IWBL: Chapter 236
Zhou Yin’s search for the sphere had expanded to the upper floor above his room.
He couldn’t figure out the specific size of the spherical object so he could only use the stupidest method. Not only did he search carefully, but he also pulled the sheets in every room and looked under the bed. It was just that he was accustomed to being pampered. He had only searched a few rooms when his heart became impatient and his actions a bit perfunctory.
Apart from the black-haired teenager before, Zhou Yin didn’t see anyone else. He walked out of a room, looked around and finally couldn’t help asking his companion, “Tell me… what the hell is going on here?”
Zhou Yin originally wanted to leave the audience with a decisive image. After all, according to the survey, the audience liked this type of male protagonist the most. Leaving such an impression would help his popularity rise so he insisted that his guess was correct. But…
Was there really a show that wouldn’t give any other clues and would just let them search for this sphere like a needle in a haystack? Zhou Yin couldn’t help having some doubts.
“It is so real here. I think it is like a real prison.” His companion walked in front of him and looked around. They were both players who debuted from an audition show. Their friendship wasn’t deep but they were familiar with each other. “Look for clues again. If there are no clues, we will take a break.”
“Okay,” Zhou Yin nodded when he heard the words and responded.
The room they entered this time was completely different. He had just opened the door and hadn’t even walked in when a bloody smell filled his nose. It was mixed with an unspeakable stench and he almost vomited.
“What is that smell?” His companion’s face turned blue and he took two steps back.
Zhou Yin was nauseous but he needed to restrain himself so his face and expression wouldn’t be distorted. After a while, he reluctantly smiled. “This smell is so realistic.”
It was different from the smell of fake blood he used when acting normally. This atmosphere was truly like a large murder scene.
He had never seen such a thing before. Looking at this scene, he didn’t want to go in at all. However, he would look ugly if he shrank back now. He stood still and struggled for a long time as he watched the person beside him shrink back. Finally, he had to pinch his nose and walk into the room, trying to hypnotize himself to breathe with his mouth.
The same was true for his companion who saw him stride to check the washstand, washbasin and other obvious places. The companion explained his actions, “If it really exists, it will be in these places. We just need to check here.”
His eyes swept over the sink and found there were bloody handprints on the tap. There was also blood sprayed onto the mirror. It was like a prisoner living here had stared in the mirror at night, constantly changing expressions. This was the only way such evenly distributed marks would be left layer by layer.
He didn’t know why but his heart shook when he had this thought.
Zhou Yin was affected by the environment and didn’t pay attention to his companion. He held his breath and lay down. He pulled away the messy sheets and prepared to look under the bed.
He had just leaned down and didn’t have time to take a closer look when he suddenly yelled. He didn’t care about getting dirty as he rolled back and hit the cabinet behind him. His feet hurt and he couldn’t care about his facial expression as he stared at the area below the bed.
“What are you doing?” His companion was already nervous. At this time, he was startled by Zhou Ying’s sudden noise and immediately gave up studying the mirror. He came to Zhou Yin, helping him and following his gaze.
Zhou Yin glanced at him with panic before sighing with relief. He stammered, “T-There is a person down here!”
“Person?”
The companion looked at him suspiciously before bending down. At first, he couldn’t see anything, only darkness. It wasn’t until he bent down a bit more that he could barely see under the bed. There did indeed seem to be a person.
He used ‘seems’ to describe it because this person was curled up in the deepest part under the bed. Their body was covered with sticky black mud and one hand was covering their eyes. Their eyes could be seen bleeding through their fingers.
It wasn’t until they moved that Zhou Yin and his companion could see that it was hair, not black mud, tangled around her body. At first, this person was unaware of the outside world. Then they heard two people chatting in front of them and had a slight reaction. They slowly raised their head, stiffly stuck out their head and spoke in a vague manner, “It’s you… we will all die, die!”
This person had a strange voice and their words and deeds were like a ghost.
“Oh, no, no, I can survive. It is just my eyes that hurt. I can survive it. However, why do I see her? Didn’t she commit suicide? Because of me…” This person muttered and crawled out from under the bed like a spider with twisted limbs.
“L-Lian Susu?” Zhou Yin yelled when he finally saw her face clearly.
Lian Susu ignored him. She stood in front of the mirror, holding the sink with her hands as she stared into the mirror. She sprayed blood on the mirror as she spoke. “I didn’t harm you, do you hear me? I can see you. You are standing by my bed, covered in a lot of blood. You are watching me…”
Zhou Yin stared at the empty bed. His entire body was cold. Only his legs were soft and his crotch area was hot.
[Haha, the newcomer is over.]
[Is this the one who mocked Sherlock?]
[Tsk, on the surface, you scold others for failing to escape from prison but in fact, the thing you are protecting in your heart is the same.]
[…Is this hitting your relative, scolding is love?]
[Smart ghosts praise their opponents. Stupid ghosts belittle them.]
***
On the other side, Xiao Li sat on the edge of the bed, holding out his hands and watching Shen Chenzhi apply medicine to him.
