CH 65

"The third floor is just a storage room, nothing special," the father paused and said, "It's very dirty up there, so don't go."

"Oh."

Gu Yi nodded, confirming that his father didn't want to reveal any information about the third floor.

His father glanced at his wrist, even though there was no watch on it.

"I have to go to work."

"But today is Saturday, why are you still going to work?"

"Overtime."

After his father finished speaking, he took the car keys and left.

His mother scratched her head and said while tidying up the dishes, "You should go to your tutoring class quickly. Today, I'll take your sister into the city to buy some things."

"Okay."

Gu Yi nodded, picked up his backpack, and walked out.

The clown was still playing with the children at the street corner. Gu Yi passed by the clown without any interaction.

Gu Yi took out his phone and checked the time.

[5 days, 23 hours, 24 minutes]

According to his previous deduction, as long as Gu Yi walked out the door and regardless of which direction he went, once the time arrives, he would automatically appear at the tutoring class.

Of course, Gu Yi wouldn't waste this time. It was a great opportunity for free exploration.

Gu Yi crouched at the street corner and remained still, and the countdown timer indeed paused.

After a while, his mother drove away.

Pedestrians on the road came and went, paying no attention to Gu Yi. Their flow of time didn't affect Gu Yi's flow of time.

"Deduction."

Gu Yi closed his eyes.

(Deduction Begins!)

(You approach the clown.)

(The clown blows up a dog-shaped balloon and gives it to a child.)

(You pat the clown on the shoulder.)

(You: Who are you?)

(The clown stares at you, making you feel uneasy.)

(You: Why aren't you talking?)

(The clown bursts into exaggerated laughter, leaving you at a loss.)

(You realize that the clown is unable to communicate, so you give up trying to interact with him.)

(You turn around to leave, but the clown taps your shoulder, indicating that you should play a game with him.)

(You agree.)

(You patiently play with the clown for a while.)

(The clown pulls out two bottles of water from his pants and hands one to you.)

(The clown gestures for you to mimic his actions.)

(The clown smashes the bottle against his head, then opens the cap and takes a sip of water.)

(You follow suit.)

(The clown puffs his cheeks and makes a funny face.)

(You mimic him.)

(The clown pouts and sprays out the water from his mouth.)

(You had already swallowed the water earlier, so you can't spray it out.)

(The clown bursts into exaggerated laughter, mimics a gun with his hand, and points it at his head.)

(You involuntarily imitate him.)

(Bang!)

(You are "shot" and killed by your own "gun".)

(Deduction ends!)

"Fuck, I fell for such a cheap trick?"

Gu Yi scratched his head.

However, it also revealed something—the clown indeed had some role to play.

"Backtrack!"

(Backtracking begins!)

(The clown pulls out two bottles of water from his pants and hands one to you.)

(He gestures for you to mimic his actions.)

(The clown drinks the water.)

(You were prepared and had half the water in your mouth.)

(The clown performs various funny actions.)

(You mimic all of them.)

(The clown pouts and sprays out the water from his mouth.)

(You also spray out the water from your mouth.)

(The clown claps his hands in surprise.)

(You do the same.)

(The clown rushes up and gives you a hug, indicating that the game is over, and then he makes a balloon sword for you.)

(You take the balloon sword.)

(The clown waves goodbye to you and walks towards the river. He squeezes his nose and jumps into the water without causing any splashes.)

(Holding the balloon sword, a bold idea comes to your mind.)

(You return to the old house and rush to the third floor.)

(You open the locked secret room.)

(You open the black box.)

(A python flies out of the box, and you stab it with the balloon sword.)

(The python splits in half and wriggles on the ground until it turns into a black mist.)

(You pick up the box and find a piece of paper inside, along with an eye patch.)

(The paper is a hospital admission certificate with the patient's name, Han Chunzhu, age 67.)

(You remember that your mother's surname is Jin.)

(You suspect that Han Chunzhu is likely your grandmother.)

(You ponder for a moment.)

(Your family now has one more person, so who is the "The Family of Three" referred to in the dungeon title?)

(You neatly fold the admission certificate and put it in your pocket, then pick up the eye patch.)

(It's a black eye patch, and when you put it on, nothing happens.)

(You're not sure what it's for, but you still keep it close to you.)

(The hospital mentioned on the admission certificate is not far from your home, so you decide to explore it now.)

(You sprint all the way to the hospital.)

(There is nothingness in front of your eyes.)

(You end the backtracking.)

"Hmm..."

Gu Yi furrowed his brow and silently contemplated.

The hospital being enveloped in nothingness, Gu Yi had encountered a similar situation in the previous dungeon when he entered the underground third floor, where his talent couldn't simulate the scene of the third basement.

This indicated that the hospital was shrouded in a higher level of power, rendering his talent ineffective or potentially causing significant errors even if it did work.

Gu Yi had to personally explore that particular hospital.

"I hope there won't be any danger in that hospital."

Gu Yi took a deep breath.

Even talents weren't invincible, and sometimes he had to venture into the unknown himself.

He patted his cheeks, mustering up his determination as he approached the clown.

"Hello."

Gu Yi waved at the clown.

The clown burst into exaggerated laughter and started playing games with Gu Yi.

With his experience from the previous deduction, Gu Yi didn't fall for the clown's tricks and successfully obtained the balloon sword.

"Beep!"

The clown blew a whistle, and the surrounding children scattered. He waved at Gu Yi, turned around, and jumped into the river without causing a single splash.

"If he has such skills, he should join the national diving team and make a name for himself instead of wasting his talents as a clown in a small town."

Gu Yi shook his head, holding the balloon sword as he arrived at the third floor of the old house.

Gu Yi opened the secret room on the third floor and composed himself as he opened the black box.

A large python flew out of the box, and Gu Yi clenched his teeth, thrusting the sword into the snake's head.

The python hissed, split in two, and fell to the ground, while the balloon sword in Gu Yi's hand also deflated.

Gu Yi wiped off the blood from his face and picked up the black box.

As he glanced at the admission certificate, he didn't receive a prompt from the system. However, when he picked up the eye patch, the system spoke.

"You have obtained the [One-Eye Patch]!"

"Your plot exploration has increased!"

"Current exploration progress: 12%!"

Gu Yi blinked, looking at the eye mask in his hand with astonishment. "This piece of junk can actually increase exploration progress by 10%? What on earth is it?"