The identity of the monster was known at the beginning of the third round.
This is a good thing.
Once the monster is found, the self-defense weapons in the hands of other people will no longer be pointed at their teammates, but will all face the monster together. They will no longer doubt each other and be suspicious of everything.
"We are still pretending that nothing has happened. Don't let him interfere with our discussion, and don't let him induce us to violate taboos." Brother Yu looked serious. "In short, don't reveal any flaws."
In the first two rounds, the monsters were not discovered early, so no one needed to act. But this time they needed to act. They didn’t know how to manage their expressions and felt nervous.
However, Mr. Zhang went to the bathroom and never came back.
Chen Yang said in a voice that only Chao Jian could hear: "Shall we go to the bathroom?"
Chao Jian was eating eight-treasure porridge and didn't give any response.
Chen Yang had a severe fever and he had to sit on the ground, but before his butt could warm the ground, Chao Jian pulled him up.
"Go to the company." Chao Jian's voice was very low and his breath was heavy.
Chen Yang didn't want to leave. He still had a few things he didn't understand about Mr. Zhang being a monster, so he wanted to go to the bathroom to find out: "Wait a minute."
Chao Jian glared at him.
Chen Yang peeled a milk slice and handed it over.
Chao Jian sneered: "You are stupid to begin with, and if your brain is burned by high temperature, you will become a fool."
Although I was angry, I still ate the tablets.
Chao Jian bit the milk slice into pieces with a "crunch", picked up Chen Yang with anger, and took him to the toilet to let him see what was going on.
Mr. Zhang was not seen in the toilet.
Chao Jian used his cane to smash open the compartments one by one: "Have you seen it?"
Chen Yang's breathing was heavy and hot: "I've seen it, I won't smash it anymore. It gives me a headache."
The few people who followed carefully checked the toilet with flashlights and found nothing unusual.
"He knew we had discovered his identity, so he hid himself," Li Zheng said in a dry voice.
Brother Yu comforted him, "As long as we don't violate the taboos, Mr. Zhang, who has turned into a monster, won't be able to do anything to us."
"But what is the taboo?" Sister Wang couldn't even cry anymore. She was numb and terrified, like she was schizophrenic. "We don't know anything now."
The toilet smelled fishy. Chen Yang couldn't smell the odor, but he could sense the tense atmosphere.
Qiao Qiao touched the cover of the constellation book and tapped her beautiful fingers: "Four days and four rounds, are all the taboos centered around one rule?" She muttered to herself, "If that's the case, then this round will continue the previous two rounds..."
Li Zheng suddenly had an idea and asked, "Is it related to the reflection?"
Yu Ge looked at him steadily: "It's very likely."
"Reflection... Water?" Li Zheng's eyes widened. "Can't we go to the first floor?"
He spoke very quickly, his face flushed with excitement: "Last night's phone call doesn't count. From the time Monster officially starts working, we can't go there. Is this a taboo?"
"I don't know." Brother Yu sighed, "Let's be careful, just in case."
The bathroom became quiet, no one left and no one spoke anymore.
A few beams of light could not illuminate their way home, but could only dispel a patch of darkness in the mission world, that's all.
Chen Yang's heart was struck by a sense of uneasiness which took a long time to dissipate. He did not reveal the fact that "the monster's working hours were the same as its usual working hours."
Only he and Chao Jian knew that the monsters who came to work at 8 o'clock this time were from Changxiang Technology.
If Mr. Zhang is a monster, then he is not the owner of the work ID card around his neck—the boss of Game Star Teng, but their colleague.
But…
Chen Yang felt strange. He looked at everyone present. Except for him, Chao Jian, and the little mute, the others were all white-collar workers on the A3 floor.
"Have you heard of Mr. Zhang before entering the mission world?"
Yu Ge and his friends looked at each other, their answers were “no”, “no impression”, “I don’t know him”.
Chen Yang observed their reactions and found nothing unusual. It seemed that no one was lying. He thought that he still had to look for the employee employment files of Changxiang Technology. Once he found that thing, everything would become clear.
Chen Yang was confused due to the fever. He swayed unsteadily and walked towards Jian who was leading him away, taking quick and steady steps.
Qiao Qiao also had a fever and felt dizzy, and her body was weak. Li Zheng asked her if she wanted him to carry her on his back.
"No need." Qiao Qiao was embarrassed, "I can walk."
Li Zheng did not give up: "Aren't we brothers?" He coughed lightly and said shamelessly, "Until you tell me the answer, I am still your brother."
Qiao Qiao: “…”
Li Zheng said seriously: "It's nothing to carry one another."
