Chapter 111 Miss Mary
There wasn't much in the backpack. Lin Qiushi controlled his slightly trembling hands and quickly found what he was looking for. It was a silver-white gun that looked no different from any other firearm, with three bullets in the magazine.
This was the item Lin Qiushi had obtained from someone else inside the Human Oil Lamp Door. Although he had never used it, he and Ruan Nanzhu speculated that it was a rare destructive item inside the door and was extremely valuable.
The crying of the box woman came from the kitchen, which means that she is definitely not on the second floor, so the thing in the box in front of them is most likely the box man, and the box man can be killed.
Lin Qiushi could only take one gamble. Even if he lost, he still had one last resort. Liang Miye was almost losing control of Ruan Nanzhu. She used all her strength to barely slow Ruan Nanzhu down, and could only look at Lin Qiushi anxiously.
Lin Qiushi took a deep breath, stood up, turned around, and pulled the trigger directly at the box in front of him.
"Bang, bang, bang!" Three loud gunshots were accompanied by shrill screams. The bullets fired from Lin Qiushi's hands penetrated the wooden box, blasting three large black holes on it. The person hidden inside screamed, and bright red blood overflowed from the holes and flowed all over the floor.
Ruan Nanzhu seemed to be frightened by the loud noise and paused slightly, but he continued to move towards the box.
When Lin Qiushi saw this scene, his heart sank. He gritted his teeth and rushed directly towards the box.
Liang Miye was slightly stunned by Lin Qiushi's actions. At first, she didn't understand what Lin Qiushi was going to do, but she soon realized what was going on and said in astonishment, "Linlin—you—"
Before she finished her words, she saw Lin Qiushi grab the lid of the box with his hand and open the wooden box in front of him before Ruan Nanzhu got close to it.
It had to be said that, despite having been mentally prepared, Lin Qiushi's heart still skipped a beat the moment he opened the box. He saw what was inside... a completely twisted figure, his limbs broken, trapped in a grotesque position within the narrow wooden box. His eyes had turned a terrifying gray, like two black holes... now staring open unwillingly. A large bloody hole had appeared on his forehead, clearly the result of Lin Qiushi's blast with his gun.
Lin Qiushi paused for two seconds before realizing that he was fine. He let out a long breath, his tense body relaxed, and turned to look at Ruan Nanzhu, who had also stopped.
Ruan Nanzhu stood still, a dazed look on his face, as if he was slowly coming out of his abnormal state. After a moment, he spoke in a hoarse voice, "What...did I just do?"
When Liang Miye heard his voice, she knew the skill timer was over. Like Lin Qiushi, she breathed a long sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground. "Zhu Meng, you almost died just now!"
Ruan Nanzhu was a little confused. He said, "I..." He was silent for a while before he completely got rid of the influence of the box girl's skills. "I got hit?!"
"Yes." Lin Qiushi looked up at him, "Fortunately, I brought props..." He had never truly realized the importance of props before, but at this moment he finally felt that these things were indeed life-saving. If it weren't for this gun, at least one of him and Ruan Nanzhu would have died.
Ruan Nanzhu pinched the corner of his eye. He looked at Lin Qiushi and the opened box, almost gritting his teeth. "Even if I'm hit, you can't open the box first—" What if the gun destroyed the box and it was useless? Wouldn't that mean Lin Qiushi would be gone?!
Lin Qiushi deliberately acted bewildered and said, "But I'm sure the occupant of the box is dead. Why can't I open it?"
"Don't treat me like Cheng Qianli." Ruan Nanzhu is not a fool, so how could he not guess what Lin Qiushi wants to do.
Lin Qiushi was not sure whether the prop gun would work, so he was gambling with his own life. If it didn't work, he would be exchanging his life for Ruan Nanzhu's life.
"You've insulted Cheng Qianli. I'm going to report you to his brother." Lin Qiushi stood up and glanced back at the box. "Can you please get rid of this thing? We can't keep it in our room forever, can we?"
"According to the convention inside the sect, this thing will probably be gone if we go out for a while." Liang Miye is quite experienced.
"Okay, let's discuss this somewhere else." Lin Qiushi stood up.
Ruan Nanzhu's expression was still not very good. Lin Qiushi quickly went over to give him a kiss and a hug, saying that he was really scared just now. If he hadn't brought this gun, things would have been terrible.
Ruan Nanzhu remained silent with a sullen expression, and no matter how Lin Qiushi coaxed him, he wouldn't utter a single word. It was obvious that he was very dissatisfied with Lin Qiushi's presumptuous act of unpacking the box.
Lin Qiushi had no choice but to hope that Ruan Nanzhu would stop being angry after a while.
