458: 8.58 Five and Seven

8.58 Five and Seven

Since when?2

Since when did Ailín fall victim to the black witch's sacrifice? Was it earlier just now, when he was separated from Ji Yan and Olivia to inspect the freezer? What if Ailín had indeed gone inside back then? But Lu Yizhou had inspected his body, had seen the same marking on his chest like the others and it did not look… new. At least, it did not seem to have been engraved a few moments ago.

Was it last night, when Lu Yizhou was occupied with Ella and Ellie on the fourth floor? Or was it even earlier than that…? When they had just gotten off from the carriage on the very first day?

With a deep scowl on his face, Lu Yizhou stormed back to the room Diana, Ji Yan and Olivia were in — which had basically become a temporary basecamp.

Diana was still passed out on the couch whilst Ji Yan and Olivia were sitting side by side on the bed with their heads pressed close together talking about God-knows-what. As soon as they heard Lu Yizhou's entrance, they instantly sprung apart and stood up with a totally different expression on their faces.

Olivia was firmly glaring at her own feet as though it had just offended her entire existence. On the other hand, Ji Yan's face flushed crimson as he raised a hand in an awkward greeting, his laugh a pitch too high and hysterical. "Hey, you're back!"

It took one full second for realization to dawn on Lu Yizhou and in an instant, all of the complicated thoughts in his mind ground to a screeching halt, replaced with utter speechlessness. His jaws dropped open a bit. Don't tell him… 

No fucking way, did the two protagonists almost kiss just now?!

The corner of Lu Yizhou's lips twitched but when he thought back to Ailín who was still hanging from the ceiling inside the freezer, his scowl returned. "Something has happened," he said in a low voice.

Ji Yan's smile promptly faltered and Olivia's head jerked to him, stunned. 

"W–What happened?" Only then did Ji Yan realize that Ailín was nowhere to be seen. He craned his neck to look around, a nervous laugh bubbling out of his throat. "Where's Brother Ailín?"

Lu Yizhou stared at both of them with a complicated look. Without answering, he marched forward to tug Ji Yan and Olivia's collar down to expose the fair skin of their chests. Olivia only had time to let out a short scream and clutched her chest before Lu Yizhou drew away, relieved. Nothing was engraved on their skin. Hell, Lu Yizhou had no idea what he would do if he were to find the familiar array there. At least, the game had not completely fucked him up. Not yet. 

"What was that for, Irene?!" Olivia screeched out angrily. Ji Yan blinked in confusion as he looked at them back and forth like a lost child, his collar still a bit askew from Lu Yizhou's tug.

Lu Yizhou took a deep breath. Now that he had confirmed that the two protagonists were clear, he decided to tell them in a clear and concise manner, almost emotionless, about everything that had just transpired. But if one were to look closer, they would notice that his hands were fisted into a tight ball, knuckles pale and taut to suppress the turmoil within. 

As soon as he finished, Ji Yan and Olivia's faces were drained of all color and without any preamble, they stumbled out of the room, presumably to check the situation with their own eyes.

Lu Yizhou heaved out a long sigh and plopped himself down on the empty couch. He could not fathom it. How could such a crucial thing escape his notice? He replayed every single conversation he had had with Ailín with a heavy heart. 

Even before they entered the mansion, he had caught Ailín snooping around under his feet and had mercilessly dragged him out in the open. He had already felt that something was off back then but with no clear evidence to support his baseless claim, he could only concede and let Ailín go. Perhaps he was too paranoid, was what he had thought.

Ailín did not strike him as someone noteworthy, at least not until the incident with Diana's fake death and he started to suspect the man of being the killer. 

And then, when it was proven that Lu Yizhou had been wrong in his assumptions, Ailín showed an unexpected, reliable side of him in covering his conversation with Diana and taking his side. Fuck… now he remembered that he had talked about the systems and whatnots within Ailín's hearing! Goddamnit! Lu Yizhou let out a low groan of frustration. Back then, he thought that nothing could go wrong because Ailín was just a player. Even if he did say something, it was not like anyone would believe him either. And also, the last brief talk they had during their walk to the kitchen…

How much of it was the real Ailín and how much of it was the black witch's sacrifice?

