Chapter 23: Recidivism
What the officer was suggesting was as clear as day. Once again, the serial killer seemed to have started killing others without restraint. This time, those who had been attacked before were in danger of being attacked again, which is why it was necessary to protect the previous victims. Including Feng Yu Lan, there were a total of three people who were fortunate enough to have survived the first attack. However, one of the survivors had recently died, which meant that the remaining survivors were down to only Feng Yu Lan and the other individual, both of whom were in danger of being murdered at any time.
“If that’s the case, why’d you say someone accused me of murder?” Now that Feng Yu Lan had understood why this group of police officers had come for him, he didn’t hesitate to jump to the subject that had been unsettling him for a while.
“It’s rather odd to say, but the victim who died this morning seemed to have made a phone call before he passed away; it’s just that the call didn’t go through. After checking the number, we found that it was meant for you…” The officer announced. “Because of the call, the family of the deceased became rather agitated. They think the murderer is you, so they want to charge you with manslaughter.”
The officer’s words shocked Feng Yu Lan. He instinctively touched the mobile phone under his pillow. When he woke up after escaping the chamber, his initial reaction was to grab his phone and check the time. At that moment, there was, indeed, a missed call on his cell, but the number was unfamiliar, so Feng Yu Lan had assumed that it was either a case of dialing the wrong number or it was a random prank call from some stranger. He ignored it at the time and, instead, directly called Luo Jian.
The police officer took the phone from Feng Yu Lan, examined it, and then explained a couple of things to Feng Yu Lan. Although Feng Yu Lan had originally been the primary suspect because of this phone call, once the police investigated the surveillance cameras in the hospital, they discovered that Feng Yu Lan had not left the ward the entire night. In the middle of the night, a nurse stopped by and checked the room, and Feng Yu Lan was sound asleep in his bed. Moreover, it was a full one-hour drive from the crime scene to the hospital that Feng Yu Lan currently rested at, meaning he wouldn’t have enough time to return [if he had committed the crime]. In other words, Feng Yu Lan had a solid alibi to prove that he was not the murderer.
Since they had proved that Feng Yu Lan wasn’t the culprit, the next steps were easier to handle. The officer had reason to believe that Feng Yu Lan may be targeted again, so he set up the following arrangement for Feng Yu Lan: “Because of your special circumstances, we will personally request a single room for you. And for the sake of your safety, you’ll be under the protection of our police during your stay at this hospital.”
Feng Yu Lan cursed in his heart, rather than saying such a pleasant word like, ‘protecting’, why not just say ‘monitoring’. Unfortunately, he could only say this in his mind without voicing it aloud. His heart had no choice but to accept the arrangement since it wouldn’t do him any good to reject such an offer. After all, Feng Yu Lan’s wound hadn’t healed yet, and he also didn’t want to receive any more fatal injuries.
Luo Jian, who was standing nearby, was also taken out for a drink by one of the officers. Of course, since Luo Jian didn’t have anything to do with this matter in the first place, he was free to leave after a few questions. Luo Jian was still feeling unbearably anxious though; he felt that he had overlooked something extremely important. So before he left, he told Feng Yu Lan to take care of himself then headed off by himself to the Red Spider Lily Bar.
There were a couple of things that the boss didn’t explain in detail. However, the most concerning issues at hand involved Feng Yu Lan and the note. Feng Yu Lan wasn’t a player in the game, so how could he be invited? If not all, he didn’t write on the blank letter, but how did the note spontaneously modify itself into an invitation card? These were questions that Luo Jian needed answers to, and the only person who could answer these right now was the boss.
Unexpectedly, the moment he stepped into the Red Spider Lily Bar, the bartender, Noah, took the initiative to welcome him. He said to Luo Jian, “You must be looking for the boss. He’s been awaiting your arrival for a long time.”
“He knew I’d come?”
