Chapter 77 Imperial Apartment 4
The owner of the fast food stall closed up and moved to the convenience store.
Perhaps because he knew that few people would come to buy things during the day, he closed the door of the store and went in to catch up on his sleep.
The players were confused. Before the landlady spoke to Xia Bai and Ling Changye, no one in the apartment mentioned anything about what happened last night. They could think that these people might have become accustomed to it.
The proprietress's words denied their speculation.
A male player named Wei Yunjing on the third floor asked Xia Bai: "Can you trust what the boss lady said?"
Xia Bai: "I can't guarantee it."
He had just slept for a night in the apartment. Even though he felt that the landlady might be trying to please them because of the jade and was not lying, he didn't dare to confirm it with others. He himself was just inclinatively inclined and was not sure.
Lin Xiang asked: "Did you also hear the banging, dragging, and chopping sounds last night?"
Wei Jingyun said: "I am sure I heard it, and they all said they heard it too."
Lin Xiang: "Then this sound becomes one of our key clues."
Wei Jingyun said: "And the small altar in the stairs."
That small altar was also the key point that Xia Bai and Ling Changye thought of.
Xia Bai shared the information they had learned, "There were two incense sticks that had burned down on that small altar. The old man in room 204 next door smelled of incense but there were no signs of burning incense. We saw him in the corridor again last night. The altar might have been set up by him."
Qian Xing stood up and nodded to Xia Bai with great satisfaction, "Yes, that's right. Our common goal is to complete the game. In the game, we must help each other, share information, and work together to get out of here."
“…”
Lin Xiang coughed in silence for a moment and said, "Could he be the protagonist of this game? For a game like this where the main plot is not clear, it is more important to find the protagonist."
Lin Xiang remembered that the game at Heping Medical College was like this. The game only allowed them to appreciate the story, but in reality they spent almost all their time looking for the protagonist. Once they found the real protagonist, they would complete the game.
"You're right. The most important thing about this kind of map is to find the protagonist. As long as we find the protagonist, we'll be very close to the truth." Su Lingling on the third floor said, "The main plot of this game may seem unclear, but in fact, the main plot of our action is very clear, which is to find the protagonist among these residents."
"However, the old man in 204 who looks suspicious right now might not be the protagonist. Usually the first person to jump out is not the protagonist. The protagonist of this kind of game should be very hidden."
Lin Xiang immediately said: "I agree with your idea!"
The protagonist of Peace Hospital is hiding too deeply.
"Tsk! What a stupid idea." Ma Xinjia, the male player who complained about the smell when he entered the apartment, said, "Games are not played according to routines. If he were the protagonist, wouldn't you be doomed if you relaxed?"
Lin Xiang: "Everyone can express their own opinions. If you don't agree, then don't agree. Why are you making personal attacks?"
"How did I make a personal attack? It's just a stupid and ridiculous idea!" Ma Xinjia sneered with a crooked mouth.
"Hey, didn't I just say that we should help each other? It's just a small matter, why are you arguing again?" Qian Xing stood between the two of them, "Entering the same game means we are destined to be together, we should help each other."
“It’s none of your business…” Ma Xinjia was about to curse, but held back when he saw that face.
Qian Xing really has a very beautiful face.
Xia Bai felt that Qian Xing might know him, but if he had seen a face like this before, he should remember it.
There are three possibilities.
1. Qian Xing knew him, but he had never met Qian Xing.
Second, they had met each other, but during the period that Xia Bai had no memory of.
Third, Qian Xing was disguised. Her appearance did look very natural, without even a trace of cosmetic surgery, but this was the age of gaming, with all sorts of magical props and skills possible. Didn't he have a Thousand Faces skill that could change people? The props given by the Gaming Administration in this game were disguises.
Xia Bai thought about these three possibilities and planned to test her.
Wei Jingyun also stepped forward to act as a peacemaker, "What you said makes sense. We are not going to use the process of elimination to find the protagonist for now. I will also name someone I think may be the protagonist."
Lin Xiang cooperated and asked, "Who?"
Wei Jingyun said: "The mother of the little girl in Room 305."
