Terror is resurging, but only I am.

Chapter 102 The Mirror Factory (Two Chapters Combined)

Mirror factory...

Top secret area?

Yan Ming raised an eyebrow at Xiao Jie, whose reaction surprised him.

Are you actually worried about his safety from his perspective?

She was just calling for her mother, and now she's actually showing concern for him?

In this situation, Yan Ming felt a little doubtful and curious, but he did not dwell on the question. Instead, he continued to ask, "What exactly is that place like?"

Xiao Jie simply shook her head: "I don't know. Everything about the mirror factory is kept secret. I only know that it's extremely dangerous there. If you go in... you'll definitely die."

However, after saying that, Xiaojie suddenly froze for a moment. She looked down at her shadow and blinked twice, somewhat bewildered.

Suddenly, she realized something and pressed Yan Ming, "What did I just say?"

"Hmm?" Yan Ming looked at Xiao Jie's reaction and glanced at his own shadow. He seemed to sense an emotional fluctuation in the shadow.

It wasn't that his shadow had emotional fluctuations, but rather that his shadow sensed one-way emotional fluctuations from Xiao Jie's shadow.

Their shadows were intertwined, which allowed him to vaguely perceive Xiao Jie's thoughts.

It wasn't a very specific thought, but you could sense whether it was calm, anger, or tension.

After thinking for a moment, Yan Ming turned to Xiao Jie and asked a trivial question: "Why do you want me to call you 'Mom'?"

Upon hearing this, Xiaojie's expression changed. She seemed to want to shut up, but she couldn't help but say, "Because I need you to prove my superiority. In Guancheng, this is a symbol of power and status."

She continued, "Exploring other people's privacy through various methods and then using that privacy to achieve the goal of controlling others is something that every Guancheng employee hopes to do."

Yan Ming nodded. This time, he was able to understand some of the thought processes of these people in Guancheng.

No wonder Xiao Jie did that without hesitation; it turns out she was just imitating others, and everyone in Guancheng behaved the same way.

At this point, he could understand some things. No wonder the lean man was so angry when he realized someone had overheard their affair; it was probably just a self-protective mechanism.

To be honest, the character of Guan Chengren is quite bizarre, as he uses "privacy" to confirm his dominance.

Emmm...

Madam, you don't want your husband to know about this, do you?
Thinking of this, Yan Ming couldn't help but feel a chill. He had a feeling that he had found a magical city that perfectly matched the logic of certain doujinshi.

He glanced at Xiao Jie, knowing full well that she hadn't said it willingly, because she was sure Yan Ming would do the same to her.

Being controlled by others at such a young age is not something she would willingly do.

so……

After this shadow makes a connection, does it also have a function similar to a "rope of truth"?

As long as he asks, Xiao Jie is obligated to answer truthfully.
Moreover, he could sense Xiao Jie's emotional fluctuations from her shadow, making it almost impossible for him to be deceived.

Because shadows don't lie?
If shadows are also part of things, then they are indeed the most honest part, without self-awareness, and therefore without any scheming or trickery.

From this perspective, the ability to cast shadows is far more useful than imagined.

Although Yan Ming was unsure whether this "truth spell" ability would actually work on ghosts, it was already meaningful enough for now.

He could roughly understand that if these ghost realms were cities, then there would often be some native inhabitants within them.

Given the large number of humans in reality, Yan Ming knew that his True Word Technique would definitely be very useful and could solve many troublesome matters.

“Tell me the address of the mirror factory,” Yan Ming said.

Xiao Jie couldn't refuse the question, so she took out a map of Guancheng from the drawer and marked the approximate area of ​​the mirror factory in the center of the map: "It's in this area. My mother once only took me through this place from a distance and told me never to go near it."

She shook her head: "No matter how many questions you ask, I can't answer them, because I don't know myself. Really."

Yan Ming tried to memorize the map's contents, but quickly gave up, stuffing it into his pocket. He then said to Xiao Jie, "You just stay here and don't tell anyone about me, or you know what will happen. My 'eyes' are already on you."

