"Who are they?"
Qin Manjiang's question went unanswered.
Doctor remained silent.
During his brief conversation with Doctor, Qin Manjiang had noticed that although his voice no longer sounded young, he didn't come across as the stuffy sort.
"I don't know," Doctor said.
"Keep the things. Whatever happens next has nothing to do with me. Goodbye... no, let's not meet again."
Doctor sounded ready to hang up immediately.
Qin Manjiang turned to look at the strange boy. Or was he a teenager?
"Tell him to go back. I've accepted what was left to me, and I'll handle things my own way. Since you don't want to get involved, cut your ties completely."
Qin Manjiang's words left Doctor speechless. After a long pause, he replied, "All right. But you two will probably meet again soon. Give him the phone."
Qin Manjiang handed the phone to Lin, who took it and listened without a word.
"All right."
After that brief reply, he handed the phone back to Qin Manjiang, then immediately turned and left the apartment.
"That's settled. Good luck."
"Oh, right!"
"I hear the most terrifying thing about a game is that once you're immersed in it, you can no longer tell reality from the game."
"Ha ha..."
The call ended.
Qin Manjiang glanced at his phone and promptly deleted the strange Doctor's number.
He didn't care whether these things had belonged to his biological parents, nor did he want to know what had happened twenty years ago. He had only accepted them because they might be connected to his adoptive parents' deaths and the strange things that had happened as he grew up.
As for his biological parents?
Qin Manjiang had his doubts.
If the father he had never met had truly sent him to the countryside under a new name to keep him alive, then he shouldn't have arranged for someone to deliver these "things" to his son twenty years later.
Doing so would clearly bring disaster upon his child again.
Yet not only had he done exactly that, he had also asked Qin Manjiang to use this phone to investigate in the future.
What utter nonsense. Why should I?
Qin Manjiang felt no goodwill toward that man whatsoever. In his eyes, the man had sent away his biological son and then left these things to him purely so someone would continue exploring his discoveries.
He was an extremely self-centered man. His letter alone revealed that much.
The letter wasn't long, but almost everything in it revolved around "I": what had happened to me, what else had happened to me, what you needed to do, and how you had to follow my instructions.
What a ridiculous man.
Still... the bizarre deaths of his adoptive parents weighed heavily on Qin Manjiang. If their deaths really were connected to those of his biological parents, he couldn't ignore it.
Coming back to the matter at hand, Qin Manjiang glanced around the apartment.
The prospective tenant had had ulterior motives, so Qin Manjiang had sent him packing. And judging by Doctor's remarks, the boy named Lin was probably one of the players. Otherwise, Doctor wouldn't have been so certain they would meet again soon.
But what now...
Should I give up this place and rent somewhere cheaper?
The idea was sound, but putting it into practice would be difficult, because... the lease stated that the deposit wouldn't be refunded if he moved out early. For someone as strapped for cash as Qin Manjiang, that was a little hard to accept.
Keep looking for a tenant, then... go earn some money.
Before he knew it, September 1 had arrived.
During that time, every Ghost Story Game player had been following the same development.
Multiplayer Mode had a seven-day time limit, yet this round had been cleared in a single day. After asking around, the players learned from Zhong Xueran that the newcomer Abyss and the writer Pond Fish had resolved the ghost story. Despite holding the last position among the Ten Seats, she had barely contributed this time.
This piqued almost everyone's interest. A new player, Abyss?
Everyone had indeed seen that ID after Abyss cleared the Beginner Level, but how should they put it... that alias didn't inspire much confidence.
They had imagined someone inexperienced, a rather naive kid.
They hadn't expected him to perform so brilliantly in his very first Multiplayer Mode round.
They had all been through it themselves, and knew exactly what they had been like during their first experience with Multiplayer Mode.
Precisely because of that, they were deeply curious about the newcomer Abyss and determined to befriend him if they could. Someone that clever would eventually grow into a formidable player, provided his luck wasn't too terrible.
If they ended up on the same team in the future, having a good relationship with him and being able to rely on him could greatly improve their chances of survival.
As word spread, more and more people began asking about Qin Manjiang.
Zhong Xueran was their only source of information. But after she told Qin Manjiang how everyone felt, he declined their invitations to meet in person.
The reason was simple...
He was busy. Busy earning money.
That day, Zhong Xueran stared in astonishment as Qin Manjiang pulled up in front of her on a little electric scooter, wearing a helmet and carrying a large box on his back.
"What are you doing?"
"Working."
"Transporting classified documents?"
"Delivering takeout."
Understanding dawned on Zhong Xueran, and she murmured, "When you said over the phone that you'd been busy lately, this was what you meant..."
Qin Manjiang nodded. "Yeah. Make it quick. I've got another order to deliver."
He didn't understand why Zhong Xueran had suddenly insisted on meeting him today. He had already told her he was busy.
Zhong Xueran didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Suddenly, she couldn't quite follow Qin Manjiang's thought process.
Plenty of wealthy people had been chosen by this game, and he had so much potential. If he simply maintained friendly relationships with everyone in real life and promised to look out for them when they teamed up in the game, how could he possibly be short of money?
"You know Yang, right?"
She asked.
Qin Manjiang thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah. The First Seat. He went into Exploration Mode. What happened? Did he die?"
"Don't say that!" Zhong Xueran glared at him. "Never say anything like that again. Yang is a good person. He's helped so many people in the ghost stories. If everyone heard you say that, they'd never let you off!"
Qin Manjiang nodded. "Oh. Sorry."
He admitted his mistake so quickly that Zhong Xueran didn't even have time to get angry.
"But what does he have to do with me?" Qin Manjiang looked puzzled. He still hadn't figured out why Zhong Xueran had come to see him today.
Zhong Xueran fell silent for a moment. Looking at Qin Manjiang, who sat astride his little electric scooter with his helmet on, she said, "We're planning to go to the ghost story's location and find Yang!"
Qin Manjiang said nothing, but his expression still plainly read, What does that have to do with me?
Zhong Xueran pretended not to notice. "A friend of Yang's received two messages from him while he was playing the Ghost Story Game."
"Help me confirm whether the player Abyss's real name is Qin Manjiang."
Zhong Xueran stared intently at Qin Manjiang. "That was the first message Yang sent."
Qin Manjiang finally understood why this had something to do with him.
"Me? Why would Yang mention me?" Qin Manjiang was puzzled.
"A Vengeful Ghost... keeps repeating two names: Abyss... Qin Manjiang..." Zhong Xueran's expression was strange as well. "That was the second message Yang sent."
Qin Manjiang's expression abruptly changed.
Could it be... Li Xijiu?!
Thank you to Eating Meat, Borao, Little Obsession, and Roast Duck for the tips. Thank you, and good night, everyone!
(End of chapter)
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