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Chapter 768 - 732: The First Concentrated Discussion on Where Exactly the Cunning Chu Changge is - Part 1
The charred figurine in Room 201 moved.
It appeared that players on the second floor were dragging the charred corpse from that room.
The charred figurine was first dragged into Room 202.
The corpse in Room 202 hadn't been unlocked yet; they didn't know what type it was. So, when the charred figurine entered this room, a slash suddenly appeared behind it, followed by a question mark.
"When multiple corpses are in the same room, the undisplayed ones are represented by a question mark," 007 stated, watching the fluctuating chart.
The charred figurine didn't stay in Room 202 for long and was then dragged into Room 203. The square representing Room 203 then showed the charred figurine followed by a slash and a question mark, just like Room 202 moments before.
However, the slash and question mark for Room 203 disappeared shortly after.
"The players on the second floor must have moved the original corpse out of Room 203. Now only a charred corpse remains in that room," 007 continued to observe the second floor. After that, the players on the second floor made no further moves.
They all understood the second-floor players' intentions.
The Burning Death Ghost in Room 403 had already been unlocked. The players on the second floor had moved their floor's Burning Death Ghost into the same column as Room 403. This meant there was an additional Burning Death Ghost-type corpse on the first and second floors, requiring the players on the third and fourth floors to help eliminate it.
"Now the Burning Death Ghosts in Rooms 203 and 403 are in the same column, with an unknown corpse type in Room 303 sandwiched between them. If the players from the third and fourth floors move another Burning Death Ghost to Room 303, these three can be eliminated together," Keke said, looking at the chart.
007 added, "It's also possible there's more than one Burning Death Ghost on the first and second floors; there might be two. If there is another Burning Death Ghost, the first and second-floor players should have placed it in Room 103."
This would form a double with Room 203 above.
In that case, the players on the third and fourth floors would only need to move the Burning Death Ghost from Room 403 to Room 303 to complete a triple elimination. It was just unknown how many Burning Death Ghosts they had on the third and fourth floors.
If the third and fourth floors only had one, and the first and second floors also only had one, then the players on the first and second floors could essentially be declared dead, because the Burning Death Ghost on their floors couldn't be eliminated at all.
Under normal circumstances, the instance wouldn't present such a certain-death scenario. The extra Burning Death Ghost on the first and second floors should be eliminable with assistance from the upper floors.
The three of them stared at the chart on the screen for a long time but noticed that the players on the third and fourth floors made no move. The Burning Death Ghost in Room 203 remained uneliminated.
"The people on the third and fourth floors aren't helping the players below..." Keke stared at the screen thoughtfully for a moment, then looked at 007. "Do you know much about the three people Gu Mian locked in the first-floor basement?"
Keke had learned some time ago that Gu Mian had brought back three people from outside, who seemed to be connected to 007, which was why she asked.
"Miss Keke, are you suspecting that those people were assigned to the third and fourth floors?" Fatty stared anxiously at the screen. It did seem entirely possible. The people on the third and fourth floors showed no intention of helping the players below.
007 also stared at the large screen in the room. "I don't know the other two, but I know Renle Mountain. He's opportunistic, deceitful, and very smart at analyzing situations. When he's at a disadvantage, he'll feign helplessness and desperation. But once the tables turn, he'll immediately show his true colors."
"Don't you think the way the third and fourth floors are acting looks like they're about to turn on someone?" Fatty craned his neck.
After being tied up by the Doctor and locked in the first-floor storage room for so long, they were now in this instance, occupying the advantageous third and fourth floors. Wasn't this a complete reversal of their situation?
Fatty was very worried. If the fifth and sixth floors were occupied by the Doctor and his group, and the third and fourth by Renle Mountain and his associates, wouldn't that leave Brother Chu on the first and second floors?
Although Brother Chu is smart, intelligence alone isn't enough in this instance; you also need help from teammates on adjacent floors. If teammates don't cooperate, you can only wait for death.
007 saw Fatty's concern and said, "We can't confirm Chu Changge is on the first or second floor yet. The three of us are on the same floor. If those three from the storage room are also on the same floor, then the remaining Chu Changge and Gu Mian would each be on a separate floor. I don't think that's likely."
"You think those three might have been separated?" Keke asked.
"Yes," 007 nodded. "Even if Renle Mountain is on the third and fourth floors, the first and second floors might not have Chu Changge. It could be the other two people who were locked up with him. No one knows who is on each floor right now. If Renle Mountain tries to sabotage someone, he might end up sabotaging his own people."
"We should focus on completing tasks to unlock more corpse locations in the building. Perhaps the situation will change then." 007 also felt somewhat uneasy, hoping Chu Changge wasn't on the first or second floor. Their position on a peripheral floor was very disadvantageous in this instance. Fortunately, the player on the floor below them was likely Gu Mian. Gu Mian could satisfy all the needs of adjacent floors, but the first and second floors wouldn't benefit from Gu Mian's presence.
Fatty nodded anxiously. "For now, we can only do more tasks to unlock corpse locations. Hopefully, we can unlock all the corpse locations on the first and second floors. Then we'll try our best to help the people on the first and second floors figure something out..."
These were just words Fatty used to console himself. They were separated from the first and second floors by four levels and couldn't use special items, so they couldn't offer any real help.
The trio solemnly entered Room 708. The dismembered body parts they had pieced together earlier were scattered on the floor, its faceless, bloody head facing them. 007 had suggested earlier that they assemble the dismembered corpse first to avoid confusion when moving it.
Besides the corpse and the axe used to dismember it, there was nothing else in the room. A glance around revealed only walls.
They could only search the corpse and the axe for clues.
While worrying about the safety of the people on the first and second floors, Fatty fumbled with the axe beside the corpse. He had checked it before but, fearing he might have missed something, he examined it again more carefully.
He even tapped the axe handle to see if it was hollow. What if the face was hidden inside?
Unfortunately, it was solid; nothing could be hidden inside.
Finding no clues on the axe, Fatty reached out to feel the body parts on the ground. As he did, he began to rummage through the clothes on the corpse.
"When I used to cheat on exams, I'd hide my notes in my crotch. I suspect this corpse might have hidden its face in its own crotch," Fatty said, his hands searching everywhere for the face.
007 watched Fatty search. If the face really were hidden in the crotch, it would be stuck to the buttocks, wouldn't it? The thought of having to tear it off...
Speaking of tearing, 007 remembered her first meeting with Gu Mian.
Of course, she had fainted at the time and didn't know what had happened. She only learned after waking up that Gu Mian had told her she fainted from excessive blood loss because the skin on her arm had been forcibly torn off. It was Gu Mian who had stopped the bleeding and carried her away. After the horror game descended upon the world, she had few memories worth cherishing, so whenever she recalled her arm being torn, it felt as if it had happened only yesterday.
After searching the entire corpse from head to toe, Fatty still found nothing. "This is really baffling! We've searched almost every nook and cranny on these two floors, and we've patted down the corpse all over. How can we still not find the missing face?"
At this moment, 007's expression suddenly changed. "No! There's one place we've consistently overlooked!"
Fatty looked at 007 in confusion. "What place?"
007 touched her arm. "Our own bodies."