Chapter 20: Bravery in the Face of Fear (Thanks to Huan Yu for the Silver Alliance!)

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"Chenchen has always been rather introverted since he was a child, not willing to actively play with the other kids in the courtyard; he often played alone."

"I don't know exactly when, but he suddenly became lively, and I was genuinely happy about it at the time, thinking Chenchen had finally found a friend."

"But later on, I started to notice something wasn't right. Chenchen always went out to play after seven in the evening, and whenever he came back, he would be filthy, with small wounds on his arms and cheeks."

"Once, he didn't come back until very late, and I was worried, so I asked the Building Chief to look for him. We searched for a long time, and eventually found Chenchen inside the abandoned water tank in the residential area."

"He was huddled inside the water tank, trembling non-stop. When we asked what he was doing, he said he was playing Hide-and-Seek with his friend."

"The Building Chief and I asked about the name of his friend. Chenchen struggled for a while before saying his friend's name was Cry."

"I found it strange right then, who has a name like Cry? The Building Chief's expression changed upon hearing this name as well, and he asked Chenchen if that Cry lived on the third floor."

"Chenchen nodded, then the Building Chief revealed something even more terrifying: although the room on the third floor covered in Talisman Paper had never been the scene of a murder, something even stranger than murder had taken place there."

"A long time ago, children in the neighborhood would continuously go missing, and eventually, the missing children's clothes and belongings were all found in room 1034 on the third floor."

"Room 1034 was like a house that devoured children until everyone decided to seal the windows and doors of that floor completely, and the situation started to improve."

"That child named Cry hadn't shown up for a very long time, and I never imagined he would suddenly entangle with Chenchen."

The wrinkles on the old person's face squeezed together: "Ever since I forbade Chenchen from going out to play with Cry, Chenchen seemed as if he was under a curse, becoming irritable, and would often say someone was waiting for him, calling his name. Whenever I would relent and let him out, he would run to the door opposite us and mumble to himself, sometimes bursting into laughter, and other times, crying. Eventually, I had no choice but to lock him in the bedroom."

After hearing the old person's story, Han Fei also felt a shiver in his heart. There were many horrifying things in this building, but nobody wanted to approach room 1034. They had no choice but to seal that room; from this, one could tell just how terrible Cry was.

"Since I locked Chenchen in the bedroom, his temperament has gotten worse. Just yesterday, after dinner, I wasn't paying attention for a moment, and that child ran out. By the time I got to the doorway, I found that the door opposite was half-open, and I don't know who had removed the Talisman Paper and wooden boards nailed inside the door." The old person sighed heavily with worry for Chenchen.

"It's possible that the Talisman Paper was torn by Chenchen, but he probably doesn't have the Power to remove the wooden boards. Someone else living here did the damage," Han Fei suspected none of his neighbors were normal, so when pondering the issue, he immediately considered the worst-case scenario: "Has anything significant happened in this building recently?"

"I don't know," Granny shook her head, thought for a moment, and suddenly spoke up, "Right, I haven't seen the Building Chief in a long time. It feels like he is missing."

"The Building Chief?" Han Fei had heard this term more than once before: "Granny, who exactly is this Building Chief you all refer to?"

"He's one of the earliest residents of this building, over sixty years old, appearing very amiable and had good relations with some elder neighbors. However, as those elders left, the Building Chief's condition has increasingly deteriorated."

"How can anyone's condition not deteriorate living in a place like this?" Han Fei thought hard about Meng Shi's words, feeling like he might have seen the Building Chief that Meng Shi mentioned: "Granny, the Building Chief you mentioned, does he have all white hair, a black mole on his neck..."

"Yes! Where did you see him?" Granny was quite surprised.

"Really him?" The scattered clues in the Brain Sea slowly pieced together into a coherent line. The old person Han Fei was just talking about turned out to be the shopkeeper who had sold him the game helmet!

This old man was definitely not simple! Tomb Guardian was probably just one of his identities!

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Han Fei's brain worked quickly, but the information he had was still too sparse, "Granny, do you know where the Building Chief usually lives?"

"He lives in room 1101 on the tenth floor. Are you planning to find the Building Chief to save Chenchen?" Meng Shi's worried expression did not fade, "The corridor is not safe, and as soon as we go out, we might encounter 'Cry'."

Han Fei noted down the number 1101 as it was the most important clue he had gotten since he entered the game, "To get to room 1101 means going upstairs, but I'm only at level 2 now, the probability of reaching the tenth floor alive is too low. I can't be hasty, I need to play it steady and sure."

Looking at Meng Shi, Han Fei came up with an idea.

Chenchen was Meng Shi's most important family member, and now Chenchen was in danger. If Han Fei could save Chenchen, then Meng Shi should completely become a comrade he could trust.

Teaming up with a woman in her seventies—Han Fei would never have considered it before, but under the current circumstances, every bit of power was extremely precious.

Meng Shi had saved his life just now, so morally speaking, helping the old lady was a way of repaying her.

Moreover, the most critical point was that Han Fei didn't plan to enter the next room to look for Chenchen. What he wanted to do was to lure 'Cry' into the Haunted House on the fourth floor and solve the problem of 'Cry' once and for all.

Alternatively, even if the Monster Roommate didn't kill 'Cry', as long as it could hold 'Cry' off, he and the old lady would have time to look for Chenchen in the room on the third floor.

Furthermore, even if he couldn't find Chenchen, the fact that Han Fei was willing to risk his life to do these things should be enough to earn the old woman's trust.

As long as he could make the old woman trust him completely, he would have his very first true friend in this terrifying and dreadful Underworld apartment!

After much consideration, Han Fei finally made up his mind and decided to seize this rare opportunity.

Taking a deep breath, with a determination of facing death, Han Fei spoke to the old lady, "Granny, I have a plan that might be able to save Chenchen."

"What plan?" The old lady was somewhat anxious.

"I will act as the bait to lure 'Cry' upstairs, while you take the opportunity to check the opposite room. If Chenchen is in that room, take him out quickly."

"No! You're gambling with your own life! Absolutely not!" the old lady refused sternly.

"We can't just keep waiting here either," Han Fei voiced his true thoughts, "Here's what we'll do, we wait three hours, and if 'Cry' is still guarding the door after three hours, then we'll do as I said. I'll draw him away, and you go in the room to look for Chenchen. If 'Cry' leaves after three hours, then I'll go upstairs to ask other neighbors for help."

"But whether you distract 'Cry' or ask other neighbors for help, it's very dangerous. You could lose your life in an instant. Aren't you afraid?" Granny was very worried about Han Fei.

"Afraid, I'm very afraid, but there's no better way now." Han Fei's face showed determination, his fingers moved slightly chill, "Perhaps the courage when one is afraid is the real courage."

Seeing that Han Fei was truly scared to death and yet willing to take such a risk, the old lady was deeply touched.

At the same time, a cold voice in Han Fei's Brain Sea suddenly rang out, "Attention player number 0000! Meng Shi's friendliness has increased by ten, neighborly harmony is the first step to a Perfect Life."

"Attention player number 0000! A grade G hidden task 'Find Chenchen' has been triggered! Will you accept the task?"