Chapter 12 Deduction

It was also in the reflection of the mirror that Yu Wen and Zhang Yinyin confirmed Luo Yi's identity.

He was a ghost.

The real Luo Yi had already been killed by the ghost.

No one would offer up their already scarce emotions for his death. The next moment, Yu Wen and Zhang Yinyin simultaneously thought of a question.

When...did Luo Yi die?

And where did he die?

The answer was about to emerge...

They still remembered that according to Zhen Jianren yesterday, he had come ahead to meet with everyone, while Luo Yi had gone to the archives alone to investigate.

Clearly, he encountered the ghost there and was killed by the latter, who then took his place.

This explained why "Luo Yi" said after returning that he had found nothing in the archives.

A ghost...naturally wouldn't reveal its own information.

...

Zhou Taifu walked into the room first.

The room was large. Near where Luo Yi had fallen, there was a wooden desk and an old-fashioned chair with worn-out leather on the back.

A thin layer of dust had accumulated on them.

The room was long and narrow. Looking deeper inside, there were rows of dark green iron shelves.

A few of the shelves near them had light blue file folders.

The shelves further away were filled with densely packed kraft paper bags.

It was so deep that you couldn't see the end.

The room couldn't be infinitely large; it was just a matter of lighting.

The only window was not far in front of the desk.

There should also be windows deeper in the room, but they must have been sealed off or covered with dark curtains.

In the dim light, the interior was shadowy, giving Zhou Taifu an uncomfortable feeling. He couldn't help but gulp.

Withdrawing his gaze, he prepared to collect clues as quickly as possible and then leave this place.

Seeing that there was nothing going on inside, Yu Wen also entered. Her footsteps were extremely light, as if afraid of waking something.

As she entered, she looked around the door for a light switch.

"Click."

After finding the switch, she pressed it directly, but there was no response.

"It's been too long," Zhou Taifu looked up and said. "Even if there was a light, it's probably broken."

Yu Wen leaned closer to the window, both to make it easier to observe Luo Yi and because there was at least some light here; a place with light was safer.

Luo Yi lay quietly on the ground, his upper body soaked in blood, his collar torn open, his body twisted unnaturally.

His left arm was broken at the elbow, twisted backwards against the joint.

He seemed to have struggled before dying...

Because no one wanted to turn him over, it was impossible to see his eyes.

"Look," Zhou Taifu squatted down, examining the very dead Luo Yi, his expression changing slightly, "What does his posture resemble?"

Yu Wen looked at it, then looked at the desk.

Luo Yi's head was facing the door, while his feet were facing inside.

"He was attacked just as he was about to leave..." After a moment, Yu Wen said, "So he fell into this position."

"That's right," Zhou Taifu nodded.

"His chin is also gone," Yu Wen tilted her head, glanced at Luo Yi's profile, and continued.

"It seems this is the ghost's habit, but..." Zhou Taifu touched Luo Yi's broken elbow, his face becoming very ugly. "It was broken by brute force; the bones inside are almost completely shattered."

He raised his head. "Among the corpses we've seen, he's the only one who has encountered such a thing. Is there something special about him?"

Yu Wen's gaze followed Luo Yi's elbow down, and her eyes suddenly paused. "Look," she said, "His fingers also seem to be..."

Hearing this, Zhou Taifu squatted down and used his hand to lift Luo Yi's fingers.

Half of Luo Yi's fingers were submerged in the pool of blood, making the whole scene look extremely tragic.

"His fingers have also been broken!" Zhou Taifu exclaimed.

Then he immediately lifted Luo Yi's right hand, which was pressed under his body.

Apart from the blood, his right arm was intact.

His fingers too.

"I remember that Luo Yi... seemed to be left-handed," Yu Wen said, staring at the corpse.

As if he had figured something out, Zhou Taifu immediately looked into the depths of the archives, where countless kraft paper bags were arranged, and in the dim light, they looked somewhat eerie.

"I understand," Zhou Taifu said, "Luo Yi must have already found clues about the ghost and was about to leave with the clues when he was suddenly attacked by the ghost. Then, in the struggle, the ghost crushed his left arm."

"Because he's left-handed, he must have been holding information about the ghost in his left hand at the time."

Yu Wen nodded and said, "That should be it."

"Damn it!" Zhou Taifu gritted his teeth and said angrily, "Now that the ghost has taken the information, it may even have been destroyed. This clue has been cut off here."

Then they would have to go to the equipment room or Building C to try their luck, but no matter how he thought about it, the danger was extremely high.

Especially in the equipment room, the ghost might have already dealt with Zhen Jianren and be waiting for them to walk right into the trap.

"There's no need to be so pessimistic," Yu Wen said slowly. "I think even if the ghost took the information, it most likely wouldn't destroy it. We might be able to find it somewhere else."

Zhou Taifu frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Rules," Yu Wen glanced at Luo Yi on the ground a few more times, then turned her head, looked into Zhou Taifu's eyes, and said, "I don't think the rules would allow the ghost to do that. Otherwise, she could have killed Luo Yi before he found any information about her. Why wait until he had already obtained the information and was about to leave before taking action?"

"Or even further, why not destroy the clues about her directly before Luo Yi even came? Wouldn't that be more direct?" Yu Wen said.

Hearing this, Zhou Taifu's expression improved a lot. He stood up and said, "You mean the rules of the mission don't allow the ghost to do this?"

"Of course," Yu Wen replied. "We all know that although the ghosts in each mission differ in their abilities, killing methods, and preferences, there is one thing they have in common: they are all restricted by the rules of the mission."

Yu Wen paused and continued, "Although as the mission time limit approaches, they will be released with more and more terrifying abilities, similar to the seals suppressing them gradually being unlocked. But as long as the final moment hasn't arrived, they are not invincible."

"In other words, they can only hide the clues deeper and deeper, more and more obscurely, but they cannot eliminate the clues from the root."

After saying this, Yu Wen looked at Zhou Taifu and said in a very serious tone, "This is the last path to survival left for us in the mission rules."

Zhou Taifu thought about it simply and knew that what Yu Wen said made sense. He raised his head and asked doubtfully, "Then, according to your speculation, where do you think the ghost would hide the clues?"

"The music room?" Zhou Taifu touched his chin and speculated, "Or the equipment room, or some completely unrelated corner?"

Yu Wen stared at her lover and suddenly smiled. "No," she glanced seemingly casually at the depths of the room and said slowly, "If I were the ghost... I would put it back where it belongs."