After answering Lin Xiang, he looked at Xia Bai and Ling Changye, "You also got some clues about her from the lady boss of Room 303, right?"
"Yes." Ling Changye did not hide anything and told them the clues he got from the proprietress, leaving out no relevant information.
"This is a lot of information," Lin Xiang said. "First, the mother of the little girl abandoned her daughter in this apartment building, but she also gave the girl a lot of things. This is a bit strange."
"What's so strange about that?" Ma Xinjia said, "She abandoned her daughter and felt guilty about it."
Lin Xiang: "Didn't you hear clearly? She sent a lot of things, and she had everything she needed. This shows that the mother was able to support her daughter. If that's the case, why would she abandon her daughter?"
"Because she wants to remarry and marry into a rich family, and her daughter is a burden." Ma Xinjia said without hesitation.
Lin Xiang was stunned for a moment, "You're right, I haven't thought of this possibility."
Ma Xinjia looked at him strangely, was silent for two seconds, and then retorted, "Of course you can't imagine that he is a rich second-generation who doesn't understand the sufferings of the world."
"It's true." Lin Xiang said.
Ma Xinjia: “…”
He was so angry that he didn't want to talk.
Lin Xiang continued to talk about his discovery, "Secondly, the girl's mother is a very beautiful woman. From what the boss's wife said, she is a little bothered by her husband's view that the girl's mother is beautiful. At the same time, from what the boss's wife's husband said, we can hear that there are other people in the apartment building who also think the girl's mother is beautiful."
"Since ancient times, beautiful women have easily become the protagonists. This is the case in many movies I have seen. She will become miserable because of her beauty and seek revenge because of her miserable and painful experiences."
Xia Bai: “…”
Lin Xiang said: "What do you think? Is it possible that the girl's mother was killed by someone in this apartment building, and that the altar was used to commemorate her?"
"Fuck!" A burly man, Xiong Xiyuan, suddenly said, "Brother, your speculation is really scary! The girl is still waiting for her mother every day. Every day she meets people in the apartment building and asks if they have seen her mother. She doesn't know that her mother has been killed by one of these people. It's even possible that they are all involved, or they all know that she is dead. It's really possible!"
Lin Xiang was very happy to receive such positive support, as if he had found a confidant. He walked up to the male player and said, "Right, right, brother, I know you. Your name is Xiong Xiyuan."
"Hey, I remember you too. Your name is Lin Xiang." The more Xiong Xiyuan thought about it, the more he felt that Lin Xiang's guess was correct. "I'm more inclined to believe that the death of the girl's mother was directly or indirectly related to everyone in the apartment. If so, they must have spoken with one voice and kept silent about the abnormality at night."
Lin Xiang: "Was the anomaly last night the ghost of the girl's mother seeking revenge? But because the residents here feel guilty, they dare not mention the revenge?"
Xiong Xiyuan: “It’s possible!”
Xia Bai: “…”
In just one night and with just a few words, the two of them had already imagined a big drama in their minds.
After finishing speaking, Lin Xiang subconsciously looked at Xia Bai and asked, "Xia Bai, how is our speculation? Are there any loopholes?"
Xiong Xiyuan looked at Ling Changye. The burly man actually looked a little shy.
Xia Bai: “?”
Before the two of them opened their mouths, Yang Mei spoke for them. He knew Ling Changye very well, "It's a waste of time to just guess here without sufficient clues. You'd better use that time to find clues."
Lin Xiang didn't dare to refute him and immediately stopped talking.
Ling Changye said with a smile, as if this was not his attitude, "Communication is very meaningful. Information is exchanged, ideas collide, and efficiency is doubled. We have told you everything we know. Do you have any other discoveries upstairs?"
Wei Jingyun said: "We have found out the situation of the residents on the third, fourth and fifth floors."
Xia Bai: "You are so efficient."
Qian Xing: "I also found out the situation on the first and second floors."
Xia Bai: “…”
Based on the two people's descriptions, they drew a personnel map of Dihao Apartments.
