In the past, no one would have doubted Xiao Lou if he said this, because Xiao Lou revealed two key points: first, the meeting place, " Western Restaurant," which was a code Xiao Lou had set before entering the secret room; second, his card holder was taken by the Hunter, and Ye Qi and Chu Huaying did indeed find a Hunter impersonating Xiao Lou, who had his card holder on him.
The code and card holder match, so there's a very high chance that Xiao Lou in front of me is the real person.
But now...
The Hunter that Qu Wanyue encountered had a "mind-reading" card, which read Qu Wanyue's memories and transmitted the information using " Thousand Mile Sound Transmission." In other words, at this moment, all the Hunters know that their meeting point is " Western Restaurant " and that Xiao Lou's card holder has been lost.
Now that neither of these two things is a secret, it becomes difficult to ascertain the authenticity of Xiao Lou in front of us.
When Ye Qi and Chu Huaying locked eyes, Chu Huaying blinked slightly, presumably indicating that she wanted Ye Qi to cooperate with her act. The next moment, Chu Huaying calmly asked, " Professor Xiao, have you contacted Captain Yu?"
Xiao Lou shook his head: "I called him, but he didn't answer. I don't know if something happened."
This answer is also correct, because Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang knew each other in real life long before entering Card World. Xiao Lou knew Yu Hanjiang's phone number, so calling him was the most normal reaction.
He paused, then said, "On my way here, I called CEO Shao, who doesn't recognize me at all. Today is December 24th. I suspect we've been transported to the past, and the CEO Shao of that time certainly didn't know who I was. In other words, the Shao Qingge we know isn't in this secret room."
Ye Qi pretended to be taken aback for a moment and said, "No wonder, when I called CEO Shao, he didn't remember who Ye Qi was either."
Chu Huaying asked, "What do we do next?"
Xiao Lou lowered his head thoughtfully. After a moment, he asked, "Were you the only ones who met at Western Restaurant?"
Chu Huaying nodded: "That's right, the four of us were surrounded by Hunter and we jumped out of the window to escape."
Xiao Lou made a decisive decision: "Since the other teammates didn't come to Western Restaurant, they probably encountered some accident on the way, or it's inconvenient for them to leave. Let's try using Peach Blossom Spring to pull them in. As long as they're in this world, they can be teleported to Peach Blossom Spring."
Chu Huaying looked at Ye Qi, and Ye Qi nodded.
Up to now, Xiao Lou's expression, actions, tone of voice, and way of analyzing problems have all been normal—but Chu Huaying feels that something is wrong, though she can't quite put her finger on it.
Perhaps it's... intuition?
Her intuition told her that she shouldn't listen to Xiao Lou and use Peach Blossom Spring to summon her teammates.
She frowned slightly and said, " Professor Xiao, I just placed the entrance to Peach Blossom Spring in Western Restaurant. If we open Peach Blossom Spring to summon teammates, everyone will return to Western Restaurant after leaving Peach Blossom Spring. Western Restaurant is now surrounded by Hunters. This is too dangerous. Let's think of another way."
Xiao Lou understood: "In that case... let's use Li Qingzhao's marker to teleport, and then place the marker in a safe place."
Chu Huaying had no choice but to nod: "Okay, let's leave here first."
Her gaze swept across the crowd. The restaurant staff had already been dealt with; no Hunter had chased after them from Western Restaurant. The group of children with chains had been beaten to the ground by Ye Qi. Strangely, the people around seemed indifferent to the fight that had just taken place, continuing to stroll and chat as if the group didn't exist.
This is not Jiangzhou City, but a Jiangzhou illusion created by the two kings based on everyone's memories on December 24th.
Xiao Lou led the way, with the other four following behind him. Qu Wanyue whispered in Ye Qi's ear, "Xiao Ye, do you think this Professor Xiao is real?"
Ye Qi shook his head: "I can't be sure."
Qu Wanyue glanced at Long Sen, then followed with a complicated expression.
Xiao Lou led everyone away from Central Square. Jiangzhou City was bustling with activity at night. Several young people who looked like students were singing on the sidewalk, and one of the boys looked particularly familiar—it was Ye Qi. My classmate from the Music Conservatory used to busk near Central Square, and I heard he earned quite a bit of money. Ye Qi even accompanied him to buy his guitar.
Ye Qi didn't go up to greet him, but the other person walked over after seeing Ye Qi and said with a smile, " Ye Qi, what a coincidence!"
