Thriller Paradise

"But… you can't open that door yourself…" Feng Bujue said, "it has to be opened by Leicester."

"Who are you…" The director said darkly, "I've met traveller from another world before, but… you are not a normal character."

"Hmph… even a normal person will be able to see through your ploy." Feng Bujue smiled. "Perhaps it was because of my overthinking that I've missed some details…" He pointed at his nose. "I should have noticed the 'smell' on you much earlier."

"What you talking about?" The director asked.

"You still don't get it?" Feng Bujue asked. "Hah… then again, I'm not surprised… like how many does not know they have a smelly breath, you do not realize there is a dirty copper smell that radiates from you." He paused before continuing. "Actually… when I came out from the elevator, I've already sniffed it in the air but due to the heavy scent of the disinfectant around the hospital, it covered up the copper smell from your body nicely."

At this point, Feng Bujue moved forward towards the office table. "For now, it seems that the influence you can have on the first and second floors is very limited because there are many things that you are afraid of these… like that little girl in 'Room 125'." He paused, wagged his finger before pointing it at the man's face. "Therefore… you chose to hide here and used misdirection to lead me to fall into your trap." He paused as if trying to remember some details. "But… the chance for you to mimic the system announcement… does not present themselves that often." Five seconds later, Brother Jue was done with his memorization and started his analysis. "First, you cannot temper with the hint about the quests, after all you cannot correct the content of my quest tab; second, the system will provide announcements like, 'can't be opened' or 'seems to be locked' so you have no place to chime in. Therefore… you could only input your misdirection at situation when 'there is no actual change to the quest' or 'there is not supposed to be any system announcement'."

Brother Jue raised four fingers. "The first time was when I entered the scenario. If I am not wrong… the real introduction was only the various images that flashed on screen, there was not supposed to be any narration… and so naturally it was you who added them."

He put down one finger and continued, "The second time was when I prepared to enter the paediatric clinic, you added this announcement, 'The way ahead is covered in a dangerous fog of darkness, do you really want to enter it?' Now that I think about it… the timing and the content of that hint appeared at the wrong time. Unfortunately, at the time, it did not cross my mind that someone could temper and mimic the system announcement." He shook his head like he was disappointed in himself. "Actually… you could have gone down that area without a flashlight. Even though the alley was dark but every room had weak light in them. It was possible to enter it even through the darkness. But… if I enter it directly, it would be much difficult to find those two halves of the x ray film. And I would have to bring them out to the brighter corridor to see the code on them clearly.

"In any case, the purpose you have intervened this second time is for me to go and find lighting equipment… In other words, it was to lead me to the security room. Of course, the things in the locker are all usable but none of them are truly necessary. Theoretically speaking, the only two quests that I have to 'complete' in this scenario are the only by Mr Harbert and Victor, I can ignore the other quests and their related rewards. So why would you lead me to a location that I did not need to go? The reason is simple… you have planted something inside the locket… and that was the 'spare key'." He laughed. "Adding a remark like 'A spare copy of a key that Leicester made without telling anyone' was a great psychological hint. It made it feel like the room that correspond to this key will be absolutely safe because Leicester was desperate enough to get through it to have made a copy of the key on the side. That was a great… misdirection for the door that I would have encountered on the corridor."

He licked his lips and put down his third finger. "And the third time you mimicked the system voice was earlier… and hmph… we both know how that ended." He titled his head and said rather proudly. "But… the false will remain false. The route that you pinpointed for me ultimately conflicted with the quest given to me by the system. Seeing as your own plan was turning into dust, you were pushed to desperation and added two additional statements. And that caused you… to completely expose yourself."

The director pulled down the gold-rimmed glassed, placed it on the table. He looked into Brother Jue's eyes and said, "You listed three examples so why did you raise the four fingers?" Hearing that, Feng Bujue turned his hand 180 degree around and used the back of his hand to face the man. The middle finger that was left standing, well, you could understand what that meant.

"Bastard…" The director stood up with gritted teeth. "Don't think you have won… traveler from another world…" His face was twitching madly. "You have no idea what is happening here… Your action… will only kill Leicester."

"I personally believe.." Feng Bujue continued calmly, "This should be some special space between the living and the dead world." He thought for a second. "For the sake of convenience, let's call it the 'gap'." At this point, he put down his middle finger. "If there's no accident, the hospital in the real life has already been buried under the avalanche that happened 29 hours ago." He lifted his hand to point at the director's nose. "Obviously, you are that 'greedy person' that the little girl mentioned… to save cost, you bullied your way into the purchase of this 'desecrated land'. Needless to say the construction of the hospital would have some missing holes in it as well." He opened his arms. "Once the avalanche came, the hospital wouldn't have held the impact and it crumbled easily…" He pointed at him. "Only one person would have survived. The one who was always tardy… Because he was buried in the snow before he even walked into the hospital.

"But… this is a cursed land, it's not that easy to leave." Feng Bujue's expression shifted. "All earth-bound spirits have an instinct which is to drag all living creatures down with them as company…."

"Yes… you are not wrong…" The director admitted. "Currently Leicester's body is freezing out in the snow and his soul is trapped in this 'gap'." He looked at Brother Jue strangely. "The closer your consciousness is to the 'living' world, the sharper the pain will be; and the closer Leicester is to death, the greater the influence the ghosts will have on you." He paused before saying, "Sooner or later… without me having to do anything, you will be torn into pieces by the spirits here, unless…"

"Ha! Unless I walk through that door?" Feng Bujue interrupted with a laugh. "Mr. Director, I will tell you now, your plan of trading souls into a living body will never world." He scoffed. "I know what you're planning. You wish for Leicester to open your 'door to life' and then use his body to return to the living world, right… Hmph… Indeed, it is a great plan, one that kills two birds with one stone. You would have escaped from death and Leicester would take your fall into death. After you gain his body, you will have regained another chance at life."

The director's coppery face was turning green and purple. He was at his wit's end. He might explode at any moment. But Feng Bujue… was the kind who would kick someone when he's done. He would never show mercy to those that he hated. "You are truly a person rotten to your core. Right after death, you turn straight into a spectre, and became much stronger than others who died in the avalanche…

"take the count and Victor as example… they are like most of the spirits that just died. They have not realized they're dead, even though their spirits are much stronger than normal spirits but that is all.

"But you're different… once you died, you gained a power close to a set of unique data. Based on my observation… give you enough time, you might reach the height of Mr. Krueger one day."

By then Feng Bujue was standing before the office table. He looked challengingly into the man's eyes. "Keeping you around will only cause me trouble in the future…"