousness, which was on the verge of collapse, gradually stabilized. He blinked and seemed to hear Han Fei's call. The familiar voice made him involuntarily tighten his grip on Han Fei's hand.

After the disaster struck, there was no safe place in the darkness, and he hadn't felt this sense of security in a long time.

Bai Xian opened his closed heart to Han Fei, and the various memories he had suppressed inside him grew wildly like poisonous weeds, crowding into his heart.

Tortured scenes, threats from ghosts, life-or-death escapes, witnessing the tragic deaths of those around him—a multitude of unbearable memories flooded Han Fei's mind. Bai Xian had not awakened any special personality; he was simply an ordinary person caught in the eye of the disaster, recording this most desperate and cruel world from his perspective.

As starlight shines into his heart, the poisonous weeds and thorns begin to wither. A large gap is missing in Bai Xian's heart. It seems that he met a very important person in his life, but that important person has now disappeared into thin air. This causes his memory and mind to become disordered, and many scenes cannot be pieced together.

"The person who disappeared must be me. I changed Bai Xian's fate. In this worst future, my soul was scattered, which is why Bai Xian's memories are confused."

After clearing away all the "poisonous weeds," Han Fei saw a distorted shadow in Bai Xian's empty heart chamber. It seemed that the other party had discovered Han Fei long ago and had been secretly observing him.

"Kong Tiancheng?"

The distorted shadow had a deformed body, but its face had not changed much, and it looked exactly like Kong Tiancheng, the executive of Deep Space Technology in Han Fei's memory.

"My name is Han Fei. You may not have heard of this name, but you should be able to sense that Bai Xian's subconscious attitude towards me is quite special. I was killed by the gods for stopping this disaster, and a part of my consciousness attached itself to a member of the Calamity Investigation Bureau. Bai Xian is one of my best friends, and it was because of me that he was implicated."

The healing starlight lingered in front of Kong Tiancheng, not moving forward. Han Fei needed a partner; he wouldn't force the other party.

"If you still don't believe me, I can call Yin Shang out and have him talk to you."

The black mist of greed slowly emerged, and Yin Shang cautiously slipped into Bai Xian's heart, revealing the story of Han Fei and the statue of the god.

With time limited, Han Fei was doing his best to persuade the other party, while Kong Tiancheng was also considering whether or not to trust Han Fei. In this city shrouded in calamity, trust was the rarest thing.

After a long while, a knock came at the door, and everyone tensed up. Kong Tiancheng, who was still hesitating, knew that time was of the essence. He slowly walked out from his hiding place and stood under the starlight.

Contrary to expectations of pain and burning sensation, the wounds in his soul began to heal slowly.

"It's dangerous here. Some people are already watching you. I'll take you away, and we'll talk somewhere else." Han Fei led Kong Tiancheng into the abyss of greed, then released Bai Xian's hand. He would take Bai Xian away, but not now.

Urged on by the doctor and Ah Fu, he quickly left with Number Two on his back.

Not long after they left, the doctor on rounds came in, placed several patients, including Bai Xian, on trolleys, and took them out of the ward one by one.

"Where is the hospital going to send them?" Han Fei asked, somewhat worried about Bai Xian.

"It's almost dawn, and the hospital should be holding its regular exorcism ceremony to cleanse their souls." The doctor assumed Han Fei was also a member of the organization, unaware that Han Fei had coerced Afu into infiltrating the organization.

Strange music played around the hospital as patients with severe mental pollution were moved to the back hall.

Several individuals with unique personalities stood in different positions, dressed neatly, as if welcoming gods, bestowing the highest honor upon the despairing and tainted memories.

A faint glimmer of light appeared in the night sky. The hospital dome slowly opened, and a giant artificial moon rose gently, emitting a soft and warm light, somewhat like a weakened version of healing starlight.

The gentle moonlight bathed all the patients as the individuals with special personalities simultaneously used their abilities to painstakingly cleanse the patients of their mental pollution.

Suffering is not something to be praised, but those who endure suffering and still live on with strength deserve respect.

In these doctors, Han Fei found the reason why Hope City could stand firm: even though there was much chaos and darkness in the city, there were still people who were willing to stick to their beliefs.

The patients' painful cries gradually subsided, and this moment seemed to be the most comfortable time of their day.

"Stop looking, we have more important things to do." Number Two and Han Fei went to a corner of the hospital and began to talk to Kong Tiancheng, who was trapped in the abyss of greed.

