Seeing Jiang Xiuxiu slightly bending her legs, unable to extend her arms any further no matter how much she shook them, both the ghost and she found themselves at an impasse.
Her arms stopped shaking, and the air became exceptionally awkward.
Maybe the ghost hadn’t anticipated this situation when it first attacked.
Clearly, Jiang Xiuxiu’s nod had given the ghost the ability to control her arms.
But Jiang Xiuxiu had only nodded slightly, not fully complying, so the ghost couldn’t control her legs at all.
Moreover, Jiang Xiuxiu was not tall, she was petite.
To reach the top shelf, she had to stand on tiptoe. Now, with her legs bent, the ghost was utterly helpless.
“Book! I want the book!”
After a moment of silence, the child ghost let out a high-pitched scream.
“Answer me! Help me! Answer me!”
Angry and agitated, its voice became distorted with intense emotion.
It seemed unable to control its temper, its screaming causing Jiang Xiuxiu a headache and her vision to blur, like an annoying child throwing a tantrum on a bus or train.
Normal bratty kids, when things don’t go their way and they can’t get what they want from their parents, become nuisance to others with their noise. Let alone this moody, now ghostly child.
Even if it couldn’t directly harm Jiang Xiuxiu due to certain rules, she was still significantly affected by it.
What’s with that book? Why does this ghost child want it so desperately?
Could it hold some secret or important information?
Despite her annoyance, Jiang Xiuxiu couldn’t help but feel curious about the ghost child’s obsession.
For the next while, the ghost child continued its tantrum despite the situation.
Jiang Xiuxiu, employing her survival skills, watched the ghost’s various provocations with a smile, standing firm like a mountain.
Soon, the ghost, realizing it couldn’t succeed, reluctantly left after five minutes of futile effort.
It left as quickly as it had come.
Shortly after, Jiang Xiuxiu sensed the eerie presence behind her receding and her arm, exhausted, dropped down.
Relieved, she shook her numb legs and steadied herself against a nearby wardrobe.
Simultaneously, she cautiously glanced back.
There was nothing behind her now, including the two players who had been there earlier. They had quietly left at some point.
In the empty study, she was alone.
Seeing this, Jiang Xiuxiu finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She knew she had managed to get through that ordeal.
She then looked up at the top shelf, where the book the ghost child had desperately wanted was placed.
Her intuition told her there must be a secret hidden in it.
However, when she stood on tiptoe and took down the book to check, she was stunned.
It was not a diary or anything special, just a very ordinary book.
"The Selfish Gene."
Its author was Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary theorist.
Judging by the dust on its side, the couple, increasingly obsessed with paranormal activities, hadn’t touched this book for a long time.
Though not a very famous book, "The Selfish Gene" had some notoriety, unlike well-known works like "Jane Eyre" or "A Tale of Two Cities."
Jiang Xiuxiu had heard of it and noticed it on the bookshelf earlier.
At the time, she had thought it was just for show and didn’t pay special attention to it.
What did its presence here mean?
Squinting her eyes, Jiang Xiuxiu opened the book.
A quick flip through revealed no hidden compartments or notes.
Only some marks made with a black pen by the reader.
The most highlighted parts were in Chapter Eight, "Battle of the Generations."
One passage was entirely underlined in black pen:
"A mother has favorites, which means that when she invests in her offspring, the resources are not distributed equally."
"A mother can arbitrarily decide how to allocate these resources among her children, either equally or unequally."
Below this, the book introduced the concept of "parental investment."
In simple terms, it meant that parents, the "ancestors," make any form of investment in their offspring, the "descendants," at the cost of sacrificing their ability to invest in other descendants.
In layman's terms, a parent’s total "assets" are limited. Favoring one child inevitably leads to the sacrifice of the other children’s interests.
Reading this, Jiang Xiuxiu frowned.
What did this passage mean?
Though she couldn’t fully grasp it at first, she quickly thought of the couple’s two children.
A boy and a girl.
An older sister and a younger brother.
If there was unequal parental investment, the beneficiary was obvious.
So, this family preferred sons over daughters?
Was the book here to hint at something?
It seemed the game was subtly guiding Jiang Xiuxiu.
