“Where are they? I won’t believe a single word from your resort anymore!”
Mr. Nick pounded heavily on the table, his irritation and anger contorting his expression, with all his features twisted together.
Bai Lixin and Hongyue sat at the back of the dining table, silently observing the changes in these people.
After noon passed, it wasn’t just the youngest son-in-law who disappeared.
Several other people went missing as well.
Jia’er, Mr. Aisli, and Lisa the actress also went missing.
A total of four people disappeared simultaneously.
According to the pattern, the ones who entered the golden room in their dreams last night should be the eldest daughter, Mrs. Aisli, Richard, and someone from the actor group.
Bai Lixin’s eyes were of devoid of warmth as the fell on Richard’s face across the table.
Richard kept his head down throughout, nervously staring at the tabletop, opening and closing his mouth as if whispering something.
As if sensing Bai Lixin’s icy gaze, he discreetly glanced up for a moment and quickly lowered his head again.
Bai Lixin’s gaze then shifted to Mrs. Aisli, whose face no longer held its previous radiant look. With her husband’s disappearance, she appeared like a withered flower.
She must have realized why her husband went missing.
But what was the wish she wanted to fulfill?
And what wish did Richard make?
Bai Lixin’s gaze moved away from the Mrs. Aisli and quickly landed on the group of actors. The director was still recording everything with a camera, while Elizabeth’s expression seemed somewhat abnormal—a mix of fear and dread.
Could Elizabeth be the wish maker? Or was it one of the other two?
“On the first day, one person disappeared. On the second day, another person vanished. Today, it’s even better—four people simply disappeared. Are you still denying that your resort is behind this? If the culprit is indeed among us, who has the ability to make four people vanish without a trace?”
Compared to other families, the Nick family had the most members, but so far, apart from the initial Oude family, they had the highest number of deaths and disappearances.
Fear rendered Mr. Nick unable to control his facial expression.
“Perhaps we should review why they went missing,” Bai Lixin slowly spoke up. He lightly tapped the tabletop with one hand, the rhythmic sound reverberating in everyone’s ears. Strangely, the seemingly simple rhythm miraculously calmed their restless hearts.
Mr. Nick flushed, took a deep breath upon the persuasion of those around him, and slowly sat back down.
“How should we review it? These missing people have no apparent pattern or commonality, right?” The director’s tone was very casual, the backpack in his hand slightly shifting and aligning with Bai Lixin.
Bai Lixin: “Look closely, there must be something. If these individuals have nothing in common, then maybe the people around them do.”
“Speaking of which, Miss Nick, this morning you mentioned that you had a dream about the golden room.”
Suddenly prompted, the eldest daughter nodded in confusion. “Yes, what about it?”
Bai Lixin continued, “Actually, when you mentioned the golden room, several people at the table had subtle expressions. I just wanted to ask if anyone else dreamed of the golden room.”
Upon hearing Bai Lixin’s words, everyone at the table exchanged bewildered glances.
Mr. Nick said, “So what if they dreamed of it? What does it have to do with this case?”
Bai Lixin replied, “I don’t know if it’s related, but since we don’t have any other leads, instead of keeping our minds constantly on edge, maybe we should all speak up and try to calm down a bit.”
Someone cautiously raised their hand. “I also saw the golden room.”
It was Elizabeth.
“I saw it too.” The male actor beside Elizabeth also raised his hand.
“And me.” Mrs. Aisli followed suit.
Soon, more and more people raised their hands.
Aapart from Bai Lixin, Hongyue, the director, and the youngest daughter, everyone else raised their hands.
The group was clearly taken aback that almost everyone had dreamed of the golden room, and they felt somewhat at a loss.
The director sneered, “So almost everyone dreamed of the golden room. What’s the common denominator here? Are you trying to lead everyone’s thoughts towards something supernatural? Are you going to suggest that these people went missing because they opened the golden room in their dreams?”
The speaker has no intention but the listener has the heart.
Several people’s expressions subtly twisted upon hearing this sentence.
Bai Lixin didn’t say much. He just glanced at everyone’s faces and said calmly, “It’s also possible.”
“The more you say that, the more suspicious I find you to be,” the director suddenly pointed at Bai Lixin. “Speaking of which, every group here has had someone missing or dead, but you three are still safe. You’re very suspicious, aren’t you?”
The director thought of something and slammed the table. “That’s right, these three are really suspicious.”
“Only this young man named Bai Lixin saw that mysterious detective.”
“Our knowledge of this mysterious detective is solely based on the young man’s account, but we still don’t know if such a person even exists.”
“And because of this nonexistent person, we were tricked into finding that craftsman, and then the craftsman was taken away as a matter of course. It’s hard not to suspect that you three fabricated this character just to find that damn craftsman.”
“And what about that young master Emil? We were all in the apple orchard, and only he left. So during that time, could he have done something secretly? Like colluding with you two and quietly taking away the four people?”
The more the director spoke, the more he felt he was making sense. Suddenly, he slapped the table and pointed his finger at Bai Lixin. “I know it now, there’s only one truth, you three are the culprits. It’s not a single-person crime, but a vicious gang crime!”
Bai Lixin: “…”
Hongyue: “…”
——————————
In the live broadcast room.
[…]
[Why is this familiar?]
[I just want to say, how can ignorant mortals know that if the God Xin Trio wanted to kill someone, they wouldn’t need three days? They’d ne wiped out on the first day.]
[In a way, this director is really strong. He pointed out the most powerful fighters right from the start. Is he an undercover agent sent by the other side?]
