After an uncertain period of time, Ruan Qing’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and his grip on the strap of his shoulder bag tightened. He regained consciousness, but didn’t immediately open his eyes.
The surroundings were eerily quiet, devoid of any sound, and
the air carried a faint scent of blood and mustiness.
The bed beneath him felt hard, like a makeshift wooden plank.
It was evident that he was no longer in the previous hotel.
It seemed like... the original owner’s rented house?
Ruan Qing confirmed this even before opening his eyes.
His sense of smell and perception were always sharp, and he
could easily distinguish the cheap air freshener and moldy odor unique to the
original owner’s rented house.
As he lay on the bed, he realized there was another person
lying beside him, evident from the barely audible breathing sound.
The faint scent of blood emanated from the person beside him.
Ruan Qing didn’t need to open his eyes to know who it was.
The original owner’s landlord, Jiang Sinian.
Ruan Qing had long known that Jiang Sinian was the one who
had abducted him.
During his struggles, he had noticed a wound on Jiang
Sinian’s waist, a potentially fatal injury.
If he pretended to struggle and inflicted another fierce blow
to his waist, he might be able to free himself.
But Ruan Qing didn’t do it.
Because of Ji Yan, and also because of Wen Li.
Ji Yan was different from everyone else. While others might
pretend to be a gentleman and act polite, giving false opportunities, Ji Yan
wouldn’t. He acted solely based on his own desires, and the other was also
incredibly intelligent.
When a person possessed both intellect and physical strength,
they became the most formidable. It would be difficult for Ruan Qing to
preserve himself in Ji Yan’s hands.
He never wanted to fall into anyone’s grasp and become
someone else’s caged canary.
Not only would he lose his freedom, but he also had to
constantly worry about his ‘owner’ not being strong enough and being forced to
change to another ‘owner’.
As for Wen Li, the hypnosis the other put on him would impair
his brain function, and it would increase over time. It wouldn’t be wise to
stay with him.
That’s why Ruan Qing hesitated no more and chose to go with
Jiang Sinian. After all, Jiang Sinian had a fatal injury and couldn’t do
anything. If any problems arose, Ruan Qing would have a chance to escape.
So many things had happened in just one day, leaving Ruan
Qing with no breathing space and feeling physically and mentally exhausted.
What’s worse, none of these events were part of the dungeon
mission, and there was little progress in the investigation regarding the
dungeon instance.
The only thing that could be confirmed at the moment was that
Jiang Sinian, Ji Yan, and Wen Li were all connected to the horror livestream
room.
Jiang Sinian’s identity could be easily determined. He should
be one of the killers in the horror livestream room, which practically ruled
out the possibility of him being the owner of the room.
When Ruan Qing initially borrowed 500,000 from Gu Zhaoxi, it
wasn’t just a random request. He had three main objectives.
First, he wanted to enter the bar and escape during the
chaos. If he borrowed too little, he was afraid that Gu Zhaoxi would directly
transfer the money.
Second, he wanted to test whether Gu Zhaoxi was suspicious or
not. If it were an ordinary person, they would probably ignore someone
borrowing 500,000. But Gu Zhaoxi was very enthusiastic, clearly indicating that
something was off.
Third, he wanted to determine if Jiang Sinian could see the
livestream room. So he intentionally concealed the character “万“
(wà n) in the message he sent, and the result was obvious—he couldn’t see it. (T/N:
This character ‘万’
represented the last three zeroes in the 500,000 that Ruan Qing typed.)
The possibility of someone who couldn’t see the livestream
room and wasn’t very smart being the owner of the room was very low.
As for Ji Yan and Wen Li, Ruan Qing was more inclined to
suspect Wen Li.
In fact, after realizing he had been hypnotized, Ruan Qing’s
main concern was how to discreetly deal with the doctor.
Originally, he thought it would be simple. As long as he
smiled at the other, the doctor would be dealt with quickly.
That’s what he believed, but Jiang Sinian failed, and Ruan
Qing himself almost got killed due to his misjudgment of the doctor.
At that moment, he had concluded that there was a high
possibility of the doctor dying at the hands of Jiang Sinian. It was under the
pretense of getting lost that he explored the peculiar hospital building, which
revealed strange secrets at every turn.
However, to his surprise, Jiang Sinian not only failed but
also allowed the doctor to return so quickly.
Although Jiang Sinian wasn’t the brightest, he wasn’t weak
either. So, it must be that the doctor was exceptionally strong.
Presumably, Ji Yan and Gu Zhaoxi wouldn’t succeed in their
collaboration either.
Wen Li, that person, was too extraordinary. Whether it was
hypnosis or his physical abilities, it seemed to surpass the limits of a human.
On several occasions, Ji Yan almost struck the doctor, but
the doctor mysteriously evaded each time. Ruan Qing even deliberately spoke up
to distract the doctor during the most dangerous attack.
Yet, the doctor still managed to evade, only receiving
superficial injuries.
It was impossible for the doctor to dodge that strike. At
least, humans shouldn’t be able to do it unless they surpassed the limits of
physics.
But how could humans surpass the limits of physics? Was Wen
Li truly... human?
The most important question was, could he be the owner of the
livestream room?
Ruan Qing wasn’t certain, but Wen Li was undoubtedly the most
suspicious one.
Since their first encounter, he had suspected that the doctor
could see the livestream; otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why the
doctor immediately hypnotized him.
Unless the doctor had seen him from the very beginning.
Ruan Qing had an excellent memory, almost photographic. Once
he saw someone, he would never forget them.
He was certain he had never seen the doctor before, but the
doctor seemed to have seen him.
It was highly likely that it happened within the livestream.
Moreover, every encounter seemed too coincidental. He had
just broken into the laboratory when the doctor arrived.
Even when he was captured by Jiang Sinian earlier, the doctor
glanced in his direction.
In that instant, Ruan Qing became certain that the doctor
could definitely see the livestream.
However, being able to see the livestream didn’t necessarily
mean he was the owner of the room. There was only one chance to submit an
answer, and if his judgment was wrong, the consequences would definitely not be
what he wanted to see.
It was only the second day of the game, and the clues were
still too few.
The problem was that he didn’t have much time because the
danger level of the game would increase and become even more challenging as
time passed, not to mention the bunch of perverts who were eyeing him.
If he didn’t find the answer quickly, he might end up trapped
in this virtual world.
While Ruan Qing was contemplating the next question, the
person beside him suddenly moved, reaching out and pressing down on Ruan Qing’s
body, even leaning over him completely.
The action carried a strong sense of aggression and
oppression, as if being tightly entangled by a venomous snake, making it hard
to breathe.
Ruan Qing’s heart skipped a beat, realizing that he couldn’t
pretend to be asleep any longer.