Chu Huaying glanced at him warily, and seeing that he had no intention of attacking, said, "Excuse me."
Ye Qi smiled awkwardly at him: "I have something to do, so I'll leave first. I'll contact you another day."
After saying that, he continued walking forward with his teammates. The boy looked at Ye Qi's back with a puzzled expression and continued to sing with his guitar. Ye Qi turned around and looked at his familiar classmate, whispering in Qu Wanyue's ear, "This Secret Room World almost replicated Jiangzhou on December 24th. There were too many passersby. It was impossible to distinguish who the Hunters were and who we knew."
Qu Wanyue said with a serious expression, "That's the hardest part. It's possible that the person who greets you is indeed a friend you know, but it's also possible that they'll stab you in the back after getting close to you..."
Ye Qi said, forcing himself to think, "Let's take it one step at a time."
Xiao Lou led everyone through a narrow alley to a secluded corner, and lowered his voice, saying, "What exactly is this world?"
I can't say where it's absolutely safe, but I know one place where there definitely won't be any hunters.
Chu Huaying and Ye Qi asked in unison, "Where?"
Xiao Lou said, " The hospital morgue."
Everyone: "..."
Xiao Lou said seriously, "First of all, when Hunter enters Secret Room World, he will take over the identities of some people in Secret Room World, such as CEO Shao's mother whom we met in the tenth stage, and the clone in the twelfth level, etc. Since they are taking over people in Secret Room World, they are naturally taking over living people."
Ye Qi agreed, nodding and saying, "That's right. It's like a soul crossing over. If you cross over into a living person's body, you can take their place and act as their identity. If you cross over into a corpse, then they're dead when they enter the secret room."
Besides, in an environment like a morgue, where all the bodies are kept in freezers, a living person can only survive for a few minutes, so there certainly wouldn't be a hunter there.
Chu Huaying said, " Professor Xiao means we should hide in the morgue?"
Xiao Lou said, "Okay, go to the morgue and place Li Qingzhao's mark. Then activate the team teleportation and see if we can find the other teammates. This world is too big, and there are a lot of Hunters. It would be very dangerous if any teammates got separated."
Chu Huaying looked at Qu Wanyue and Long Sen, whose expressions were complicated, and they nodded reluctantly.
Ye Qi laughed and said, "Let's meet at the morgue. Professor Xiao's idea is truly brilliant."
Xiao Lou said with a wry smile, "There's nothing I can do; that's the only safe place I can think of."
Chu Huaying said decisively, "Let's go there. Dead people are never as scary as living people."
Seeing that all four agreed, Xiao Lou said, " The hospital isn't far from here. Long Sen and Teacher Qu have teleportation cards, and Hua Ying is fast enough to walk there herself. Xiao Ye, could you please use your Teleportation Card to take me there?"
Long Sen and Qu Wanyue activated their jump cards, leaping 8 meters at incredible speed. Chu Huaying's movement speed was boosted by a card, making her run like the wind. Ye Qi used a Teleportation Card to bring Xiao Lou along; although they could only travel in straight lines, most of Jiangzhou City's streets were straight, so occasional curves didn't have much of an impact.
The group arrived at the city hospital in less than three minutes.
Xiao Lou was very familiar with the place and led everyone to the morgue.
Chu Huaying simply broke in through the window.
December is winter, and the weather is cold. Everyone is wearing sweaters, but the hospital morgue is still fully air-conditioned. Ye Qi sneezed as soon as she entered the morgue, and Qu Wanyue shivered from the cold. Long Sen quickly took off his coat and put it on her.
The overhead lights were blindingly white, and the walls were lined with freezers. Although people are used to seeing this kind of gloomy environment, it still made them feel uneasy.
Xiao Lou walked forward calmly, glanced at the information on the freezer, and said, "They are all normal corpses. There shouldn't be any Hunters possessing the corpses. Hua Ying, mark them."
Chu Huaying nodded, summoned Li Qingzhao, placed the mark, and said, "Wait 5 minutes."
The teleportation marker works like a group message, requiring teammate confirmation. Once a teammate is in this world, they can instantly arrive at the morgue and reunite with everyone by accepting the teleportation invitation.
Time flew by, and Ye Qi looked at Xiao Lou with a smile on his face, but something felt off.
Countdown 4 minutes... 4 minutes and 35 seconds...
4 minutes and 59 seconds...
