novellk Chapter 1702 - 45: Unforgivable Sin
Chapter 1702 - 45: Unforgivable Sin
"What kind of joke is this? You definitely have to come with us. Get up here." Violet stopped smiling immediately, her calm expression vanished, and she spoke up."Earlier, I encountered a blue-haired girl. She actively helped me distract grandma, which allowed me to start the car here. I’ll take her along and find another way to escape. You guys go ahead." Su Ming’an waved his hand.
"This is not the time to be bogged down by such moral dilemmas. Your victory is more important than anything!" Si Nian immediately said, "I’ll get out, you go with this severely injured woman."
"Don’t worry." Su Ming’an turned around and waved his hand decisively. "I won’t lose my victory."
Covered in dust, his posture was unwaveringly confident.
Si Nian was momentarily intimidated by this confidence, suddenly feeling a pang of envy. Such a strong person is capable of pursuing kindness because they have ample space and believe they possess a kind spirit...
Violet didn’t try to persuade further and decisively took the driver’s seat. She was severely injured and should avoid being a burden.
Si Nian bit his lip, hesitated for a moment, then closed the car door with a "bang," but still didn’t get in the car.
"Vi... Violet, wait here, someone else might come over, and you can leave with them. I’m going to stay," Si Nian said to Violet, then caught up with Su Ming’an in a few steps, "Savior, I’ll go with you to find the blue-haired girl. At least three people are needed to confidently open the other door. With me included, you’ll have enough number."
Su Ming’an’s gaze flickered.
This man, despite wanting to resurrect his beloved Chun Tang, repeatedly performed "futile actions." Even though he wanted to escape, he still stayed.
Si Nian seemed to see through Su Ming’an’s thoughts and spoke while walking, "Ensuring you pass is the most important thing. If you fail, we’re all doomed. I’m a realistic person, I must ensure you live!"
The tall man walked in front, first pushing open the iron door.
After the door was pushed open, both of them slowed down their pace, realizing that once they left the underground garage, there would be no soundproofing, and grandma could hear them.
At the same time, a little girl walked directly toward them, confused about why someone would retrace their steps?
Si Nian silently pointed in the direction of the garage, indicating to the little girl that she could go that way to escape.
The girl nodded in bewilderment, gratefully clasped her hands together, and walked towards the garage.
Si Nian watched the girl go off into the distance, feeling a mixture of exasperation and compassion. Sometimes, he felt like a jerk, but other times, he seemed so touching in his greatness. There was nothing he could do, for their capricious Savior decided to save everyone...
Soon enough, in the hall, they met the blue-haired girl who seemed to have freed herself and immediately made a hand gesture with a "Yay."
Su Ming’an blinked in confusion.
...Oh, turns out it represented "second floor," not "Yay." She meant that grandma was chasing someone on the second floor.
Si Nian pointed upwards, indicating his intention to keep an eye on grandma’s movements while Su Ming’an and the girl searched for clues.
The blue-haired girl laughed and made an "OK" gesture. This time, it’s really the "OK" sign, not a "Three."
Si Nian went upstairs, and the indoor atmosphere was once again enveloped in sticky silence, as Su Ming’an and the girl walked on the cold floor.
"Let’s go." The girl made the gesture.
Su Ming’an nodded.
At a corner, Su Ming’an suddenly stepped on a loose wooden board underfoot, which was about to creak. The blue-haired girl, as if having eyes on her back, instantly turned back and lightly cushioned the edge of the board with the tip of her toes.
Su Ming’an was somewhat curious. The girl’s skills were evidently not those of ordinary players, even though her physical strength was adjusted to that of ordinary people, she retained some habits of powerful players. Such a strong player, yet unfamiliar with Su Ming’an, was indeed peculiar.
The chat was continually debating about her identity:
"It doesn’t seem like she’s pretending; she’s completely calm facing Su Ming’an, probably genuinely unfamiliar with him."
"People say lively friends can bring energy and life force. I never believed it before, but now I do."
"Do you all like her? Only I feel she’s too presumptuous, lacking boundaries from the first meeting... it’s annoying."
