The group returned to the room.
The space in the wall was there, but finding the entrance wasn’t that simple.
After looking around the room, they found nothing.
An Heyan said, “The entrance can’t possibly be here.”
Gu Zhan had observed the special ritual that his mother performed in the living room, which involved many props that weren’t in the house. Unsurprisingly, this secret space likely contained the props she used for the rituals, as well as that book.
They could only search other rooms, and at this moment, Sang Yue had just finished showering and was coming out of the bathroom.
The mother probably didn’t want Gu Zhan and the others rummaging through the house, so instead of urging her daughter to sleep, she called her to the living room for a heart-to-heart talk.
Naturally, Sang Yue went, while Gu Zhan and the others continued to look for clues elsewhere.
The mother was once again thrown into confusion.
She only had one daughter.
If her daughter was nearby, then who were the people wandering around the room?
No, there was no one else in the house; it was just her and her daughter…
The mother seemed to be talking to Sang Yue, but her eyes were constantly glancing at Gu Zhan and Yu Yezhou, who were walking around the room.
Sang Yue sighed as well. Although this was the plan they had discussed, they were being way too obvious!
Did they really think their mother was blind?
There was no choice; this was her teammates’ decision, and she had to cooperate.
Sang Yue could only step closer to her mother and smiled, saying, “Mom, did you call me for something important? I haven’t had a chance to talk with you in a long time. Since this is a rare opportunity, I want to have a heart-to-heart with you.”
The mother finally focused her attention on Sang Yue. After pausing for a moment, she said, “You’re a good daughter; Mom is very happy… But don’t you think there are some things in this room that don’t belong to our family?”
Her gaze became suspicious, constantly glancing over at Gu Zhan and the others.
Sang Yue realized that the mother couldn’t directly identify Gu Zhan and the others’ existence; she could only vaguely sense that there were other people in the house.
But under the strong premise that "only she and her daughter are at home," she simply cannot distinguish who else is in her house.
"Mom, I don’t feel anything," Sang Yue moved closer to her mother, forcibly diverting her gaze. "Have you been working too hard lately? Do you want to take a break and let me handle things at home?"
Upon hearing that Sang Yue wanted to help her with chores, her mother didn’t show a happy expression. Instead, she frowned and turned her head to scrutinize her: "You want to take over what I’m currently doing?"
The question was very subtle, and Sang Yue sensitively realized that her earlier words seemed to provoke her mother’s authority.
She hurriedly clarified, "No, no, no, of course, it’s Mom who should do it. I’m just listening to you. Whatever you ask me to do, I’ll do."
She smiled and said, "I’m Mom's daughter; it’s only natural that she loves me and makes arrangements for me."
Only then did her mother's expression soften.
Sang Yue’s interruption had indeed temporarily diverted her mother’s attention from Gu Zhan and the others.
Meanwhile, Gu Zhan and Yu Yezhou accelerated their search.
They didn’t know how long this method could delay things.
That book was definitely the key to unraveling the mystery of this cycle.
"This way, come look," Yu Yezhou beckoned Gu Zhan over by the TV cabinet.
Gu Zhan walked over and noticed a vase at the edge of the cabinet, with scratch marks at its base.
It was quite strange.
Gu Zhan bent down for a closer inspection; the waist of the vase was already worn down to the paint, but the bottom was still covered in dust.
He placed his hands on the worn spots of the vase, mimicking the actions of its owner. This was definitely not the posture for simply picking the vase up from the table… It was more like turning it slightly.
Such scenarios were far too common in films and TV shows he had seen growing up. Gu Zhan and Yu Yezhou exchanged a glance, realizing they were both thinking the same thing.
Gu Zhan exerted force, attempting to twist the vase.
"Crack!"
Suddenly, a clear sound of shattering came from behind them. They turned to see Sang Yue sitting helplessly on the sofa, with a broken fruit plate at her feet.
Her mother was furious: "Why did you break it? Do you have a problem with me?!"
Sang Yue: "…"
Heaven can bear witness, this mother clearly knocked the plate to the ground and broke it herself!
This was an outright frame-up!
But they had no choice; once her mother became angry, the cycle would end, and they were utterly powerless in front of the raging monster.
In just ten minutes, all six were teleported back to the white room.
Their sanity values had also dropped significantly.
Sang Yue sat on the ground with her face in her hands, quietly saying to everyone, "Sorry, it’s my fault for not keeping her under control. It’s all my mistake."
At the moment of the incident, Gu Zhan and Yu Yezhou were in the living room, so they naturally knew Sang Yue was not at fault.
"She did it on purpose; she didn’t want us to touch that vase. That thing is very important to her," Gu Zhan said. "This shows that we’ve already touched the truth."
But Sang Yue couldn’t hear his words, only thinking they were meant to comfort her, as she continued to drown in her guilt and pain.
Gu Zhan turned to look at the others and found that the rest were in a similar state.
