Chapter 55: Yinghu Park (VIII)
The two men met each other, but neither spoke.
Lu Zhongnian calmly shifted his gaze away and ran straight towards the branch; Yan Shaowen slowly picked up his cell phone, watch and car keys one by one.
Lu Zhongnian read all the sticky notes left by Ye Sui and Jiang He, glanced at the candle array and Li Mingke who was standing in a daze outside the park gate, turned around, and walked towards the electronic scale first.
At this time, Yan Shaowen had already put his watch back on. Lu Zhongnian stood beside him and asked calmly, "Do you want to try again?"
Yan Shaowen looked at him inquiringly, chuckled, and stepped aside: "Please."
The boss said, "Young man, you are here to try again. What new things have you brought this time?"
Lu Chongnian had a clear goal this time and tore off a sticky note.
The sticky note happened to be a square, so he folded it into a thousand paper cranes in a few seconds and placed it on the electronic scale.
The boss was stunned: "This..."
The electronic scale immediately displayed: 1kg.
The boss' eyes widened: "Ouch!"
Yan Shaowen raised his eyebrows.
So fierce?
Could it be a real token of love?
The boss said curiously, "It's one kilogram directly. You can exchange it for the note your bride left before she left. Do you want it?"
"No, I'm not done yet."
Lu Chongnian thought for a moment.
He had already figured out the weighing standards of this love weight exchange scale, and then he changed his mind and started drawing on the sticky note again.
Yan Shaowen watched in surprise from the side.
Another sticky note? A sticky note that can take you anywhere?
This time, Lu Chongnian drew a simple sketch of a cat on the sticky note. The cat was lying on the desk and listening attentively. The drawing was simple but very cute.
He tore off the sticky note and placed it on the scale.
A cat and a thousand paper cranes suddenly weighed 2.5kg!
The boss took a breath, and Yan Shaowen seemed to be thinking about something.
Lu Chongnian curled his lips.
What comes to mind is a class in high school.
That day, someone threw a note to him in class, wanting Mu Yu to help pass it. Lu Zhongnian was not interested in such a small game as passing the note. To be more precise, he was not interested in what those people were discussing at all.
However, the look on the boy in the front seat's face as he held the note was so funny.
The boy glared at those guys, as if to say, "You actually asked the class monitor to help pass notes in class?!", and scared the latter away. Lu Zhongnian looked at the scene and couldn't help laughing.
She looks so cute, but she is always very intimidating when she gets angry.
That’s not right. Their class monitor is actually very cute when he gets angry.
Lu Chongnian rarely wanted to tease others, and the only few times he did so were probably used on Mu Yu.
At that time, he didn't think much about it, so he stretched out his finger, tapped the boy's shoulder, and whispered: "Class monitor, the note."
The more boys ignored him, the cuter he found them.
Yan Shaowen's evaluation of this was a bit harsh, but Lu Chongnian felt that it was not quite accurate.
However, he himself couldn't clearly explain what kind of feeling it was at that time.
"It's not good to peek at someone else's note and not give it back, right?"
He spoke casually, looking at the boy's ears and a small part of his face.
That profile said nothing, and no one knew what it was thinking. After a long while, it raised its hand and threw something at him.
It's a thousand paper cranes.
As if he had unconsciously folded it while considering whether to "help the evil", Lu Zhongnian unfolded the thousand paper cranes and saw that it said: "Listen carefully, I'll give it to you after class."
There is also a picture of a cat listening attentively next to it.
Lu Chongnian smiled.
Their squad leader always managed to arouse his interest in things that he had not been interested in before. Looking back on those three years, almost only things related to each other would be tinged with a different color.
Lu Chongnian still remembers the paper cranes they threw back and forth to each other in class that afternoon.
I remember the cat that Mu Yu drew for him, and the cat that he drew back with his sloppy painting skills, which should be "good".
I remember Mu Yu's slightly red ears and her beautiful, slender neck that showed beyond her school uniform collar.
There was also the angle at which the sunlight was shining into the classroom, and the smell in the air.
The long time and the heavy weight.
Perhaps it was much heavier than he had imagined.
Lu Zhongnian bent down and picked up the two items on the electronic scale. When he raised his head, his face had returned to calm: "I want to exchange the location information of all the brides."
The boss said readily, "Okay."
Yan Shaowen stood by with his arms folded, looking at him.
The boss quickly took out a map with four red dots on it: "The four dots are the current locations of the four brides. You can only judge for yourself which dot is which bride. I can't tell you."
