Chapter 90 (Revised)
The voice that suddenly sounded was actually no different from the voice of an ordinary person.
It was not particularly young, and there was a special grittiness in the softness, giving people a feeling of aging.
Compared with the voice, Xu Ming was more concerned about the name she reported.
Yang Duyi.
And in Ms. Tian’s diary, the building manager was called "Lao Yang".
...Now that it was said, it made sense. The voice also claimed to be the "person in charge" of this building.
Xu Ming thought silently, and Po Haitang asked strangely from behind: "Well, Teacher Jianming? Are you okay, teacher?"
It didn't seem to hear the sudden voice.
Realizing this, Xu Ming's heart moved again - from this point of view, the other party should be able to directly hear the sound of his thoughts, and its sound also directly affects his thoughts, which is commonly known as "mind communication"...
I don't know why, this strange but efficient way of communication inexplicably gave Xu Ming a familiar feeling. I always feel like I used it often before.
After thinking carefully for a while, I couldn't think of any clues for the time being. Xu Ming could only retract his thoughts, waved to Po Haitang, signaling it to stay calm, and then turned his eyes to Room 502.
Unlike Room 501 where the lights were overflowing, the door of Room 502 was closed at this moment, and there was a dead silence. I don't know why, just standing there and staring from a distance, it makes people feel a chill for no reason.
"...Don't look at me."
As if noticing Xu Ming's action at this time, the voice sounded again. The speed of speech was neither fast nor slow, as if it was lingering in Xu Ming's mind: "Don't come near."
"Sorry, but I'm very hungry now... So, for safety reasons, please don't come near."
Xu Ming: "..."
Okay, you are the floor manager and you have the final say.
Xu Ming cooperated and withdrew his gaze, and even took the initiative to step back another step.
After retreating, she adjusted her breathing gently, looked up and said:
"Hello, my friend and I were tricked into coming in from outside by the owner of Room 301... If it is convenient, I hope you can give me the key to leave."
"...The key to leave?" The voice paused, "Do you mean the key for this building?"
"Yes." Xu Ming nodded without hesitation, but felt a little strange in his heart.
The key to leave, if not the key for the unit building, what other key can it refer to?
The voice seemed to be relieved: "That's good.
"But I'm sorry, I can't give it to you."
... ?
Xu Ming was stunned: "Why..."
"It's not that I don't want you to leave." The voice said immediately, "I'm just sorry... I really have no choice. "
No way? Do you mean you are not able to give the key? Or do you have some concerns?
Xu Ming's mind raced, and before she could ask, the voice spoke again as if it saw through her thoughts:
"Both.
" "Now I can't leave the room, and I can't let you in. So I can't let you get the key. And..."
"Are you afraid it will escape?" Xu Ming had understood, "Are you afraid that the little girl in 301 will take the opportunity to escape?"
But isn't that thing still bound by other things? For example, the induction light.
"Have you ever seen pigs in cages?" the voice said, "Any untamed animal is extremely sensitive to any opportunity to gain freedom. Once they sense that the cell door is loose, they will rush out regardless of everything, even at the risk of getting injured, they will seize the opportunity to rush out...
"Do you really think that in this case, the light still has the ability to limit it? "
... maybe there really isn't one."
Xu Ming gave a negative answer in his heart. After all, judging from the previous situation, Ms. Tian might have gotten into trouble while carrying a flashlight.
By the way, is it popular to use pigs as metaphors here?
Xu Ming thought silently, calmed down, pondered for a moment, and then spoke tentatively:
"As far as I know, the building manager should have a rule. Suppose you get the name of the owner of No. 301, you can erase its existence, right?"
She did not hide the information she got, and the implication was very clear. If necessary, she could help find the child's real name, as long as they could get out in the end.
The voice fell silent
after hearing this. After a long while, it was heard to say softly: "So that's the case, the place you stayed was not the second floor, but the third floor."
Xu Ming: "......?" "
That rule does exist," the voice continued, speaking bluntly, "I once spent a great deal to exchange it out from behind the door. But unfortunately, it is of no use now."
? Another question mark secretly appeared in Xu Ming's mind. After a moment of thought, he asked tentatively, "Is it because Xu Ling's real name has not been found yet?"
She deliberately used the name Xu Ling, but the other party did not respond. She only said lightly, "To be precise, it cannot be found."
"I know what you are thinking. I have tried the name Xu Ling, and I have tried its other names. Unfortunately, they are all useless." The voice said, "Its name is not anywhere in this world. At least not where we can get it. "
"......?" "Xu Ming couldn't help but frown. Not in this world, does that mean, in another world?
