Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Ms. Zhao did not answer Yu Lingling’s question.
Yu Lingling did not mind. She was not particularly curious about such things. She had merely inferred from Xiao Yi’s request that although he was an outsider, there had to be certain conditions that allowed him to possess one of the residents.
Judging by the usual conventions of the horror movies Yu Lingling had seen, this normally involved fulfilling a ghost’s final wish.
That meant Xiao Yi might also need to fulfill the boy’s wish.
But what was the boy’s wish?
Based on what the boy had experienced, there were only a few possibilities.
His enemies or his family.
Yu Lingling had already dealt with the people who had hurt him. If revenge was his wish, Xiao Yi would not have asked to see the boy’s parents.
That made it far more likely that his wish involved his family.
Before coming up here, Yu Lingling had asked the little doll to reassemble the makeshift setup and let Xiao Yi enter. Since he could not leave the fourth floor, seeing them through the mirror ought to count as fulfilling the wish.
But what if it was something else?
The boy was obsessed with finding out whether his parents had loved him.
As long as she did not have to take any risks or put in any real effort, Yu Lingling did not mind asking. It was only a question, after all.
Ms. Zhao’s expression grew increasingly twisted as deep, bone-revealing wounds appeared across her body one after another. “Leave.”
Although Ms. Zhao was not looking at Yu Lingling, Yu Lingling knew those words were directed at her.
She did not ask anything else. Without hesitation, she took her female ghost with her and climbed down the ladder. The moment she stepped into the fourth-floor corridor, the female ghost disappeared.
The door to the room Xiao Yi was in opened. He sat in his wheelchair, silently gazing outside.
When he saw that Yu Lingling had made it down safely, Xiao Yi gave her a small nod in greeting. Although they were collaborators, neither of them said a word at that moment.
The sound of heavy footsteps approached, and both Yu Lingling and Xiao Yi turned toward it.
Brother B had found a black garbage bag somewhere. It was not large enough to hold everything inside, and a human leg bone jutted out of it. His steps faltered when he saw Yu Lingling and the motionless anomaly at the doorway.
Yu Lingling said, “Brother Knife is unconscious in this room. I couldn’t get him out.”
Brother B never considered that the anomaly might be one of the players. His preconceived assumption was that only four players had entered.
After hearing Yu Lingling’s explanation, Brother B assumed that the wheelchair-bound anomaly was preventing her from entering the room and bringing Brother Knife out.
As for why the anomaly had not moved, the answer was obvious: Brother Knife was not dead yet. Whatever was strange about Brother Knife was most likely connected to the anomaly.
As long as Brother Knife remained alive, they would be safe even when facing the Wheelchair-Bound Boy, the Teenage Anomaly.
Yu Lingling looked at what Brother B was carrying. “According to a new clue I found, the person in the West Unit… might have dug up what was buried and eaten it. Did you notice any bite marks on the bones or anything like that?”
Brother B had not considered that possibility before. He also wanted to test how the Wheelchair-Bound Boy, the Teenage Anomaly, would react upon seeing his father’s remains. He set the black garbage bag on the floor and laid out its contents.
“I didn’t notice any bite marks, but even after searching for a long time, I still couldn’t find all of the bones. Some are missing.”
Yu Lingling took out her battered flashlight and shone it over the pile of bones.
The moment Xiao Yi saw the remains, he knew his guess had been correct. The lingering obsession he needed to resolve for the Teenage Anomaly was to see his parents again.
With that obsession fulfilled, Xiao Yi breathed an inward sigh of relief. A reliable collaborator truly was invaluable.
Yu Lingling did not touch the remains directly. Instead, she used the black garbage bag as a barrier and nudged the bones around.
From what Brother B observed, whenever Yu Lingling touched the remains, she was also watching the Teenage Anomaly – the Wheelchair-Bound Boy.
After exchanging a glance with Yu Lingling, Brother B gathered the remains back up.
Yu Lingling said bluntly, “My guess is that we should throw them straight onto the rooftop. Since this is Happy Family, the husband and wife must be reunited.”
Brother B understood what she was implying. The boy’s mother was on the rooftop. But when he looked at the Teenage Anomaly again, he couldn’t help wondering: if they were supposed to be a Happy Family, how could they leave one member out?
Had Yu Lingling discovered something she couldn’t say outright?
After considering it, Brother B chose to trust her judgment – not because he trusted Yu Lingling herself, but because their interests were aligned.
Brother B picked up the black plastic bag.
Yu Lingling warned him, “It’d be best to toss it up there and leave immediately.”
Brother B nodded. Rather than approach the rooftop, he spat out his gum, stretched it into a long strand, and wound it around the bag’s handles. Then he gave it a hard swing.
The black plastic bag sailed onto the rooftop. The instant it landed, the strand of gum in Brother B’s hand snapped. Neither of them said a word. As if by prior agreement, they turned and sprinted downstairs.
As for Brother Knife, he was neither family nor friend, and he no longer had any value to them. Neither of them would risk their lives for him.
What Brother B failed to notice was that as they descended, Yu Lingling exchanged a glance with Xiao Yi.
Before Yu Lingling and Brother B had even reached the third floor, the entire building began to shake.
The overwhelming wave of resentment made Brother B stumble and nearly fall. He sped up. “What the fuck? Did the couple turn against each other?”
Yu Lingling caught the scent of fried stinky tofu. It smelled a little like the kind sold outside her school – the kind her brother never let her eat. Her nose twitched, but in the end, she put on her hat and tugged it low.
Damn it. This anomaly was crafty, all right.
Yu Lingling had already used the Invitation Letter to trick all the anomalies into gathering at the Westernmost Unit on the First Floor, so she and Brother B encountered no resistance as they fled downstairs.
The third floor was too close to the fourth, and Brother B was worried about being caught in the fallout. He didn’t stop there, but he hesitated between the second and first floors.
There was an unknown anomaly in the second-floor bathroom, while all the others were gathered on the first floor.
“First floor,” Yu Lingling said without hesitation.
Brother B kept moving. “Give me one reason.”
Yu Lingling’s voice was cold. “I’m choosing the first floor. Do whatever you want.”
At the second floor, Brother B paused and stepped aside. Yu Lingling raced past him without hesitation, heading straight down to the first floor.
Brother B glanced toward the second floor, then down toward the first. In the end, he followed Yu Lingling.
Yu Lingling had been the one to discover the yellow kraft-paper diary. Perhaps she had found other clues as well.
Even so, Brother B didn’t completely trust her. Yu Lingling now counted as a user on the first floor. Under the instance’s rules, she had fulfilled the resident’s request, so she was temporarily safe inside the first-floor unit.
Brother B’s own room, however, was on the third floor.
Only after reaching the first floor did Yu Lingling and Brother B stop.
The atmosphere there was eerie. The resentment in the air was chaotic, and the stench was even worse.
Yu Lingling moved ahead of Brother B and headed straight toward the Westernmost Unit on the First Floor without hesitation.
Chewing a fresh piece of gum, Brother B said, “I have a question.”
Yu Lingling stopped and turned to face him. “What a coincidence. So do I.”
Brother B raised an eyebrow. “I respect the elderly and look after the young. You go first.”
Yu Lingling didn’t stand on ceremony. “Is your face so square because you chew too much gum?”