Almost exactly five minutes had passed when a crucial piece of information flashed through Ye Qi's mind—how did Xiao Lou know that his card holder was in Sister Huaying's hands?!
Ye Qi stared wide-eyed, wanting to speak, but the words got stuck in his throat.
Because, 5 minutes had passed, and no other teammates had appeared at the marked point.
Xiao Lou's expression changed, and surprise appeared in his eyes: "How come there's no one here?"
Chu Huaying said coldly, "Did I disappoint you?"
No sooner had she finished speaking than she had unknowingly teleported behind Xiao Lou, her sharp spider dagger pressed against his lower back. With a slight thrust forward, it would be enough to kill him.
Xiao Lou felt a chill behind her and frowned slightly: " Hua Ying, what are you doing?"
Chu Huaying said, "Your acting was flawless, but unfortunately, you overlooked one detail—the real Professor Xiao didn't know that his card holder was in my hands, so naturally he wouldn't let me play Peach Blossom Spring Teleportation as a teammate."
It turns out that Sister Ying also noticed this anomaly!
Ye Qi exclaimed excitedly, "That's right! The only ones who knew that Professor Xiao's card holder was in Sister Ying's hands were the Hunters! The two Hunters in Peach Blossom Spring passed the information out, so you knew that Sister Ying had the card Tao Yuanming, and subconsciously asked Sister Ying to summon her teammates. But you didn't expect that this action would betray you—you are not our Professor Xiao at all!"
Long Sen and Qu Wanyue obviously realized that something was wrong. Xiao Lou's decision to have Chu Huaying activate the teleportation was too obvious. How could the real Xiao Lou know that Tao Yuanming was in Chu Huaying's hand?
Xiao Lou: "..."
The man's smile finally faded, and he said calmly, "It was my carelessness. You guys aren't too stupid."
Chu Huaying sneered: "It seems there are more than just the four of us in this world, so you went to such lengths to try and get us to bring our other teammates over? Too bad, we're not that easy to fool."
She thrust the dagger forward with all her might, but unexpectedly, it failed to harm " Xiao Lou " in front of her. The man who had been in front of Chu Huaying vanished like a ghost, followed by the ice in the morgue.
The cabinet made a creaking sound that made your teeth ache.
Long Sen's expression changed: "Damn, could it be a zombie coming back to life?!"
Before he could finish speaking, more than a dozen corpses suddenly crawled out of the freezer. The frozen corpses exuded a chill, and although their movements were slightly stiff, the fresh corpses were extremely powerful. They instantly surrounded the four of them and pounced on them with bared teeth and claws.
Xiao Lou's icy voice rang in my ears: "It's fine if you don't bring that teammate over, killing you all first is the same."
Chu Huaying said with a stern face, "Corpse control... He is Qi Ran."
Ye Qi was stunned: " The killer of the K Secret Chamber, that Qi Ran who could control the body in Mass Grave?!"
Chu Huaying shouted sternly, "Cover your ears!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the familiar sound of rattle drums suddenly rang in everyone's ears—
Clang, clang...
Inside the quiet morgue, the crisp, melodious sound of the rattle drum was like a brainwashing spell, causing the four people to momentarily lose their senses!
Chu Huaying decisively used her spider dagger to slash her own arm, bringing herself back to her senses.
Immediately afterward, she swiftly moved forward and ruthlessly slashed her teammates' arms with her knife. The intense pain instantly brought everyone back to their senses. However, Ye Qi, as the Insect Queen, had a different consciousness than ordinary people and was not affected by the demonic sound.
Seeing the horde of corpses rushing towards Chu Huaying, he hurriedly shouted, " Sister Ying, be careful!"
Chu Huaying immediately activated the Peach Blossom Spring Teleportation, hoping to bring everyone back to the Western Restaurant and escape the zombies and the eerie sounds...
But just then, a familiar notification flashed in the floating window in front of her—
Card Magnetic Field Shielding, skill disabled!
The card can still be used inside the morgue; the area that's blocked is clearly not there, but rather the Peach Blossom Spring at Western Restaurant.
Qi Ran is indeed cunning. He actually had Hunter's teammates activate the card shielding magnetic field near the Western Restaurant, cutting off everyone's escape route to " Peach Blossom Spring," and then leading everyone to the morgue.
The morgue is indeed a relatively safe place; no Hunter will travel back in time and become a corpse.
But for Qi Ran, this is the most suitable battlefield.
Because he possesses the art of corpse control; all corpses can become his weapons!