Chapter 86

[I saw the child that Xu Dazhuang brought.]

[Well, strictly speaking, it can't be considered a [child]. In fact, just before moving into this building, Xu Dazhuang, the pickpocket and I studied what it should be considered, and we couldn't even be sure whether it was a [living thing]... But there is one thing we have reached a consensus on, that is, no matter what, it is just a thing with a child's shell. We must be sufficiently vigilant towards her, no, towards it.

[The facts prove that our thoughts are correct. It has only been a short time since Dazhuang sent it to this building, and such a big thing has happened.

[In order to help Lao Yang, the pickpocket and I moved in temporarily. The pickpocket was in charge of patrolling the situation in the building, while I was specifically keeping an eye on the suspicious [child]. Da Zhuang wanted to come too, she felt that the responsibility for this matter was hers, but she really couldn't get away. After all, she is now a mother, and her adopted daughter has a special physique, and no one can take care of her.

[She seems to be quite self-blaming about this, but I think it's unnecessary. It was the idea of ​​sending the [child] here that we came up with. And who would have thought that a random item picked up from a ghost story could come to life and chase people and call them mom? No one could have thought of it.

[Let's talk about the [child]. This is also the first time we have dealt with an item in this state. The ones we have encountered before were mostly [active], and this is the first one that is really alive. To be honest, no one is sure. I can only seal her room for now. I will continue to observe and hope nothing will happen. 】

...

【This is my third day living in the building. So far, everything is peaceful.

【The pickpocket is a very thief. He even asked Old Yang for a small official position, becoming something like [Assistant Building Manager]. I am not as vain as him. I just asked Old Yang for two bags.

【As for the kid in 301, the three of us have discussed it several times in the past two days, and finally we have unified the name for it - [Alienated Root].

【This term is derived from [Root]. Since it has been decided to call those ghost story props [Roots], and this [child] is a being transformed from a prop, then it is reasonable to call it [Alien Root].

[But I personally don’t like this name. In fact, when it was decided to call the ghost story props [Roots], I was quite opposed. At first, we called it [Root] because we all thought that it was something that the dead used to maintain their sanity and was the foundation of the dead’s power. But the current case has proved that this thing is not what we thought... at least not completely.

[If that’s the case, why do we still have to call it that? It’s so unimpressive. Calling it [Magic Weapon] is more impressive, and [Gift of the Dead] is also nice.

[Unfortunately, my opinion does not count. Forget it, let’s call it Alien Root. After all, only a few of us call it that. I have made up my mind. When I go out this time, I must submit the report before everyone else and strive to get the naming rights for all the nouns.

[The premise is that the report can pass the review from above. I am actually not very confident about this. After all, as of now, apart from a few of us, it seems that few people can see and use those kind of ghost story props... Just like our own abilities, even for other psychics, this seems to be a very difficult thing to understand.

[Anyway, do your best. Ghost stories are changing, and my intuition tells me that this change will inevitably affect ghost story props and even other psychics. Maybe one day, all psychics will be able to access ghost story props.

[But is this a good thing? I can't say for sure. At least for myself, if I have a choice, I would prefer to be an ordinary person, no, I should say, a normal person. 】

...

【That mutant root is really powerful.

【No one knows how it did it. It was obviously sealed in the room, but it still tricked people in from the outside through various means. Lao Yang and I analyzed it, and called Da Zhuang to discuss it. We all felt that this was probably developed from its original ability - as a [root], this guy's main ability is reflected in the simulation and manipulation of signals.

【When it couldn't move yet, Da Zhuang often used it as a contact to communicate with people outside the ghost story for help, and it could also be used to find and lock people trapped in the ghost story. Now it seems that the function has basically not changed, it has just changed from directional search to random hunting.

[… In this case, this seems to be a kind of telecommunications fraud?

[Fortunately, it is not a big problem. Although the mutant root child can trick people to come over, he cannot break through the limitations of the room. Lao Yang said that as long as the rules of the building are improved as much as possible, the deceived people can be sent out. Of course, in order to prevent the breath of the living from irritating other residents in the building, contact between them should be avoided as much as possible.

