Xu Xi roughly understood why the other party had been so furious, as if their home had been robbed, just because he had taken a few sips of that milk tea.
Looking at this slogan, this milk tea was probably related to "her."
The milk tea might even symbolize "her" redemption for that boy?
He had secretly drunk someone else's redemption, no wonder they wanted to beat him up.
But who exactly was this "her" referring to?
There were quite a few females who had appeared in the instance so far.
The Dress Woman who hanged herself, the Nightgown Woman who slit her wrists, the Cheongsam Woman who went to prison, the ex-girlfriend who was heard but not seen, and the boy's mother who he only met once.
First, exclude the boy's mother; she didn't quite fit the slogan's content.
The ones left who were connected to the man from the third story were only the Nightgown Woman and the ex-girlfriend.
Both of them had cats that were abused to death by the man.
He just didn't know which of the two it was.
Yes, he was already certain that the one who tortured the man from the third story to death was this boy.
Floor 8.
The same alley entrance.
The person lying inside this time had changed.
Several men with indistinct faces were sprawled haphazardly on the ground. All of their tendons in their hands and feet had been severed, and they had been stabbed multiple times. The blood beneath them stained the ground red.
A textbook murder scene.
As expected, these few were probably the ones who took money to do the dirty work.
It seemed the boy had turned the tables and killed them instead.
Floor 9, no anomalies, moving on.
Floor 10.
Originally, Xu Xi had been wondering where exactly the "evil grinding" mentioned in the previous slogan was evil.
After all, up to this point, the story seemed to be about the boy being bullied unilaterally.
Until this floor.
Still that same alley entrance.
The people inside had changed again.
The boy with a face full of violence at the front had his foot on a gloomy, cowering boy.
Behind him was a group of boys in school uniforms, holding sticks, knives, bricks, and other items they had found who knows where. They watched the boy forced to lie on the ground, laughing and making faces.
Xu Xi recognized at a glance that the one being bullied by everyone was the son of the Cheongsam Woman from the second story.
Now he knew where the injuries on the other's body came from.
Everything connected.
'Congratulations, your judgment is correct.'
'The dragon slayer eventually becomes the dragon.'
——
【I was wondering earlier if it could be school bullying, and I actually guessed right】
【So the 'evil' refers to this】
【Still too little homework, everyone's just idle (said in a homeroom teacher's tone)】
【He was bullied himself, so he has to bully others too?】
【Which is more evil, cat abuse or school bullying?】
【What's there to compare? Both are about building one's own happiness on others' pain】
【I was bullied in high school, not exaggerating at all. My only thought back then was to drag them all down to die with me】
【Woc, bro, don't do anything stupid! A bunch of scum aren't worth it!】
【Don't worry, I'm working now, currently a lawyer】
【Such a fitting slogan, ultimately becoming the person you hate】
【But there's still one thing worth acknowledging, at least he took out the ones who bullied him】
【Support brave resistance and paying back in kind, but don't support victims of bullying becoming new bullies】
——
Xu Xi paused for a moment, then continued to the next floor.
He was more interested in what this boy's ultimate outcome was.
Floor 11, no anomalies, moving on.
Floor 12.
A familiar street, the familiar center of the road.
A man's corpse lay where the Black Cat had originally been run over.
The tire tracks on the body were clearly visible, as if it had been run over by wheels multiple times too.
With such a targeted method of revenge, Xu Xi basically knew who "she" was.
Floor 13, no anomalies, moving on.
Floor 14.
"..." Xu Xi looked at the street submerged by turbid water. The déjà vu scene left him silent.
The boy stood soaked by the roadside, head lowered, his expression unclear.
As Xu Xi passed by, he saw the newspaper in the boy's hand, already soaked by the water.
It was precisely the newspaper that recorded the fate of the Cheongsam Woman and her son.
Additionally, Xu Xi also saw the red string tied around the other's wrist, the small bell strung on it looked extremely familiar.
After Xu Xi entered the alley, the boy remained standing in place, slowly swallowed up by the rising turbid water.
'Congratulations, your judgment is correct.'
'Twisted evil deeds brought momentary satisfaction, yet ultimately, when the heartstrings were plucked, the inner defenses crumbled along with them.'
Floor 15.
On the fourth photograph.
The family of three on the right smiled broadly at the camera, posing.
The boy on the left stood alone to the side, expressionless.
【Tsk, had the ability to kill those thugs who cornered him, yet chose to keep bullying other innocents instead of taking revenge on the real mastermind】
【Mastermind?】
【Those thugs were paid to do the job, so what about the one who paid them?】
【...Oh right】
【In the end, it's still about bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Pitiable, but not worthy of sympathy】
【Bro, you sound really resentful】
【No, it's frustration at wasted potential】
【Bullying the weak is there, but fearing the strong isn't necessarily true; it could also be to avoid making his mother sad】
【Who cares if she's sad or not, if one son dies there's still another left? Two is too many, one is just right】
【That's just your thinking. Being moved by the newspaper's content clearly shows he still had some expectation of his mother in his heart】
【That's why I'm frustrated at the wasted potential】
【Wait, weren't we all criticizing this guy just now? Why are you suddenly speaking in code?】
【Did the boy end up jumping into the river?】
【Probably, yeah】
...
Xu Xi originally thought walking out of the alley would mean clearing the instance, but he didn't expect that at the alley's end, lines of blood-red text would appear one by one.
'Four stories, four intertwined lives.'
'Their tragedies are irreversible, but your future still holds hope.'
?
What hope does his future have? Countless instances and stone steps?
As soon as Xu Xi finished this internal complaint, the four photographs in his hand suddenly burst into flames.
Simultaneously, new text appeared.
'The four photographs have transformed into four fragments scattered in various corners.'
'Next, please gather them completely and escape from here.'
After the text disappeared, the alley before him abruptly reconfigured into a complex, intricate maze.
Xu Xi was stunned for a moment.
This instance's development always caught him off guard.
Having just found a fragment in a corner of the maze only to be discovered and chased by a suddenly appearing black shadow, Xu Xi now understood where the difficulty of this maze lay, besides just being convoluted.
But it wasn't a big problem.
——
【Master, be careful! There's... ahead... huh?】
【Master, to your left, beyond the wall, there's a frag... eh?】
【Behind you, behind! A black shadow has appear... hmm?】
The live stream comments, standing from a god's-eye view, could easily see the entire maze's situation.
Although they all knew that even if they warned him, the young man on the screen couldn't see or hear them, they still couldn't help but send out prompts.
Then they saw that the other seemed to possess a god's-eye view as well, perfectly avoiding the patrolling black shadows every time and accurately locating all the fragments' hiding spots.
Smooth and flowing, done in one go.
【Holy crap, is he cheating?】
【What's the big deal? I've heard some people can understand a maze's structure by observing the building's three-dimensionality or analyzing some inherent pattern... okay, I can't keep making this up】
【That does exist; it requires strong spatial thinking skills, but... is there anything Master Xu Xi *can't* do???】
【Sorry, I'm just ignorant, honestly】
【Good news: Master Xu Xi is about to clear another instance. Bad news: Human evolution really left me behind】
【What to do? I now have a blind confidence in Xu Xi. Seeing him appear gives me the illusion that this instance is in the bag】
【It's not an illusion】
——
After Xu Xi collected all the fragments, the four glowing masses intertwined, gradually forming a massive door.
Familiar writing slowly emerged on the door.
[Congratulations, you have successfully cleared the instance.]