Han Qianqiu felt a wave of nervousness, even he, someone usually thick-skinned, realized that the director was a key figure, and possibly the mastermind behind this game room, the final boss.
KP said, “You really want to charm him? He has a strong will. You’ll need to pull off an extremely difficult charm.”
“Let’s give it a try.” Han Qianqiu scratched his head. “I can’t boast and then back down, can I? But I’m not sure… How difficult is ‘extremely difficult’?”
“If your charm attribute is 80, then an extremely difficult charm would be one of the four attributes, which is 20 points,” KP said, chuckling. Initially thinking this operation was too difficult, now he was looking forward to seeing how it would play out. “Good luck, Qianqiu.”
Han Qianqiu: “…” He felt mocked by KP! What’s going on!?
Han Qianqiu couldn’t resist a challenge. As a typical player from the Valley, the more someone provoked him, the more enthusiastic he became. He rubbed his hands together and said to Shen Lin, “Lin Mei, give me some encouragement.”
Shen Lin: “…”
Shen Lin tapped his shoulder and joked, “There you go, all set.”
KP: “Wait a minute—”
KP suddenly panicked.
Han Qianqiu gently tapped his delicate fingers on the floating dice in front of him.
The two dice, black and white, spun rapidly and eventually landed on the number 3.
Great! Success!
Han Qianqiu: “Holy crap!!! I did it!!!”
KP: “…………” He wanted to die!!!
A big success in charming meant there was no need for further willpower confrontation. Han Qianqiu only needed to display his charm to succeed.
KP remained silent.
Shen Lin, acting as KP, said, “Please begin your performance.”
Han Qianqiu, prepared, took out his phone and said to the director, “Let me introduce you to a live streamer. This person…”
He chattered away, and the intellectual elderly director was as interested in his vulgar and terrifying live broadcasts as if he had been enchanted. When he looked back at Han Qianqiu, his eyes were full of appreciation for this young man.
Beside him, Zhao Li, a fan of Han Qianqiu, looked complicated.
Shen Lin: “…”
Shen Lin took the initiative, “I have something to do. I’ll come back another day.”
The director nodded.
Shen Lin left, and Yan Xiu stood in the long corridor, looking at each painting one by one.
He was tall and handsome, and when he was focused, he exuded a restrained and heavy aura. Sensing Shen Lin’s gaze, Yan Xiu turned his head, and their eyes met. This glance was so profound that it seemed to freeze the corridor in time, and their clocks were set to an inexplicable node.
Shen Lin, in a state of amnesia, once again felt a strange sense of déjà vu, and in his mind, there appeared a vast expanse of white snow, with tiny figures struggling to move forward.
Yan Xiu’s figure flashed in front of him, and Shen Lin impulsively patted his back, “What’s up?”
Yan Xiu asked, “How did it go?”
“Han Qianqiu succeeded big time.”
Yan Xiu was taken aback for a moment and asked with a smile, “Charming?”
“Yes.” Shen Lin looked at Yan Xiu. “Did you find anything?”
“Yes.” Yan Xiu picked out all the photos related to the town of Hassan. He pointed to one of them and said to Shen Lin, “Pay attention to this.”
Shen Lin noted the details in the photo. Yan Xiu then showed him another one, “From this photo to this one, each photo has a date. When we came, we saw this one, which the director took before leaving the town. The other one was taken when he first arrived. The shape of the meteorite is slightly different in the two photos.”
The photos from a few years ago had been oxidized after hanging outside for some time, and the images were not clear, especially the meteorite fragment in the lake, whose surface patterns were barely visible, but its shape and outline could be roughly outlined.
Under Yan Xiu’s guidance, Shen Lin clearly noticed that compared to when they first arrived, there was a small piece missing from the meteorite when the director left the town. This small piece was a long strip, with both ends tapering, seemingly effortlessly chiseled off from the edge of the meteorite block.
Shen Lin concentrated on observing, and unconsciously blurted out, “Your observation skills are so sharp…”
Yan Xiu furrowed his brows and asked, “Have you recovered your memory? So quickly?”
Shen Lin blinked slowly, not sure how to answer. His memory hadn’t recovered, but some habits ingrained deep in his mind would be brought out unintentionally. He scratched his cheek awkwardly and said, “No, I don’t know why I have such a deep impression of you, and some words just come out naturally. I don’t know what’s going on.”
Yan Xiu looked at him, and his eyes, usually clear but carrying a hint of coldness, seemed somewhat gentle in the dim corridor. He smiled and said, “It’s okay. You’ll remember.”
Shen Lin averted his gaze, suppressing the fluttering in his heart, and returned to the main topic, “So, when the director left the town, he took away a small piece of the meteorite. Now we need to find out what this piece of meteorite is used for and what it will be used for.”
