"Am I hallucinating?" It was Luo Yi who broke the silence first. He looked at Liu Yanlei, who was blushing, with disbelief. "It's 2018 and there are still people who think homosexuality is perverted?"
As he was speaking, Wei Dong, who had already sensed that things were not going well, pounced over and grabbed Ke Xun. He was afraid that his hot temper would flare up and kick Liu Yanlei, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.
Before Ke Xun could speak or make a move, Boss Mu suddenly spoke, his voice as cold as ever: "Based on the hallucinations experienced by Shao Ling, Luo Yi, and myself last night, the hallucinations simulate our closest or most beloved people. Only such people can breach our emotional defenses, making it difficult for us to be cold and ruthless. So it seems that the hallucination Mr. Liu experienced last night was simulating Ms. Chen. Perhaps Mr. Liu could now tell us how he overcame his deep feelings for his lover last night, thus avoiding being harmed?"
After these words, the room fell silent once more, but this time the silence wasn't awkward; it was subtly tense.
A visible stiffness flashed across Liu Yanlei's face, while Chen Xin'ai's gaze fell upon him with a hint of suspicion.
This was a life-or-death question.
If the person in Liu Yanlei's hallucination wasn't Chen Xin'ai, then it proved that his most beloved and intimate person wasn't her.
If it were Chen Xin'ai, Liu Yanlei could still sit here calmly, which might be interpreted as not loving her deeply enough, and therefore not being moved by the sob story she created in her illusion.
Of course, it's possible that Liu Yanlei fully understands his girlfriend and wisely didn't fall for the illusion's trick, but the momentary stiffness on Liu Yanlei's face just now was noticed even by the unreliable Luo Yi, who was now looking at him with a knowing expression. It's almost impossible for him not to feel guilty.
So no matter how Liu Yanlei handles the question Mu Yiran posed, he probably won't be able to escape unscathed from his girlfriend.
Qin Ci and Zhu Haowen, one with his head half-lowered and the other with his eyelids half-drooping, tried their best to politely hide their wanting to laugh. Wei Dong simply grinned openly, thinking that this was a cunning and shrewd boss; his method of responding to the critics was quite insidious and effective, truly striking the snake at its vital point!
Liu Yanlei quickly concealed his embarrassment, deliberately adopting a cool and composed demeanor, and coldly responded to Mu Yiran's words: "The illusions I experienced last night followed the same pattern as those of Shaoling and Luo Yi. I don't think it's necessary to recount them in detail again. It would be too time-consuming for all twelve of us to explain. Now that we understand the pattern of the illusions, we should investigate whether or not the rhinoceros horn needs to be lit."
Shaoling stepped in to smooth things over: "If none of you have any further clues or differences in the illusions you experienced last night, then let's move on to the next question—what exactly is the function of the rhinoceros horn? Currently, it seems that lighting it will likely attract monsters, thus creating illusions. Does anyone have any different opinions?"
The group exchanged glances, indicating that they didn't for the time being.
"In that case, the next question we need to discuss," Shao Ling said, looking intently at everyone, "is whether we still need to light the remaining rhinoceros horn. If so, who will light it tonight, and how will we deal with the illusions that follow, or even upgraded versions of those illusions?"
"Without lighting the rhinoceros horn, we might not be able to find clues to the seal," Qin Ci said. "This painting deprives us of all means of illumination except for burning the rhinoceros horn. Clearly, burning the rhinoceros horn is a necessary and unavoidable step."
"I agree with Brother Qin," Ke Xun said calmly, perhaps because Mu Yiran's brilliant counterattack had made him oblivious to Liu Yanlei's idiotic words and actions.
"I agree too," Zhu Haowen followed closely.
Wei Dong: "Agreed."
Luo Yi: "I agree with my brother."
"Although I also believe that burning the rhinoceros horn is related to clues to the seal, I also think we can't give up on other places. We should carefully search every place we can see and touch, leaving no corner unchecked," Liu Yanlei suddenly expressed his opinion with unusual enthusiasm, as if eager to move on from the previous discussion.
"Yes, we can't overlook any possibility," Shao Ling agreed with Liu Yanlei. "Then how about this: we'll split up and inspect the entire ship again, trying to be as meticulous as possible, down to the centimeter. From now until noon, we'll have a meeting over lunch to share our findings, discuss the relationship between the Burning Rhinoceros and the Seal, and how to deal with tonight's danger."
Everyone agreed to this arrangement and spontaneously formed groups: some to inspect the upper decks, some to inspect the lower decks, and some to inspect the masts and sails.
Just as they were about to put their plan into action, Liu Yanlei added, "You seem to have overlooked an important area—the hull. Who will inspect it?"
