Escape from the Thriller World – Chapter 27
by Little PandaVolume One: The Old Corpse in the Mountain Village
Probe
Beautiful women always know how to flirt
【Game System Prompt】
【Qin King Bone-Viewing Mirror Obtained】
【It Can Effectively Distinguish True and False Teammates】
【Tong Lau Side Quest Continues】
【Quest Plot Progress: 49%】
49, a satirical number – the final 1% exploration rate, she thought, was this building’s secret.
The death watch’s notification was quite timely, though this was within Ning Lan’s expectations.
After playing through the quest for several days, they discovered it wasn’t as simple as following game prompts – it contained hidden chapters that needed to be explored to reach 100% completion.
The Qin King Bone-Viewing Mirror’s function was quite interesting; Ning Lan took the mirror from her backpack and deliberately shone it at Shen Qingyou.
It perfectly reflected back a beautiful woman’s cold face.
Ning Lan nodded with satisfaction and said: “My teammate seems fine, you pass.”
Shen Qingyou gave her a side-eye and said: “Ning Lan, are you just looking for trouble?”
Ning Lan’s cold hadn’t improved and she sneezed again. She waved her hand and said: “I’ll stop joking with you, I’m going to take my medicine.”
Shen Qingyou smiled gently and said: “Alright, good night.”
Her smile was like a spring breeze [gentle and refreshing], and Ning Lan felt herself melting in a daze.
Ning Lan turned her head away to avoid her gaze.
She took her medicine before sleeping, and after a simple washing up, she got into bed.
The living room became quiet; Shen Qingyou probably went to rest after washing up too.
Ning Lan specifically put a note on the bathroom’s glass door: Don’t look in the mirror, that ghost will appear.
Ning Lan flipped through her notebook, organizing the times when Akita Kyoko would appear – mostly at night, after 11 o’clock.
There seemed to be something she feared on the 18th floor; Ning Lan had formed an idea while at the hospital…
Ning Lan wanted to verify this idea during daytime, as at night her back always felt cold [indicating fear].
Thinking of Akita Kyoko’s burned face, Ning Lan couldn’t help but shudder.
Ning Lan took a 4B pencil from her pencil case and began drawing the building’s floor plan.
If this building was burned about 20 years ago, it must have been renovated afterwards.
Speaking of which, this building had a lot of empty space – could there be a hidden room?
Ning Lan lay back against the headboard and propped herself up to knock on the wall behind.
Hollow… it was hollow?
Could this building’s structure really have hidden spaces?
There was once a mystery book about a locked room murder case where someone used their own building as a sealed room, and the victim died in the building’s hidden layer.
Her expression became startled, her pupils gradually dilating.
If that’s the case, was this building modified by Wei Jinbao, or was it discovered by Lan Fang’s family themselves?
Just as Ning Lan was thinking about this key point, Shen Qingyou’s voice suddenly came from the living room.
Ning Lan put down her notebook, put on slippers, and rushed to the living room.
Shen Qingyou was pouring water from a hot kettle when she burned her finger.
Ning Lan let out a long breath and said: “How are you? I’ll go get some burn medicine.”
Ning Lan’s eyes were full of concern, but she endured the pain and said: “It’s nothing, just a bandaid will do.”
This woman really was a charging female warrior [meaning: brave and tough].
Ning Lan grabbed her arm and carefully examined her burned finger, saying: “Can’t be careless about this, wait for me a moment.”
Ning Lan walked to the side bedroom to get the first aid kit again, had her sit on the sofa like before, and sat beside her applying medicine.
For a moment, Shen Qingyou stared at her profile, lost in thought.
Her features were delicate, eyes clear and bright, lips slightly pursed.
Ning Lan casually finished applying the medicine and said: “It should stop being swollen after a few days of healing, don’t get it wet these days…”
Shen Qingyou’s lips curled up as she withdrew her hand and said: “Ning Lan, why does your tone sound like you’re giving instructions to a girlfriend, or am I hearing things wrong?”
Ning Lan gave a light laugh and said: “Officer Shen, don’t think too much, go to sleep early.”
Hmm… they should maintain some distance.
Shen Qingyou’s emotions were confused; she couldn’t say what her feelings for Ning Lan were – teammates or roommates, perhaps.
The two people were guessing at each other’s thoughts, neither bringing it up directly.
Ning Lan carried the first aid kit back to the side bedroom, turned away from the door and put the kit back in its original storage cabinet.
The cold medicine took effect quickly; in less than half an hour, she covered herself with the blanket and dozed off.
Sleeping until midnight, she felt her throat was dry.
Ning Lan felt around for the bedside lamp and pulled its cord.
The white light shone into her eyes, somewhat dazzling.
She lowered her head to look between [spaces], when suddenly a head rolled out from under the bed.
Akita Kyoko’s head was covered in blood, staring fixedly at her at a 45-degree angle.
Ning Lan was startled and grabbed the blanket from the bed to cover the head.
Akita Kyoko’s head flew up, opening a blood basin big mouth to bite at Ning Lan.
“Don’t… don’t come closer!” Ning Lan frantically grabbed the bedside lamp and smashed it, her hands still waving about.
She woke up again, with Shen Qingyou shaking her shoulders saying: “Ning Lan… calm down, were you having a nightmare?”
Shen Qingyou rubbed her head; she had just heard Ning Lan’s scream from the master bedroom next door and hurried over.
Ning Lan clutched the blanket, her palms sweaty.
