Ke Xun's assignment to connect the dots among the group members yielded a wide variety of answers.
After all, there were fourteen scattered coordinates, so any connection was possible.
The members of the "Jin Hua Lun" group were in unprecedented confusion.
Wenxin Group's Shao Ling: It seems the clues are even more chaotic now. This won't do; we need to find a new breakthrough.
Corgi: Mr. Shao, how's the essay contest your literary platform is running? Have you found anything useful?
Wenxin Group's Shao Ling: We received a huge number of submissions, and it takes time to filter them. We haven't found any relevant information yet.
Corgi: Brother Qin, how about you?
Jian Dan Qin Xin: I asked a few old classmates to help me inquire, but I haven't received a reply yet.
Mooney: @Jian Dan Qin Xin, if you have any old classmates working in a mental hospital, I think you should focus on inquiring about them.
Jian Dan Qin Xin: Okay, I do. I'll contact them now.
Corgi: Hao Wen'er Dongzi, how's your online search going?
ZHW: Not optimistic. The information online is a mix of truth and falsehood, and there's just too much information. However, I've already posted on several major forums and Tieba, fabricating a few similar stories, hoping to get some information from the comments.
Wei Feng·Mang: I'm spending all my time on paranormal forums and Tieba now, to the point that the graphics I create for clients are starting to lean towards the paranormal. The owner of a horror-themed restaurant even wanted to poach me to work for him. [Today I am so charming.jpg]
Corgi: ...
Corgi: @DeepSeaFeiyu, @XimenWuyou, @LittleRadishPullingWhiteRabbit, @LotusPondNocturne, beauties, come on, tell me, what connections do you have? Let's make use of them.
LittleRadishPullingWhiteRabbit: Bro, I'm a boy! Look at me! [Selfie.jpg]
Corgi: ...
XimenWuyou:
... Wei Feng·Mang: ...
Wei Feng·Mang: Radish, you have 3 seconds to get out of your Lamborghini.
Little Radish Pulling White Rabbit: This photo is from last month. I've now quietly switched to a G-Wagon. I'll drive it to find you guys later~
Corgi: ...
Ximen Wuyou: ...
Weifeng Mang: ...
Weifeng Mang: Where's the group owner? I suggest kicking this shameless show-off out of the group! [This kid...maybe he can be used for soup.jpg]
Deep Sea Feiyu: Most of the people I know are from our diving club. I rarely contact my old school classmates anymore. Sorry, I can't help much with that.
Lotus Pond Serenade: My band often tours the country. I could take the opportunity to inquire locally, but...our next tour is in the New Year, so I might not have a chance before the next Ruhua...
Ximen Wuyou: According to you, we can't tell others about Ruhua. That limits our ability to find out.
Wenxin Group Shaoling: Searching for clues like looking for a needle in a haystack isn't working. We need to find a breakthrough. Mu, do you have any new clues or ideas?
Mooney: Ke Xun and I have been organizing our thoughts these past two days, including the questions we previously raised. The main points are as follows:
First, everything should have a source. When did this "entering the painting" incident begin?
Second, in the first painting that Dr. Qin and I entered, all thirteen people were newcomers. So, was that painting the beginning of the entire "entering the painting" incident? Or were there other paintings before that, but all the people who entered them perished, so the 'painting' gathered thirteen more people to enter?
Third, we've now realized that the power behind the painting can influence the real world to a certain extent. For example, it always creates various reasons to establish art galleries in the places it needs, and can use various excuses to replace the paintings that should be exhibited in the art galleries with the ones it wants us to enter.
So the question is, why must art galleries be established in these places? Why must it be these paintings, and not others?
Fourth, what is the purpose of gathering thirteen people to enter the painting? I initially thought that the number 13 here, like in some Western countries, signified bad luck, and I even speculated that there might only be thirteen paintings involved in this "entering the painting" event. However, it's not just thirteen paintings anymore. The thirteenth painting for me and Dr. Qin was "Schrödinger's Cat." After that, we received tickets for the next painting, indicating that this event continues for us and has nothing to do with the unlucky symbolism of 13.
So, what is the purpose of making us endlessly risk our lives in the world of paintings? Is it just to toy with human lives? But if it's simply to toy with human lives, then why deliberately build the museum in a location originally intended for other facilities? In this light, the museum's location seems very important.
So, is the purpose of making us enter the paintings directly related to the museum's location?
Fifth, coordinates. Since coordinates are not randomly distributed, they must have some symbolic meaning. Symbolic signs, besides words, are graphic symbols. I suggest everyone continue to try to think outside the box and use these coordinates to connect images with more practical meaning.
Sixth, this is what I find rather strange. From the first painting that Dr. Qin and I entered until now, it seems that every newcomer entering a painting has at least one connection to that painting, or someone who seems to possess the ability to overcome the challenges within.
