Chapter 423: The First Death
(Wait a moment) Xu Huo turned his head to look out the window. "It's just an illusion. There's nothing outside. If you're worried, I can go out with you to take a look."
"No need, no need." Chu Yuan quickly refused, then paused to listen again. "It seems the sound has disappeared again."
Silence fell once more, and the two continued trying to sleep. This time, Chu Yuan couldn't hold on either. After enduring for an hour, his eyelids were drooping, and just as they were about to close, a scream of indistinguishable gender suddenly exploded outside.
"Damn it!" He sprang up like a leaping carp.
Xu Huo also opened his eyes, clearly sensing two people passing nearby and heading in different directions, but he couldn't pinpoint their exact locations.
The spot Chu Yuan had chosen was a small hub. To the right was the elevator, and two rooms to the left was a longitudinal corridor.
However, this laboratory was arranged in a grid pattern with corridors as the lines. Except for the blocked corridor at the end of the first floor they had seen earlier, the interior here was entirely divided into small sections. Rooms not against the walls were back-to-back, and different directions could lead to the same room.
"This time it's not my auditory hallucination, right? Has something happened to a player?" Chu Yuan panted, pricking up his ears to listen for a moment before adding, "These people really have steady nerves. No one's come out."
With the situation unclear, anyone who went out would be a fool.
Xu Huo said, "Wait until tomorrow morning."
The next day, when the lights came on, players emerged from different positions on that floor. After gathering together, they realized He Chunsheng was missing.
"Was that scream last night him?" Miao Yu said hesitantly. "It didn't sound like a man's voice either."
"Let's search the rooms first." The remaining players sprang into action. After searching all the rooms to no avail, they found his body in a restroom. He was slumped under the sink, his face cyanotic, eyes bulging, and mouth wide open.
"Suffocation." Miao Yu closed his eyes after a rough examination.
"Why did he die in the restroom?" Gan Qing asked suspiciously. "It couldn't be that he came out to use the bathroom at night, could it?"
This was indeed very strange.
Given that all players had tacitly agreed to stay on the same floor, even if He Chunsheng wanted to take advantage and hide on the next floor, he should have run to the elevator. How could he have ended up in the restroom?
"There are bloodstains on the floor where he clawed at it. He died right here." Ge Pan frowned. "Could it be that a ghost chased him here?"
Among the players, there was a "ghost." Killing someone could restore their "human" identity. Since the players hadn't received any game prompts, it was very likely that He Chunsheng had been killed by a ghost-drawn player.
"The problem is, we don't know if the 'Humans Catch Ghosts' game gives any prompts. Who knows whether the ghost is alive or dead right now? What if He Chunsheng was the ghost, and he was killed, so the ghost is gone, but no one reminded us that the game is over? Then for the next few days, wouldn't we be blindly fighting each other?" Wu Xiaonan said.
"Let's go check the topic board." Mao Wei said in a low voice.
The group snapped back to reality and hurried to the room where the topic board was placed. Below the whiteboard that wrote the game rules, a "2" had been drawn in blood.
"Great. Now we're sure He Chunsheng wasn't the one who drew the ghost card." Miao Yu turned to look at the others. "Two ghosts. The ghosts don't have any special markings either..."
The players slightly distanced themselves from each other, becoming wary.
At this point, Chu Yuan spoke up. "The ghost only appears after lights out. When a player becomes a ghost, they must undergo some special changes, like becoming as elusive as a ghost."
"Tonight, if everyone gathers together after lights out, we'll be able to tell who the ghost is."
"Two ghosts. How do we clear the game?" Gan Qing looked around.
"This game itself is very contradictory," Zhu Rumin said thoughtfully. "The 'Humans Catch Ghosts' game requires maintaining a human identity to win. Does 'maintaining a human identity' apply to all the remaining people, or just to those who catch the ghost?"
"For now, we can't kill the ghost, but we can try to catch one first. If catching a ghost clears the game, then the rest will know what to do."
That was easier said than done. The question was, who would willingly volunteer to be the "ghost" that gets caught?
"Do we even need the ghost's consent?" Miao Yu clenched his fist and said, "Tonight, everyone stays in this room. Whoever dares not to is the ghost. We'll tie them up first."
No one objected this time. All players maintained a facade of calm.
"Should we go check downstairs?" Wan Yunrong said. "I always feel this instance isn't just about making us play a simple hack-and-slash game. There might be clues elsewhere, and we have plenty of time today."
"You're not thinking of finding a place to hide, are you?" Qiu Xiangdong, who had been mostly silent, tugged at his floral shirt. "There are at least a hundred rooms here, and only ten of us. It wouldn't be easy to find you."
Seeing everyone's eyes on her, Wan Yunrong quickly explained, "Don't look at me. I'm not the ghost. I'm just saying it's a rare opportunity. Instead of sitting around staring at each other, we might as well go out and look around."
"What's your trait?" Mao Wei suddenly asked.
Wan Yunrong's expression changed slightly. "What do you mean?"
"He Chunsheng died of suffocation. The cause could only be a trait or a prop. Although a prop isn't necessarily based on one's own trait, if you can prove your trait, the suspicion on you will decrease." Mao Wei's voice was low. "What do you say?"
"What do you mean, 'what do I say'?" Wan Yunrong snorted coldly. "By your logic, you're also suspicious. Why don't you show us your trait first? Oh, and you might as well take out your prop too."
"I think that's a good idea." Gan Qing was happy to stir things up. "Let's all show our hand. That way, we'll know where we stand."
"I don't think Wan Yunrong is the only one who wants to go downstairs. Everyone has their own thoughts. Since it's so much trouble, why don't we just supervise each other?" Chu Yuan tilted his chin at Wan Yunrong. "I don't suspect you. You can come with me."
This inexplicable goodwill not only surprised the other players but also Wan Yunrong herself. She opened her mouth and finally said, "Thank you."
"Going in groups of two or three is fine." Ge Pan said. "If something happens, just shout. It's broad daylight. Everyone can hear."
The others also had the idea of searching the remaining two floors. After a brief argument, they split into groups to go downstairs.
Xu Huo, Chu Yuan, Wan Yunrong, and Miao Yu formed one group.
Mao Wei, Gan Qing, and Wu Xiaonan formed another.
Ge Pan, Zhu Rumin, Chang Chengyong, and Qiu Xiangdong formed the third.
The three groups entered the elevator together and went down to the second underground floor.
This floor was the same as the one above. The lights only turned on after people entered. The laboratory was also cleaned spotlessly. The difference was that this floor had living areas: bedrooms, leisure rooms, a gym, and even a small shop.
Everyone searched from both ends toward the middle. Xu Huo's group went to the small shop first. Most of the food there had expired, and the practical tools had been used up.
"It looks like all the previous players have taken everything." Miao Yu said.