ATFBETIBM Chapter 582

Xia Chi glanced at Bai Lixin, “Brother, I knew you hadn’t noticed. Look at how surprised you are, are you shocked? Are you surprised?”

“…”, Bai Lixin took a sip of cappuccino to calm down, “Yes, I’m surprised. How did you figure it out?”

Xia Chi: “Habits can’t deceive people. I bought a simulated AI of Tan Yue in the previous player dormitory. During my interactions with the Tan Yue AI, I often felt a sense of familiarity. Then I noticed that my system seemed to have a similar tone of voice to the Tan Yue AI, so I started to suspect.”

Bai Lixin sucked a pearl, held it in his mouth and swallowed it, “So you confirmed that both the system and Tan Yue are Tan Yue?”

Xia Chi: “No, I just suspected it. I only confirmed it during the previous copy.”

“Not long after you entered a copy, I also entered a copy. I’ve been in a total of four copies, all of them three-day copies. The first three were quite simple. I was lucky, got high ratings each time, and received rich rewards, so I ascended to over 890th floor, just a step away from 900.”

“Then I pressed on and entered the fourth copy, still a three-day copy, but my good luck bonus malfunctioned.”

Bai Lixin: “How did it malfunction?”

Xia Chi: “It was a buff-reversal copy. All players’ original attribute bonuses are reversed after entering.”

“If someone originally had maximum charm and minimum stamina, after entering this copy, they’d have minimum charm and maximum stamina.”

Bai Lixin imagined it for a moment then said, “Then you must have been very unlucky.”

Xia Chi nodded gloomily, “Yeah, I was very unlucky.”

S419M sighed, [The joys and sorrows of life are really unfathomable. Why didn’t our host enter such a good copy? It would definitely be the kind where a clue falls from the sky and crushes someone that’s just walking on the road.]

Bai Lixin: “…”

Xia Chi: “I’ve never been so embarrassed. My sixth sense failed, and every choice I made was the worst.”

“I tried to use this buff in reverse. When my sixth sense told me something was right, under the effect of the reversed buff, it must be the wrong answer. I cleverly used this to rule out wrong answers, but after making my choice, I found out the wrong answer had become the right one.”

“At the critical moment when I almost died, I vaguely saw a blurry figure blocking the way ahead. I saw it clearly—it was Tan Yue. I thought it was my life flashing before my eyes, then I lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was back in the game lobby, the task was completed, and the reward allowed me to upgrade above the 900th floor, but my system had changed.”

“It turned into a cold, mechanical voice that only makes mechanical replies, even the Tan Yue AI became unfamiliar.”

“It dawned on me afterward that what I saw before losing consciousness wasn’t an illusion, it must have been Tan Yue. He appeared to save me, but the price was his disappearance.”

Xia Chi blamed himself, “Brother, it turns out that Tan Yue was always by my side. I kept saying I came here to find him, but he was right beside me, and I never noticed.”

Bai Lixin: “He’s been living in your mind.”

Xia Chi: “Yeah.”

Bai Lixin: “Seeing the world through your eyes, whether you’re eating or sleeping.”

Xia Chi: “Ah? Yeah.”

Bai Lixin: “So you had so much time together. If he wanted you to know who he was, he would have told you long ago. You only found out at the end, which doesn’t prove you’re stupid, just that he hid it well enough.”

Xia Chi: “…That seems to be true.”

“Wait a minute, Brother.” Xia Chi looked at Bai Lixin in confusion, “The way you’re talking, it sounds like you knew all along that my system was Tan Yue?”

Bai Lixin sucked in a pearl, chewed it up and swallowed, “…”

Seeing that Bai Lixin did not deny it, Xia Chi widened his eyes and took a deep breath, “Really?!”

Bai Lixin tried to make his expression look more sincere, “I didn’t intentionally hide it from you.”

Xia Chi slumped his shoulders, abandoned his usual sunny demeanor and said weakly, “Oh, I see. Tan Yue probably didn’t let you tell me. I thought you didn’t know, but it turns out you knew Tan Yue was my system.”

“I wondered why my luck was so good, I could always turn bad situations into good ones, and solve puzzles perfectly. It wasn’t luck, but that Tan Yue was always watching over me.”

“Brother.” Xia Chi lifted his head from his chest, “Tan Yue should still be alive, right?”

Bai Lixin: “Yeah, he’s still alive.”

Even if he died, as long as there’s a backup, there’s a chance of resurrection.

“Good!” Xia Chi suddenly stood up, and stretched with high spirits, “Then I’ll definitely find him back!”

Bai Lixin: “.”

Dijia disappeared.

Chi Yan disappeared.

Now Tan Yue has disappeared too.

Xia Chi said Tan Yue disappeared to save him, but Bai Lixin didn’t think so.

These people were all participants in the horror game. Rather than saying Tan Yue disappeared because of Xia Chi, it’s more likely Tan Yue disappeared along with those participants.

Bai Lixin: [Sister System, did the game undergo maintenance recently?]

Escape System: [Currently querying. Please wait.]

