9 loops?
◎The few differences◎
The hall was eerily quiet.
None of the sixteen players, including Qi Qiuxue, could clearly explain the current situation. It was too strange. Everything before them was too strange: the heavy rain outside the window, every word the innkeeper said, the sixteen masked men, the identical meals...
Everything seemed to go back in time, and everything that happened last night was repeated again in full.
Only one thing——
Qi Qiuxue looked at the marble clock hanging on the wall. It was already 8:17. If she remembered correctly, dinner was served at 7:17 last night.
A full hour late.
"Everyone, please help yourself. You've all been busy all day. It's better to finish your meal early so you can go upstairs and rest." The innkeeper, who was sitting at the main seat, spoke again, took the initiative to pick up the knife and fork, and took the lead in cutting a piece of meat. "I hope tonight's meal will be to your taste."
After she finished speaking, she started eating, chewing slowly and gracefully.
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. Even Liu Dawei, who loved meat the most, was stunned. Fear overcame his appetite at this moment. What was happening before his eyes was so terrifying that he was almost scared to death!
But what was even more frightening was yet to come. After eating for a while, the hotel owner suddenly put down his knife and fork and looked up at him.
Liu Dawei was so frightened by her stare that he said tremblingly, "What, what happened?"
"It's beef," the hotel owner suddenly said, "This kind of beef is only available in our area, and it's raised using very special methods..."
Same, still exactly the same. Even though no one asked questions this time, she still explained in detail the source of the meat. The table was silent, no one took the initiative to speak, thunder rumbled outside the window, wind, rain, all kinds of sounds mixed together were terrifying, but no matter what, they could not compare to the scene before their eyes.
Liu Dawei couldn't even hold the knife and fork, and they fell on the table with a "bang". He didn't dare to meet the hotel owner's gaze and lowered his head deeply.
Until the hotel owner finally finished his introduction.
Liu Dawei breathed a sigh of relief. He was hungry and tired, and his mind was working slower than usual. He didn't want to do anything and just wanted to finish his meal quickly and go upstairs to rest. But just as he stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth, the hotel owner beside him spoke again: "Is it delicious?"
Qi Qiuxue remembered that this was the same question asked by the hotel owner as last night.
But Liu Dawei had no time to recall. He was frightened by her and collapsed completely. The hotel owner's beautiful eyes were always staring at him, seriously and attentively, as if staring at some prey, with a faint smile on his lips.
Liu Dawei stood up reflexively and instinctively wanted to leave: "I, I'm full, I'll go upstairs first."
After he finished speaking, he almost fled away.
“…”
Maybe Liu Dawei regretted this decision later, but at the moment, he no longer cared about it.
Since he left, the atmosphere seemed to have become a little heavier.
The hands on the clock moved minute by minute, and a long time passed unknowingly. Everyone lowered their heads to eat tacitly, not daring to speak. Instead, the hotel owner said a few words from time to time, and the content was exactly the same as last night.
Soon, some of the players had eaten their fill, but the hotel owner still didn't put down her knife and fork. No one dared to leave until she left.
The situation remained deadlocked until after nine o'clock.
The innkeeper finally stopped eating and wiped his lips with a tissue. "It's late now, and you've been busy all day. If you have nothing else to do, please go back to your rooms and get some rest."
"It's a rare opportunity to have guests on the island, and the islanders are very welcoming. Tomorrow morning at six o'clock, someone will come to act as a guide to show you around the island's beautiful scenery. Please don't be late."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's breathing stopped. It seemed that this would happen not only tonight, but tomorrow as well.
"Axue, do you have any idea?" Liu Ge, who was sitting next to her, spoke quietly, asking Qi Qiuxue for her opinion.
Qi Qiuxue shook her head, not sure what the situation was. The system had said that the player's identity in this copy was a member of the expedition team, and they would conduct a five-day investigation on this island in the middle of the lake. If today was counted as the first day, then there were still four days left.
I don’t know if the situation will repeat itself in the next four days. There are too few clues at the moment, so we shouldn’t jump to conclusions too early.
She could only say: "Don't worry, let's see how things develop later."
"Yeah." Liu Ge had no objection. While the two were talking, the hotel owner finally stood up. Like last night, she explained the details of the sacrifice again, then raised her red lips and looked elegantly at everyone present.
"Good night, then." She turned around, the hem of her skirt still as bright as blood.
Not until she completely disappeared from everyone's sight did the marble clock hanging on the wall begin to ring.
——It’s ten o’clock.
This is the only difference from yesterday, it's an hour later.
-
Li Yiqing also lives on the second floor. Qi Qiuxue didn't have a deep impression of her last night and didn't pay close attention to her movements. It was not until today that she began to observe her consciously.
She was not sure about the layout of the rooms on the first floor, but she had already investigated the second floor.
201: Geng Hao.
202: Wang Shuo is one of the men in the small group of four.