"Don't try to fool me." Qiao Qiao was not fooled.
The two young men and women whispered to each other, forming a small world of their own.
Brother Yu raised the flashlight.
Suddenly, Chen Yang's hoarse voice came from outside: "You guys come out too, don't stay in the toilet, it's not safe."
Qiao Qiao and Li Zheng were startled and stopped whispering.
You can't be distracted in the mission world, otherwise things will easily go wrong.
Brother Yu put down the flashlight: "What are your plans for today?"
"Although Mr. Zhang's identity as a monster has been revealed, we still don't know anything about the taboos." Li Zheng helped Qiao Qiao out of the toilet. "To be on the safe side, it's best to do what we did the past two days and honestly look for clues in the company. Don't come out unless necessary."
"That's right." Brother Yu scratched his little mole.
The mute touched the man's dark blue shirt sleeve, raised the sticky note pad when he looked at him, and pointed at the mole in his left eyebrow.
Mr. Yu, you're about to break.
Brother Yu said, "Ah," "It's okay."
"You can have laser surgery to remove it." Sister Wang took a flashlight and looked at it carefully.
"Of course you can." Yu Ge said, "But I don't really care."
There was a strange look in the mute's eyes. Why did he scratch it so frequently even though he didn't care? It was obvious that he really wanted to get rid of it.
Several people left the toilet, with the mute walking in front, followed by Brother Yu, Qiao Qiao, Li Zheng, and Sister Wang.
The mute's company is on the fourth floor. She is used to being alone and is very cautious. She trusts no one except Chen Yang, so she quickly distances herself from everyone.
The remaining four people walked back and forth in the corridor.
As soon as the mute left, Yu Ge became the person walking in front. He did not leave first, but kept walking with everyone. After walking for a while, the phone between Yu Ge's fingers changed its position, and the light did not shine in front, but passed the wall beside and cast diagonally behind.
Qiao Qiao had a high fever and walked a few steps to slow down. Li Zheng accompanied her. The two of them fell behind. Sister Wang walked in front of them. Sister Wang approached Brother Yu and said, "Hold your phone and take a picture forward."
"Oh oh." Brother Yu sighed, "I'm confused."
Sister Wang showed an understanding expression: "We have been through these things, we need to see a psychiatrist when we return."
Brother Yu said, "It's okay, you don't have to."
"Why not?" Sister Wang thought it was Brother Yu comforting her. Those dry words were pale and powerless, just like how their group faced the rules of the task. She smiled bitterly and said nothing more.
Chao Jian found cold medicine for Chen Yang.
Chen Yang was afraid of taking medicine, but this was a mission world and he couldn't afford to delay. He suppressed his rejection and resistance, swallowed the medicine with gritted teeth, and fell drowsily into the office chair.
"What do you think about the fact that Mr. Zhang is a monster?" Chen Yang asked Chao Jian in the dark.
Chao Jian picked at the three empty medicine capsules and said, "We'll know once we find the employee files."
Chen Yang leaned on the armrest of the chair and sat up. The drug hadn't taken effect yet, but he couldn't wait any longer: "No need to rest, let's go find it."
"We must go back alive, home." Chen Yang said softly.
Chao Jian frowned, silently put the medicine into his pocket, and took Chen Yang to find the file.
Soon, the mission made new progress.
It was not Chen Yang and Chao Jian who found the file, but Pan Lin who found a membrane.
Zheng Zhiqin asked Pan Lin to walk forward on his knees. He supported himself on the ground with his hands and howled like a dog. He groped for something in the dark and subconsciously held it and squeezed it. He felt it was very soft.
After he turned on the flashlight and saw clearly what it was, he ran away from under Zheng Zhiqin screaming wildly, his face covered with snot and tears.
Chen Yang and his group were also shocked when they saw the membrane on the ground.
The membrane seemed very large, piled up on the ground in layers, as if something had come out of it.
Just like a snake shedding its skin.
"Fuck..." Li Zheng swallowed hard, "I'm really going crazy."
"What is this?" Qiao Qiao's hand holding the phone kept shaking, "So disgusting."
"I'm afraid of this thing." Brother Yu couldn't stand it anymore and turned his head to vomit. When he vomited, Sister Wang also vomited.
Chen Yang used Chao Jian's crutch to lift up the membrane. He suddenly shouted, "Li Zheng, Brother Yu, help me stand up the membrane!"
Upon hearing this, Li Zheng and Yu Ge moved closer, suppressing their nausea.
"Sorry, I really can't do it." Brother Yu stepped back, unable to bear it, and continued to vomit.