The entity is in this world, but the name is in another world... In other words, it exists in two worlds at the same time...
Something seemed to flash through her mind quickly, her lips moved slightly, and when she reacted, a word had already jumped out naturally:
"Connection key?"
"?!" The moment the words fell, two puzzled voices overlapped in her ears. One came from the Begonia not far away. It was sitting there and opening its eyelids. When it heard Xu Ming's sudden voice, it was so scared that it opened its eyes; the other voice came from Yang Duyi.
"You know this word." It did not hide its surprise, "Who are you? "
Xu Ming: "..."
You may not believe it, but I actually don’t know where this word came from. It just popped out naturally.
It was just very familiar, as if I had seen it before, but I didn't know where I had come across it before.
Because he didn't know how deep the other party's "mind reading" could go, Xu Ming didn't think about hiding it, and gave an honest answer directly: "I just heard about it, but I don't know the specific meaning."
"I heard..." Yang Duyi smacked the word, as if he was lost in thought. After a few seconds, he said, "Do you have a unit?"
"I guess." Xu Ming said vaguely, "The Ghost Story Removal Office."
Yang Duyi: "...Removal?"
"Exaggerated." Xu Ming said immediately, trying to be humble, "Actually, I haven't removed much..."
At best, I just removed the roots of two ghost stories, and adopted, not took in, another ghost story. Other than that, I really haven't removed much.
Xu Ming was thinking silently. On the other side, Yang Duyi didn't know what he "read". He was silent again. After a long while, he whispered:
"Your Excellency... is very capable."
"..." Xu Ming touched his nose and didn't dare to respond. He just whispered, "So, may I ask what the 'connection key' refers to..." "
The tool that connects the outside of the door and the back of the door can keep the world in an 'open' state." The voice said lightly, "As for the rest, I'm sorry, I can't reveal more. I have lost too far. The thing behind the door, it is staring at me now."
...The thing behind the door?
A new term appeared again. Xu Ming thought about it for a while and soon found the corresponding one -
is it "that"? "That" that can only be touched by humans who have used the root...
So what is "that"? And why is it called "behind the door"? What does this have to do with the "connection key"? Is the existence of the key a prerequisite for contacting "that"? Then how is the identity of the "connection key" identified?
A huge question mark popped up again like a vibrant leek. Xu Ming closed his eyes and tried to sort out the chaotic thoughts in his mind. At this moment, Yang Duyi spoke again, but his tone revealed a bit of hesitation:
"Speaking of which, can I ask...what's going on in the outside world?"
? What does it mean?
Xu Ming raised his eyes in surprise.
"The outside world." The voice repeated itself deliberately, "Since you work in a related department, you should be familiar with the existence of 'ghost stories'... So what kind of ghost stories are you seeing now?" Why did they
suddenly ask this?
Xu Ming was even more confused, but he still described it as briefly as possible. The voice was silent for a few seconds and sighed.
"Sure enough..." It said softly, and didn't say anything more.
Xu Ming's heart was in turmoil again because of its unnecessary question.
Behind the door, outside the door, ghost stories, connection keys.
Speaking of which, Shi Mian had said before that ghost stories began to evolve during his four years in college, that is, after his aunt disappeared. And the aunt and the manager of this building are old acquaintances. Judging from the time, the aunt's disappearance should also be after the accident in the unit building... Is
this time really just a coincidence? If not, what is the relationship between the so-called "connection key" and the changes in the strange story? The voice suddenly asked this question, and Xu Ming didn't think it was just a whim...
"Don't think." At this moment, the voice said again, "Don't think here."
"The things behind the door may hear it."
"..." Xu Ming paused slightly, looked at the closed door with some caution, and quickly retracted his gaze.
Listening to advice is a good habit. Besides, she has always been pragmatic-there is also Qiu Yufei who is fostered downstairs. At this time, it is better to think about how to treat people before running away.
No matter what the mysterious and terrifying truth of the mystery is, no matter how curious you are, you have to put it off for a while.
But speaking of running away...
Xu Ming pursed her lips and quickly returned to her thoughts -
if she was just pursuing running away, then the current situation is actually quite clear:
the building manager has the key to leave, but the prerequisite for giving the key is to first kill the little girl downstairs to prevent it from escaping when the door is open. The only way to restrict it at present is the induction light, but it cannot be absolutely restricted. The legendary rule that can directly wipe out Xu Ling cannot take effect because of the lack of keywords...
? Wait.
Xu Ming was slightly startled, and suddenly reacted - she didn't understand what the connection key was, but she was familiar with the keyword!
