Chapter 26: Exclusive Ability Hide-and-Seek

Suppressed madness, a faint display of morbidity, those blood-red eyes seemed to emanate malice at every moment.

The frail body gently swayed, having lost both arms and partners, Cry and Han Fei had distanced themselves.

"You? Why are you so far from me?" Han Fei crouched on the ground, looking at Cry standing in the corner, a trace of sadness emerging in his eyes, "Don't you want to be my friend either? We could play all sorts of games every day, we..."

Before he could finish, Han Fei suddenly heard the sound of a latch springing behind him, and the tightly closed security door was opened.

When he turned his head back, the shadow standing in the corner had vanished, leaving only a shattered Spiritual Altar on the ground.

"You don't even want to talk to me?"

Standing up, Han Fei's face was filled with pain as he gathered the fragments of the Spiritual Altar.

"My name is Han Fei, I live just above you. If you ever want someone to play with, feel free to come by."

Han Fei did not leave immediately, he wandered around the room as if seeking Cry.

Opening doors one after the other, he eventually found Meng Shi and Chenchen unconscious next to the overturned bed in the bedroom.

After helping both of them up, Han Fei then exited room 1034.

He closed the door to room 1034, and as the cold corridor wind brushed his face, Han Fei then realized he could hardly move; both his spirit and body had reached their limits.

Bearing the pain, Han Fei found the keys on Meng Shi's body and then escorted the pair back to their room.

After closing the security door, Han Fei turned on all the lights in the house, and the cold mechanical synthesized voice echoed in his mind.

"Attention player number 0000! G-level hidden task 'Find Chenchen' has been completed! Friendliness with Meng Shi increased by thirty! Receive basic reward—add one Free Skill Point!"

"Attention! Different completion levels of hidden tasks yield different rewards! Not only did you find Chenchen, but you successfully rescued her, completing the task beyond 100%! Double experience added! Exclusive hidden task reward—exclusive skill 'Hide-and-Seek'."

"Hide-and-Seek (exclusive passive skill, cannot be upgraded with Skill Points): You are an expert at playing hide-and-seek. While hiding, your presence is minimized, making it easy for ghosts to overlook you. While seeking others, your senses are enhanced, noticing details that are easily overlooked."

"Attention player number 0000! You have successfully advanced to level three! Add one Free Attribute Point!"

"Attention player number 0000! You have reached level three! Chat room feature is now activated!"

Staring at the task panel, Han Fei finally relaxed a bit; although the mission was dangerous, the rewards were quite substantial.

He had not only risen directly to level three but also gained an exclusive skill 'Hide-and-Seek'.

Although the skill description didn't seem to have a direct effect, for the current Han Fei, this skill was key. When hiding, it reduced the chances of being discovered by ghosts, and when searching for clues, his senses were enhanced, truly a divine skill in the early stages of development.

Han Fei added the Free Skill Point to Acting, making his Acting skill now medium Level Three. Then, he allocated the earned Attribute Points to Physical Strength.

He always thought his physical strength was too poor, offering him no sense of safety.

"I just heard a system notification say that the chat room feature has been enabled. Are there other players in this Underworld game?"

Opening the Attribute Panel, Han Fei found the chat room option at the bottom of the panel and clicked to enter, only to be shocked.

There were actually nine hundred and ninety-nine chat rooms in this Underworld game, each with its own number, but eerily, all the chat rooms were greyed out and completely inaccessible.

"I'm already Level three, so why can't I enter these chat rooms? Are these chat rooms not prepared for me? Are there really other players in this game?" Han Fei looked at his own number—0000, feeling as though he was the only player in this game.

After resting for quite a while, Han Fei finally got up from the ground: "The task is completed, now I just need to stay for three more hours, then I can go out and explore."

Han Fei picked up Meng Shi's keys, which he had found earlier just to open the door, and now as he prepared to return them to Meng Shi, something suddenly occurred to him.

"I don't know when Meng Shi and Chenchen will wake up, this is a great opportunity for me to explore the room." Han Fei glanced at the locked bedroom: "Should I choose to trust Meng Shi, or should I go in and check for myself?"

The key was in his hand, and Han Fei stared at the door for a long time, before deciding to give up.

Meng Shi was his only trustworthy friend right now, and he did not want to create a rift in their "harmonious relationship" with the neighbors.

With the key in hand, Han Fei reached towards Meng Shi and placed the key back into the old woman's pocket; as he withdrew his arm, a cold system voice suddenly came through his mind.

"Player Number 0000, please note! Meng Shi's friendliness has increased by ten! You have completely gained her trust! She now sees you as a family member!"

Hearing the voice in his mind, Han Fei immediately realized that Meng Shi had not actually been unconscious. Wise beyond her years, she had been feigning unconsciousness the whole time.

After completing the task of rescuing Chenchen, Meng Shi's friendliness increased by thirty, and just now by another ten, she now truly saw Han Fei as a member of her family.

With everything clear in his mind, Han Fei did not show anything on his face.

He behaved as if he was unaware of anything, quietly helping the old woman and Chenchen into a more comfortable position before going to the bathroom to find a towel and gently cleaning the dirt from Chenchen's face and arms.

About half an hour later, the old woman finally regained consciousness. She slowly "woke up" and upon seeing Chenchen at her side, was extremely excited and very grateful to Han Fei.

The gratitude was genuine, as evidenced by the sizable increase of thirty in friendliness when the task was completed.

"Han Fei, I really don't know how to thank you, nor did I ever expect that there would be people in this world willing to take such great risks to save someone they have only met a few times."

"When I first moved here, you were the first to visit me, invited me for a meal, and even warned me that Unit 1044 is a haunted house. I've kept all your kindness in my heart," Han Fei scratched his head, a bit embarrassed: "Actually, I barely have any relatives, and it was only when I visited your house for the first time that I found what a home truly feels like, warm and welcoming."

Han Fei's gaze seemed to reminisce about that initial feeling as he helped the old woman to a chair: "Granny, you should rest well. I'll head back now, but if you ever need anything, just come upstairs to find me. If possible, I'd like to consider you as my family."

Perhaps it was Han Fei's last sentence that touched the softest part of the old woman's heart; as Han Fei was preparing to leave, the old woman slowly stood up.

"Han Fei, I'm actually not as kind as you think. I have a secret hidden in my heart that has been tormenting me," the old woman seemed to have aged a bit more as she took out her keys and walked towards the locked bedroom: "I know you're curious about this room, come with me."