Yang Chaoyu looked beneath the bed she had moved aside. Taking a clothes-drying pole from beside it, she used it to lift the sheet covering the area.
At a glance, she saw something rather unusual.
After thinking it over, she covered the area with the sheet again and then left the room.
When Ke Xingyun saw her return, he hurriedly asked, “big shot, did you find a new clue?”
Yang Chaoyu nodded and said, “But I’m not entirely sure.”
She explained what had happened when she obtained the fourth clue and speculated that if she touched the object beneath the bed, the clue would probably automatically be registered as hers again. Therefore, it would be best to have Qi Yang go over and search for it himself.
Ke Xingyun glanced at her awkwardly.
Yang Chaoyu also felt that the situation was rather troublesome.
Qi Yang had already fallen unconscious from excessive blood loss and had no ability to respond at all. Moreover, the belt’s binding effect was limited; it could only reduce the bleeding, not stop it completely. If he went over to search by himself, he would probably die there.
As Yang Chaoyu was thinking about it, Ke Xingyun said tentatively, “If you really don’t want it, big shot, why don’t you stay here and watch him while I go get the clue and then come back to replace you?”
Yang Chaoyu was speechless.
“One clue gives you 300 points, three times as many as mine. Aren’t you satisfied with that?”
Ke Xingyun chuckled twice, making Yang Chaoyu feel that he was asking for a beating.
“The main problem is that baseball cap said if we don’t get even a single point, we’ll probably be left here,” she said.
“Then let’s wake him up and ask what he wants to do.”
Yang Chaoyu nodded, and Ke Xingyun went over to pat Qi Yang’s face.
While the two of them were busy, Zou Qing’s voice came from the doorway.
“You don’t need to wake him. He hasn’t found a single clue and will die here. If he wakes up and learns the truth, he’ll only go mad. It would be better to let him stay like this and spend his final moments unconscious.”
“What do you mean?” Ke Xingyun immediately became furious.
Yang Chaoyu narrowed her eyes and asked, “Did you find a clue beneath the bed?”
Zou Qing smiled somewhat unnervingly.
She took something out from behind her, waved it in front of the two of them, and then threw it onto the floor.
“I really can’t understand how something like this can count as a clue.”
Ke Xingyun asked, confused, “What is this?”
Yang Chaoyu said blandly, “A chest binder.”
“What is it for? Is it used for losing weight?” Ke Xingyun asked curiously.
“The thing used for losing weight is shapewear. This is specifically used to restrain the growth and development of the breasts.”
Ke Xingyun suddenly understood. “So Wen Shaoqiao used this to suppress her own growth and development? She really was ruthless with herself.”
Yang Chaoyu could not help saying, “It isn’t necessarily something she intended to use herself.”
Zou Qing snorted coldly and rolled her eyes.
“It was found beneath her own bed. If she didn’t intend to use it herself, then what? Did someone force her to wear it?”
Yang Chaoyu nodded and said, “That possibility cannot be ruled out.”
Zou Qing seemed to find her incomprehensible. She tossed her hair, turned around, and entered the room.
Ke Xingyun looked at Yang Chaoyu uncertainly and asked, “big shot, do you think the news reports are wrong?”
Yang Chaoyu also began to hesitate for a moment.
It could be said that many pieces of evidence now proved that Wen Shaoqiao might have been unable to endure the repeated blows and online harassment, ultimately taking her own life. Even the news had reported it that way. Yet Yang Chaoyu always felt that something was wrong.
Perhaps it was because the driver had hinted in his words from the beginning that the child’s fall from the building concealed another truth. Perhaps it was because she felt that a girl who longed to grow up, was willing to obey her parents, and worked hard to earn money would not be so likely to take her own life.
But more importantly, she did not believe that MN Company had gathered them together merely to find out why a girl had committed suicide.
Ke Xingyun suddenly patted her shoulder and said, “big shot, you might just be overthinking this. We’re only participating in a livestream interview, not acting as detectives. The point of a livestream is entertainment, not exposing society’s dark side. Don’t take it so seriously. If you take it seriously, you lose.”
Yang Chaoyu was a little annoyed and could not help gnawing on her thumb.
“But we can’t rule out other possibilities.”
Ke Xingyun also gave up trying to persuade her and muttered, “You really are stubborn.”
As she was saying this, MN Company sent a text message:
【MN】second time period ended. Congratulations to No. 742 for finding clues No. 3 and No. 8, earning 300 points; congratulations to No. 702 for finding clue No. 9, earning 300 points; congratulations to No. 744 for finding clue No. 4, earning 100 points. One hidden clue remains. All job applicants, please continue working hard.
“There’s only one hidden clue left. I wonder whether we can leave after finding it. That Wen Shaoqiao is terrifying. I hope she doesn’t appear again.” Ke Xingyun stared at the text message and muttered to himself.
Yang Chaoyu asked Ke Xingyun in confusion, “Was anyone injured during this time period?”
Ke Xingyun blinked and pointed at his own nose. “You’re asking me?”
Yang Chaoyu thought: I asked the wrong person. This guy has been outside the whole time and doesn’t know what happened.
According to baseball cap, someone had to be injured during each time period to prevent the overseer from appearing. Qi Yang was injured during the first time period, so who was injured during the second time period?
She quickly pushed the question to the back of her mind and began wondering what the hidden clue was.
Everyone believed that Wen Shaoqiao had committed suicide, but one piece of concrete evidence was still missing.
Could the hidden clue be related to that evidence?
The four of them had already searched the entire room, so the likelihood of the clue being inside was extremely small. Moreover, MN’s initial prompt had mentioned that their activity area encompassed the entire residential complex.
But they could not use the elevator...
Yang Chaoyu’s gaze shifted to the stairwell beside them.
Then the only place left was the stairwell.
She stood up and walked toward the stairwell entrance.
Ke Xingyun was immediately horrified and growled, “big shot, are you trying to get yourself killed? Have you forgotten that Wen Shaoqiao appeared there before?”
Just as he had said, when Yang Chaoyu approached the stairwell entrance, a shadow gradually appeared there, flickering like smoke or a video frozen between frames. It was extremely Supernatural.
Yang Chaoyu swallowed and stopped where she was.
However, although her footsteps had stopped, Wen Shaoqiao continued to emerge slowly. She still looked horribly mangled, and her gaze at Yang Chaoyu was filled with resentment.
But unlike last time, she was no longer motionless. Instead, she lunged forward!
Yang Chaoyu subconsciously dodged to the side.
After enduring one fright after another, Yang Chaoyu felt that her reactions had become sharper. It seemed that she had avoided Wen Shaoqiao’s lethal pounce.
Yet time seemed to slow down again. She felt the heavy stench of blood drift past the tip of her nose. Her entire back felt as though it were pressed against ice, and an icy chill seeped from behind into her heart, causing her to collapse to her knees.
“Big shot!” Ke Xingyun shouted.