Chen Yang was about to call for someone when a tall figure walked into his sight. The collar of his shirt was loose, revealing a small cross hanging on his chest, and there was a strong smell of tobacco and fishy odor.
Zheng Zhitan slowly bent down, picked up a corner of the membrane, and nodded to Chen Yang.
Chen Yang gave the other corner of the membrane to Chao Jian. He and Li Zheng squatted down, each taking charge of the two lower corners of the membrane.
Four people hold the four corners of the membrane and pull it flat.
All the flashlight light was focused here.
"It's a human figure." Qiao Qiao exclaimed.
“No way?” Li Zheng couldn’t see clearly because of his shortsightedness. He moved closer with the help of the flashlight and ran away the next moment. “Really? It’s really in the shape of a human.”
Chen Yang said, "Stop shouting and take the picture quickly."
Li Zheng did as he was told immediately. As soon as he finished taking the photos, Chen Yang released the film and took out his phone to look at the photos.
"It looks a little familiar." Chen Yang looked at the photo for a while and said this.
Li Zheng, Qiao Qiao, Yu Ge and Wang Jie surrounded him, with their heads next to Chen Yang.
Chao Jian threw the membrane away, pulled Chen Yang over with a cold face, and brought him to his side.
Chen Yang: “What?”
Pan Lin: “This is…”
He spoke to Chen Yang at the same time, his eyes swollen like walnuts staring at the phone screen in the other person's hand: "Mr. Zhang."
Everyone's eyes instantly shifted to Pan Lin. Zheng Zhiqin walked up to him, pinched his face and said, "Baby, are you seeing right?"
"No, no." Pan Lin shook his head.
Because of his asymmetrical appearance, Pan Lin has hated his face since he was a child, but at the same time he was concerned about the changes in his face, whether it had become uglier or more harmonious. He also cared about other people's faces. Every time he looked at someone, he would pay attention to the proportion of their face at first glance.
Li Zheng applied Pan Lin's answer to look at the shape of the membrane. His face turned pale and his tongue was tied: "Yes, yes, yes, it's the one named Zhang, it's really him!"
Brother Yu stopped retching, still in shock: "Xiao Huanyu and Wang Hao didn't shed their skins, how could this monster... "
He didn't say anything further for a long time.
"Evolved?" Pan Lin shrank back and hid in Zheng Zhitan's arms.
Zheng Zhiqin looked at Chen Yang who was squatting on the ground checking the membrane. He raised his eyelids and met the eyes of the young man next to him, but they looked away after two seconds.
In those two seconds, there seemed to be a cold flash, and yet there seemed to be no waves.
The feeling of knowing an old acquaintance flashed through Zheng Zhiqin's heart, but he didn't catch it. However, this did not affect his suspicion of Chao Jian.
Chen Yang stared at the membrane for a moment, not knowing what he was thinking, he grabbed the membrane between his fingers and squeezed it.
"Tick-Tock"
A drop of liquid hit the ground, followed by another.
The surroundings suddenly became dead silent.
Chen Yang cut the Gordian knot by twisting the membrane with force. The dripping sound continued for a while, and a pool of liquid appeared on the ground.
"It stinks." Qiao Qiao covered his nose.
Chen Yang ignored his wet fingers. He couldn't smell anything, and his nose was still spitting fire: "Besides the stink?"
"It smells fishy," Qiao Qiao said, "Just like..." She thought of something, and a chill crept into her heart. Her voice trembled, "The smell of a newborn baby."
A horrifying thought popped up in the depths of Chen Yang's mind. He stood up, took the tissue handed to him by Chao Jian, and wiped his hands. His voice was a little tense: "This is not Mr. Zhang's shed skin, this is him."
"What do you mean?" Yu Ge's square face was filled with horror.
Chen Yang's hands were not clean enough, and a piece of tissue was dirty, so Chao Jian handed him another one. He took it and continued to wipe: "Mr. Zhang was eaten a long time ago. The monster used a fake Mr. Zhang as a decoy. It couldn't hold on for long, and now it has turned into this thing." He pointed to the "membrane" on the ground.
"If Mr. Zhang is not a monster, then who is?" Everyone was stunned.
The monster they thought was dead long ago, and the real monster was someone else. This was a fatal turn for them, and what greeted them was sharp cruelty and despair.
"This is just my guess." Chen Yang said, "Only when the identity of the monster is confirmed through clues can this guess be established or overturned."
Sister Wang hesitated to speak.
"Sister Wang, did you find anything?" Qiao Qiao rushed to Sister Wang, and her actions attracted everyone's attention.
