My Healing Games

Chapter 967 The Eighth Floor Nightmare Comedian

In reality, Yao Shihua seems to be Yao Yuan's aunt. She knows that Yao Yuan's final fate was to join a death chat group, be bewitched by butterflies, and become a murderer.

Perhaps in the shrine of dreams, many nightmares are the experiences of the three criminal members, a blank sheet of paper smeared with blood, ultimately turning into fragments of despair.

They are all materials used by the dream to create something; the dream has never actually treated them as people.

Yao Yuan's nightmare shattered, and his twisted life ultimately turned into a black and white fragment.

This fragment was slightly larger than the cleaner's, and it contained a deeper despair. Han Fei picked it up, and the fragment and all the traces of his dream vanished into his palm.

Darkness enveloped everything. Han Fei successfully led all the players through the seventh level of Nightmare. One by one, the figures around them disappeared. A few seconds later, Han Fei suddenly realized that something was wrong!
Previously, after completing the Nightmare mode, once the dream ended and he opened his eyes, he would be directly back in the main city hospital. But this time, even after all the players returned, Han Fei was still shrouded in darkness!

He vaguely saw a twisted and perverse world, where all sorts of nightmares crowded together like black bubbles.

Moments later, one bubble after another burst, and a terrible nightmare crawled out from inside, lunging at Han Fei.

"Was it because I triggered the ghostly markings in the nightmare and drew upon the power of other deities? Or was it because I used abilities beyond what the nightmare allowed?"

The nightmare did not drive Han Fei out of this distorted world; instead, it was preparing to drag him into somewhere else.

Large butterfly patterns tried to appear on Han Fei's body, but the laughing ghost pattern was extremely domineering and did not allow anything to get close, frantically tearing the butterfly patterns apart.

The darkness surrounding Han Fei dissipated, and the familiar gray mist reappeared. Han Fei, covered in blood-red ghost patterns, appeared to be wearing a blood-soaked garment. He stood in the hospital, and the surrounding players were all stunned.

Everyone wanted to come over and express their gratitude, but no one expected that the gray fog would suddenly begin to surge, and an indescribable force would tightly grab Han Fei.

"Those nightmares in my dreams are just the first step..."

The opponent was extremely fast, and Han Fei had no time to resist before the force pushed him into the stairwell on the left.

Enveloped in gray mist once more, that twisted and grotesque world reappeared before Han Fei's eyes.

More bubbles began to burst, and countless nightmares, like a black tide, engulfed Han Fei and seeped into the depths of his consciousness.

"The nightmares in the two stairwells are different? These nightmares are eating away at my memories! They want me to forget something!"

An indescribable pain spread throughout his body, and in a state of blurred consciousness, Han Fei entered the eighth layer of nightmare.

……

"My name is Zhang Beiyi, and I graduated from Xinhu Film and Television University. These two are my roommates. We're bringing you a sitcom that we wrote and directed ourselves—'The Reason to Live.' This work is based on..."

"Alright, alright, let's get started!"

Three young people stood on the simple stage. They were dressed plainly, even somewhat rustically, and looked nervous and uneasy.

Several adults sat below the stage, dressed in fashionable clothes, looking extremely impatient and constantly urging them on.

Without lights, sound effects, or any props, the three young people began their comical performance.

Zhang Beiyi plays a young man who is preparing to commit suicide. The eldest brother in the dormitory plays the landlord who tries to dissuade him, and the third brother in the dormitory plays Zhang Beiyi's pet parrot.

Because if Zhang Beiyi dies, the landlord won't receive the overdue rent, and the rental house will become a haunted house. So the landlord wants Zhang Beiyi to die somewhere far away, but this seems like instigating suicide. In the end, the timid landlord and Zhang Beiyi have all sorts of funny things happen on their way to their deaths.

The sitcom was about death, but the three young people presented it in a lighthearted, humorous, and funny way, which made people laugh. In the end, Zhang Beiyi also gave up on suicide.

The three young people have a solid foundation, but some aspects are not natural enough and there are traces of performance. They also don't deliver their jokes smoothly enough. However, overall, they are already very good among their peers.

After the performance, the three of them were exhausted and covered in sweat. They looked expectantly at the teachers below the stage.

"You performed well, and the piece was relatively complete, but there's still a lot of room for improvement. You have the talent, but you're just one step away from perfection." The teachers exchanged a few words briefly: "Go back and wait for our notification."