He glanced back at the closed door and said, “Keep an eye on Han Qianqiu.”
At noon, as per the appointment, Shen Lin went to the first-floor lobby to meet with everyone.
Zheng De and Xia He were already seated there, and they were only waiting for Han Qianqiu.
Zheng De asked, “Where’s Han Qianqiu?”
“He’s in the director’s office, I guess.”
Zheng De: “What happened?”
As they spoke, Han Qianqiu came downstairs, looking pleased with himself.
He bounced over, did a little spin when he reached his seat, then plopped down next to Shen Lin and said with a smile, “Big discovery.”
Shen Lin glanced at him. “Go on.”
Han Qianqiu said, “You hinted at two things for me to ask about, the fire that year and the previous murder case. I found out some insider information about both. First, about the fire, it was indeed started by a mentally ill patient from the hospital. The person didn’t actually die in the fire.”
The others shivered, and Xia He was stunned. “Wait, wait… I found that the fire was extremely intense, almost the entire building was engulfed in flames. How could the arsonist still be alive?”
“Indeed, he’s alive,” Han Qianqiu said solemnly. “According to the director, when they were putting out the fire, they found that person kneeling on the bed. His clothes were burned to ashes, but there was no trace left on his body, not even a red mark from the fire.”
Zheng De asked in confusion, “He just told you directly? Such a big deal?”
“Yeah,” Han Qianqiu nodded. “My charm was a big success.”
Zheng De: “…”
He didn’t believe it, and asked again, “What did he say?”
Han Qianqiu said, “Just like that, but he said it’s just a story. He said I do horror live streams, and it would be more appealing to put it that way.”
Shen Lin asked in detail, “Did you pass the persuasion test?”
“I did,” Han Qianqiu said. “Lin Mei taught me well, and I remembered. When he was telling the story, I passed, but it was a secret test, so I couldn’t see whether I passed or not. I could only guess based on his expression. I feel like that story is true.”
He spoke so earnestly that Zheng De didn’t doubt his lead anymore.
Shen Lin asked, “What about that person?”
“Don’t know,” Han Qianqiu said. “Couldn’t get anything out of him. The director said it was just a story and told me not to take it too seriously.”
Xia He, having watched many horror movies and with a quick mind, chuckled sinisterly and said, “I wonder where that person is lurking in this mental hospital, secretly watching us. Maybe it’s the monster from last night!”
The thought chilled Han Qianqiu to the bone.
Shen Lin smiled, intending to turn around and say something to Yan Xiu, but found that Yan Xiu had left his seat without anyone noticing. Shen Lin looked around and saw Yan Xiu walking straight towards a dark corner.
Shen Lin’s actions caught the attention of others, and the atmosphere suddenly became silent. Han Qianqiu, fearing something was wrong, grabbed Shen Lin’s sleeve and asked nervously, “W-what’s going on over there?”
Yan Xiu looked into the darkness, his footsteps stopping as if he were observing something.
Everyone’s scalp tingled, and they barely dared to breathe.
In the eerie silence, KP said, “Everyone, take a listening test.”
Everyone: “…”
They took turns to take a listening test, and those who passed heard the same mournful music as Shen Lin had heard last night.
“After passing the listening test, take an inspiration test.”
They rolled the dice.
Shen Lin didn’t pass. He furrowed his brows, and KP said, “It’s good that you didn’t pass. Watch your SAN value, be careful of permanent insanity.”
Soon, Han Qianqiu suddenly collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide open, trembling in horror.
“What’s wrong?” Xia He and Zheng De helped him up.
Han Qianqiu shivered and said hoarsely, “Monster… I saw a monster just now… It looked like a fusion of a wasp and a lizard…”
Xia He: “It’s the one from last night!”
Zheng De: “What does that mean?”
Shen Lin pondered for a moment and said, “The appearance of the flute and the monster are related. That is to say, the monster can be manipulated by the flute music.”
The clues were unclear.
Shen Lin looked at Han Qianqiu. “Can you recover?”
Han Qianqiu nodded slightly. “Lost 4 SAN points, fortunately didn’t go crazy. If I did, all the clues I got from selling my charm this morning would have been lost.”
Everyone: “…” Who would sell their looks with a 10-point appearance!
Seeing that he seemed fine, Shen Lin asked, “Any clues about the recent madness and murder in Building A of the Gemini Tower?”
Han Qianqiu wiped his face, his expression becoming very subtle. “Regarding this matter, the director also told me a story. He said it was actually done by the vengeful spirit of a little boy. The vengeful spirit attached itself to a patient and took over his body while the patient was weak. After the incident, the patient was detained for observation due to injuring others, and the vengeful spirit of the little boy is still…”
He lowered his voice, nervous, “Lurking in this hospital.”
