Xing Ye's mood improved after each chat with the mirror. He found that their intimacy had risen to 18, still some distance from 20. The phone reminded Xing Ye that the mirror would be blocked for an hour after each violation, and warned him that if he tried to inquire about things outside of his authority three more times, the prop mirror would be confiscated by the system and redistributed to the game world.
The first time Xing Ye just asked casually, and the system did not give any prompts. But now it tells Xing Ye that the life and death of the mirror is decided by him.
However, the system does not tell what to ask and what not to ask. There is no intimacy value table. The system never tells what kind of questions can be asked at what level of intimacy.
However, there are still clues to follow. For example, the initial skill was that the mirror suddenly realized that it could tell Xing Ye, so it automatically showed it to him.
In other words, only if Jingzi can tell him can he know. If Jingzi doesn't want to tell him or can't tell him, Xing Ye can't ask him casually.
It sounds capricious, like a prop with its own little temper, seemingly possessing a high status. But in reality, the mirror's fate rests in Xing Ye's hands. If he ever grows displeased with the mirror and asks it three times in a row something he shouldn't, the mirror's fate will be decided once again.
It seems like you have all the advantages, but in fact you are being manipulated by others. Is this the end of those who obey fate?
It seems that I can no longer ask questions casually in the future. The mirror can say whatever it wants to say, and it's up to it if it doesn't want to say it.
"I'm sorry for getting you locked up again." Not sure if the mirror could hear him, Xing Ye pointed at it and said to him, "I promise, this won't happen again."
The mirror surface is black and does not reflect light.
Xing Ye held the mirror in his hand and fell asleep in an uneasy state of mind.
For Xing Ye, the fate of the mirror = the fate of Xing Shuo.
Xing Shuo was already dead. Xing Ye even had his body dissected and stitched back together. But could he truly be resurrected? The chances were slim, like the 1% luck of someone who defied fate. Unless a miracle happened, he would be dead.
The more he thought about it, the more Xing Ye wanted to be nice to the mirror. Sometimes he would naively think that if he was so nice to the mirror, would someone be nice to his brother if he became a prop?
Reason told Xing Ye that this idea was nonsense and a pipe dream. There was no such thing as reward for good and evil in the world, and warmth was often exchanged for endless demands.
Even so, he still has to hold on to a one percent hope and wait for a miracle, otherwise he will not understand why he is working hard.
When he woke up at 11 o'clock, the mirror was already lit, and the words "I know" appeared on the mirror. It was obvious that she had heard his apology, but she was still angry at Xing Ye for locking him up in the small dark room again.
The mirror seemed to be unclear and would be adrift again three more times.
"I'm going to argue with Di Kuang's team. Get some sleep. I'll chat with you when I get back."
After calming the mirror, she changed into clothes that were easy to move around in, stuffed a stack of papers into the inside pocket of her clothes, and rushed to the girls' dormitory.
Di Kuang and Guan Ling were already waiting downstairs. Xing Ye raised his eyebrows. Was it Guan Ling who followed?
"Where are the remaining two people?" Xing Ye asked.
"We're looking for a head. There might be different clues on campus at night," Di Kuang said.
"You've been searching for it for so many days, and all you know is that 'Mona Lisa's Smile' is a failed copy by Bai Xu?" Xing Ye almost said they were useless.
Di Kuang was calmer than when he was on the rooftop. He didn't get angry, but said, "Come in quickly."
At 11:30, the appointed time, Cao Qian opened the window of the bathroom on the second floor, put down the sheets, and asked everyone to climb up.
Xing Ye was very fast. He hardly used the bed sheet. He stepped on the wall and grabbed the bed sheet with his hands to gain leverage and climbed to the second floor. Guan Ling and Di Kuang, on the other hand, were like normal boys and did not climb very fast.
"Is this your incredible ability to grow legs?" Di Kuang asked. "It doesn't seem like a big deal."
"Aren't all those who defy fate like this?" Xing Ye asked, "The ability you used on the rooftop before should be similar to the ability of the Three Heads and Six Arms or the Thousand-Armed Guanyin, right?"
Di Kuang's expression made Xing Ye realize that he had guessed right.
The abilities of those who defy fate are mostly reflected in physical skills, such as immense strength and agility, while those who obey fate rely more on personal experience. For example, Teacher Li probably has some knowledge of perfume.
Why are Xing Ye's abilities so different from others?
Xing Ye felt that there were two possibilities: first, brain power is also a kind of physical quality, and his brain power is more outstanding than his physical fitness; second, the way he entered the game was not the conventional method.
There are two common methods: scanning a QR code shared by others, or simply being selected by the system like a small mirror.
Xing Shuo had wanted to invite Xing Ye, but he kept it to himself. Xing Ye didn't scan the QR code on his phone, but instead used his memory to reproduce it.
Strictly speaking, Xing Ye's way of entering the game was smuggling.
Are the special initial skills meant to reward my entry method? No wonder the game says that it assigns initial skills based on how I enter the game, which is very likely.
