Zhang Qiuqiu slowly tidied her hair—or rather, the hair of this Player 11 body. Behind her, she heard a faint sound of footsteps.
She spun around to see a tall, slender figure stepping out of the darkness of the corridor. It was Ren Yi.
The clown makeup on his face remained exaggerated, a half-smile playing on his lips, but his eyes were exceptionally clear. It was obvious he had been waiting in the shadows, observing everything in the hall.
Ren Yi didn't have a single worry. After all, he had told the Peeper, Player 2, from the very beginning that he would definitely be out tonight.
Player 2 had no reason to check his room, and even if he did, he would only conclude that Ren Yi had indeed gone out.
The two exchanged a glance at the entrance of the corridor. Without a word, they shared a tacit nod.
Player 11 had been dealt with. Although Lu Zihan was sealed, the core objective had been achieved. Now, it was time to handle the remaining cleanup.
Ren Yi was the first to link to the Anomaly Web, tagging Lu Zihan: 【Old Lu, how are things on your end? Is being sealed uncomfortable?】
Less than ten seconds after the message was sent, Lu Zihan replied instantly, his tone actually carrying a hint of excitement: 【I'm fine, I'm fine! It's not uncomfortable at all. I just can't move. Since I can still access the web, I'm going to play some games!】
Immediately after, a message from Lord Cha popped up: 【Oh! You can play games? Count me in, count me in! I've already watched over a dozen movies. I need to join a party with you to kill some time!】
【Sure, come on then. It's not like I have anything else to do,】 Lu Zihan replied immediately.
【I'm coming, I'm coming!】
Ren Yi suddenly remembered an old rule.
【According to the Anti-addiction restrictions, Cubs can only log into games between 4:00 AM and 5:00 AM on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.】
The time they entered the Instance was reporting day, which was Sunday.
The flow of time in this Instance was clearly abnormal, so it was indeed possible for them to play games.
The group chat instantly turned into a gaming lobby as the two went back and forth.
【What game should we play? I haven't played anything since I awakened. Lord Cha, you'll have to carry me.】
【Come on, Lord Cha will find you one with a good personality. We'll tell it it's your first time and ask it to go easy on you.】
【Wait, what do you mean? Who?】
【A game. Didn't you say you wanted to 'play' a 'game'? Watch out, or the game might play you back.】
Ren Yi shook his head helplessly.
Ren Yi exited the group chat and said with a sigh, "They sure know how to relax, but we can't. There are still things we need to handle quickly."
In his mind, the scattered clues everyone had found while exploring the rooms earlier suddenly surfaced.
"Do you remember the things we found when we split up to explore the rooms?" Ren Yi looked at Zhang Qiuqiu and spoke slowly.
"In a sealed room with only one entrance, I encountered a demon statue. After touching it, my hands were stained with a certain black viscous substance, and I accidentally got some on my nose..."
"Lu Zihan also told us that in another sealed room with only one entrance, he found a charcoal brazier."
"That's right." Ren Yi paused. "Class monitor, when you were exploring, did you find any... clues related to these things?"
Zhang Qiuqiu hesitated for a moment before saying, "I also encountered a room. Inside that room, there was a... stocking hanging."
Black substance, a charcoal brazier, a stocking...
Well, it seemed a bit abstract, but it was actually quite obvious.
These clues were very simple, clearly basic hints provided by the game. It was only because everyone had been fighting for themselves and hadn't gathered to exchange information that they hadn't discovered the connection sooner.
Ren Yi looked at the fireplace on one side of the hall.
"If I'm not mistaken, these clues will be solved by the others tomorrow during the day."
Ren Yi's tone was flat. "Today was mainly too rushed. Not long after the voting ended and the Silence state was lifted, night fell."
"Everyone was busy rushing back to their rooms to save their lives and didn't have time to gather and exchange clues."
Fortunately, they were Anomalies. Not only could they move freely at night, but they could also explore without restriction.
"Let's go. Let's see what exactly is hidden in that fireplace."
Ren Yi was the first to turn and walk toward the hall. Zhang Qiuqiu followed closely behind, her footsteps light as she tried not to make any unnecessary noise.
In the hall, the moonlight continued to crawl slowly across the floor. The stone statues of Lord Cha and Lu Zihan sat undisturbed in their seats.
Ren Yi walked straight to the fireplace in the corner of the hall.
The fireplace was large, built entirely of blue-black stone and covered with the marks of time.
A thick layer of charcoal ash had accumulated inside, along with some unburnt charcoal.
Ren Yi touched it, and his hands were instantly covered in black marks.
Without any hesitation, Ren Yi's body transformed into a thick cloud of mist in the next second. He slowly drifted into the fireplace opening and began to rise.
The mist was light and unrestricted by space, quickly passing through the narrow flue of the fireplace and spreading deeper inside.
After rising about several meters, the passage gradually widened. Ren Yi's mist stopped and slowly condensed back into his form.
He looked up and saw a ring of keys hanging on the inner wall of the passage. There were ten keys in total, arranged in a neat row.
A flash of surprise crossed Ren Yi's eyes. As expected, the clues pointed to these keys.
He reached out, intending to move the keys. The moment his fingertips touched them, he felt a chilling sensation.
Applying a bit of force, he took down four keys.
But when he tried to take the remaining six, he found that they were firmly fixed to the wall. No matter how much strength he used, he couldn't budge them an inch.
Ren Yi frowned but didn't try to force it further.
Gripping the four keys in his hand, he transformed back into mist and drifted slowly back down the fireplace flue.
Returning to the hall, he found Zhang Qiuqiu waiting by the fireplace. Seeing Ren Yi emerge, she quickly went to meet him. "How was it? What's inside?"
"I found ten keys, corresponding to the numbers of the ten rooms. But I could only take four. I couldn't move the remaining six."
Ren Yi handed the four keys to Zhang Qiuqiu, his tone thoughtful. "I suspect the number of keys we can take is linked to the number of deaths."
Zhang Qiuqiu took the keys and examined them closely.
"That's possible." Zhang Qiuqiu nodded, agreeing with Ren Yi's guess.
Ren Yi took the keys back, tried to snap them with force, and tapped them with his fingernails. He found that no matter how much strength he used, he couldn't destroy them; they didn't even have a single scratch.
"The keys can't be destroyed, and it's best not to hide them in our rooms. If someone else finds them, it'll be trouble."
Zhang Qiuqiu frowned. "Then where should we hide them?"
Ren Yi looked up, his gaze falling upon his own body, and a strange smile curled on his lips.
He didn't say a word. He simply picked up the keys one by one, held them before his eyes, then tilted his head back slightly and opened his mouth.
Rate on N.U.
