CH 10.2

Su Wangsheng grabbed Zhu Shuangshuang’s arm and walked back quickly. “We can’t act recklessly. We need to notify Chen Tian and Chen Qing as soon as possible.”

As they walked back, they passed by the cars again, and Zhu Shuangshuang stopped in her tracks.

Su Wangsheng pulled her arm. “Let’s go quickly. We can’t delay.”

“Wait,” Zhu Shuangshuang raised her hand and made a pause gesture. She stared at the cars and said, “I have an idea.”

Seeing Zhu Shuangshuang’s serious expression, Su Wangsheng thought about how she was the first one to suggest that the black dog was the fat man. At times, her head was filled with strange and crucial ideas. He let go of her arm and let her think.

“What idea?”

Zhu Shuangshuang stared at the cars. “Little Taoist, haven’t you noticed that there’s something off about these cars?”

Su Wangsheng looked at the cars and couldn’t quite figure it out. “They’re all luxury cars, right?”

“Yes, they’re luxury cars. But look at the series,” Zhu Shuangshuang explained further.

Su Wangsheng was frustrated. “I’m just a poor Taoist from the mountains!”

Zhu Shuangshuang paused. “We saw a line of luxury cars when we first entered the village. Before that, Ning Su said that this village is pretty wealthy. I agreed, but I didn’t think they were that wealthy.”

“How so?” Su Wangsheng asked.

“Well, my family is considered wealthy, and I’ve ridden in many cars since I was young. My father and brother buy or change cars every two to three years. But those wedding cars were all from five years ago, or even seven or eight years ago.”

Su Wangsheng fell silent.

He felt like this game was a bit unfair to poor people.

Zhu Shuangshuang continued, “At first, I didn’t think much about it because it was my first time playing the game and I know nothing about the system and the game itself. I thought maybe the game was set five or six years ago.

“Or maybe the villagers are not that extravagant. Many of my classmates’ families also only change their cars once every six or seven years.”

Zhu Shuangshuang continued, “These past two days, I’ve noticed that all the cars in the village are from five years ago, including the cars driven by the newly adult boys, and the cars still look new.”

Su Wangsheng said, “It’s not really normal for so many wealthy people in the village to not buy a new car for five or six years.”

Zhu Shuangshuang nodded and pointed to the cars in front of them. “Look at these two cars. They were from those six people who gave red envelopes to the bride at the wedding at the very end. They were all dressed up and looked like they held a special status. Even their cars are from seven years ago.”

“So, there are two possibilities. Either this game is set five or six years ago, or we didn’t enter the real world of the village, but instead entered the village from five or six years ago.”

Su Wangsheng thought for a moment and said, “The system said it’s the first time this dungeon had been opened, and is a new game. What’s the point of setting a brand new game in a world that was set five years ago?”

Zhu Shuangshuang said, “So, it’s more likely that we didn’t enter the real village, but instead entered the village from five years ago, and the cars are one of the clues.”

Su Wangsheng asked, “What will this village look like in five years? What’s the point of introducing this?”

Zhu Shuangshuang looked at Su Wangsheng and said, “Master Su, have you seen ‘Silent Hill’?”

Su Wangsheng had seen the classic horror film, but he felt that what he saw as a curious viewer differed from what a professional screenwriter saw.

Su Wangsheng looked at her seriously and motioned for her to continue.

Zhu Shuangshuang said, “Think about it carefully. ‘Silent Hill’ is actually built on a three-dimensional system of the real world, the surface world, and the inner world.”

Following Zhu Shuangshuang’s prompt, Su Wangsheng quickly understood what she meant.

Zhu Shuangshuang said, “Many films and literary works involve this point. Its essence is the arrangement and combination of space and time. No matter how they are combined, a prominent feature is ‘not the same time’.”

“You mean...”

Zhu Shuangshuang replied, “We may be in a certain period of time in the parallel world. The place we are in now originates from the inside world and leads to the reality world five years later.”

She added, “Of course, there may be other arrangements and combinations. In another parallel world, something may be happening on this street, and things that we can’t see are taking place.”

Su Wangsheng’s scalp suddenly tingled.

***

The night in Huaiyang Village was very dense, as if layers of ink had been splashed into the night sky. Under the blowing of the night wind, the black ink swayed and changed, as if something was struggling miserably.

Chen Tian, with two new club members, quickly found the only pet store in Huaiyang Village.

The pet store was closed at night, but the curtains were not drawn. Chen Tian raised the flashlight and shone it in the window.

The store was unmistakably a pet shop, featuring a multitude of iron cages containing a variety of pets. Among them were several common village dogs and cats, as well as rare breeds.

“It’s rare for a village like this to have so many rare breeds of pets.” Li Yin said.

Chen Tian and Chen Qing came to explore this newly opened instance, and brought two new members who had just passed through a copy, Li Yin and Wang Ming.

Wang Ming said, “What’s so strange about it? Don’t forget that Huaiyang Village is a wealthy village, and it’s normal to raise a precious pet.”

Li Yin said, “But I haven’t seen anyone walking their dogs on the street.”

“Shh...” Chen Tian put his finger on his lips, signalling them to keep quiet.

From afar came the sound of barking dogs, the sound gradually getting louder.

The three of them hid behind a dark tree. Soon, they saw a man carrying a small black dog walking towards the pet store.

He unlocked the door with a key and soon had a blue-eyed ragdoll cat in his arms. Holding a cat and a dog, he continued walking in the same direction.

The three of them silently followed.

Under the cover of the barking dogs, their footsteps went unnoticed by the man. Eventually, they stopped at the church where the bride and groom had their wedding on the first day.

The three of them climbed over the wall and followed the man closely to the entrance.

The church where the wedding was held yesterday was now brightly lit, with many people and a pile of cameras inside.

There was a long-haired girl with a mask on her back. After putting on the mask, she put on a white coat commonly seen on doctors.

She walked to the center of the church and turned around.

The bright magnesium light shone on her eyelashes, and her phoenix eyes slightly curved down. She was the bridesmaid.

She placed one hand in front of her and elegantly bowed. “Hello, everyone. This evening, our adorable pets are a cute pair as well.”