“Of course.” Noah directed a grin at Luo Jian then led him to the private room on the second floor. Sure enough, he saw that bearded uncle who claimed to be Boss; his face was flushed red from the wine, and he was sprawled across the sofa, completely motionless. Noah sauntered over and, without an ounce of respect, harshly kicked the boss. The other raised his head in a drunken daze, caught sight of Luo Jian, and then hiccupped.
He slurred, “You came…hic…I waited for you…for a long time!”
“Did you forget to mention some things to me when we spoke last time?” Frowning, Luo Jian got straight to the point.
“Ah….that’s right. I drank a bit too much and forget about that. But thinking about it, you should’ve already realized something was wrong.” The boss tossed his bottle aside, sat upright on the couch, and pulled at his disheveled hair, seemingly trying to remember something. The expression on his face was grave as he explained to Luo Jian, “Before I answer any of your questions, I have to tell you something that I forgot to mention before… It’s something very, very important.”
“There’s this note in the chambers. It’s a piece of paper with a purple hell flower that you would often see in the chambers. The purpose of this note isn’t just to remind you the rules of the game or to give you some hints about the situation, it also has other functions. If you take this note and ask it some questions about the chamber, it will automatically give you a response… In simpler terms, it’s as if this slip of paper possesses a mind of its own; it has the ability to communicate with you! But most importantly, this paper will leave you a message on behalf of the chambers’ will. You must adapt to any possible changes the note brings to you!”
The boss’s account somewhat surprised Luo Jian. He immediately recalled his first chamber experience; the piece of paper he held in his hand certainly answered Luo Jian’s question. This made Luo Jian think of how Feng Yu Lan was invited by the note, and he asked, “You gave me a blank letter the last time I was here, but without my knowing, it suddenly changed into a written invitation card and invited my friend, who is an ordinary person, to the game. Was this also the chambers’ doing?”
“The chambers will never invite ordinary people.” The boss shook his head and pondered for a minute before responding to Luo Jian’s question. “Since your friend was invited, his situation’s probably just like yours; he was selected for a reason! As a newcomer, he still had yet to experience his first trial, but because he came in contact with that note, he was automatically approved and invited by the chambers—but if he really did accept the invitation, wouldn’t that mean you guys became a team? That’s double the difficulty ah! You should count yourself lucky to be able to stand in front of me right now!”
“I can’t help but feel that something’s still amiss.” Luo Jian cast a wry smile in the boss’ direction; however, he couldn’t ignore this vague sense of unease that pricked his heart. After deliberating over whether he should say it, he finally continued, “I’m not sure if you’ve read the newspaper recently, but my friend was attacked by a serial killer a while ago… is this matter related to the chambers?”
The great uncle ruffled his hair in exasperation; his previously unkempt hair turned into a messier bird’s nest, a perfect match to his straggly beard. With a bitter expression, he grimly admitted, “I haven’t got single clue about this. Although I’m a guide to all newcomers in this city, I’m not at all omniscient, but…about that serial killer in the city… There’s actually someone who has better qualifications to answer any questions you might have. He’s my senior, and he should know something about this. You can go ask him.”
The boss said his senior would come over at 8 P.M. or 9 P.M., around the time when the bar opened, but it was still morning, so there was a good while before nighttime arrived. The boss suggested that Luo Jian try to find a nearby place to kill some time, but Luo Jian didn’t know what he could do to busy himself. He’d just recently escaped the oppressive environment of the chamber, so having all of this free time actually stressed Luo Jian out.
“I’ve never teamed up with other people during one of the levels of the chambers. Then again, I’ve never really had the guts to do so.” The boss seemed to have the desire to engage in a conversation with Luo Jian, and he gleefully inquired, “So what was it like having double the trouble?”
Luo Jian recalled his experience on the ghost ship, and he couldn’t help but shiver. He replied, “Oh…we ended up in a ghost ship surrounded by thick fog. There were undead monsters that could never be killed and corpses that could come back to life.”
