Dispelling Doubts

Chapter 25: Resolving Doubts

"Regardless, we have already discovered two corpses. What we need to do now is much simpler: find the killer and force them to reveal their modus operandi and the murder weapon, and we will have succeeded for the most part."

Xu Zhi'an let out a sigh of relief. This was only the first day, and the time limit for this mission was seven days. He never expected progress to be this fast, but he also never expected the level of danger to be this high!

In a one-week timeframe, encountering a malevolent ghost on the very first day and nearly losing one's life was an extremely rare occurrence.

The missions of Mist Gathering seemed... to have suddenly become much more difficult and terrifying.

This was only the third mission, after all; one had to realize that the third mission was supposed to be the relatively easiest one.

Yu Hanzhou's was a survival mission, though...

Thinking of this, Xu Zhi'an's expression suddenly changed.

No!

Yu Hanzhou's survival mission was the second one!

Could it be... that Mist Gathering "considered" Wei Xiu's time-limited mission to be even more terrifying than a survival mission?

"Brother Xu, what's wrong?" Jiang Li happened to see Xu Zhi'an's expression and, thinking he had discovered something unusual, asked quickly.

Xu Zhi'an shook his head, his face pale, and said nothing.

Why had Mist Gathering suddenly undergone so many changes that defied understanding?

A newcomer becoming a Grudge-Bound, a survival mission ranked only second, and furthermore... the seemingly increasingly manic vengeful ghost... actually wanting to kill them on the very first day...

What on earth was going on...

At this moment, Bai Yanliang suddenly spoke up.

"Miss Jiang, Mr. Xu is injured, please take care of him. I just remembered some things, so..." Bai Yanliang's excuse was flimsy; he had used the "suddenly remembered something" line several times already, but his intent was clear.

I am going to act alone from here on out.

Jiang Li was not stupid; she naturally understood the subtext and felt a bit disappointed, more or less.

She knew that Bai Yanliang choosing to act alone was indeed the correct decision.

After this series of events, both Jiang Li and Xu Zhi'an understood that they absolutely could not treat Bai Yanliang as an ordinary newcomer.

He was sharp, intelligent, had strong initiative, and possessed excellent physical stamina. Most importantly... he didn't seem to fear ghosts at all.

The two of them couldn't even imagine a look of terror on Bai Yanliang's delicate face.

"Mm, I will take good care of Brother Xu."

Jiang Li looked at Bai Yanliang and said earnestly.

Bai Yanliang nodded, feeling a sense of relief in his heart.

To be frank, Jiang Li and Xu Zhi'an were somewhat of a hindrance to him.

But... Bai Yanliang did not resent this burden.

Aren't all humans living while carrying some kind of burden?

As he was leaving, Bai Yanliang looked back at the two of them and suddenly said, "Watch out for water."

Jiang Li and Xu Zhi'an met his gaze, looked at each other, and nodded seriously.

Seeing this, Bai Yanliang said nothing more and turned to head down from the rooftop.

He had many questions that needed answering.

Now that two corpses had been discovered, according to Jiang Li's description, the female corpse's cause of death was indiscernible; she was simply bloated from being soaked.

As for the male corpse, he had been smashed beyond recognition, to the point where it was impossible to tell who he was.

The cause of death for the male corpse might still be in question, but the motive for smashing his face was very clear.

The reason was not complex. Perhaps it was emotional—the killer knew the deceased and could not bear to face their face, or perhaps they hated the deceased's face so much that they wanted to smash it even after death.

Or perhaps, by smashing the deceased's face, they would gain some kind of benefit...

If it were the first reason, things would be simple. If it were the second, then... the person who had yet to appear posed a major problem.

Although Bai Yanliang had always felt that he was problematic.

After all, among those still alive, the person most deeply involved who had yet to appear was him—Ding Lei.

While thinking, Bai Yanliang pressed the elevator button.

He didn't care whether the ghost would appear; in fact, he already had a rough guess regarding the ghost's method of killing.

Moreover... he had already warned Xu Zhi'an and Jiang Li.

That was... water.

In every encounter, he had discovered the presence of this element.

Perhaps... the ghost used water as a medium to kill.

Although the deduction was logical and reasonable, Bai Yanliang always felt that something was slightly off.

He was no god, and although he was bothered by this sense of dissonance, he simply could not figure out what it was.

For now, he had no better options; after all, humans were always the passive party within the Mist Gathering.

Stepping out of the elevator, Bai Yanliang returned to the first floor once again.

This hotel was by no means small.

He navigated through several turns, following the memory of his previous encounter with Xu Zhi'an, and found the staff break area.

This was also the reason why Bai Yanliang was unwilling to act together with Xu Zhi'an and Jiang Li.

If Xu Zhi'an knew that Bai Yanliang had returned to the place where he had previously encountered a ghost, his expression would surely be quite spectacular.

If he remembered correctly, Xu Zhi'an had said it was at the end of the corridor, next to the restroom.

As he walked, Bai Yanliang kept his head up, observing his surroundings.

If nothing else, Boss Ding Lei was quite good to his employees; everyone had a single room on the first floor.

Soon, Bai Yanliang came to a halt in front of the room next to the restroom.

This should be the one.

It was still daytime, but the lighting here was poor. Dim, yellowish lights hung eerily in the corridor, and from the moment Bai Yanliang stepped into the hallway, a faint, peculiar odor—whether from the restroom or something else—had been lingering in the air.

The snow-white painted walls were covered in scratches of unknown meaning, carved by someone's fingernails.

The floor in front of the restroom was covered in water splashed about after cleaning, lying silently on the ground. Under the dim light, the color appeared somewhat blackened, just like... blood seeping from the floorboards.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

Bai Yanliang knocked on the door.

The atmosphere around him was strange and dangerous.

But... even he had to risk his life; this was the Mist Gathering... It was like a joke played by the Grim Reaper, and where it hid the chance for survival, only heaven knew.

What Bai Yanliang was doing now was merely unraveling the doubts deep within his heart.

As for safety? He could not guarantee it; then again, in a godforsaken place like this, who could guarantee absolute safety?

The door opened quickly.

"You are..."

Zhang Wen's expression was normal, her gaze wandering as she sized up Bai Yanliang.

"A reporter."

As he spoke, Bai Yanliang took out a pen and paper from his pocket, leftovers from when he had been sketching.

"Didn't a reporter come by earlier... your newspaper office is truly strange..."

Zhang Wen's gaze was somewhat suspicious, but seeing that Bai Yanliang's expression remained calm, she believed him a little.

However, Bai Yanliang took note of what Zhang Wen had said.

A reporter had come by...

In her view, it was "a" reporter.

She clearly knew of the existence of that ghost that could disguise itself as others, the one with the unrecognizable face.

Immediately, Bai Yanliang sat down beside Zhang Wen's desk without ceremony, crossed his legs, held the pen and paper in his hand, and asked:

"Speak, Ms. Zhang, what is it you want to tell us?"