Chapter 31 The Elevator (8) [Killing Alice]...
Zhu Fengliang stopped talking.
Xi Rui kindly pointed out the way to Xie Tan: "There is a public telephone in the bedroom on the right. That's Xiao Ai's parents' room. The Mad Hatter was right. You can only say the script lines. That's the rule."
Zhu Fengliang said in a deep voice, "Keep the door open. We need to make sure you're saying your lines. Of course, don't try anything funny. You can't speak into the microphone if it's not your lines."
Zhu Fengliang thought to himself, "Don't panic. Even if the winner becomes this unpredictable guy, the rules remain the same."
In this respect, Xie Tan and Lu Jinzhao are no different.
Moreover, Lu Jinzhao is not a character in the script, and may even take advantage of loopholes.
If he's smart enough, without straying from the fairytale setting, he might actually be able to convey some message.
But Xie Tan is different. Zhu Fengliang assigned him a role, and the Wonderland has recognized it. He is now the Cheshire Cat.
With a specific role, the things one can say are even more limited.
He couldn't possibly say anything useful... right?
Xie Tan had no objection and went into Chang Mingai's parents' bedroom.
The old-fashioned landline phone was on the desk. Xie Tan, with his back to the door, turned the numbers on the dial pad one by one, dialing Chang Mingai's number, his mind racing as he considered what he should say.
He could only say one sentence, and the content had to be within the lines of the script. Fortunately, he seized the opportunity and read some of the original Alice in Wonderland book.
We need to provide clues for Chang Mingai, but we also can't waste this opportunity to showcase his character.
Which line...?
Xie Tan suddenly felt a movement in his sleeve. He looked down and saw a miniature toy version of Chang Mingai slip out of his sleeve and stand on the table.
It held a handful of notes in its arms and looked up at him.
Xie Tan realized that when he reached into the Mad Hatter's top hat, the toy figure in his sleeve had scooped up a handful of slips of paper.
He patted the little figure's head and quickly tore open the note.
All the notes contained the same sentence.
Kill Alice
Xie Tan suddenly remembered what the Mad Hatter had said when he took off his top hat.
[There weren't many left. Before the tea party, each resident of Wonderland drew a slip of paper; it contained their task for the day.]
Aside from him and Lu Jinzhao, who stumbled upon the place by mistake, there was Xi Rui, whose attitude remained unclear.
This elevator, this apartment, this wonderland, all life, those monsters, all have one mission, the same mission—to kill Alice.
The call connected, but Xie Tan couldn't hear a sound of breathing. However, he knew it was Chang Mingai listening.
During their brief time together, Xie Tan learned about her intelligence and decisiveness in crucial moments.
Before the castle game started, Xie Tan had planned that if he could win the reward, he would call her by her name, "Chang Ming'ai," to remind her who she was and not get lost in the monster-filled wonderland.
But Zhu Fengliang added a rule: he was already the "Cheshire Cat," and had an identity in the script.
If you have to call her "Alice," then you might as well not call her anything at all.
But Xie Tan then remembered that Xi Rui said Chang Ming'ai was already in the Queen of Hearts' castle, which was the most dangerous place. According to the original plot... that was where she was to be beheaded.
She may have been wandering around "home" all along. If she gets lost, is she lost in a fairyland or lost at home?
Perhaps it would be better to remind her that this is a fairyland and she is facing danger.
He knew what to say; a line from the Cheshire Cat was just right.
The call had been connected for a while, but neither of them spoke; it was so quiet it was as if the call had ended.
But the call didn't end, making Xie Tan even more certain that Chang Mingai was listening.
Then Xie Tan calmly said, "We're all crazy people here. I'm crazy, and you're crazy too... Alice."
After saying this, the call automatically ended without any response from Chang Mingai.
The busy tone lingered in Xie Tan's ears. He put down the phone, turned around, and went out. Zhu Fengliang was no longer at the tea party.
Xi Rui was grumbling and complaining: "Why are you running so fast? Does His Majesty need one more person? Why aren't you connected to the internet? My internet! I want to watch dramas and play games—"
But Chang Mingai's door was still locked, and only Zhu Fengliang left.
