There's a ghost behind too! Why did you only grab Bai Wuchang? The ghost face behind is practically glued to my ear, its hand is choking my neck, I can barely breathe, and you *still* only grabbed Bai Wuchang!
As if hearing the wails in Bai Lu's heart, Gu Mian released Xie Bi'an and stood up.
He didn't pull out his chainsaw this ti.
Trembling, Bai Lu watched as the doctor before her lifted his foot, then kicked the terrifying ghost face on her shoulder.
Then she heard sothing thud to the ground as it was kicked away.
"Damn!" Feeling the chill on her back vanish, Bai Lu cursed, then scrambled to her feet and fled.
Gu Mian dealt with the ghost clinging to Xie Bi'an in the sa fashion, kicking it away.
For the first ti, Bai Lu saw what looked like a shocked expression on a ghost's face.
In her mind, ghosts in an instance were supposed to chase players with gaping, bloody maws, or wander around, swiping everywhere with their withered claws.
This was the first ti Bai Lu had ever seen such a bewildered, then shocked, expression on a ghost.
The expression of the suit-clad NPC beside her was also intriguing.
He quietly stared at the two ghosts on the ground, his expression clearly conveying the thought: "Good advice is wasted on a dood ghost."
Fortunately, these two ghosts knew to flee when the situation turned against them. Ghosts are inherently fast, a trait primarily for chasing players, and this speed now served them well for escaping.
The two ghosts fled faster than startled dogs and vanished in an instant.
Bai Lu watched the two ghosts frantically escape, then her gaze fell upon Gu Mian's shoes, which Fatty had polished to a shine. "Are your shoes... a special item? They don't quite look like it…"
Gu Mian: "..."
Just as Bai Lu was intently staring at Gu Mian's shoes, a middle-aged woman's voice called out from across the street, not far away.
"You folks..." The middle-aged woman stood before the pumpkin-thed accessory shop, a key still in her hand. "Are you here to buy sothing?"
She was obviously the owner or an employee of the accessory shop.
Keke quickly walked over and showed the woman the pink butterfly bow in her hand, asking, "We want to buy a hairpin exactly like this one. Do you have any in your shop?"
The woman glanced at the butterfly bow in Keke's hand, then inserted the key into the lock. "This one... I rember it. I got a batch last year, but not many people liked them, so sales weren't great. The very last one was sold on the last day of last month."
The date she ntioned was May 31st—the sa date on Cao Deren's receipt.
Hearing the woman's words, Gu Mian felt relieved and walked over.
He really didn't have any extra money for hairpins. What if the shop still had so in stock and they couldn't pay? How embarrassing would that be?
Keke continued to ask, "Was the last one bought by a man?"
The woman pushed the shop door open and gave Keke a strange look. "How did you know?"
Keke began to spin a tale, "That man is my roommate's boyfriend. He bought it as a birthday gift for her. She really loves this kind of pink butterfly hair accessory, so I wanted to buy a few more…"
"Oh, I see!" The woman's face lit up with sudden understanding. "No wonder that man ca in and asked specifically for a pink butterfly hairpin, one with pearls and diamonds. So it was because his girlfriend likes them!"
Bai Lu, who had already reached the shop entrance, looked a bit pale. "So Cao Deren did buy a hairpin matching Yuan Haotian's sister's. It wasn't a coincidence. Your guess was correct."
Gu Mian stared at the butterfly bow in Keke's hand. "Next, let's go to Chen Yao's company. We need to ask whether the first two etings between Li Shu and Yuan Haotian were coincidental or deliberate. Actually, we don't necessarily have to go. You all can decide."
Keke frowned. "Regardless, we have to return to the courthouse. I've checked the map; Chen Yao's company is on our way. We can just stop by and ask."
Bai Lu nodded solemnly. "Since it's on the way, let's go. But I've noticed sothing... Ghosts always seem to appear when we find clues. The first ti, it was when we found the surveillance video. The second ti was when you told about Li Shu's lies. I have a feeling the ghosts don't want us to find any clues about the truth. They want us to make the wrong judgnt and fail the mission."
Although their judge had practically guessed the truth already.
"Exactly," Gu Mian agreed. "Under normal circumstances, when we question Chen Yao, there's a high probability ghosts will appear again."
Bai Lu recalled Gu Mian's kicks from earlier. "I don't think they'll dare to co again…"
Having witnessed her team's judge in action, she'd co to the realization: We can do whatever we want!
Even though she didn't know why this player was so special, it didn't stop her from freeloading and taking it easy.
"Heh-heh."
