"This diary mentions a strange uncle who might be the owner of this inn. He warned the grandmother and grandson in Room 103 not to go out at night and not to respond to any knocking sounds. Wang Xiuping opened the door precisely because she heard knocking at night, which led to all those supernatural events that followed."
The Refined Man began flipping through the diary again, this time with even greater care and attention, meticulously analyzing the information that might be hidden within, piece by piece.
"Do you all remember the rules posted on that wall? It seems our guess about the first rule was correct: it tells residents not to go out at night and not to answer the door if someone knocks."
"There's another point. The child pretended to be asleep, so he witnessed his grandmother opening the door. From the diary, we know the knocking he heard came from that strange uncle, likely the innkeeper. But here's the problem—"
"How could the innkeeper, who had just warned the grandmother and grandson, be the one knocking the very next moment?"
Upon hearing this, the Burly Man sneered coldly, "So, the thing that knocked can imitate human voices. I wonder if it can imitate appearances too."
Hearing these words, a flash of insight suddenly struck the Refined Man's mind. "That thing really can imitate human appearances. After the man in Room 204 murdered the woman, the one who returned couldn't possibly have been the woman."
At this moment, the Refined Man noticed another issue and sharply looked at the other three.
"If you pushed someone off a cliff, and later she returned completely unharmed, you, feeling guilty and scared, would call your mother."
The Burly Man frowned deeply, not quite understanding the purpose of the Refined Man repeating this. "What do you mean? Just say it straight, don't beat around the bush."
The corner of the Refined Man's mouth twitched. Just as he was about to explain, the High-Ponytailed Woman chimed in, "The person who returned was clearly no longer someone you knew. Yet, after she came back, you didn't die immediately."
The Burly Man wasn't stupid either. Hearing this, he also spotted the issue.
"That man actually had time to call his mom. And not just any time, but specifically right after telling his mom about the woman's strangeness, the call got cut off."
Everyone felt a sense of understanding dawn on them.
The Refined Man couldn't help but smile. "It seems everyone has probably figured it out. The first rule on that paper is 'Do not go out, do not open the door if you hear knocking.' The third rule might be 'Do not let those things discover you... have discovered them.'"
"Since we've already deduced two of the rules, the second one becomes simpler. By extension, the second rule is clearly 'Do not trust anyone,' because you can't be sure if the person beside you is human or one of them disguised as human."
As if the fog had cleared, the few of them finally gained some understanding of this instance.
These people's experiences were both similar and different. What was similar was that they all encountered those supernatural beings. What was different was that Wang Xiuping in Room 103 violated the first rule and died from mutation, while Wang Xiang, the man in Room 204, violated the third rule, though his exact manner of death is still unclear.
Unfortunately, however, these rules are not taboo rules and do not apply to them.
"There's one more point." The Refined Man unconsciously tightened his grip on the diary, his tone carrying a hint of gravity. "The diary writes that during Wang Xiuping's mutation process, her body gradually grew taller, and her arms gradually lengthened..."
Hearing this, the Burly Man immediately narrowed his eyes. "The thing that killed that woman with glasses... was a tall, white humanoid thing with excessively long arms."
The High-Ponytailed Woman exclaimed in surprise, "So that thing is Wang Xiuping after her mutation?"
"Not necessarily." The Refined Man shook his head. "We don't know what they originally looked like. Wang Xiuping's case seems more like she was infected and mutated by them, turning into one of their kind."
"Now, we're only left with Yang Wu from Room 202. We still don't know what happened to him. We also don't know if his missing sister is related to those things. The register notes she stayed for one night on April 3rd and then checked out."
Xu Xi, who had been silently listening all this time, had only two words in his heart at this moment—
Damn impressive!
From having no clues at the beginning, relying on these few people to slowly piece together the clues bit by bit, they had now grasped part of the background.
The most impressive among them was undoubtedly this Refined Man before him—observant, clear-thinking. One could say the entire discussion relied on his guidance.
The Burly Man and the High-Ponytailed Woman were also quick-witted enough to keep up with the Refined Man's train of thought. Even if they didn't understand something immediately, a slight reminder was all they needed to grasp it.
Xu Xi, who had previously thought himself somewhat clever, once again deeply realized through this just how vast the gap in intelligence between people could be.
Without his death reload ability, he really couldn't play this game at all.
After sighing with emotion for a while, Xu Xi quickly consoled himself.
It's fine. Although he isn't that exceptionally brilliant, he isn't that stupid either. At least he understood all this content, which means he's a person of normal intelligence.
He can't learn someone else's IQ, but he can learn from experience. Once he accumulates more instances, he'll definitely become more impressive than he is now.
Moreover, he seems to have figured out the cause of his death in the previous reload. It should be the same as Wang Xiuping's—infected by that supernatural figure and turned into one of their kind.
No wonder he felt his body changing when his consciousness was about to fade at the end. So it wasn't an illusion.
Then how was the woman with glasses killed so cleanly and swiftly?
Could it possibly be because that supernatural figure was agitated by his flashlight?
... Holy crap, no way?
——
【Damn, this Refined Man has some skills. He actually managed to piece together so much information from those scattered clues.】
【Why can't such a smart brain grow on my head?】
【This instance feels so complicated. Watching it makes my head spin.】
【It's okay, I actually quite enjoy watching this kind of layered, clue-by-clue mystery-solving instance. I enjoy the process of gradually uncovering the truth, and there's a sense of satisfaction when finally digging it all out.】
【These three are discussing so fervently, while Master Xu Xi didn't interject a single word the entire time. The phrase 'taciturn' is really going to be stuck on him, impossible to peel off.】
【Stuck? It's clearly grown onto him, okay?】
【No, no, it's clearly that his taciturnity has gained sentience.】
【LMAO, you guys are too funny.】
【Xu Xi's standing posture is so relaxed. While others are seriously discussing, he looks like he's spacing out and slacking off.】
【Master Xu Xi's level of chill is truly unprecedented.】
【He's really not worried at all. The Burly Man and the other two have their brows furrowed so tightly they could crush flies.】