My Iyashikei Game

719 Maze

“Is this the destination?” From the outside, it was impossible to tell what kind of purpose these buildings served. They twined together like a person’s twisted heart.

“The maze?” Yan Yue’s mother could barely recognize the building. Compared to when she left, the maze had changed tremendously. It was like a newborn was injected with various scary things and slowly grew into a mutant. “This death game is to select the new Brain. The maze is the Brain’s territory, so it’s normal for this place to be the final address.”

“Wait. I think we’re being watched.” Qiang Wei suddenly spoke. He moved silently to Han Fei’s side. “My assistant has secretly collected F’s Blood. There’s a player who has the hidden profession of Blood Slave. He can identify the smell of blood. He just reminded me that F is already here. When he was closest, he was only less than 10 meters away.”

“I knew he would be here.” Han Fei didn’t enter the maze but turned to look at the costume shop beside the maze. To increase playability, the theme park provided free costumes for the players. Han Fei wasn’t interested in cosplaying. The real thing that caught his attention was a ranking hanging inside the shop. Other than the first three spots, the other ranking kept changing. Many names turned red when they got on the ranking, and then they disappeared.

“Is there a point ranking for the maze too?” There were many rankings around the theme park. The names on each ranking were different. Most rankings were provided for normal visitors. Only a small part was provided for the death game participants. Han Fei noticed that Lee Guo Er’s name was ranked first with 100 points. The 100 points were marked out in red as if worried that others couldn’t spot them.

The second place was F with 99 points. The third place was Han Fei with 99 points.

“Why is your name on the ranking too?” Qiang Wei asked softly. Lee Guo Er and Yan Yue’s mother were confused. Han Fei didn’t have the invitation. His points were all given to Lee Guo Er.

“When I saw the ranking earlier, your name didn’t appear on it. Could someone have taken your name?” Qiang Wei frowned. “But only other players will know your name. Could there be other things other than F hidden among the players?”

“There is more than one person called Han Fei in this world.” Han Fei looked at the ranking. Mad Laughter was, in a way, another Han Fei.

They had just slowed down when the visitors started to pay them attention. A man wearing the theme park uniform that was too small for him came out of the costume store. He was handsome and tall. The uniform was tight on him. “Don’t worry. I’m the worker here. If you need to rent some costumes, I can help you.”

“You better come back after you clean the blood on your clothes.” Qiang Wei and Worm placed their hands in their pockets to grab their weapons.

“Ah… How did you tell immediately that I’ve killed the original worker?” The man showed a sunny smile. “Actually, I’m a game participant too, but it’s too hard for me to gather 100 points, so I enter the theme park early and lay in ambush next to the ranking to see if I can kill the other participants.” The man was bright and honest. If not for the contents, he was quite a funny person.

“One more step and your head will leave your body.” Han Fei didn’t want to waste time or attract attention.

“Don’t be like that. I’ve stayed in ambush for a long time, so I’m familiar with all the changes here. If you allow me to join your group, I’m glad to share everything I know with you.” Before Han Fei could say anything, the man continued, “As you can see, the theme park is broken. The managers are all missing. Almost all the workers have been killed. However, even without the workers, the theme park is running like normal. Isn’t that amusing?”

He took one slow step towards Han Fei. “Do you think these murderous mad people are scary? Compared to the theme park, they are just naughty children. I’ve stayed here for a long time. I’ve seen fresh blood wet the rides, and I’ve seen visitors slowly turn into monsters. Do you see the merry go round over there? Once you take the ride, you’ll be stuck to the horses. You need to avoid the blades that appear above your head and under your feet, avoid the killing traps, and escape Malice, that disguises them as visitors. Only then you’d get a clue.”

“Clue? What clue?”

“A clue about a box, a black box everyone here is looking for.” The man shrugged. “Don’t you know anything? On the night the managers disappeared, mad cackles echoed in the theme park. The same message was broadcasted on the speakers-- the core of the theme park is a black box. The changes to the theme park are caused by the black box, so the first person to find the black box will become the theme park’s new owner.”

“You said it yourself. The broadcast happened on the night the managers disappeared, so the broadcast wasn’t made by the managers. It might not be real,” Worm pointed out.

“It doesn’t matter. It only matters that everyone thinks it’s real.” The man seemed to enjoy the chaos. “Do you hear the cries of madness? Even if the managers appear now, they will tear him into pieces. Everyone has gone insane. The whole city is gone. More people will gather here until the meat-processing machine is full!”

“He’s right. Truth is not important. The important part is people believe it. Once everyone believes it, lie will become truth.” Qiang Wei’s eyes were dark as he looked at Han Fei, asking for his opinion on how to deal with the man.

“Yes, that’s exactly right!” The man shouted. His voice attracted more people to gather their way.

“Shush!” Han Fei grabbed the man by his neck. He was used to dealing with crazy people. The more you entertained them, the more excited they’d be, so the best solution was to silence them. “We’ll enter the maze first.”

