Chapter 43 Inside the Wardrobe

Ji Linmo’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.

If there were clues in Room 202, the most likely place to find them would be the blood-stained balcony in Grandma Gu’s home.

—but he’d already burned Grandma Gu’s blood-stained balcony to ashes.

“If I go back and search Grandma Gu’s house now... no, there really aren’t any clues there.”

He dismissed the idea. He had never once been careless—from the balcony to Old Master Ma’s home, he was certain there was nothing that resembled a “clue” among the props.

Yet the hints in the videotape surely couldn’t be wrong.

Unless... someone had already taken the clue before he entered Old Master Ma’s house.

Zhu Jun!

Zhu Jun, who entered Room 202 before him, must have discovered the clue while cleaning for Grandma Gu, and unlocked the hidden side quest, just as he had!

Now things were getting tricky.

A cold layer crept over Ji Linmo’s eyes.

The clues for the hidden side quest in the copy were always fixed. In other words, no matter how many people unlocked the hidden side quest, only one person could collect all the clues and survive to complete the task.

Because once the hidden side quest is triggered in the game, it cannot end.

Only by collecting every clue in the copy and pushing the hidden progress to one hundred percent can the quest be cleared.

Otherwise, even if the copy is completed normally, the player would be forced to die, devoured by the clues’ backlash.

“Zhu Jun is clever. He probably already knows that I, like him, have unlocked the death side quest...”

Outside, the rowdy voices grew louder.

Just as Ji Linmo was about to leave, the parrot in his coat began to wriggle behind him.

“Caw! Gurr-gurr!”

The parrot’s clear call rang out from within the man’s clothes.

Ji Linmo lifted his coat, and the yellow parrot, curled into a small ball, poked its head out from his collar, its tiny bean-sized eyes blinking curiously as it surveyed the surroundings.

“What is it?” Ji Linmo took the parrot out.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but suddenly the parrot—or rather, Zhang Lanlan—seemed far less dispirited than when she was imprisoned in Room 302. Even her feathers looked brighter.

“I saw it! Caw! Grandma Gu’s home... phone... Jun!”

The parrot gazed at Ji Linmo, its eyes shining with excitement.

It hopped onto Ji Linmo’s right hand, shaking its head up and down.

“The clue... is the phone!”

“Caw! I saw it! And heard them say they’d snatch you... you help me, I help you... send you a note! Zhu Jun suspects me, so I pass on the message, forced me... caw! To visit Room 302!”

Hm?

Zhang Lanlan meant she also knew about the side quest?

And she saw Zhu Jun obtain the new clue at Old Master Ma’s house.

This new clue was a phone?

“Zhang Lanlan, are you telling the truth?”

The sounds in the distance seemed to grow closer. Ji Linmo dared not linger, pulled his coat over, and the dragon-clawed parrot hurriedly left “Ghost Celebrity—Yang Xingxing’s” Room 201.

He made it safely to the elevator and headed to his dorm on the fourth floor. Suddenly, he heard a loud knocking.

What’s going on?

Ji Linmo quickened his pace, only to see Zhu Jun knocking on his dorm door, then pressing his ear against it.

“Zhu Jun, what are you doing?”

Seeing the scene before him, Ji Linmo’s eyes grew icy, his tone unconsciously sharper.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Jun, hearing the voice and seeing Ji Linmo standing before him, was not flustered but rather astonished.

“Huh? Why are you outside?”

Zhu Jun pointed toward the door of Room 403, his expression suspicious.

“Where else should I be? You thought I was home?”

“Of course I thought you were home... When I knocked on your door just now, there was quite a commotion inside, and someone spoke, asking who I was...”

Zhu Jun still held the door handle. Ji Linmo stared at him, expressionless, eyes cold as steel.

“Ah! Look at me, I’ve overstepped.” Zhu Jun broke out in a cold sweat and awkwardly released his grip.

“I wanted to consult with you, Brother Ji. Did you notice? There were two sudden earthquakes just now! And our game time has shortened, now there’s less than two days left. Do you have any ideas?”

Zhu Jun’s expression was a mix of humility and flattery.

“Brother, we don’t have much time. The closer we get to the end, the more we must set aside old grudges and help each other.”

Ji Linmo looked at Zhu Jun and shook his head.

“Sorry, Zhu Jun, I don’t know what’s going on. Maybe the copy is just glitched...”

“But this isn’t a bad thing for us. After all, our clearance task was simply to survive two weeks in the copy.”

“Now the days end early, so we clear it sooner, don’t we? But why are you anxious, saying we don’t have much time?”

Ji Linmo stepped forward, pressing Zhu Jun.

Zhu Jun’s face stiffened instantly. He had intended to probe Ji Linmo and confirm whether he had also received the side quest.

But suddenly being questioned like this, he lost his composure.

“I—I just forgot the clearance condition, that’s all. Actually, the copy glitch is to our advantage.”

Zhu Jun forced a smile, repeatedly saying he was just too flustered and forgot about the clearance condition.

“But, Brother Ji, I remember you went to Room 302 earlier...”

Bang!

A sudden crash from Room 403, as if something heavy had slammed to the ground, echoed through the iron door.

Both Zhu Jun and Ji Linmo looked toward the door.

“I say, Brother Ji, you’re not hiding someone else in your home, are you?”

After a long silence, Zhu Jun stared wide-eyed at Ji Linmo.

“This afternoon, the hint bar showed three players in the game...”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Get out.”

Ji Linmo’s gaze grew dark, blocking the doorway, his whole aura turning frigid.

Seeing he’d been ordered out, Zhu Jun could only leave awkwardly.

But he glanced at Ji Linmo, then at the rusty iron door, as if realizing something amusing, and squinted his eyes.

“Well, I won’t disturb you anymore, Brother. I’ll head back.”

Almost as soon as Zhu Jun left the corridor, Ji Linmo hurriedly opened the door with his key and slipped into his dorm.

Where was Qin Feng?

What was that kid doing? Why couldn’t he just stay quietly in the room?

Ji Linmo strode forward, his black leather boots stamping decisively on the floor.

In the wardrobe at the corner of the living room, the boy’s breathing grew heavier.

Ji Linmo lowered his head to peer at the wardrobe, catching a glimpse of a pair of reddened, tear-stained eyes pressed against the crack, warily watching him.