They changed rooms and started discussing the matter.
"Do you remember the rules of the Box Girl?" Ruan Nanzhu frowned and said, "It's about information disclosure."
"I remember." Liang Miye said, "You mean..."
Ruan Nanzhu said, "I suspect the rules inside the sect are similar to those back then."
"What do you mean?" Liang Miye asked.
When playing board games, since everyone sits at the same table, when a player draws a card from a box, they can choose to make the information public or not. Public information has a huge advantage, which is that other players can also know the status of the props, but when the information is public, the player who plays the box girl will also know the information and know the props obtained by the players.
"So you mean the box girl can also know the information we make public?" Liang Miye glared. "Yes, when we make public information, it's always in the dining room, next to the kitchen!"
"She must know, otherwise she wouldn't have chosen me." Ruan Nanzhu said, "At least now, I'm the only one who shows that I know the detailed rules." If Ruan Nanzhu can be successfully eliminated, then the box girl's next move will be very convenient, because no one among the players even knows what the instruction card of that skill is used for.
"But isn't this too unfair?" Lin Qiushi frowned. The door would not deliberately set up a deadlock. In a board game, if you don't know the rules, isn't it almost impossible to solve the problem?
"Yes, so I think we've missed some crucial information," Ruan Nanzhu said. "If I weren't here, there would definitely be other ways to learn the rules of the game, but we haven't found the rulebook yet, or..."
"Or they've already found it, but the person they found hasn't been made public!" Liang Miye said, "Is that right?"
Ruan Nanzhu nodded.
"But why did that person hide the rules?" Lin Qiushi asked, "Or, in other words, how could he be sure he would get out..."
"It's simply a matter of probability," Ruan Nanzhu said. "He doesn't have to guarantee he'll get out. He just has to make sure he's the last one to die."
As long as there is only one person left inside the door, the rules of the door will take effect. At that time, that person can open the box however he wants because he is already invincible.
Liang Miye and Lin Qiushi remained silent after listening to Ruan Nanzhu's analysis.
"Of course, this is just my guess." Ruan Nanzhu spread his hands, "Maybe we all guessed wrong, it's just that the difficulty of the door has increased."
"Oh." Liang Miye sighed, "I don't even dare to imagine what it would be like to enter the tenth door without any clues..." not to mention the eleventh door.
The three of them were talking when they heard shouting in the corridor. Someone was calling Zhu Meng and Yu Linlin, asking if they were okay. They thought it was the people downstairs who heard the gunshots and came over to check.
"I'll go out and take a look." Liang Miye stood up.
"Go ahead and tell them we're fine," Ruan Nanzhu said. "I want to talk to him alone." He pointed at Lin Qiushi.
Liang Miye sensed a strange atmosphere between the two of them. She knew Ruan Nanzhu must still be angry about Lin Qiushi's risky behavior. She smiled and said, "Okay, but don't talk too long."
She stood up, walked out of the house, and closed the door behind them.
How could Lin Qiushi not know what Ruan Nanzhu was about to say? Before Ruan Nanzhu could open his mouth, he quickly gestured to stop and said, "Nanzhu, before you speak, I just want to ask you a question."
Ruan Nanzhu: "Hmm?"
Lin Qiushi asked, "If I were to encounter something like this, would you open the box for me before I do?"
Ruan Nanzhu fell silent. They both knew the answer to this question.
There was only one piece of chocolate, so he would give half to Lin Qiushi and hide the remaining half and return it to Lin Qiushi tomorrow.
"So don't be angry," Lin Qiushi said. "We both know exactly what the other party will do." He tried to calm Ruan Nanzhu. "Okay, Nanzhu?"
"I just want you to live." Ruan Nanzhu said, "At least, don't die because of me."
Lin Qiushi looked into Ruan Nanzhu's eyes and whispered, "Has this ever happened before?"
Ruan Nanzhu pursed his lips. Just when Lin Qiushi thought he wouldn't answer, he nodded: "Yes."
Lin Qiushi didn't know what to say, so he could only reach out and hug him.
"He also had a three-year-old daughter," Ruan Nanzhu said. "I was very weak at that time."
Lin Qiushi had never heard Ruan Nanzhu mention these things before, and it seemed that they had been buried in Ruan Nanzhu's heart for a long time.
Language was weak at this moment. Lin Qiushi said nothing, but just hugged Ruan Nanzhu tightly, wanting to give him strength.
"Knock, knock, knock." There was a knock on the door. Liang Miye said from outside: "Are you two done? Can I come in?"
"It's only been three minutes, what's the point?" Ruan Nanzhu replied, "Do you think I'm your boss?"
Liang Miye: "..." Friend, do you know too much?
