Box

With their initial analysis of the case, their search now became more targeted.

Fatty stuck close to Jiang Cheng's side the entire time. Fan Li complained several times that his huge body was blocking the view, but Fatty just pretended not to understand, and no one could do anything about it.

Soon, they made a discovery in the master bedroom.

A wooden frame hung on the wall next to the bed, containing an old photograph.

The photo appeared water-damaged, with the background yellowed, leaving only the center clear enough to see a family of four standing together.

The husband and wife stood in the middle, with the wife's hands resting on the shoulders of a girl with two braids, who stood obediently in front of her mother.

The other girl, who appeared taller, was clearly more rebellious, with rolled-up pants and sleeves revealing what looked like tattoos on her slender wrists.

She stood beside the man, chin raised high.

This, then, was the true family of four who lived in the villa.

Strangely though, everyone's faces were blurry, as was the background, making it impossible to determine where the photo was taken.

Chen Xiaomeng stared at the photo in shock, then suddenly became excited. "I remember this wall was empty this morning - there was no photo!"

Sister Nuan remained calm, explaining as if this was commonplace that such things were normal in the dream realm.

"We must have found some correct clues that triggered the next stage of the story," Fan Li said.

Jiang Cheng glanced at him sideways. "Like a stage reward in a game?"

"Something like that."

Next, they found pliers in the room where Xie Yu's body was discovered, along with a flat, round tin box beside them, like one used for soft candies.

Fatty picked up the tin box and shook it, producing a rattling sound inside.

"What's in it?"

Just as he was about to open the box with his chubby hands, Jiang Cheng grabbed him quickly. While holding onto Fatty, his eyes remained fixed on the pliers, his expression gradually turning strange.

"What's wrong?" Fatty felt inexplicably afraid.

Jiang Cheng's expression slowly returned to normal before he said, "Nothing. I just remembered there might be more clues in the bedroom. I'll go check."

"Oh, okay," Fatty nodded. He had originally wanted to go with Jiang Cheng, but curiosity about the box's contents got the better of him.

Three seconds after Jiang Cheng left, Fatty finally managed to open the box.

His eyes transformed from curiosity to confusion, then gradually bulged out, until they nearly popped from their sockets. "Ah...! Ah...ah...!"

By the time Jiang Cheng returned with his hands over his ears, Fatty had lost his voice. Fan Li was covering his mouth, dragging the trembling Fatty aside with obvious disgust.

Jiang Cheng peered over and saw the box overturned on the ground, with several small, milky-white objects scattered around it.

"As expected - teeth," Jiang Cheng nodded as if confirming his earlier suspicions.

Fan Li and Sister Nuan seemed to have anticipated what was in the box, showing little surprise. Chen Xiaomeng, however, turned deathly pale, her own teeth chattering.

"Men are truly all beasts," Sister Nuan said coldly. "Every last one of them!"

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng looked up at Fan Li.

Fan Li froze, then said indignantly, "Why are you looking at me?"

Settling for second best, Jiang Cheng turned to look at Fatty in the corner, only to meet his resentful gaze. Jiang Cheng awkwardly rubbed his chin and looked away.

With no more clues nearby, Jiang Cheng suggested checking behind the door on the third floor, but Fan Li stopped him, pointing to the window outside.

It was getting dark.

The darkness was coming again.

Exploring an unknown area at night wasn't a wise choice, so after discussion, everyone decided to stop searching and rest first.

Fatty had thought that after last night's incident, everyone would sleep together for safety.

But unexpectedly, not only did Sister Nuan not suggest this, she even drove Fan Li out.

The door slammed shut with a "bang."

Fan Li stood in front of the master bedroom door holding a quilt, looking like a homeless husband kicked out of his house.

He even had a floral pillowcase slung over his shoulder.

"It's okay, brother," Fatty consoled him, "you can sleep in our room."

"No need. You guys sleep in your room, I'll sleep downstairs," with that, Fan Li really did head downstairs with his bedding and pillow, his footsteps echoing "thump thump thump" on the stairs.

Jiang Cheng turned and slipped into their previous bedroom, and after some hesitation, Fatty steeled himself and followed.

After entering the bedroom, Jiang Cheng first turned on all the lights, then leaned against the door as if listening for sounds outside.

After a while, Jiang Cheng slowly moved back, walked to the sofa, and sat down.

"Brother, we're not really staying here tonight, are we?" Fatty's face was ashen, his gaze constantly darting to under the bed, remembering how the ghost had crawled out from there last night.

"Of course not. I'm going to the study later," Jiang Cheng said bluntly.

"I'm coming too!"

About ten minutes later, the outside was completely dark. Jiang Cheng checked the watch on his wrist, then stood up and walked to the door, gently pulling it open. He slipped quietly to another room, slowly pushing the door open and darting inside. Fatty followed right behind him. After closing the door, they each found a chair to sit on. Fatty wanted to turn on the light but was stopped by Jiang Cheng. Surrounded by darkness, cold sweat kept pouring from Fatty as he couldn't help saying, "Just let me turn on the light, otherwise I feel like there are ghosts everywhere." This time Jiang Cheng didn't insist, nodding: "Alright..." Fatty shifted his body until he finally found a switch on the wall. Just as he was about to press it, Jiang Cheng's voice drifted from behind: "Now the ghost won't have trouble finding you." "..."

In the master bedroom, on the bed. Chen Xiaomeng hugged a pillow, quietly sobbing. The ghost in this task was far more outrageous and terrifying than in her last mission. Her body kept trembling at the thought of those horrific tools and the teeth in the box. Sister Nuan sat on the sofa, her gaze no longer as arrogant as before. This cute girl Chen Xiaomeng reminded her of her former self. "Stop crying," she consoled, "you should have noticed that the ghosts in this villa only target men. Now that we've driven Fan Li away, we're safe." Chen Xiaomeng looked up, her eyes red, "Then aren't the other three in danger?" "Don't be silly. In missions, it's good enough to keep yourself alive - you can't worry about others," Sister Nuan glanced at the door, as if remembering something unpleasant, her expression turning ugly. She turned back, paused, then continued: "Besides, in the dream realm, it's not just ghosts you need to watch out for - it's also the people around you."