While thinking, Cao Qian observed the first and second floors of the girls' dormitory. Bai Xu lived in room 103 on the first floor. She found out after returning to the dormitory.
After 11:30, the entire girls' dormitory building was incredibly quiet. Di Kuang tentatively knocked on the doors of Room 103 and the duty room, but no one answered.
"Either they can't hear the sound at all, or they are controlled by some magical power and fall asleep." Di Kuang analyzed.
Xing Ye asked Cao Qian, "When you came out of the dormitory that night when we visited the girls' dormitory, were your roommates asleep?"
"We fell asleep, and it was quite deep," Cao Qian recalled. "Everyone went to bed on time at 11:30, and no one stayed up late. I was thinking how self-disciplined private school students were that no one stayed up late."
Di Kuang: "A mysterious force has put everyone to sleep, but it doesn't affect the players. The dormitory auntie seems to know something, but she doesn't dare to say it."
Cao Qian almost mistook it for Xing Ye who was speaking, but she didn't expect Di Kuang's analysis to be so logical.
At twelve o'clock midnight, the four of them walked back and forth on the stairs between the first and second floors and the second and third floors several times, but they did not enter an alien space.
"Looks like we can only explore tomorrow," Di Kuang said disappointedly. "Hopefully, the young man on the night of the new moon can solve all our mysteries."
"Go back and rest," Xing Ye said, "There will be a big battle tomorrow night, so you need to conserve your energy."
The three of them climbed down the bed sheet again and walked back to the boys' dormitory.
Xing Ye looked down from his dormitory window. Sure enough, less than five minutes after returning to the dormitory, Di Kuang and Guan Ling came out again. However, they were not heading towards the girls' dormitory, but instead ran towards the gymnasium.
Maybe there are some clues in the gym.
Seeing them walking away, Xing Ye also left the dormitory, ran to the girls' building, contacted Cao Qian on WeChat, and Cao Qian sent the people upstairs again.
"Why do we have to turn back? It would be dangerous to look for the head woman before finding the head, right?" Cao Qian asked.
"Not necessarily. We agreed on three days, and it's three days. A trustworthy ghost shouldn't break the contract." Xing Ye said.
Cao Qian: "…"
This was the first time she had heard of ghosts keeping their promises to humans.
"You're kidding," Xing Ye pointed behind him, "Our entry this time is different from last time. We have strong reinforcements."
Lin Jingxue, the spirit behind him, was still following Xing Ye silently, even when he was taking a shower and going to the toilet... Oh, at that time she was waiting outside the bathroom. The spirit behind him also had dignity.
Cao Qian knew that there was Lin Jingxue following behind Xing Ye, and she found that her rusty brain was finally able to use a little.
She said to Xing Ye from behind: "Lin Jingxue, do you want to meet Liu Muqing?"
Xing Ye: "...I'm glad you've learned to draw inferences from one example, but Lin Jingxue is now standing on the stairs between the third and fourth floors."
Xing Ye pointed out the direction for Cao Qian. At this time, the shadow was standing on the third floor, staring blankly at the stairs, as if recalling something.
"Let's go," Xing Ye said to Lin Jingxue, "This matter will eventually be resolved."
The shadow nodded, patted Xing Ye's shoulder first, and then wrapped around his body from the back like an octopus, strangling Xing Ye so much that he couldn't breathe.
How afraid was she that she wouldn't be able to enter the alternate dimension? And were all the spirits behind it like this? No wonder there's the saying "sleep paralysis."
It was 1 a.m. and the people in the dormitory building were still asleep, so they should still be able to enter the different space. Xing Ye nodded to Cao Qian, and the two of them stepped onto the thirteenth steps together.
Xing Ye clearly felt that what he was stepping on was not a hard step, but a soft body.
In the dark alien space, Xing Ye turned on the flashlight and the two walked to the third floor.
"Ah, I saw Lin Jingxue." Cao Qian said in surprise. It seemed that in this space, she could see ghosts.
"You are really beautiful." Cao Qian said while looking at Lin Jingxue.
"A lot of people say that. Huh? I can speak now." Lin Jingxue looked at her hand in surprise. She slammed it against the wall, feeling dizzy. "I, I have a physical form now?"
She is such a straightforward girl, she acts before she thinks, and is easily taken advantage of.
"Let's go." Xing Ye arrived at the third floor first.
At this time, the bloodstains on the third floor were no longer just enough to wet the soles of the shoes, but were like a stream, submerging the ankles.
Lin Jingxue was wearing her school uniform. Her white shoes had stepped into a pool of blood. Standing in the corridor on the third floor, she softly said, "Liu Muqing."
The head spun in a pool of blood and floated over. Unlike the foolish and easy-going look she had shown last time, she was now extremely ferocious with a ferocious expression. She shouted at Lin Jingxue, "Why did you call the police? Why?! I said it wasn't me, why don't you believe me?"
Lin Jingxue was clearly a ghost, but she seemed to be suppressed in the space belonging to Liu Mucheng, allowing the human head to bite her hair and pull it back and forth.
