“The car has already been disposed of.”

Steven's father said, "After the accident, you sold the car and bought a sedan to avoid upsetting Mavis."

"Oh?"

Li Ang nodded. "So, that Chevrolet SUV was also fabricated by the spirit world.

Alright, that's not the point. The point is the Tibetan box I found in the driver's seat of the spirit world's Chevrolet SUV.

Barbara should have seen it. That Tibetan box was made of wood, with constellation diagrams painted on all six sides, and a compass with an extra pointer hidden in the bottom compartment.

The compass would continuously point north and south, and its extra narrow pointer would act as a bolt opener.

Randomly fiddling with the Tibetan box would never open it without damaging it.

You had to have a specific side of the Tibetan box facing up, according to the constellation diagram,

and rotate the Tibetan box to a specific angle,

so that the compass pointed north and south, and the extra pointer pointed in a certain direction,

to unlock the bolt,

disengaging the internal mechanism of the Tibetan box,

thereby allowing the Tibetan box to be opened.

So, the question is, what is the purpose of the extra pointer?"

Li Ang glanced at the lingering black gas around him and said calmly, "If you want to set up a Tibetan box that can be opened by rotating it,

the maker only needs to put a compass inside. There's no need to set an extra pointer, it's superfluous.

Unless, the direction indicated by the extra pointer

has special significance for the maker of the Tibetan box, and the person it is intended for."

Li Ang raised his arm, pointing to a corner not far from the living room, "I opened the Tibetan box there at the time, and the extra pointer pointed southeast.

At that time, I only vaguely guessed that the pointer itself had some meaning, but I didn't think of another point,

which is who made the box itself."

Barbara was stunned when she heard this: "The maker of the box?"

"That's right."

Li Ang nodded. "There was a note with the Tibetan box, which said,

[We were born, grew up, and went to school in the same place, but never knew each other's names or existence, until fate brought us together. I made this box, it is a testament to our first encounter, I hope everything is not too late. s]

At first, I thought the box was made by Steven himself, because there is an 's' at the end of this sentence.

Even after discovering that 's' might mean compass, I still thought it was Steven's work - because the tone of the box's note was like someone trying to save a love.

The box may be the starting point for the two to meet and fall in love.

Steven hoped to use this method to free his wife from depression and mania.

But now,

Steven's father just said that there is no Chevrolet SUV in the garage at this moment.

In other words, like other things in the spirit world,

that car was constructed by Mavis using her memory and imagination.

The maker of the box is not Steven, but Mavis."

He smiled and said calmly: "Born, grew up, and went to school in the same place, not knowing each other, until fate brought them together.

This description fits both Steven and Mavis.

The question is,

according to Barbara, Mavis is already a muddled evil spirit in the spirit world, relying entirely on unconscious instinct. How did she suddenly regain her memory and create a delicate Tibetan box that didn't exist before?

Stepping back, even if Mavis is sometimes muddled and sometimes clear,

able to create a delicate Tibetan box like she created the puzzles in other parts of the house,

what is the meaning of this sentence?

[I made this box, it is a testament to our first encounter, I hope everything is not too late. s]

There are two possibilities.

First, at this moment, the person who needs to be saved is Mavis, not Steven.

Mavis hopes to speed up Steven's actions by giving hints, thereby redeeming her, freeing her from the state of an evil spirit, and restoring her to consciousness.

But this possibility cannot explain why the extra pointer exists - at the critical moment of life and death, do you still have to specifically mark the direction of the two lovers' first encounter?

This isn't a teen romance drama.

So, we come to the second possibility.

The 's' refers to both the compass puzzle hint and Steven's name.

The box itself was sent by Mavis to Steven.

The person who needs to be redeemed is not Mavis, but Steven."

"What?!"

Steven's parents were dumbfounded, unable to believe their ears. "Good God, what are you saying?"

"I'm telling a story about love, responsibility, deception, betrayal, and redemption."

Li Ang said lightly: "In the real world, in November 2018, wildfires broke out in California, spreading and billowing with smoke that blotted out the sky.

At the same time, a serious car accident occurred in Carmel, also in California. A Chevrolet SUV unexpectedly lost control during driving and collided with a motorcycle."