"I think it’s quite natural, not at all offensive."
...
Some liked the girl’s liveliness while others found her too presumptuous.
At this point, Su Ming’an looked up, and the blue-haired girl walked over.
She pointed to his upper right. From Su Ming’an’s perspective, it appeared she was pointing toward the chat!
...Right, all players can see the same live broadcast room, so she should have seen the chat too.
What is she planning? Is she going to show the chat a middle finger?
In his startled gaze, the blue-haired girl pointed at herself.
Then, she brought the thumb and index fingers of both hands together, forming a heart with the four fingers.
Finally, she grinned widely and placed this heart in Su Ming’an’s upper right field of vision, seemingly stamping the chat with a "heart-shaped" mark.
"I." — Pointed at herself.
"Like." — Heart gesture.
"You all." — Placed the heart on the chat.
She paused her palms, maintaining this gesture for two to three seconds, smiling silently, then turned to walk into the darkness.
The chat seemed to freeze momentarily, suddenly feeling something akin to a warm sentiment... Unexpectedly, in this live broadcast room, someone would actually respond to them...
Even the consistently critical chat was stunned, silent for a while. But they wouldn’t easily let go, even if shown kindness, they would change their angle and continue criticizing.
Su Ming’an was speechless, shook his head, and continued searching.
...Truly unique. This world indeed has people of all colors.
"Come over here."
Soon after, the blue-haired girl gestured for Su Ming’an to come over in the darkness.
She found a headset in a cupboard and handed it over to Su Ming’an.
...
"You have obtained the item ’Listening Headphones.’
"Wearing the headphones, you can understand others’ sign language."
...
He donned the headphones and watched the girl start gesturing.
Suddenly, synthesized audio rang in Su Ming’an’s ears, a feature of the headset:
"You can’t understand my gestures. But I can understand yours, so wear the headphones."
Su Ming’an thought his gestures were like a ghost’s scratch, yet the girl could comprehend most of them, her cognitive ability was truly extraordinary.
The two entered the study, filled with dusty abandoned furniture. They began searching separately. Su Ming’an found a locked small iron box behind a toppled bookshelf.
Without words, he asked the girl with his eyes if she had tools to unlock it.
She took the box, examined it briefly, and then put it in her mouth to bite!
"Crunch."
In Su Ming’an’s stunned gaze, the iron box was bitten open, truly like iron jaws.
"Click."
Su Ming’an opened the iron box, rummaging through some dusty medical journals, some yellowed prescription slips, and a few fragmented pages of experimental records. The handwriting was too faint to be clear.
Then, the two found some personal items: a faded doctor’s badge, a graduation photo of a young man in a white coat full of ambition, and a small packet of blue powder wrapped in wax paper.
The girl came closer, scrutinizing the bag of blue powder carefully.
Then, she gestured:
[This is a hallucinogenic drug.]
...How do you know? Su Ming’an raised an eyebrow.
In the shadows, the girl’s expression was concealed by heavy makeup, but her eyes were exceptionally serious.
However, the girl’s subsequent inner thoughts made him pause.
[My mom is a psychiatrist, specializing in adolescent psychology and such treatments. Since I was little, I helped organize cases in her clinic and calmed emotionally agitated young patients.]
[...So to help my mom organize materials, I tried to understand everything about them.]
She grinned, her signature toothy smile appearing once more.
Su Ming’an paused for a moment, then quickly continued searching.
...So she was a "doctor".
Her liveliness wasn’t an act, but a natural expression of her character.
[Actually, beneath the makeup, I’m just a plain kid with freckles! (★ω★) Initially, it was for understanding, then...] She shook her body adorned with colorful bandages, [I found this style super cool! Like a palette, free to express emotions. Sad times with tear makeup, happy times with glitter stars, angry times with scars on my face. I want people to see me this way and think of vitality, not anything else.]
[But that’s for later! Now, we’re teammates in a horror game!]
Su Ming’an glanced at the injuries and bandages on her face...
He silently curled his lips, nodding.
...
[You have obtained Clue II: Hallucinogenic Drug]
[You have obtained Clue VI: Medical Journals and Prescriptions]
...
