The atmosphere suddenly became chilling.
Lian Qiao looked down at the sleeping man in his arms and said, "I'll send him up first."
The Monk smiled: "Go."
Lian Qiao went upstairs with RenDong in his arms and put him gently on the bed. RenDong was terribly tired, his breathing was slow and even, and he continued to sleep deeply.
Lian Qiao tucked the quilt up for him, took a deep look at him, then turned around and went downstairs to the lobby.
The Monk still sat on the sofa waiting for him with a cigarette between his fingers. Seeing Lian Qiao going downstairs, he took out the cigarette case from his pocket, shook out a cigarette casually and said with a hearty smile, "Want one?"
Lian Qiao frowned and refused: "He doesn't like me smoking." Then he asked mockingly, "Are monks still allowed to smoke?"
"I'm about to die, the Buddha will forgive me." The Monk narrowed his eyes and exhaled a beautiful smoke ring, "Smoking can relieve anxiety, why don't you try one?"
The smoke ring slowly rose in the air, spreading into a vacant circle. Lian Qiao unconsciously followed the smoke ring and the urge to ask him for a cigarette actually formed in his heart.
He secretly sighed, knowing that he was really depressed, otherwise how could he have such thoughts?
Shaking his head to drive away this thought, Lian Qiao said in a deep voice, "Let's get down to business. What did you mean by that?"
"What do you mean?" The Monk lazily asked. "It's literally: 1992-2020. Did you forget?"
Lian Qiao narrowed his eyes: "Are you testing me?"
The Monk knew well about his relationship with RenDong but he still said something unfavorable to RenDong in front of him. His intention was thought-provoking.
The Monk smiled and flicked the soot on his fingertips: "It can't be called a test. I'm just curious. If we still haven't come up with anything by 2020, what will you do by then?"
Lian Qiao said: "If you want to do something to him, don't blame me for being rude." He crossed his arms and looked down at the Monk with a murderous aura unconsciously exuding from his whole body, "But I advise you to give up this attitude or I could right now…"
But the Monk interrupted him with a loud laugh, stood up and patted him on the shoulder vigorously. He said: "Don't be nervous, don't be nervous, we are grasshoppers on the same rope. As long as the elevator opens, everyone can go out together. I will also go out with you. There's no injustice and no enmity, everyone just wants to live so don't be so tense."
Lian Qiao took a step back in disgust, avoiding his hand. The Monk didn't think much of it and still smiled. He said: "You still haven't answered my question. If you have to kill him to get out, will you…"
Lian Qiao interrupted coldly: "I will kill you all first."
The Monk looked at him with burning eyes as if he wanted to see into his soul through his eyes.
"What about you?" The Monk asked.
Lian Qiao: "What about me?"
"After killing everyone, what will happen to you?" The flippant smile on the Monk's face was long gone, replaced by an almost pitiful look. "Suicide?"
The Monk was sometimes as dull as a mentally retarded person, and sometimes astonishingly sensitive.
Lian Qiao didn't speak.
The Monk saw that his eyes were gloomy, shook his head and smiled. He said: "Sure enough, you have thought of this a long time ago. 1992-2020, this instance prompt, on the surface it isolates Xu RenDong from us as the key player. At the same time it puts him on an opposing side."
He paused, his tone was deep and his compassion became more and more serious: "If his death can bring us a way to life, then in turn, his way to life may only be opened by our death…"
Lian Qiao suddenly smiled wryly and said something in a low voice.
"What?" The Monk didn't hear clearly.
Lian Qiao took a deep breath: "Existential conflict."
This is the pattern he and RenDong discovered in the first instance. Two people who encounter survival conflicts in reality are very likely to enter the same instance. Since it is impossible for these two people to survive at the same time in reality, the instance does not allow this to happen. The instance will end only if at least one dies.
Monk: "?"
Seeing how puzzled the Monk was, he obviously didn't know about it. Lian Qiao explained clearly to him and smiled wryly: "I was worried at that time, whether there would be an instance in the future where there would be an existential conflict between RenDong and I…"
"That's not right." The Monk muttered, "If it's what you said, wouldn't all of us have conflicts with him? That can't be? We haven't met in reality!"
"I've been thinking about this too. When we came in with him, the environment around us was safe and so there shouldn't be an existential conflict between him and I." Qiao Lian sighed, "Maybe there is some kind of mechanism creating an undiscovered conflict between us."
The Monk scratched his head, thought for a long time, then shook his head and said, "I can't figure it out. Forget it, don't think about it."
Lian Qiao smiled: "Let's take it step by step and see what happens."
He was about to go upstairs when the Monk stopped him again.
"Although the road ahead is bleak, don't give up now." The Monk said.
Lian Qiao was taken aback.
The Monk said sternly: "I mean, you guys take it easy, don't keep having sex everyday like it's your last day on earth. Is it plausible to continue like this? It's not necessarily the end of the road either…"
Lian Qiao: "…"
He was embarrassed for a second and was about to complain, but a thought suddenly flashed in his mind, making him stand there in a daze as if he had been struck by lightning.
"What's wrong?" The Monk asked suspiciously.
Lian Qiao didn't answer, just frowned, and walked upstairs quickly.
