Chapter 32: Tales Are All Deceptive
"Huang Ge, besides the Easter eggs left by the deceased founder, are there any other bizarre rumours in this game? I'm quite interested in those."
"If you're really curious, you can find plenty of them on any game forum, but most of them are just rumours," Huang Ying said disdainfully. "I came across a post before that analysed them as if they were true. It claimed that there are supernatural methods in the game. It listed several points, like entering the nighttime amusement park at midnight and opening the central room of the maze to see a door leading to another world. Or going alone to the Funeral Street in the early morning, where there's a chance of encountering talking paper figures. And there's even a possibility of encountering ghosts in the Room 444 chat room at 4 a.m. I play the game every night and chat in Room 444, but I've never seen a ghost!"
"Indeed, many of these tales are deceptive," Han Fei tried to maintain a plain expression.
"These rumours are obviously fake. There were even some rumours before that were so believable that many closed beta players were deceived. Like the existence of a deep-level world in the game or a dark version of Perfect Life."
"A deep-level world?"
"Do you remember the tester who massacred an entire neighbourhood? After he went insane, he kept claiming that he saw ghosts in the game and ended up in a place full of malevolent spirits. He even said that all the NPCs in the game had to be killed." Huang Ying looked puzzled. "Although there were cases of players killing NPCs during the initial testing phase, no one has been as crazy as him. Many closed beta players believed his words and started searching for the deep-level world."
"So, the deep-level world is a place full of malevolent spirits?"
"Could such a place exist in the game? Don't forget that Perfect Life is a game designed to heal human nature. Unless the game operators and developers themselves are unaware of its existence, they wouldn't allow such a dangerous element in the game." Huang Ying waved his hand. "As the game continues to be tested, fewer and fewer people believe in the existence of a deep-level world in Perfect Life."
"That makes sense. So, it was the tester's own problem?"
No one knows the exact reason, but maybe he suddenly experienced some kind of shock. Although he didn't commit any murders, his unconventional behaviour led the Citizen System to classify him as a moderate danger. He is currently locked up in the Critical Care Ward of the New Shanghai Mental Hospital for psychological correction."
"Critical Care Ward of the New Shanghai Mental Hospital." Han Fei noted down the location and decided not to continue the conversation on this topic. "Huang Ge, thank you for showing me around today. I have something to do, so I'll take my leave."
"Brother, I feel like we met each other at the perfect time. I haven't had such a refreshing conversation in a long time."
Huang Ying was talkative, but the people around him didn't seem willing to listen to him until Han Fei appeared.
To gather more information, Han Fei carefully considered every word Huang Ying said and responded accordingly. He was an excellent listener.
"Maybe it's because we share common interests. When Perfect Life enters open beta, we can meet in the game," Han Fei took out his phone and added Huang Ying's social account.
"Sure, I'll take you on the best-paying rare missions when the time comes. Let you see the skills of closed beta players." Huang Ying approached Han Fei and spoke when there was no one around. "During testing, I also discovered a hidden mission with a triggering probability of only one percent. When the game enters open beta, we can do it together."
"Hidden missions are rare?" Han Fei feigned ignorance about games.
"Of course! Hidden missions are usually only heard of in rumours. It's extremely lucky to encounter one, and you mustn't foolishly reveal that you know about hidden missions to others!"
"Alright, thanks, Huang Ge."
After leaving the game exhibition hall, Han Fei went directly to the New Shanghai Mental Hospital. From his perspective, it was highly likely that the tester had truly entered a world full of malevolent spirits.
He arrived at the mental hospital in a hurry but couldn't find any information about the tester, no matter how hard he tried.
He was even chased away by a nurse, and from the way she spoke, it seemed like there had been many people like him before, and they were no longer surprised.
Most of those who came to inquire were players of Perfect Life, just like Han Fei. They wanted to find the deep-level world through the tester, but unfortunately, they found nothing.
As night fell, Han Fei had no choice but to give up.
Alone, Han Fei went to a restaurant and enjoyed a good meal. After being nourished by the delicious food, he returned home to heal his "mind."
Although it had only been a few days, he had already overcome his initial anxiety and unease. The change in his mindset surprised even himself.
Reading books, studying, analysing case details, memorizing information about the victims, and exercising his body.