"Thank you, boss."
Lu Zhongnian took the map and scanned it.
Four red dots are scattered in various directions of the grove.
There is a red dot in the middle of the "Osmanthus Trail" in the northwest corner, and it is obviously Mu Yu at this location.
There is also a red dot on a piece of open space in the middle of the grove. According to what Jiang He wrote, this location might be Hong Yang.
The remaining two red dots are located in the west and north, near the edge of the grove.
The little bride in the tree hole in the northeast direction that Ye Sui wrote in the note did not seem to appear on the map. Was it because the person at that location was a monster, or... a dead player?
While thinking, Lu Chongnian circled the last two red dots with a pen and handed the map to Yan Shaowen.
"Take a look. Only the two circled positions have not been confirmed. Su Mingyun may be one of them."
Yan Shaowen took it and said, "Thank you - Lu Chongnian?"
Lu Chongnian paused.
He was not surprised that this guy guessed his identity so quickly, and just said calmly: "The rules may be false, and so is the bride. You should judge for yourself."
"Got it," Yan Shaowen quickly read the map, wrote down the location, and gave it back to him. "My dying time limit is almost up, so I'm leaving first?"
"Um."
The two of them understood each other tacitly and said goodbye.
Yan Shaowen ran into the woods and headed straight north.
——The red dot on the west side is very close to the edge of the woods and is a place that is very easy to search. But so far, neither Lu Chongnian, Ye Sui nor Jiang He mentioned in the sticky note that they saw the bride there.
Then it is very likely that when they searched previously, there was actually no bride at that location.
In other words - the person at that position at the moment is most likely the new player bride who was added in halfway.
Then the remaining red dot in the north might be Su Mingyun.
Lu Zhongnian inserted the entire map onto the tree branch.
He has memorized the locations of the four red dots, so he is not afraid even if monsters come out of the woods and destroy all the clues they leave behind.
After doing this, he looked towards the park gate again and found that Li Mingke had disappeared.
Lu Zhongnian paused, then ran over. When he got there, Li Mingke just appeared. He had obviously just returned from the park after midnight.
His trip through time obviously yielded nothing. The boy just asked Lu Chongnian with a pale face, "Is Jiang He dead?"
Lu Zhongnian was silent for a moment, then said, "We only know that something happened to him, but we don't know the details yet. We will go look for him."
Li Mingke's face suddenly became frighteningly ugly.
He held his head, his eyes red, and murmured, "Did I kill him?"
Lu Chongnian tapped the invisible barrier with his finger, attracting Li Mingke's attention.
Lu Zhongnian said slowly:
"Everything in the dungeon is hard to control. Don't blame yourself for other people's deaths."
"You are in a special position. You can see the truth that is hard for us to see within a limited time, but the copy will definitely mislead you."
"We are all ordinary people. We can't guarantee that our judgments will be accurate every time. So, at least at this moment, don't think about these things anymore."
Li Mingke's tears fell.
Lu Zhongnian's time limit was almost up. He tapped the time on his phone screen and said, "Hold on."
After saying this, he turned and ran towards the woods.
*
Finally, rain began to fall from the sky.
The entire Yinghu Park was filled with an even more eerie chill under the drizzle.
Li Mingke sat outside the park in a daze, looking at the lawn where no one was playing, and thinking in a daze about what Lu Chongnian had said to him.
At this moment, an NPC walked to the candle array and lit four candles in one breath.
Li Mingke was stunned and jumped up suddenly.
——Why did so many of them catch fire this time? !
He looked anxiously in the direction of the grove.
quick!
Someone come quickly!
However, there was no movement in the direction of the grove.
The lighting and extinguishing of the candles must be related to the monster. Li Mingke was very worried about the current situation in the woods. While he was worrying, two of the candles burned for a while and suddenly went out by themselves.
The flame disappeared, and a puff of green smoke rose from the candle wick, drifting slowly into the night sky.
Puzzlement suddenly appeared in Li Mingke's eyes.
...This situation happened again. Could it be that it was accidentally blown out by the wind again this time?
Something just doesn't feel right...
After a while, a person finally came out of the grove!
Li Mingke was a little surprised that it was this person again, but at least someone finally came to blow out the candles.
He waved his hands desperately to signal the other party to look at the candle array.
The other party noticed it and walked over.
He stood in front of the burning candles, bent down, and blew gently on one of them.
The candle was blown out for a moment and then quickly relit.
Li Mingke's face changed.