[So, our Jia’er was sacrificed too? Can demons be sacrificed?]
[Then the question arises, after the demon is sacrificed, who is playing who?]
[…I suddenly worry about the mysterious power in the golden room.]
——————————
Hongyue looked at the director with a dumbfounded expression and lightly said, “Four living people, one person couldn’t do it, but three people could? Is it so difficult to believe that all this is just a supernatural event?”
The director’s face turned red. “How could it be supernatural? There are no ghosts or spirits in this world.”
“The director is right.” Just as the director’s mouth started to argue, a timid voice sounded in the room.
Hongyue glanced over with an indifferent expression and saw the youngest daughter in the distance.
The youngest daughter fidgeted with her clothes and cautiously hid behind Mr. Nick, speaking in a voice as soft as a mosquito, “When we were in the apple orchard, I saw Mr. Bai Lixin put Miss Jia’er on the ground, and then Miss Jia’er disappeared.”
Upon hearing this, the director’s gaze once again turned to Bai Lixin. “Did you all hear that? There’s no such thing as a perfect crime in this world, only undiscovered clues. Although I still don’t know how they made these people disappear, this matter must be connected to them.”
Hongyue: “What evidence do you have?”
Director: “What other evidence do we need? Miss Nick’s words are evidence.”
Hongyue: “In that case, we also saw Miss Nick with her husband at the time, and then her husband disappeared. So Miss Nick could also be the culprit, right?”
The youngest daughter’s eyes turned red in an instant.
Director: “That’s impossible. Miss Nick is so weak.”
Hongyue: “We are weak too.”
Director: “…”
Everyone: “…”
“Alright, that’s enough!” Mr. Nick slammed the table, interrupting the ongoing argument. “I don’t care who the culprit is, but I want to leave this cursed place. Is anyone else willing to leave with me? I no longer trust this resort. Your family members have also gone missing, haven’t they? Let’s go to the police station and report it. “
“But how do we leave?” asked Mrs. Aisli.
Mr. Nick pointed to his leg. “By walking out. Staying here is a dead end. I don’t want to be the next one to disappear tomorrow. I’m only in my forties, and I don’t want to die under unclear circumstances while I’m still in my prime. I don’t want to leave all our wealth to outsiders.”
“Father, I’ll go with you,” the youngest daughter was first to respond to Mr. Nick.
The eldest daughter frowned and also spoke up, “Father, I’ll go with you too.”
Mrs. Aisli also stood up, “Then I’ll come along as well. I only trust myself now. I want to quickly find the police station and ask them to help me find my husband.”
“I want to leave this place too,” actress Elizabeth spoke up slowly. “It’s too creepy here, I’m scared.”
The male actor chimed in, “I want to leave too!”
The director looked at everyone choosing to leave, clutched the black backpack in his arms and nodded. “Alright, then I’ll go too.”
“But these three people can’t leave,” he suddenly changed his tone and pointed at Bai Lixin and Hongyue. “They’re suspicious.”
Hongyue rolled her eyes. “Thank you for your concern, but we have no plans to leave.”
With that, the entire table, except for Bai Lixin and Hongyue, chose to leave.
The tour guide remained standing on the side with a smile on his face, waiting for everyone to finish discussing their departure plans before speaking with a smile, “Guests…”
“What? Do you still want to keep us here?” Without waiting for the tour guide to say anything, Mr. Nick directly interrupted him. “We won’t be manipulated by you anymore. It’s because we listened to you that we lost so many people. You have no right to restrict our freedom. We are guests, not suspects. You are not the police, so you have no right to detain us.”
“We will walk this path, whether you like it or not. What if the next person to die tonight is me?” Mr. Nick tightly furrowed his brows. “We can’t trust this resort anymore. Who knows if they’re in cahoots with the killer? Let’s meet at the fountain at the resort entrance in an hour. If you want to leave, go there. If you don’t want to leave, stay here.”
Everyone nodded quickly and rushed out of the dining hall like lunatics.
In the spacious dining hall, only Bai Lixin, Hongyue, and the tour guide remained.
The tour guide calmly looked at Bai Lixin. “Don’t you want to leave, guest?”
Bai Lixin didn’t answer that question but instead asked, “What did you mean when you mentioned the danger at night?”
The tour guide smiled at the corners of his mouth. “I don’t know. But as you also know, there are often many mysterious things hiding in the darkness, waiting for an opportunity in the mountains and forests.”
Bai Lixin: “…”
The tour guide’s smile grew bigger. “Is there anything else you need, guest?”
Bai Lixin: “…If we don’t leave today, will you still have people watching us?”
The tour guide’s smile widened. “Of course not. And, guests, just to clarify, the people we had outside before weren’t there to monitor you but to ensure your safety. Somehow, it seems that you’ve misunderstood our intentions.”
Bai Lixin: “Can we go back to our original rooms?”
Tour guide: “Of course, as long as you have the keys.”
Bai Lixin: “One last question, can you tell me where my young master is now?”
Tour guide: “Of course, your young master and the craftsman are both in the infirmary, which is near the first-floor reception area. You’ll be able to see it right away.”
Bai Lixin signaled to Hongyue with his eyes and stood up. “Alright, thank you, Mr. Tour Guide. I hope we can still meet tomorrow.”
The two of them left the dining hall.
Clangs and occasional voices echoed from upstairs.
“Take the paintings with you. These things have no market value, they are priceless.”
“The same goes for jewelry. A fist-sized blue crystal can buy an entire town!”
“Don’t take gold, it’s heavy and worthless, take silk, it’s light and precious.”
