Chapter 36

Inside the bathroom, Jiang Xiao once again took out the object he had found under Jiang Mu’s bed. It was a round, small ball, seemingly made of iron, somewhat heavy. Feeling it carefully, Jiang Xiao found a small indentation, as if something could be fitted into it.

This thing looked like some kind of craft piece.

But what exactly was it?

Jiang Xiao lay on the bed without a word, trying to hear any unusual sounds to determine where he actually was.

Was he on the fourth floor? Or still on the third?

This room… was far too quiet. Other than the crackling of the wood in the fireplace, there was no other sound at all.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

But he couldn’t put his finger on it.

A hand settled on Jiang Xiao’s waist. Jiang Mu pulled him into his arms. Jiang Xiao pushed him away again, resisting his intimate gesture.

Jiang Mu wasn’t annoyed. “Sleep.”

Jiang Xiao didn’t move, didn’t reply, looking as if he was sulking at Jiang Mu.

“Are you waiting for them to save you?” Jiang Mu said coldly. “No one will find this place. Tomorrow, I will take you away.”

“They will never see you again.”

Jiang Mu’s words were like an unfathomably deep glacier, calm on the surface but stirring up monstrous waves beneath the ice.

Jiang Xiao’s eyelid twitched, a heavy premonition of unease washing over him.

“Never”—

How could he say it so confidently?

Besides, the other party had gone to such lengths, knocking him out and taking him away. Was it really just to send him back early, as simple as that?

No.

Jiang Xiao’s intuition told him the other party definitely had another motive, which was why he was so impatient to get him out of the hotel.

Jiang Xiao was indeed waiting for someone to rescue him. He hadn’t returned to his room yet. Bo Xiting must have noticed something was wrong; he would definitely look for him.

However, another hidden worry passed through his heart like a thin mist, bringing a chill.

What if Jiang Mu was telling the truth? What if Bo Xiting was only after an alibi, about to go abroad soon, suggesting he had no lingering attachment to Jiang Xiao? Would he even bother searching?

It seemed he could only rely on himself.

Jiang Xiao opened the game panel. By now, most of his panel was dyed blood-red. Even the text was mottled with rust, looking profoundly eerie, like some unprocessed murder scene, or perhaps a silent death omen.

The increased mortality rate affected the game UI, putting immense psychological pressure on the player.

Jiang Xiao’s mortality rate had already exceeded 75%. If he received another warning, it would be the inescapable 100%.

System prompt: “When the mortality rate reaches 99%, a final notification message will be sent.”

The last one, yes, because by then, the player is essentially in a Certain Death state. Just 1% away, equivalent to dying one second later versus one minute later—almost no difference.

Jiang Xiao said: “Is there any way for me to see the precise data?”

System: “Completing tasks will randomly drop items. You can also use points to exchange with players who own the item.”

“Exchange…” Jiang Xiao mused. “How many points are needed to exchange for this item?”

“The market price is 100 points.” The system said. “Completing the main mission yields 50 points.”

Jiang Xiao: “…”

Jiang Xiao: “Why so little? That’s way too stingy.”

System: “Completing side quests can yield at least 100 points.”

The corner of Jiang Xiao’s mouth twitched. “Is there something wrong with your task reward planning? Side quests give more than the main mission.”

That was clearly illogical.

Moreover, side quests were obviously more lenient than the main mission. Failing them didn’t result in death; they were clearly just giving away rewards.

This couldn’t help but make Jiang Xiao feel even more suspicious.

Could this game… really be that kind to players?

Jiang Xiao opened the side quest panel, thought for a while, and then closed it again.

He couldn’t submit the answer yet.

There was still a strange point about the car accident that he hadn’t gotten an answer for.

That was… why exactly was Qin Guan in that car at the time?

System: “This case is still quite simple. You should already have the answer in your heart.”

Jiang Xiao: “…If I say it’s hard, you wouldn’t think I’m just being modest, would you?” He paused, then added, “Why do I feel like you seem to know me very well? Have we met before?”

System: “No.”

Jiang Xiao: …That was supposed to be a dry joke, actually.

“But you’re right. This murder case isn’t difficult. Although there are many distraction options, once you figure out the character relationships and alibis, it’s actually quite easy to judge.” Jiang Xiao thought for a moment, then said, “The truly difficult part should be the complicated personal entanglements hidden behind this murder case.”

“Also,” Jiang Xiao couldn’t help but voice his doubt, “Didn’t you say before that no one has ever passed this level? Why are you saying now it’s actually very simple?”

System: “These two things are not contradictory.”

It seemed something restricted the system’s speech. After saying this, it revealed no further information.

No one had ever cleared it. What exactly was the reason? If he wasn’t wrong, the murderer should be that person.

The system said that completing the main mission was enough to clear the level—

Why had no one chosen correctly?

Steady breathing came from beside him.

Jiang Xiao waited quietly for a moment, then whispered: “Jiang Mu?… Jiang Mu?”

No one responded. Jiang Xiao carefully got up and let out a long breath of relief.

Jiang Xiao was immensely grateful that when he met Bo Xiting, he had asked him for a packet of sleeping pills.

Jiang Mu had indeed drunk the cup of milk that Jiang Xiao had only sipped once.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have fallen asleep faster than Jiang Xiao.

Soundlessly, Jiang Xiao felt his way around the room, making a circuit of exploration. He discovered that a very crucial thing was missing from this room. Then sudden understanding dawned on him.

So that’s why the room had felt strange all along!

He finally understood why this room was much hotter than the others, why it was exceptionally quiet, and he also understood the reason Jiang Mu could so confidently tell him no one would find him.

