"Alright, since I'm already in the house." Meng Lan appeared.
She stood behind the police officer.
"I'm watching you," her voice floated lightly with a hint of amusement.
Zhao Che collapsed, screaming for help from the police officer, "Save me, save me! This isn't real, it's definitely an illusion, someone wants to kill me! I don't want to be here alone!"
The police officer turned around, but there was nothing there.
If it weren't for the test results showing that Zhao Che hadn't used any illegal drugs, he would have seriously suspected him of being a seasoned drug user! He'd seen plenty of people like this, full of lies. Even if it wasn't drugs, it had to be some sort of illicit substance. Wasn't there an addiction to cough syrup?
"Sit down! I see you're just guilty of murder!" The young police officer was righteous. He hated suspects who, once arrested, would pee their pants out of fear. Where were they earlier when the crime was committed? Now they're scared because they think they're being haunted by vengeful spirits?
He locked the door again and returned to the surveillance room.
Zhao Che trembled in the corner, the bed creaking beneath him. There were no dark corners here, but he felt like someone was watching him. He was losing it, he'd been watched for so long, he was already mentally shattered!
How could he be discovered no matter where he hid?
How was that possible?!
Where were those unseen eyes?
Could it be my eyes?! Could it be something wrong with my eyes?!
Meng Lan and He Wanwan had a quiet night.
Meng Lan now believed that living together was the fastest way to deepen one's feelings. She had completely gotten used to having another person living in her home. Maybe it was because He Wanwan kept everything neat and tidy, or maybe it was simply because she was cute. Since she moved in, Meng Lan found that miraculously she no longer needed sleep aids to fall asleep, it was simply too perfect.
The next morning, Meng Lan received a message from Gu Ye, informing her that Zhao Che had died in custody. Zhao Che had gouged out his own eyes and choked himself to death, bleeding excessively. The police officer on duty went to the bathroom for a moment, and he killed himself. He was rushed to the hospital due to excessive bleeding but died despite attempts to save him.
Seeing Meng Lan's complexion wasn't good, He Wanwan asked, "What's wrong?"
"Zhao Che died."
"Also a suicide?"
"Yes."
He Wanwan pondered for a moment, "Is it related to the incident in Longevity Village?"
"That was possession, this was torture, slowly driving a person insane. If there were criminal suspects involved, the two would be completely different," Meng Lan said. However, she seemed to have discovered a small pattern in this torture. As expected, she would be the next one to feel followed and experience frequent hallucinations.
Meng Lan concluded that this was definitely an ability possessed by participants in the world of Hidden Realms.
"What should we do?" He Wanwan asked. "I'm really scared, I mean it! It's simply impossible to defend against this!"
"Have you found a job recently?" Meng Lan asked.
He Wanwan sighed dejectedly, "Not yet, don't rush me. I've been trying, but the recent job openings haven't been suitable."
"Then just stay at home, it's the safest place." Meng Lan did a couple of rotations on her yoga mat, "Anyway, there's enough food here."
He Wanwan nodded, "I guess that's all we can do."
However, Meng Lan's thoughts were quickly shattered.
She found her hidden card heating up, with small red dots appearing on the edges, while He Wanwan's hidden card remained unchanged. After inquiring with Jiang Cai Lang, she learned that this was a sign that she had been selected for the next task, which should take place within two days, so she should prepare herself. In fact, many items couldn't be brought into or used in the task, and the most she could bring was the fruit knife Zhang Jinlong had brought.
Meng Lan didn't have much to prepare.
She had searched for information on Longevity Village, but there was no trace of it on the internet. It was like a parallel world with no intersection, or any information had been completely erased. So, when it came to tasks like this, she could only go with the flow. Meng Lan bought enough food for He Wanwan for a week, reminding her not to go out casually and not to open the door to strangers.
"I got it, I'm not a child," He Wanwan muttered softly, "I'll take care of myself, you also need to come back safely."
"Of course," Meng Lan said.
"However," she added, "if I don't come back within a week, have Gu Ye take care of my things."
"Don't say such ominous things."
She spent a day arranging things for He Wanwan, and they waited eagerly for the task to arrive. He Wanwan was more nervous than Meng Lan, restless and pacing around the house. Even at night, she couldn't sleep well, never having experienced insomnia before, but now she couldn't sleep at all.
At the same time, she suddenly felt a more chilling sensation.
It felt like someone was watching her.
It was as if an invisible person was crouching on the window, like the Men in Black from Conan, motionlessly monitoring her. He Wanwan hid under her covers, drenched in cold sweat from fear. The feeling grew stronger and stronger, as if the walls around her were covered with living eyes, eyeballs twisting with her movements, like a bunch of surveillance cameras!
Unable to bear it any longer, she ran to Meng Lan's bedroom.
"Lan Lan!"
"What's wrong?" Meng Lan had just sold all her stocks. She didn't want to come back and find them all plummeting, that would be scarier than failing the task.
"Someone is watching me, I can feel it! There's someone in the house!" He Wanwan was like a frightened rabbit, "We're next, Zhao Che said we're next!"
"You go to my bed." Meng Lan got up. Her Chanel white silk pajamas looked particularly soft under the light, and her features softened as well.
"I..." He Wanwan felt embarrassed, but she sat on the bed anyway, her pink carrot pajamas contrasting sharply with the high-end navy blue bedding.
