When Gu Mian and the others rushed to the equipnt room, what they heard was Guo Jii's terrified scream coming from inside.
She had been screaming for a while; their ears were filled with her cries as soon as they turned into the corridor. Li Yibai was so scared that he took a step back, clutching 007. Fortunately, this building was on the other side of the stadium and quite isolated. Usually, not many people ca here, so no one else heard Guo Jii's screams.
Following the sound, Gu Mian hurried to the room at the end of the corridor. The door to the room was tightly closed, with a sign above the doorfra that read "Equipnt Room." The terror-filled screams penetrated the tightly closed door.
Li Yibai's face turned pale. "People in PE class said Yuan Qinghua and Guo Jii ca here together to get equipnt. Now it sounds like only one person is screaming inside. Could it be... the other one is dead?"
"Impossible," Yue Nu also stared intently at the door, motionless. "Didn't they say ghosts can't kill during the day?"
But that didn't rule out the ghost trying to scare people, Gu Mian thought. Under Li Yibai's terrified gaze, he reached for the doorknob and gently pushed.
CREAK—the door imdiately opened a crack.
Gu Mian frowned. Strange, he thought. The door opens so easily. Why hasn't the terrified person inside run out?
The screams from inside squeezed through the crack, growing clearer. Gu Mian pushed a little harder, and the door swung halfway open. Those outside could now clearly see inside.
Guo Jii was cowering in the farthest corner from the door, her eyes wide with terror. When she saw them, a flicker of relief crossed her face, only to be imdiately swallowed by fear.
Looking at her expression…
"Is there soone behind the door?" Gu Mian murmured. Muttering to himself, he shoved the door hard. The wooden panel slamd against the wall with a loud CRASH. The sound was crisp; it didn't sound like it had hit anyone.
After Gu Mian slamd the door open, Guo Jii, who had been screaming in the corner, finally quieted down. She slowly bent over, gasping for breath and repeatedly swallowing, her throat apparently sore from all the screaming.
So, the person behind the door is gone now? Gu Mian thought as he stepped into the room. Then he looked behind the door.
There was nothing there. Not even a bug, let alone anything bloody or horrifying. It was as if Guo Jii had been screaming at a blank wall for ages.
The others followed him in. Even though Li Yibai saw nothing behind the door, he didn't linger near it. He quickly ran to Guo Jii in the corner. "What did you see? Where's Yuan Qinghua?"
But Guo Jii was still gasping for breath, too weak to answer. anwhile, Gu Mian had thoroughly inspected the area behind the door and found nothing.
Yue Nu, still standing by the door, suddenly lowered her voice. "She must have seen sothing terrifying to react like that. And whatever it was, it suddenly vanished. The six of us were together just now; none of us had ti to act. The girl screaming is Guo Jii, right? Excluding Guo Jii, one of the other three must be the ghost."
Keke, by her side, nodded in agreent.
The other three were Zhang Pingfan, who had disappeared the day before yesterday and was still missing; Pan Yue, who had a breakdown and fled after last night's vote; and Yuan Qinghua, who had co to the equipnt room with Guo Jii and was now nowhere to be found.
In the corner, Guo Jii had recovered enough to speak. Sure enough. "Just now... I just saw Yuan Qinghua standing behind the door!"
Guo Jii's voice drew Gu Mian's attention, and he turned to look at her.
Li Yibai also turned curiously to look behind the door. "So where is she now? Why were you so scared?"
"She was covered in blood! Hiding right behind the door... right where you're standing, Gu Mian! Her face was deathly pale, and she was staring right at ... She was still glaring when you ca and opened the door! It wasn't until Gu Mian slamd the door wide open that she vanished!"
Hearing this, Li Yibai shivered, clearly terrified. Feeling uneasy, he quickly ran to 007 and pulled her away from the door.
At this, Yue Nu raised her eyebrows. She thought for a mont, then said, "My earlier deduction might be flawed... The ghost wouldn't be so foolish as to practically announce 'I am the ghost' to everyone. I think the ghost disguised itself as Yuan Qinghua. So, the ghost must be either Zhang Pingfan or Pan Yue."
"Speaking of which..." Keke suddenly whispered, "Could that horrifying Li Wentao that Pan Yue and I saw last night also have been the ghost in disguise? Did the ghost use that to mislead all of us into voting for Li Wentao?"
"What?" Yue Nu's brow furrowed even deeper. "You all voted for Li Wentao last night because of *that*?" She sounded a little angry. "Keke, maybe, but the rest of you? Weren't you using your brains? How could you not see through such an obvious trick? You've all been through many instances. Gu Mian, iren Chu, 007—you three don't look like fools..."
At this, Yue Nu's brow suddenly relaxed. She spoke slowly, "Let guess. You all voted for Li Wentao because... the three of you are ghosts?"
Chu Changge didn't say a word. 007 had already been pulled over to Guo Jii's side by Li Yibai and wasn't part of this conversation.
Gu Mian, however, spoke up, his words leaving Yue Nu speechless. "Or what? Did you expect us to abandon Li Wentao, a suspect, at the last minute and blindly pick soone else we knew nothing about to be eliminated? We couldn't guarantee we wouldn't accidentally target you."
Yue Nu was struck speechless. After a few seconds of silence, she said, "True. It's impossible for no one to be eliminated in the first round of voting. Compared to soone we knew nothing about, voting for Li Wentao, who was at least sowhat suspicious, was the only option."
anwhile, Keke had run to Guo Jii's side, seemingly wanting to ask her sothing.
Just then, Chu Changge, who had been silent nearby, suddenly spoke. "Yue Nu."
Hearing her na, Yue Nu turned to him. "What is it?" She always felt there was sothing off about this man with glasses, be it his ga nickna that didn't quite match his appearance, or his chilling expression.
Chu Changge continued, "Who did you vote for last night?"
Yue Nu paused, slightly taken aback, then answered, "Zhang Pingfan." She herself had also voted for Zhang Pingfan—a complete shot in the dark, without knowing any details. In a way, it was even more thoughtless than Gu Mian's group.
Gu Mian, however, wasn't concerned about whether his teammates were using their brains or not. Even if he considered it, there was no solution to that problem. He remained silent, thinking. So, Yue Nu didn't vote for Li Wentao, just as I thought.
So who cast the seventh vote for Li Wentao?
While Gu Mian was pondering this, Guo Jii, in the corner, tightly gripped Keke, who had just approached her. "This murder ga you're all talking about—is it real? Did Li Wentao and Wang Pan really die last night?!"
Keke silently nodded. "It's true."
Guo Jii's voice suddenly rose. "Then the ghost who killed them must be Yuan Qinghua!"
At this, Gu Mian looked at Yue Nu. "I think there were so flaws in your earlier speculation."
Yue Nu asked, puzzled, "Are you talking about your idea that one of Zhang Pingfan or Pan Yue must be the ghost?"
Gu Mian nodded slightly and said softly, "There's another possibility..."
"That is, Guo Jii didn't see anything at all."
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