However, despite saying this, the two still opened the door and saw Liang Miye and Sun Yuanzhou standing outside the door, their expressions looking very subtle.
Especially Sun Yuanzhou, who looked at Ruan Nanzhu secretly, as if he wanted to find some strange traces on him.
Ruan Nanzhu ignored his gaze and leaned directly into Lin Qiushi's arms, saying, "What's wrong?"
"Someone has opened another prop." Sun Yuanzhou said, "I want to ask you how to use it."
Ruan Nanzhu said, "What props?" he asked.
Sun Yuanzhou said: "Fire extinguisher."
As soon as the word "fire extinguisher" came out, the eyes of the three of them lit up.
"Why, this prop is very useful?" Sun Yuanzhou also noticed that the three people looked very happy.
"Of course—" Ruan Nanzhu said, "This item can interrupt the Box Girl's action."
"What do you mean?" Sun Yuanzhou said, "Be more specific."
"For example, I just got caught," Ruan Nanzhu said. "The Box Lady used 'I Really Want to Open It' on me."
Sun Yuanzhou's expression twisted. "What did you say? Then why are you still here? Did you get other items?"
"No, we broke it with the stuff we brought in." Ruan Nanzhu said, "You heard the gunshot just now, didn't you?"
"Yeah." Sun Yuanzhou finally calmed down. "Go on."
"As long as the fire extinguisher is used, the box woman's skills will be interrupted." Ruan Nanzhu said, "This means that at least in this round, her skills are negated."
Sun Yuanzhou thought for a moment and asked, "How many times can the box girl's skill be used?"
"That's uncertain," Ruan Nanzhu said. "In the game, her skills can only be used once before they're returned to the deck. You need to draw a card to use them again." He tapped his chin with his finger. "But I don't know what happens inside the door."
"Oh." Sun Yuanzhou nodded.
"By the way," Ruan Nanzhu said, "My friend did find a new item, but don't tell anyone."
"What?" Sun Yuanzhou didn't expect Ruan Nanzhu to suddenly say this.
"It's a rag doll called Miss Mary," Ruan Nanzhu said. "It's a prop for the Box Girl to save her soul... but if the Box Girl finds out, it'll be troublesome."
"Then why did you tell me?" Sun Yuanzhou looked around and frowned. "Aren't you afraid that she's hiding in the box in this room?"
Ruan Nanzhu said, "She's in the kitchen." He said, "If you find the remains of the box woman, you must tell me. After she is liberated, we can get out."
"Okay." Sun Yuanzhou nodded.
The two exchanged some more information before going their separate ways.
After Sun Yuanzhou left, Lin Qiushi looked at Ruan Nanzhu in surprise: "When did you find Miss Mary?" Miss Mary was the favorite rag doll of the Box Girl and one of the most important props in the game. After getting Miss Mary and finding the Box Girl's remains, he could liberate the Box Girl, open the villa and leave here.
"I didn't find it." Ruan Nanzhu spread his hands.
Lin Qiushi was stunned for a moment, then he understood Ruan Nanzhu's meaning. He said, "You are doubting..."
"Shh." Ruan Nanzhu made a gesture to keep quiet.
Lin Qiushi didn't say anything.
Liang Miye was confused watching the interaction between the two. She also knew the usefulness of Miss Mary, but she just didn't understand why Ruan Nanzhu lied to others that he had already found Miss Mary.
But it seemed that Ruan Nanzhu had no intention of explaining, so Liang Miye was too lazy to ask any further questions. After all, Ruan Nanzhu would definitely not intentionally harm anyone.
Today passed like this. No one opened the boxes in the afternoon, so there were no special accidents.
However, during the meal, Lin Qiushi clearly felt that the atmosphere in the room was not right. Those who had not eaten for two days were almost staring at the people eating at the table with green eyes.
Xiao Ji was a little annoyed after being stared at for a while, and said rudely: "Do you think it's useful? You might as well find a box to open and get something to eat."
They could hold on for two days, but three days became a bit difficult. I have to say that the team really managed to find ways to force them to be active.
Lin Qiushi estimated that they could only hold out for one more day at most. By the fourth day, someone would definitely give up and open the box.
"Wei Xiu De, you are such a piece of shit!" The starving newcomers saw Wei Xiu De feasting on his food and felt their teeth itch with hatred. "You brought us in and you treat us like this? Didn't you say you were very experienced?"
Faced with such doubts, Wei Xiu De ignored them and said calmly, "You can't kill anyone inside the sect. If you lay a hand on your fellow comrades, you will surely die at the hands of your fellow comrades who have turned into ghosts."
His words were obviously telling these people that if they wanted to kill him, they'd better consider their own strength.