Bai Lu heard a few dry chuckles from Coach Che, the suit-clad NPC beside her. Turning her head to look at him, she saw he had already rolled his eyes and turned his head away.
"Let's not delay," Keke said, putting away the pink bow in her hand. "We should leave this instance as soon as possible."
Bai Lu also nodded. "After we question Chen Yao, let's go back for the verdict. Since the truth has been uncovered, we should declare Yuan Haotian innocent. Then we can leave the instance."
"Let's go find Chen Yao now," Keke added enthusiastically.
The 'green tea' and the 'normal player' had finally found so common ground.
The two of them, hitting it off, imdiately set off towards Chen Yao's company.
Watching the two female players depart, Gu Mian remarked, "Hmm, actually, I have another idea."
Hearing this, Bai Lu stopped and looked back. "What is it?"
"An idea about the way out. Now that the truth has surfaced, you think declaring Yuan Haotian innocent is the correct path, right? But that might not be the case."
「anwhile, Wang Youcai, Ye Weiwei, and Ye Qianqian had returned from the school and arrived back at Dianxin Hospital.」
The three of them were currently resting on the steps outside the hospital's main entrance.
With no NPC to exploit for transport, they had walked the entire way.
They hadn't slept all night and had lost a teammate in the classroom around midnight. Now, all three were sowhat dazed.
Ye Qianqian looked up at the hospital building, hesitating. "Do we really need to go ask those students about Liu Baoma?"
Ye Weiwei understood her hesitation. "Since those students didn't tell us anything initially, it's unlikely they'll tell the truth even if we ask now."
Wang Youcai was also pondering this. "Based on my experience, most instances have a twist. Initially, didn't we all assu Liu Ben was a killer who got what he deserved? Following the principle of reversal, he probably has so hidden hardship, so it's very likely the school bullying is real... Of course, this is just a guess based on my experience."
Wang Youcai's conjecture was sowhat crude, but his reasoning wasn't without rit.
Instances often had twists; Ye Weiwei knew this well.
"The judge doesn't need to rely on evidence for a verdict, and we don't absolutely have to hear the truth from those students. We can return to the courthouse to deliver a verdict at any ti," Wang Youcai said, frowning. "Either way, there are only two choices: guilty or innocent. Right now, it seems declaring Liu Ben innocent is the way out, doesn't it?"
Ye Weiwei agreed with Wang Youcai. "I think so too, but for so reason, I have this persistent feeling of unease."
Wang Youcai dusted off his pants and stood up. "To be safe, let's go ask those students again, though we probably won't get much out of them."
The two female players nodded and stood up.
When the three of them reached the students' floor, they noticed a furtive-looking woman lingering outside their hospital room door.
Wang Youcai looked at the furtive woman and called out, "What are you doing?"
Wang Youcai's sudden voice startled the woman. She spun around, her eyes wide with fear.
"N-no... nothing," she stamred, nervously waving her left hand.
Ye Weiwei noticed the woman's right hand was tucked inside her coat, as if she were hiding sothing.
She subtly signaled Ye Qianqian to step back a few paces before asking the woman in a low voice, "I presu you're Liu Baoma's mother?"
Her identity revealed, the woman froze for a mont, then asked, "How... how did you know?"
Ye Weiwei noted her gesture of keeping her hand tucked in her coat—a common posture when concealing a weapon.
Without answering the woman's question, she continued in a low voice, "Was your son's suicide connected to the individuals in that room?"
The woman's eyes widened, and she watched them warily.
"Don't misunderstand," Ye Weiwei began. "We're from the court, investigating this case. You're aware that your ex-husband is at the courthouse awaiting the verdict, aren't you?"
After Liu Baoma's suicide, his parents, Liu Ben and his wife, had divorced. This was ntioned in the case file, and the student nad Xu Xingcheng had also confird it.
The woman finally spoke. "Are you really from the court?"
"If you don't believe us, you can accompany us to the courthouse. We've seen your ex-husband there. He was wearing a brown top and glasses, and he has a lot of white hair at his temples." Ye Weiwei did her best to describe the defendant's appearance in court.
"I believe you! I believe you!" the woman exclaid, her voice thick with emotion. She withdrew her hand from her coat and stepped forward. "If you're judges, please, can you help ...?"
Ye Weiwei glanced at the nearby hospital room. "If you don't mind, let's go downstairs to talk. That way, the people inside won't overhear us."
The woman wiped at the tears welling in her eyes and nodded quickly.
The three of them quickly made their way to the hospital lobby.
The woman sat on a chair in the lobby and, with her head bowed, began to tell them about her son.
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