“Ahhh—”
A dozen children, more terrifying than ghosts, opened their mouths to reveal pitch-black teeth and lunged at him!
Li Wenjun immediately pulled the key from the safe, turned, and leaped towards the window, grabbing the rope and jumping down!
Because he was a moment too slow in running over, his arms and back were scratched by the sharp nails of the ghost children. Those nails, he couldn’t tell what they were made of, were sharper than knives, slicing through muscle tissue as if cutting tofu.
However, Li Wenjun managed to jump out. The ghost children seemed to be restricted; although they were clearly not human, they appeared to be afraid to jump directly out of the window. This time, they had learned to be clever, surrounding the rope and trying to cut it with their nails!
Li Wenjun’s breath caught in his throat, and he immediately quickened his descent!
The ghost children were vigorously cutting the rope. If it were an ordinary rope, it would have been cut into countless pieces by now, but it was the sturdy rope that Xin Meng had brought from the previous game, set by the game to be very strong, so it was not something they could easily sever.
Until Li Wenjun landed safely on the ground, the rope remained intact. Seeing this, he finally breathed a sigh of relief, not daring to delay, and immediately rushed back into the building.
Of course, he couldn’t go directly back to the ninth floor; he was afraid he would encounter enemies along the way, so he chose a middle floor first, thinking he would find an opportunity to go up later.
Xin Meng leaned against the window and glanced down, “It’s Li Wenjun, just like us, he went down the rope… Luckily, we didn’t pull it back.”
Didn’t that save them?
“Someone’s coming,” said You Yi suddenly by the door.
Xin Meng thought it was the ghost children and was about to find a place to hide when You Yi said, “I can hear their footsteps; it’s Jiezi and Dou Dou.”
“Should we call them?” Xin Meng walked over, and the two of them leaned carefully against either side of the glass door, peering outside.
Sure enough, two figures entered through the door; it was Jiezi and Dou Dou. Just as Xin Meng was about to call out to them, she suddenly noticed that Jiezi was holding something in his hand that was still struggling and writhing. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a ghost child!
The ghost child had a dirty handkerchief stuffed in its mouth, its body bound tightly with ropes, its limbs hanging in the air, and Jiezi was holding it by the scruff of its neck, effortlessly lifting it.
The child’s tears were streaming down, looking somewhat pitiful.
Xin Meng furrowed her brows tightly; Jiezi could actually subdue a ghost child?
This was something even You Yi couldn’t do, and in terms of strength, Jiezi was leagues behind You Yi!
She immediately extinguished the thought of calling out to them. Seeing the two stop in the corridor, leaning against the wall to talk, she perked up her ears to listen to what they were saying.
The glass door didn’t have good soundproofing, and soon, their voices came through clearly.
“This bug is really hard to find,” Dou Dou said first, sounding very dejected, his voice lacking energy.
“Indeed, usually it’s a problem with the game, but this time it’s strange; the bug is actually with the players?” Jiezi also seemed troubled, “This is the first time in all these years.”
“If it were a problem with the game, we could find the bug together, but this time it’s something invisible and intangible, something only the player knows!” Dou Dou squatted down in frustration, “As long as the other party doesn’t say anything, we’ll never know who it is! If this leads to a mission failure, I’ll die unjustly!”
Players? Bugs? Things only players know?
Xin Meng’s heart stirred. They kept mentioning players and bugs; who exactly were they talking about? What were they discussing?
She suddenly remembered how the two had been questioning her earlier; was it to confirm this? What did they want to know?
The most frequently asked question seemed to be—
“How did you enter the game?”
But how they got in, what was the problem? What did it have to do with the bug?
Xin Meng’s mind raced, constantly speculating based on their limited words while continuing to listen to their conversation.
“You said you went to ask You Yi and Xin Meng; how did that go?” Dou Dou asked Jiezi.
“Interrogation isn’t my strong suit; what do you expect me to do?” Jiezi replied irritably, “I feel like You Yi has a problem; he seems to know a lot, maybe he has memories, but he won’t talk, and I didn’t get anything out of Xin Meng either.”
“Xin Meng has no issues?” Dou Dou pressed.
“He said he doesn’t even remember his past,” Jiezi clicked his tongue, “He forgot thoroughly; it shouldn’t be him.”
Upon hearing this, Xin Meng exchanged a glance with You Yi. Indeed, he had forgotten a lot, while You Yi remembered more. It might not be him, but it could be You Yi. Could it be… that there was a problem with the memories from before?
Having more memories could mean being a bug, which implies…
If remembering how to enter the game is a bug?!
Xin Meng’s mind lit up, and she instantly grasped the key!
Indeed, she didn’t remember how she got here. She had heard others say they entered inexplicably; some, like her, had fallen asleep, while others had been hit by a car and closed their eyes just before arriving. There was no pattern, but now listening to Dou Dou and Jiezi, Xin Meng couldn’t help but speculate: was there some hidden truth behind it?
What had happened before they entered the game?
She looked at You Yi with a questioning gaze, and You Yi frowned slightly, gently shaking his head.
However, Xin Meng could accurately understand his meaning; it wasn’t “I don’t know,” but “now is not the time to talk.”
Did You Yi really know?