The girl, Xiaojie, kept nodding, her head bobbing like a chick pecking at rice.

Yan Ming thought for a moment, then realized he had one last question and asked, "Wait, what did you mean when you said that the skinny man fell into the hot soup pot? Is he dead?"

Xiao Jie looked somewhat surprised upon hearing this. She stared at Yan Ming with a blank expression and said, "What are you talking about? The skinny man? Are you talking about the guy who lives on the first floor? I really hate that guy. I was planning to make him my first son, but unfortunately he died yesterday."

Yan Ming: "???"

He died yesterday?
This is……

What do you mean?
Could it be that?
Yan Ming asked quickly again, "What about the man who lives across the street from you?"

He knew that Xiaojie in this state couldn't deceive him, which would make the whole thing much more complicated.

If that skinny man was already dead, then what exactly was that thing that followed him all the way to the third floor?
Ghost?

But aren't there usually no ghosts in the Ghost Realm?
Yan Ming felt extremely troubled. He hadn't expected to be entangled with this strange thing as soon as he entered Guancheng.

"How did he die... I heard he was scalded to death?" Xiaojie shook her head, she didn't seem to know much either. "My mother should know more about these kinds of gossip, but she definitely wouldn't tell me casually, because this kind of thing is really not suitable for children."

Xiao Jie shrugged, making a gesture of helplessness.

Yan Ming found it hard to keep his composure when he saw her like this. It was hard to imagine that just five minutes ago, this little girl was trying to get an adult to call her "Mom," and now she was saying things like "not suitable for children."

However, when he thought about how the lean man had died, he became more vigilant.

In normal life, drowning, falling to one's death, or being hit by a car are all very common, but dying from being scalded...

Yan Ming had really never heard of him.

Based on what he had heard from "Xiao Jie" earlier, the skinny man fell into a pot of hot soup. Could it be that he was scalded to death like that?
But that was clearly yesterday, wasn't it?

Was he scalded to death, and is his vengeful spirit now wandering around this youth dormitory building?
Yan Ming sighed inwardly.

If that's the case, he might then know exactly where his room is.

The room of the adulterous couple actually belonged to him, but in the end, he never went inside to look at it; he only heard some unusual noises coming from inside.

But was that room actually occupied by the two wandering spirits?
Forget about those wandering spirits for now. The most urgent thing is to get to the mirror factory. He needs to make a special mirror as quickly as possible and set up a plan before the ghost's eyes awaken.

"Fine, you can stay here. You should know I can come back anytime, so don't talk nonsense to any 'perfect police.' Even if I get arrested, I can kill you before I do." Yan Ming said this very coldly. The entire trial here was in his mental world, so he naturally didn't need to worry about humanitarian principles.

Besides, he didn't care about these things in the first place.

The reason we're keeping the girl Xiaojie is simply because she's not a big threat, and keeping her around has some use.

After giving Xiao Jie a few simple instructions, Yan Ming turned around, opened the living room window, and jumped out.

Now that my physical fitness has improved a lot, when faced with a height of three floors, I only need to grab the railing on the second floor halfway to easily stabilize myself and land on the ground without any pressure.

Now that he knew there was something wrong with the hostel building, Yan Ming, who was always cautious, didn't even bother walking down the corridor. He simply jumped out of the window to avoid encountering the ghost of that skinny man again inside the building.

He's going to the mirror factory next, and he might not come back to the youth hostel. He wants to avoid conflict with the "earthbound spirits" here if possible.

Yan Ming hurriedly ran past, wearing a coat. He covered his face with the high collar of his coat, then climbed over the wall and left the youth hostel.

He didn't leave through the main entrance, so no one knew he had left.

After recalling the map he had just seen, Yan Ming had a basic understanding of the surrounding road conditions.

To be honest, the mirror factory isn't too far from here, because the youth hostel is located in the city center, and the mirror factory is in the very center of that center. It's just a short walk to the very center of the entire Guancheng.

It's about two kilometers.

