Chapter 27: The Gradually Emerging Truth

"I've never told anyone this secret; it might be the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life."

Meng Shi unlocked the bedroom door and led Han Fei inside.

The bedroom wasn't large. It had a single bed, and on the other side of the bed stood a huge freezer, covered with a thick black cloth.

The lighting was dim, and the bedroom curtains were nailed to the wall, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.

"I once told you a story about a woman who adopted three children. In fact, that woman is me." Guilt and unease had tormented the elderly woman until she experienced a life-and-death crisis and decided to reveal the truth, "That day, I secretly followed them to the outskirts and watched the three brothers wrestle beside a corpse, listening to their insults. It was then I understood that their harmony was just a performance for my sake."

The old woman's bony hands grabbed the black cloth on the freezer. "The youngest started displaying abnormal behavior quite early. He went from burning ants and catching earthworms to tormenting stray cats and dogs. He seemed unable to vent his emotions like a normal person, only able to stimulate himself with certain behaviors."

"The eldest and the second eldest were both aware of the youngest's abnormalities. They didn't want me to worry, so they secretly sought him out many times."

"The eldest found a psychologist for the youngest who was still in school, and the second eldest helped with the aftermath. The two brothers always gave the youngest opportunities, but mere preaching couldn't change him."

"Until that day, a tragedy occurred, and the youngest killed a homeless man residing in a deserted villa."

"The second eldest was the first to notice the problem. He was accustomed to cleaning up his brother's messes, but when he discovered it was a human body, he was completely stunned."

"The second eldest cursed the youngest as a devil, saying someone like him shouldn't exist in this world."

"Kneeling in front of the corpse, the youngest didn't show much remorse. He even excitedly told the second eldest that he would soon prove he wasn't sick, claiming he had found the butterfly deep in his Brain Sea. As long as he found that butterfly, he felt death would be worth it."

As the old woman recounted the events, her voice began to tremble, and she silently lifted the black cloth off the freezer.

"A butterfly deep in the Brain Sea? Did the youngest suffer from a mental illness? Did he have hallucinations?" Han Fei vaguely felt that things were not so simple.

"The youngest always said there was a butterfly in his brain, which he could sense but never find. That butterfly led him forward, and every time its wings beat, he felt an uncontrollable urge to kill. As the urge to kill grew stronger, he would come closer to the butterfly, claiming it possessed the most beautiful colors in the world." The old woman struggled to open the freezer as a blast of cold air escaped.

Han Fei looked inside the freezer, where books rotted away.

"Granny, why do you keep books in the fridge?"

The old woman didn't answer; she reached out and took a book from the refrigerator, revealing the frozen human face beneath: "All these books belong to the third son, and the person beneath them was killed by him."

Setting the book in her hand aside, the old woman knelt next to the freezer: "That day, I watched the three brothers fight and hurt each other, and my heart was in immense pain. I felt that it was all my fault."

Guilt, self-blame, pain, the old woman's voice gradually became weaker: "I rushed to stop them; when they saw me, all three children were surprised, and the third son, who had always been talking back to his brother, lowered his head."

"I persuaded the third son to turn himself in, the eldest and the second also decided to call the police; throughout the process, the third son didn't say a word until in the end, he told us something. Another person had incited him to commit the murders."

"He couldn't tell us who that person was; he said that knowing the name would put everyone's life in danger. He also mentioned that soon there would be a series of murders in the Old City District and it was all for finding the Butterfly in the Brain Sea."

"As family, we wanted to believe the third son, but no matter what, murder cannot be forgiven. In the end, the eldest and the second brother decided to give the third son a week to prove the existence of that person."

"The abandoned villa in the suburbs was home to many vagrants and scavengers, as well as fugitives and undocumented residents; hiding a body there was likely to be discovered. We transported it to the freezer using a refrigerated truck."

"What happened afterwards is a bit unclear to me; my memory seems to be missing a piece. All I remember is that all three children left me, and I've been guarding this body, waiting for the third son to return and confess."

The old woman still didn't remember that she had died, and her condition was very likely to be the game's mischief.

"The third son said someone incited him to murder and that soon there would be a series of homicides in the Old City District; he seems to have predicted the Human-body Puzzle case!" Han Fei knew the three brothers were still alive, and something must have happened to them again.

"I feel like all three brothers are in danger now." Han Fei shifted his gaze and unintentionally saw the book that had once been covering the face of the deceased. The book was called "Soul's Butterfly," written by one of the founding figures of last century's nerve research, and the cover of the book bore this sentence,

"Just as an entomologist is enchanted by chasing colorful and beautiful butterflies, I am deeply attracted to the Garden of the Grey Matter. There, one finds delicately shaped and elegant cells, and the enigmatic Soul's Butterfly. Who knows? Perhaps one day, with a single flap of its wings, it will lift the veil on the mysteries of the spirit world. — Ramon Cajal"

"Soul's Butterfly? After I log into the game, could my thoughts and soul step on that Butterfly, and then fly through the Underworld?"

Han Fei knew nothing about the game yet; he was still merely in the most basic stage of survival. Thinking too much now was of no use; the priority was to keep leveling up.

"Granny, if the third son has killed, then he must be punished. By protecting him, you are only turning him into a monster, neither human nor ghost, and in the future, more people will suffer by his hand." Han Fei closed the freezer, having decided to bring the third son to justice in the real world; perhaps this would also be a kind of release for the old woman.

"The deceased have lost their lives, and the murderers have evaded punishment; no matter the reason, this is unjust in my eyes." Han Fei's friendship with Meng Shi had reached a very high level, so he wasn't worried that Meng Shi would lower her friendship due to his words: "This freezer seems to be sealing away a corpse, but in fact, it is sealing away the happiness and joys of several generations of your family. I think you should let go."

Looking at the old woman kneeling beside the freezer, Han Fei's thoughts drifted back to the tenant of the Haunted House, his eyes gradually growing distant.

"In this game called Perfect Life, it seems no life is truly perfect."