203: Herself.
204: Liu Dawei.
205: Willow Song.
206: Zheng Miao, the little girl who drew the red lot.
207: Chen Wei, the blonde girl from the group of four who also drew the red lot.
208: Li Yiqing.
In fact, Qi Qiuxue was quite impressed with her own hearing. The small group of four, including Chen Wei and Wang Shuo, had always been reluctant to communicate with others, and did not want even the most basic information to be known to others. Therefore, Qi Qiuxue overheard their names, and then spent a little time matching the names with the people.
This time when she went upstairs, she deliberately waited for Liu Ge and Li Yiqing to exchange the information she had with them. She mentioned the masked man who visited her late last night and pointed out the contradiction between his words and Xiaoxiao's.
"Regarding that strange fruit, two parties have different opinions. One claims it's a local specialty, while the other claims it's a failed variety." Li Yiqing was confused. "Who's lying?"
"I don't know." Qi Qiuxue said.
"Wow, wow, so annoying." Li Yiqing was almost unable to bear it. He hadn't figured out what happened during the day, and he was stuck in a strange cycle at night. He even had to continue today's schedule tomorrow. "Axue, Aliu, I can't take it anymore."
"Be strong." Liu Ge patted her shoulder and said this, but his expression was not very good either.
Zheng Miao also went upstairs at this time. He caught sight of Qi Qiuxue and ran over without stopping. Ever since they both drew the red lottery ticket, Zheng Miao had already treated her as one of his own: "Zhang Xue!"
"Yeah." Qi Qiuxue looked at her, "Do you have anything to say to me?"
"I went to ask that girl." Zheng Miao's tone sounded disappointed. "Just as you expected, she didn't intend to tell me anything."
"It doesn't matter. Maybe there will be a chance for her to open her heart to us in the future." Qi Qiuxue shook her head. She was not in a hurry. Anyway, since she drew the red ticket, the three of them were destined to become a community of shared destiny at some point in time. Even if the other party was unwilling to communicate with them now, it was only a matter of time before she would speak.
Unless Shen Wei doesn't want to live anymore, or she has some way to avoid danger that allows her to do so.
"Let's go back first." Without a conclusion and a solution, excessive worrying won't help. After a tiring day, the most urgent thing is to get a good rest. "We'll find a solution later."
"Okay." Zheng Miao nodded and left obediently.
After she left, Qi Qiuxue also said goodbye to Liu Ge and Li Yiqing. Li Yiqing looked at her with a particularly reluctant look, revealing his desire, "I don't want to leave, I'm scared to be alone, I really want to stay in your room."
But she didn't ask for it after all, perhaps because she was afraid of accidentally touching some taboo, thus hurting others and herself.
She just blinked pitifully at Qi Qiuxue and Liu Ge: "Axue, Aliu, see you tomorrow. Live well."
Liu Ge said "hmm": "You too, don't die."
"Oh." Li Yiqing didn't know what she was thinking. She lowered her head and left. Liu Ge also said goodbye to her. Qi Qiuxue watched the two of them leave, opened the door after a while, and turned back to her room.
She roughly estimated how long it took her to wash and dress yesterday, and it took her about the same amount of time tonight. After that, she didn't sleep, but waited quietly for the knock on the door.
But after waiting for a long time, the masked man did not come.
Why?
Qi Qiuxue frowned. This incident was different from last night and there was no repetition.
Soon, the clock pointed to eleven. She had to get up early again tomorrow, so she didn't wait any longer. She kept the doubt in her mind and closed her eyes to try to fall asleep.
She slept particularly poorly tonight, and just like last night, she had the same dream again. In the dream, someone was wandering in the corridor with light footsteps, and stayed in front of each door for a long time.
In her dream, she looked through the cat's eye, trying to see the other person's face clearly, but she couldn't. The person's face was blurry, and his face seemed to be covered with a black mist.
Before she could observe too much, there was suddenly a loud sound of cursing and fighting outside the door. Qi Qiuxue was awakened and sat up suddenly.
The sound came from a very close direction, as if it was right in front of the door of the room next to hers. The fighting was very fierce and lasted for a long time. Then someone was defeated and suppressed by another person.
Qi Qiuxue heard Wang Shuo's voice. This was the first time he spoke to someone other than his teammates. He spoke viciously and with gritted teeth.
"Liu Dawei, tell me, are you the one playing tricks?!"
"Believe it or not, I will kill you!"
【Author’s words】
Here we come!
Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: Shi Yi 1;
Thanks to the little angels who cast mines: Qiu Lang is a beautiful fairy, Langli's dog, Mancao, Huaiyi, and Spicy Rabbit;
Thanks to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Red Line Crosses the Secret of the Deep Reincarnation 27 bottles; Don't Want to Go to Work 7 bottles; A Longan 3 bottles; Melancholy White Coke, Spicy Rabbit 1 bottle;
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