Chapter 16 Team

The car drove out of the community and moved forward.

Lin Qiushi and Cheng Qianli sat in the back seat. The atmosphere in the car was very quiet, as they didn't talk much. It wasn't until the car reached the highway that Lin Qiushi couldn't help but ask, "Where are you taking me?"

"I thought you wouldn't ask." Cheng Qianli said.

Lin Qiushi: "I asked you and you told me?"

Cheng Qianli: "I can't."

Lin Qiushi: “…” You guys are really interesting.

Half an hour later, the car stopped outside a detached villa in the suburbs.

Lin Qiushi got out of the car and observed the building before him. This villa was a single-family building with no human habitation nearby, standing alone in the wilderness.

The villa is surrounded by lush vegetation, and standing outside the door, you can hear the noisy chirping of insects.

Ruan Nanzhu parked the car, and the three of them continued along the path. Lin Qiushi took out his phone and checked it, realizing it was exactly one in the morning. Perhaps because this place was so remote, the cell phone signal was weak, barely a single bar.

Ruan Nanzhu walked in front, arrived at the door of the villa, raised his hand and pushed the door open and walked in.

Only after Lin Qiushi entered did he notice the villa was ablaze with lights. Three people sat in the first-floor living room, seemingly discussing something. They were two men and one woman, and upon seeing him, they all cast fixed glances at him.

"Brother Ruan." One of them called Ruan Nanzhu, and his attitude was very respectful. "You're back."

Ruan Nanzhu nodded slightly, found a sofa and sat down, then raised his hand to gesture for Lin Qiushi to sit next to him. Lin Qiushi hesitated for a moment, but finally obeyed Ruan Nanzhu's suggestion.

Ruan Nanzhu said, "You just came out of the door." He stretched out his hand, "Where's the note?"

Lin Qiushi was slightly stunned. He didn't expect Ruan Nanzhu to be so straightforward. Without any preparation, he directly asked him for the note.

"Don't you think you should explain the situation first?" Lin Qiushi asked. "You suddenly barged into my house, brought me here, and asked me for something without saying anything?"

Ruan Nanzhu said: "Qianli, explain."

Cheng Qianli shrugged with a helpless look on his face. He stood up, picked up the notebook in front of him, opened it, typed for a while, and then handed it to Lin Qiushi.

Lin Qiushi was baffled, but he still took the notebook and saw eight or nine web pages open on it. "What is this?"

Cheng Qianli: "Take a look."

Lin Qiushi flicked his mouse, briefly browsing the webpages and discovered they were filled with yesterday's news, mostly about accidental deaths. One of the stories looked familiar to Lin Qiushi: a car accident in City X. A speeding driver crashed into a guardrail and died instantly. Looking at the initials and photos in the news, Lin Qiushi finally realized what the story was about.

All the dead people on the webpage were the same people he had seen inside the door. They all died almost on the same night, though the manner of death varied greatly, from suicide to homicide.

Lin Qiushi: "...If someone inside the sect dies, will the people outside also die?"

Cheng Qianli nodded: "I'll tell you this first so that you can be mentally prepared. That door is not a joke, nor is it a nightmare. If something happens inside, there will be no one outside."

Lin Qiushi said, "I understand, but what exactly is that thing?"

"It's hard to explain what it is using science. It defies convention." Cheng Qianli glanced at Ruan Nanzhu, who was sitting next to him. "You just came out of the door, right? Hurry up and give us the note you got from the door. It's very important."

Lin Qiushi: "I don't have the note with me."

"It doesn't matter if you didn't bring it. Do you remember what was written on it?" Cheng Qianli asked.

Lin Qiushi nodded. After a brief hesitation, he finally spoke out the contents of the note under everyone's gaze: "Firxia Bird."

"Investigate." Ruan Nanzhu gave an order and everyone started to move.

Seeing their nervous expressions, Lin Qiushi also felt a little nervous. He said, "What's going on? I don't understand..."

Ruan Nanzhu asked, "Has anything strange happened to you recently?" He was looking at his phone. "Something like an omen."

Lin Qiushi asked, "A sign?"

Ruan Nanzhu: "Yes, it's an omen." He explained, "For example, seeing something you haven't seen before, some minor accidents, or..." He paused here, "Are you not allowed to touch the animals at home?"

Lin Qiushi: "Yes, yes, yes. My cat won't let me hold it anymore. Do you think there's a cure for this problem?"

Cheng Qianli: "It's incurable. Just have it removed."

Lin Qiushi: “…”

Ruan Nanzhu glanced at Cheng Qianli, and Cheng Qianli quickly put on an expression that said, "I'm working hard." Ruan Nanzhu said, "You're dying."

Lin Qiushi was stunned: "Huh? What do you mean?"

Ruan Nanzhu: "It means exactly what it says." He said slowly, "But as long as you can survive through the twelve gates, you can survive and completely break free from the gate's control."