She nodded and said: “Akita Kyoko… she keeps appearing in my dreams, as if trying to tell me something again…”
Shen Qingyou’s pupils suddenly contracted as she said: “You told me about that note with the hint, right? Don’t be deceived by false appearances…”
Ning Lan took a breath and said: “Yes… that’s the phrase, is it a prediction or a warning?”
Shen Qingyou pondered for a moment and slowly said: “We have one last chance, we’ll know tomorrow night.”
Ning Lan steadied her emotions and said: “If my judgment isn’t wrong, we should prepare a backup plan, to be absolutely certain…”
Ning Lan told Shen Qingyou her thoughts, and Shen Qingyou agreed with her view.
Shen Qingyou’s eyelids grew heavier as she rubbed her eyes and said: “Since you’re okay now, I’m going back to sleep.”
Ning Lan, still immersed in her recent nightmare, said: “Alright, this time it’s really good night.”
After a long silence, Shen Qingyou said: “Good night, sweet dreams.”
Shen Qingyou stood up and left, giving her a meaningful look.
Ning Lan lay on her pillow with no desire to sleep, she dimmed the bedside lamp a bit, thinking back and forth about matters concerning this building.
The next morning, Ning Lan rubbed her eyes, put on clothes, and got up to wash up. She looked up to see Shen Qingyou had made two portions of breakfast and said: “Officer Shen, morning.”
The awkwardness from last night was gone, and they quickly returned to their roommate relationship.
Shen Qingyou held out a plate with sandwiches and fried eggs, saying: “I had extra ingredients this morning, so I made two portions. Would you give me face?”
Ning Lan smiled, nodded, took a bite and said: “Officer Shen, your cooking skills are good. Did you live alone before?”
Shen Qingyou elegantly broke the sandwich into small pieces, dipped them in sauce, and put them to her lips saying: “Yes. I’m used to being alone.”
Ning Lan asked curiously: “I’m curious, why were you on that high-speed train that time? Were you on a mission?”
After finishing breakfast, Shen Qingyou wiped her hands and said: “State secret, can’t disclose.”
Ning Lan gave her a look and said: “Acting mysterious, you’re such a teasing woman.”
Shen Qingyou stepped closer to her face, now just inches away.
Her fingers caressed Ning Lan’s cheek as she said softly: “Ning Lan, I’ve noticed you’ve been very interested in me lately? You don’t have any special thoughts about me, do you?”
A seductive trap, but she wouldn’t fall for it.
Ning Lan stepped back several steps away from her, using the excuse of cleaning the plates on the dining table, saying evasively: “I don’t, don’t talk nonsense.”
Shen Qingyou covered her mouth and laughed lightly: “Ning Lan, don’t forget what you said, we need to maintain our distance.”
Beautiful women always know how to flirt, but she had to stand firm in her position.
Ning Lan busied herself with thoughts of washing dishes, briefly escaping Shen Qingyou’s pointed [zi zi zhu ji – idiom meaning every word is like a pearl, valuable and meaningful] pursuit.
Until a knock came from outside, with someone saying: “Are you both inside? Tonight we’re preparing a ritual, at 11 o’clock, on the 23rd floor rooftop to draw out Akita Kyoko.”
Tonight would be a sleepless night; whether Akita Kyoko would surrender willingly remained unknown.
The people outside were Daoists Xiaoming and Xiaoqiang, who were preparing the ritual implements needed.
Ning Lan heard everything clearly from the kitchen. Thinking of the Qin King Bone-Viewing Mirror, she walked out from the kitchen to face the two people.
“Sanqing Daoists, we’ve found the Qin King Bone-Viewing Mirror. Could it be useful for the ritual array?” Ning Lan took out the mirror, which burst forth with golden light.
Seeing the Qin King Bone-Viewing Mirror, the Sanqing Daoist admiringly played with it in his hands and exclaimed: “Excellent, you’ve finally helped us retrieve it!”
Xiaoming wept with joy seeing the long-lost mirror, while Xiaoqiang explained that the mirror had been blessed by Xuanmin and could inflict burning damage on ghosts.
“Returning it to its rightful owners, we’ve completed our task,” Ning Lan said with clasped hands [traditional gesture of respect].
“My junior brother and I will set up the altar for the ritual later. Keep this item for now, it could save your life at a crucial moment,” Xiaoqiang took the mirror from Xiaoming and returned it to Ning Lan.
Strangely enough, after Ning Lan obtained the Qin King Bone-Viewing Mirror, it seemed to become bound to her through the game system.
Having received this magical treasure, Ning Lan reluctantly agreed to keep it.
The two Daoists left the 18th floor one after another.
Ning Lan was still uncertain whether her guess was correct; she needed to get the architectural design plans for this floor, which meant finding the architect who designed this building back then.
“Wei Jinye, he should know?” Shen Qingyou blurted out.
“He’s now in the hospital because of Akita Kyoko, who knows if he’s dead or alive…” Ning Lan shook her head and said.
“We have to treat a dead horse as if it were alive [to try despite slim chances], it’s not too late to go to the hospital to see him one last time,” Shen Qingyou said helplessly.
The two changed clothes and then hurried to Hong Kong Central Hospital.
A black cat followed behind them, and Ning Lan picked it up saying: “Do you want to come with us?”
The black cat meowed several times and nuzzled into Ning Lan’s arms. Ning Lan had no choice with it, so the two people and one cat set off for the hospital.
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