"Teacher, we've tried so many times, can you give us a chance?" Zhang Bei pleaded. "There are 28 matches in the whole competition. We're not looking for a ranking, we just want to make an appearance."

"Do you know how much a TV station charges per minute?" The teacher in the audience smiled and said, "Go back and wait for our notification. You all have great potential."

"But……"

"Go back and wait for our notification. Don't make me repeat myself." The teacher's expression changed quickly: "Next group."

The door was pushed open, and a new group of actors walked in, pushing Zhang Beiyi and his group off the stage.

"I'm sorry, teachers. I was presumptuous. I'm so sorry." Zhang Bei bowed deeply to the teachers, but no one paid him any attention. The three young men were led out by the staff.

Stepping out of the "interview" photo studio, Zhang Beiyi clenched his fists in frustration: "The last step was just a way of implying that we didn't have enough money. If we had a film company helping us out, would we still need to participate in this stupid event and try to get a chance to appear in front of the director?"

"It's been a year. We've been playing minor roles, doing stunts, humbling ourselves and begging for favors everywhere, and participating in all sorts of comedy competitions with our work. The funniest thing about the three of us right now is ourselves; we're the three jokes ourselves." The eldest of the dorm wiped off the makeup he'd applied to make himself look ugly. "Are you two still going to do your day jobs later?"

"What else?" Zhang Bei took out his worn-out phone and checked his balance. "That night shift security guard job was pretty good. Although twelve hours is a long time, no one cares at night, so we can rehearse secretly. What do you think, Lao San?"

"We're actors, are we supposed to graduate from university just to become security guards? If I had known this would happen, why would I have spent all my parents' money to come to this crappy university in Xinhu!" The eldest brother was getting agitated, and his voice gradually grew louder.

"Boss... is something wrong? You seemed a bit distracted during the performance, and you mispronounced a line." Zhang Beiyi was very perceptive; he put his hand on his boss's shoulder.

“This month, besides playing minor roles and earning a daily wage, we’ve only had five proper performances. Two of them were at small theaters where we had to beg for a performance, and the response was lukewarm. The other three were for talent shows where we were treated like monkeys, just going through the motions. What’s the point of this life?” The leader turned to Zhang Beiyi and asked, “Are you really going to continue like this?”

"Opportunities always favor the prepared. If you want to pursue your dreams, you must pay a lot." Zhang Beiyi was not prepared to give up: "Also, I need to change your wording. It's not 'you all,' but 'we.'"

He waved his hand and took out his phone, which showed photos and several voice messages sent to him by relatives.

His father, who lived in the countryside, fell and injured his back. Because they were worried it would affect his work, the family didn't tell him. But later, during a back examination, other illnesses were discovered.

"I can't keep up with your nonsense."

“Boss, how can all our efforts and sacrifices be described as nonsense? You know in your heart how much hardship we’ve endured this past year. Do you think all of this is just nonsense?” Zhang Bei grabbed his boss’s shoulder.

"I don't want to argue with you." The eldest brother avoided Zhang Beiyi's gaze: "I admit it. Poor people are not qualified to do jobs that burn money. Poor people are only qualified to do jobs that poor people do."

"You're not going to be an actor anymore?"

"No, I'll work my ass off to make money from now on. To be honest, I don't really love money, but I don't want my future children to end up like me, giving up the things they love for the sake of making a living." The eldest brother wiped off all his makeup and handed the shared eyebrow pencil and the key to the rental apartment to the youngest brother: "Maybe the past year wasn't a mess for you guys, but it was for me."

Are you leaving today?

"Consider that performance my farewell show. At least there was a stage and a few audience members." The eldest brother seemed afraid that he might hesitate, so he walked very fast, each step quick.

Zhang Beiyi and Lao San silently watched their eldest brother. Neither of them tried to stop him or said anything more. They knew that their eldest brother was right.

"The message on the boss's phone was sent two days ago. He knew about this two days ago, but he still chose to help us finish the last performance. He probably wanted to give it one last try." After leaving university, Zhang Beiyi learned a lot, such as what can you do if you're unwilling? Trying hard is just the most basic thing.

"Stop standing there like an idiot, it's time to get to work!" Zhang Bei patted Lao San on the shoulder. He was always very optimistic, as if nothing could defeat him: "For us, performing one last show together is definitely more meaningful than getting drunk."

The two young people ran out of the "interview" building and rode their bicycles to a large venue before dark.