"Rustle..." A slight sound of pages turning was heard.
Su Ming’an read the text, from the medical journals and prescription slips, it could be seen that the son of the family was once a highly praised surgeon, who for some reason lost his qualification to save lives, then became decadent and started researching some hallucinogenic drug.
The draft letters were filled with phrases like "I ruined my mother," "I harmed the child," "unforgivable sins," "flames... everything was burned down..."
...
[Remaining participants: 5/10]
...
During the search, another player died.
The two silently snuck out of the study, and as soon as they entered the corridor, they heard a faint sound from a bedroom with a half-open door.
Su Ming’an cautiously approached. Through the crack of the door, a disheveled woman was curled up in the corner, sobbing softly, her hands tightly covering her swollen belly, her face pale as paper, her forehead covered in cold sweat. Upon seeing the two outside the door, her eyes filled with a strong desire to survive, her lips moved, weakly pleading: "Help... help me... please..."
It was a pregnant woman.
Players like this belong to a special group in the World Game, the game mechanism can adjust physiological pain, so they usually don’t feel anything unusual... but who would have thought, during the ten rounds of the game, everyone would return to the state of ordinary people.
"..." Su Ming’an frowned deeply, he really had no strength left to save her.
"I... I have a gun... help me... I’ll give you the gun..." Perhaps to compensate for the weak players, the woman pulled out a shiny black handgun.
Without much time to hesitate, Su Ming’an signaled to the blue-haired girl, picked up the gun, and tossed the map to the pregnant woman.
[Hide well in the nearby room, don’t make any crying sounds, wait until the door opens, I’ll come to get you out.] Su Ming’an gestured. The Horror Grandma locates players by sound, as long as she stops making those sobbing noises, the grandma won’t find her.
The pregnant woman quickly nodded, showing a grateful expression.
Just at that moment—
"Tap... tap... tap..."
Footsteps sounded!
The grandma was coming, but the pregnant woman hadn’t hidden yet!
Su Ming’an’s expression changed, but the blue-haired girl’s movements were even quicker.
Not even having time to greet Su Ming’an, she dashed out of the door, capturing the grandma’s attention, and ran toward the other end of the corridor. She deliberately stomped, making loud "thumping" sounds!
"Dear grandson—where are you going—!" The grandma’s voice carried excitement as she immediately chased after the girl.
Just as the blue-haired girl reached the stairwell, she suddenly turned back, freeing one hand, and made quick and clear gestures to Su Ming’an: [The number of people is too low now; we must piece together the background story to pass! Go find it.]
She disappeared down the stairs to the first floor, with the grandma’s teeth-clenching hisses following closely behind.
Su Ming’an immediately turned and stealthily headed toward the third-floor attic.
"Creak... creak..."
As Su Ming’an stepped onto the stairs leading to the third floor, the "Listening Headphones" in his ear suddenly emitted intermittent static, and a synthesized voice entered his mind:
(The Horror Grandma’s eyesight is poor, she mainly relies on hearing... There’s broken glass in front of the stair corner, I need to be careful not to step on it and make noise...)
(The grandma’s speed is fast... can’t run in a straight line... is there a back door from the kitchen direction? I remember the map shows... no, the back door will collapse quickly... can only move around... the clock in the living room can be made to chime...)
(Su Ming’an should have gone up... the attic... there should be the final clue... fire damage... diary... or... the child’s...)
Su Ming’an’s eyes widened in shock.
This headphone can actually hear thoughts? Moreover... she actually knows his name!
But why does she show no excitement at all? Not that everyone must be excited to see him, but she’s so calm, it’s suspicious.
The entire wooden building had burnt marks, and the third-floor attic was the most severely damaged area by the fire, with scorched marks everywhere, and the air filled with an old, burnt smell. Su Ming’an quickly searched through the ruins.
...
[You have obtained "Concussion Bomb."]
[You have obtained "Screwdriver"]
[You have obtained "Chocolate."]
...
He searched all the way, focusing on items related to the fire. Under a blackened children’s bed, he found a twisted, deformed tin box.