"Why, why?" The head asked relentlessly even though its mouth was full of hair.
Lin Jingxue covered her hair and said loudly, "Because I hoped it was you who stole it. You always put pressure on me. As long as it was you who stole it, I could win without a fight. Although it was my dad who called the police, I could have told them that I had the wrong locker, but I didn't! I thought at the time, no matter whether it was you who stole it or not, as long as you dropped out of school, no one would put pressure on me anymore! I didn't want to be scolded by my dad again, saying that I was a coward, I..."
She squatted on the ground and cried, no longer struggling, letting the head bite her hair. "I'm despicable. I felt I could never beat you in grades. I knew my dad had an illegitimate child outside, and I was afraid if I continued to rank second, he would take the child back. I was afraid that all my efforts would fail on the next exam. So even though I clearly felt it was suspicious, I still let things go on. I'm the one who killed you."
The head stopped biting and she jumped in front of Lin Jingxue, relying on her jumping ability to look at her, but she couldn't stay in the air for too long.
Cao Qian ran over and held up Liu Mucheng's head, letting her look at Lin Jingxue.
Xing Ye was a little surprised.
After Lin Jingxue admitted her dark thoughts, Liu Muqing calmed down. With Cao Qian's help, she looked Lin Jingxue in the eye and said, "I saw your watch the other day and was so envious. You're beautiful and talented, and you looked so beautiful playing the piano at the opening ceremony. I envy you so much. I hope one day I can become a woman like you and strive to be like you."
As she spoke, tears of blood flowed from her eyes. Cao Qian took out a tissue and wiped her tears.
Lin Jingxue also said: "I envy you. You can achieve such excellent academic results despite the difficult learning environment. You also have parents who are willing to put aside their dignity and plead for you. I am so jealous of you."
She also cried, and Cao Qian stuffed the tissue into Lin Jingxue's hand: "Wipe it yourself."
Along with the tissue, Liu Mucheng's head was also placed in Lin Jingxue's arms.
The head said, "At the police station, I heard you tell the officers that we were classmates and the watch wasn't lost, so you didn't want to file a case. But the dignified man standing next to you said no, because the amount involved was huge and it wasn't something a minor could decide. As your guardian, he had to make the decision for you."
"No, I can not tell him about this. It's just that I think he might think that you are not worthy to be my opponent and won't force me to surpass you. I..." Lin Jingxue didn't know how to express her feelings.
During the growth period, who doesn't have negative emotions such as envy, jealousy, meanness, and resentment? Lin Jingxue's thoughts are understandable.
Xing Ye thought for a moment, pulled out his phone, and found the only QR code he had. The description on the phone read: "A QR code found on a dilapidated piano in a music classroom. Perhaps it's related to music, or perhaps it can be transformed into a piano and used to kill someone. Who knows which? Perhaps it's neither."
It is impossible to tell what type of QR code it is, but it fell out of the piano that Lin Jingxue played before her death. I hope it can be of some use.
Maybe this is a waste and may be of no use, but at this moment, Xing Ye chooses to believe in human nature.
He scanned the QR code, and a grand piano fell from the sky, slamming heavily onto the ground, shaking the entire building. If it weren't for the alternate dimension, Xing Ye felt the piano might have collapsed the building.
It's a physical attack, very powerful, and can kill people suddenly, but it's a one-time item...
No, with Cao Qian's strength, it should be able to be used repeatedly until the piano is smashed.
But is the piano a weapon? Is there such a unique weapon?
Xing Ye thought secretly while saying to Lin Jingxue: "This is for you."
"This is my piano," Lin Jingxue said, looking at it. "My father donated a batch of musical instruments to the school when I enrolled, and one of them was specifically designated for me."
"This is also the piano you played at the opening ceremony." The human head Liu Mucheng also said.
"Let me play it for you." Lin Jingxue said.
A river of blood surged up and condensed into a red chair in the air. Lin Jingxue sat on it fearlessly. She placed the human head on the piano and gently played a soft tune.
It's a very warm song about friendship.
After the last note fell, Lin Jingxue said to Liu Muqing, "If we could do it again, we should be good friends. You are the only opponent I recognize."
The head said, "Me too. You are the one I envy."
The two smiled at each other, and the subtle feelings between girls turned into friendship at this moment.
With a smile, Lin Jingxue and the piano gradually became transparent until they disappeared into nothingness.
Xing Ye heard a system notification sound: "Player Xing Ye successfully saved Lin Jingxue's soul, completed the side quest, and earned 5000 points. He was rewarded with a special QR code "Requiem".
Friendly reminder: In addition to powerful props and the ability to explore the truth, gaining strength sometimes requires a touch of tenderness, and the players have done a good job. "
A transparent card floated in front of Xing Ye from the place where Lin Jingxue disappeared. Xing Ye caught it with his mobile phone, and the card merged into the phone.
This was the first time that Xing Ye felt a hint of kindness amidst the malice of the game of fate.