At that moment, there was a sudden thump. The ground also shook. Everyone turned to the source. The Ferris wheel in the middle of the theme park slowed down. The visitors inside the booths appeared to be in great pain. They slammed their heads against the glass.

“Look! Black flame!” Cracks appeared under the Ferris wheel. Thick blood vessels were exposed. The strangest thing was the flesh hidden underground was burning with endless black fire. The presence was stronger than Pure Hatred!

When Han Fei saw this, he was reminded of the scene he saw underneath Ziggurat. The shell Dream left behind after its metamorphosis was as large as a mountain. After the unmentionable completed the last transformation, they would always leave something behind. “That’s the secret under the theme park!” Upon closer inspection, it showed that the blood vessels were still pulsing. It was not yet fully dead.

“Could Fu Sheng have trapped a heavily-injured Unmentionable in his altar? Of course, this could be the thing he left behind after he became an Unmentionable.”

The distance between Pure Hatred and Large Lingering Spirit wasn’t huge, but the distance between Pure Hatred and Unmentionable was a gulf. Even just standing there, Han Fei could feel Xu Qin’s pain and uncertainty.

“I need to move faster.” The black flame from the giant carcass crawled up the Ferris view. The booths were consumed. Many visitors jumped in despair.

Compared to the other visitors, these were the lucky ones because they had a quick death. The visitors closest to the Ferris wheel melted in the black flame. Their soul and body became part of the Ferris wheel. The black flame was using the visitors’ lives to rebuild the theme park. The Ferris wheel was dyed red, the structure was rebuilt in bones, and the Ferris wheel became a giant eye. It slowly opened in the night!

Someone was whispering, but no one could hear it clearly.

“What kind of monster is that? I thought boss’ wives were scary enough, but this is even scarier!” Xiao Jia blurted out in shock.

“It looks like the managers are really in trouble, or else they wouldn’t allow this thing to appear.” Han Fei hadn’t seen Mad Laughter or any of the managers. He wanted to know what his trade details with Mad Laughter were. Why did Mad Laughter take away part of his memory when he left?

“I’m now at Stage 9. I’m one stage away from regaining my full memory. I need to find Mad Laughter.” While everyone was distracted by the Ferris wheel, Han Fei waved at the players. They split into two groups. One of them entered the maze, while the other went to explore Dream’s children's castle. They would communicate with Xiao Yu and her mother’s phones.

“The address on the invitation should point to one room, but there are many rooms inside the maze, and every room is connected to different places.” Yan Yue’s mother wanted to study the invitation, but Lee Guo Er wouldn’t give it to anyone but Han Fei. Yan Yue’s mother had to prove herself first.

“Are you sure this place can be called a maze?” Worm widened his eyes at the buildings that led underground. Behind every door was an individual memory space. Instead of calling it a maze, this place was more like a person’s brain. Every door was a memorable scene.

“The memory world is built on Fu Sheng’s memory. We’re basically walking in his brain. We need to find the most crucial key through his memories.” Han Fei didn’t finish the sentence. The black box that changed Fu Sheng’s life was probably in this maze too. Fu Sheng believed the black box could change everything, so in his memory world, the managers, Mad Laughter, F, and everyone was fighting for it.

“Counting the time, Fu Sheng has owned the black box for more than 50 years. He is also the inheritor chosen by the five managers. He should know plenty of things.” Based on the hints in the invitation, Lee Guo Er and Han Fei opened the first door. It was a very normal classroom. On the other side of the room were two doors, one in the front, the other at the back. The front door had a school back, and the backdoor had a human head.

“The route on the invitation points to the backdoor. So we have to pick the scary choice every time?” Lee Guo Er didn’t get it.

“No, we’re taking the choices taken by the altar owner.” Han Fei had accompanied Fu Sheng in his high school years. The school bag represented the studious Fu Sheng, while the human head represented the bullied and isolated Fu Sheng. “This is his life maze. Do I need to pick all the worst choices to see the black box in the depth of despair?”

Han Fei wanted to look around some more when Xiao Yu’s mother’s phone rang. The players outside said that someone was purposely directing the visitors to the maze!

“Is it F? Or Mad Laughter?”

Han Fei grabbed the school bag and then stuffed the human head inside the school bag, and entered the backdoor. The backdoor led to a bar. There was a white-tie mannequin worker. It was wearing a western suit, playing with a female mannequin on the couch. The door was beside the worker, but the invitation route was through the glass window.

Fu Sheng had seen his father drunk more than once. The door probably meant hope and optimism, and the window represented despair and surrender.

“Let’s go.” After leaping through the window, they arrived at a living room. Han Fei was shocked because this was Fu Sheng’s former house. He had spent a memorable time here too.

“There are three doors. They lead to the parent’s bedroom, the children’s bedroom, and the kitchen…” Lee Guo Er was finding the route on the invitation when Han Fei walked to the middle of the living room. He slowly approached the parent’s bedroom door and stared at it.

“Has she been here?” There was a small line carved on the bottom of the door—I will help you find yourself. This maze hides not only him but also you

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