39 - Clue Integration

Translated by rabbitrisu

When he returned to the main hall, Su Zimo saw Xiao Huo sitting down with a shovel in front of the mirror with a soulless expression. Cheng Yun covered the mirror again as quickly as possible with the ripped tablecloth.

“What’s going on?” Dr. Jin asked in surprise.

“Don’t you guys want to see what would appear in the mirror?” Xiao Huo was scared and screamed just now, but he touched his nose and sat up from the ground in dismay. “When I hear that I can’t do something, I always have the urge to try it.”

“It’s because I wasn’t watching him.” Cheng Yun apologized and went back to the table. He looked at Su Zimo, who had returned. “How was it? Have you found any new clues?”

Su Zimo looked at Cheng Yun, who was just standing there, but he didn’t know exactly why. If he was really a trainer who was trying to escape the twentieth nightmare world, then he certainly doesn’t want to clear this world.

If that enemy is a ‘beast’ that kills and steals treasures as the madman said, then staying here means that he’s found an object that he wants to hunt and is constantly looking for opportunities to strike.

Su Zimo observed Cheng Yun’s expression, but he couldn’t see any special emotions after a while.

“It doesn’t matter if you didn’t find a clue.” Cheng Yun regarded Su Zimo’s moment of silence as frustration, and his initial relieved smile appeared. “After all, it’s a nightmare world with five days of difficulty. The method of task clearance must not be very simple.”

“Leader Cheng, Mr. Su has no nightmare points, so he really wants to clear the task.” Qi Ziaomin seemed to understand Su Zimo’s active performance as a strong desire for survival. This may also be understood by the other trainers, so Su Zimo, a newcomer who shined brightly, didn’t appear strange. “If we can’t clear the task, Leader Cheng, is there any way to prevent Mr. Su from a death penalty?”

“Or just share some of my past nightmare points.” Qi Xiaomin’s eyes were firm. “In fact, I still have some saved.”

“Sorry, apart from the slave mark, I’ve never heard of a way to share nightmare points.” Cheng Yun shook his head. “There’s no way other than nightmare points to escape the death penalty. Otherwise, those who avoid the twentieth nightmare world wouldn’t have such a headache.”

"

"

“Strange.” Jin Lei’s finger tapper her chin as she looked at Cheng Yun meaningfully. “When the madman talked about the twentieth nightmare world before, I thought you didn’t know anything about the trainers.”

“I heard a little.” Cheng Yun forced a smile.

“Actually, Elder Fang and I discovered something.” Su Zimo nodded gratefully at Qi Xiaomin before adding, “There are at least four owners of the villa – a couple, their daughter, and an old man.”

“Is there an old man? That’s a new clue, but I don’t know how it helps us find a lifeline?” Cheng Yun’s expression was very serious, but since he was wearing the maid costume, there wasn’t a serious atmosphere.

“Everyone is clear about the layout of the first floor.” Su Zimo looked around and found that even Elder Fang Qin and Dr. Jin didn’t respond, so he could only say, “There are some problems with the layout of the third floor.”

“The layout of the third floor starts from the staircase, which includes the large bathroom, the family doctor’s bedroom, the study, the playroom, and the master bedroom.” Su Zimo sighed. “If the master bedroom of the house was for a family of three, then where should the sick old man live?”

“The second floor!” Dr. Jin immediately responded this time. “The old man lives on the second floor!”

“And it may be an old man with a lonely personality who’s a bit apathetic to the things around him.” Su Zimo looked at the manuscript in his hand. In addition to the sentence on the first page of the manuscript, ‘It is Better to Walk the Lonely Mountain,’ the other content of the manuscript also expressed the old man’s apathy to his surroundings. It’s just because the manuscript itself is prose, and the writing is very abstract that Su Zimo, who hasn’t resonated with it, has’t obtained any useful information except for gorgeous sentences and beautiful calligraphy.

“Would the old man live in the master bedroom? Didn’t we say that the villa owner’s family might not live here, but may just leave the patient in the villa alone?” Dr. Jin asked.

“No.” The answer was Liu Xu who had been to the master bedroom once. He said with certainty, “There are no supplies for the elderly in the master bedroom, and there are clothes for a family of three in the closet, but the amount is relatively small. It’s like they haven’t lived there for a long time.”

“Then we can be sure that most of the time, only staff, the family doctor, and the sick elder live in this villa.” After three ‘days,’ Su ZImo finally reached the first definite conclusion.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“So the question now is: Is the ghost in the villa the housekeeper, the family doctor, or the old man on the second floor?” Su Zimo asked, and looked at Xiao Huo nearby. “Xiao Huo-ge, what did you see in the mirror?”

“Ghosts of course! Bloody ghosts everywhere! The most scary kind!” Xiao Huo stretched out his left hand, with a bloody handprint on it, and said exaggeratedly, “If it wasn’t for gege’s quick reaction, I would’ve been caught by the ghost in the mirror!”

Could it be that he was wrong?