[Ding! Answering Master Bai Lixin, the system underwent two maintenance operations recently. Shortly after we entered the copy, there was a system maintenance, and another system maintenance occurred two days ago.]

Bai Lixin: “…”

The maintenance fifteen days ago was when Chi Yan disappeared.

The maintenance two days ago was when Tan Yue disappeared.

Because he was in a copy, he couldn’t determine the exact time Dijia disappeared, but it’s likely one of these two times.

Or…

Bai Lixin thought of another possibility.

The main brain was targeting Dijia during the maintenance fifteen days ago.

But Dijia escaped, which led to the maintenance two days ago.

He was obviously hiding so successfully, why was he suddenly discovered?

Bai Lixin frowned slightly, his eyebrows forming a “川” shape. He fell into deep thought, his teeth unconsciously biting the corner of his lips.

Could it be that he was exposed when he was giving him special treatment in the last [Guidance of the Gods] copy, and was caught by the main brain?

This idea flashed through his mind but was quickly denied by Bai Lixin.

No, even though the [Guidance of the Gods] copy allowed Dijia to let loose like the sea, he was also a participant in this instance.

If the main brain really discovered something, it wouldn’t just target Dijia, but also him.

Then why?

Why did everyone suddenly disappear?

Where did they all go?

[Ding!]

Just as Bai Lixin was pondering these mysteries, a chat notification sounded in his mind.

He casually opened the chat channel, and when he saw who the sender was, Bai Lixin’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Lin Xiao: [Long time no see.]

Bai Lixin: [Lin Xiao, indeed it’s been a while.]

Lin Xiao: [I’ve been following your progress. Congratulations on clearing the [Xiaohua] copy and passing the 900th floor.]

Bai Lixin: [You didn’t contact me just to catch up, right?]

Lin Xiao: [Of course not. I believe you still have the notebook I left for you, right? You didn’t throw it away as trash, right?]

Bai Lixin: [I haven’t.]

Lin Xiao: [Don’t throw it away. The person you want to find and the answers you seek, that notebook will tell you.]

Bai Lixin took out the notebook from his backpack and opened it. Inside were the same printed characters as before, unchanged.

Lin Xiao: [No need to look now. It’s not the right time.]

Seeing this, Bai Lixin subconsciously turned his head to look behind him.

His gaze slowly moved from behind to above his head, then swept around.

Xia Chi was puzzled: “Brother, what are you looking for?”

Bai Lixin: “Nothing.”

Where was Lin Xiao? He seemed to know everything he did, but he didn’t sense the prying eyes.

Bai Lixin: [Where are you?]

Lin Xiao: [If fate allows, we’ll meet again. But right now, the person you want to find most isn’t me. If you’re looking for clues, you might want to visit the library.]

Bai Lixin narrowed his eyes: [You seem to know everything.]

Lin Xiao: [At least we’re not enemies. Helping you is helping myself. Right now, I’m helping you because I hope that when the time comes and I need your help, you’ll help me.]

Bai Lixin: [Help you? What do you need me to do?]

Lin Xiao: [When the time is right, I’ll tell you. When that time comes, I hope you’ll agree to my request.]

Lin Xiao: [My time is almost up. I look forward to meeting you again, Bai Lixin. Goodbye.]

Bai Lixin: [When do you mean by “when the time is right”?]

[What should I look for at the library?]

[What do you mean by “your time is almost up”?]

He asked three questions in a row, but there was no reply from the other side.

“Xia Chi, I’m leaving.”

Seeing Bai Lixin getting up and walking out in a hurry, Xia Chi immediately caught up with him, “Brother, where are you going?”

Bai Lixin: “I’m going to the library.”

Xia Chi followed closely behind Bai Lixin, “Why the rush? Is it related to their disappearances?! I’m coming too.”

Bai Lixin paused slightly, “Their disappearances?”

Xia Chi: “Tan Yue and Brother-in-law.”

Bai Lixin sized up the young man in front of him, “You remember?”

“Who? Brother-in-law?” Xia Chi scratched his head, “I remember, but it seems like everyone else has forgotten, it’s weird. I feel something’s not right, and I don’t dare to say anything outside. Brother, are you going to the library because of their disappearance? Take me with you, maybe I can help. I also want to find Tan Yue.”

Bai Lixin: “…”

Bai Lixin: “Okay, come with me.”

The elevator stopped in front of the library. It was nighttime now, and although the library was brightly lit inside, there weren’t many people around.

Bookshelves were neatly arranged in rows, filled with countless volumes, as numerous as hairs on an ox.

Xia Chi circled around the library’s first-floor lobby, “Brother, what are we looking for?”

Bai Lixin: “I don’t know either.”

The only clue Lin Xiao gave him was the library, but as for what to find here, he didn’t know either.

Xia Chi: “You don’t know? Then how are we supposed to find something then?”

Bai Lixin had already walked up to the first row of shelves and quickly scanned the titles on the book spines, “Let’s just look around.”

[100 Interesting Stories of The Horror Escape Game]

[Major Events in The Horror Game]

[A Comprehensive Guide to The Horror Game]

The entire row was about introductions to the horror game.