“Surely it can’t be that someone specifically set up today’s situation for the An family, and since we haven’t seen them return to reclaim their cultivated results, the most likely scenario is that they are protecting someone.”
“Protecting someone from the pursuit of five vengeful spirits, so it’s clear who that someone is.”
“But—this is just your speculation, right?” A few players were momentarily stunned, then snapped back to reality and spoke up.
Lu Qingjia smiled, “Of course, but isn’t reasoning about peeling back the layers based on the clues we have, imagining as many possibilities as possible, and through the verification process obtaining more evidence to eliminate options until the truth remains?”
He tossed a tablet over, “Since we’ve confirmed that the murderer of Xiaoyu and the others is one of the boyfriends of that flirtatious woman who lived in the building, the next step of filtering is not a problem.”
“I reconnected with the owner of the house where that lady was staying at the time. Although she doesn’t have a strong impression of every man she dated, considering the tens of thousands of dollars involved, her memory quickly revived.”
“This allowed me to learn that from the time Xiaoyu and the others moved in until their deaths, she had brought back a total of eleven men, and from the cloud storage, I obtained photos of these individuals. Sure enough, one of them had a hairstyle and features strikingly similar to the murderer at that time, but the other party was wearing a mask, so Xiaoyu and the others couldn’t confirm the full appearance.”
“So just now, I pried some words from Mrs. An. Guess what happened?”
The players understood, “Those willing to cover for the murderer are either taking money to help someone out of trouble or are protecting a close relative.”
“Isn’t Mr. An’s uncle from the same place as the suspected murderer?”
“Bingo!” Lu Qingjia said, “So the sequence of events is basically restored.”
“The murderer might have a scholarly background. After killing someone, he realized that merely escaping legal punishment wasn’t enough; there are other consequences in the world. So he sought help from his elders and relatives, and coincidentally, this matter was learned by Director An, who then took advantage of the situation to try to achieve something for himself.”
“Mr. An knows that by guiding things this way, all the actors will meet untimely ends, yet he dares to move in at the same time. This must mean he has some connection with that high-level person and has gained a certain level of security.”
“Now, all we have left to do is one thing.” Lu Qingjia said, pulling out his phone and dialing the number he had for Director An’s wife.
Once connected, an elderly, hoarse voice came through, “Hello, who is this?”
Lu Qingjia smiled, “Hello, Mr. Mao, I am a staff member from Director An’s crew. He asked me to give you a call.”
The other party sounded a bit wary, “Why isn’t he calling himself?”
Lu Qingjia maintained a steady tone, sounding slightly youthful, “He can’t call; he’s been taken into custody for participating in illegal transactions and is suspected of producing and distributing obscene materials. He needs to cooperate with the investigation.”
“I’ve already informed his wife of the specifics. He instructed me to find a way to convey two messages to you.”
“What are they?”
“Honestly, I don’t know what it means, but I was told to let you know that something has loosened, and they might be able to escape. He wants you to come over, something like that.”
After hearing this, the other side’s mood clearly shifted, but they didn’t say much to Lu Qingjia, only stating they understood before hanging up.
“Will it work?” the female ghosts asked eagerly, “And why only let him come and not the murderer?”
Lu Qingjia shrugged, “Such a cunning old hand definitely can’t be too hasty; we need to take it step by step.”
“Besides, even if he doesn’t take the bait, can’t we still go find him?”
With Director An now in custody, there were many things that could be done in the few days of downtime. This significant progress excited all the players.
Due to the dismissal of the female lead, Director An’s assistant was given a break by Lu Qingjia, leaving only their own people in the entire apartment.
They thoroughly celebrated, with good food and drink, and the room filled with both ghosts and humans who partied until late into the night.
Just as Lu Qingjia was about to lie down, Xiaoyu came through the wall to remind him, “Jiajia, Sister Xia can’t help but come out.”
Sister Xia was the female escort who was brutally murdered by a perverted customer. She had little interaction with Xiaoyu and the others during her life, and because of her tragic death, she was very guarded. It was already quite difficult for her to appear now.
In the deep of night, the room was dimly lit and ambiguous, with sheets, pillows, and curtains in seductive shades of rose and purple, adorned with various decorations that heightened the atmosphere and stimulated adrenaline.
This was the room of the female escort, and now it was occupied by a sexually deviant player.
The players, having eaten and drunk their fill, found this instance of the game too easy, and it was rare for them to enjoy such harmony with the ghosts.
Facing the ghosts here was less challenging than outsmarting the foolish director. Recently, everyone had been quite relaxed, inevitably lowering their guard.
After all, more than half of the ghosts in the apartment were their own people, yet they forgot there were still some who had not shown themselves.
As the saying goes, “When one is well-fed, they think of lust.” Although the players acting as sexual deviants couldn’t be considered bad people, they still had some of the flaws typical of men.
In a daze, one player saw an older woman, voluptuous and alluring, slowly approaching. The room’s lighting became even more suggestive.
In a moment of confusion, he felt as if he were in reality, recalling a time after finishing a game when he estimated that the points earned could be used to purchase items and enhance his physical attributes for future enjoyment.
There were many places where men could relax, and sexually deviant players occasionally indulged themselves.
A memory flashed by, as if he had drunkenly entered a shop and, in a haze, had ordered someone. Now, seeing the voluptuous figure, made up in a somewhat cheap way but still exuding charm, his interest was piqued.
“Big brother, how do you want to play?”
The player, a bit tipsy and not wanting to move much, chuckled, “You can play however you like, how about that?”
The woman threw him a flirtatious glance and said suggestively, “Oh, you’re so naughty, coming out with a girlfriend and still saying I’m taking advantage of you.”
“Then, I’ll just do what I like~~”
“Come on, let’s see what you’re capable of.” To be honest, after the physical enhancements from the game, he had become quite skilled in this area, and he was no longer inexperienced in the realm of pleasure.
Seeing his friend already looking up, the seductive woman leaned down, her mature perfume filling the air, making it even more intoxicating.
Suddenly, the player felt something was off about the scent; it had a slightly salty, fishy quality.
Having experienced several terrifying scenes in the game, he suddenly remembered that this was clearly the smell of large amounts of blood.
Looking up, he saw that the woman who had just been alluring and charming was now in pieces, with wounds deep enough to see bone all over her body, her head and neck barely connected by a strip of skin.
Right above him, blood dripped down with a plop.
She revealed a sinister smile, “So you want to play however you like, huh?”
“Ah————” The player let out a scream.
However, the door suddenly burst open with a bang, interrupting his cry.
A tall figure appeared at the door, casually crossing their arms—
Looking at the scene inside, they said, “I finished my meal and got bored. Mind if the three of us play together?”
