Chapter 285 The Second Possibility

Chapter 285: The Second Possibility

"If there are no further questions, let's proceed. Any more chatter and even the broth will go cold." Sha Linghai concluded his hypothesis, convinced they had been transported back in time to an era when the brides were still alive, and their mission was to play detective.

"The old butler just said it's still early before dawn, and the administrator's information indicated the brides would be found drowned in the pond early the next morning after entering the residence. Our time might be running out."

Sha Linghai led the way, walking along the winding bridge.

"Wait a moment." Lin Wenhua suddenly spoke, causing Huang Qi, who was about to follow Sha Linghai, to stop. "Mr. Sha, your reasoning is sound, but there are some things everyone might need to know."

The other players looked at Lin Wenhua with puzzled expressions.

Though it was unclear why the old butler considered Lin Wenhua a man of letters, his striking red hair, along with various earrings, lip rings, and nose rings, easily gave strangers an impression of unreliability. However, perhaps due to the extreme seriousness of Lin Wenhua's expression at that moment, the young girl Wen Wen also paused after Huang Qi, waiting for Lin Wenhua to continue.

"Huang Qi might remember this too. Back in the real world, he and I visited an abandoned park where I encountered some truly terrifying entities." Lin Wenhua wasn't sure what was wrong with his eyes, but he felt it was crucial to inform the other players, as they were all companions in this game.

"Terrifying? Didn't we only see a student from No. 1 High School there? And that young man was quite handsome; he shouldn't be considered terrifying, right?" Huang Qi scratched his head in confusion.

"Because only my eyes saw it." Lin Wenhua pointed to his own eyes. "In that abandoned park, my eyes saw some... things that should be called 'Eerie Entities.' But since Huang Qi couldn't see anything, I initially thought it was just a hallucination."

"So, big brother, you're bringing this up now..." Wen Wen looked up at Lin Wenhua, who was much taller than her. "Is it because you've also seen things in this courtyard that the rest of us can't see?"

Wen Wen had previously stated she was twelve years old, roughly the age of transitioning to middle school. In the modern world with its advanced internet, children of this age often know a great deal, but Wen Wen seemed more mature than her peers.

Lin Wenhua nodded, organizing his thoughts before continuing: "For a fleeting moment just now, I saw the moon reflected in the pond turn back into a red moon. When I looked away, this backyard reverted to its abandoned and desolate state. Butler Zhao over there was completely translucent, like a ghost from a horror story. And... the three bowls of broth Huang Qi is holding turned into mud mixed with white bones."

Huang Qi shivered, nearly dropping the food containers in his hands.

"You're hallucinating," Sha Linghai dismissed Lin Wenhua's claims. "Such hallucinations are of no help to our mission. Whether it's mud with bones or broth, we still need to deliver them to those three brides."

"What if it's not a hallucination?" The young girl Wen Wen, however, adopted a thoughtful expression. "I largely agreed with what Uncle Sha said earlier, thinking we might have traveled back in time due to a time reversal. But if what the red-haired brother says is true, and what he saw wasn't a hallucination, then there's a second possibility for our current situation."

"If the red-haired brother not only saw the abandoned backyard but also saw the broth turn into mud, and if it's not a hallucination, it's almost as if he has seen through the disguise of this backyard." Wen Wen murmured, as if to herself, but her voice was loud enough for the other players to hear.

"Disguise?" Both Sha Linghai and Huang Qi looked blank.

"That means we might not have experienced any time reversal or returned to the past. We might just be in an illusion similar to the past. If that's the case, the ones who are hallucinating would be the three of us, and the red-haired brother is the only one who has seen through the illusion."

Sha Linghai opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak, Wen Wen continued her analysis: "Assuming we are currently in an illusion isn't necessarily a bad thing. As Uncle Sha said earlier, novice games have a lower difficulty and more obvious hints. Whether it's 'time reversal' or 'illusion,' both could be clues and guidance provided by the game to help us identify the culprit. So, even if it's an illusion, even if we are actually still in the abandoned residence, we can use the illusion to witness what happened when the three brides died."

"Moreover, Uncle Sha, you've told us a lot about the Nightmare World and Eerie Entities. Compared to time reversal transporting us back to the past, I find the possibility of an illusion and hallucinations more likely." Wen Wen presented her deduction.

"So, there's no real difference, right? Whether it's mud or broth, we just need to follow what that butler, who might be human or ghost, said and deliver the bowls to the three brides, right?" Although Wen Wen was the youngest of the four players, even someone as self-important as Sha Linghai subconsciously trusted her words.

"No, there's a huge difference." Wen Wen looked up at the other three, her voice trembling slightly. "If time reversal has brought us directly back to the past, then the three brides we're about to meet are alive—three pitiable girls forced into marriage."

"But if this is a disguised illusion, then the ones we're about to meet are..."

Wen Wen was, after all, still young. Though she had considered many possibilities, she ultimately couldn't continue speaking due to fear.

However, even without Wen Wen finishing her sentence, with so many hints, Lin Wenhua and the others could grasp what she left unsaid.

If the pristine residence before them was an illusion, if they were still standing in the abandoned backyard, then when they went to the east, north, and west courtyards, the brides they would meet would not be the three pitiable women forced into marriage while alive, but—

Three ghost brides!

Three ghost brides who drowned in the pond, trapped in the residence with resentment for many long years, and had become true Eerie Entities!

This was the most terrifying outcome.

"So..." Huang Qi nervously swallowed. "Brother Lin, Wen... um, Sister Wen, which courtyard should we head to first?"

"How about the east courtyard first?"