Chi Yi pondered for a moment and quickly understood.
According to Li Zhi’s daytime analysis, the ghost that dragged Feng Zhenghao out to drown and the ghost that attempted to kill using hair were not the same entity. Based on the scenes they had witnessed tonight, it was clear that the ghost who tried to strangle Chi Yi through the window with her hair last night was none other than the former Madam.
She appeared only after Feng Zhenghao had been dragged away last night, and tonight, she used the same killing method. Therefore, Feng Zhenghao was not drowned by her.
From her movements tonight, it was also clear. She walked along the eaves after entering the courtyard and could teleport. She couldn’t have crossed the central courtyard, nor could she have kicked over the water jug because of poor visibility.
Li Zhi confirmed, “The one who killed Feng Zhenghao is someone from this house.”
Only a person would panic and kick over a water jug while stumbling through the courtyard in the dark.
“The players who were sharing a room with Feng Zhenghao said they didn’t hear anything and were sleeping deeply. But how could anyone entering an instance not be alert at all? How could a living person be dragged away without them noticing? Unless,” she paused, her tone calm, “they were drugged. It could have been knockout gas or something in the food.”
And because the killer was human, Feng Zhenghao’s protective talismans didn’t work at all. He was quietly killed.
How could exorcism tools work on humans?
Chi Yi gritted her teeth, imagining the rain-soaked night when someone slipped into their courtyard under the cover of the rain, sneaking into the room and drugging the players beforehand, then carrying the unconscious Feng Zhenghao out.
They obviously couldn’t have walked along the eaves to leave; that would have passed by the windows of the other players’ rooms. So, they had to go through the central courtyard. But because it was too dark, they didn’t see the objects placed in the yard and accidentally kicked over one of the water jugs.
The sound came suddenly and stopped just as suddenly. The jug was round, so it should have rolled a few times after being kicked, making crisp rolling sounds before finally stopping against something with a clank.
But it only made one sound before stopping, which meant someone had quickly pressed it down.
Then, they hurriedly carried Feng Zhenghao to the pond and threw him in.
It turns out that in this instance, it’s not just ghosts who kill; humans can kill too.
“Was it the Butler Chen? Or the head of the Jin family? Why would they do such a thing?” Chi Yi whispered, afraid that someone might overhear through the walls.
Li Zhi shook her head. “I don’t know, but there’s something strange about this house. We’ll look for more clues tomorrow.”
Chi Yi clung tightly to her. “Will they come back tonight?”
“We’ll know by morning. But I don’t think so.”
Whether it was the players’ increased vigilance or Li Zhi’s switch of lanterns tonight, both would make the culprits more cautious.
By this time, most of the other players hadn’t made much progress, so nearly all the viewers of the “Infant Tower” livestream had flocked to Li Zhi and Chi Yi’s room:
[“I give full marks for this deduction! I also think there’s something off about this house!”]
[“It’s a shame the players can’t see what we can, or I’d already know the next part of the plot!”]
[“Li Zhi’s votes have caught up because of her performance tonight! As expected, the pros only get stronger as the game goes on!”]
[“LOL, Zhao Luan was so eager to show off after entering, but he didn’t find a single key clue. It’s truly like fighting fiercely but achieving a 0-5 score!”]
[“Zhao Luan only got MVP last time because the ghost could be physically attacked. He cleared that instance with brute force, but he’s falling behind in this one, where reasoning is key.”]
[“Who’s even voting for Zhao Luan, this selfish, reckless guy? Wouldn’t it be better to vote for Li Zhi?”]
[“Don’t speak too soon. Based on Li Zhi’s deduction, if the enemy in this instance is human, Zhao Luan’s combat skills will become very useful. His strength is no joke.”]
[“Who are you underestimating? Our Li Zhi is both brainy and brawny! The ultimate ACE!”]
…
As Li Zhi had predicted, nothing strange happened in the latter half of the night. When Chi Yi woke up the next morning, even the bloody handprints on the windows had disappeared, as if what she had seen the night before had been nothing more than a hallucination.
But as she stepped outside her room, the fearful gazes from the other players told her that they had heard the commotion from last night as well.
Especially Zhao Luan, who, upon seeing Li Zhi emerge unscathed from her room, had a flash of surprise in his eyes, as if he couldn’t believe she was still alive. He quickly lowered his gaze, hiding the disappointment in his eyes.
He had hoped that the ghosts would get rid of her, but who knew she was so lucky! The ghosts in this instance were useless!
Tian Mingjie rushed over without even bothering to wash his face. “Sister Zhi, what on earth happened last night? The noise came from your room, right? It scared me half to death!”
Everyone had heard the wails of the female ghost and the cries of the ghostly infants, and they had seen the shadows flickering in the windows. But no one had dared to go out. They clutched their protective talismans tightly, praying that death wouldn’t come for them.
Now that everyone had come out of their rooms and seen that all eleven players were still alive, most of them breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank goodness, they had survived another night! If nothing went wrong, the madam would give birth tomorrow, and once she delivered her child, they could clear the instance!