He paused, glanced at Steven's bewildered parents and Barbara, smiled, and said, "I saw these two news stories twice in the spirit world.

Once in the living room, watching the wooden puppets watch TV.

The second time was in the second-floor bedroom, when Mavis, in her evil spirit state, was also watching TV motionless.

The difference between the two times is that the second TV program broadcast added a sentence.

Two injured people were sent to the hospital as soon as possible."

Li Ang paused. "Why two injured people?

According to what you said before, Mavis was in a car accident during a family trip.

She was driving the vehicle, carrying Steven and two children, to the travel destination, when she hit a motorcyclist, who died after rescue efforts failed, leading to Mavis's gradual mental breakdown.

However, the news program said there were two injured people.

Assuming the other injured person is Mavis, then what about the others in the car?

Steven, Robin, Lynn,

Didn't the other three people get injured at all in the car accident?

The news program didn't mention at all that a family of four was involved in a car accident?

Or... there were really only two people involved in the car accident.

For example, Steven, and Mavis."

Li Ang sneered and said, "Before I was pulled back here from the spirit world for the first time, I saw such a hallucination,

Steven was lying in a hospital bed, covered in bandages, with a vital signs monitor on the right,

and a black-haired woman with an unrecognizable face lying on the bed on the left.

In the corridor outside the ward, there was a middle-aged couple, that is, Steven's parents, discussing with a doctor wearing a mask.

The content of the conversation included something like 'Her condition is very dangerous...'

'We may have to take more aggressive treatment options...'

'Family signature required...'

At that time, I thought that hallucination referred to the scene after Mavis's suicide attempt failed.

Mavis fed Steven sleeping pills, trying to kill Steven first and then commit suicide.

As a result, Steven was rescued, but Mavis herself was not.

That hallucination depicted the scene in the hospital.

To be precise, that's not a hallucination, but something that actually happened.

Steven and Mavis did lie together on two beds in the same hospital room.

The reason they were injured and sent to the hospital is also very simple.

Mavis drove a Chevrolet SUV and had a car accident, and the other party in the car accident, that motorcyclist, was Steven himself."

Steven's parents looked at each other and took a deep breath, "Son... have you gone mad?"

"No, I'm not crazy.

On the contrary, I'm in great shape right now."

Li Ang grinned, "In the real world, in November 2018, California wildfires, heavy smoke,

Steven was riding a motorcycle and Mavis, a stranger driving a Chevrolet,

collided in this neighborhood, that is, Carmel Town.

Both were seriously injured and sent to the hospital,

Steven had multiple fractures all over his body, covered in bandages, half-conscious,

and Mavis's condition was even more serious next to him.

In a semi-conscious state, Steven had hallucinations, or it is possible that both of them had hallucinations together.

In the hallucination world, neither of them will die.

They meet, get to know each other, love each other, have children, and have a harmonious and happy family like normal people.

However, as time goes by,

it may be that Mavis's physical condition in the real world is getting worse and worse, or it may be that Mavis's soul is gradually waking up, realizing the many problems in the hallucination world.

In the children's bedroom on the second floor of the spirit world, I heard Robin and Lynn's conversation.

Their mother, Mavis, had said to herself that Robin and Lynn should not have been born, everything was wrong, everything should not have happened, Steven took her parents away from her, she was about to die, and hoped that Robin and Lynn would come to accompany her.

These words are not the ravings of a madman, but things that actually happened.

Robin and Lynn do not exist, they are just pseudo-objects constructed by hallucinations.

The two of you, that is, the so-called Steven's parents, are actually also hallucinations. Steven constructed you according to Mavis's parents he had seen in the real world,

and imagined the two of you as his own parents - the one who is truly an orphan is not Mavis, but Steven."

Li Ang paused, glanced at Steven's incredulous parents, and Barbara, who looked gloomy, and said calmly, "As for the evidence,

Mavis's words are one aspect,

and on the other hand, it is the color of your pupils and hair.

The color of your pupils is also brown, and you have black hair.

From the perspective of genetic inheritance, in most cases, brown is a dominant gene, and blue is a recessive gene.

Excluding the extremely low probability of gene mutation, or the possibility of being cuckolded,

the two of you can definitely not give birth to Steven, who has light blue eyes."

