“What do you think this video means?”

In the dimly lit stairwell, Wanli Fengdao ascended the steps, rubbing his chin as he said, "Is it implying that I'll encounter misfortune in the next few days, or is it a survival tip from the hotel to its residents?"

"...Both are possible."

Bai Haozheng, who was reviewing the notes Wanli Fengdao had written down, thought for a moment and said, "Judging from the content, it's reminiscent of the cursed videotape in *The Ring*. Maybe after watching it, you'll be attacked by anomalies during the curfew hours in the next few days.

"But it's also possible that the hotel is showing the residents certain aspects of itself.

"Such as the origin of the hotel, the types of anomalies inside, how the hotel was built, the fates of those who died in the hotel in the past, and so on.

"It's not clear which possibility it is for now..."

Bai Haozheng pondered for a moment, stopped on the stairs, raised Wanli Fengdao's notes, and said sincerely, "I have a feeling that this content might be the key to our survival.

"However, if we only use words to describe it, some things will be missing.

"I have a skill that can induce memories from other people's minds through prolonged physical contact,

"and record them as animated comics—similar to GIFs—on other media such as paper.

"Of course, the prerequisite is that both parties must be absolutely willing."

"This..."

Wanli Fengdao's face showed hesitation. "You want to see the memories in my brain?"

"Only the part about the TV last night."

Bai Haozheng said seriously, "After the skill is activated, the other party will have a vague premonition in their mind. You can choose to only display a specific time period's memories—don't worry about your other privacy being violated."

Bai Haozheng spoke sincerely, but the other players' expressions were still somewhat unnatural.

No one likes having their memories窥探(kuī tàn) peeked at, especially players who have a lot of secrets related to their life safety.

Hei Shengzi, 13mArk, and others subconsciously moved their feet, staying away from Bai Haozheng to avoid physical contact with him—he claimed that his skill would be subject to a lot of constraints, but no one could guarantee that Bai Haozheng was telling the truth.

"Well... alright."

Wanli Fengdao hesitated for a while, but finally nodded.

As a bounty hunter hired by the Special Affairs Bureau, he had actually known about Bai Haozheng for a long time, and had seen him from afar a few times at the Yin City Special Affairs Bureau's base—Xing Hechou had introduced him at the time.

He himself couldn't completely trust this seemingly refined intelligence analyst, but since Xing Hechou trusted Bai Haozheng, he chose to believe in Xing Hechou's judgment.

"Okay."

Bai Haozheng didn't waste any time. He asked Li Ang for a stack of new paper, loosened his knuckles, and turned to the other players, saying, "By the way, if the memories in Fengdao's mind are really memes with infectious properties, like the cursed videotape in *The Ring*,

"then the animated comics I draw later may also carry memes.

"If you want to see them, please be prepared to be infected by memes."

Everyone present was an experienced and mature player, knowing that Bai Haozheng was not exaggerating.

Meme hazards can silently change a person's thinking and behavior,

add, delete, or tamper with memories,

cause physiological changes, such as facial features degenerating, growing scales, eyeballs shifting outwards, etc.

or even die directly in their dreams.

Hei Shengzi and Mu Yin Zhi Gui took a step back without saying a word. It was useless to join in this kind of excitement and would only bring great risks. There was no need to satisfy this curiosity.

Moreover, the purpose of Bai Haozheng's transcribing the video content was still to analyze and interpret it. The conclusions drawn would still benefit all players.

Even if they didn't do anything, they could still get the analysis results.

Bob, who had lost two friends in a row, was not in the mood to watch the animated comic. 13mArk, Plague Doctor, Ω, and Liu Wudai also declined.

In the end, only Yu Yi Xin Zhong, Mule, and Li Ang stood beside Bai Haozheng, ready to watch him draw the animated comic.

Mule was an information dealer, so he probably had some equipment or props that could resist meme pollution.

But what was Yu Yi Xin Zhong doing joining in the fun?

Li Ang's gaze, hidden behind the dragon head mask, swept over Yu Yi Xin Zhong. The beautiful girl in the sailor suit with a katana at her waist had a calm expression, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking.

Could she also be a puzzle-solving player?

"Then, let's begin."

Bai Haozheng took a deep breath, held the pen in his right hand, and lightly pressed the tip of the pen on the paper floating in mid-air.

He closed his index and middle fingers of his left hand, turning them into a sword finger, and slowly pressed it against Wanli Fengdao's forehead.

Buzz—

Invisible and intangible energy waves spread out from his body.

Bai Haozheng suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes were gray and white, turbid and distracted.

He just stared blankly at the wall in front of him, his right hand sketching out intricate lines on the paper at an extremely fast speed.

Once a piece of paper was filled, he would switch to another.

Opposite him was Wanli Fengdao.

Little Knife Bro's face was tense, his eyes closed, and the eyeballs under his eyelids moved back and forth, looking a little nervous, but not in pain.

After a while, the psychic power surrounding Bai Haozheng gradually dissipated.

The intelligence analyst blinked his eyes, the gray and white in his eyes faded away, "This is..."

He reached out and took all the paper floating in mid-air. It was covered with realistic-style comics with delicate brushstrokes.

These comics were lifelike, clearly depicting the several scenes Wanli Fengdao had described, and they were also animated, repeating once every so often.

A cloaked figure standing on top of an ancient castle, looking up at the starry sky,

A three-meter-tall, thin figure walking through a rainy forest,

A young woman combing her hair in front of a mirror...

"Did you find anything?"

Wanli Fengdao asked curiously from below the steps.

"Not yet..."

Bai Haozheng replied, and flipped through the animated comics with Yu Yi Xin Zhong, Mule, and Li Ang.

"The content on the paper reveals a strange and evil aura, but the test results show that they do not carry negative energy or have infectious memes."

Bai Haozheng muttered to himself, pulling out a drawing, "Hmm... this drawing..."

The content of the drawing was of a young woman combing her hair in front of a mirror, smiling as she ate her own left eyeball that had fallen on the dressing table.

This animated comic looked no different from the others at first glance.

But Bai Haozheng always felt that something was wrong. The three people standing around him also followed his gaze and carefully scrutinized the woman in the painting.

Suddenly, Yu Yi Xin Zhong seemed to have noticed something. Her eyes suddenly narrowed.

She took half a step back, her body crouching defensively in alert.

Her small nose breathed rapidly, her slender fingers gripped the handle of the katana, and her thumb gently pushed the scabbard, revealing a hint of the blade's cold light.

"Mr. Bai! Put it away quickly!"

Yu Yi Xin Zhong shouted sharply, urging Bai Haozheng, "She's, watching you!"

"What?"

Bai Haozheng hesitated and looked down, only to see the young woman in the animated comic still slowly combing her hair in front of the dressing table mirror, smiling.

Wait, the position she was sitting in was different from the previous picture.

It was closer to the left side of the dressing table.

From the angle she was sitting at now,

she wasn't looking at herself combing her hair in the dressing table mirror,

but looking through the mirror at Bai Haozheng outside the painting.

Seemingly noticing Bai Haozheng's surprised look,

the woman in the painting put down her comb, turned her head, and met the intelligence analyst's eyes, revealing a smile.