A cold mechanical synthesized voice rang in his mind, but Han Fei was not distracted by it, his whole attention was on the TV screen.
The eerie animation hadn't finished yet, and on the screen, the monster made of human bodies still stood behind the couch.
The little man had been dismembered, and blood was everywhere in the room, but the monster seemed even more agonized after the massacre.
Beneath the cracked skin, several faces bit and tore at each other, and the semblance of humanity that Wei Youfu and Amay had just regained seemed about to dissipate again.
Han Fei didn't know what would happen next, but he was certain that he had not been dragged away by the monster solely because Wei Youfu and Amay had influenced it.
If the two faces representing Wei Youfu and Amay were injured, or lost their sanity again, he would still face the threat of death next time.
"People who died in reality appear in the game, I'm not sure about their current state, but one thing is certain—they still retain some of their previous memories, at least Wei Youfu and Amay can understand my words."
Looking at the suffering monster on TV, Han Fei resisted the impulse to turn his head and whispered, "Your life should've been happy and joyful, but it was ruined by that psychopathic murderer, so do you want revenge?"
What Han Fei said was actually redundant, merely summarizing the monster's behavior in words, but this statement could narrow the distance between Han Fei and the monster, and appropriately redirect the hatred.
The cause of all the tragedies was not the innocent Han Fei, nor the fellow victims Wei Youfu and Amay, but the person who killed them.
Although Han Fei didn't study psychology, he had seen a psychiatrist several times due to severe social anxiety. He clearly remembered a saying posted on the wall of one doctor's office—"Set aside your own world and accept the world of others."
To comfort those who have suffered, you should not limit the definition of suffering to what you can understand.
Because you haven't suffered it yourself, don't try to communicate using your own way of thinking. A good psychologist at this moment would patiently listen.
Han Fei himself didn't understand this theory; he just felt more comfortable when the doctor acted this way during their sessions, so now he positioned himself as that doctor.
In the haunted house at past three in the morning, next to the ghost made of assembled human bodies, he chose to be a listener with his back to the monster.
He couldn't see the monster's ugly and terrifying appearance, and he could only hear its painful voice.
"You must have been here for a long time..."
Han Fei recalled the speaking technique of the doctor in his mind, providing the most heartfelt comfort based on the other's mental activity.
Gradually, the animation on the TV screen changed.
The two faces representing Wei Youfu and Amay on the monster stopped resisting; Han Fei's words seemed to have moved them, adding a hint of humanity to their originally horrific faces.Seeing this from Wei Youfu and Amay, the remaining faces became even more hysterical, as if they were about to inflict the pain and despair originally aimed at Han Fei onto Wei Youfu and Amay.
Those faces simply wouldn't listen to Han Fei; their pain seemed far deeper than that of the initial two victims.
"The later the death time of the victims, the greater the pain they bear? What exactly did the murderer of the Human-body Puzzle case do to them?"
The animation on TV must represent what happened in reality, and watching Wei Youfu and Amay about to be torn apart, Han Fei knew he couldn't let this continue.
The two victims, having barely regained a trace of their humanity after hearing his words, presented a pivotal moment of change.
If he had let them be devoured by other victims, he might next be facing an even crazier Monster — one that perhaps wouldn't care about cannibalizing its own kind!
Rising slowly, Han Fei had completed his beginner task and could leave the game at any time, so now he was at his bravest.
"You two saved me once; I won't just leave you behind and go off on my own."
"If the other victims want to vent their anger, I'll just find them a target."
Quickly walking to the living room door, as Han Fei moved, the Monster did too, and the other five faces were not prepared to let Han Fei go. Their pain and despair had twisted them.
Smelling the faint scent of blood in the air, Han Fei knew the neighbors at the door were still around. "If the sixth-floor neighbor doesn't plan on harming me, then I will communicate with him well to figure out a way to control the Monster in the Haunted House. If he harbors any intent to kill me, then I'll have to lure him inside to become a target for the victims' anger."
Wei Youfu and Amay were almost devoured and the Monster was growing increasingly uncontrollable. Han Fei dared not waste time. He grabbed the security door and yanked it open!
In the moment the door swung open, a sharp dagger thrust through the crack.
Having prepared himself, Han Fei narrowly avoided it.
The neighbor outside seemed aware that there was something wrong with this house and had no plans to venture deeper into the Haunted House. Seeing this, Han Fei, in the moment the neighbor withdrew the dagger, grabbed the neighbor's arm wielding the dagger with both hands, pulling with all his might to drag him inside!
"Bang!"
The two fell to the ground. The sixth-floor neighbor seemed to sense something and quickly got up, but Han Fei was faster and more decisive.
He didn't run away or touch the doorknob; instead, Han Fei rammed his body against the door, slamming the security door shut!
He had locked both himself and the sixth-floor neighbor inside the house.
The dim glow of the television reflected on their faces. The neighbor from upstairs, who initially seemed crazed and obsessed with blood, now appeared to have sobered up.
Inside the Haunted House, a new intruder arrived, and all those despairing faces turned toward the neighbor from upstairs. This time, Wei Youfu and Amay did not intervene.
A massive dark shadow covered the room as the Monster, tormented by despair and pain, charged from the living room.
The upstairs neighbor was quick to react, reaching for the doorknob. However, Han Fei harshly knocked him down.
The two crashed to the floor together, the frenzied neighbor's eyes bloodshot, glaring deathly at Han Fei. The obsession with blood was gone from his face, replaced only by anger and confusion, as if his gaze was asking — Do you really want us to die together that badly?
The Monster, driven mad by despair and pain, had grabbed the neighbor. In the darkness, it seemed as though numerous arms were lurking.
The neighbor struggled desperately, cursing Han Fei with the vilest language.
As he watched the neighbor being slowly dragged deeper into the room, Han Fei squeezed out an unsightly expression towards the neighbor upstairs, "Welcome to the warm, happy family."