PFC Chapter 45 Vanished into Thin Air
Chapter 45 Vanished into Thin Air
"Sister, save me! Sister!...Sister!" Zheng Zhaonan's tear-streaked face was quickly submerged by the swarm of rats, which resembled black water.
On the ground floor of the tower, Zheng Lu suddenly felt a sharp pain in her heart and looked in the direction Zheng Zhaonan had left, as if sensing something.
“I’ll go find him,” Zheng Lu said, turning to Chen Jiangqiao.
"What's the rush? It's only been five minutes." Chen Jiangqiao said dismissively.
Zheng Lu paused, her thick bangs and glasses obscuring her eyes, but her trembling shoulders betrayed her inner panic: "I don't know, I... I have to go find him!"
"Useless! I should have known better than to cooperate; it's a complete waste of time!" Chen Jiangqiao, a cigarette dangling from his lips, walked alone up the tower.
The spiral staircase was very high. Chen Jiangqiao climbed all the way to the top of the tower and found a locked attic.
After checking his surroundings, Chen Jiangqiao decisively climbed out of the stairwell window and carefully stepped on the roof tiles to prepare to enter through the attic window.
Unfortunately, we were unlucky; the window was locked from the inside and shut very tightly.
Although he could smash it open with force, Chen Jiangqiao was unsure if it would trigger the death rule, so he pressed his face against the window and squinted to peek at the scene in the attic.
Although the curtains covered most of the room, a lot of information could still be gleaned from the gaps. Judging from the piles of paint buckets and canvas frames, this was an art studio.
Is "The Sleeping Girl" an oil painting? Chen Jiangqiao fell into deep thought.
What's inside?
Just then, a clear voice suddenly came from behind, startling Chen Jiangqiao so much that he almost fell. When he turned around, he saw Jiang Lin standing on the city wall connected to the tower, watching him like he was watching an animal performance.
What are you doing here?
Chen Jiangqiao clung to the windowsill with both hands, his legs spread apart on the floor, looking just like a frog with its legs outstretched. Jiang Lin laughed out loud, "Why can't I be here?"
Chen Jiangqiao knew his posture was ridiculous, so he quickly flipped down from the tower. Just as he was about to retort, he spotted the tall man in the shadows.
Chen Jiangqiao quickly straightened his clothes and changed the subject: "Aren't you two going to play hide-and-seek? Aren't you afraid of getting caught standing here?"
Jiang Lin: "Qiao Xiaomai is a makeup artist. Although she participated in the game, whether the mission was successful or not was not directly related to her. Yu Xiang died in the middle of the night, and no one knows how he died. This shows that participating in the game, whether the mission was completed or not, and whether or not you were caught are not the real rules of death."
Looking at Jiang Lin's relaxed expression, Chen Jiangqiao couldn't help but ask, "You already know?"
"It's not certain yet," Jiang Lin smiled gently. "What's in the attic?"
“It’s an art studio, the canvas faces the window, so you can’t see what’s on the canvas.” Chen Jiangqiao shrugged. “By the way, Zheng Zhaonan is probably dead.”
Chen Jiangqiao briefly recounted the events surrounding Zheng Zhaonan's disappearance: "We found footprints in the bathroom, only those going in, not coming out. The person vanished into thin air. I thought she was definitely dead, but she refused to give up, so we split up to look for clues."
“It seems our guess was correct.” Ji Xingyi looked at Jiang Lin.
Chen Jiangqiao: "What guess?"
Jiang Lin: "There is another space in this castle. I have seen the filming footage. The scene where Zhao Ruoxi and the other two enter the garden disappears, and then they appear in the corridor of the restaurant. So during this time, they must have entered another space."
Chen Jiangqiao's expression darkened slightly: "The outer world and the inner world? I've heard of dungeons with alternate dimensions, but such a setting should have a medium, like passing through a door, or a time setting, with day and night being two separate spaces. From what I've seen so far, this dungeon doesn't seem to fit either of those descriptions."
Ji Xingyi: "Nothing is absolute. You may not believe it, but that doesn't mean it's impossible."
Chen Jiangqiao's lips curled slightly, and he said meaningfully, "You two are really so close that you're practically inseparable!"
Mo Xizheng was exhausted from Liang Yuan's antics last night and had no energy to play any games. So, she hid in the triangular storage room at the bottom of the stairs as soon as the game started.
Liang Yuan insisted on following, and so the two grown men huddled together in the small storage room.
The tiles were cold, and Mo Xizheng felt uncomfortable sitting on the ground. After taking a few quick shots, she turned off the miniature camera she was carrying and leaned against Liang Yuan for a short rest.
In the darkness, only a faint light shone through the crack in the door, but Liang Yuan still saw the furrowed brows of the person in his arms. Recalling the absurdity of the previous night, he apologized in a low voice, "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself last night."
Mo Xizheng felt the gentle pressure on her lower back. In a daze, memories of their once intimate relationship surfaced in her mind, as if more than a thousand days and months had never passed.
Mo Xizheng blinked, trying to control her brimming tears, and scoffed, "Ha, who deleted my contact information and disappeared overseas for four years? I bet you're more patient than a turtle!"
Liang Yuan remained silent, and the small space fell into silence. The two of them leaned against each other like that, and after an unknown amount of time, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.
People outside also discovered the small room hidden under the stairs and ran towards where Mo Xizheng and Liang Yuan were hiding.
Mo Xizheng wasn't nervous at all; he just stayed put. His legs were a little numb. So what if he was caught? He could just go back and rest. He turned on his miniature camera and waited for the person to push the door open so he could have a variety show ending.
Just as the person outside touched the door lock, a loud "bang!" suddenly rang out!
The sound was so loud that Mo Xizheng nearly threw the miniature camera in his hand.
Suddenly, a crack the length of a palm appeared on the door, as if it had been cleaved by an axe, and light shone through.
But after the loud bang, the area outside the door fell silent again.
Was Mo Xizheng's mind blank? It's just a game, why take it so seriously? He held his breath and squinted at the opening.
There was nothing outside the door; in the empty corridor, only dust particles suspended in the air could be seen.
"What's going on!" Mo Xizheng cursed under his breath, clutching his chest. He was getting old and couldn't take a scare. A few more times like this would kill him!
"Let's not hide anymore, let's go out!" Mo Xizheng opened the door nonchalantly, but froze after taking one step out.
The breach in the door was larger than the one inside, undoubtedly made by a sharp weapon. But Mo Xizheng remembered something: where were the people outside?
Even if he wanted to leave, he should at least make a sound, right? After that loud bang, he was terrified, but he wasn't deaf!
"Hey, Liang Yuan," Mo Xizheng's voice trembled slightly as she looked at the empty corridor, a chill running from the soles of her feet to her head: "Was there someone outside just now?"
Can a person simply disappear into thin air?