"We did discuss whether we needed to actively ignite the rhinoceros horn," Shao Ling answered Ke Xun's question, "but out of caution, we ultimately decided to wait and see unless we realized that igniting the rhinoceros horn was absolutely necessary.
"However, we did arrange in advance who would ignite the rhinoceros horn. The person was chosen by drawing lots. Li Yi drew the lot and was the first person to ignite the horn. If something happened to him, the second person would take over, and that person was Yu Long.
"I think the reason Li Yi ignited the rhinoceros horn last night was probably because the endless darkness terrified him, or perhaps because he couldn't see anything due to the darkness, and he thought that igniting the rhinoceros horn could solve the problem.
"As for where the ignited rhinoceros horn is, Mr. Mu and I just searched the vicinity. We didn't find any remains, not even any ashes. We speculate that the rhinoceros horn fell into the sea with Li Yi."
"So this so-called 'igniting the rhinoceros horn to ward off monsters' is completely useless, right!" Yu Long suddenly shouted, "You'll still die after igniting it, what kind of monster ward is that!" " It's used to lure monsters. Whoever lights it will lure the monster, and whoever lures the monster will die!"
"If whoever lights the rhinoceros horn dies, then there's no need to create illusions for us separately to lure us into the sea," Zhu Haowen said expressionlessly.
"Then what is the purpose of this rhinoceros horn?" Liu Yanlei asked, staring at him.
"Maybe it's used to spot monsters," Ke Xun glanced at him with half-closed eyelids, "Perhaps only Li Yi, whoever lights the rhinoceros horn, can see the true form of the 'monster' that created illusions for us."
"So it's still 'whoever lights the rhinoceros horn dies,' isn't it?!" Yu Long said sharply.
Ke Xun raised an eyebrow: "Then why can't whoever lights the rhinoceros horn take advantage of seeing the monster's true form to kill it?"
Yu Long was speechless for a moment, about to retort, but his girlfriend Fang Fei raised her hand and pressed it on his shoulder to stop him.
"Brother, you're so powerful and domineering." "Luo Jin gave Ke Xun a trembling thumbs-up.
"I think Mr. Ke has some merit." Shao Ling remained rational. "The person who lights the rhinoceros horn may be able to see the monster's true form. Wen Qiao in Niuzhu Burning Rhinoceros Horn was able to see the water spirits that others couldn't see by lighting the rhinoceros horn.
"But this doesn't mean that whoever lights the rhinoceros horn will die. Perhaps Li Yi could see the monster's true form, but he was still bewitched by the illusion and lost his life.
"We'll discuss the issue of lighting the rhinoceros horn later. Now, please tell us about your experiences last night. Perhaps we can summarize more characteristics and clues about the illusions."
The newcomers who had followed Shao Ling last night had different expressions, each lowering their eyelids and remaining silent. Luo Jin, who was sitting next to Ke Xun, raised his trembling hand: "Well, I'll tell you... Last night, the illusion impersonated my girlfriend's voice to deceive me. 'She' said that she was hit by a car while crossing the road, and for some reason, her soul left her body and came here to find me."
"At first, I didn't believe her at all. I said, 'This is inside a painting, how could you come in? And how did you know I was here?' She said she couldn't bear to leave me, and maybe because her obsession was so deep, her soul came looking for her.
"I was convinced that this was all some kind of ghostly trickery trying to deceive me, but 'she's' words were so convincing and eloquent that I slowly began to hesitate.
"But I'm not stupid, am I? So I asked her a lot of questions that only the two of us would know, and to my surprise, she answered them all correctly. I... I actually believed her.
"She cried as she spoke, saying she couldn't bear to leave me, that she didn't want to die, that she loved me so much, but there was nothing she could do. She felt she was about to disappear, and before she left, she wanted to kiss me one last time."
"She said she knew I was a coward, that she didn't dare come over, and that if I wasn't afraid of her, I should just go and kiss her, and she would try to wait for me to take the initiative.
"I, I am indeed a coward, but I thought to myself, this is my girlfriend, what haven't I seen her like? I even went into the bathroom to hand her toilet paper when she had diarrhea, how could she, how could she die... I was stunned at the time, all I could think of were the scenes of us together.
"And then the problem arose—
"You know, we both really love keeping small animals. We have birds, fish, turtles, hamsters, four or five cats, and seven or eight dogs in our shared home. She likes to stay at home taking care of them, while I often have to go out for ten days or even two or three months at a time. During this time, our animals often die from injuries, accidents, or old age, but every time I call home to chat with her and ask about the animals, she never tells me that they have died."