Li Zhi briefly explained what had happened the previous night, and everyone looked relieved. Tian Mingjie clasped his hands around his talisman pouch and bowed repeatedly. “It looks like the head of the household was right. This thing really can keep the female ghost at bay! Better take good care of it!”
Another player seemed puzzled. “Why were there three ghost infants following the former Madam? Didn’t she only give birth to two stillborns? Where did the extra one come from?”
Chi Yi spoke up, “Did you forget? The current Madam gave birth to one too!”
There was a moment of silence. Then, someone muttered under their breath, “Well, the former Madam’s pretty nice, I guess, helping take care of the current Madam’s baby…”
“……”
“Li Zhi has another theory!” Chi Yi, undeterred by Zhao Luan’s dark glare, shared their deduction from the previous night with the group.
Unlike Zhao Luan, both she and Li Zhi believed that the players in the instance should help each other. They weren’t opponents, but teammates. No matter what kind of person someone was, there was no reason to wish for their death.
When everyone heard that Feng Zhenghao had been killed by an NPC, their expressions darkened. Chi Yi lowered her voice, “So everyone needs to be cautious around the NPCs in this house. Today, we should gather as many clues as possible and share them with each other to clear the instance quickly!”
Hmph, Zhao Luan thought he could form his own little faction in the instance? Well, now that Chi Yi had united everyone, let’s see how he handled that!
As expected, after hearing Chi Yi’s suggestion, the few people who had followed Zhao Luan looked a bit awkward, nodding in agreement. “Yes, yes, let’s stick together and share any clues we find!”
He wanted to be the leader? He wasn’t qualified! The real leader of this team was Li Zhi!
Chi Yi was completely satisfied. “Let’s go have breakfast first. We need to head to the madam’s courtyard later to draw exorcism formations!”
Everyone agreed, pretending not to notice Zhao Luan’s darkening expression, and began walking toward the exit. Just as they stepped out of the arched gate, someone in the group suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream and collapsed, clutching their stomach.
Since no one had died the previous night, everyone had been relatively relaxed. None of them expected something terrible to happen so early in the morning.
The person who had fallen was Song Chengzhou, an actor. His scream was so agonizing that the others were frozen in fear. He writhed on the ground in unbearable pain, unable to utter a single word, his face turning bright red, veins bulging, looking terrifyingly grotesque.
Then, suddenly, he stopped moving.
His eyes were wide open, filled with a sickly blue-black hue. His mouth gaped open, and then, his stomach started to swell at an alarming speed, tearing through his shirt. But the swelling didn’t stop there. His belly kept growing to a bizarre and unnatural size, stretching his skin so thin that it became translucent, revealing the organs beneath.
As the players stared in horror, a small face suddenly pushed against the taut skin of his belly.
Something inside him was struggling. Moments later, a pair of tiny, bloody hands tore through his stomach, followed by one blood-covered infant after another crawling out of him.
Screams of terror erupted from the group.
The infants were smaller than normal human babies, crawling out one by one from Song Chengzhou’s body. His body, drained of blood and flesh, shriveled up rapidly. In the blink of an eye, the once-living man turned into a dried corpse.
Eight infants in total emerged from his body, emitting sharp, piercing cries that were eerily identical to those of human newborns. Dragging bloodstains across the floor, they began crawling in all directions.
The players’ terrified screams grew louder and more frantic. Both the viewers and the players on-site were driven mad with fear. One of the infants crawled to Zhao Luan’s feet. His face twisted with malice, he lifted his foot and stomped down hard.
Blood and flesh splattered, accompanied by the sickening sound of bones being crushed.
Someone ran off to the distance to vomit.
Moments later, the commotion drew the attention of Butler Chen, who arrived with servants. Seeing the blood-soaked infants crawling around, his expression shifted slightly. Without hesitation, he ordered the servants to catch the infants.
Li Zhi, observing his composed demeanor, suddenly asked, “Butler Chen, what are these infants?”
Chen furrowed his brow. “I don’t know, but they’re certainly not anything good.” He turned coldly to the servants and commanded, “Burn them.”
The NPCs quickly took the blood-soaked infants away, and shortly after, other servants came to clean the bloodstains from the floor. It all seemed too perfectly arranged.
Chi Yi, trembling, whispered, “Like hell he doesn’t know.”
Li Zhi said, “Let’s follow them and see.”
The group was shaken to their core by Song Chengzhou’s gruesome death. Just moments ago, they had been relieved to survive the night, but now the atmosphere was suffocating with fear and despair. As they hurried after the servants, someone quietly sobbed along the way.
When they caught up, they found a large, circular altar-like platform in the spacious courtyard, piled high with dry firewood. The blood infants were dumped unceremoniously onto the altar, and below, a blazing fire was already roaring.
Thick smoke rose into the sky, and the flames licked at the altar. The infants crawled aimlessly around the platform, but the flames hemmed them in from all sides. With nowhere to escape, they circled the small space in desperation, their cries turning more and more heart-wrenching.
The sound was nearly indistinguishable from that of human babies, making the players feel sick to their stomachs.
Soon, the fire consumed the infants, and a strange odor filled the air. Li Zhi’s hand trembled as she slowly clenched her talisman pouch.