Late into the night, at midnight, Han Fei connected all the necessary cables, put on the game headset, and lay down on his bed.
"Welcome to Perfect Life. Now you can choose your own perfect life!"
As the crimson hue faded away, Han Fei opened his eyes to find complete darkness around him. He was sitting in a corner of a haunted house.
"The clock on the wall shows midnight. The time here is synchronized with reality."
Taking a deep breath, Han Fei was about to stand up from the floor when a cold system prompt echoed in his mind.
"Player with ID 0000, please note! The beginner protection period has ended! Beginner task 'Take a Bath' will be replaced soon! Player, decide carefully whether to permanently abandon the beginner task!"
"The beginner protection period has ended?" Han Fei listened to the voice in his mind, feeling completely bewildered. "I almost died several times, and you're telling me this is still the beginner protection phase? How dangerous will it be outside after the protection period?"
Before Han Fei could gather his thoughts, he heard a loud noise. He hurriedly got up and looked through a crack in the window. It seemed like a body had been thrown from the upper floor.
"What? Did they just dispose of a body like that?"
Han Fei didn't know what had happened upstairs, but he was certain it wasn't anything good.
"Player with ID 0000, please note! The beginner task will soon be replaced! Do you choose to permanently abandon the beginner task?"
The system's voice in his mind kept pressuring Han Fei to make a choice. He had no choice. The beginner task was at least within this room, but there was no guarantee for the replaced task. It might become much more difficult.
Seeing the beginner task gradually turning grey, Han Fei gritted his teeth and accepted two new beginner tasks simultaneously.
"Player with ID 0000, accepts G-rank beginner task 'Sleep'!"
"Note: After a failed beginner task, the task will not disappear, but the difficulty will increase slightly!"
"Task requirements: Turn off all lights in the room, lie on the bed within five minutes, and regardless of what happens, do not leave the bed for three hours."
"Player with ID 0000, accepts G-rank beginner task 'Take a Bath'!"
"Beginner task 'Take a Bath': Every time you take a bath at night, you feel like there is someone else in the room."
"Task requirements: Clean your body, face, and head using the in-game items before 4 a.m. The total cleaning time must not be less than twenty minutes."
"If you're really curious, you can find plenty of them on any game forum, but most of them are just rumours," Huang Ying said disdainfully. "I came across a post before that analysed them as if they were true. It claimed that there are supernatural methods in the game. It listed several points, like entering the nighttime amusement park at midnight and opening the central room of the maze to see a door leading to another world. Or going alone to the Funeral Street in the early morning, where there's a chance of encountering talking paper figures. And there's even a possibility of encountering ghosts in the Room 444 chat room at 4 a.m. I play the game every night and chat in Room 444, but I've never seen a ghost!"
"Indeed, many of these tales are deceptive," Han Fei tried to maintain a plain expression.
"These rumours are obviously fake. There were even some rumours before that were so believable that many closed beta players were deceived. Like the existence of a deep-level world in the game or a dark version of Perfect Life."
"A deep-level world?"
"Do you remember the tester who massacred an entire neighbourhood? After he went insane, he kept claiming that he saw ghosts in the game and ended up in a place full of malevolent spirits. He even said that all the NPCs in the game had to be killed." Huang Ying looked puzzled. "Although there were cases of players killing NPCs during the initial testing phase, no one has been as crazy as him. Many closed beta players believed his words and started searching for the deep-level world."
"So, the deep-level world is a place full of malevolent spirits?"
"Could such a place exist in the game? Don't forget that Perfect Life is a game designed to heal human nature. Unless the game operators and developers themselves are unaware of its existence, they wouldn't allow such a dangerous element in the game." Huang Ying waved his hand. "As the game continues to be tested, fewer and fewer people believe in the existence of a deep-level world in Perfect Life."
"That makes sense. So, it was the tester's own problem?"
No one knows the exact reason, but maybe he suddenly experienced some kind of shock. Although he didn't commit any murders, his unconventional behaviour led the Citizen System to classify him as a moderate danger. He is currently locked up in the Critical Care Ward of the New Shanghai Mental Hospital for psychological correction."