Jiang Xiao didn’t try to touch the man on the bed to see if he had any injuries, because he was already certain it wasn’t Jiang Mu.

The door was, as expected, locked from the outside, requiring a key. But after searching around, Jiang Xiao didn’t find where the other party had hidden the key.

—

The hotel was in an uproar. Three guests, citing a missing companion, were forcefully demanding to enter other rooms to search for him.

These three guests had extremely tough attitudes. The butler kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief. “Guests, in the middle of the night, disturbing other guests’ rest like this truly makes things difficult for us. We will do our utmost to find that guest. Perhaps, because he couldn’t see, he simply got lost.”

“Do you believe that yourself?” Ying Weizhu sneered. “Maybe it was you, butler. You look very suspicious to me.”

Butler: “…”

Bo Xiting stared coldly at Jiang Mu, the hint of dark green in his eyes almost freezing into ice.

“Did you hide him?”

The last place Jiang Xiao went was Jiang Mu’s room. He had asked Bo Xiting to stall Jiang Mu for an hour. To be safe, Bo Xiting had stalled him for an hour and a half. They chatted about mundane things until there was nothing left to say, before Jiang Mu sensed something was wrong, shook off Bo Xiting, and returned to his room.

Jiang Mu looked at him just as coldly. “If not for you, how could Jiang Xiao disappear for no reason?”

The two brothers were locked in a standoff, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder. Meanwhile, Ying Weizhu was still threatening the butler with his devilishly eerie smile:

“If we don’t find Jiang Xiao today, I will kill you, you know.”

Butler: …Should he call the police to arrest these people first?

“Um,” the attendant said quietly, “Actually, not long ago, I saw that guest…”

Before the words finished, the three looked at the attendant simultaneously.

“Why didn’t you say so earlier?” Ying Weizhu stepped forward, a polite smile appearing on his lips, but instead of looking friendly, he now radiated a very dangerous aura.

“Speak. Where did he go?”

“If you dare say one wrong word…”

A cold gleam flashed. A knife appeared from nowhere, brazenly held by Ying Weizhu against the attendant’s neck, completely disregarding how horrifying his action was. He spoke slowly and deliberately:

“Dare to lie, and this knife will chop off your neck.”

The attendant’s face instantly turned ashen white.

Everyone present was stunned by Ying Weizhu’s crazy act. Even more bizarrely, the knife Ying Weizhu held was the very murder weapon that killed Qin Guan.

“How can you have that knife… That’s the murder weapon!” The butler raised a trembling finger.

“But this is my knife.” Ying Weizhu said with a smile. “It drew blood before I even used it to kill anyone. It’s unclean now. Now I want to wipe this blade with fresh blood. Is there a problem?”

“…” Bo Xiting frowned slightly. “This knife is yours?”

“Yes.” Ying Weizhu continued to smile calmly. This time he had tied his silver hair into a high ponytail, wearing a well-fitted, exquisite shirt, looking as graceful as an earl. Yet his golden eyes were full of ice and mockery. He said casually—

“Originally, I planned to use this knife to sharpen pencils, then paint one last picture of my muse. But someone used it for those filthy deeds, which displeases me greatly.”

“I’ve truly begun to loathe this hotel and every one of you.”

“So, speak.” Ying Weizhu looked at the attendant as if not looking at a living thing. He said coldly, “Be careful with every word you say.”

The attendant began trembling all over, unable to utter a single syllable. His lips opened and closed like a fish suffocating.

“I saw… him…”

“Take a car and leave… via the small path.”

After speaking, the attendant’s legs gave out, and he actually fainted.

“A car?” Jiang Mu stepped forward. “It’s still snowing. How could any car be willing to travel in this weather?”

The butler retrieved the vehicle log from the front desk and flipped through it. “Indeed, a car left here. It departed over half an hour ago.”

“Where did they leave from?” Bo Xiting suddenly spoke, his face devoid of expression.

Butler: “Just… via the road to the north.”

Bo Xiting turned and headed towards the main entrance.

“He’s lying.” Jiang Mu said. “Can’t you see?”

“In this weather, how could Jiang Xiao possibly leave by car? Even setting aside whether a driver would be willing, do you think Jiang Xiao would choose to leave here alone in the middle of the night?”

“Besides, although this attendant looks flustered, his micro-expressions say otherwise.” Jiang Mu said flatly. “Don’t let this throw you off.”

Bo Xiting’s steps faltered slightly.

Butler: “But the log does say…”

“You should properly question this attendant. See if someone instructed him to say this.” Jiang Mu said.

The arc of Ying Weizhu’s smile widened. “To dare lie in this situation…”

Butler: “Guest! Please don’t do anything drastic! He’s innocent…”

“He might know more inside information. Lock him up first.” Jiang Mu said to Ying Weizhu. “Killing him is useless. Finding Jiang Xiao right now is the most critical thing.”

Bo Xiting had already started walking upstairs.

With the three acting so unrestrainedly, the hotel’s rooms were soon searched thoroughly, but no trace of Jiang Xiao was found.

Hiding a person in a room was still quite difficult.

The night grew deeper. The clock struck midnight, and the entire hotel plunged into darkness, making the search even harder. Bo Xiting decided to go back to his room to get a flashlight and continue looking.

As he pushed the door open, he suddenly felt something was amiss.

A small lamp was lit in the bedroom.

“Who’s there?” Bo Xiting said coldly.

“I’m very curious…” Jiang Xiao, whom they thought was missing, was sitting on the small sofa, chin resting on one hand, looking as if he had been waiting for him for a long time.

On the coffee table before him, a blood-stained small knife was conspicuously laid out.

Jiang Xiao said slowly: “Senior, why is this knife… in your room?”