Li Ang raised his finger and pointed to his eye sockets, and continued: "Remember the compass in the Tibetan box?

The southeast direction pointed by that extra pointer is actually the specific location where the car accident occurred.

The pile of Lego building blocks on the desk in the second-floor study pieced together the outline of the community. In the southeast direction of this house, there is a car accident scene involving an SUV and a motorcycle.

In addition, there is also the password lock for the master bedroom door that I finally opened.

AB=

ABB=

, 3712, 2113, 2514, 3616, 1317

This password is actually very simple, corresponding to the computer keyboard-shaped password lock on the master bedroom door.

AB=,

Here, 2111's 21 refers to the second row, the first letter in the English area on the computer keyboard,

The 1 after 21 refers to the letter A, which appeared once in the AB sequence,

and the 1 behind it refers to the position of the letter A in the sequence, which is the first.

The subsequent 3512, for the same reason, refers to the letter B, which is located on the third row, the fifth letter, in the English area on the computer keyboard,

appearing once, located in the second position.

ABB=,

A remains unchanged, still appearing only once,

B appears twice, located in positions 2 and 3 of the sequence respectively.

Then, by analogy, , refers to the eighth letter i in the first row,

In the sequence, it appeared twice, located in the first and fifth sequences respectively.

3712, m,

2113, A,

2514, g

3616, n

1317, e

Connecting them together,

imagine,

imagine."

Li Ang snapped his fingers and said calmly: "This world, or what you think is the real world, does not really exist.

Everything comes from Steven's hallucinations, imagination.

Mavis's parents are what Steven hopes he can also have people care about and love,

Robin and Lynn are what Steven hopes to have a happy family.

Including the high-end suits Steven is wearing and the luxury house he lives in, may not belong to him in the real world.

Everything has not happened.

Because of this, all the photos in the spirit world house only have the faces of Steven and Mavis, but not Robin and Lynn's faces.

Compared to this world, the spirit world is closer to the real reality."

Li Ang tilted his head and looked at Barbara, who had no expression on her face, "As for you, the psychic, I tend to think that you are a level higher than the others,

an existence in Steven's subconscious mind to fix the problem.

Mavis realized the existence of the hallucination, realized that she was dying in the real world, and wanted to use self-destruction to get relief.

Real world - hallucination world - spirit world,

It's okay if Mavis leaves, but what if Steven himself wakes up from the hallucination?

Everything in the hallucination world will cease to exist.

When you know that you are a person constructed in a dream, not real, and you want to live, the only way is to let the person who is dreaming continue the dream, instead of waking him up.

Then, as a psychic, you need to make Steven accept 'reality', let him continue to think that the hallucination world is real,

even if Mavis is killed, without Mavis,

the world will not collapse.

Because of this, you constantly guide, or rather bewitch me, to kill Mavis in the spirit world."

"Evidence."

Barbara said expressionlessly: "I need evidence."

"Evidence?"

Li Ang's mouth curled up and said: "16, 5, 1, 15, 4, 5, 9, 21, 11, 23, 20, 5, 14.

Remember this string of numbers?

This is the sequence of numbers formed by the number of books placed on the bookshelf in the study on the second floor of the spirit world house.

It was used by me to play the piano and find the safe.

This string of numbers has more than these functions, it has another function.

Substituting this string of numbers into the English alphabet table, you can get a string of English,

peaodeiukwten

This string of English itself has no meaning, it needs to be divided into two lines,

peaodei,

ukwten.

When reading in the order from right to left, from top to bottom, you can get a truly meaningful string of English,

ineedtowakeup."

Li Ang said lightly: "This string of English has appeared more than once,

At the first moment of entering the spirit world, my heart beat violently,

Bang... Bang!

Bang!

Bang...

If in the entire exploration process of the spirit world,

I take each violent heartbeat at the time of each heart pain as a '·' symbol,

and take the heart stopping beating for one second as a '—' symbol,

then you can get the following results,

·——·

·

·—

———

—··

·

··

··—

—·—

·——

—

·

—·

The meaning of this string of Morse code is also peaodeiukwten, that is, ineedtowakeup.

As a psychic, you can guide the thoughts of Steven in the hallucination world, but you can't stop Steven's own self-rescue.

It's time to end all this."