“The answer is, playing on the phone.” Chu Tian said in a muffled voice as he brushed past Lin Huai and opened the bathroom door. “Even though everyone knows that playing on the phone can lead to hemorrhoids. But… sigh, expecting humanity to remain rational forever is indeed a luxury.”
Long before the two entered the bathroom, Ye Xian had already crept to the edge of the bathroom, listening intently to the sounds inside.
Chu Tian’s words made him feel quite uneasy. A girl was happily squatting on the toilet playing on her phone, while above her head (regardless of whether it was bald or not), a ghost was crawling along the ceiling towards her, silently standing behind her, its blood-red eyes fixated on her screen…
This scene…
“That’s really terrifying,” Lin Huai said.
“Yeah.”
“No matter when, being seen from behind while browsing something on your phone is a frightening thing…” Lin Huai continued, “Especially when someone discovers you’re visiting sites like ○Gentlemen, it could lead to social death…”
Ye Xian: …
“Therefore, the answer is quite obvious,” Chu Tian smiled.
He took off his mask, revealing his chin, and looked at everyone, his upturned eyes filled with confidence: “The ghost is angry that she is playing on her phone while using the toilet.”
Everyone: Huh?
A huge “huh” not only appeared in the hearts of everyone present but also in Lin Huai’s heart. Moreover, he was certain he could hear the sound of the mirror ghost collapsing from within the bathroom.
This person…
“Playing on the phone while using the toilet can easily lead to hemorrhoids. Anyone with elderly people at home knows that if you squat on the toilet for more than twenty minutes, the elderly at home won’t care if you have kidney deficiency, constipation, or diarrhea; they’ll tell you not to play on your phone,” Chu Tian said, seemingly recalling a memory that made him quite unhappy. “And this time, the NPC that set the rules for the game is an old ghost. From its disdain for our takeout habits, it’s clear that it operates quite traditionally. In real life, it’s the kind of elderly person who spreads rumors on social media, buys ineffective health products, listens to pyramid schemes, and shares harmful information with relatives and friends. Therefore, faced with Feng Yao’s unhealthy lifestyle, it recalled its unfilial grandson who plays on his phone until one or two in the morning, orders takeout every day, and has squandered over ten thousand on games on Steam…”
Ye Xian: “…What are you even talking about?”
Lin Huai: …
“Alright, the light moment is over.” Chu Tian shrugged. “The truth is, we need to figure out why Feng Yao came to the bathroom to squat while everyone was asleep. What rule-breaking thing did she do while playing on her phone, or what did she do to lift restrictions that caused the ghost in the mirror to come out and kill her? According to the game’s passing rules, once a player violates a taboo and dies, it will notify and warn them, which is why Feng Yao died so tragically.”
“But what exactly did Feng Yao do? Did she try to delete the app or give it a one-star rating in the app store in an attempt to get it taken down?” The gradually clearer Scene Kid chimed in. “If I were the app developer, I would be furious, just like encountering a detestable scam buyer on a second-hand platform. In that moment, I would want to crawl through the internet and shove their head in the toilet…”
“I don’t know about that.” Lin Huai opened the flush tank. After self-purification, the water inside had become quite clear and transparent, though a strong metallic smell still hinted at the bloodshed that had occurred here. He looked at Peng Xuan: “Did you find anything else at the scene?”
Peng Xuan shook her head; she hadn’t dared to enter the scene. The others also shook their heads.
It seemed Chu Tian was the only oddball who had entered the scene… oh, and himself, but Lin Huai would never admit to being an oddball.
…I am a sociable fierce ghost. He happily validated his identity.
“I only picked up her phone.” Chu Tian held up an evidence bag, squinting. “But it got wet and won’t turn on. I don’t know if the ghost touched it; if it did, we could extract the ghost’s fingerprints… but that would be such a hassle. Sigh, why can’t ghostly items have a cleaner crime scene…”
Lin Huai looked at him with a dumbfounded expression: “I don’t think ghosts can even mimic fingerprints…”
Chu Tian turned to him: “On what basis do you think that?”
Lin Huai: “I read it in a novel.”
“Wait until her best friend wakes up and ask her.” Chu Tian said, sighing in frustration. “Come on, let’s go eat. Speaking of which, at least there’s one thing to be happy about…”
Lin Huai: “…You mean she didn’t die in the fridge?”
“You said that, not me.” Chu Tian covered his mouth. “Don’t talk about such things while eating.”
Lin Huai: …
He suddenly remembered the arm he had put in the fridge yesterday and then tossed out the door…
Well, better not tell him about that. He looked at the young man in front of him, revealing a gloating expression.
“Hey, wait a minute.” Chu Tian said, “You have something on your face.”
