CH 47.2

The clacking of the keyboard is accompanied by a voice Jiang Yiyi is now quite familiar with, “why is the fifth floor so dangerous? Can Jian Si’s frail little body even hold up? He’s died twice in just a few minutes already.”

“You know, this really doesn’t make sense.” The childhood friend complains, “Jian Si is in this cell here, and that guy is in the cell opposite Jian Si. How did Jian Si just die in the blink of an eye? Is this maybe like a bug? No, I have to call them.”

There is some meaningless jittering in the memory; then, Jiang Yiyi hears his own voice speak.

“Got your answer?” His usual mannerisms are all there. The typical lazy tone he employs when speaking with someone familiar, and he isn’t expecting an answer.

“You definitely won’t believe what they just told me.” His childhood friend never turns his face around once, but continues smashing the keyboard with force like it murdered his parents. It’s already the new BGM at this point.

“This is part of the story’s lore.” His childhood friend is mimicking the tone of the customer service agent, then starts dissing again, “a survival game as difficult as this still needs more lore to kill players on top of it? What, they think we don’t die often enough?”

“Anyway, I have some thoughts. Why do you think Jian Si has it this bad?” His childhood friend is quite eloquent now, “why would everyone want him dead? What kind of big secret must he have to land him in this kind of death trap?”

“Jian Si is the protagonist, so he must have something to do with this hidden lore. Actually, I think it’s a clue we can use to solve his mystery!”

The recollection ends abruptly here. The hazy memories disappear from his mind, entering part of his memories.

After that letter, whoever it is has even stopped pretending the slightest, and is just openly hitting him with everything that is suspicious.

Jiang Yiyi touches the cold blade he has held in his hand, showing a very faint smile.

He has forgotten fear and loss. Where anyone else would be devastated by the absurdity of the situation, he is still as calm as someone merely admiring the scenery.

Without fear, one cannot become fearful; without loss, one cannot become doubtful of themselves working through a riddle without a solution.

He continues walking forward, through the onslaught of rolling waves that surround him. He looks as at ease as the puppet master of all people.

On that note, by Jiang Yiyi’s own understanding of himself in the past——An unremarkable male undergraduate——He could not have pulled anything like this off. If he were as he is, however, this is a possibility worth keeping in mind.

Though it sounds quite awkward to say——While admitting his mundanity in the past, Jiang Yiyi will also not deny certain extraordinary aspects of himself that he is showing.

A part of the story’s lore? Related to Jian Si?

Jiang Yiyi gives Jian Si a glance.

Jian Si is currently checking out the building with a bored look on his face; he is quite perceptive of Jiang Yiyi’s gaze, though, as he turns his head the next second to meet him in the eye.

Jiang Yiyi can see his confusion quite clearly. Not a single sign he is pretending, just as he has been so far——A big pile of open mystery that everyone knows, but given his performance, enough for everyone to suspect that, something is wrong, but it is not because of Jian Si, the person.

Jiang Yiyi’s thoughts pause for a moment here, as he notices something familiar——An exceptional caution.

Jian Si, under Jiang Yiyi’s stare for no reason, dares not ask, and, panicking, decides to just look at the floor after facing those eyes for a few seconds.

Then he feels the gaze depart him.

He sighs a little in relief, almost feeling like he just escaped death. Jian Si may have been around the Doctor for a while now, but he still hasn’t overcome his fear——Or, perhaps, fear isn’t even the right word.

Jian Si was once frightened by countless things. By death, by disdain, by rumours, even by little bugs. He is scared of all of them.

Jiang Yiyi is different. He is some other kind of being beyond reach, transforming Jian Si completely; he is on Jiang Yiyi’s side without reservations; he can face death, with bloodied hands, and dedicate his whole.

After a difficult trip through memory lane, Jiang Yiyi picks up where he left off, “the fact that it took building a location like Stargaol to hide this secret is evidence of one thing.”

“This secret has to do with different, distinct people.” Jiang Yiyi glances back at Jian Si once again, with the ‘childhood friend’s words remaining in his ears——【A part of the story’s lore】, which is practically handing him the answer on a silver platter.

“If something simply has to do with some people, Stargaol would not have been necessary——It is both troublesome to set up, and highly noticeable. Less visible choices like laboratories, research institutes or even schools would be far more suitable and reasonable.”

Jiang Yiyi continues his deduction with ease, “therefore, Stargaol’s existence means there is justification for its setting – for example, in the case that said secret is intricately related to death, to punishment, or to crime.”

While Jiang Yiyi drones on, Magician’s eyes start to glaze over a little, until he finally steals a peek at Gatekeeper, who remains unemotional at all times.

What’s going on? Did Doctor, like, read ahead on the script to come?

How does he make it look so easy? In fact, Magician finds himself questioning if this conclusion really is that easy to find.

He’s seen his fair share of geniuses——In fact, countless individuals who can be described that way already occupy this building in front of Jiang Yiyi.

Yet, he is different from all of them.

“Or, as another example, this secret requires enough high-detail security to be kept. It is even possible that the first Warden was hoping for any other method than this to safeguard that secret, but in the end, he was forced to found a place like Stargaol, as the only place satisfying all conditions needed to protect this secret.”

“I believe we have our answer.”