Everyone looked at him and wanted to tear him to pieces, but there was nothing they could do.
After dinner, everyone went their separate ways.
Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu also returned to their rooms and went to bed to rest.
There were now twenty living people in the house, of whom only eleven had opened the boxes, while the remaining nine were still holding on. The three dead had all become boxmen, but Lin Qiushi had dealt with one during the day, leaving only two boxmen.
Those who opened the boxes today suffered no losses, but Lin Qiushi had a premonition that something would happen tomorrow, because hunger could drive people crazy, and the box girl would never miss this opportunity.
Currently, there are two skills of the box girl and three items, one is a stethoscope, the second is gasoline, and the third is a fire extinguisher. Their harvest during the day is a password to the safe.
After finishing the information, Lin Qiushi was about to go to sleep. Ruan Nanzhu slipped into his bed again, put his arm around his waist, and whispered in a playful manner, "Linlin's waist is so thin."
Lin Qiushi said: "..."
Ruan Nanzhu said, "It feels so good to touch."
Lin Qiushi lowered his head and kissed him: "Go to sleep."
Ruan Nanzhu laughed, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
They originally thought that these people could at least hold on until the next day, but who knew that in the middle of the night a shrill howl came from downstairs.
Lin Qiushi was stunned for a moment after being awakened by the crying. Seeing Ruan Nanzhu also woke up, he asked, "Have they unpacked the box?"
"I guess so." Ruan Nanzhu rubbed his eyes, "I thought I could survive until tomorrow." There was also food in the kitchen refrigerator, but those who didn't open the boxes would not be able to eat it. These people probably couldn't survive until tomorrow morning. Forced by hunger, they still opened the boxes, but their luck seemed to be not very good.
The crying sound came from the kitchen. When Lin Qiushi walked in, he saw a girl lying on a wooden box, crying, "Xiao Qian, Xiao Qian—"
Lin Qiushi remembered that she seemed to be one of the newcomers brought in by Wei Xiu De, and she had a close relationship with another boy named Xiao Qian. It seemed that they were a couple outside the door.
"Xiao Qian, Xiao Qian!" The girl slapped the wooden box hard, crying so hard that her whole body was shaking. Beside her was a card and a half-eaten piece of bread.
There is no doubt that this was as they guessed. The couple who could not bear the hunger came to the kitchen, selected two boxes and opened them. After opening them, they were forcibly pulled in by the box girl or box man.
Ruan Nanzhu walked to her side, bent down to pick up the card, and saw the words on the card: My Miss Mary - this is another skill of the box girl.
Lin Qiushi also saw the contents of the card and took a deep breath. "This skill actually appeared."
"It's just a matter of time." Ruan Nanzhu was very calm and put the card away.
The girl was still crying, and soon the kitchen was full of people. Sun Yuanzhou was also there. He walked over and asked, "Did he open the box girl or the box man?"
The girl didn't answer and continued to pound on the wooden box.
Sun Yuanzhou pulled her up and said, "Can you please wake up a little? If you really want to go with him, go open the box."
The girl turned back numbly and her crying finally stopped.
"Is the one inside a box man or a box woman?" Sun Yuanzhou continued to ask.
"I don't know," the girl replied.
"How could I not know?" Sun Yuanzhou frowned.
"I was eating," said the girl, "and as soon as I turned around, he was pulled in." As she finished speaking, her lover's miserable screams came from the wooden box.
"Help, it hurts, Xiaomei, it hurts so much, help me--" This voice was completely a human voice. When Xiaomei heard the shout, her expression frightened. She turned around and was about to rush towards the box, but was grabbed by Sun Yuanzhou.
"Wei Xiu De, this is your man, you don't give a damn about him?" Sun Yuanzhou was furious.
Wei Xiu De smiled and said, "We are all adults, why do we always let others take responsibility?"
Sun Yuanzhou said, "You fucking bastard—" He rolled up his sleeves and was about to go up and fight, but was stopped by the people around him.
"Forget it, don't bother with this beast." Sun Yuanzhou's friend said with disgust, "He will be in trouble sooner or later."
Sun Yuanzhou spat.
Xiaomei sat on the ground blankly, staring at the wooden box in front of her, not moving at all. Ruan Nanzhu looked at her, walked over slowly, and said something in her ear.
Xiaomei's dazed look gradually faded away, and her expression changed from sadness to anger. She stared at Wei Xiude as he turned and left with a gloomy look that made people feel cold behind their backs.
"What did you say to her?" Lin Qiushi asked.
"Nothing." Ruan Nanzhu said, "People always need something to rely on in order to survive, whether it's happiness or anger."
Lin Qiushi fell silent, not knowing what to say for a moment.
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