Gu Xiang Kai's stubble had grown quite long; while it was common to have no time for grooming during a mission, he looked strangely weathered.
In the silence, Gu Xiang Kai was the first to speak.
"Boss, something's not right."
His voice was raspier than usual, and he spoke slowly.
"I'm not right. My reactions have slowed down, and my body is sluggish too."
Nan Yue gave a bitter smile. "Because you're getting old."
Gu Xiang Kai reflected for a moment, his mouth half-open, before it suddenly dawned on him.
"Is it the room's influence on people?"
Nan Yue nodded. Since Gu Xiang Kai's thinking time had increased, she didn't make them figure it out for themselves.
"The danger of this pollution world, besides the killer and the scares from ghosts, includes a hidden, latent danger: the influence the rooms have on us."
Just as Sister Deng had said, these buildings were far too old and had seen far too many residents; some were born and left here, while others had died here.
Therefore, they were being influenced by the tenants who had once died in these rooms.
"The previous tenant of my room died of illness, so Zhu Xi Ning and I are sick."
"The guest in your room likely died of old age, while the one in Yin Qian's room was probably the depressed man who committed suicide by jumping off the building."
Nan Yue paused for a moment, took a sip of the warm water Jiang Siyan had poured, and continued.
"Sister Deng mentioned there was another tenant who was mentally unstable and short-tempered; that person likely died in Jiang Siyan's room."
"That's why Jiang Haoyu was irritable and short-tempered at first, but now that he's changed rooms, his emotions have stabilized, yet his body can't keep up."
Nan Yue didn't mention Jiang Siyan, but she knew very well that he had also been affected; they had both simply ignored it at first because of his unique nature.
Yin Qian and Zhu Xi Ning's abilities were both psychic-type, so they were the first to show symptoms.
Jiang Haoyu's ability was relatively weak and his mental stability was low, so he was also among the first to be affected.
But since this was a rule of the mission, no matter how powerful a scavenger was, they would eventually be assimilated; it was only a matter of time.
The group forced themselves to stay alert; this pollution world was somewhat sinister.
They had a vast web of relationships and backstories to uncover, and everyone had been assigned tasks; they had to face the random supernatural occurrences in the building, deal with neighbors, and gather information.
This caused everyone to fail to notice the small changes happening to their own bodies at first.
As the influence deepened later on, it became even harder to detect.
Gu Xiang Kai asked slowly, "Zhu Xi Ning..."
Nan Yue sighed as she watched her loyal subordinate suddenly look like a weary old man. "She can still hold on."
She held up her hand. "Two days. It's best if we leave within two days."
It wasn't Zhu Xi Ning she was worried about; although Zhu Xi Ning was indeed the most affected right now, given her constitution, she definitely wouldn't be the first to succumb.
Even if she remained in a deep sleep, her tenacious life force could hold out a bit longer.
But... Nan Yue's gaze drifted imperceptibly toward Jiang Haoyu, who was coughing incessantly like a little old man.
Nan Yue glanced at Jiang Siyan, then huddled back into her blanket and stopped talking.
Jiang Siyan gave a somewhat pleased smile and turned to look at everyone, his voice gentle.
"Everyone, cheer up. The brain-scooper should be Old Wu, taking brains to make medicine. That thread is basically clear; only the face-slasher remains. Once we find them, we can leave."
"Keep it up."
Although the others were each being influenced by negative emotions, they all couldn't help but complain in their hearts.
He spoke so gently, yet his eyes were cold enough to kill.
No one could fail to see that Jiang Siyan was threatening them, daring anyone to hold Nan Yue back.
Now that they knew they had been affected, everyone tried their best to pull themselves together.
"The face-slasher has to bind the victims first and then smother them with plastic wrap; such a method would require a strong man."
Yin Qian analyzed listlessly, only to be interrupted by the equally lethargic Chi Yu.
"Who says? I could smother someone like you easily."
Yin Qian: "..." He didn't want to waste words with her; whatever she said, goes.
Chi Yu's symptoms were at least milder than Yin Qian's, and after a moment's thought, she added, "They could also use poison or knockout drugs. Once the person is tied up, the rest is easy."
Gu Xiang Kai shook his head. "But it's not easy to control Shi Xiaojie in just a few minutes. Even if ether was used to knock him out, it would still be difficult for a woman to quietly carry off a young man."
Chi Yu looked over. "Could Shi Xiaojie have gone with them voluntarily?"
Gu Xiang Kai glanced at Chi Yu, and only then did she belatedly remember.
Oh right, Gu Xiang Kai had said that when Shi Xiaojie went missing, the instant noodles he had bought were on the stairs.
"Then it must be a man."
There weren't many male tenants in the demolition building: Uncle Zhong, the mute, Wu Ming and Wu Gang, A-Wang the locksmith, and Old Wu.
Since Old Wu only wants brains, he wouldn't use such a complicated method to kill.
"Wu Gang is missing, so can those two brothers be ruled out?"
Jiang Haoyu knew he was the first to be affected and felt a bit embarrassed, so he made an effort to join the discussion.
Gu Xiang Kai was silent for a moment. "Probably, unless there's a third party involved."
Wu Gang still hadn't been found. Today, Wu Ming was running around the building like a headless fly, and now he's gone to Oasis Community to stake it out.
"If you had to pick one based on your gut, who would it be?"
The results were evenly split; everyone had their own suspect, though fewer people chose the mute.
The body of the female owner from Oasis Community had been found by the mute. He looked a bit strange, but it wasn't by choice.
Nan Yue nodded slightly. "Go and ask about the previous tenants of each room today."
She wasn't sure if only they would be affected or if all the residents were.
If they were, the situation might be even more complex.
Since the others already knew the changes in their bodies were caused by the pollution world, and being veterans who wouldn't just sit and wait for death, they all tried to shake off their lethargy and dispersed.
"You watch over Xi Ning."
Jiang Siyan agreed. Zhu Xi Ning's condition was worse, but they were powerless to do anything; they could only watch over her to prevent anyone or anything from taking advantage of the situation.
Nan Yue didn't tell Jiang Siyan, but she tried to manifest the pollution within her body, yet there was no response.
It was as if they had been hit with a debuff that couldn't be removed by physical means.
Nan Yue found an internet cafe and began searching for news related to each tenant one by one.
The others were all nobodies; even if they were thrown into a sea of people, no one would care.
But she actually found two people.
One was Xie Hui, and the other was the mute.
The mute had appeared in a street photography video; because of his terrifying appearance, it caused a period of panic, which later even developed into cyberbullying.
Before this, the mute hadn't lived here. After this incident, people found his original apartment and painted words like "monster" and "go die" on his door.
He couldn't stay there any longer, so he moved out.
At the time, this news had some traction. An expert analyzed that the mute likely suffered from some kind of stiff muscle syndrome, a condition that couldn't be cured, and called for people not to show such malice toward strangers.
Rate on N.U.
