diskusbooks Chapter 19 Finding the Fake Man
Chapter 19 Finding the Fake Man
Is this the main point now? Yan Xun pondered, suspecting that Gui Yuchong's thought process was a bit abnormal.
Fortunately, Gui Yuchong quickly opened the drawer, found a change of clothes, and headed to the bathroom... Yan Xun only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that the other person had left.
Logically speaking, Gui Yuchong is the protagonist of this story, so he shouldn't be so wary of him—
What shouldn't be done?
"I advise you not to read my thoughts," Yan Xun said in his mind, then began answering the system's questions, "but one should always be wary of others."
What he didn't say was that he felt both the system and the novel were unreliable, and the gap between ideal and reality was comparable to that between fan fiction and the original work.
The system also told him that this instance was very simple and peaceful, so there were no prompts at all. But now, neither the inexplicable Su Yumin nor the strangely strange Meimei Building seemed to have anything to do with simplicity and peace.
After confirming that Gui Yuchong had re-entered the bathroom and that the bathroom door had been closed, Yan Xun continued searching through the wardrobe.
"What exactly are you looking for?" the system asked, puzzled.
It noticed that Yan Xun started acting strangely after seeing the trash can in the kitchen.
After rummaging through countless pieces of clothing, Yan Xun finally found what he was looking for in the corner of the wardrobe...
The untouched instant noodles and bread were hidden away.
These things are similar to what he got from the management office today, so they were obviously obtained around the same time.
【…What does this mean?】The system was somewhat puzzled.
Yan Xun looked at the food, took it out of the wardrobe, and placed it on the bedroom table.
"Why do you think that is?" Yan Xun suddenly asked.
"Did those two people in room 404 deliberately hoard supplies?"
"Worried that the building wouldn't be unsealed for a long time, so you hid the food?" Yan Xun opened the plastic bag on the table. Inside were not only unopened instant noodles, but also some bread.
The room's owner probably didn't want to eat these things, so they hid them in the closet.
Yan Xun remembered that in the corridors of the Meimei Building, some rooms had trash outside their doors, while others did not.
He didn't think that at a time like this, anyone would come to keep the hallway clean and take care of their trash every day... He just put the trash bag outside to see what would happen.
If no one is taking care of the trash bags in the hallway, and there is no trash in your own home or outside your door, you can probably be sure of one thing.
The occupant of room 404 may not need food.
“But these are all speculations, and they can be refuted,” Yan Xun said to the system. “If there’s no trash, I can say I threw it somewhere else; if there’s no food, I can say I ate something else, or I’m just on a diet and not hungry.”
"The reason why no one is cleaning up the trash now is probably because the person responsible for cleaning it has been killed by a fake player. There should be someone cleaning it up before players enter the dungeon."
"Ultimately, the simplest way to verify this conjecture is..."
Yan Xun picked up the scissors from the table, placed his palm on the table, and stabbed without hesitation—
He used too much force, and the scissors instantly pierced his flesh and bone.
He could feel the pain, but... nothing.
He had a wound on his palm, but it wasn't bleeding.
“…I never imagined I was a fake.” Holding up his pierced hand, Yan Xun muttered to himself.
At the same time, a system announcement that only the players could hear appeared inside the building—
[Congratulations to the player for completing Mission 1: Find the fake man (B- Mission)]
[2000 points earned.]
Yan Xun raised his hand and looked at his palm...
"I'm thinking about something."
"If I find other fake people, can the points be stacked?"
He was asking the main system with its cold voice, but unexpectedly, this thing answered him directly on his behalf instead of his own system.
【Can. 】
However, you cannot make wild guesses, otherwise there will be penalties.
Yan Xun thought for a moment, "What punishment?"
[Points are reset to zero; subsequent tasks will be more difficult.]
“Then I’ll take a gamble.” Yan Xun shrugged. “If I win, I’ll multiply my points by five.”
"Impossible," the main system said again.
"Three times," Yan Xun bargained.
The main system fell silent for a moment, whether it was estimating the amount or not understanding why player Yan Xun was bargaining with it.
A few seconds later, he spoke again in Yan Xun's head.
【Can. 】
“I guess the second imposter is Shen Rui,” Yan Xun said directly.
He didn't even look closely at room 908, so of course he didn't know whether they had hidden their food or eaten it.
He used Shen Rui as a test to verify another of his guesses.
[Correct.] The main system says.
Yan Xun immediately noticed that his points in his status bar had doubled.
"Shall we continue?" the main system asked.
“No,” Yan Xun said, “These points are enough.”
The main system didn't comment much on Yan Xun's answer, and only after he disappeared did the trembling system reappear—
[Host, I was just scared to death!] The system said cautiously. A creature shaped like a steamed bun slowly appeared in Yan Xun's mind. It had hands and feet like matchsticks and was trembling.
The main system is really scary!
Why don't you keep guessing?
“Because if we keep guessing, we’ll lose,” Yan Xun said. He currently has two guesses… but he needs to contact Shen Rui to find out the conclusion.
Yan Xun's hand was slowly healing. He dialed Shen Rui's number immediately and said before Shen Rui could speak:
"I know the answer to Task 1, but I need some of your help."
Shen Rui hesitated on the other end of the phone, "How can I trust you?"
"Isn't the system announcement just now trustworthy enough?" Yan Xun asked. "If you're not interested, I can find someone else."
It's fake, Yan Xun thought.
Su Yumin couldn't believe it; this person was most likely up to no good. The two players from 1101 were still missing, and he couldn't contact them. So, the only person he could contact now was Shen Rui.
However, he wouldn't say this to Shen Rui.
He believed that the system announcement that had just been broadcast in the building should have made Shen Rui lower his guard a little.
Sure enough, after a few seconds of hesitation, Shen Rui's answer came from the other end of the phone—
"Tell me what kind of help you need first?"
“It’s a very simple matter,” Yan Xun said. “Look for the trash cans in room 908. See if there are any empty food wrappers inside.”
"And do you have any food stored in your room?"
"That's all?" Shen Rui hesitated.
"That's all," Yan Xun said definitively.
Shen Rui took a deep breath on the other end of the phone. "Okay, I'll go look for it."
"Wait for my call."
……
When Shen Rui hung up the phone and walked out of the bedroom, he saw Su Yumin sitting on the sofa watching TV.
Although it's called watching TV, there's actually nothing on the screen except for the black and white static pattern that used to appear on old-fashioned TVs from many years ago.
Su Yumin listened to the crackling sound coming from the TV and watched the black and white static on the screen.
Then, after hearing the door open, he turned around and looked at Shen Rui, "Where are you going?"