Chapter 60: The Appearance of the "Jigsaw Puzzle"

"Fine, let's use 'that thing' instead. Who knows how many pieces of 'that thing' there are, and we're supposed to find all of them within two hours."

Huan Xiao felt her way along the mirrored wall, using it to gauge the corners.

The surroundings were pitch black. The gloomy environment, coupled with the mirrors, made one's skin crawl.

Beibei shrugged and suggested hesitantly, "Maybe we shouldn't talk about that thing. Let's talk about something else instead."

"But we are looking for it right now."

Under the gaze of countless mirrors, Huan Xiao led Beibei to search for a room.

Behind the mirrored walls were numerous doors, and behind those doors were rooms whose inner walls were made of ordinary cement.

"Xiaoxiao, why do you suppose ghosts go after innocent people after they die? Can't they seek their own revenge against those who wronged them? It's the others who caused their deaths, yet they kill total strangers. It makes no sense at all."

Influenced by the mirrors, Beibei couldn't help but bring up this question.

Huan Xiao smiled and replied, "You know they're ghosts, right? How could ghosts possibly understand human logic?"

"True, even living humans randomly kill, hurl abuse, and drag the innocent into things."

Beibei pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Xiaoxiao, have you ever seen a ghost? A real one?"

Huan Xiao shook her head. The game forbade players from acknowledging its existence, so she turned the question back on her, "Beibei, have you ever seen a ghost?"

"I haven't either, but a former classmate of mine said she saw one." Beibei recalled and answered.

Hearing this, Huan Xiao asked in surprise, "What was it like? Was it real or fake? You don't suppose she was being tricked, do you?"

"No way, I'm quite certain what my classmate saw was real, because..."

Under Huan Xiao's curious gaze, Beibei took on a dazed expression and said, "Ever since she told me she saw a ghost, I started observing her from time to time. I noticed her attention span kept getting worse, and not long after she told me about seeing it, she jumped into a river and drowned.

At the time, it was ruled a suicide; the security cameras caught her walking into the river by herself to drown. I watched the footage too, and I noticed her gait wasn't normal. That state of hers was bizarre, as if something was dragging her forward..."

*Clang!*

A loud crash rang out in the quiet room.

Beibei was forced to cut short her conversation with Huan Xiao. She nervously pulled on Huan Xiao and looked toward the source of the sound.

"Probably something wasn't placed securely."

Unhurried and unfazed, Huan Xiao wanted to walk over.

Beibei quickly grabbed her and said, "Wait, what if it's a trap door? What if you fall through later? I don't want to stay here by myself!"

"Alright, I won't go over then. Let's keep looking for the bookcase," Huan Xiao compromised.

Just then, Beibei pointed to a cabinet on the right and said, "There's a cabinet over there. Could that be the bookcase?"

"Let's go check it out." Huan Xiao glanced around the rest of the room; boxes and crates were piled up in disorder. This must have been a utility room.

Beibei dragged Huan Xiao along, not letting her walk too fast.

"Xiaoxiao, walk slower. There's a lot of stuff on the floor."

"...What is this on the ground? Why does it feel so sticky?"

Feeling as though she had stepped on a sponge, Huan Xiao caught a whiff of a metallic, rust-like scent.

Using the dim light, she managed to get a clear look at what was on the floor.

An amber-yellow, fabric-like object.

"It looks like a piece of cloth."

"...No, it's not. This is skin."

Beibei recognized it at a single glance.

Hearing her say this, Huan Xiao felt that the "fabric" looked more and more like human skin.

"...Is this place even legal?"

"Maybe... maybe it's fake human skin? They probably used chicken blood to simulate human blood on it."

Beibei tried to comfort herself internally to stay calm, but it was impossible to calm down.

Huan Xiao gently patted her hand and said, "Don't be scared. The props in escape rooms are getting more and more realistic these days. This must be one of the important props."

"What important prop?"

Beibei's mind went completely blank, her cognitive functions sluggish.

Seeing how badly frightened she was, Huan Xiao reminded her, "You know, the thing we're looking for. This piece must be one of them, and we happened to find it ahead of time."

Only then did Beibei remember they were supposed to be looking for "corpse pieces."

"I remember now! Let's carry it out!"

In an instant, Beibei was filled with boundless motivation.