Unsolvable

Unsolvable

As Bai Yanliang accepted the breakfast handed to him by the male waiter, he casually asked, "By the way, where's that waitress from earlier? She promised to replace my pillow. Don't let her forget."

The two waiters looked somewhat strange, but they still replied on the surface, "Of course, sir."

"Oh, right... sir, please don't take her words too seriously in the future. She... has been under a lot of pressure lately. Perhaps she's developed some mental problems." One waiter spoke with a smile, then turned and left with the other before Bai Yanliang could say anything else.

"Something's wrong."

Xu Zhi'an was the one who spoke. He watched the two waiters' retreating backs, deep in thought.

"Take a look at this."

At that moment, Feng Xinghan suddenly pulled out a newspaper and handed it to Bai Yanliang and Li Yuejun.

Bai Yanliang took it and quickly scanned it, his gaze stopping on one particular news report.

"Ding Lei, owner of Ruyi Inn, has had his wife missing for six days. Despite multiple investigations and evidence-gathering efforts, the police have found no clues. Rumors among the public claim that Ding Lei's wife has been murdered, and that Ding Lei himself is the most likely culprit..."

Bai Yanliang folded the newspaper and passed it to Li Yuejun, but his eyes had fallen on the front desk in the lobby.

Ruyi Inn.

Wasn't this Ruyi Inn?

"Ding Lei's wife is the ghost?" Bai Yanliang looked at Feng Xinghan and the other three.

Xu Zhi'an was the first to shake his head. "Not sure. Even if she is, it won't be that simple. There must be more to this. That waitress they said was under severe mental pressure might know something."

Bai Yanliang nodded and asked, "By the way, I have a question. What does 'Sleep with it pressed against your back, wake soulless within a dream, seven days only' mean?"

Bai Yanliang's question drew the eyes of all four people present.

This time, the one who spoke was unexpectedly Jiang Li, who had been constantly studying Bai Yanliang.

"Come to think of it... I nearly forgot that you're a newcomer who just entered Mist Gathering. Mr. Bai, you really are remarkable. You seem to... have no negative emotions at all?"

Bai Yanliang smiled without speaking.

He had more than just no negative emotions. He barely had any positive ones, either...

"Every Jieyu points toward a path to survival or offers a hint. As long as you understand it, getting out alive won't be too difficult. However, Jieyu can also conceal misdirection and traps. How you interpret it depends entirely on the individual." Jiang Li's voice was as young as his appearance, and his clear baritone finally let Bai Yanliang understand his gender.

"What about the seven-day limit?" Asking whenever he did not understand had always been Bai Yanliang's good habit.

Li Yuejun answered him this time. In fact, it was also the first thing she had said since coming downstairs.

"The time limit is the endpoint. You've probably noticed that this world isn't some alternate world. It's reality from the past. Everything here has already happened before. Seven days is the limit this past time-space can sustain. As long as we endure for seven days, we can safely return to reality."

Then... how was that any different from Yu Hanzhou's mission?

Bai Yanliang remembered that Yu Hanzhou's group had received the task: "When facing a mirror, do not open your eyes; when softly called, do not turn back; survive one day." One was survival, the other a time limit, but in the end, both meant staying alive and waiting to leave.

"Young man." Feng Xinghan, the oldest among them, looked at him and said, "Don't underestimate this place. There is only one difference between a survival mission and a time-limit mission. The vicious ghosts in survival missions are true ghosts without any weakness whatsoever. But for the ghosts in time-limit missions, as long as we find their weakness before the deadline, we can end the mission early and return to reality."

So it was like having another way out?

Bai Yanliang nodded silently.

"However," Xu Zhi'an took over, his voice still hoarse as he looked at Bai Yanliang, "the closer the time limit gets to its end, the stronger 'he' will become, until... his weakness disappears completely, and he becomes an unsolvable vicious ghost."

Being watched by Xu Zhi'an made Bai Yanliang rather uncomfortable. After all... someone who looked exactly like him had just smashed against his door.

And Bai Yanliang could not even be sure whether this Xu Zhi'an was the real Xu Zhi'an...

Perhaps Xu Zhi'an had died long ago?

His expression remained unchanged as he looked at the four of them. "While it's still daytime, let's split up."

Bai Yanliang's attitude once again caught them by surprise. Jiang Li looked at him with great interest and said, "I thought we'd have to waste quite a bit of breath persuading you. I didn't expect you to suggest splitting up yourself. You truly are different, Mr. Bai."

As though he had not caught the hidden meaning in Jiang Li's words, Bai Yanliang smiled and took a sip of soy milk, watching the four of them leave in different directions.

That was right...

Though dangerous, splitting up was the most efficient method, and also the best arrangement for everyone. After all... he had an identity like Grudge-Bound, which abnormally attracted vicious ghosts.

After finishing breakfast, Bai Yanliang wiped his mouth and prepared to set off as well.

As for his destination, it might be somewhat different from everyone else's...

Qi Nian was about to go mad.

She could clearly see something strange on the wall behind Yu Hanzhou.

They were... footprints!

Soaking wet, as if someone had just stepped out of a bathroom.

But... could a human walk on a wall?

Her whole body was trembling violently. Worse still, ever since earlier, she had felt someone constantly breathing beside her ear.

That breath was icy cold, making her entire body stiffen as though her blood had frozen solid.

"Everyone, remember this: never turn around. Even if you walk into a dead end, back out without turning around. And... watch out for mirrors. We haven't found any mirrors in this villa yet, but since the Jieyu has already warned us about them, it can't be false." Yu Hanzhou looked seriously at the people seated in a circle.

This time, not only had he become Grudge-Bound, but there were a full eight people in this group, himself included.

And worst of all, they had drawn a survival mission.

That meant the vicious ghost in this villa was unsolvable!

There was no way to harm it. All humans could do was flee for their lives and find a path to survival within the brief Jieyu.

Fortunately, this Jieyu allowed Yu Hanzhou to breathe a temporary sigh of relief. It was not obscure at all; it could even be called simple and straightforward.

When facing a mirror, do not open your eyes; when softly called, do not turn back.

Those should be this vicious ghost's taboos. As long as they did not violate them, they might encounter unimaginable horrors, but... at least their lives would not be in immediate danger.

With that thought, Yu Hanzhou stressed again, "No matter what happens behind you, no matter what you see behind someone else, don't say anything! Don't turn around! It's only one day. Hold on."

Though everyone wore different expressions, Yu Hanzhou got along well with people, and no one objected at that moment.

Ma Zirong twisted his neck. His body felt stiff. He had only been in Mist Gathering for one month; this was his second month and his second mission. He deeply agreed with Yu Hanzhou's words. He believed that as long as he followed the instructions in the Jieyu, nothing would happen.

Yet the gazes of the people seated in a circle fixed on him with growing terror.

What... was wrong with everyone?

Huh?

I didn't look up. Why... can I see the ceiling?