After finding the contact person, the two of them immediately changed into security guard uniforms and put on their staff name tags.

Because the two were fairly good-looking and relatively tall, they were seated at the entrance.

"I've always thought that being handsome is my least significant advantage." Zhang Bei straightened his security guard uniform. He was serious about everything he did and always gave it his all. "Third brother, don't worry, we'll definitely succeed in the future. If all else fails, we'll find a female producer, play rock-paper-scissors, and the loser will offer themselves as a gift. Hahaha, don't look at me like I'm trash! I'm just kidding!"

Perhaps not paying much attention, Zhang Bei accidentally bumped into a customer when he turned around, knocking the customer's sunglasses askew.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Zhang Beiyi quickly apologized.

"Forget it, you guys look like students. I bet your combined monthly allowance wouldn't even cover the cost of repairing these sunglasses." The customer was a little annoyed, but didn't want to get angry in public. After saying a few words to Zhang Bei, he ignored him and walked on.

Straightening up again, Zhang Bei slowly loosened his clenched fist, and a smile returned to his face: "We ate and slept on set last month, and our living expenses only amounted to 170 yuan. What's he trying to do by wearing sunglasses that cost over 100 yuan? When I have money, I'll just buy two pairs of sunglasses that cost 1,000 yuan each, one for daytime and one for nighttime."

The security guard job was boring, but Zhang Beiyi and Lao San worked very hard until a black sedan stopped in front of the venue and a middle-aged man got out of the car.

Upon seeing the middle-aged man, Zhang Beiyi and Lao San simultaneously lowered their heads and looked away.

"Zhang Beiyi?" The middle-aged man had sharp eyes and immediately recognized Zhang Beiyi and Lao San: "You two disappeared after graduation, what are you doing here working as security guards?"

"Hello, Teacher Jiang..." Even though Zhang Beiyi is usually thick-skinned, he wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground at this moment. He and Lao San were Teacher Jiang's two most promising students, and she had high expectations for them. But she never expected that their first meeting after graduation would be under such circumstances.

Perhaps it was his pride, but Zhang Bei hesitated for a moment before saying, "We've taken on a role as a grassroots security guard, so we want to experience it firsthand."

"What lies are you telling me? Do actors think they can fool the director?" Teacher Jiang was somewhat disappointed and also felt sorry for him: "You both have my phone number. Call me when you need to, understand?"

"Understood." Zhang Bei stuck out his tongue sheepishly, trying to get away with it by being cute.

After Teacher Jiang entered the venue, Zhang Beiyi's tense body relaxed. He was very handsome and had excellent grades. He used to be arrogant, but now "sorry" and "excuse me" seemed to have become his catchphrases.

"Third brother, I don't really want to be a security guard anymore... How about we commit a crime and go to jail? They provide food and lodging, and if we run into someone we know, no one will laugh at us or try to outdo each other." Zhang Bei touched the temporary work permit hanging around his neck, which seemed like a dog tag bestowed upon him by life.

The meeting ended early, and security work was completed ahead of schedule. To avoid running into Teacher Jiang again, Zhang Beiyi and Lao San hid in a faraway place.

They took their daily wage, gritted their teeth and bought beer, which they drank with instant noodles and their dreams.

"One toast to the boss, go in peace! The second toast to ourselves, our indomitable spirit is sure to be cool! The third toast to..."

"Don't drink too much. There's a small theater performance tomorrow. Although the pay isn't much, actors have to take every performance seriously."

Cars come and go on the road, and two young people sit in a city that doesn't belong to them, dreaming dreams that they only have when they're drunk.

A few hours later, Zhang Beiyi, who had already returned to his rented room, was woken up by his phone alarm. He glanced at his watch and immediately got up: "Third brother! Wake up! I suddenly remembered that the eldest brother is gone, his role is vacant, and we two need someone to play both roles!"

"I'll do it. I've memorized all of the boss's lines."

After washing up and tidying themselves up, the two rode their bicycles to a small theater that was quite far away.

Without taking a break, they quickly started putting on makeup and then nervously rehearsed their lines.

The third brother needed to play the roles of a parrot and a landlord, so he added costumes to himself, making him look strange and ugly.

"This is all we can do now, but we may have to rewrite all our previous works, which is equivalent to overturning our own past." Comedy creation is very difficult. The timing of punchlines needs to be perfectly coordinated to maximize their effect, which requires a high level of understanding and acting skills from the actors.