Dejected, hopeless, lacking in spirit.
This was a side effect of the repeated cycles and the continuous decrease in sanity values.
Gu Zhan rarely took any comforting actions, but under the circumstances where everyone was so dejected, he had to step up and say, "This cycle is about to end. As long as we find a way to turn the vase in the living room, we can definitely end it."
Sang Yue replied, "Even if we end this cycle, there will be another one. Even if we finish this instance, there will be another instance… There’s no end to these days; what’s the difference between today and tomorrow? We might as well stay here. That mother only targets players. If we become monsters and become her daughters, she will still love us."
Gu Zhan looked at Sang Yue with a calm expression and said, "It’s hard for her to give birth to six daughters with different personalities all at once."
Sang Yue: "…"
Isn’t this the moment for someone to say some encouraging platitudes to her, to keep her from giving up?
Listen to what he said about how it’s hard to have six daughters with different personalities.
Is this even human talk?
Gu Zhan continued, "Moreover, you’ve accumulated so many points. If you stay here, they’ll all be useless and might even end up in someone else's pocket."
It felt like telling someone who works overtime every day, "If you suddenly die now, your money will never be spent."
Sang Yue: "…"
She couldn’t take it; this was unbearable.
She reopened her eyes, forcing a bitter smile, and said, "Fine, I admit you’re good at persuading people. I don’t want to stay here anymore; let’s think of a way."
Yu Yezhou said, "There aren’t many options. She stays in the living room all the time, and we have no free time during the day or night unless we can survive until the weekend. We could stay home all weekend, but are you sure she will leave the living room then?"
"She probably won’t," Gu Zhan affirmed. "Although the cycle resets, that’s merely a punishment for us. The monster’s memory might not reset. She knows we’ve discovered the vase in the living room and will be cautious no matter what."
An He Yan exclaimed, "You seem to know a lot about these monsters."
Gu Zhan paused. Did he know a lot?
But aren’t they dealing with monsters both inside and outside the instance every day?
He thought there was nothing strange about it.
The blank room allowed them very little time to converse. Before the colors began to appear, Gu Zhan said, "Let’s stall until the weekend and see if there’s a chance to quietly touch that vase. If we can’t do that, I have a plan…"
After he finished speaking, he predictably received looks from his companions as if he were crazy.
Oblivious to their gazes, Gu Zhan asked, "Is there any flaw in my plan?"
"It doesn’t sound like there’s anything wrong," Sang Yue said. "Just a bit crazy… They’ve been saying you’re a lunatic for a long time, and I didn’t believe it until now."
An He Yan raised an eyebrow beside her.
Gu Zhan ignored Sang Yue’s casual remarks and said, "Since you haven’t found any flaws, let’s settle on that for now."
As soon as he finished speaking, the surroundings began to shift, and they reappeared in the bathroom.
Sometimes, too much pain can lead to numbness.
After going through so many cycles, their capacity for acceptance had improved significantly. Although their SAN values were low, they quickly returned to their normal state, each dispersing to do their own things.
The mother clearly remembered what happened in the last cycle, and her expression turned strange when they met again.
She kept a close watch on Gu Zhan and the others, as if trying to discern something from their every move.
But having experienced death multiple times, what could possibly breach their psychological defenses? The group completely ignored the mother’s covert surveillance and went about their business.
Before long, the weekend arrived.
They no longer needed to go outside; instead, they stayed home.
Sang Yue employed the same trick again, using her "daughter" status to lead her mother to the living room.
Gu Zhan and the others didn’t appear before the mother.
At first, the mother anxiously fixed her gaze on the vase next to the TV cabinet, but upon realizing Gu Zhan and the others were absent from the living room, she let out a sigh of relief.
She turned to Sang Yue, speaking earnestly, "You shouldn’t always blame me for being strict. I’m strict because I love you. You should go out and take a look; there are so many people on the street. Do they care about you? They don’t care what you want to do."
"I know, Mom," Sang Yue replied with a forced smile.
Yet deep inside, she had cursed that monster over and over again.
Too many people in the world use the guise of love to hurt others.
Perhaps they truly believe they are showing love.
After a while, the mother’s lecture came to a halt as she turned her head toward the kitchen, twitching her nose, and asked her daughter, "Do you smell something strange?"
Sang Yue feigned ignorance, "No, Mom, what’s wrong?"
"That’s not right." The mother tried to stand up to check the kitchen.
But Sang Yue pulled her back, looking at her mother with hopeful eyes and saying, "Mom, you haven’t finished your lecture yet; I want to hear more of your teachings."
"It’s not…" The mother struggled to shake off Sang Yue, but Sang Yue’s grip was too tight.
She even countered her mother’s concerns, "If you don’t want to talk to me, does that mean you don’t want to take care of me? You don’t love me anymore?"
The word "love" in this instance was practically a deadly poison.
As soon as she heard this, the mother, who had already stood up, sat back down on the sofa.
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