Could it be… could he really be the so-called bug that Dou Dou and Jiezi mentioned?
But…
Thinking about it this way, why did it suddenly feel so exhilarating?!
Xin Meng’s eyes brightened, and a strange excitement surged within her.
She had always felt that You Yi was more capable than others; calling him a bug wouldn’t be surprising. Her man was so special, and Xin Meng’s excitement far outweighed her confusion. She almost wanted to rush over and have You Yi tell her everything right now.
Seeing this, You Yi smiled helplessly and silently mouthed, “Not me.”
Xin Meng was taken aback; not him?
“Didn’t you say you’d help me figure out You Yi?” Dou Dou said.
“Hmph! Do you think that man is so easy to deal with? You should hire a detective or the FBI; maybe you could glean something from his every move. Asking him directly? Forget it!” Jiezi slapped Dou Dou on the back of the head. “What about your little couple over there?”
“Ouch, be gentler!” Dou Dou exclaimed, continuing, “I feel like there’s no problem; Luo Yingying looks like she’s telling the truth. If she were deliberately lying, her skills would be too high; I don’t think so.”
“What about Li Wenjun?”
“He should be fine too; aren’t they together?” Dou Dou said, “Luo Yingying said they went to bed together at night, and when they woke up, they were all here.”
“Then we should go find You Yi; this time we have to get to the bottom of it,” Jiezi said.
“Or we could just tell him directly?” Dou Dou asked innocently, “If he knows, he should understand, and it won’t hurt him…”
“Are you stupid?!” Jiezi said, this time unlike before, he slapped Dou Dou’s head hard, “If I were to erase your memory, would you be willing?! Idiot!”
“I told you not to keep hitting my head; you’ve made me stupid!” Dou Dou protested.
“You weren’t smart to begin with; maybe I can open your meridians and make you enlightened.”
“Is your meridian on your head?!” Dou Dou gritted his teeth, “Why don’t you just fly to the sky!”
The two began to bicker.
By this point, Xin Meng had roughly grasped some of the truth. Based on her speculation, everyone might have experienced something before entering the game, but once they entered, that memory would disappear, or rather, it had to disappear. If someone retained it, they would be deemed a bug, and to eliminate the bug, one would have to erase that memory from the other person.
But memories are elusive, and only the person involved knows. If he doesn’t tell anyone, it would be impossible to find him.
From the two’s words, Xin Meng had already guessed nearly everything.
But she still had two major questions in her heart.
First, what exactly happened during that time before entering, that necessitated erasing memories?
Second, who exactly are Dou Dou and Jiezi?
But as she continued to listen, all she could hear was the two of them bickering, with no useful information coming through.
Xin Meng could only look at You Yi, hoping he would have time to tell her more.
Dou Dou and Jiezi had been chatting animatedly when they suddenly stopped, followed by several hurried footsteps approaching.
It was the ghost children!
“How annoying!” Jiezi said helplessly, “Let’s split up; it’s clear that being together makes it easier to be discovered. I’m so annoyed after being chased all this way.”
“You don’t understand how to enjoy the fun of the game at all,” Dou Dou complained, “It’s so much fun.”
“Then you can play by yourself, Happy Bean. I hope you don’t lose everything,” Jiezi said, leading the struggling child and walking ahead, possibly because his companion was being held, which drew away most of the ghost children.
“Calling me Happy Bean again,” Dou Dou complained, but he actually walked towards the room they were in!
Xin Meng stepped away from the door but had no intention of hiding, crossing her arms and watching leisurely as Dou Dou pushed the door open.
So when Dou Dou grumbled and pushed open the glass door, he just happened to meet two pairs of familiar eyes.
He was petrified.
The subjects of their earlier discussion were right next door, and it was clear they had already heard their conversation. What, what, what…
What should he do, ahhh!
Dou Dou nearly wanted to flee in panic. Faced with Xin Meng’s “waiting for your explanation” expression, he couldn’t even get a word out.
This was a disaster!
But fortunately, it wasn’t the time to talk; more ghost children were approaching, and Dou Dou quickly laughed awkwardly, nervously saying, “I, I’ll lead them away… you guys, don’t come out!”
After saying that, without waiting for Xin Meng and the others to respond, he hurriedly shouted to lead the ghost children outside, and not a single ghost child entered through the glass door.
Xin Meng didn’t rush to stop him; after all, the monk could run, but the temple couldn’t escape. Since they suspected You Yi was that person, they would eventually come back, circling around You Yi.
…
Locked in the safe, Luo Yingying found herself in complete darkness. She turned on the small flashlight in her hand, and a soft light appeared before her. She relaxed a little, moved her body, and suddenly felt as if her foot had kicked something.
What was it?
She remembered glancing around hurriedly when she first entered the room; it seemed like there was nothing inside.
Luo Yingying adjusted the beam of the flashlight, pointing it at her feet.
A cloth doll.
The doll was dressed in a beautiful princess dress, but the white fabric had turned black and gray, the lace material had several holes, one arm was missing, the golden curly hair was dirty and tangled, and the buttons that made the eyes were covered in a layer of dust.
At this moment, it was smiling at her.
She widened her eyes in terror.
The tightly closed safe suddenly shook violently, and after a moment, it returned to calm.