[When this problem is mentioned, I can't help but worry again. I still think it is not wise to gather a group of dead people together. However, Lao Yang feels that her attempt has already shown initial results. In order to cope with future changes in the ghost story, this risky attempt is necessary. Since she insisted so much, what else could I say?

[I could only ask her for another bag.]

...

[The situation seemed to be getting out of control.

[Some residents came to the pickpocket to report that they saw other residents carrying the jewelry of the stray intruders... Only then did we realize that perhaps not all stray intruders had successfully walked out of the building.

[The mutant roots have been controlled, but the other residents have not. The pickpocket tried to read clues from the void, but failed. We can only take the dumbest approach, clean up the place, and increase control over the building.

[When this broke out, Old Yang's face was always ugly. But at this time, it is useless to pursue responsibility. If there is really a change in the deceased, all we can do is to seal them up as much as possible.

[But now, the pickpocket and I can no longer leave this place easily... I called Da Zhuang before Lao Yang sealed the building, but she didn't answer. I could only ask someone to pass a message to her.

[I hope that by the time she comes, the situation will have stabilized.]

...

[In order to strengthen the control over this building, Lao Yang, the pickpocket and I had to take out all the props we had hidden in our bottom boxes.

[The pickpocket has a root in his hand, which can spread pressure and fear through light. This thing came in handy this time. He integrated the root's derivatives into the meter box and the induction light, and barely controlled the situation. Lao Yang used the power of her root to install a lot of [doors] in the building... But after doing this, her spirits were much worse. So the subsequent management was handed over to the pickpocket.

[I don't have much ability to restrict movement. I just happened to have the derivatives given to me by others, so I used them directly.

[A few pieces of [Fu] characters. The more you believe in it, the more it can protect you; and a handful of dogwood, which was used in the past when entering the ghost story. It is not easy to get lost with it, but it can also be used to impose the [Go Home] rule on the monster, but this will consume the life of the props.

[I asked others for these. I was reluctant to use them when I entered the ghost story before, but this time I took out almost all of them. Normally, I can at least change my bag, but seeing how sickly Old Yang looks, let's talk about it later.

[Speaking of which, this is also why I don't like to use [roots]. Among all people, I am the only one who can touch the roots but never use them.

[I always feel that this kind of thing is unsafe to use. Some of them are okay because they make you pay for them openly, but some of them seem harmless, are they really harmless? Maybe it has already paid the price secretly, but we don't know it yet.

[Of course, this is only one of the reasons. Another reason is because it is inconvenient. Da Zhuang also thinks so. She said that every time she goes into a ghost story, she has to bring a lot of things with her, which is very troublesome, especially now that she has a child. She really doesn't want her adopted daughter to come into contact with these things.

[Before I came in, we had an appointment to play mahjong. At that time, Da Zhuang also said that it would be great if all the roots could be compressed together and made into a mobile phone application, so that you can click on the one you want to use. But the pickpocket said it would be better to make it into the shape of a book, so that when you use it, it will be like flipping through a magic book, which is cool.

[But what does this have to do with me? I don't need these.

[The pickpocket said, I don't use roots, maybe it's simply because I don't need them. That's true. After all, when you can beat everything you see with your own fists, all external forces become fancy.

[This is also the reason why I code-named myself [Brave Man]. Actually, my original name was [Hero], but everyone else's name was three characters, so I had no choice but to add one more character. Da Zhuang did say that with this ability to beat up anyone he saw, it's better to call him a gangster or a villain... She really doesn't know how to come up with names, so I'd call her Villain Hero. 】

...

【So far, the situation has been largely under control. This is a good sign. If nothing goes wrong, I will be able to finish my report next week, and then I must ask Old Yang to let me out. I must get the naming rights for all nouns.