“I, just…” Sister Wang was stared at by them and stammered.
"Sister Wang, we are a team. At this critical moment of life and death, if you have any discovery, do not hide it. Maybe it is very crucial information." Brother Yu spoke in a gentle tone and his attitude was sincere.
"Yes, Sister Wang, Brother Yu is right." Li Zheng followed Brother Yu to do ideological work, "Whether you have a discovery or an idea, you must tell everyone. There is strength in numbers."
Sister Wang was encouraged by everyone. She made up her mind, closed her eyes, and said in one breath: "I suspect the monster is the little mute."
Chen Yang suddenly stopped wiping his hands, looked around, shone the flashlight, and his heart sank.
Previously, his attention was focused on the "membrane", and only then did he notice that the mute was not there.
"The reason." Chen Yang stared at Sister Wang.
"I saw her coming out of the water on the first floor." Sister Wang was still frightened. "I just thought her behavior was weird. Now that Mr. Zhang is not a monster, it must be her."
Chen Yang asked: "When did you see it?"
"I don't know the exact time, probably about half an hour ago." Sister Wang rubbed her arms, "I was about to go look for you guys, and I accidentally saw that scene in the corridor. I was so scared that I hid back in the company."
"What do you want us to do?" Qiao Qiao asked.
"I'm the only one in the company. It was fine yesterday, but today I can't calm down for some reason, so I want to team up with you guys." Sister Wang sighed.
Chen Yang didn't listen or ask any more questions. He quickly pulled Chao Jian to Room 402. Chen Yang called out many times, but there was no movement inside.
The mute was not in her company and did not reunite with everyone. She was missing.
At this critical juncture, a tasker suddenly disappeared, and teammates witnessed her strange behavior. Most teammates would become suspicious, and only a few would care about the other party's safety.
"I don't believe she is a monster." Qiao Qiao was worried, "She must be in danger."
Li Zheng asked Qiao Qiao why he didn't believe that the mute was a monster.
Qiao Qiao replied: "She is cute."
Li Zheng's face darkened: "I admit that she was indeed a little cute when she was still a human, but if she changed her camp, she would not be cute anymore."
Qiao Qiao lowered his eyes: "I should ask her zodiac sign."
“It’s no use asking. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you. You just know each other…” Li Zheng stopped his words of comfort. Why did it sound like a father comforting his daughter who was troubled by love? ?
Outside the door of Room 402, six of the eight people were standing separately with flashlights on, and no one knew what they were thinking.
Chen Yang felt vaguely uneasy. He hadn't even finished his half-day class yet, and the monster's identity had already changed from one to another, and the timing was just so "coincidental".
Mr. Zhang violated a taboo and was eaten. The monster used him to delay exposure for himself, causing panic in the team. What about the little mute
Chen Yang thought calmly that there were not many people around now, and he could completely eliminate them based on the information provided by Chao Jian: "The monster's working hours are equal to its company's working hours."
Pan Lin, Zheng Zhiqin, Qiao Qiao, and Li Zheng are from the same company and are acquaintances, which means that their work permits are matched with them and there is no other possibility.
The same goes for him and Chao Jian.
Then the remaining ones are Brother Yu, Sister Wang, the little mute, and the female white-collar worker.
Sister Wang said that the deceased Xiaoqin was her colleague, but during the period before Xiaoqin's death, Chen Yang did not pay attention to how they got along.
The female white-collar worker also claimed that she had a colleague, who was an Aries whose face was eaten. Chen Yang also did not pay attention to their relationship.
Brother Yu and the little mute have never had any colleagues.
The third person from Changxiang Technology is among them. As long as they find evidence, they can identify the target.
Among the four people, Chen Yang was the first to get rid of the little mute. He did not think so emotionally, but made a rational analysis.
The remaining three are on the pending list.
Chen Yang glanced at the three people imperceptibly, he narrowed his eyes, is it Brother Yu
uncertain.
I want evidence, solid evidence.
"Let's all go." Chen Yang said. Seeing that Qiao Qiao still wanted to ask about the little mute, he waved his hand and finally reminded them, "Go separately, don't talk too much, and don't get too close."
The taboo has not been broken yet, so it is better to be careful.
Once the monster is found, the suspicion of the little mute can be cleared. Chen Yang hopes that she is just used by the monster as a scapegoat, not...
Chen Yang didn't move. He watched several taskers walk through the corridor and didn't notice anything wrong.
Time was running out and Chen Yang didn't dare to delay at all. He dragged Chao Jian back to the company to look for the files and called Zheng Zhiqin who had never left.