Once the candle was relit, it could no longer be blown out. How could this person make such a stupid mistake? He had clearly read the note and knew that -
But the man stood up at this moment.
He did not try to blow out the remaining candle that had never been blown out. Instead, he turned around and walked back into the woods, as if his appearance was only for that one action.
Li Mingke was completely shocked.
In the love candle array, the remaining two candles are burning quietly in the night.
The melted wax gradually drips.
*
Back to a few minutes ago, in the woods.
Hong Yang was wearing a red veil and sitting obediently in the quiet and deserted space.
When he was at the gaming base station, the location he finally decided on was "a spacious, bright place with a good view."
He chose this because he thought this location would be more conspicuous and easier to find. However, after such a long time, apart from one person who came and walked around him, no one else appeared since then.
The guy who circled around him was obviously not Ye Sui, so where was Ye Sui? ?
Hong Yang felt a little regretful.
I should have let Ye Sui be the bride earlier, but his brain is definitely not as good as that guy...
Suddenly, two footsteps were heard running towards him at the same time from the depths of the woods ahead.
One came from the left, the other from the right, and the sound of branches and leaves being trampled continued to be heard.
Hong Yang was startled and instantly perked up.
The two footsteps ran to the open space and stopped at a very close distance from him.
In the dead silence, the only sound was the breathing of the two unidentified visitors.
Hong Yang thought quickly in his mind, are there two players?
But if there were two players, there shouldn't be such a strange silence at this time...
The next second, Ye Sui's voice sounded from the left, very calmly: "Rock, paper, scissors, is that ok?"
Then, Ye Sui's voice was heard from the right, just as calmly: "I found him first."
Hong Yang tensed his back.
——Two Ye Sui!
One of them must be a monster!
Ye Sui on the left: "No, we arrived here at the same time. The rules say that if the two grooms can't agree on the order, then they can play rock-paper-scissors. You monsters should follow the rules, right?"
Ye Sui on the right paused after hearing this, and then said slowly: "...Yes, you are right. I also think that monsters should not break the rules. Okay, let's play rock-paper-scissors."
On the left: "The winner goes over to ask first, and no one else is allowed to interrupt during the questioning process."
Right: "I know, it's all written in the rules..."
The left side suddenly became alert: "Why are you shaking your hands?"
The one on the right said calmly, “Nothing, my little finger was injured some time ago, and it hurts a little… Did you forget it?”
Hong Yang's heart moved.
Ye Sui on the left took the initiative to propose using rock-paper-scissors to decide the order of questioning. He seemed to be following the groom's rules, and it seemed that Ye Sui was calm and rational as he would be at such a juncture.
However, as a good friend who had known each other for three years, Hong Yang was very clear about one thing -
Ye Sui hates rock-paper-scissors.
He always has bad luck in this game and always loses.
Therefore, the real Ye Sui would not easily propose to use rock-paper-scissors to solve the problem at this time, because he would lose too easily.
Ye Sui on the left is most likely a fake.
The one on the right should be the real Ye Sui.
Hong Yang couldn't help but complain in his heart. This guy Ye Sui actually reminded him about the little finger so deliberately. Wasn't he afraid that the copy would judge it as "communication" and punish him?
The "Ye Sui" on the left immediately questioned the one on the right: "Are you giving any hints?"
After saying that, he seemed too lazy to talk any more nonsense and gave up, saying, "Forget it, just come directly."
Hong Yang had already come up with the answer at this moment, and his mood became relaxed.
Anyway, no matter whether Ye Sui wins or loses, he just needs to choose the one on the right.
However, the relaxation lasted only three seconds before an unexpected development occurred.
The two men suddenly started walking together, and the two footsteps stopped in the middle of the open space.
Hong Yang was stunned, and immediately cursed in his heart -
What was Ye Sui doing walking to the middle? !
If this guy and the monster walk into the middle together, then won't he be able to tell who was originally on the left and who was originally on the right?
Hong Yang heard the unfinished second half of the sentence from the "Ye Sui" on the left: "Rock, Paper, Scissors--"
The voice was suddenly cut off.
Hong Yang held his breath, his heart pounding.
Did the Ye Sui on the left lose? He suddenly stopped talking, as if the result was not satisfactory. Was the winner the real Ye Sui?
Someone was coming towards him.
The man walked straight up to him and breathed a sigh of relief.
The two were very close to each other, and Hong Yang saw the other person's right hand hanging by his side through the glimpse under the red veil.
The other party did not deliberately show his right hand, but Hong Yang looked carefully and could barely see a faint red mark on the little finger of his right hand.
