Watching Zhang Jialin go completely off the rails, Chen Zhixia shrank his neck and whispered, “Does he still count as human?”
“He probably does,” Rong Fan answered quickly. “A monster wouldn’t act . Zhang Jialin must’ve been scared out of his mind. As long as we don’t provoke him, we’ll be fine.”
“Sh*t, that really freaked me out. I thought he was gonna charge at me and kill me just now.” Chen Zhixia rubbed his arms.
Rong Fan gave him a glance. “He won’t. He’s not gonna kill you. There’s a Peace rule in this building—no killing allowed. What you should be worried about is him accidentally hurting you.”
“But didn’t he kill Mu Shichen? Don’t tell me going nuts is his punishment?” Chen Zhixia looked slightly shocked.
That punishment’s way too light, isn’t it?
Just then, Bo Jingmo’s voice drifted over, calm as ever: “Maybe it’s because killing a monster doesn’t count as breaking the peace.”
As soon as he said that, Rong Fan paused slightly, turned to look at Bo Jingmo, eyes filled with complex emotions, but didn’t say a word.
Chen Zhixia agreed with Bo Jingmo’s logic and nodded. “Yeah, I think so too. Those monsters aren’t even human anymore. Taking them out doesn’t count as disturbing the peace—it’s more like maintaining it.”
Rong Fan tried the door handle and pressed down. It didn’t budge. “Looks like it won’t open.”
“Huh? The stairwell’s still locked?” Chen Zhixia leaned over and gave it a try too, but no luck.
Rong Fan pressed his ear to the door and listened carefully. “There’s no sound on the other side either.”
Everything was way too quiet.
“Should we take the elevator?” Chen Zhixia suggested.
If that was the case, then they’d have to take the elevator from the first floor.
Rong Fan patted the dust off his shirt and said calmly, “Looks like the elevator’s our only option. But we have to go when no one’s around. Can’t let the NPCs see. I’ll try it this afternoon when I get a chance.”
If the NPCs saw, the persona might collapse again.
Just then, the phone rang. Rong Fan glanced down—it was Rong Ya calling.
He paused, exchanged a look with the other two, then answered after a few seconds of silence.
A female voice came through right away: “Ge, did you finish watching it?”
“Not yet. What’s up?” Rong Fan covered the mic to keep echoes in the hallway from giving him away.
Rong Ya sounded totally normal: “Oh, nothing. Just that Xu Wei-jie suddenly showed up and said she wants to treat us to dinner.”
Rong Fan instinctively glanced at Bo Jingmo, but the guy looked just as confused, apparently not in the loop either.
He frowned and could only agree for now. “Okay, I’ll head back right away. Is she still at the house?”
Before Rong Ya could answer, a woman’s lazy voice came through the phone: “Of course I am. Dr. Rong, dinner’s waiting.”
Hearing that voice, Rong Fan froze for a second, then pursed his lips and replied, “Alright.”
After hanging up, he looked at Bo Jingmo. “You coming back with me?”
Bo Jingmo’s expression stayed calm. “Nah. Xu Wei probably still thinks I’m out. You go ahead.”
Rong Fan was silent for a moment, then nodded. “Alright.”
He turned to Chen Zhixia. “You head back too. I’ll find a time to try the elevator this afternoon.”
【Just like that? They’re leaving already? That was fast. Didn’t find a thing.】
【Knew it wouldn’t be that easy to expose the clues to the players. There’s definitely something wrong with the single-floor level.】
【But honestly, that floor really seems empty. Not a single sound. Don’t tell me they’re all dead?】
【Could it be some kind of mirrored space? Like, at night, players get shifted into the single-floor, which is full of monsters. So Zhang Jialin killing Mu Shichen didn’t matter—’cause he wasn’t killing a human, just a monster.】
【That makes sense. No wonder Zhang Jialin survived. So players can kill monsters at night without consequences?】
【Is it possible… that the Peace rule is fake? Just a lie the monsters made up to kill people? What if killing doesn’t actually have any consequences?】
【Holy sh*t, that’s terrifying. But why make up that lie?】
【Because normally, people are scared of monsters and would just kill without thinking—who cares about emotions? But if you add a Peace rule, no one knows what the consequences are, so everyone hesitates.】
【Isn’t there supposed to be a God of Peace too? If there’s a god, how come stuff is allowed to go on?】
【Have you ever seen that horror film set actually have a god show up? The so-called god’s probably just a hollow shell—some kind of mental comfort.】
【What’s going on? Everyone left, but Bo Jingmo’s still standing in the stairwell?】
【……Holy sh*t, why is he going down?】
In the dim stairwell, the man suddenly started walking down.
On the sixth-floor landing, Zhang Jialin was still sitting there. When he saw Bo Jingmo approaching, his body trembled. He raised the knife in his hand, shaking. “Stay away! Monster!!”
Bo Jingmo looked down at him from above and calmly said two words: “Move.”
Zhang Jialin’s pupils quivered.
That was… the exact same presence.
Fear flashed in his eyes, and unbelievably, he actually obeyed. He put the knife down and scooted to the side, neck hunched in submission.
【Zhang Jialin? You? You’re scared now?? You’re such a coward?!】
【Hard to believe someone this timid killed Mu Shichen. There had to be some expert guiding him behind the scenes.】
【If Rong Fan knew, he’d be speechless, haha.】
【But seriously, he’s scared of Bo Jingmo? Like, one glance from him and the dude’s about to drop the knife.】
【No way… Is Bo Jingmo planning to explore on his own?】
【Didn’t they say the stairwell door wouldn’t open? What’s he gonna explore? Kick it down again? That place echoes like crazy—everyone would hear it.】
But under everyone’s watchful eyes, Bo Jingmo walked up to the fifth-floor stairwell door and pressed the handle.
Click. The door opened with a snap.
The entire audience went silent.
【Nothing to roast. That’s some real dogsh*t luck.】
【Is he cheating or something?!】
【How is this even possible?? Bo Jingmo’s the one who unlocked the secret?】
【He looks so calm… Does he know something?】
【No way. He’s always hanging around with Li Mu. There’s no way Li Mu told him.】
【But what if he did?】