Moreover, judging from Xi Rui's tone, Zhu Fengliang left in a hurry.
Xie Tan breathed a sigh of relief, which meant that his words had hit the nail on the head.
Zhu Fengliang locked the gate, preventing them from leaving, so they had no choice but to stay there.
Number 7 was squatting at the bedroom door, looking up at him, its tail idly circling.
Xie Tan knew then that the comic had been updated.
He sat back down and saw Lu Jinzhao looking at him pitifully. Xie Tan was a little confused and silently looked back, asking him what was wrong.
“Ah Tan, what you just said…” Lu Jinzhao’s expression became even more pitiful.
say what?
To say everyone is crazy?
Xie Tan paused for a moment: "The dog isn't crazy." [1]
Lu Jinzhao blinked, as if he hadn't reacted yet.
That wasn't actually his reason; he thought... oh, he didn't notice.
So, by universal standards, not being crazy should be a positive assessment, right?
Atan was praising him.
Lu Jinzhao's mind worked quickly, but his expression seemed to light up instantly, and he started grinning foolishly, adding, "I like you even if you're crazy."
Xie Tan: "..." Thank you?
The concept of an evil dark wizard hasn't really been eliminated, so why not ask provocative questions in the "Truth or Dare" game? Xie Tan sighed helplessly.
After confirming Xie Tan's attitude, Lu Jinzhao remembered to ask curiously, "Why isn't the dog crazy?"
So the second question is about this? Xie Tan said expressionlessly, "Buy a fairy tale book and read it yourself." Perfect for you.
The mastermind behind the scenes had already left, too lazy to follow the rules of role-playing to explain anymore.
Lu Jinzhao didn't catch the sarcasm hidden in Xie Tan's words and nodded earnestly: "I will."
He has an active personality, and when he saw Xie Tan pick up his phone, he didn't disturb him. He was very active and started cleaning up the tea party venue, since it was their club's venue.
Xi Rui nodded with satisfaction. Look at his eye for talent! The commune member he chose could bring him good luck in times of life-or-death crisis, was easy to talk to, and loved to work.
The other person present, though completely different, was also very interested. He was planning to give a formal invitation, but then he saw his crush scrolling through her phone. He immediately gave her a betrayed look: "You have internet?"
He saw him browsing the documents!
Xie Tan gave him a haughty, aloof look: "Haven't you heard of offline caching?"
Xi Rui: "..."
Yeah, how come someone who frequents haunted places didn't think of offline caching and just relied on sleeping to get through each time!
Maybe it's because he loves to sleep too much.
But he remained silent, sullenly pulled up the rabbit eye mask, and continued to sleep.
He felt he needed to sideline the prospective members for a while! He invited them to talk again another time!
With the rabbit and the big dog finding something to do, Xie Tan was finally able to settle down and read comics.
I didn't know until I looked that the comic had already been updated three times. Xie Tan scrolled to the end and kept scrolling until his phone call ended.
He glanced silently at the cat, who guiltily fiddled with its round, jelly-like ears: "I was accumulating system energy and overslept, meow."
There's nothing we can do about it; he doesn't like being woken up when he's sleeping.
Moreover, as No. 7 said, during the energy storage period, it fell into a deep sleep and could not wake up midway.
Xie Tan also rubbed the little leopard's round ears. It didn't remind him, and the comics continued to be updated as usual. It's just that the time for this episode was too tight, unlike other stories which were updated every other day and developed slowly.
He didn't even notice the update himself, and even when the cat told him, he didn't have time to check.
The first episode begins from the perspective of the white rabbit.
It runs forward, past skyscrapers and old streets and alleys, and in the background, Xie Tan and Chang Mingai's conversation at the apartment slowly appears, about borrowing books and inviting each other upstairs.
As it turned the corner, Zhongbin Apartment was just ahead. An electric scooter sped past before the rabbit could reach it, and Xie Tan pulled Chang Mingai back from being hit.