Since Yan Ming was already able to imitate 80% of the behavior of passersby on the street, he did not attract much attention this time.

He wasn't very fast at covering two kilometers; after about half an hour, he could feel that he was getting close to the mirror factory.

Because the number of pedestrians in the surrounding area suddenly decreased, and almost none of them were moving towards the center.

Only him.

Yan Ming carefully looked around to make sure there were no surveillance cameras nearby.

As a city closely associated with "voyeurism," the fact that there were no surveillance cameras here was somewhat unexpected for him.

However, upon closer examination, it is actually quite reasonable, because he knew how monstrous the Spying Ghost's abilities would be when combined with a surveillance network.

Although he was participating in the Ghost Eye Trial, this pipe city may very well have been one of the game's locations.

With the support of map rules that emphasize "voyeurism as a sinister force," the significance of surveillance networks will be amplified infinitely.

At that point, all players might choose to seize the city's surveillance system immediately, which could completely contradict the game designers' intentions.

If such a designer really existed.

The area around the mirror factory is somewhat different from other places.

Several asphalt roads stretch straight into the distance, flanked by neatly trimmed green belts, with all shrubs and grasses adjusted to the same height.

There is a street lamp every five meters, shining with a uniform cold white light, which is not turned off even in the afternoon.

Occasionally, a vehicle would pass by, but the sound was unusually faint, as if it were traveling on a road that could absorb noise.

The top-secret area is so distinctive that even a first glimpse reveals its unique character. It possesses an absolute rigidity and rigor, as if silently disciplining the players who set foot here.

"Ok?"

Just as Yan Ming was looking for a way to get into the mirror factory, he suddenly noticed a truck parked on the side of the road ahead, and judging from the condition of the tires, it seemed to have some problems.

The car body was very discreet, with some markings indicating "top secret" printed on it.

Was it a vehicle transporting mirrors?

Without hesitation, Yan Ming walked towards the car. He had just been thinking about how to get into the mirror factory, and this method came to him immediately.

As he got into the car, he heard the driver reporting something to his superior.

“The tires on truck DB232 have a problem, so I’ve parked it on the road outside the north gate of the factory. You could send some people to transport this batch of goods back first, and then I’ll go get the truck repaired.”

Yan Ming hid on the side of the car and heard the driver's words clearly. He immediately moved to a different spot and hid behind the bushes by the roadside.

About ten minutes later, more than ten workers in work uniforms filed out of the north gate of the mirror factory, helping to unload the trucks, and then each carrying a box of goods into the mirror factory.

Not a living person?

Yan Ming noticed that the workers were not behaving properly and frowned slightly.

He seized the opportunity, stepped forward, and used his ghostly hand to grab the shadow of the last worker who was entering the truck's cargo. With a sharp tug, he dragged him into the bushes.

He snapped the worker's neck in one swift motion, then quickly took off the man's coat and pants and put them on himself.

Unfortunately, there was nothing that could destroy the evidence, so the body could only be temporarily left in the bushes.

The moment he made his move, he realized that the worker had no body temperature and was definitely not a normal human being.

This mirror factory is very abnormal.

Yan Ming quickly walked to the back of the truck, picked up the last box of goods, and then quickly followed the workers in front of him into the mirror factory.

After passing through an industrial park, Yan Ming finally arrived inside the mirror factory.

He followed the example of the other workers, not looking around, but carefully observing with his peripheral vision.

The assembly line was humming softly.

The conveyor belt moved at a constant speed, displaying unpolished mirror blanks.

The female workers in gray uniforms stood on both sides with their heads bowed, no one spoke, they just kept working.

Occasionally, quality inspectors would pass by, tapping the mirror with a special metal rod, as if checking something.

These quality inspectors seem to be more "human" than ordinary workers; they should be able to get some information out of them using "truth-telling techniques."

Yan Ming looked up slightly, and there hung a huge safety mirror in the center of the mirror factory.

He could see his face clearly through the mirror.

And the faint crack on his forehead.

(End of this chapter)