【The mutant root opposite is now much more well-behaved. He no longer makes noises and cries in the room, and the frequency of his lies has also greatly decreased. But sometimes he will stand at the entrance and look at me pitifully, which is really frustrating. 】

...

【Wait a minute. What am I writing? Wasn't its door sealed? Why did I see it standing in the entrance? 】

【What did I see? 】

...

【Things seem to be getting wrong again. Getting more and more wrong.

【That mutant root is getting stronger. I don't know why. It's not touching anything, but it's getting stronger. The door has been sealed, the electric meter box and the induction light have been working, but it seems to be oblivious to all of this and can appear anywhere, in any room at any time.

【I tried to discuss countermeasures with the pickpocket Lao Yang, but Lao Yang's condition got worse. She locked herself in the door and refused to see anyone. I could hear her heavy coughing through the door. The pickpocket also looked a little impatient. He said that other residents in the building were also affected. Someone came and beat him up for no reason, but then he seemed to have completely forgotten about it.

[He also seemed to be completely unaware of his own changes.

[Old Yang stayed indoors, and I was only good at single combat, and I had no props, so the pressure fell on him. He said that he would try to increase the effect of the root and try his best to [read] to see if he could get some clues.

[I swear, if he can really read something useful this time, I will never call him a pickpocket again. And in my report, I will definitely give his ability a cooler name, cooler than everyone else's.

[... In addition, there is one thing that worries me.

[When I left the pickpocket's room, he suddenly called me and asked me if I had a dream in the past two days. I asked him what kind of dream he had, and he said, he dreamed about [that].

[I roughly knew what he was talking about. They all seemed to have dreamed about it, but I hadn't, really never. I just heard them talk about it.

[The pickpocket told me that for some reason, the frequency of his dreams about [that] had increased significantly recently, and he could see it more clearly. I wanted to understand, but he didn't want to say more.]

...

[The pickpocket's condition was getting more and more strange.

[He seemed to have fallen into some kind of strange craze, always studying the root he brought. But at the same time, the effect of that root was indeed getting stronger. I saw with my own eyes that the mutated root was forced back into the room by the sudden lighting of the induction light. He also gave me two small flashlights, saying that they were also made from his roots and could have a similar effect to lights. But there was a time limit, and they would be gone after they were used up.

[This thing helped me a lot. That mutant root tricked someone in again, and this time it really took the person into the house. I rushed in to take the person away, but it almost tore off one of my arms, and it even chased me out the door... Fortunately, there were new props given by the pickpocket.

[It was my carelessness. Because this guy rarely shows strong aggression, I was a little negligent. It seemed to be still playing the game of finding family, calling the intruder this time [New Brother]... Could it be that because it has regarded the intruder as a family member this time, its reaction was particularly strong when it took the other party away?

[I want to discuss this matter with the pickpocket again. But he has started to stay at home in the past two days, and only contacted me through a special mobile phone. I wanted to go up to find him, but the mutant root opposite gave me a lot of pressure. As for Lao Yang, I have completely lost contact... It's really disturbing.

[I don't know if Da Zhuang received my message. I hope someone out there can help me think of a solution.]

...

[The pickpocket has completely lost contact.

[The last message he left me was an ambiguous message. He said that he could see [that] now without dreaming, and he wanted to have a good look, and asked me not to disturb him.

[He also mentioned that he had found a way to break the situation through his own characteristics, and the clues had been passed on to Lao Yang. The power of the root was also turned to the maximum, and all defense measures would continue to operate, and asked me not to worry.

[...Is he a fool? ! How can I not worry! If your friend suddenly said in the haunted house that he wanted to find a quiet place to stay by himself for a while, would you think he was sane? He is really sick!

[There is no other way. I have to go up and take a look. Fortunately, as he said, the meter box and the induction light are working properly, and the mutant root cannot come out for the time being. This makes people feel relieved.]

...

[... *&#%*#[crossed out]#￥@! %&*%[all crossed out]]

[Okay, I think I have calmed down a little. I must calm down. Now I may be the only person in the building who can leave a sober record. Tian Jiangming, you have to calm down now, calm down! Calm down! Calm down quickly!