At 12:10 in the middle of the night, Meng Lan called Jiang Cai Lang. "Have you figured out the matter I entrusted to you? Who has the ability on their hidden card to track others?"
Jiang Cai Lang said, "You're calling me in the middle of the night just to rush me?"
Meng Lan was straightforward. "Zhao Che is dead, he's targeting me, what's on me?"
Jiang Cai Lang, who had been lazily lying in bed, sharpened his gaze upon hearing this. "Are you still safe now?"
"For the moment, but it feels very obvious. Doesn't this person ever rest? Aren't they tired of staring at me?" Meng Lan opened her laptop to check the investigation data from the past few days. "Hidden cards can trigger different abilities, and we're not sure who holds them. But according to other participants, it seems that there is someone who can read minds and create illusions. If it's really him, the illusions he creates may be surveillance, driving you crazy until you crack."
Meng Lan got to the point. "If I die, does that count as him killing me?"
Legally, Jiang Cai Lang said, "No, but based on my experience, he can still inherit the energy inside the victim's hidden card. This person is very dangerous."
Meng Lan asked, "Is there anything else dangerous that I need to pay special attention to?"
Jiang Cai Lang said, "My intelligence says that there are at least two other task participants, you can understand them as assassins, who want his life. Unfortunately, both of them are dead."
"Their deaths sound worth discussing."
"One likes to slit throats, the other likes to shoot. And the two assassins died—one from having his throat slit, the other from being shot." Jiang Cai Lang's voice was low and quiet.
Meng Lan chuckled. "I understand."
"What do you understand?"
"Revenge. It seems we can't kill him ourselves."
Continuing the previous topic, Meng Lan said, "I suspect they are organized. One person launching such rapid killings against task participants is not in line with physical and logical norms." She sighed and stood by the window, looking down at the lush sky garden in the small community below. "Jiang Lao Shi, don't disappoint me. If I die, you won't be able to find your uncle."
"Why, should I go to your house now to protect you?" Jiang Cai Lang's voice contained a smile. "Alright, since I'm already in the house."
"Can't you speak as a teacher without being so greasy? I'll think you have ulterior motives towards your students." Meng Lan teased rarely. "I look forward to new information the next time we meet, otherwise I'll think your abilities aren't up to par."
Jiang Cai Lang really wanted to say the line "Don't say men can't do it." He didn't feel like he was being treated as a student by Meng Lan; rather, they felt more like companions, so he could joke around a bit recklessly. "Next time we meet, I'll give you the latest news. I'll use my status as this year's most popular course instructor as a guarantee. Have a good night's sleep. He shouldn't act so soon."
"Alright, I trust you." Meng Lan didn't hang up the call. She wanted Jiang Cai Lang to give He Wanwan a few words of advice, but in that moment, the mist spread.
Finally, it came.
The task.
All she could do now was wish He Wanwan good luck.
But instead of worrying about He Wanwan, she should worry about herself. Because she was still wearing pajamas, with a pair of UGG slippers on her feet, not even bringing the Swiss army knife she had prepared, and her face mask was still on!
Meng Lan was stunned for two seconds, feeling the urge to curse!
—Just when you least expect it, could you give me some mental preparation!
The Baroque-style carpet under her feet turned into worn-out white tiles, filled with black mud and dead bugs. Meng Lan felt dirty in an instant. She walked towards the deeper fog, hoping to find the unfortunate souls who had appeared here at the same time as her.
Suddenly.
A gentle laughter sounded from behind.
Meng Lan turned around.
Meng Lan: ...
Jiang Cai Lang: ...
Meng Lan reached out. "You said you would give me the latest news next time we meet, Teacher Jiang."
Jiang Cai Lang: ...
His hidden card had started to heat up when he was making the phone call. He didn't understand why it was happening so quickly!
"It doesn't count!"
"Looks like you're still not up to it."
Jiang Cai Lang: ...
It was very quiet around them.
Meng Lan looked at him disdainfully, gradually approaching. When she was about three meters away from Jiang Cai Lang, the man suddenly warned her with his eyes not to come closer or talk.
Meng Lan understood and stopped.
After about half a minute.
A young voice came from behind. "Is anyone there, anyone?"
"I'm here!" Another girl's voice came out.
"Does anyone know where this is? I want to get out!"
Meng Lan walked towards the voice and saw a girl with round glasses standing there. Her terrified eyes darted around, and when she saw Meng Lan, she rushed over as if she had found a savior. "Finally, I see someone! Where is this? How do we get out? Why do you and the other NPCs look different? This place is too strange, I want to leave through a safe exit!"
She was heavily made up, with a pink skull printed on her short sleeves, looking to be around 20 years old.
The girl continued, "What are you still dawdling for? All the other ghosts are wearing wedding dresses, why are you in pajamas? And Chanel at that. Your escape room setup is really strange."
"This isn't an escape room, ladies." Jiang Cai Lang's voice came from behind, his grid-patterned pajama pants and plain black short-sleeved shirt exuding a lazy and enticing vibe. His eyes flickered slightly as he gentlemanly explained, "We call this place the Hidden World. I'm sorry, but you can only leave here after completing the task."
"A task, what task?"
"Look up."
As usual, the blood letters appeared, perhaps because they were in the city, there was no red moon.
[Find Huang Aiai]
Meng Lan frowned. Was this a find-the-person game?
—Huang Aiai, who is that?