Lin Qiushi: "Door control?" He felt like he had a hundred thousand questions in his mind, but he didn't dare to ask them all. Looking at Ruan Nanzhu, he didn't seem like a person with particularly good patience.

As expected, Ruan Nanzhu said, "Don't rush to ask. You still have a week to slowly figure out what happened. Cheng Qianli, I leave it to you."

Cheng Qianli: "I swear this is the newbie Q&A session I hate the most."

Lin Qiushi: “…” I’m sorry for wronging you.

"Then can I ask one last question today?" Lin Qiushi thought about it and felt that this question was the most important at the moment.

"What's the problem?" Cheng Qianli asked.

"Um... who is Ruan Baijie to you?" Lin Qiushi asked. "She must be related to you, right?"

The entire audience fell into an eerie silence. Cheng Qianli's expression was strange, even distorted. Lin Qiushi studied him for a moment before realizing he was trying to suppress a laugh.

"You'll know later." Ruan Nanzhu said gently, "Don't worry."

Lin Qiushi: “…” Why do you all have such strange expressions?

While they were talking, the people in the room had already found out about the Philxia bird and some related information.

After listening to everyone's reports, Ruan Nanzhu announced, "Cheng Qianli, take him to meet everyone. I have something to go out for."

Cheng Qianli: "Okay."

Ruan Nanzhu left after he finished speaking, and soon the sound of a car starting was heard outside the house.

Lin Qiushi and Cheng Qianli, who were left behind, looked at each other. Finally, Cheng Qianli stood up and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Lu Yanxue, the only girl in our team. She's braver than any man, and her personality is even rougher than any man's."

Lu Yanxue: "Fuck, Cheng Qianli, can you speak human language?"

Cheng Qianli ignored her and introduced the other two people: "Chen Fei, Yi Manman. Chen Fei is the one wearing glasses, and the other one is Yi Manman. This person is very troublesome and talks a lot of nonsense. It's best to stay away from him."

Chen Fei nodded at Lin Qiushi. Yi Manman asked, "Cheng Qianli, are you itching for trouble or something?"

"This is Lin Qiushi. You all know him, right?" Cheng Qianli said. "He's the one Brother Ruan brought back."

Judging from their attitudes, the three of them were quite friendly, but they didn't talk much and had no intention of communicating with Lin Qiushi.

Cheng Qianli seemed to understand Lin Qiushi's thoughts and explained sincerely, "Don't blame them for not welcoming you. After all, we don't know how long you can live. It's uncomfortable to waste your feelings on a dead person."

Lin Qiushi: “…” Now that you say that, I feel much better—that’s strange. How can you say you don’t know how long he can live?

"At least we have to make it through the next door." Cheng Qianli said, "But Brother Ruan should be able to take you through the next door, so there shouldn't be any big problems."

Lin Qiushi: "Then Ruan Baijie..."

Cheng Qianli: "Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?"

Lin Qiushi: “…” Your change of topic is too abrupt.

Lin Qiushi wasn't hungry, but he couldn't sleep after being woken up in the middle of the night, so he sat in the living room and watched them work. They seemed to be researching something about the Philssia bird. Although it was just the name of a fairy tale, they seemed determined to dig deep and find every clue. Chen Fei and Yi Manman were still discussing a trip to the library tomorrow.

Cheng Qianli said that if Lin Qiushi had nothing to do, he could go upstairs to sleep. The room had been prepared for him. It was the one closest to the right, and there was a computer in it. If Lin Qiushi had nothing to do, he could play games.

Lin Qiushi: "...Then I'm going to bed."

Cheng Qianli: "Good night."

Lin Qiushi went upstairs quickly and just as he turned right, he saw a person standing at the end of the corridor. He thought it was someone else living in the villa and was about to go up and say hello, but as soon as Lin Qiushi saw the person's face clearly, cold sweat broke out on his back.

Cheng Qianli, who was supposed to be sitting downstairs, actually appeared in front of him and walked towards him with an expressionless face.

"Cheng Qianli?" Lin Qiushi slowly took a step back. "Why are you here?"

The man had a cold look in his eyes, and his temperament was completely different from Cheng Qianli. After hearing Lin Qiushi's words, he said calmly, "I'm not Cheng Qianli."

Lin Qiushi: "Then who are you?"

The man said, "I am Cheng Qianli's brother."

Lin Qiushi: "Ah?"

The man said, "Cheng Yixie."

Lin Qiushi fell into a mysterious silence. He didn't say anything, but turned and ran back to the first floor. He saw Cheng Qianli sitting in the living room, chatting with Lu Yanxue. Seeing him running back, he asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Lin Qiushi: "You have a twin brother?"

Cheng Qianli: "Oh, yes, I forgot."

Lin Qiushi: “…” How could you possibly forget something so important? And what’s with your two names? Yixie Qianli, Yixie Qianli?

The author has something to say: Lin Qiushi: I just want to get to know Ruan Baijie...

Ruan Nanzhu: Come to me in the evening and I’ll let you get to know him well.

Lin Qiushi: ...