For example, the first painting I entered required some knowledge of criminal investigation, and coincidentally, one of the people entering that painting was a policeman, who unfortunately failed to pass the second painting.
The second painting required some medical knowledge, and it was thanks to Dr. Qin that we were able to survive.
As for the third painting, "Funeral," although it didn't involve any specific professional field of knowledge, Wei Dong, who is an artist, entered the painting.
The fourth painting, "Faith," involved some religious observations, and Sha Liu happened to have considerable knowledge in this area.
In some subsequent paintings, some newcomers were not explored in depth, but perhaps some of them possessed the corresponding relevant knowledge.
I think the paintings with the most obvious strange coincidences are "Shadow," "Anthropology," "Burning Rhinoceros at Sea," and "The Journey."
The students who entered "Shadow" were art majors, providing us with a wealth of knowledge about color; Qi Qiang entered "Anthropology," and without his lock-picking skills, entering the underground laboratory would have been quite a challenge; Fang Fei and Yu Long, who could dive, entered "The Burning Rhinoceros at Sea," and ultimately, we did need to go to sea to find the signature; and the photographers who entered "The Journey" played an indispensable role in the painting.
Even in "Schrödinger's Cat," which we just finished, language and literature skills, music and sports expertise, and hard knowledge of physics were required. While Hao Wen, with his expertise in physics, is an experienced member and cannot be considered an example, among the newcomers in that painting, Qi Muhuan and Dong Yao are actors. If their professional skills weren't lacking, I think a strong actor with solid acting skills would have had no problem handling the first hurdle of the language world.
And then there's He Tang, one of the challenges in the second level of the Law World, which tests musical knowledge. Coincidentally, He Tang is a music major and provided assistance in passing the challenge.
All of this seems to create a strange phenomenon.
The force behind the painting is constantly taking lives by entering the painting, exaggerating and amplifying the negative emotions expressed in the painting itself, even re-creating them, with obvious malice.
But at the same time, it seems to be intentionally absorbing people who can help break through the challenge, which seems very contradictory. The
"painting" is maliciously reaping lives while trying to give us a chance to survive.
The reason it's described as "trying to" is because not every newcomer entering the painting is necessarily professionally qualified or has the relevant abilities to help break through the challenge; sometimes, only one or two out of a batch of newcomers might have even a slight connection to the area covered by the painting.
This gives the impression that the force trying to keep us alive is struggling; it doesn't have the power to allow all the newcomers to play a role in the painting. However, the phenomenon of always having someone connected to the painting appear in it is definitely not a coincidence. Once or twice might be considered a coincidence, but with so many paintings and so many similar coincidences, it can be seen as a pattern.
I believe the above six points are key to finding a breakthrough, and we can focus on exploring and discussing them in the future.
... After
Mu Yiran finished speaking, no one in the group chat spoke for five or six minutes.
Mooney: ?
Wei Feng·Mang: ......... [Serving the big boss foot bath water.jpg]
Little Radish Pulling White Rabbit: ...... [Serving the big boss an 82-year-old Coke.jpg]
Ximen Wuyou: ...... [Looking up at the big boss who spends a lot of money.jpg]
Corgi: [Kneel down and kowtow to my man.gif]
ZHW: ...
Jiandan Qinxin: ... Xiao Mu, although I'm used to it, I still want to say that you are truly the most outstanding young person I have ever seen. [Smiling/WeChat]
Corgi: Old Qin, that's not very precise. How could my Yiran be just the most outstanding young person? He's clearly the most outstanding person across all age groups! [I'm not saying anything more, I'm going to clean the toilet for the big boss.jpg]
Sword-hearted Qin Xin: ...
Wenxin Group Shao Ling: I think Mu's analysis and judgment are already very detailed and accurate. So let's analyze and discuss the above six points from now on. Luo Yu, Fang Fei, Wu You, He Tang, if you four don't have any connections to investigate this kind of event, I suggest you assist Xiao Zhu and Wei Dong in searching for clues online. Everyone, keep your WeChat online at all times. Post whatever comes to mind in the group whenever you think of it, no matter how unbelievable or absurd the idea is, don't let it go.
Everyone agreed.
Ke Xun put down his phone, stretched out on the beanbag chair, and then sprawled out like a mangy dog, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Mu Yiran came out of the study with a teacup and sat down on the newly bought, proper sofa next to him, turning her head to look at him: "What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about the first painting you and Lao Qin entered. Was it the beginning of the whole incident, or were there other people who entered the painting before that?" Ke Xun raised his long leg, put his toes on Mu Yiran's thigh, and swung them around. "If that painting was the beginning of the whole incident, I think we should go back to that art museum and take a look. Maybe we can find some clues. But if there were other people who entered the painting before that, then tell me, was the first painting you entered the last painting that led to their complete annihilation, or a newly opened painting?"