Chapter 079: Deduction
“So, I’m already dead?” Deng Qi’s eyes widened in shock, his whole being thrown into confusion.
After a long pause, he regained his composure and looked at Song Wan with a mischievous glint. “If I’m a ghost, does that mean I can kill you?”
Song Wan was startled and hurriedly took two steps back. “Uh, Deng, let’s not be so rash…”
“But I’m already a ghost,” Deng Qi replied with a nonchalant shrug.
Song Wan was at a loss for words. “That’s… actually a good point.” Yet, “The mirror never said I wasn’t a ghost, either.”
Deng Qi froze. “You’re right. I died protecting you because of Guo Feng, but no one said Guo Feng died, or that you died.”
They exchanged glances and, as if by prior agreement, turned to the mirror.
Sure enough, a familiar line of text appeared on the glass:
You may ask me one question. I can only answer with O or X.
“Have Guo Feng and I both become ghosts?”
—X
Song Wan jumped in fright and turned to Deng Qi. “So Guo Feng and I are both alive? That can’t be right. Didn’t you die protecting me from Guo Feng? If you’re dead and Guo Feng is still alive, would he really let me live?”
It seemed impossible just thinking about it.
“Maybe something else delayed him. Like, what if you both lost your memories?” Deng Qi offered a guess.
Song Wan pondered for a moment, then shook her head. “I feel like there’s another reason.” She paced restlessly, muttering to herself, “What conditions have we overlooked?”
After a while, both of them suddenly looked up, answering in unison: “We returned to the present!”
“That’s it! When Guo Feng was about to kill me, everyone—living and dead—traveled back to the modern era together, so he never got the chance.” Song Wan’s eyes sparkled with excitement, her phoenix eyes shining so brightly that Deng Qi had to squint.
“He didn’t spare me; he simply didn’t have the time.”
But soon, the smile froze on her lips. “Oh no, now that we’ve recognized each other, everyone else’s memories—human and ghost—will return too. Guo Feng will kill me!”
Song Wan was nearly frantic. “What’s the production team thinking? Are they just hoping we’ll all kill each other?”
…
Song Wan looked up to find Deng Qi gazing at her like a predator sizing up prey.
“Deng, don’t do anything crazy. The production team never even told us our mission!”
Deng Qi remained silent, but took two deliberate steps toward her, exuding a stifling pressure.
Song Wan swallowed hard, on the verge of tears. “Think about it, Deng. The production team wants us to find our destined partners. There must be a reason. They wouldn’t have us reunite just to unlock everyone’s memories, then let the ghosts kill the last two people and turn everyone into ghosts, right?”
As she backed away, Song Wan racked her brain for arguments to convince Deng Qi, utterly exhausted.
Perhaps her words made sense, because Deng Qi halted and thought for a moment. “You’re right.”
Song Wan was about to breathe a sigh of relief, when Deng Qi added, “But the production team never gave us any tasks…”
Rip—rip—rip—
The strange sound suddenly echoed through the cramped room, making them both jump back in alarm, eyes darting to the mirror.
Your task is to kill all the other ghosts and humans, then leave this building.
This building is actually the interior of a time machine. Everything you see is an illusion conjured by spirits. You are lost inside the time machine.
But the time machine has been damaged by Wu Jin, and now it can only send one person back to the present. If you want to return, you must kill all the other people and ghosts.
The way to kill ghosts can be found in the mirror or deduced from your known memories.
Each ghost will vanish in the same manner as their cause of death.
To kill a living person, simply tear off their nametag.
…
They waited for a long while, but when no further writing appeared on the mirror, they looked at each other in silent shock.
At last, Deng Qi couldn’t hold back. “So I can only help you return to the present, and I might be trapped inside the time machine forever?”
Song Wan managed a sheepish expression, unsure how to answer.
Deng Qi sighed, grabbed Song Wan’s wrist, and started to pull her outside. “Fine, since you’re my girlfriend, I’ll find a way to help you escape the time machine.”
Song Wan paused, then grabbed his hand. “We need to find a good hiding spot. Now it’s not just me who’s alive; Guo Feng isn’t a ghost either.”
“Our only advantage is that we know how to kill Guo Feng, and we can deduce how to make the other ghosts vanish using our memories.”
Deng Qi looked at Song Wan, who nodded. “You, me, and Guo Feng—we were the last three alive, so we know how everyone else died.”
First, the first victim was Wu Jin—
He had a secret crush on Song Wan but accidentally discovered that she and Deng Qi were secretly together. Enraged, he decided, “If I can’t have Deng Qi, neither can anyone else,” and sabotaged the time machine, trying to trap Deng Qi and Song Wan in the past.
But Qin Hui caught him in the act. They fought, and in the struggle, Qin Hui accidentally pushed Wu Jin down the stairs, killing him instantly.
The second victim wasn’t Qin Hui, but Qing He—
He noticed how frightened and uneasy Qin Hui was, so he tried to comfort him. Qin Hui, thinking Qing He had seen him push Wu Jin, seized an opportunity to shove Qing He down the stairs as well.
