Chapter 294: Joyful Destiny 15

Chapter 294: Joyful Destiny 15

The paper figure stared blankly at Qin Fei.

It had reacted slightly when the original paper figure was torn apart, but once Qin Fei disguised himself and blended into the group, it returned to its calm state, seemingly accepting his presence effortlessly.

Success.

Qin Fei smoothed out the corners of his mouth, revealing a light-hearted expression behind his freshly made mask.

On the other side of the door, Gala and Cen San Ya, limited by their field of view, couldn't see what Qin Fei was doing. Suddenly, they noticed a bulky object mixed in with the flat paper figures.

Gala & Cen San Ya: "…?"

The two behind the door widened their eyes in surprise.

Qin Fei turned back, a barely perceptible hint of smugness in his smile, and released the ghost infant, silently commanding, "Take this to them."

The ghost infant received the order and vanished from sight.

Thus, Gala and Cen San Ya only saw a haphazardly modified pair of scissors floating through the air and landing at their feet.

At this moment, the paper figure procession had stopped, and the large door could close at any time.

They couldn't wait any longer.

Gala's gaze sharpened as he decisively rushed out of hiding.

Risking being discovered, he snipped at the strange entity beside Qin Fei.

Cen San Ya did the same, heading for the fifth position from the end since there were no paper figures holding lanterns at the very end.

In the procession of swaying ghosts, three living people quietly joined the ranks.

All of this happened within mere moments.

The viewers in their live streams were stunned, only regaining their composure once everything settled down.

"Damn... This actually worked?"

A thousand words condensed into a single exclamation.

One spirit found Qin Fei's move impressive: "This is truly turning disaster into fortune. The streamer is amazing."

However, some viewers disagreed: "Too risky. Before acting, there was no evidence to support the feasibility of his decision. It was pure luck. I've seen too many players like this; sooner or later, they'll crash and burn."

These comments sparked a backlash from Qin Fei's fan base, leading to an immediate argument.

"Yes, yes, you're the best, always thinking three steps ahead."

"How can you say it was just luck? Maybe you're on the first level while he's on the fifth, seeing things you can't."

Indeed, this viewer hit the nail on the head.

"Stop it. No matter how lucky, he's now an A-level player! Those few you praised haven't even reached A-level yet. They're still struggling to accumulate enough points for promotion!"

...

The live stream chat was heated.

Meanwhile, the courtyard was eerily quiet.

After entering Tulou, the paper figure procession paused briefly before resuming its slow movement.

The paper steward, who had been shouting about "night patrol," now began the actual patrol.

Starting from the room closest to the stairs, the paper figures entered each room one by one and then exited in the same order.

Due to the limited space in each room, the paper figures maintained a steady pattern of entering and exiting, circling the room briefly without lingering.

The three players' positions at the back proved advantageous.

When it was their turn to enter the rooms, there was no one behind them, allowing them to explore freely without worrying about drawing attention from NPCs.

Thus, the procession rotated through the rooms at a moderate pace.

Until Qin Fei stepped into the last room, his eyes suddenly lit up.

In the corner of the wall hung a beautifully framed painting.

This room had been visited countless times during the day, but there was no such painting then.

Gala was right; some paintings were hidden in the night.

Qin Fei and Gala exchanged glances through their paper masks.

Nearby, Cen San Ya floated back like a ghost, his steps light and silent.

No matter what method he used, the paper figures between them seemed completely oblivious, showing no reaction.

Qin Fei raised his gaze to examine the painting before him.

The painting depicted only one person—the bride herself.

The bride was kneeling in a room surrounded by candles.

Qin Fei remembered this scene. In the paper play, this act told the story of a bride whose former lover had died, forcing her into a new marriage. Unable to resist, she sat in her room, silently weeping and recalling the memories of her past love.

In summary, it was just miserable.

Qin Fei glanced at the painting twice before stepping forward and placing his hands on both sides of it.

To enter the ancient painting, one needed the Reversion Mirror; without using it, simply touching the painting would not trigger any response.

Qin Fei intended to remove the painting and take it away, but unfortunately, his plan failed.

The painting was not merely hanging by ropes; instead, it was tightly affixed to the wall.

Qin Fei took half a step back and softly clicked his tongue.

Clearly, the paintings in Room 014 and the cafeteria were not like this.

It seemed as if the system had anticipated his thoughts and was deliberately making things difficult for him.

Gala glanced at the door and whispered, "Forget it, let's find a way to get into the painting first."

Finding the desired object was currently the most important task, and everything else could be set aside temporarily.

There was only one protagonist in this painting, and all three players suspected that perhaps only one person could enter the painting. However, for safety, they all took out their Reversion Mirrors.

In the blink of an eye, all three figures vanished from the dim room.

...