"I... I might not have recovered yet, or I might not have slept well. Honestly, I never felt this tired when I was in high school, waking up at six every day. Lately... everything feels like a dream... Huh?"
"Then wake up quickly."
The white rabbit tilted its head, ran into the apartment building, and entered the elevator before they did.
The elevator slowly ascends, the camera zooms out, until the rabbit reaches the top floor, the entire elevator is outlined, along with the title of this episode, "The Elevator".
Two students who arrived a step later entered the apartment and went into the elevator. Chang Mingai was still talking about the playful white rabbit. The comic depicted her imagination, with the white rabbit struggling to hop up the steps with its short legs. Xie Tan, however, slowly looked up from the cold light of his phone screen, his expression turning cold.
The next second, he grabbed Chang Mingai, the elevator lights went out, and Chang Mingai's lovely fantasy burst like a bubble. The elevator plummeted, then opened again, and they found themselves on a strange floor.
[I knew it! An elevator theme couldn't possibly be this cozy. I knew it just by looking at Ah Tan's expression. Come on!]
Is this Xiao Ai's house? Is that white rabbit luring them into the elevator?
The two decided to investigate separately, blocking the door and talking non-stop, one inside and one outside, to confirm the other's presence.
However, just as Chang Mingai turned the door to her bedroom, a long neck emerged from the background and tied the chair back to its original position.
The door closed silently.
[Holy crap, what just flew by?]
Are there any other creatures in the house? Has it turned its head yet?
Next, Xie Tan saw through the comics how Chang Mingai faced her fake parents, and the strangely synchronized toy house.
When Chang Mingai asked why the bedroom was locked, the fake father said, "Don't wake the monster." It was actually a word game; the monster that would be woken up was the mother under the table. He just didn't want Chang Mingai to go to the bedroom to get the giant cookie.
Then, the fake father said in a sinister tone that Chang Mingai should be careful in making friends and not associate with shady people.
These words were spoken with great ambiguity, because the comic directly depicted Xie Tan walking in a dark corridor on the other half of the frame.
Chang Ming was trying to appease his fake father, but was suddenly confronted by his father: "So who were you texting... Alice?"
The scene ends with Xie Tan, standing in the corridor, slowly turning his head to a close-up. A drop of water from the ceiling falls silently onto the boy's beautiful cheek, shallower than a tear, as unnoticed as a moon's shadow.
However, those dark eyes, trapped in the dim light, remained lifeless, and that tear was like a scar that his soul had inadvertently revealed, fleeting and gone in an instant.
Looking further, all that remains is a chilling indifference.
Oh my god, is this the devastating power of a beautiful woman's tears...?
[Speechless... How can I describe this... If all else fails, let me lick it, please don't cry, sob sob sob]
[Are they eating and taking things away upstairs?]
[The swordsman is so good at drawing, he's practically risking his life! Is this "Leaving the Valley" illustration okay?]
[And there's even a picture of the little devil at the beginning! I highly recommend this one—his beauty made him famous overnight!]
[What do you mean by being careful about who you befriend? What do you mean by being shady? How could someone who looks like that be a bad person!]
Are there still activities involving making these kinds of shady friends? It's nothing, I'm just being rebellious.
[Who understands? One second I'm feeling a pang of heartbreak, the next I'm back to being the little piece of trash in Ah Tan's eyes. That contrast is so satisfying...]
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The author says: [1] In the original work, Alice asks, “How do you know I’m crazy?” The Cheshire Cat says, “You must be, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”
Then Alice asked, "How do you know you're crazy?" The Cheshire Cat replied, "First of all, dogs aren't crazy, don't you agree?" Alice said, "Maybe." The Cheshire Cat then explained, "Dogs growl when they're angry and wag their tails when they're happy, but I bark when I'm happy and wag my tail when I'm angry. If dogs aren't crazy, then I must be crazy!"
I thought it was cute, so I wrote it.
The author has a persistent low-grade fever and a terrible headache, so updates might be a bit shorter these next few days. I need to catch my breath. [heart emoji]
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