Chapter 151

Chapter 151

Qiudong woke Cheng Miao. Even in human form, he retained a cat’s hearing and sensitivity, and he had heard the disturbance in the living room almost the instant Brother Lü attacked.

Unfortunately, no matter how quickly they moved, the living room was already on fire when they arrived.

Cheng Miao approached the edge of the flames. Enduring the unbearable heat, she strained to see inside.

The fire raged fiercely. Two corpses lay on the floor, one of them covered in blood, apparently stabbed to death with a blade.

Cheng Miao retreated and joined the other players who had come downstairs after noticing the commotion.

No one tried to fight the fire this time. They watched in silence as it swept through the entire living room. Then, in a single instant, everything returned to pristine condition.

The gleaming floor tiles, spotless piano, and luxurious upholstery all looked perfectly ordinary.

Staring into the empty living room, Peng Sheng murmured, “They still couldn’t escape…”

Cheng Miao lowered her eyes, still somewhat dazed. “We can now confirm that touching the painting does lead to death. But the fire probably isn’t what kills them.”

Every player looked at her. Qiudong, Qin Musong, and the other three formed a protective shell around Cheng Miao, giving her the quiet she needed to think.

Cheng Miao rested one finger against her chin, her voice low and steady. “When I came downstairs, Brother Lü and Xiao Yan were already dead. The fire started afterward. Xiao Yan’s corpse was covered in blood, and he looked like he’d been stabbed with a knife or something similar.”

“The death rules in an instance are strict. If Xiao Yan was the only one to violate a rule, Brother Lü couldn’t have died. Since Brother Lü died too, the only possibility is that he also touched that painting.”

Standing outside the protective circle, Jiang Chen guided her with his gaze and tone. “Then why was Xiao Yan stabbed to death?”

Cheng Miao paused. Realization suddenly lit her eyes. “Brother Lü must have experienced a hallucination similar to Xiao Yan’s earlier one and stabbed Xiao Yan to death. Since the hallucination must also have led him to touch the painting, that caused his death as well.”

The chain of logic was clear, and none of the players objected.

Jiang Chen nodded slightly, approval in his eyes.

Then the group sank back into thought.

What exactly was causing the players’ hallucinations?

While everyone was frowning over the question, Lin Zhu timidly raised a hand. “I have an idea.”

Cheng Miao looked at him with delighted encouragement. “Tell us!”

Lin Zhu organized his thoughts, then began slowly. “So far, we still don’t know what the hint means. While making the doll today, I suddenly thought of something. The English word for a doll is ‘doll.’ Doesn’t that sound… like the ‘duo’ in the audio hint?”

Cheng Miao’s eyes lit up. She raised a hand and slapped Lin Zhu firmly on the shoulder. “Not bad, Little Lin! You’re clever!”

The others understood too and silently cursed the instance for being so devious. It was bad enough that the hint was unclear, but it had even used English!

Who would ever think in that direction?!

Lin Zhu scratched his head in embarrassment and continued, “Also, Xiao Yan said he saw a doll before the hallucination began. There were lots of dolls scattered around the living room too… So if the hint really does mean ‘doll,’ then the dolls should be what caused their hallucinations.”

Cheng Miao felt gratified. She had already seen Lin Zhu’s reasoning and analytical ability before. Now, the young man had advanced another step and could probe the workings of an instance more deeply than many players.

“So we can’t be alone in a room with a doll?” Ah Qi struggled to keep up with the experts’ analysis and tried to sum up the rule.
“Nope.” Gu Jian, who had been silent all this time, poured cold water on the idea. Ah Qi said nothing, but Xiang Ping did not like Gu Jian’s attitude and shot back, “How do you know?”

Gu Jian shrugged and cocked his head. “Because I tested it.”

Everyone: …

Seeing their disbelief, Gu Jian patiently explained, “I thought the dolls were scary as soon as we arrived, so I ran an experiment to keep them from frightening me.”

“I wrapped myself and a doll in the same blanket, and nothing happened. After Old Jiang left, I deliberately closed the door and spent some quality time alone with all thirteen dolls in our room. Still, nothing happened.”

Gu Jian looked regretful. “That’s why I said it isn’t the rule.”

Everyone: … They had certainly learned something today.

Ah Qi knew better than to argue with Gu Jian, who clearly was not quite normal. But he could not stop himself from asking, “Weren’t you scared?”

Gu Jian raked his fingers through his short hair until it was a mess. “Scared of what? I’ve always wanted a younger brother or sister. If a doll could talk and move, wouldn’t that be adorable?”

Ah Qi: … This guy was completely out of his mind.

Lin Zhu was discouraged by Gu Jian’s words. He had thought he had found a clue, only to discover that he had not.

Gu Jian threw an arm around Lin Zhu’s shoulders and grinned. “Don’t lose heart, handsome. I agree that the hint means ‘doll.’ I just don’t think an ordinary doll alone can trigger the hallucination. Otherwise, this instance would be far too difficult for the players.”

Lin Zhu looked up. Qin Musong and Cheng Miao were smiling at him, their eyes full of encouragement.

Qi Jiajia still wore her usual frosty expression, but she took out a marshmallow and stuffed one into his hand.

Lin Zhu squeezed the soft candy, and for some reason his mood improved. He cast aside that tiny bit of self-pity and nodded with a smile.

“Let’s rest for now. We can discuss everything else during the day.” Cheng Miao patted Lin Zhu on the shoulder and followed Qiudong back to their room.

The others returned to their rooms in twos and threes. Lin Zhu followed Qin Musong inside and dropped onto the bed. “Brother Qin, I still think my reasoning is on the right track.”

Looking at the boy, who was much younger than him, Qin Musong felt a surge of tenderness. He rubbed Lin Zhu’s head. “I think so too.”

Lin Zhu casually picked up one of the dolls they had put away and examined it closely.

There was nothing wrong with it. Its material and texture were exactly the same as the doll he had made.

Then what was the trigger?

Candlelight flashed white across Lin Zhu’s lenses and met the doll’s glass eyes, dazzling him for an instant.

That was the inconvenient thing about wearing glasses. Reflected light from the sun or other objects easily caught the lenses and hurt his eyes.

Lin Zhu set down the doll, pushed up his glasses, and rubbed his eyes.

When he lowered his hand, he discovered a doll he had never seen before sitting behind Qin Musong.

It looked remarkably like Kojima. Leaning against the wall, it seemed to have been placed in the room only moments ago.

Lin Zhu’s body moved before his thoughts could catch up. He took several steps forward to pick up the doll. The next instant, pain struck the back of his neck, and he lost consciousness.

Qin Musong pinched the bridge of his nose as he looked at Lin Zhu, who lay unconscious after taking his knife-hand strike.

They had been talking normally when Lin Zhu’s eyes suddenly glazed over and he lunged toward the painting covered by a bedsheet. If Qin Musong had not reacted quickly and knocked him out, Lin Zhu might already have touched it.

Qin Musong glanced at the utterly lightless sky outside the window and sighed. He would have to watch over Lin Zhu tonight.