The familiar dizziness faded, and Qin Fei knew he had successfully entered the painting.

Currently, Qin Fei was sitting in a chair. He tried moving, and his body felt normal, except his eyelids felt as if they were glued shut, preventing him from opening them.

The player did not act rashly and waited quietly for a few seconds. Soon, he heard the system prompt.

"Double Happiness|Candle Memories: Locate every candle within the residence and ignite them all to exit the painting."

Rule One: When all the candles in the house are extinguished, you must not open your eyes.

Rule Two: Remember, there is only one living person in the room.

If you hear someone calling you, do not respond. If you sense someone touching you, remember that it is all an illusion.

...

The prompt was delivered at a moderate pace, with each word clearly audible.

Qin Fei sat in the chair with his eyes closed, tapping his right index finger rhythmically on his knee.

The external force on his eyelids had been removed, yet Qin Fei maintained his original posture.

From the content of the rules, this painting seemed less complex than a banquet, with the main difficulty concentrated in the beginning.

As long as he could find the first candle and light it, opening his eyes afterward would make the search for objects much easier.

As for Rule Two, Qin Fei didn't take it too seriously.

Such a slightly terrifying warning rule was merely reminding the player that there were ghosts in the room.

Perhaps these ghosts might have some mental contamination effects when they appeared, but for Qin Fei, these could be completely ignored.

He only needed to remember not to react no matter what happened.

It didn't sound too complicated. But... he wondered if there might be other hidden traps.

Qin Fei stood up, holding onto the back of the chair, and began walking forward step by step in the darkness.

...

Qin Fei's plan for finding the candles in the room was straightforward.

Although he didn't know which room he was in, the rooms in Tulou were not large, and the layout of the circularly divided rooms was consistent.

Qin Fei planned to first find a wall and then feel along it, exploring the four sides, and gradually move towards the center.

There would be furniture in the room, so he would search it upon encountering it.

The young man's hand quickly touched a wall.

There were no wall-mounted candle holders in Tulou, so candles were unlikely to be stuck directly on the wall. Therefore, Qin Fei focused his exploration on the ground.

He crouched down and felt the floor inch by inch, walking less than two meters in one direction before his hand hit something hard.

A sharp pain shot through his knuckles, and Qin Fei softly hissed, but he continued feeling upward.

It was a square leg of a large piece of furniture—a bed.

Normally, there wouldn't be candles on a bed.

But since it was a game of finding objects, who knew where the strange tales might hide things?

Qin Fei climbed onto the bed and continued searching carefully.

On the quilt, nothing.

Under the quilt, nothing.

The bed had several thick layers of mattresses, and Qin Fei pressed his hands inch by inch over them, feeling nothing unusual.

Until he reached the head of the bed and lifted the pillow.

Pressing his palm against a slender cylindrical object, Qin Fei instinctively felt a surge of joy, which froze in his heart less than two seconds later.

He had thought he had found a candle.

But... this didn't seem to be a candle.

The player didn’t move, and the skin on his palm carefully sensed the pressure beneath it.

A candle's surface is hard and smooth, but this wasn't the case with this object.

It was shorter and thinner than an ordinary candle, clearly divided into three sections, with a flexible outer layer and a thin hard shell at the top.

This really wasn’t a candle.

It was a finger.

A human finger.

If it were a timid player, they might have broken out in a cold sweat by now, but Qin Fei wasn’t afraid, though he certainly wasn’t comfortable either.

The overly eerie sensation caused goosebumps to rise on the young man’s neck.

Not because of fear.

Purely because it was disgusting.

The severed finger beneath his hand seemed to suddenly come to life, curling slightly, its tip gently scraping against Qin Fei's palm.

Qin Fei’s temple twitched.

Only now did he truly understand how difficult Rule Two was.

He couldn’t react.

If this were just an ordinary finger, Qin Fei could simply throw it away.

But this finger had its own consciousness and had just scratched him.

If Qin Fei were to throw the finger away now, would the system consider it a reaction to the ghost?

The system has always been tricky and finds ways through every loophole, so Qin Fei didn’t dare take the risk.

Continuing to hold the finger wasn’t an option either.

The young man closed his eyes tightly, quickly coming up with a plan.

...

In the pitch-black room, the player sat up straight, muttering to himself as he pulled his hand from under the pillow.

"I found a candle," he said, carefully getting out of bed.

"Need to find some fire."

Qin Fei continued mumbling.

He took one step forward, then another.

In the next moment, the player suddenly tripped over his own feet and stumbled forward!

His right hand, holding the finger, loosened as if by accident, and the cylindrical object flew gracefully in a parabolic arc, rolling onto the floor.

"Ah! My candle!" the player slapped his thigh, pretending to shout in dismay.

The audience: "..."

Could you be any more careless?