"Let's perform it a few more times while we still have enough time."

The clock hands on the wall went round and round, but Zhang Beiyi still hadn't received any notification. He leaned out the window and looked out; some audience members had already left the theater.

"They've left early?" Zhang Bei rushed out of the dressing room and found a theater staff member: "Hello, why have so many audience members left? There are still shows to come!"

"Today is a special performance by the Comedy Club. The last three acts of yours are just to fill up the time." The staff member was also very straightforward and told the truth.

"Even if it's just to fill up the time, we'll act!" Zhang Beiyi said firmly.

"The key is that the audience of the Xixiao Club is too enthusiastic. They strongly requested that the Xixiao Club perform for a while longer. In addition, there are some interactions in between, and they have already taken up your time." The staff member spread his hands: "You need to ask the boss for your appearance fee. I don't know anything else."

"What a joke! Didn't we agree on this?!" Zhang Bei's voice grew louder. At that moment, the door next to him opened, and the theater owner came out.

After clearing his throat, the boss took out two envelopes containing money: "You know that football teams have substitutes, right? You are substitutes, but you are very important and indispensable."

“But now it’s our turn to perform, and we’re all done with our makeup on!” Zhang Bei didn’t take the envelope.

"Then let me be frank with you, the audience is here to see the comedy troupe perform, nobody is interested in you at all." The boss stuffed two envelopes into Zhang Beiyi's hand: "Although the performance fee is half of what it usually is, you didn't even perform, so hurry up and take the money and leave."

"Our new work has been in development for a long time..."

"What's the use of saying a thousand words? Nobody's watching you!" The boss was getting annoyed. "If any of the audience members outside specifically request to see your performance, then I'll let you perform. If nobody does, then take your money and get out!"

The two sides were deadlocked. After a few minutes, another staff member ran over and said, "Boss, some audience members asked us if there is an actor named Zhang Beiyi who hasn't come on stage yet? They are still waiting in the audience."

Hearing the staff member's words, Zhang Beiyi beamed and pushed the envelope back: "See! I, Zhang Beiyi, do have a bit of a fan base! You, the big boss, can't go back on your word!"

"It's like the sun has risen in the west! There are people who come all the way here just to see your performance?" The boss put away the envelope and gestured for the staff to set up the venue.

Zhang Beiyi ran back to the dressing room excitedly: "Third brother, get ready to go on stage!"

Knowing that fans had come all the way to see him, Zhang Beiyi was very excited. He walked with a brisk pace, reciting his lines as he walked onto the stage with Lao San!
With everything in place and the two actors in position, the stage curtain slowly opened, and the lights shone on them.

Zhang Bei was excited to recite his first line, but when he opened his mouth, he suddenly couldn't make a sound.

There were only two audience members in the entire audience. Most of the people who like comedy skits are young people, but these two audience members had gray hair and obvious wrinkles around their eyes. They were dressed simply, but they bought the most expensive tickets in the first row because it was the closest to the stage.

"Dad, Mom?"

The empty stands were occupied only by Zhang Beiyi's parents.

Zhang Bei, who had always been strong and optimistic, seemingly invincible, suddenly felt incredibly wronged. His nose stung, and by the time he realized it, tears were already streaming down his face uncontrollably.

Unable to utter a single complete line, Zhang Bei suddenly burst into tears. He was in a difficult situation, filled with resentment. He had worked so hard in his life, how did it end up like this?
He didn't cry when his boss left, he didn't cry when his dignity was trampled on, and he didn't cry when his mentor saw him in his disheveled state. But all those pent-up emotions exploded at this moment.

"Xiao Bei, what's wrong? Your dad and mom are here. Our son performed so well!" Zhang Bei's parents walked to the side of the stage and hugged him with heartache: "It's okay. If you're tired, go home and rest. We're so talented, we can do anything."

Zhang Beiyi's parents took him off the stage, comforted him, and walked out of the theater with him.

The lights shone on the center of the stage, leaving only the third brother on the huge stage and in the audience.

He went through everything with his boss and Zhang Beiyi, but he got nothing.

After waiting for a long time, Zhang Beiyi still did not return. The third brother walked step by step to the center of the stage. He was illuminated by the stage lights and slowly opened his mouth.

"My name is Han Fei. I graduated from Shanghai Film and Television University. I'm bringing you a sitcom called 'Reasons to Live,' which is based on my personal experience."

(End of this chapter)