First floor: canteen and store, both of which belong to the same boss. There are also two unused rooms that no one lives in. The window of one of them is broken. A beggar crawled in to sleep last night. Judging from the bedding and dishes inside, he must have stayed here often.
Second floor:
Xia Bai and Ling Changye live in room 202.
The peeping old man lives in room 204.
Qian Xing lives in room 205.
Room 206 is occupied by Yang Mei and Lin Xiang.
Room 209 is occupied by a single girl who should be quite young.
An old lady and her grandson live in Room 211.
Third floor:
Room 303 is occupied by the owner of a beauty salon and her husband.
Room 304 is occupied by players Wei Jingyun and Ma Xinjia.
The little girl lives in room 305.
Room 307 is occupied by players Su Lingling and Cheng Yi.
An old lady lives in Room 308.
Room 310 is occupied by players Xu Qingming and Xiong Xiyuan.
Room 311 is occupied by players Yu Chao and Lan Xiang.
4th floor:
There lived a man and a woman in Room 406, they should be a young couple.
There should be no one living on the fifth floor. The corridor on that floor is very damp, probably because it is leaking.
So, not counting the business people and the beggar on the first floor, there are only six households here, namely 204, 209, 211, 303, 308 and 406. Together with the first floor, there are only eight households in total. It is not many and it is not difficult to investigate.
Xia Bai glanced at Qian Xing. Except for the time when he went to the third floor to wash his hair last night, and the obviously abnormal noise from 11 to 12 o'clock, he didn't hear any sound on the second floor, not even a knock on the door. The second floor was calm and peaceful.
Under such circumstances, she actually knew the situation on the second floor and even said, "The girl in 209 should not be very old." It seemed like she had seen it with her own eyes, so she must have some skills.
The same goes for the players on the third floor.
Xia Bai glanced at all the players again. Several players did not speak from beginning to end. Some were thinking, while others lowered their heads and remained silent.
Wei Jingyun glanced at Ling Changye, and seeing that he, the leader of the Tourism Administration's assault team, was silent, he said, "So how about we split up today? The players on the second floor will look for clues about the residents on the second floor, and the players on the third floor will investigate the residents on the third and fourth floors. If you have time, you can check on the two people on the first floor."
Lin Xiang said in a supportive manner, "Okay. But we don't have to be so strict. I think the landlady on the third floor likes talking to Xia Bai and Captain Ling. They can go to her to ask about the residents' situation."
"Yes." Wei Jingyun nodded, "We can discuss here every night and every morning when we eat."
After a brief discussion and division of labor, they dispersed and went back to their rooms.
The people on the third floor went up first. Lin Xiang said from behind, "Why does this instance feel a bit weird?"
Xia Bai felt that his feelings were very important and asked, "What's so weird about it?"
Lin Xiang: "I can't explain it, I just feel that something is a little weird, as if something is wrong."
"From my years of watching movies and reading novels, I know that these normal people during the day may turn into monsters and harm people at night. I almost didn't sleep all night last night, just waiting for this moment. When I heard the strange noise at 11 o'clock last night, I thought it had finally come, but nothing happened."
Xia Bai: “…”
He still likes to use movies as a basis.
However, like Lin Xiang, he also thought that this group of people would become alienated at night.
Once again, the game didn't go according to plan.
Yang Mei: "Oh yeah, the ghost hasn't come out yet, and I haven't used my skills yet. I guess I won't be able to use them forever, right?"
Xia Bai: "If the people in this apartment worship an evil god, will your skills still be useful?"
Yang Mei shook her head, "It only works on ghosts."
As he was talking, Xia Bai noticed that Qian Xing in front of him was eavesdropping with his ears perked up.
He walked quickly to Qian Xing and asked her without giving her time to react: "Qian Xing, can you give me your body?"
Qian Xing: “…”
Qian Xing: “…………”
Xia Bai caught the strangeness on Qian Xing's face.
Why does she have this expression?
A normal person would be shocked, confused or angry when hearing his question. Even less common would be someone like You Yue, who would directly agree to his question.
Where does Qian Xing’s weirdness come from?
Qian Xing quickly put away the expression on his face and asked him normally: "What do you mean, Xia Bai? I'm still alive, what corpse?"