His hand injury wasn’t serious at all but the other person’s expression was extremely solemn, like his hand would be broken in the next second. Not only did Shen Chenzhi grab the medicine, but he also brought gauze from the infirmary. He placed it to the side as he wiped the circle scar with the medicine.
Xiao Li thought about it but didn’t speak. He just quietly let the other person act. He looked so obedient like this. His head was lowered slightly and the dark ends of his hair touched the back of his snow-white neck. It looked like anything could be done to him and he wouldn’t resist that much.
However, this was far from the case.
Shen Chenzhi carefully applied the medicine to every inch of the wound before taking the gauze to the side and wrapping it around Xiao LI’s wrist circle after circle.
Xiao Li had originally endured it silently but watching these movements, he finally had to wonder, “…Is this necessary?”
It seemed to be exaggerated. If he didn’t know better, he would really think that his wrist was broken. He also didn’t think that wrapping something around the ‘coordinates’ would confuse the jailer’s judgment.
Shen Chenzhi glanced at him and was finally willing to speak. “It is necessary.”
Xiao Li heard that Shen Chenzhi’s tone was a bit cold like he had encountered something that made him unhappy.”
“I don’t like you being hurt.” Shen Chenzhi declared as he wrapped the last circle and tied the end of the gauze with a delicate knot. Then he released Xiao Li’s hand. Xiao Li finally regained ownership of his wrist. He turned it back and forth and found there was nothing affecting his movements except for an extra layer of wrapping.
Shen Chenzhi stared at him silently for a moment before suddenly asking, “I think you have been hiding from me recently. Did I do something wrong?”
He could see that Xiao Li had been alienating him. He hadn’t done anything but he still asked if it was his fault. Xiao Li’s wrist-turning movement slowed down and his gaze passed the young man toward the opposite room.
“I need a bit of time.” He said at last.
Shen Chenzhi stared deeply for a while. It seemed he wanted to ask something but in the end, he couldn’t say anything. He just nodded in response. “Okay.”
Xiao Li moved briskly and jumped off the edge of the bed. However, the moment his toes touched the ground, he couldn’t stand firm. He staggered a few steps to avoid the bad luck of falling.
It wasn’t because of his ability to fall to the ground had increased. It was that the weight on his back had become heavier. It changed from a backpack full of things to a pile of heavy iron blocks, thus affecting his judgment.
Xiao Li rushed away without turning his head. He waved his head, gesturing that he would leave first. Then he opened the door and walked out.
Shen Chenzhi stayed in place. He stared at the distant figure of the other person before retracting his gaze. He lowered his eyes and reached out to pick up the remaining piece of gauze. He wrapped the gauze around his fingertips and stretched it to test its flexibility.
In fact, just now, he had a flash of a thought in his head.
Tie him up. The gauze could act as a chain. It was soft and wouldn’t hurt the other person. One end could be tied to Xiao Li’s wrist and the other end could be tied to the bedside, cabinet, lamp, etc. Of course, Shen Chenzhi thought that the best place was his own wrist. He could shape a room, a closed room without any exit and be tied to the person he loved. From then on, there would be only the two of them in the world and they would never be separated.
In fact, he was somewhat emotionally affected. Especially after he didn’t know why Xiao Li chose to alienate him.
Shen Chenzhi turned his head to the side and considered it seriously for a moment. Then he controlled the expression in his eyes and threw the piece of gauze back.
…Forget it.
***
Another night arrived and it was almost time to turn off the lights. The rest of the group had already entered their respective rooms but Xiao Li was still in the passage. Seeing his movements, it seemed he didn’t have any intention of entering.
The place where he was standing wasn’t far from Wang Huai’s room. Wang Huai reached out and knocked on the door of his room. After attracting Xiao Li’s attention, he asked, “What is it? Is your ordinary bed not enough to satisfy you so you want to try the floor?”
Their several experiences made everyone understand that once the jailer made you sleep, it wouldn’t care about you, let alone transport you to bed. It would just let you sleep on the cold ground.
Xiao Li told him, “No, I want to try out an idea.”
“What is the idea?”
“Wait and you’ll know.”
“Take me along?”
He had pulled out an item from his task book. It was an oven left by a chef after his death and could only be used once a day. After using it, the chef’s masterpiece would appear. However, it was just a drop in the bucket for his hunger. He needed something else to distract himself.
Xiao Li replied, “Okay.”
It just so happened that Wang Huai’s participation could give this experiment more possibilities.
Wang Huai didn’t say anything else as he opened the door and walked to Xiao Li’s side.
In the other room, Park Heesoon was tempted when he saw it. However, his punishment had come quickly and severely in the afternoon. Now every cell in his body was screaming and he couldn’t even stand up, let alone leave.
Xiao Li straightened up. This movement might be more difficult for him but his back was still upright. He walked a bit further away from these rooms and came to the fork of the four passages, waiting for the jailer to arrive.
Time seemed to pass quicker when he wasn’t staying in his room
The overhead lights went out and they plunged into endless darkness. The dull footsteps could appear at any time. Everything was like the first few nights after entering prison. The difference was that they were free now.
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