"The mission required me to kill Lin Lu, so why does a wish in the name of ’Love’ require killing the last bits of goodness?"
"And what exactly is the ’right time’?"
To be honest, Han Fei didn’t want to take action. The Master of Shrine was already in a miserable state, and he couldn’t bear to destroy the last bit of goodness inside his heart.
"If I don’t do this mission, will it affect my inheritance of the Shrine?"
After surviving for a few days in the Master of Shrine’s Memory World, Han Fei finally realized how difficult it was to inherit an ownerless Shrine.
The bus sped through the night, and after Lin Lu left, the temperature inside began to drop again. However, Han Fei and his companions were about to reach their stop.
If it weren’t for Lin Lu getting on the bus, which caused the temperature inside to rise and all the passengers to normalize, Han Fei and the others certainly wouldn’t have lasted until the end.
This also seemed to reflect the Master of Shrine’s situation at the time; he lingered between life and death but ultimately got through it.
"Perhaps the moment he first saw the Shrine, someone had already sabotaged him, he just hadn’t realized it yet."
Before the temperature inside the bus dropped to freezing, the bus finally arrived at the Department Store, and Han Fei and his two companions hurriedly got off.
"I’m never taking the last bus again," Li Hu silently vowed, his gaze inadvertently always drifting towards his brother. Li Long’s face still hadn’t returned to normal, and the Death Intent between his brows was growing thicker, "Bro, are you okay?"
"I’m fine, you go back with me first. We’ll pack up our things," Han Fei had described an organization as terrifying. Fearing retaliation from the organization, Li Long decided to immediately go home, pack his belongings, and then move to a safer place.
The two brothers quickly disappeared into the night, while Han Fei glanced at the giant clock outside the store. He didn’t head home but walked directly towards the Department Store.
It was time to start work.
Entering through Gate C of the store, the security booth at the door was empty, and it was much darker inside the store than usual.
In the entire Department Store, apart from the four glittering words at the top — Department Store, only a faint light could be seen coming from the Secondhand Store.
Dragging his injured leg, Han Fei leaned against the store door and peered inside, where Pei Yang was sitting behind the counter playing on his phone.
As Han Fei entered the store, the system’s voice also rang out.
"Player number 0000, please note! Your current hunger level is ten, physical condition is poor, mental state is slightly down, mood value is fifty, do you wish to start work today?"
Ding dong, ding dong...
Hearing someone entering the store, Pei Yang quickly put away his phone. But when he realized it was Han Fei, he immediately relaxed, "You scared me, I thought it was the Boss coming over."
"Is it just you alone in the store?"
"What else? Huang Li is unconscious, I called you but you didn’t pick up. I had to watch the store alone, luckily there weren’t many customers today." After completing that game, Pei Yang came out from behind the counter, "Damn! What happened to you? Were you in a car accident?"
"I took a fall," Han Fei stared at Pei Yang, trying to read something from Pei Yang’s expression, but unfortunately, Pei Yang seemed like a lamb awaiting slaughter, seemingly without any intention of resisting despite knowing the Secondhand Store was dangerous.
"Brother, you really need to be careful these days. Now, it’s just the two of us employees left." Pei Yang took his coat and handed the day’s ledger to Han Fei, "I’ve checked the accounts; just watch the store tonight."
For once, Pei Yang was diligent. He stretched and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something else, "Oh, and it seems like the Department Store security guards didn’t come to work, and I can’t get through to Zhu Wei’s phone. Be extra careful, it looks like you’re the only one here tonight."
Making a face, then Pei Yang pointed to a coffee next to the counter, "I ordered two cups for delivery; that one is for you. Bye."
Pei Yang put on his coat and left, fading away with the ding-dong sound.
"Neither security guard came to work? Did they all die?" Looking outside through the window glass, Han Fei saw the vast department store resembling a black ocean, his little shop sinking in the deep sea.
Although Han Fei deeply wished the store owner would die, he still began his work for the night very seriously.
Checking the shelves, comparing various goods, verifying the bills, inputting all data into the computer.
If he hadn’t chosen to be a comedian initially, a man as dedicated as this would probably have become an elite in his field by now.
Soon, Han Fei had checked all the shelves, and he found that although Pei Yang had organized the accounts, the missing stock had not been replenished.
"Is he too scared to go into the basement storeroom to fetch the goods?"
Han Fei was also very reluctant about the basement storeroom; he lingered at the entrance for a long time until suddenly he saw clean bloodstains appear on the floor, seeming to flow from his own stomach.
"Did the Master of Shrine go into the basement storeroom after sustaining such severe injuries?"
Opening the panel, Han Fei followed the trail of blood from his left eye into the storeroom, ending up at a shrine covered with a black cloth.
"Open it. It’s the only thing that can save you now. Why are you hesitating?" It was as though his right ear was submerged in river water, and amidst the cold flow, a stranger’s voice emerged.
His left hand slowly lifted, but just as it was about to touch the black cloth, Han Fei’s hand stopped.
"The only one who can save me is myself."
All the painful memories were gathered here, where no one could escape, and it would only bring about even more painful events.
His hand ultimately landed on a tool hammer next to the black cloth; his fingers gripped the handle, "You schemed to strip away his kindness, are you afraid that a kind-hearted him, upon learning the truth, will destroy the omnipotent you?"
Though the shrine was covered with a black cloth, the vague outline of a person appeared beneath, silently watching Han Fei.
"Psychotic people like to destroy beautiful things bit by bit; it satisfies them. But I’m different. I like to destroy filthy evils, allowing me to clear feeling that I am still alive." Han Fei shook the tool hammer in his hand, "I truly wanted your recognition, but I don’t plan to become the person you want me to be."
There was always an old tool hammer next to the shrine, but it was only today that Han Fei realized one thing, his left eye could not see this hammer.
Meaning, the hammer hadn’t actually appeared in the Master of Shrine’s memories, but was a fantasy conjured in the subconscious of the Master of Shrine, much like Lin Lu represented love and beauty, and this tool hammer placed next to the shrine represented the Master of Shrine’s unwillingness.
Even if he had become a puppet of the devil, even if he had lost all humanity and kindness, even if he had become an unspeakable existence, the choices he regretted most still lay next to the shrine deep in his memory.