Xia Bai glanced at her and said, "I won't tell you."
Qian Xing: “…”
After saying that, Xia Bai looked at the small altar in front of him. The fruit had been changed to a new one, slightly different from the variety last night, with grapes replaced with golden peaches. The incense burned to the bottom just like yesterday, but if you look closely, you can see that it is not the same two sticks as yesterday.
Looking at the two incense sticks, Xia Bai suddenly said, "This small altar may really be used to worship the dead."
Lin Xiang: "What do you mean?"
Xia Bai: "Odd numbers are yang, and even numbers are yin. Generally, three sticks are used to burn incense and worship Buddha. One or three sticks can be used to offer to gods, but never two. Two sticks are usually used to worship ancestors and the dead."
Qian Xing nodded, "Not bad."
Lin Xiang asked: "What if they are offering sacrifices to evil gods or dark gods, which sounds like something that is not in the right way in heaven?"
Xia Bai: “…”
So what does he say? Since he is an evil god, he must have all kinds of evil ways and it will be difficult to unify him.
Ling Changye stared at the plate of fresh fruit and said, "Is this really the altar set up by the old man next door? The fruit is of good quality. The old man looks very poor. Can he supply such fresh fruit every day?"
"Indeed." Xia Bai nodded.
They saw the old man eating steamed bread and water in his room last night. How could he be provided with such good fruits every day? Even if he emptied his pockets to barely make ends meet, he was so old, why didn't he enjoy the rest of his life?
"If that's the case, who in this apartment building can afford it?" Yang Mei said naively and directly: "They all look very poor. The boss lady is still wearing the same skirt she wore yesterday."
Lin Xiang: "When we investigate later, we can look in this direction. The person who has the financial ability may be the one who set up the altar, and may be the one closest to the truth."
Xia Bai hummed and was about to speak when he saw the old man from room 204 next door, hiding at the stairs and peeking at them again.
Lin Xiang was also convinced by him, "Uncle, why are you spying on us?"
"Bah! You are shameless!" The old man jumped up and said, "Who was peeking at you? I was just checking to see if my son was here."
“…”
There were indeed two beds in his room. Xia Bai took the opportunity to ask, "You have a son? Why didn't we see him? You're lying. You don't have a son at all. You were just peeking at us."
"I have a son! I have a son!" The old man seemed to have been touched on a sore spot, and his voice suddenly became louder, "All the neighbors know that I have a son!"
"Let me tell you, my son is very filial to me and often comes to see me. He is also very capable. He said he is planning to buy this apartment and give it to me. Isn't that capable?" The old man straightened his back and raised his chin.
"What are you arguing about? I hate noisy people the most!" The voice of the proprietress of Room 303 came from upstairs. The proprietress herself did not show up, but her voice came down loudly, "You brag every day. You will die if you don't brag! Your son, who has never come to see you in his eight lifetimes, is still filial to you and even bought an apartment building. Hahaha, I'm laughing so hard!"
“…”
The old man collapsed, his face twisted with anger. He stamped his feet, pointed his trembling finger at the people upstairs and cursed: "Li Chaofeng, you cheap and vicious tigress, you think you are so great, but you married a useless man and still call him Chaofeng. You are a big joke!"
"Bang!" A heating bottle was smashed onto the stairs, the inner tank inside exploded on the spot, and the boiling hot water rolled down the stairs.
The old man's momentum weakened immediately. He glanced at the broken pieces of liner and said in a much lower voice, which might not even be heard on the third floor. "You vicious woman, you will get your comeuppance sooner or later. No, you have already gotten your comeuppance, haha."
As he spoke, he quickly walked back to his room.
Lin Xiang didn't dare to speak loudly. They entered the nearest room 202. Qian Xing followed them in. When he saw the things in the room, his eyes widened.
"Oh, what are these?" Lin Xiang said, "They look a bit like that. The old man looks like an empty-nest elderly, and the girl in 305 looks like a left-behind child? The kind in a remote and impoverished mountain village."
"It's a bit like that." Qian Xing said, "The old man's son is probably not very filial and doesn't visit him often."