Both are ghosts who retain memories of their previous lives, but Kong Tiancheng is much stronger and more rational than Yin Shang. His memories are intact, and communicating with him is like talking to a normal living person.

"If you are truly as you say, you should know that I am the head of a project at Deep Space Technology and Immortal Pharmaceuticals. I am in charge of a brain game that has changed the world, called Perfect Life."

From Kong Tiancheng's words, Han Fei heard that familiar name again. Before the disaster, "Perfect Life" was very popular. Everyone longed for that virtual spiritual world and regarded it as an artificial paradise. But in the city after the disaster, "Perfect Life" seemed to have become taboo. No one mentioned it anymore, and even all the promotional advertisements were torn down and covered up.

“This disaster spiraled out of control because of that game.” Kong Tiancheng said with a hint of regret in his eyes, “You can think of that game as a channel of consciousness, the end of which connects to another real, despairing world.”

"But in my memory, Perfect Life is a heartwarming and perfect game." Han Fei truly believed this, even though he had never played the normal Perfect Life game.

“There is no true perfection in the world. All happiness is only highlighted by pain. Beneath our joy lies a bottomless darkness. It is all the devil’s plan!” Kong Tiancheng’s voice trembled. “At first, I didn’t know either, until someone opened the door to the depths of that world. All the players in the perfect life became the ‘source.’ Their spirit and consciousness were unknowingly eroded by the ghost. Many died, and some turned into ‘ghosts’.”

"The door? The source?"

"That real world of despair has many connections with the human consciousness, but it was closed for some unknown reason. However, more than ten years ago, someone used that game to reopen the door, allowing the world of despair to descend! And merge with reality!" Kong Tiancheng's soul trembled: "I don't know who the real murderer is, but I can confirm that he was in the basement of the Eternal Life Building at that time! That murderer had extremely high authority and modified some things of the AI ​​through the reserved secret door when the catastrophe broke out! The AI ​​of 'Perfect Life' itself was made by imitating a black box, and the murderer knew all about it!"

Han Fei remembered every word Kong Tiancheng said, because it might be the real plan of Gao Xing and Meng, or even something that was about to happen in reality.

"If we want to solve the problem of ghosts at its root and stop the two worlds from merging further, we must go deep into the underground of the Eternal Life Building and reopen that black box that symbolizes the AI." Kong Tiancheng was extremely agitated. He was a mad ghost, so no one believed many of his words.

"Calm down first." Han Fei let more starlight shine on Kong Tiancheng: "Were you in the Eternal Life Building the night the disaster happened?"

"Yes." Kong Tiancheng nodded.

"What did you see?"

“The world seemed to have turned upside down. The darkness wasn’t overhead, but underground. That deep, despairing place was like a mirror of reality, from which endless ghosts crawled out.” Kong Tiancheng pointed to his deformed and twisted body: “Those who were lucky enough to survive the first wave of ghosts would later become ghosts themselves. The building was enveloped by some kind of force, and there was no way to escape at the time.”

You could sense the terror in Kong Tiancheng's tone; ordinary people would indeed suffer a mental breakdown if they fell into the deeper world.

"The Immortal Tower should be the most crucial building in the world of the Shrine's memories. The Shrine of Joy might be hidden there, serving as the core of the entire city." Number Two suddenly spoke up. He had little interest in solving the disaster; his primary goal was to usurp the god and save Number Zero and the other children.

“Gao Xing… This name sounds familiar.” Kong Tiancheng pressed his hands to his head, the black veins on his face bulging. “On the night of the great disaster, one of the new test subjects had this name. His eyes were the most beautiful I’ve ever seen, brighter than any gemstone in the world.”

"This man is the leader of the three major criminal organizations in Shanghai. All the calamities are caused by him. Do you know where he is hiding now?"

"It should still be inside the Eternal Life Building. I remember there's a very special and terrifying ghost in that restricted area. Its eyes are covered by a black cloth, and most of the time it guards the black room where the AI ​​is stored like a sculpture. It only comes out when humans keep rebelling, or when the world deviates from its previous trajectory, to destroy all people and ghosts who want to change their fate." Kong Tiancheng revealed another important piece of information to Han Fei: "However, it hasn't appeared for a long time. It is said that its soul has changed into three parts, corresponding to its tragic and desperate past, its bloodthirsty and crazy present, and its ideal future. To kill it, you have to kill these three 'people' using the corresponding methods."

(End of this chapter)