What kind of joke is this…
Upon entering the house, Kalpas immediately reached for his car keys, but Lin grabbed his arm.
"Are you crazy? Driving now risks sliding off the road because you can't see clearly."
"So you want me to just wait here?" Kalpas gasped, glaring fiercely at the expressionless Lin, "How likely do you think it is that something has happened to Su?"
"Even if it's true, I won't allow a second person to be in danger. Everything waits until the police arrive."
"He might be waiting for us to save him! Are you going to let him freeze to death?! He'll be an ice sculpture by the time the police get here!"
"He's more likely to have fallen, and even if we go to save him now, it will already be too late."
"You—"
Kalpas grabbed Lin by the collar, his muscular arm effortlessly lifting him up, his masked face almost touching Lin.
"Kalpas!" Kevin quickly stepped between them, stopping the enraged Kalpas, "Lin is right. Calm down. If something happens to us too, are they supposed to keep looking for us?"
"…"
Perhaps Kevin's words worked. Kalpas let out a heavy snort and released Lin.
The commotion of their argument attracted the attention of the people in the living room. Mobius was the first to rush out. Seeing Kalpas and Lin so close, and Lin messy collar, she guessed what had happened. She immediately stood in front of Lin, glaring hostilely at Kalpas.
"I'm fine," Lin patted Mobius's shoulder and gently shook his head at her.
"Fine? I think if I had come out any later, you might not have been able to say you were fine," Mobius glared darkly at Lin.
"What happened? Did you find Su?" Sakura also walked out, asking with confusion when she saw that only the three of them had returned.
Kevin shook his head, his face pale, "No, we found Su's phone, near the edge of the cliff…"
"What?!"
Seeing that everyone had come out, Lin shook his head and asked Eden, "Eden, did you call the police?"
"Yes, the police are on their way, but they aren't sure if they can find this place…"
"Alright, let's go inside and talk."
…
"What do we do now? Just wait for the police?" Pardo, the most timid of the group, timidly poked her head out of the mascot suit and asked.
"…I'm going to go look for him myself," Kalpas simply couldn't sit still.
"No, in this weather, even if you want to look, you wouldn't know where to start." Lin was staring at the phone in his hand, deep in thought. He suddenly asked, "Kevin, did Su drive here?"
"No, his car was recently sent for inspection. He should have taken a ride."
"…"
A ride could only get him to the foot of the mountain. The stretch from the foot to the halfway point had to be walked. In that case, the possibility of him not seeing the road clearly or being blown away was very high.
But Lin felt that the matter was not that simple.
He opened the phone screen. On the web-like cracked lock screen, three missed calls were displayed.
Kevin had said he called Su twice—the first time connected, the second did not. Eden had also called Su, and it didn't connect. These two calls should have been made when there was still a signal, which was before 8 PM.
So, who made the remaining call?
Because Su had set up a fingerprint lock, Lin couldn't open his phone to see who called.
"Besides Kevin and Eden, did anyone else call Su?" Lin looked up and asked everyone present. At this moment, the third missed call was most likely made by one of the thirteen people present.
At this question, there was dead silence.
Although Lin didn't know who made the call or its significance, he had already realized that Su's mishap was probably not a simple matter.
"Eden, did anything strange happen before I arrived?" Lin asked Eden.
"Strange things? No… Oh, right, Griseo seemed to say a strange person flashed past the window."
Lin looked at the bewildered Griseo and slowly asked, "Griseo?"
"Um…" Griseo also realized that the atmosphere was no longer the cheerful one from before. She thought for a moment and said in an innocent tone, "When I was drawing, I saw someone walk past outside the window, but everyone was inside the house then, so I thought I was mistaken…"
A figure…
Lin gaze swept over every person.
Was there… "something" else in the house besides them?
"When did you see it?"
"In the afternoon… around 6 PM, I think…"
Lin walked to the window. The window's transparency was not very good, perhaps designed with weakly transparent glass to prevent the sunlight from directly irritating the eyes of people inside. This design severely reduced clarity, making it hard to see clearly inside or out.
Lin imagined Griseo's position at the time, then glanced at the window with his peripheral vision, imagining a blurry figure passing outside.
The others exchanged glances silently. They weren't foolish and realized Lin might have discovered something—Su's matter was not simple.
While examining the window, Lin noticed something seemed to be wedged beneath the tightly closed sill. He walked over, pushed the window open, and found a piece of paper underneath.
There was writing on it.
"What is that?"
"Eden, is this yours?" Lin picked up the paper and turned to ask.
Eden shook her head, denying it, "No, I didn't put anything under the window."
After a quick glance at the text, Lin face darkened, almost as if water could be squeezed out of it. He took the paper to the table and placed it down.
Then he began to read the words aloud.
"The Divine Revelation: A total of thirteen deeply sinful souls shall fall into the frozen hell. To cleanse them of their sins, the Deity shall descend."
"One, the lost shall dissipate on the road."
"Two, the frenzied shall self-immolate in the ice land."
"Three, the wrathful shall fall from the high building."
"Four, the hidden shall suffocate beneath the cloth."
"Five, the fearful shall hang themselves upon the blade."
"Six, the jealous shall freeze to death in the frost and snow."
"Seven, the pure shall drown in the shallow water."
"Eight, the protector shall collapse at the doorway."
"Nine, the wise shall break down in folly."
"Ten, the innocent shall fade away in the final act."
"Eleven, the selfish shall give of their sincerity."
"Twelve, the selfless shall be silent in betrayal."
"Thirteen, the truthful shall laugh hysterically at the end."
"This is the path of the thirteen. The curtain falls in the land of wind and snow."
After Lin finished reading all the sentences, everyone's face bore the same expression.
Fear and bewilderment.
What did this mean?
Lin said nothing. He quietly wrote the name "Su" next to the line, "One, the lost shall dissipate on the road."
And in a place unknown to all, a grotesque smiling face silently emerged.