"Critical Care Ward of the New Shanghai Mental Hospital." Han Fei noted down the location and decided not to continue the conversation on this topic. "Huang Ge, thank you for showing me around today. I have something to do, so I'll take my leave."
"Brother, I feel like we met each other at the perfect time. I haven't had such a refreshing conversation in a long time."
Huang Ying was talkative, but the people around him didn't seem willing to listen to him until Han Fei appeared.
To gather more information, Han Fei carefully considered every word Huang Ying said and responded accordingly. He was an excellent listener.
"Maybe it's because we share common interests. When Perfect Life enters open beta, we can meet in the game," Han Fei took out his phone and added Huang Ying's social account.
"Sure, I'll take you on the best-paying rare missions when the time comes. Let you see the skills of closed beta players." Huang Ying approached Han Fei and spoke when there was no one around. "During testing, I also discovered a hidden mission with a triggering probability of only one percent. When the game enters open beta, we can do it together."
"Hidden missions are rare?" Han Fei feigned ignorance about games.
"Of course! Hidden missions are usually only heard of in rumours. It's extremely lucky to encounter one, and you mustn't foolishly reveal that you know about hidden missions to others!"
"Alright, thanks, Huang Ge."
After leaving the game exhibition hall, Han Fei went directly to the New Shanghai Mental Hospital. From his perspective, it was highly likely that the tester had truly entered a world full of malevolent spirits.
He arrived at the mental hospital in a hurry but couldn't find any information about the tester, no matter how hard he tried.
He was even chased away by a nurse, and from the way she spoke, it seemed like there had been many people like him before, and they were no longer surprised.
Most of those who came to inquire were players of Perfect Life, just like Han Fei. They wanted to find the deep-level world through the tester, but unfortunately, they found nothing.
As night fell, Han Fei had no choice but to give up.
Alone, Han Fei went to a restaurant and enjoyed a good meal. After being nourished by the delicious food, he returned home to heal his "mind."
Although it had only been a few days, he had already overcome his initial anxiety and unease. The change in his mindset surprised even himself.
Reading books, studying, analysing case details, memorizing information about the victims, and exercising his body.
Late into the night, at midnight, Han Fei connected all the necessary cables, put on the game headset, and lay down on his bed.
"Welcome to Perfect Life. Now you can choose your own perfect life!"
As the crimson hue faded away, Han Fei opened his eyes to find complete darkness around him. He was sitting in a corner of a haunted house.
"The clock on the wall shows midnight. The time here is synchronized with reality."
Taking a deep breath, Han Fei was about to stand up from the floor when a cold system prompt echoed in his mind.
"Player with ID 0000, please note! The beginner protection period has ended! Beginner task 'Take a Bath' will be replaced soon! Player, decide carefully whether to permanently abandon the beginner task!"
"The beginner protection period has ended?" Han Fei listened to the voice in his mind, feeling completely bewildered. "I almost died several times, and you're telling me this is still the beginner protection phase? How dangerous will it be outside after the protection period?"
Before Han Fei could gather his thoughts, he heard a loud noise. He hurriedly got up and looked through a crack in the window. It seemed like a body had been thrown from the upper floor.
"What? Did they just dispose of a body like that?"
Han Fei didn't know what had happened upstairs, but he was certain it wasn't anything good.
"Player with ID 0000, please note! The beginner task will soon be replaced! Do you choose to permanently abandon the beginner task?"
The system's voice in his mind kept pressuring Han Fei to make a choice. He had no choice. The beginner task was at least within this room, but there was no guarantee for the replaced task. It might become much more difficult.
Seeing the beginner task gradually turning grey, Han Fei gritted his teeth and accepted two new beginner tasks simultaneously.
"Player with ID 0000, accepts G-rank beginner task 'Sleep'!"
"Note: After a failed beginner task, the task will not disappear, but the difficulty will increase slightly!"
"Task requirements: Turn off all lights in the room, lie on the bed within five minutes, and regardless of what happens, do not leave the bed for three hours."
"Player with ID 0000, accepts G-rank beginner task 'Take a Bath'!"
"Beginner task 'Take a Bath': Every time you take a bath at night, you feel like there is someone else in the room."
"Task requirements: Clean your body, face, and head using the in-game items before 4 a.m. The total cleaning time must not be less than twenty minutes."
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