[@#￥%&$[A lot of torn pages and smears]]

【Okay, then, well, God, where should I start... Yeah, upstairs, not long ago, I went upstairs to look for the pickpocket.

【The fourth floor also became very strange. I don't know when there were a lot more... a lot of what? I forgot.

【Anyway, I went up to the fifth floor, but I didn't find him. I couldn't knock on his door. I had no choice but to knock on Lao Yang's door. Lao Yang is the building manager. She not only has the key to the unit door, but also the keys to all the houses. I know she is not feeling well, but I need her to help me open the pickpocket's door.

【Lao Yang's door opened with a push. There was no light on inside. I went in and saw... should it be Lao Yang? I don't know, I really don't know...

【But it was talking, it talked to me in Lao Yang's tone. It said that it knew what the pickpocket was doing because it had done something similar.

[They can all dream about [that]. And when they get close enough, they can see it without dreaming, and if they get even closer, they can even get in.

[I asked it where to get in, but it didn't answer. It just looked at me and said that I might be the luckiest of them. My intuition kept me in a relatively safe place, but at the same time I missed a lot. I don't want to know what I missed, I don't want to know at all. Don't let me know.

[It told me the last clue the pickpocket [read]. The clue was, [The heart extends thin tentacles and secretes strange hormones. The stones all turn into intestines and wriggle under its urging].

[I didn't understand what this meant. But it laughed, and its laugh was a bit scary.

[It said, don't you understand yet? Why is that mutant root getting harder and harder to control, and why are the other people in the building slowly turning into monsters?

[…Until this moment, I finally understood.

[The heart refers to that mutant root. The tentacles also refer to it.

[Before we noticed, that mutant root had already transformed itself into the heart of this building, and assimilated other people bit by bit into organs that could supply it with energy. So it never hunts, because it doesn't need to, it just needs to get energy from other [organs]...

[But what are hormones? I can't figure it out.

[The thing that speaks in Old Yang's tone... tells me that it hasn't figured it out yet. But it has found a solution. It said that it had exchanged with [that] at a great cost, and in exchange it obtained a mandatory rule with absolute priority. As long as this rule is in effect, it can be used to deal with the alien root.

[But for this rule to be effective, it must know the name of the alien root, a valid name. But we don't know... We only know that it calls itself Lingling, and Da Zhuang used to call it [Antenna Baby], but neither of these two names can make the rule effective.

[It gave me two choices. Either take the key to the gate from it and escape directly. Or, help it one last time. Help it find a name that can make the rule effective. As long as it finds it, it can use that rule to completely wipe out the alien root.

[Of course I can't just leave. This building is in complete chaos, it's like an independent ghost story. If I leave it alone, who knows what will happen.

[So I chose the second option. Then I came back. It said it couldn't leave the room anymore, but it would wait for me there until it got the answer.

[I still don't know how to look at it. I hope it's not Lao Yang, but I also hope it is. In this way, it will at least be there.

[I wanted to wait a little longer to see if Da Zhuang would come. But I didn't know how long I could delay, so I decided to take a risk.

[Next, I will put this record in a secret box. Besides me, the ones who can open this box are Da Zhuang, Li Li, and Xiao Huang. If nothing unexpected happens, I think the person who is reading this notebook now is any one of the above. Although it's a bit strange, I'll just ask for the time being.

[If you turn the page and see that there are more records at the back, then continue reading. Since you can see this notebook, it means that I'm long gone, and it's a blessing to be able to record more. If not, please continue my unfinished work. I believe the one on the fifth floor is still waiting. If it's Lao Yang, it will definitely wait.

[Also, if you can leave here, please take my report out and hand it in. Please, thank you.]

"..."

At this point, another page of content ends.

Xu Ming stared at the words on the page in front of him. After an unknown amount of time, he finally made up his mind and turned the page again.

At the back, there was only a blank space.