Chapter 108
Chapter 108
The Pregnant Woman’s smile frightened Brother Wang. He did not know what he had said wrong, but his instincts screamed danger.
His heartbeat quickened, and tinnitus made his head spin. Yet nothing happened. The Pregnant Woman stopped looking at him.
As an experienced player, Brother Wang did not relax so easily. He remained fully alert for whatever might come.
Cheng Miao knew they could not keep letting the Pregnant Woman control the conversation. They had been there for some time and learned nothing.
“Do you know Shen Xin?” Everyone else wanted to ask, but fear of a taboo had kept them silent.
Cheng Miao not only asked, she stared directly at the Pregnant Woman, plainly refusing to let the matter drop.
The Pregnant Woman acted as if she had heard nothing. She picked up the remote. “Let’s watch television. There isn’t much to do in this building. The neighbors often visit one another to watch something and chat.”
Cheng Miao’s heart sank. The rules forbade her from speaking, so they needed another route.
The Pregnant Woman flipped past advertisements until she found the only news channel, then stopped and drank her tea.
The report showed a man abusing his wife. She had called the police, and the dispute had reached the station.
The Pregnant Woman tilted her head and curled her lip. “You shouldn’t air the family’s dirty laundry. That woman is so inconsiderate.”
Little Red flushed as if struck. She wanted to speak, but fear of attracting attention left her restless and silent.
Cheng Miao commented casually, “That’s not how I see it. What kind of man hits a woman? Domestic violence is grounds for divorce, and serious cases can lead to prison. After all this, can they even be called family?”
Hearing Cheng Miao say what she had wanted to, Little Red released some of the anger in her chest. She glanced up at Cheng Miao, then lowered her head again.
The Pregnant Woman frowned and adopted an instructive tone. “Little sister, you’re young. A man is the sky over his household. Whatever he tells you to do is only right. A little hitting is nothing. The woman should consider what she did wrong to anger her husband.”
She shook her head and sipped her tea. “Girls today are too delicate. A man curses at them or hits them a few times, and they make a life-or-death spectacle of it.”
The players looked at her as if she were an idiot, but kept their heads lowered so she would not notice.
Gu Jian cheerfully ate pastry after pastry. Baili Qianqiu rested with his eyes closed, ignoring the argument.
Though Cheng Miao knew this was only an NPC, the Pregnant Woman’s bizarre worldview still left her speechless.
“If many people act that way, does that make it normal?” Cheng Miao was not arguing for its own sake. An instance NPC would not chat idly with players. There had to be a clue here.
Could Shen Xin have…?
“Did anyone in the building act like that?” Cheng Miao asked carefully, afraid the Pregnant Woman would ignore her again.
This time she answered. “How would I know? Besides, you reap what you sow. When people meet bad ends, it’s usually their own fault.”
No player dared comment. Cheng Miao exchanged a look with her teammates.
She did not know about a wife-beater… but what about a wife-killer?
This was likely the link between Shen Xin and the Pregnant Woman. Such beliefs could easily earn hatred.
Had the Pregnant Woman been trapped here after death because she stood by while Shen Xin suffered, or because she had said something cruel?
That seemed rather weak.
They found no more clues before the Pregnant Woman went to take her afternoon nap. As they left, Brother Wang whispered to Cheng Miao, “There is nothing in her apartment.”
Cheng Miao looked at him with new respect. “How do you know?”
Brother Wang opened his palm, revealing a toy car. “This is my Item. Given known ghostly energy, it can locate related objects.”
He had encountered a spirit in the previous night’s game. If Room 601 contained a relevant clue, the Item would have reacted.
“I sent it out while she was talking to you. It found nothing.” Brother Wang put away the car. Cheng Miao was the most dependable player, but he could not selflessly share every clue as she did. He wanted her to owe him a favor.
Cheng Miao understood. “I don’t know what taboo you triggered, but be extra careful. If I can help, I won’t stand aside.”
Brother Wang thanked her and left with his team.
Thinking over the Pregnant Woman’s words, Cheng Miao led her group toward the seventh floor. Freckles, Sun Jiao, and Yang Ke joined them. Little Red refused to enter the stairwell again and preferred to wait outside.
The stairs from the sixth to the seventh floor were now accessible.
“The smell of blood is stronger,” Qi Jiajia said, wrinkling her nose. “Much stronger.”
Cheng Miao’s thoughts tangled. Shen Xin had drowned; Cheng Miao had seen her ghost.
“Can you smell a corpse?” she asked without much hope.
Qi Jiajia glanced at her. “You want to know whether Shen Xin drowned but was dismembered in the stairwell?”
Cheng Miao nodded. Qi Jiajia had cleared an instance filled with all kinds of corpses and could distinguish them.
Hands behind her back like a little adult, Qi Jiajia explained, “A drowned corpse smells of water. Soaking also makes it rot sooner. Neither smell is here.”
Cheng Miao nodded and considered the logic.
Qi Jiajia leaned closer. “Are we dealing with the Pregnant Woman?”
Cheng Miao stared at the excited gleam returning to her catlike eyes. Was the girl addicted to killing ghosts now?
She pressed Qi Jiajia’s head down. “If you kill every NPC and we miss a clue, who will we ask?”
Qi Jiajia scowled. “You said it was sequential. What use is a minor boss from an earlier stage?”
Cheng Miao pushed at the seventh-floor door. “It won’t open. Did we miss something?”
Lin Zhu adjusted his glasses. “Maybe we can investigate only one NPC per day. To clear the game, perhaps we must uncover the apartment’s secret and also complete all five nights of assessments.”
Qin Musong nodded. “Likely. If the instance could be cleared midway, it would be unfair to those already selected for assessments.”
Cheng Miao wilted. Apparently everyone had to endure a definitely-haunted summoning game.
Brother Wang had barely rested. He had spent the night thinking about the female ghost that followed close behind him during the Four Corners Game. After the Pregnant Woman frightened him today, he would not sleep tonight either. He decided to nap during the day.
“It’s okay, Brother. We’ll stay with you. The rules never said we couldn’t visit during the day. You sleep, and we’ll keep watch,” said Xiao Song, who was closest to him.
Reassured, Brother Wang entered his room with Xiao Song, Old Zhao, and Su Yang. He lay down and soon fell asleep.
After an unknown time, half asleep, he suddenly felt something cold and slimy sliding upward along his calf.