Although it is impossible to use keyword replacement in the state of a dream walker, it is a skill that has been used several times after all, and the necessary sensitivity has long been cultivated:
it is known that knowing Xu Ling's real name can kill Xu Ling, which means that this rule itself is likely to have no clear direction, and it is also valid if Xu Ling's name is replaced with another noun. It
is also known that Xu Ling's strength comes from the binding relationship between it and other monsters. It catalyzes other dead people to make them alienated, and uses the alienated monsters as its own organs...
What if this binding relationship is summarized into a specific noun, and then this noun is filled into the rules held by 502?
The binding relationship is erased, which means that Xu Ling itself will be weakened. In this state, can it still break through the limitations of the induction light?
If not, if not...
"If not, I will give you the key to leave this building." As if sensing her thoughts, the voice spoke again, "But you must promise that you will take the key with you and will never leave it in the unit."
"No problem!" Xu Ming responded without hesitation. Just kidding, if she can really get the key, she will put it directly into the rule book, otherwise who knows when the little girl will start cheating again.
This time she cheated Yufei, who will she cheat next time. It's always right to leave a key.
And judging from the voice's reply, her idea is not unfeasible. The next thing to think about is how to use a noun to resolve the connection between Xu Ling and the monster...
"Hormone." At this moment, the voice spoke again, and it sounded like a reminder, "'The heart extends thin tentacles and secretes strange hormones. The stones become intestines, wriggling under its impetus' - this is the clue we got at the time."
"..." Xu Ming had seen the same words not long ago, in the diary left by Ms. Tian.
Hormones... catalysis... Xu Ling is "heart", so it is most likely the same thing that it uses to catalyze monsters. This thing may also be the key to maintaining the connection between it and monsters...
So what is it? Something that may exist, manifested in all monsters, and can be summarized in a certain way...
"... Fear." Something else seemed to flash through his mind. Before Xu Ming could think about it carefully, he blurted out almost instinctively, "The catalytic hormone may be fear."
This makes sense - fear is one of the most easily destabilizing emotions. The more fear there is, the easier it is to magnify the cracks in the mind.
Hearing the voice, he just sighed softly.
"I know, but I can't." It whispered, "Poetry lamps rely on the same fear. If all fear is erased, all lights will lose their effectiveness."
... So what are poetry lamps? Are they the lights used to suppress monsters?
Xu Ming thought for a moment, and then quickly said, "No, no, no, I'm not talking about simple fear..."
Strictly speaking, it should be - the fear of life.
- To be honest, this was the inspiration given to her by the "mother" who appeared repeatedly on the fourth floor.
The novelist on the second floor was afraid that he would not be able to make a living, so he became a monster who was greedy for food; Uncle Hu was particularly afraid of memory loss because his family members had Alzheimer's disease. He tried his best to maintain his memory during his lifetime, and he went crazy after his death; as for the big eyes on the first floor...
From Uncle Hu's notes, the old man living on the first floor had the habit of staring at passers-by.
Inferring from the results, the reason for this behavior may also be a kind of fear? A fear of others - and this fear, which spread from its life to its death, finally became a virus that caused its mutation under the influence of Xu Ling.
... I just don't know why Panpan and her mother on the first floor have never been affected. Apart from that, the only people who were not affected were the three living people. At least from the diary she left behind, Ms. Tian had always remained rational; the assistant to the building manager, the pickpocket, was also not affected.
His mutation was due to his eagerness to improve his root ability, and he was affected by "that"... at least that's what it seems now .
And the building manager, her transformation was also due to "that", and she must have paid a price because she was in a hurry to exchange the necessary rules with "that"...
and so on.
Xu Ming suddenly realized that something was still wrong.
...Oh, it's the time.
The time doesn't match.
If the building manager had become mutated because of the deal she made with "that person", then her change should have occurred after Xu Ling's threat was completely exposed; but the fact is that the building manager had already shown some signs of being a little bit abnormal when Ms. Tian and the others were still cautiously testing her...
and the changes in other residents were almost at the same time...
Realizing this, Xu Ming's heart suddenly sank.
A guess suddenly popped up in her mind, a bold guess, so bold that it was scary. She couldn't help but look up again at Room 502 not far away. The door was still tightly closed, and a cold breath leaked out from the gap in the door.
"...Uh, building manager? I guess I can call you that." There was another moment of silence. Xu Ming spoke slowly and slowly, and finally squeezed out a voice in the suppressed silence, "Excuse me... to ask you a question."
"Are you trading with 'that' as a living person?"
"..."
After she finished speaking, she was only responded by a long silence.
The cold breath spread further, Xu Ming held his breath slightly, and did not speak for a while. I don't know how long it took before I finally heard a response from the voice -
it was laughing.