"Because she knows I can't handle it. I never like hearing about deaths, whether human or animal, even the sparrows that often land on my windowsill.
"I might be a useless person, not likable, and even a bit silly, but I can become depressed for a long time because of the death of someone or an animal I know.
"My girlfriend understands this, so if a pet in our house dies, she never tells me on the phone, although I'll eventually find out when I get home.
"She wants me to be less sad every day, and she doesn't want me to hear her voice announcing death every time I think about those people or animals that are no longer alive."
"—So at the time, I felt a little… a little off. I felt that if she really had a soul, and if her soul could really find me with her unwavering devotion, she would at most take one last look at me from the shadows. She wouldn't suddenly appear and tell me she was dead; she would rather I find out later.
"I suddenly remembered that we used to talk about those tragic love stories where the female lead has a terminal illness. My girlfriend said that if she had a terminal illness, she would never tell me, and she wouldn't pretend not to love me anymore or cheat on me like some people do, to break up with me so I wouldn't be so sad."
"She said she would cherish the last moments of her life and try her best to be good to me. When she was about to die, she would go somewhere else and die quietly. Even if I eventually found out she was dead, although I would still be depressed and sad, at least when I recalled the last time I spent with her, all that would remain in my memory would be happiness and joy...
"Ahem, I won't say any more of these cheesy things. What I mean is, I don't think she would come to tell me about her death, much less cry so tragically like this, making me grieve along with her, leaving me with a heartbreaking final memory."
"So I hesitated, I didn't dare go over, and then she kept crying, kept saying how much she loved me, kept trying to get me to go over, and I knew 'she' was definitely fake. The more I listened to her voice, the more eerie it sounded. I was so scared I almost peed my pants on the spot..." "
Just cut off the peeing part, don't say it. Pretty glorious, huh?" Ke Xun looked at him speechlessly, but in his heart he felt that this kid wasn't actually that... silly. When he saw him paralyzed on the ground this morning, he saw tears streaming down his face and thought he was crying from being scared. Now that he thought about it, Ke Xun felt that those tears were probably for his girlfriend.
"It seems the illusions all use similar tactics to bewitch us," Shao Ling said. "They all seem to use people close to us to gain our trust and lure us into a deadly trap. Did any of you discover any important clues or other characteristics of the illusions you experienced last night?"
Everyone pondered and recalled, and after a while, Mu Yiran said, "The force behind the illusions can read our memories and use those memories to simulate and shape the personality and behavior of people close to us.
For example, in what situations, what tone and manner this person would speak, and their judgment and handling of problems would be very consistent with their persona."
"But the image it simulates is only based on our 'past' memories. In other words, it can grasp our past, but it cannot control our 'present tense.'
"Once we ask a new question, it can only rely on 'past' experience to solve and deal with it. But human thoughts are constantly being refreshed and changed over time. That's why it often reveals its flaws after we ask a new question, because the answer in our hearts is only generated through judgment and analysis after it has answered.
"Therefore, we may be able to find a way to deal with this illusion, which is..."
"Ask it the latest question and look for flaws in its answer!" Yu Long interrupted Mu Yiran's subsequent words with his quick answer.
"I think this method is useless now," Liu Yanlei said. "Is that behind-the-scenes force so stupid? It already used this trick last night. If it is used again tonight, everyone will know that it is fake, an illusion. Who will still believe it!" He
glanced at Mu Yiran with some disdain as he spoke.
"Then you probably don't know," Ke Xun looked at Liu Yanlei, "the voice that was used to bewitch me in the hallucination I experienced last night. How can you be sure that tonight's hallucination won't use the people around you to deceive you? For example, your girlfriend, if she were shouting for you to save her in the dark, would you believe her or not? Would you save her or not?"
"The hallucination has isolated us all. If Xin Ai's voice is heard in the dark, it's definitely fake!" Liu Yanlei retorted.
"Brother Qin has told you about all the paintings we've been to," Ke Xun said, looking directly into Liu Yanlei's eyes. "Don't you know that the conditions for death in a painting aren't always the same? Some paintings have escalating conditions for death. Can you guarantee you'll still be isolated tonight?"
Liu Yanlei, repeatedly challenged by Ke Xun, involuntarily lost his composure. Realizing what had happened, he became somewhat angry and retorted sarcastically, "As far as I know, those who drown are usually good swimmers. Experience isn't a panacea. Those who can be defeated by psychological warfare are people who have done wrong and have questionable morals. I don't think the experience you, a perverted homosexual, can provid
e is of any help to us!"
After he finished speaking, an awkward silence fell over the room.