Lin Xiang: "So he is lying? What's his purpose?"
"You know about remote mountain villages, but you don't know much about the ecology of such poor mountain villages." Qian Xing sighed and said, "You don't know that in such places, elderly people who don't have sons and daughters to visit them regularly, especially those who live alone, are easily bullied. In order to avoid being bullied, they always say that their sons are coming to visit them soon and how great their sons are. It's very common."
"Oh, this old man is actually quite pitiful." Qian Xing finally sighed.
Xia Bai thought of the two beds he saw in the old man's room. If his son really didn't visit him often, he still had to keep two clean beds in the small room at all times. It was indeed a bit sad.
He glanced at Qian Xing and said, "You seem to know a lot about this."
Qian Xing: "...It's just so-so. I just heard it from others."
Xia Bai seemed not to hear her words and said, "Since you know so much, why don't you go and conquer the old man next door?"
Qian Xing didn't refuse, "Okay."
Lin Xiang said, "Then I'll go to the old lady and her grandson at 211? I've always been popular with the elderly."
Ling Changye: "Okay, let Yang Mei go with you."
Lin Xiang: “…”
Xia Bai disagreed with him on this point. "Captain, I think it would be better to let Yang Mei go to the single girl in Room 209. Young single girls should be quite wary of men. Yang Mei can dress up as a woman and go to her."
"Sure." Yang Mei said happily, "There are no ghosts here, and my skills are not activated yet. I thought I was a waste, so I went to talk to the young lady about beauty, skin care, love, etc., and I can still show my value."
Ling Changye readily agreed, "Okay, let Yang Mei go to Room 209."
Xia Bai: "What about us?"
Ling Changye: "We will guard the base camp and be ready to help them at any time and coordinate in the middle."
“…”
Yang Mei rolled her eyes secretly. Even though he was so dumb, he could still understand that it meant to rest.
He wouldn't have deliberately told him to go with Lin Xiang, as if he had arranged a task for himself and was waiting for others to pick him out again, right?
Lin Xiang had no objection. It was normal for two think tanks to guard the base camp. He just asked, "What excuse can we find to knock on the door?"
Ling Changye said: "There was such a loud quarrel in the corridor just now, let's go to the store to buy some gifts to apologize. As for how to buy it..."
Lin Xiang waved his hand forward as if saluting, "I understand! I learned it from Captain Ling, and I have something valuable on me too."
“…”
After the three of them went their separate ways, Ling Changye opened a bottle of mineral water and handed it to Xia Bai.
Xia Bai said "thank you", took the water in his hand, and said to Ling Changye: "Captain, I think Qian Xing is a little strange."
"Yeah." Ling Changye was not surprised at all, "She is pretending."
Xia Bai was not surprised that Qian Xing was in disguise. This was within his guess. He was just curious: "How did you know?"
Ling Changye told him truthfully: "When I was the leader of the assault team, the Tourism Management Bureau gave me the only tool for seeing through disguises. It can be regarded as a tool for identifying people for me as a manager."
Xia Bai: “…”
That's true. This prop that can see through disguises is quite easy to manage.
Ling Changye: "There are two players here wearing disguises. Because it is quite sensitive, I didn't think about whether to tell you immediately yesterday, especially Yang Mei."
Xia Bai immediately grasped the key point, "Yang Mei?"
Ling Changye told him directly: "Qian Xing is a veteran player of the Shengyou Guild. He should be the most mysterious and powerful one among the veterans. I have seen him in Datai City. He is the only one among the players of the Shengyou Guild who can walk side by side with the vice president [Psychic]. Xu Qingming of 310 is Yang Yi, the vice president of our research institute, Yang Yi."
Xia Bai: “?”
Xia Bai didn't know which one to shock first, so he just did it in order.
"Um, captain, have you noticed that Qian Xing is paying some attention to me?" Xia Bai asked weakly.
Ling Changye smiled and looked at him leisurely, "Isn't this the question I should ask you? Why is the most powerful and mysterious veteran player of the Shengyou Guild paying so much attention to you?"
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