chapter 40

Lu Li paused the left screen.

“Oh dear, slow down! It’s raining today, everything is slippery – be careful not to fall! The Male Host in that house is really strange! He’s always beating the child! The child cries at home every day. I always thought it was the Female Host who did it… Look, do you see the dried blood in the corner by the stairs? I get up early to buy groceries and I can see him putting a whip at the door – the whip that broke from beating the child, covered in blood!

The child doesn’t seem mentally well, either. Last time I saw her going out, her skirt was stained with blood. I guess she was beaten until she bled and it got on her clothes. I told her to go home and change, but she absolutely refused – she insisted it was the prettiest red dress.

Now that something like this has happened, I realize I really misjudged the Female Host before.”

Lu Li paused the right screen.

“Stop running around! The sun’s so hot, you’ll be drenched in sweat in no time! The child in their house is called Nuo Nuo, she’s in the same class as my grandson, and my grandson is in the bottom three in the class. Her grades are good, always first in the class. Last time, during the midterms, she had a fever and didn’t perform well – she came in second.

Every time I come home, I hear her dad lecturing her, saying things like: ‘Why are you so stupid? Useless! What’s the point of raising you! I have a PhD! And you only got second place? There’s no difference between second and last!’

Now that something like this has happened, such a good child – what a pity.”

“The coffee table has changed again.”

Luo Jia Bai looked dispirited. In just a few minutes, his worldview had been overturned again and again. Now, nothing unusual seems to affect his emotions.

This time, the coffee table was even tidier, though the items were arranged somewhat haphazardly. Right in the center, you could see a whip stained with blood and broken in two, along with a white dress soiled with blood.

Luo Jia Bai’s expression was complicated. “These must be the Items, right?”

The moment he picked them up, a prompt sounded.

[key item exploration progress: +0.2]

They turned off two more correct televisions.

The last television on the wall lit up. On the screen was a girl in sportswear. When a reporter stopped her, she took off her sports headphones, and the leash in her hand pulled two Labradors to sit obediently.

The weather forecast switched to the last report: one television showed sun, another showed rain.

“You want to ask about the family upstairs, right? I actually have something to tell you. Because I keep dogs, I’ve had disputes with the Male Host upstairs. He always says he has neurasthenia and complains that my two dogs disturb his rest!

When I went up to talk to him, I found out they actually have a Black Dog too. But that dog is really well-behaved – never noisy, always circling around the child, unlike my own troublemakers. Let me just share my impressions of the Male Host and the child.”

Lu Li paused one of the televisions.

“That night, it was pouring rain. At first, I thought it was thunder, but then I realized it was the Male Host upstairs going crazy chopping vegetables in the middle of the night! Bang, bang, bang! I went up to knock and ask him to keep it down, but he wouldn’t open the door.

Later, when I was about to go to bed, I saw two people outside the window, both without umbrellas. One was the Male Host, carrying big black plastic bags and tossing them one by one into the garbage pile. The other was someone in a strange Clown costume, hiding behind a pillar. The Male Host didn’t see him.

Now that something like this has happened, it definitely has something to do with the Clown, because after the Male Host left, the Clown also went to the trash bin.”

It was the first time they had heard a description related to the Clown on television. Lu Li paused this screen and turned on another.
[That morning at dawn, the weather was nice and there was no fog. I was walking my dogs around the neighborhood, looking for a place for them to relieve themselves. Suddenly, both of them started barking furiously at the garbage sorting area. I barely managed to hold them back and saw the little girl from upstairs together with someone dressed in a Clown costume, rummaging through the trash pile-I had no idea what they were looking for.

Now that something like this has happened, it must be related to the Clown! I also find it strange-the Clown appeared out of nowhere and has been lingering in the Park across from our neighborhood. Maybe they’re here to abduct children. You really need to investigate this thoroughly!]

After the television finished playing, Lu Li turned around and saw that the coffee table had changed again.

Now the coffee table was spotlessly clean, as if someone had spent ten years endlessly cleaning this home.

Lying quietly on the coffee table was an orange Sewing Kit.

Lu Li squatted down and opened the sewing kit. Inside, a row of fine needles was neatly arranged, their shiny tips showing that the owner used them often. Next to them was a bundle of white thread.

Lu Li recalled that, in the Sand Pit, he had once found Buck’s dismembered body.

The broken limbs had been placed in a black plastic bag.

It was also Dad who, late at night, had carried the black plastic bag and thrown it into the trash pile.

The one who cruelly killed Buck was Dad.

“Needle and thread…” Luo Jia Bai leaned closer, his face turning pale. “I remember in the Family Portrait, Buck’s neck was stitched with a circle of white thread, and there was thread on his legs and feet too-someone had sewn him up.”

Luo Jia Bai added, “Dad dismembered Buck, and then the Clown and Nuo Nuo retrieved each part of the corpse from the trash pile. After that, the Clown stitched Buck’s remains back together.”

He looked at the coffee table.

“This is the Clown’s Sewing Kit.”

“Hiss…” Luo Jia Bai gasped, holding his head and stepping back two paces. “I need a moment. Damn. Dad isn’t just a scumbag-he’s a maniac who mutilates corpses! The real psycho in this family is him!”

Both of their Wristbands vibrated.

[Key Item Exploration Progress: +0.2]

After collecting the last Item, Lu Li used the remote control to turn off the two correct televisions.

The weather forecast above briefly went black.

Just as the two thought everything was settled, one of the televisions suddenly lit up again.

“Zzz-”

After the harsh static, an image appeared.

“I distinctly remember there were only four weather forecasts,” Luo Jia Bai said in alarm. “If you keep changing channels after that, it’s just the woman crying nonstop. Why is there suddenly another forecast?”

Lu Li said nothing, tilting his head up to stare at the screen.

The female host’s voice came through:

[Hello everyone, today is December 20th. Welcome to the weather forecast, bringing you the coming week’s weather changes and meteorological information.

Next week, the weather will warm up, with temperatures reaching as high as 26°C. As it’s autumn and winter, the air is dry, so all residents, please pay attention to fire prevention.]

After the broadcast ended, the weather forecast turned off completely.

Nuo Nuo appeared on the television. Her fingers swayed gently, and as a breeze blew past, Zhu Yue, who had become a doll, came to life.

She smiled happily. “Congratulations, before Dad came back, you helped me turn off the correct televisions.”

The televisions on the wall disappeared one by one, merging into the wall, revealing three doors facing them directly.

Game Night was about to begin.

Guiding lines appeared at their feet.

But Lu Li did not move forward.

“Nuo Nuo,” he said, “before night falls, I have a question for you.”

“Is the Clown Mom?”