After hearing Xiao Huo’s words, Su Zimo felt that the first line of the task to note the mirror, might really just be reminding them to be wary of the ghosts in the mirror. Before Xiao Huo tried it himself, Su Zimo thought that the words telling them to pay attention to the mirror could also be interpreted as–

[There are very important clues in the mirror, please pay attention.]

But the fact that Xiao Huo’s hand was caught by the ghost in the mirror?

“We need to sort out the clues.” Jin Lei took out her portable notbook again and spread it on the dining table. “Because we don’t know the chronological order, we’ll sort out the floors and characters.”

“First is the people who live on the first floor. We can reasonably assume from the things in the safe that the villa’s financial power and accounts are in the housekeeper’s hands. He may even be the mastermind behind everything. So it means that the housekeeper took the staff and the irresponsible family doctor, occupied the villa like thieves, got money with fake books, and lived smarter lives than the patient they should’ve taken care of.” Dr. Jin tried to straighten out her thoughts.

“And they may have sold the precious books that the old man collected in his study at a low price to get the large amount of money in the safe.” Su ZImo almost forgot to inform them of the source of the money.

“So after getting the money, the account books weren’t so important to them.” Dr. Jin said, scratching her chin with the pen. “Handome Xiao Su, the clues are here. Can you think of anything else?”

“The old man who lives here is educated.” Su Zimo thought for a while. “After encountering the absurd things that the housekeeper did, did the old man really have no way to resist? The villa’s owner spent so much money and never thought about asking the elderly man to confirm it? What on earth allowed the housekeeper to so brazenly take advantage of the owner’s family?”

“Maybe it’s because the old man is very ill or he had lost consciousness? Turned vegetative?” Qi Xiaomin racked her brain and thought for a while.

“If he was really sick, then they shouldn’t leave the patient alone in the villa and rely on only one family doctor to take care of him.” Su Zimo shook his head. “If the old man was vegetative, then the monthly medical expenses would’ve been fixed. It would be impossible for the housekeeper to move so much from the accounts.”

“So one of the keys to solving this puzzle is determining what kind of illness the old man has.” Dr. Jin recorded that. “Anything else?”

“And… Everyone in the villa, what happened to them in the end?” Su Zimo looked around the ruined villa, which had apparently been abandoned for a long time. There was the beloved tactical pen. There was even a safe deposit in the housekeeper’s room. Where did these people end up?”

When Su Zimo considered that, he accidentally blurted out the ‘beloved tactical pen’ information that could only have been read using the text boxes, but the other trainers didn’t seem to find anything strange about it, and had thoughtful expressions.

“Maybe something happened?” Xiao Huo raised his hand like a good student. “The ghost I saw in the mirror just now wasn’t an old man at all. It could be one of the servants. After all, if it was me, as long as there was a chance to run, I would definitely take the money and precious things and transportation with me.”

“Then the story is…” Dr. Jin gestured to the notes.

“There were three happy generations living here. To be precise, a happy family of three and an old man with a bad temper. Later, the old man got sick, and the family of three left the villa for some reason.”

“At the same time, the old man’s children left a sufficient unmber of servants and a family doctor in the villa. Their purpose should’ve been to take good care of the sick old man, and they even gave the housekeeper the right to make payments every month. The children themselves only check the account books and the doctor’s log regularly.” Dr. Jin added. “There are many children who think that this way of care is filial piety, but it’s really easy to have an accident.”

“The old man’s children’s ‘perfect care’ is actually full of mistakes. The housekeeper took the lead in making false accounts and initially deducted the elder’s medical expenses, then satisfied the personal desires of himself and the other villa staff.”

“Later, their appetites grew bigger and bigger. They needed more money than would go unnoticed by the old man’s children. If they took another step forward, their smart way of life would be over. So the steward stopped the fake accounts and instead… secretly sold precious books in exchange for money, as Su Zimo said, in order to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle.”

“We don’t know what happened later, but the children and family doctors in the villa are probably dead now, and the old man who was seriously ill should also be dead. I’m afraid the housekeeper’s actions may eventually lead to bad results. This is good news.”

Dr. Jin combed through all the clues and wove a story with the current information. Finally, she asked, “So, where’s the lifeline of this world? Why are we acting like the servants who did many evil things?”

“I’m afraid we have to wait for this ‘day’ to pass before we can get any new clues.” Su Zimo felt that Dr. Jin had connected all the clues together. For now, there were really no new clues.

“You… really are amazing.” Cheng Yun didn’t feel relieved when he heard the fairly complete story. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face. “I just feel that time is flying, but I didn’t expect you to find so many things.”

Cheng Yun’s tone gave Su Zimo a very bad feeling. He did seem to be surprised by the clues Si Zimo had found, but that surprise wasn’t mixed with joy or gratification. Rather, it was a little unpleasant.

“I’ve really met a lot of excellent children in this nightmare world.” Elder Fang Qin didn’t sense Cheng Yun’s weirdness, and he stroked his beard happily. “Much better than the black-hearted kids I encountered in previous nightmare worlds. Me, an old man, playing games with bear children. ¹ These old bones can’t bear it anymore.”