——It’s the real Ye Sui!
He breathed a sigh of relief.
The boy in front of him spoke up and asked him gently, "Can I reveal it?"
Hong Yang calmed himself down and opened his mouth to answer.
However, at this moment, he suddenly stopped.
Because a thought suddenly came to his mind.
——Since the monster can imitate Ye Sui’s voice, why can’t it also imitate the scars on Ye Sui’s body… ?
After all, if the monster had been hiding its hand, Ye Sui wouldn't have been able to notice that this detail on his body had also been copied, right?
The two Ye Sui were standing together just now, and he judged based on the change in tone that the "Ye Sui" on the left lost the game, but is this really the case... ?
Can’t I act as a monster…?
Hong Yang's heartbeat quickened.
He tried to review the whole process.
The hint that Ye Sui just said was too obvious. Maybe he was really afraid that he would make a wrong judgment and was anxious for the moment, but could the copy really not judge such an obvious "communication"?
If the copy actually made the judgment, what kind of punishment did it impose?
Death? Not likely. He didn't hear any sound of anything falling to the ground.
But there is one thing——
Ever since the real Ye Sui on his right gave him a hint, he seemed to have only heard the voice of one Ye Sui, and the Ye Sui on his right seemed to have suddenly stopped making any sound.
Why? Why didn't he speak?
At this moment, Hong Yang remained silent and did not answer.
More than three seconds later, he heard another Ye Sui move a little further away.
The "Ye Sui" in front of him immediately took a breath, as if he wanted to ask again. There was a burst of hurried footsteps from behind, and another Ye Sui reached out and pulled the man in front of him away!
Hong Yang's pupils suddenly contracted and he understood instantly.
——Ye Sui was speechless!
——The penalty for the dungeon is this?!
Sure enough, after pulling the people away, the silent boy in front of him just stretched out his cell phone and handed it to Hong Yang.
There is also a circle of slightly red scar on the little finger of the right hand.
On the phone screen, the memo read the question that he could no longer say out loud.
"Can I reveal it?"
*
Lu Chongnian came to remove the handcuffs from Mu Yu.
The two still did not touch each other. After taking off the handcuffs, they completed the conversation according to the rules, and Lu Chongnian used the wedding scale to lift Mu Yu's red veil.
At this moment, Mu Yu raised his head and let out a long breath in the night.
Lu Chongnian looked at his fiery red wedding dress and was a little dazed.
Mu Yu can finally move and speak freely!
He saw the doll-like miniature bride on his left. He stood up while tidying himself up and said in a firm tone: "This kind of misleading size difference in this instance is definitely not the first or second time. Just before you came, a monster came here. That monster was so big that I almost thought I was shrunk."
"I think there must be the opposite situation among us. There must be a bride who has really become very small. When she meets a real player, she thinks it is a monster. When she meets a monster, she thinks it is a real player. What are you looking at?"
Mu Yu stretched out his hand and waved it in front of Lu Chongnian.
Lu Zhongnian raised his hand, brushed away the newly fallen osmanthus petals on his hair, and said softly: "I just think the dragon and phoenix on the bride's wedding dress are a bit of a downer."
All were hanged.
If it was a normal, beautiful wedding dress, this scene would definitely be pleasing to the eye.
Mu Yu paused, coughed lightly, and his ears were stained with a hint of red: "By the way, how did you recognize me just now?"
He could roughly judge which one was the real Lu Chongnian, but he didn't really confirm the answer until Lu Chongnian knelt on one knee in front of him and handcuffed him.
What about Lu Chongnian? How did he tell the difference?
The hand that Lu Zhongnian used to brush away the flower petals slid down, brushed against his shoulder, and went along his arm, gently holding his hand.
The boy lowered his head, picked up his hand and played with it, then smiled and said, "I recognize your hand."
Mu Yu: “Ah, that’s it?”
"Um."
Mu Yu thought about it seriously and asked, "How did my serious study leave such a deep impression on you?"
Lu Zhongnian smiled even more brightly, and he said vaguely: "Well, that's it."
Mu Yu: “?”
Mu Yu: "There seems to be something wrong with your smile."
Lu Zhongnian: "Let's go and see the two newcomers first."
Mu Yu chased after him: "How did you recognize my hand? Didn't you see me holding a pen and writing a lot? What else did my hand do that made you remember it so clearly?!"
Lu Zhongnian: "You really don't remember?"
Mu Yu: "? Wait, don't walk so fast. What happened? And what's going on with Yan Shaowen..."
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