There were still nearly eleven minutes left.
According to the requirements of the Newbie Mission, that ghostly "thing" was not allowed to come out and devour humans before midnight.
Despite Liang Fei's comforting words, everyone was still shivering with terror.
Beneath the bed, the hammering of the claw hammer against the floor grew louder and heavier, accompanied by impacts against the bedboards.
It seemed as though the ghostly "thing" was being imprisoned by an invisible force, and it wanted to smash through the seal and break free from its restraints,
then charge straight for Liang Fei and the others!
"S-Shouldn't we switch rooms?"
Although everyone had moved away from the bed, Han Cheng's face was ashen, and she was on the verge of a complete breakdown.
Fighting back her terror, she looked nervously at Liang Fei.
It wasn't that Liang Fei lacked chivalry, but there simply wasn't enough time left.
"There's no time to switch... Do you really think if we move to another room, it won't follow us?"
"What if we went to Huang Xu's room, and it killed Huang Xu?"
"Ugh..."
A wave of thick, rotting stench drifted out from under the bed. Qin Kai felt a spasm in his stomach, and finally couldn't help but retch.
He dry-heaved, his expression turning utterly wretched.
Liang Fei patted him on the back, which made him feel a little better.
"As time goes on, the frequency of this ghostly 'thing' appearing will probably increase. You'd better get used to it."
Get used to it?
To hell with getting used to it!
He was living a perfectly fine life—why did he have to come here to suffer this torment?
While trembling with fear in his heart, Zhou Yue cursed inwardly and took a frightened step backward, his body shaking uncontrollably.
"Brother, how should I submit my clues?"
Qin Kai swallowed hard, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
He held his breath, forcing himself not to pay attention to the thing beneath the bed.
"Three clues."
"Since the Mission doesn't have strict rules, I think as long as they are correct clues related to the case and the killer..."
As soon as Liang Fei finished speaking, everyone felt their hearts violently contract.
Qin Kai asked with some uncertainty:
"Even hints provided by the Mission count?"
Liang Fei nodded heavily.
"Since the Mission hasn't explicitly forbidden it, why not try our luck?"
Just try his luck?
Since when was his life only something to be left to luck?
A bitter taste filled Qin Kai's mouth.
"Go ahead."
"Wait, brother, can we really do this?"
Lu Ming focused his attention on Liang Fei, suddenly feeling that everything the other man had said and done since accepting the Mission
did not resemble an ordinary person at all.
Especially... the slip of paper in his possession seemed to be a hint provided by the Mission.
Why did only he have it?
"While doing this allows us to successfully submit clues, there is also a downside."
Liang Fei took a deep breath.
"What downside?"
Lu Ming's expression flickered with uncertainty.
"The clues provided won't help us effectively find the killer."
Liang Fei's gaze swept over the crowd, and seeing the varying expressions on their faces, he said slowly:
"By the seventh day, we will still die."
"Isn't that better than dying right now?"
"That's right."
"What if we find the killer tomorrow?"
Regardless of whether everyone was genuinely optimistic or simply broken and desperate, Liang Fei felt a bit more relaxed at that moment.
"First, judging from the crime scene, the killer broke in without damaging the first-floor door lock,"
"and was able to sneak directly up to the second floor to murder the couple in their sleep,"
"which means the killer is very familiar with the crime scene and has appeared there before."
Hearing Liang Fei's words, a chill spread through Zhou Yue's heart.
"Couldn't the killer have staked out the place beforehand to get familiar with the environment?"
Just as he finished speaking, Liang Fei shook his head flatly.
"Impossible."
"First of all, the killer's motive is money."
"In a place like Xiaoshan Village, a stranger would be very easily recognized."
"If the killer had staked out the place beforehand, the probability of exposure would be extremely high."
"Secondly, if the killer had time to stake out the place in advance, they should have also found out beforehand that this family's actual financial situation isn't as wealthy as it appears on the surface."
Everyone looked at each other in dismay, and it took Lu Ming a long time to squeeze out a sentence:
"Brother, are you really not a police officer?"
Mostly because!
Liang Fei's analysis of the case, his methodical approach, and his psychological resilience all fit the profile perfectly!
Liang Fei shook his head, his gaze falling on Qin Kai.
Qin Kai cleared his throat and said:
"The first clue is that the killer and the victims definitely knew each other, right?"
"Right."
"The second clue is even simpler: the killer's motive."
"The third clue is that the killer was able to deliver a fatal blow in the dark using just a claw hammer, so their physical strength must be quite formidable."
Great strength?
Was it a man?
Lu Ming looked at Liang Fei with a strange expression.
"Brother, isn't that third clue a bit sloppy?"
"I've seen that claw hammer. Even if it were a woman, a single smash down with that thing would probably leave no one alive."
Instead of answering directly, Liang Fei swept his gaze over Qin Kai and the other two.
"You guys think so too?"
Qin Kai and the others exchanged glances and all nodded.
"It's best that you think this way."
A rare smile appeared on Liang Fei's face.
"It shows you still have some judgment of your own. To be honest, if I had to rely on myself alone, a Total Wipeout would have been guaranteed."
"Alright, back to business."
Seeing the subtle change in everyone's expressions, Liang Fei raised his wrist to check his watch: only two minutes remained.
The movement of the ghostly "thing" beneath the bed was growing increasingly violent.
"The reason I judge that the killer is a man is because of the footprints left on the third floor of the crime scene."
"The killer jumped directly from the Back Mountain to the third floor, tracking in mud from the Back Mountain. The resulting footprints are around size 41. The probability of it being a woman shouldn't be very high, right?"
As soon as he said this, Qin Kai instinctively glanced down at his own feet, and the moment he looked up, his eyes lit up brilliantly.
The observational skills of this guy Liang Fei were truly beyond anything they could match.
"Brother, the way you put it, why does it feel like that ghostly 'thing' is the killer? Look at the hammer it's holding..."
Goosebumps broke out all over Lu Ming's body as he pointed beneath the bed.
"It's not it. It doesn't leave footprints when it walks."
Liang Fei had also wondered whether the couple might have been killed by a ghost.
Both wielded a claw hammer, both slaughtered ruthlessly.
However, he had observed carefully: ghosts did not leave footprints when walking.
Time slipped away in an instant. The moment midnight struck, the ghostly "thing" beneath the bed instantly broke free from its restraints.
A trace of excitement still lingered at the corners of Qin Kai's mouth, but his entire body began to go numb.
"Qin Kai, let's take a gamble."
Hearing Liang Fei's words, Qin Kai felt a jolt through his entire body.
There was no turning back once the bow was drawn. If they won... they could survive for at least three more days.
If they lost... well, at least he wouldn't be lonely.
By this point, he trusted Liang Fei one hundred percent.
If not for the other man, forget about submitting clues—he might right now be watching helplessly as that ghostly "thing" bludgeoned him to death and then devoured him down to the last scrap.
Suppressing his terror, his nose filled with the rotting stench, and listening to the thunderous beating of his heart, Qin Kai roared:
"First clue: the killer is a man!"
Dolls of sweat rolled down his forehead.
Qin Kai watched as the ghostly "thing" raised its claw hammer, glaring at him with venomous malice, a freezing murderous intent enveloping his entire body.
Yet the moment Qin Kai uttered the first clue, it seemed to be bound by an invisible force.
It lunged forward frantically, generating a pulling resistance.
"You aren't getting away..."
Not just Qin Kai, but even Liang Fei and the others standing close together heard the incomparably resentful and icy voice of this "thing" ringing in their ears.
Han Cheng even instinctively let out a shrill scream.