Wait — something was not right. The soul swapping ritual book had stated that the array required blood from a virgin lady and Ailín had proudly announced that he had a wife and son. So how…

Lu Yizhou's heart lurched as the answer came to him. Ailín was the same as him, both of them were male that were granted female bodies. Lu Yizhou was not a virgin either, but in Irene's body, he might as well be considered one. What if it also applied to Ailín…? 

In the end, none of them were safe from the black witch's clutch!

"Fuck this world," Lu Yizhou could not help but let out a angry laugh as he raked his fingers through his hair. "This is getting so damn annoying."

[666: Host, 666 doesn't really understand what is happening but 666 feels you…]

Ozzie tried to cheer him up by mushing her furry face against his cheek, purring. 'Daddy, it's okay. We will be with you along the way.' Lu Yizhou scratched her on the back of her ear as thanks, prompting another round of loud purring from her throat.

It did not take long for Ji Yan and Olivia to return, their faces somber but after all, they were taking everything in better than Lu Yizhou had expected. Judging from how strong Ji Yan's reaction was with Diana's death, he had thought he was going to witness another round of tears. 

Lu Yizhou told them as much, only to receive a wry chuckle from Ji Yan and a glare from Olivia.

Without any decorum, Ji Yan sat himself down on the floor and crossed his legs, sighing. "I have been through four quests before, remember? Even though I am still not used to death, at least this kind of unexpected twist… let's say that there will always be one or two every single time."

Olivia nodded in solemn agreement. 

Ji Yan inhaled loudly, "So it's four—" His eyes landed on the unconscious Diana. "It's three of us now." He buried his face into his palms. "I know that we should be grieving for Brother Ailín now but I can't help but feel relieved that we didn't leave Madam's comb with him. It's still with you right, Olivia?"

"Yeah," Olivia rummaged through her pocket to show a beautiful, elegant comb that was made of expensive wood. It was decorated with delicate blue and pink gems in the form of a small bird that was taking flight. A string of small pearls was hanging from its unfurled wings, which would undoubtedly make a soft chime when moved. Just in one glance, it was apparent that the comb must have cost a fortune. 

"I don't really understand." Olivia remarked. "The system said that this is the wedding anniversary gift from Luca to his wife and we can use it for the final fight. How?"

"Ah, I forgot to tell you," Lu Yizhou said. Today had been a mess of accidents one after another. Ever since he woke up, he had been bombarded with Diana's sudden death, the interrogation with the two women, followed by the life and death banter with Luca and Baines, searching clues in the library and then fighting system 404 until the shocking revelation about Ailín… Lu Yizhou really could not take a breath. After this world was over, he swore he was going to cuddle with his lover for a day or two. "The ghost mannequin is actually Madam Knox."

Ji Yan and Olivia's head whipped to him, both sporting the identical expression that would have looked comical if not for their current situation. "Say what?!"

Lu Yizhou proceeded to tell them about the conclusion he had derived from the similarity between 'The Little Mermaid' and the ghost mannequin's story. When he was done, Ji Yan was staring at him with his mouth agape. "Holy, that's amazing, Miss Irene!" He offered two of his thumbs. "Now that you're laying out the facts, I am starting to see the connection! Why didn't I think about this before?"

Olivia fell into deep thoughts. "The similarity…" She blinked as realization dawned on her. "The bible!"

"What?" Ji Yan turned to her, confused. "What about the bible?"

Olivia's eyes lit up. "Who is the most important figure in the bible?"

Ji Yan rubbed the back of his neck and offered Lu Yizhou a glance, which only earned him a nonchalant shrug. Don't look at him. He had not read the bible before. How could he know the answer to that? 

"Jesus?" Ji Yan guessed tentatively and then let out a sheepish laugh. "He's the only one I know—"

"You're right, it's Jesus!" The more Olivia talked about it, the more excited she was. She launched into a passionate speech. "I have always wondered why the final fight happened on the fifth night when we are asked to survive in this game for seven days. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus was crucified on Friday and then resurrected on Sunday! Five and seven!"

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