Translator: CinderTL
"Perhaps he wants to witness the end of the mistake he made due to a momentary lapse in judgment," Jiang Cheng said.
"You mean he wants to watch Director Qi die here?" Weiwei's tone fluctuated greatly, but it seemed her shock was more about the situation rather than doubt.
The top priority now was to determine the cause of the Old Dean's death.
Dying from natural causes and being killed by a Ghost were entirely different methods, and they represented the Ghost's different attitudes accordingly.
From the Ghost's attitude toward the Old Dean, they could infer many subtle differences.
"You handle things here. I'll investigate what happened to Xiang Nan's family," Huai Yi stood up and said naturally.
Time was of the essence now. Judging from the progress of the case, the time limit for this mission seemed even tighter than they had imagined.
"I'll go with you," Cao Yang stood up, casually grabbing the coat draped over the chair, and was about to leave when a hand rested on his shoulder. Cao Yang turned around to see Huai Yi's face. "No need," Huai Yi said. "I can handle this alone."
Hearing this, Cao Yang's eyes widened slightly, his face filled with disbelief.
Having personally experienced the dangers of the mission, Cao Yang was well aware of how perilous it was. The Abnormality here was beyond description.
A single misstep, and Li Kaifeng and Du Feng's fate would be his.
In such an environment, everyone hoped to stick together as much as possible.
And if he remembered correctly, when they first arrived in this world, Huai Yi had formally stated that everyone should stay together and not separate.
But now, why... "Cao Yang, you stay with us," Jiang Cheng patted his clothes and stood up, saying, "Huai Yi has experience, and it's more convenient for him to move alone."
It was clear that Cao Yang had a good impression of Huai Yi and was worried about him being alone and getting into trouble.
"Take care," Huai Yi nodded to everyone and left alone.
Jiang Cheng knew that Huai Yi must have some method he didn't want to reveal in front of everyone.
This was definitely not the mindset or approach of someone who had only entered a Nightmare once. At least in terms of familiarity with Nightmares, Huai Yi hadn't been entirely truthful.
Moreover, Jiang Cheng clearly sensed that Huai Yi had already noticed him.
But there was nothing he could do about it.
After all, if he didn't stir things up within the team, the mission progress would be too slow, and more people might end up dead.
What satisfied Jiang Cheng was that Huai Yi wasn't like some veteran players he had encountered before, who would extensively use their teammates' lives to test the waters.
Otherwise, Jiang Cheng looked up toward the Gate... he wouldn't have allowed Huai Yi to live until now.
This time, with Lin Wan'er present, Jiang Cheng's attitude was much more proper.
After Huai Yi left, he naturally became the core of the remaining group.
"Mr. Jiang," Weiwei asked in a soft voice, "what should we do next?"
"Go to the Morgue," Jiang Cheng answered decisively.
"Now?" Yu Yu's expression turned grim. She had recently been a college student who enjoyed watching dramas in her free time, and the sudden shift in identity hadn't yet settled in for her.
Lin Wan'er glanced out the window and reminded them, "If we don't go now, we'll have to wait until night."
"We... we can wait until tomorrow to go," Wang Changguo said nervously, blinking more rapidly than usual. "Let's figure things out in the hospital first today."
"I'm afraid there's no time for that," Jiang Cheng shook his head.
"Mr. Jiang," Cao Yang looked at Jiang Cheng curiously, "have you discovered something?"
Jiang Cheng retracted his gaze, looking at everyone's slightly panicked expressions, and sighed. "Do you remember the time limit Director Qi set for us?"
Yu Yu's expression changed. "He said... he only gave us three days. No, no!" She quickly corrected herself, "Two days!"
But that was said yesterday.
"Now, if we calculate, we only have one day left," Jiang Cheng's face was unusually clouded with a sense of melancholy. His brows furrowed slightly.
There was one thing he hadn't told everyone yet.
Regarding this mission, he had his own suspicions. Everyone had been focusing on uncovering the truth but had overlooked the mission itself.
The reason they were here, from the perspective of this world's setting, was because a ghost wanted to kill Director Qi. That's why he had spent a fortune to hire them to protect himself.
Therefore, in this mission, protecting Director Qi's safety—or more precisely, keeping him alive—was the most important thing! After all, if the employer died, the mission would naturally fail.
This had nothing to do with whether they dealt with the ghost or not.
This was a race against time. If the ghost killed Director Qi first, then even if they later uncovered the truth or dealt with the ghost, it would be pointless.
And Director Qi had already given them the time limit.
Three days!
They only had three days.
Director Qi's three days couldn't have been arbitrary. This was likely the final deadline for the fierce ghost to come for his life.
Once the time was up, no one could save him.
Now... Jiang Cheng glanced at the clock on the wall. The second hand ticked forward steadily. By their most optimistic estimate, they only had 30 hours left.
But at this moment, there were still many things they hadn't figured out.
However, there was no helping it. They had been dragged into this too suddenly, and they weren't prepared. Moreover, most of their teammates were inexperienced ordinary people.
"I'll stay and guard the room," Wang Changguo said, seeing that everyone was about to leave. "There are too many uncertainties around here. If no one stays behind, I'm worried..."
Jiang Cheng gave him a cold look. This guy was only good at saving his own skin. Last time, he was also the one who suggested not going to rescue someone.
Under Jiang Cheng's gaze, Wang Changguo, already feeling guilty, instinctively swallowed hard. But it seemed he was still determined to stay.
For someone like him, who had been navigating society for decades, losing face was nothing. If he were really afraid of losing face, he wouldn't be holding big meetings every day, tricking elderly people into buying his subpar health products.
In a place like this, saving his own life was the most important thing.
What did dignity matter?
As he thought about it, Wang Changguo even straightened his back, putting on a seemingly confident demeanor as he met Jiang Cheng's gaze, a cold smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
How old was this young man across from him? He had been led by his rhythm before, but that was due to the circumstances. Now... going to the morgue? Was he insane? It sounded like trouble waiting to happen.
Moreover, he strongly suspected that Huai Yi and Jiang Cheng were secretly colluding. The two of them seemed to be discussing the case, but who knew what was really going on behind the scenes? It was entirely possible that they had known each other before and had already found a way to leave this place, but needed someone to test the waters.
Hmph, they might have fooled these young people, but they couldn't fool him!
(End of the Chapter)
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