The boss looked at Luo Jian in pity, then commented, “According to my own experiences, the degree of difficulty’s really been ramped up for you. As a matter of fact, a rookie player, who has only experienced the first, most basic level of the chambers that’s meant for beginners, shouldn’t come across such a strange and mysterious chamber that fast.”
“That…” Luo Jian then thought of the Stalker who was on the ghost ship. He glanced at the boss, then tentatively questioned, “You still remember how I told you that I encountered a Stalker in the first level of the chambers?”
“Of course I remember. Why? You met him again?”
Luo Jian paused, neither affirming it nor denying it. “What happens if a person runs into a Stalker for a second time?”
“Well then, you’re very unlucky to have been engraved with a seal, I guess?” The boss’ words sent a cold chill down Luo Jian’s spine. He was tempted to touch the round tattoo on his neck that was covered by his hair. The boss didn’t notice that Luo Jian was acting unnatural. He merely went to his desk to fetch a bottle of wine, popped open the cap, and chugged it down. Once he finished downing half the bottle, he hiccupped and added, “But it’s not as if something like that would ever happen.”
“Why not?”
“Stalkers will only mark the extremely powerful prey who’ve managed to flee from them, and you…look at you. You’re unbelievably weak, so how’s that even a possibility?”
“Have you ever met a player who’s been marked?” Luo Jian was anxious for any sort of reassurance. He brooded over the tattoo the Stalker left on his neck. Not to mention, there was also that snake the Stalker wrapped around his wrist. Every day he would feel the cold sensation, the disturbing squirming, the peristaltic movement of the small snake; it was always there, constantly reminding him of his situation.
“At this stage, it’s impossible for us players to determine who the true, strong winners are.” The boss declared. “You never know, some day, you might not even find me in this bar. Perhaps another newbie guide will be the one to greet you. Death is very common. Anyone who struggles in these chambers have come to terms with this.”
Luo Jian wasn’t quite satisfied with the information he’d obtained from the boss. He left the bar at noon, and prepared to return to the hospital to take a look at his Ah Lan later.
Feng Yu Lan was, once again, put into a single-occupancy room. He was sitting on his hospital bed, casually flipping through the pages of his grimoire. Despite the fact that Feng Yu Lan was very reluctant to talk to this stupid book, he still began preparing himself in order to learn a completely new and strange language.
News reports on the serial killer had been broadcast on television. Apparently, this was the most horrific thing that’s ever happened in the city. A total of five people had been killed so far! If one woke up in the middle of the night, all one would hear would be the sounds of police sirens. The superiors attached great importance to this matter, and the pressure the elites and the regular citizens put on the police was astounding. The two police officers who were stationed near the door to Feng Yu Lan’s ward wore heavy expressions on their faces.
These two officers were ordered to monitor and protect Feng Yu Lan in the ward for 24 hours. It wasn’t a pleasant job at all. They had to enter the room from time to time, disturbing the poor Ah Lan. No matter what he did, they would immediately hound him; even if Feng Yu Lan went to the squatting toilet to do his business, they would instantly follow after him, giving him no space. Not only did Feng Yu Lan feel awfully irritated, but even the two policemen were feeling vexed.
Soon after, the two officers began to chat with each other at the door to Feng Yu Lan’s private room. The topics ranged from each other’s girlfriends to the serial killer. Finally, when the topic of Feng Yu Lan came up, one of the policemen said, “What do you think about that moronic chap who’s just been there, reading his book out loud non-stop? I mean, we’ve been standing out here for over an hour, listening to him ramble on like a lunatic.”
Feng Yu Lan didn’t realize he’d been crowned with the adjective ‘moronic’. He simply sat on his bed, completely focused on learning magic. At this time, the other police officer opened his mouth. “Maybe that killer scared him silly.”
But just as the police officer finished this sentence, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of his neck. It was as if someone had ruthlessly struck him with a bat, giving him no time to react. The view before his eyes gradually turned black, and he soon lost consciousness.