A low laugh, like a low-frequency tremor; soon, the laughter gradually became louder, the sound became sharper and sharper, the tremor became more and more intense, until finally, the laughter turned into an angry scream - a
crisp explosion suddenly rang out in the room, and Xu Ming instinctively shrank his neck. The room had fallen into silence. After an unknown amount of time, Yang Duyi spoke again, and it sounded like he had calmed down:
"Sorry. I was a little excited.
"I'm not in a very good state now. I've been trying to maintain it. I turned on the lights in the room as much as possible... but there are some things that I really can't control..."
"No, it's okay. "Xu Ming replied as calmly as possible, and was a little dazed for a moment - so the explosion sound just now, was it the sound of the light in the house exploding? In other words, the floor manager who lives in 502 is now using the light from 501 to keep himself "calm"? But Ms. Maeda's diary said that the last time she saw the floor manager, the other's room was dim and there was no light.
Did the floor manager restore the lighting in the room by himself after that? How did he do it? Is it really okay if one suddenly explodes now...
Xu Ming thought with some worry, his mind turned slightly, and he couldn't help sighing.
...Sure enough.
She was just guessing at first, but judging from the reaction of the building manager, she was probably right -
the building manager himself probably died when Xu Ling was still developing quietly. After her death, she tried to continue to manage the building as a deceased person, and even paid a huge price to exchange the rules, but she did not realize that she had been influenced by Xu Ling unknowingly and became one of her organs.
It has been so long since she found a breakthrough to deal with Xu Ling, maybe because of this relationship.
The good news is that the building manager should not have "fed" Xu Ling... Of course, Xu Ming could not be 100% sure of this, but she was willing to believe it.
On the other side, the voice seemed to have finally calmed down completely. After a moment of silence, there was another sigh.
"Thank you for your suggestion, it's very inspiring. I will try to use the word you said to trigger the rule." It whispered, "If successful, I will give you the key in my own way.
"It's just that, if possible, I hope you can help me do three more things before you leave. This is very important."
"?" Xu Ming straightened his back unconsciously, "What?"
"First. Please help me hold it with the light." Yang Duyi said, "Since you know about that rule, it means you have been in contact with the residents of 302. Then you should also know that the induction light is just a carrier form of light. Light can be loaded into different carriers, and the volume and number of the carriers determine the power that the light can exert, that is to say..."
"We can carry the big lamp from 501 down." Xu Ming suddenly realized, "Just use the cannon!"
"...No." The voice paused, "My suggestion is that you can use some suitable lamps to scoop away the light."
"Oh." Xu Ming suddenly realized again, so that's it, he understood.
Yang Duyi: "..."
"In fact, the huge lamp hidden deep in Room 501 is the root left by my companion." After a brief silence, it spoke again, "This root has been integrated with the unit building, so it cannot be moved."
Xu Ming: "...Well."
However, why did he have to emphasize and explain it again?
Xu Ming didn't say anything. I don't know if it was her illusion, but I always felt that the tone of the building manager's additional explanation was a little subtle.
"The second thing--" At this moment, the voice came out again, "I hope you can pull out the power switch of Room 201."
Xu Ming:...
Xu Ming:...???
"Sorry." She suspected that she didn't hear clearly, "You just said..."
"Turn off the power switch of Room 201." The voice repeated word by word, "This is also very important."
201-Xu Ming had an impression of this room, it was opposite the novelist's room. The room also had a suppressive light, but when Xu Ming tried to pull down the power switch before, the door of the room was always closed, and the existence inside did not come out.
So what exactly is staying inside?
"I have a friend." Yang Duyi didn't seem to want to explain further, and simply said, "She promised that she would come to help me when the most critical moment came."
Friend... Xu Ming's eyebrows moved slightly, and he finally nodded, half-believing and half-doubting: "The last thing is..." "The
last thing, in fact, you don't have to do it." The voice gradually lowered, "You know a lot, so I assume that you should have opened the box left by the resident of 302."
The resident of 302 is Ms. Tian. Xu Ming nodded without thinking, and then heard the voice:
"In this case, can you please bring me the piece of dogwood she left in the box?"
... Dogwood?
Xu Ming thought for a moment and took out the dry dogwood branch from his bag: "You mean this?"
The voice seemed to laugh and continued:
"Yes, that's it. If possible, please insert this thing into my door handle after you get the key."
"..." Xu Ming nodded after thinking, "But can I ask the reason?"
"Reason? Nothing special." Yang Duyi said, and his tone returned to the casual and normal at the beginning, just like an ordinary person:
"If everything goes well, we will take the connection key to a very far place next.
"Although it's slim, I hope this thing can show us the way back."