Elder Fang was obviously like Su Zimo and had met many headache-inducing newcomers.

“After all, not every newcomer is as powerful as Zimo.” Du Xin, who was sitting next to Su Zimo, suddenly looked dull. “I thought I would become better after four years have passed, but I didn’t expect that my role in the nightmare world wouldn’t be as good as Zimo. I used to think you were a person from another world, and now I still get that feeling…”

“Hey, Du xin.” Feeling that Du Xin’s emotions were a bit down, Qi Xiaomin nudged him softly.

“It’s nothing, just suddenly a little emotional.” Du Xin narrowed his eyes with a smile. “After a while, the relationship between me and Zimo was gone, as if there were only the words ‘Shoushan Secondary School’ remaining. Sometimes I think… If the reason for your transfer was really the same as the rumours, the gap between us may not be so big. But private doctors, that’s not something normal people can afford.”

Du Xin kept squinting and smiling, but Su Zimo didn’t feel comfortable.

[Creak- Creak-]

A familiar creak appeared again above the main hall. The trainers didn’t panic this time. Instead, they were ready to get up and sort out their clothes, expecting new clues to appear after waking up this time.

Only this time the fatigue felt faster and fiercer than before. Su Zimo didn’t even have time to reach out and grab the housekeeper’s book that he placed on the table, and fell asleep without control.

"

"

“Ah… Aaaah…”

In the darkness, Su Zimo had just regained consciousness.and he heard the vaguely inaudible voice ringing in his ear again.

As before, there was still the ‘creak’ of heavy objects pressing against the wooden floor, and the constant tapping sound that made people feel that the ‘thing’ appearing in the dark was very anxious.

“Aaaaaahhh! Wu…”

Although he couldn’t distinguish the other’s language, Su Zimo couldn feel the urgency rising in the voice. When it reached its peak, it sounded like crying and sobbing.

“Anyone here?” Qi Xiaomin’s voice suddenly came from the darkness. As her voice sounded, the vague whimper and creaking floor slowly showed signs of disappearing.

Su Zimo was obviously not in someone’s room at the moment, so he respnded, “I am.”

It was the next second after Su Zimo made a sound when he suddenly felt a gust of wind coming from behind. Because he knew that the entire villa was a ‘private room’ without wind, Su Zimo didn’t hesitate to swing the metal pen in the direction of the wind, guessing it would be the ghost who was hiding in the villa at the time.

“Wu!”

But the next second, Su Zimo felt something real in his hand. Not a ghost, but a person! He even heard a mumble from someone in that direction!

Although Su Zimo didn’t deal with trainers with the baton, he had dealt with many ghosts, so he was certain that the one he just hit wasn’t a ghost!

Did he accidentally hurt another trainer by mistake?

No. If it was a mistake, how could the person he hit be so quiet. It’s like they were restraining themselves from speaking up!

Qi Xiaomin, who was hiding in the dark to the side, suddenly turned on her cell phone’s flashlight. Su Zimo could see with the faint light that he was in a relatively large maid’s room, along with Qi Xiaomin, Cheng Yun, and Du Xin in maid costumes.

Their previous guess was correct. After putting on identifiable clothes, they appeared in the ‘correct’ room.

But the serious problem now is…

Just now someone seemed to want to attack Su Zimo.

Su Zimo looked at Cheng Yun and Du Xin in front of him, only to find that there were no special expressions on either of their faces. They covered their eyes because of the sudden light, and they looked dazed.

Realizing that the dark room was unsafe, Su Zimo took the lead to escape from the maids’ room and rushed out. He looked blankly at the trainers who came of out the ‘correct’ rooms. After nodding at Jin Lei, they returned to the candle-lit main hall.

Obviously it was already the fourth ‘day,’ but the candles in the hall didn’t seem to be consumed. ² They were still as bright as daylight.

“The role-playing clues should be correct.” Su Zimo seemed to be more icy and passive than before, and he looked at the trainers around him seriously. “Our remaining time isn’t much. I think we should start thinking about forcibly removing the blockade on the second floor. It must have clues about the villa that we need to find.”

Su Zimo’s eyes, hidden behind the lens of his glasses, seemed to have an irresistible glow. His whole aura seemed to be different from before.

Not just clues. If Su Zimo couldn’t find a ghost weapon on the second floor, he didn’t need to stay in the nightmare world. After all, he wasn’t interested in being turned into a thorn in humanity’s side when he was being targeted by malicious spirits.

“Leader Cheng Yun, please stay in the main hall and wait.” Su Zimo turned to look at Cheng Yun, who rubbed his eyes. The corner of his mouth suddenly arched. “If you stay here, we’ll be safer.”

Footnotes

<ol>Bear children are naughty kids who don’t know how to behave properly. Raws here said third day, but since that was the third time they fell asleep, it should be the fourth day. Adjusted for continuity.</ol>