“W-what?”
He didn’t expect Chu Tian to be so quick; before he could react, the other person’s finger had already touched his face. He could feel his skin being pinched.
“A bit cheeky,” Chu Tian said, quickly retreating outside the bathroom. “Second test, I’m going to eat, bye-bye.”
After saying that, he hurriedly ran off.
Lin Huai: …I think you’re the cheeky one.
Once everyone left, Lin Huai remained standing in the bathroom where the bloodshed had occurred. He slightly squinted his eyes and activated his Yin pupils.
Any death leaves traces; following the guidance of the Yin energy, he saw the last scene of the girl before her death.
The terrified girl sat on the toilet, her head tilted back to the limit, her eyes reflecting a blurry shadow.
In her hand… there were two phones.
Two phones?
At that moment, a hand suddenly patted his shoulder: “Why aren’t you going to eat?”
Lin Huai turned around to see Chu Tian, who for some reason had run back.
“Everyone else has gone down; you’re the only one left.” Chu Tian shrugged. “So I came to…”
“Check on me?” Lin Huai glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
Chu Tian: “No, I came to ask if you’re still eating. If you don’t want to eat, you can give me your food.”
Lin Huai: …You glutton.
He casually replied with a “sure” and followed him downstairs. Perhaps due to years of professional habit, he instinctively followed behind Chu Tian, his toes stepping on his shadow—this was the easiest posture for a ghost to possess.
“Actually, I’ve always been curious,” Chu Tian said, hands in his pockets, walking ahead without any defenses. “You look like a newbie, spouting nonsense, yet you always hit the nail on the head. However, in your recent statements in the bathroom, you displayed a level of professionalism. It’s as if you’ve personally encountered those ghosts. Heh, your performance makes it hard to believe that this is your first time participating, no, it even makes it hard to believe that you’re an ordinary human.”
Lin Huai followed behind him and chuckled: “So? Didn’t you say you’ve given up on guessing my identity…”
“I only said I’ve given up on the guess that ‘you are the ghost in this game.'” Chu Tian replied lightly.
Lin Huai: …
“I didn’t say…” He stopped in his tracks. “I’ve given up on other guesses.”
Looking at his back, Lin Huai suddenly remembered something.
After successfully possessing the body, considering the long-term safety of the body, Lin Huai had made considerable efforts to investigate his living environment to prevent himself from falling victim to a celestial master.
Despite the prevalence of technology and culture, Lin Huai managed to find relevant information through his new roommate, Lu Jin, who was quite skilled in programming, of course, at the cost of 648 yuan to this game enthusiast…
After repeated observations, Lin Huai discovered that there were three celestial master families in the country that posed a significant threat to him.
One was the Zhang family, a celestial master family. However, the Zhang family was located in Qingcheng, quite far from him. They probably wouldn’t waste thousands on plane tickets to come capture him.
The Cheng family, located among the white clouds, was in constant internal turmoil, not to mention. The only one he paid attention to was the Chu family in Jinling. It was said that they were quite active, often running around the mail-free zone.
…Therefore, he was quite cautious around people with the surname Chu.
‘Could this Chu Tian be from the Chu family? What does he want? Has he discovered my true identity? Tsk… forget it, if I can’t understand him, it’s better to take action directly.’
Thinking this, he slightly squinted his eyes, his originally dark pupils now stained blood red.
Killing Chu Tian might not be an easy task. To him, among this group, only Chu Tian revealed a hint of hidden depth. However, at this point, there was no other option… and his consistent principle was to strike first.
“Yes, after careful reasoning, I have discovered your true identity, which is—”
In the next moment, as the killing intent surged, Chu Tian stepped to the left and said: “You’re a researcher sent by the government, right?”
“…What?”
Lin Huai’s hand, poised to strike, abruptly halted at Chu Tian’s artery, as if Chu Tian was completely unaware that he had just danced on the edge of life and death, casually continuing, “From the first moment I saw you, I believed you were someone sent by the state to be by my side. Because you have a kind of fearless… righteous spirit.”
Only Lin Huai, filled with righteous ghostly energy: …
‘What a pig pretending to be a tiger…’ He silently withdrew his hand from that person’s grasp, ‘This guy is completely a…’
A real pig.
As if hearing Lin Huai’s thoughts, Chu Tian smiled and suddenly reached out to Lin Huai’s face, catching him off guard.
—And pinched it.
“Third time,” he said. “Hmm… after three tests, the results can be confirmed.”
“What?”
“No human skin mask, no disguise or makeup…” Chu Tian said.
“This is your real face,” he said in a voice Lin Huai couldn’t hear, “I was wrong… you are not him.”