Quickly flipping through the pages, she found another highlighted passage with a ballpoint pen a few pages later:
"The old swallow has a certain amount of parental investment. If it has five children, it will divide the investment among the five, but each child wants more than one-fifth of the share."
"If the chick can eliminate one egg, it will get one-fourth of the share, and by eliminating another, it gets one-third. In genetic terms, the gene manipulating sibling-killing behavior will spread in the gene pool."
Unlike the previous black-pen marks, these were highlighted in red.
Under the dim orange light, these red lines seemed to come alive, exuding an ominous feeling.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
Suddenly, deafening chimes echoed from the hall.
These chimes were louder than before, instantly awakening the entire old mansion.
Immersed in her thoughts, Jiang Xiuxiu was startled by the sudden noise.
She glanced at the clock in the study, realizing it was 8 PM.
Jiang Xiuxiu realized she had spent too much time in the study.
It was getting late; soon, it would be time to rest.
She had gathered enough information for today, and finishing the book quickly wasn’t feasible.
She decided to take what she had found and rest.
Thinking this, Jiang Xiuxiu put the book back on the shelf, turned around, and grabbed her backpack.
She intended to carry it, along with the picture book she found in the girl’s room, in her backpack.
However, when Jiang Xiuxiu turned back, "The Selfish Gene" was gone.
The shelf in front of her was clean, with no trace of the book.
In just two seconds, the book vanished as if it had never been there.
Seeing this, Jiang Xiuxiu was stunned.
The book was gone?
Where did it go? Would it appear again?
Realizing this, Jiang Xiuxiu searched the study, hoping to find it again.
But after ten minutes, she found nothing.
She understood that the book was an abnormal existence, not something she could possess.
After all, it was the book the ghost child repeatedly demanded.
Understanding this, Jiang Xiuxiu quickly left the study.
Based on the clues she discovered today, Jiang Xiuxiu had a vague guess about the family of four in the old mansion.
Now, she just needed more information to confirm her thoughts.
It wasn’t too late, some players were in their rooms resting, while others lingered outside.
As Jiang Xiuxiu exited, she noticed the players outside were gathered in the corridor, watching or eavesdropping on something.
Some had wary expressions.
What happened?
Following their gaze, Jiang Xiuxiu saw two female players arguing in the corridor.
“Why separate? You said you’d team up with me!”
One woman, under the players' scrutiny, angrily accused the other.
She had beautiful long hair and seemed rational in character.
Thus, compared to the previously furious male player, she was much calmer.
Even while questioning, her tone wasn’t overly agitated.
It seemed she had accepted the situation and just wanted an explanation.
“I-I just don’t want to team up anymore,” the accused woman said weakly. “Is there a problem?”
“Of course, there’s a problem!” The long-haired woman sneered. “You think the game revolves around you?”
After a few more arguments, they parted ways.
The long-haired woman found a new room, while her partner quickly left.
Seeing her partner’s retreating figure, Jiang Xiuxiu’s mind stirred.
Her behavior was just like the male player who “resurrected” in the corridor.
Could it be that the long-haired woman was also taken by a ghost and then reappeared?
Jiang Xiuxiu speculated.
To be sure, she asked the long-haired woman’s partner.
As expected, she got a confirmation.
“We went to the bathroom and encountered danger,” her partner said. “I was scared and didn’t respond, but she did and was taken by the child ghost.”
“When I left the bathroom, she reappeared.”
Her partner didn’t explain further, but Jiang Xiuxiu could infer the rest.
The long-haired woman, like the male player, forgot being taken by the ghost and thought nothing happened.
Based on her previous behavior, Jiang Xiuxiu could see that the long-haired woman’s personality remained unchanged, appearing genuine and unfeigned.
Thus, these players weren’t imposters.
They were themselves.
But they had indeed been taken by ghosts.
How could nothing happen?
“Thank you.”
After gathering this information, Jiang Xiuxiu nodded and thanked the partner.
Afterward, she casually asked another question.
“You encountered the same child ghost in the bathroom?” she asked. “Was there one ghost or two?”
“Just one,” the partner replied without hesitation. “The same one we met at the door.”