Back on the second floor, Lian Qiao opened the door and the room was completely dark.
Through the light in the corridor, he saw a figure on the bed sleeping peacefully and the sound of that person's even breathing came from the darkness.
Lian Qiao wanted to shake RenDong to wake him up and ask him clearly, but seeing RenDong's deep sleep, he hesitated for a while. In the end, he didn't turn on the light in the room but instead closed the door gently and crept onto the bed.
The soft bed creaked slightly but the sleeping RenDong didn't notice it at all. It seemed that he was not in an instance full of dangers but lying in a warm and safe home instead.
Did he let his guard down because he was exhausted, or…had lost the will to survive?
In Lian Qiao's mind, that time when he peeped outside the school classroom and saw RenDong's exhausted appearance like a dying swan appeared again.
Just now when the Monk mentioned the "every day is your last", Lian Qiao was so enlightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.
Was RenDong's abnormal behavior these days because he felt every day was his last? {The Chinese actually literally translates to something like "the carnival before doomsday", i.e. when you go crazy and let loose because you know the end of the world is coming}.
Thinking about it carefully, RenDong has never shown any interest in exploring the scene or finding clues these days but instead kept pulling him to have sex. It was the same today. Places like the unfinished buildings were obviously very unsafe, but RenDong made a fuss with him like crazy.
He wouldn't even let himself use the brass key. Although it was a somewhat risky move, being trapped in the instance will also kill you sooner or later!
It's almost as if he didn't intend to leave here…
No, it's almost as if he already knew that he couldn't get out!
— But why?
What on earth did RenDong discover to become so depressed? When we got into the elevator, we made an appointment to come out together…
That's right. Whatever was wrong with him seems to have started in the elevator.
They entered the elevator at home. When entering the elevator, Lian Qiao picked up two strawberries on the coffee table and stuffed them into their mouths. At that time, RenDong smiled and said, "We'll go buy some strawberries together when we come out". He looked confident.
But after entering the elevator, he seemed to be a different person, with a bitter smell emanating from his body.
A fruit that has just reached its prime, sealed in a jar of bitter wine, soaked for a thousand years without anyone knowing and then fished out. It was that kind of flavor.
In fact, Lian Qiao felt it was a little strange at the time but, before he had time to ask, RenDong shrank into a baby and then disappeared into the ice and snow. A series of changes caught Lian Qiao off guard. At that time, he was busy saving RenDong and, in his desperation, he forgot about it.
Then RenDong's actions also made him very puzzled. RenDong was so kind and upright before, so how could a person with a slight tendency to become a martyr take the initiative to scheme against and kill his teammates? And the reason RenDong gave him back then was…
…What did RenDong say at that time?
The severe pain in the depths of the brain struck again. Lian Qiao clutched his head, wishing to hit the wall in pain, but still refused to interrupt the memory, forcing himself to continue thinking.
At that time, RenDong… seemed to have said…
"Among us, there is always one who wants to be the bad guy. I don't want you to be bad. So let me be the bad guy this time."
Why did he say that?
Why is it so sure that "someone will always be the bad guy"? Why do you say "I'll be the one this time"?
..."this time"?
Could it be that there was another time…
"Ugh…" Lian Qiao was in so much pain that his whole body almost twitched convulsively.
This action actually woke up RenDong. RenDong opened his eyes in a daze and groped for him in the dark: "Lian Qiao?"
"…" Lian Qiao bit his lips, not wanting to let out a moan. He tried his best to calm his breathing and, in order to not let RenDong hear anything strange, he replied in a low voice, "…en. I'm here."
RenDong got into his embrace habitually and pressed his cheek against Lian Qiao's chest. After a while, he raised his head in confusion: "Your heart is beating so fast."
"…" Lian Qiao couldn't think of any lie to say to him for the moment, so he said dryly, "Really?"
"Have you got a fever…" RenDong was half asleep and half awake, pressed his shoulder in a daze, moved his body up and pressed his forehead against Lian Qiao's. After a few seconds he said, in a relieved manner, "Fortunately, it's not hot…"
"Well, I'm fine." Lian Qiao kissed the corner of his lips, "Go to sleep."
RenDong was really exhausted and, after confirming that Lian Qiao didn't have a fever, he fell back into a drowsy sleep.
Lian Qiao hugged him in the dark, slowly adjusting his breathing. Gradually, the severe pain in the brain subsided little by little. He took a deep breath and found that his back was drenched in cold sweat.
This problem has become more severe every time it occurs.
There was a tearing feeling in the depths of his brain and he couldn't help wondering if he would faint from the pain the next time it happened again.
What's worse, now it's not just a headache and, even after the pain is over, he will feel as if he has just recovered from a serious illness. Right now if he got sick while he was in such danger, wouldn't it be like inviting others to slaughter you?
Fortunately, the painkillers are still enough. Tomorrow he should take one in the morning and one in the evening.
No, forget it.
Drowsiness gradually came and Lian Qiao hugged RenDong. He thought in a daze: RenDong has no medicine. If RenDong gets sick again, at least give him some painkillers… I can't take them all…
Two jars of medicine, even the painkillers have to be spared.
How pathetic.