The third and fourth victims died together: Li Fan, Qing He’s brother, and Zheng Fang—
Searching for his missing brother, Li Fan questioned everyone until he found Qin Hui.
Having already killed two people, Qin Hui had regained his composure and cleverly shifted suspicion onto Zheng Fang.
Li Fan, furious and determined to avenge his brother, confronted Zheng Fang.
Zheng Fang, of course, denied everything and tried to explain, but that only made Li Fan angrier. Neither was willing to be wrongly accused, so a fight broke out—and they both died.
The fifth was Qin Hui—
“Guo Feng and Zheng Fang were a couple—hahaha!” Song Wan nearly collapsed with laughter. “Guo and I used to guess that one of you must be playing the ‘female’ role. Turns out, the cross-dresser wasn’t Guo or you, Deng, but Zheng—hahaha!”
Deng Qi’s face shifted rapidly through a spectrum of colors, like a dye shop, but finally, he couldn’t help but snort. As long as he wasn’t the one in drag, he could only gloat.
He looked at Song Wan, curious. “Do you think, now that Zheng Fang’s memories are back, the production team will make him dress as a woman?”
Song Wan’s laughter paused. After a moment, she burst out again. “With how the production team loves to mess with us, they absolutely will.”
Just picturing Zheng Fang’s burly frame in women’s clothes, Song Wan covered her face. “The mental image alone is blinding…”
Right on cue, the show’s camera cut to Zheng Fang—thick brows, large eyes, pale skin, and red lips. The crew had even given him a wig and a short skirt.
Guo Feng, who had just regained his memories, happened to find him. The second he saw Zheng Fang, he bolted. “Oh my god, a ghost!”
Zheng Fang batted his big eyes, and spotting Guo Feng, pinched his voice and called out, “Honey, come back! I missed you so much…”
Guo Feng clutched the railing, nearly retching. “Ugh—”
He was new to the variety show scene. Why was he subjected to such wild scenes right at the start?
—
Qin Hui, after lying and causing Zheng Fang’s death, ended up luring Guo Feng to him with those same lies, and was beaten to death.
The sixth was Deng Qi—
After killing Qin Hui, Guo Feng remained filled with resentment, blaming everything on Song Wan’s supposed flirtatiousness, and wanted to kill her.
But Song Wan and Deng Qi were inseparable. Even if Guo Feng managed to lure Deng Qi away temporarily, he would soon return to Song Wan’s side—just in time to see Guo Feng raise a knife to kill her. Horrified, Deng Qi leapt to her defense and was killed in her stead.
In the end, only Guo Feng and Song Wan remained. Guo Feng hesitated for a moment, and Song Wan seized the chance to dash to the time machine and hit the switch.
Which brought them to the present situation.
Song Wan plopped down on the floor, unconcerned, and beckoned Deng Qi to sit as well. “Come on, sit down. If you stand, I have to crane my neck to see you—it’s uncomfortable.”
Deng Qi sighed. “If you’re uncomfortable, why not just stand up?”
“I’m tired!”
Deng Qi could only shake his head, but he eventually sat down.
Song Wan continued, “Here’s what we know about killing ghosts: one is lying—Qin Hui disappeared after lying without knowing the truth; the second is vanishing upon seeing someone else holding hands.” She batted her eyes earnestly at Deng Qi. “That must be Wu Jin.”
Deng Qi nodded in agreement.
“And then, vanishing after a quarrel…” Song Wan thought back. “Wu Jin argued with Qin Hui and was pushed to his death; Li Fan and Zheng Fang fought and died together…”
“Wu Jin is confirmed to vanish upon seeing hand-holding, and Qin Hui for lying…” Deng Qi frowned. “So it must be Li Fan or Zheng Fang.”
Song Wan looked puzzled. Since she couldn’t tell which method applied to whom, she decided to use process of elimination. “I remember the broadcast mentioned another way for a ghost to vanish?”
Deng Qi nodded. “Someone laughed out loud…” Suddenly, his expression froze. “Didn’t I just laugh?”
Song Wan gasped. “You did…”
She quickly broke into a grin. “But you haven’t been dragged off by the black-clad figures, so the one who vanishes by laughter can’t be you!”
This realization filled Song Wan with new excitement.
“Now left are you, Li Fan, Zheng Fang, and Qing He… Well, we can’t be sure how Qing He vanishes, but laughter is not yours, and Qing He’s death was so mysterious that laughter can’t be his method, either…”
“Zheng Fang!” Deng Qi’s eyes lit up. “Remember? When Li Fan confronted him, Zheng Fang laughed, and that deepened the misunderstanding…”
“So the one who vanishes after a quarrel is Li Fan!”
They clapped hands in delight. “We’re brilliant!”
“But as for how to make Qing He vanish…”
Song Wan sprang to her feet, waving her hand dismissively. “Only Qing He’s weakness is unknown. There’s no need to worry—we’ll just take care of the other ghosts first…”