Everyone stopped and pondered.
Inspecting the hull seemed impractical, but they couldn't overlook any possibility, could they?
What if… who would inspect the hull? That would require jumping into the sea and diving, which would demand exceptional swimming skills. The ship was enormous, with a considerable hull area. If an accident occurred and someone couldn't hold their breath, there wouldn't be enough time to escape—with the hull above their heads, how could anyone quickly circle around to the outside and surface?
Not to mention—that terrifying force, whether ghostly or some unimaginable power, came from the sea. Who could guarantee they wouldn't be instantly killed if they entered the water?
It was a difficult and serious problem.
As everyone considered the feasibility of this plan, they suddenly heard the girl named Fang Fei speak calmly: "I'll go check the seabed."
Fang Fei was Yu Long's girlfriend, with the same muted flaxen hair as him. Since entering the painting, she had rarely spoken, remaining remarkably silent.
"Really?" Luo Yu looked at her in surprise. "Beautiful lady, don't underestimate me..."
"I have a diving license," Fang Fei interrupted him calmly, pointing to her boyfriend Yu Long. "He has one too. We're members of a diving club."
Yu Long glanced at her but didn't speak.
"What level of diving license do you have?" Shao Ling suddenly asked.
"AOW," Fang Fei replied calmly.
"AOW is?" Luo Yu asked.
"Advanced Open Water Diver," Shao Ling explained. "You can dive to a depth of 30 meters and do deep-sea diving, boat diving, underwater navigation, and night diving."
"Awesome," Luo Yu gave a thumbs up. "But there's no diving equipment on this boat."
"We can freedive," Fang Fei said.
"Freediving is diving without oxygen tanks, relying solely on your own breath-holding," Shao Ling said, looking at Fang Fei. "You can think it over carefully before deciding whether to go into the sea, after all, we don't know what unpredictable situations might occur."
"They say that people usually don't die during the day in the paintings," Fang Fei pointed to the veteran members. "Let's take a gamble."
Shao Ling's gaze then shifted to Yu Long.
It was clear that Yu Long didn't really want to go into the sea, so he hadn't mentioned that he could dive before Fang Fei spoke.
Yu Long felt the pressure from the betting gazes of the crowd. He frowned and looked at Fang Fei: "What if we lose the bet?"
"When we do extreme sports, aren't we always gambling with our lives?" Fang Fei looked at him expressionlessly. "Freediving is the second most dangerous sport in the world. One of our feet is already on the verge of death."
"I'm willing to die diving, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to die in this godforsaken sea!" Yu Long was a little annoyed.
"Then do as you please, I'll go down myself." Fang Fei said, getting up to leave, but Yu Long grabbed her arm.
"What's wrong with you?!" Yu Long glared at her anxiously and angrily. "Are you deliberately trying to annoy me, to make me anxious?! What did I do to you? Stop being so willful, stop pushing me!"
Fang Fei gave him a cold look: "You no longer have the right to let me be willful with you. Yu Long, after we get out of here, we're breaking up."
Saying that, she shook off Yu Long's hand and walked out the door without looking back.
Yu Long, looking incredulous and bewildered, yelled, "Are you crazy?!" but then chased after her.
Wei Dong quietly nudged Ke Xun's arm with his elbow and whispered, "Looks like that illusion last night revealed several fake couples... Hey, who was your illusion? Was it a big shot?"
"I refuse to answer mindless questions. Come with me." Ke Xun took her boyfriend's hand in one hand and dragged Wei Dong out the door with the other.
"Where are we going?" Wei Dong asked hurriedly.
"That girl insists on going into the sea, we need to get her some safety measures," Ke Xun said. "Go find a rope and tie it around her waist, it'll do its best."
When they got the rope and came to the deck, Yu Long seemed to have already decided to go into the sea with Fang Fei. The two seemed to be having a cold war, ignoring each other, but that didn't stop them from going into the sea, and they were each seriously warming up before going in.
"Visibility in the sea isn't high, so it's not easy to check the bottom of the ship," Ke Xun said to Fang Fei as he stepped forward. "My phone is IP68 waterproof, so it'll be fine for underwater lighting for two hours. You can use it."
"Hey, mine is too. Give it to your boyfriend." Luo Yi, who had followed them unnoticed, also generously pulled out his phone.
"Thanks." Fang Fei took it, secured it with something, and hung it around her neck.
Ke Xun suddenly remembered something and turned to Mu Yiran, asking, "This is strange. Why are the watch and lighter in this painting reduced to an ancient state, while the phone remains unchange
d, although it can only be used for lighting during the day and all other functions are unusable? Doesn't that seem odd?"