Reflecting on the first level, Jiang Xiuxiu discovered the importance of the blood jade to Xu Bai because she knew the blood jade and Xu Bai were closely linked.
So, in this game, to restrain Xu Bai, she had to first investigate things related to him.
However, just as Jiang Xiuxiu thought of this, she realized something was wrong.
No, that couple, for safety reasons, had put all the secretive information in the basement.
And just yesterday, when she and Ye Ming went to the basement, all the books and such had been completely burned.
This way, she couldn’t obtain any information at all.
Thinking of this, Jiang Xiuxiu's face changed.
She hurried to the basement to check, finding it the same as yesterday—a complete ruin.
She then searched the study, but the books there were still the same as when she first checked—mostly shallow supernatural stories with nothing deeper.
Seeing this, Jiang Xiuxiu's heart sank.
Unable to learn about Xu Bai's past experiences, she didn’t even know how the couple summoned him.
Xu Bai's fire had directly cut off all the paths that could lead her to the truth.
This is too cunning, isn’t it? How can it be like this?
What should she do in such a situation?
Jiang Xiuxiu squinted her eyes.
The game wouldn’t set her up for a dead end. There must be other clues she could pursue.
She couldn’t panic, she had to calm down to handle this properly.
Jiang Xiuxiu thought for a moment and then sat down somewhere.
She mentally listed the things she needed to clarify.
First, and most crucially, she needed to know how the couple summoned Xu Bai.
For example, whether they used any tools and what they did before the summoning.
Second, she needed to know the secret of the old mansion, specifically why the couple bought it.
Currently, Jiang Xiuxiu couldn’t investigate the first point.
But now, she could try to start with the second point.
Thinking of this, Jiang Xiuxiu immediately began searching the study.
She originally planned to look through the couple’s diaries, but after searching around, she found that anything with notes seemed to have been taken by other players.
This was awkward because Jiang Xiuxiu couldn’t determine who had taken them.
Even if she went to ask one by one, due to competitive factors, most players wouldn’t agree to lend them.
Jiang Xiuxiu thought for a while and then looked through the newspapers.
The result was expected, the newspapers were also in disarray, missing pieces here and there.
Jiang Xiuxiu sighed.
She finally understood why Xu Bai let this group of players stay in the game even after they died.
When she cleared the game alone before, although it was tough, at least all the information was available.
But now, leaving a group of players competing with her for food and information was clearly a deliberate move against her.
Jiang Xiuxiu was extremely frustrated but had no other options.
She even regretted not hoarding all the food after dealing with Zhang Wei and the others, otherwise, she could have used it to trade for information.
But then she thought, Zhang Wei and his group succeeded because they were four people.
Now, being alone, she couldn’t hide that much food nor intimidate other players.
With no other choice, she reluctantly sought out other players, trying to trade her information for intelligence.
In the end, she gained nothing.
As Jiang Xiuxiu expected, although the other players were friendly, they were mostly cautious.
Faced with her requests, half hesitated and didn’t agree, while the other half gave her vague information, and she couldn’t gather much from them. Moreover, she had to endure their various demands.
The whole morning, Jiang Xiuxiu achieved nothing.
After eating at noon, she returned to her room in despair, lying on the bed, feeling lost.
What should she do?
What information could she obtain?
Jiang Xiuxiu turned her head. In her room, the only thing left was the sketchbook belonging to the little girl.
On the first night in the old mansion, she had looked through the sketchbook before sleeping and then placed it by the bedside because it took up too much space in her backpack.
What information could a little girl’s sketchbook hold?
Jiang Xiuxiu found it a bit amusing, but this was indeed the only thing she had left.
Perhaps out of boredom or wanting something to do, Jiang Xiuxiu finally picked up the sketchbook and began to flip through it.
She saw that the little girl initially felt happy about her brother’s birth, then saw scenes where she was repeatedly scolded and punished by her parents.
Later, after her brother disappeared, there was a picture of her holding her parents’ hands and smiling.
But after this picture, everything changed.
Constantly on the move, trying to find their missing child, the parents' attention towards their other child grew increasingly thin.
After a period of happiness, the little girl gradually became overwhelmed with guilt and confusion, not knowing what to do.
She didn't dare to tell the truth, fearing complete abandonment by her parents. However, her current situation was no different from being abandoned.
She spent a long time in fear and anxiety, being moved from place to place by her parents until they finally settled in the old mansion, no longer frequently relocating.
One night, her parents were suddenly overjoyed, affectionately calling her name, preparing a lavish meal, and telling her that they had found a lead on her brother.
This was the last page of the sketchbook.
Jiang Xiuxiu had previously read through the entire sketchbook and had a rough understanding of the story's progression.
Reviewing it again now was simply to pass the time as there was nothing else to do.
However, when she reached the last page, Jiang Xiuxiu's gaze sharpened.
Her finger landed on the page where the little girl had written the sentence:
"Mom and Dad told me that my brother would be home soon. They were very happy, and so was I."
"My brother would be home soon..."
Jiang Xiuxiu pondered this sentence repeatedly and looked at the picture, noticing the broad smiles on the faces of the parents.
But something was off.
Jiang Xiuxiu suddenly froze, thinking hard.
Her mind quickly processed all the previously overlooked details, gradually forming a cohesive line.
The couple, despite being deceased, had a clear goal in everything they did—to find their missing child.
But if she remembered correctly, the little boy was clearly dead.
Of course, the boy being dead wasn’t surprising.
When the players entered the game, the system informed them that the owners of the old mansion had perished in a fire with their child.
From the start, the mansion's couple and their child were all identified as dead.
As for the little boy, perhaps he died during his abduction, unbeknownst to his parents.
But the most confusing part for Jiang Xiuxiu was not her death, but that her soul still existed.
It was understandable for the boy’s soul to linger, but why was the girl's soul also present?
People burned by Xu Bai's fire couldn't leave behind a soul.
Jiang Xiuxiu's breath quickened as she felt she might be on the verge of uncovering the truth.
As she observed over the past few days, in this game, players taken by ghosts and dying still existed in the mansion as souls.
But players like Ye Ming and Zhang Wei, who were burned to death, left no traces behind.
The mansion's couple, after praying to the evil god, were also reduced to ashes by fire.
Thus, they were never seen in the mansion.
However, this posed a significant problem.
If the little girl was burned to death with them, Jiang Xiuxiu wouldn't have seen her soul in the mansion's basement.
Therefore, the girl's death must have preceded that of her parents.
The couple, after her death, took her into the basement, where the family was ultimately burned to ashes by Xu Bai's fire.
Looking at the sketchbook's final picture, where the parents who had ignored the girl suddenly prepared a feast for her out of joy over finding a lead on the boy, it was clear something was amiss.
If they could instantly learn about the boy's whereabouts, given their obsession, they would have immediately rushed to the basement to worship Xu Bai, not spending time preparing a meal for the girl.
Especially since such a lavish meal was rare for her even on ordinary days.
Unless they were trying to make amends.
Thinking of this, Jiang Xiuxiu suddenly felt enlightened.
To pray to an evil god, ordinary sacrifices wouldn't suffice for Xu Bai.
The most likely scenario was a life-for-a-life exchange, using the girl's life to obtain information about the boy.
Hence, her parents prepared that meal for her.
Even though the family was ultimately burned to death by Xu Bai's fire, the girl died earlier, not in the fire, so her soul remained.
Given this situation, Jiang Xiuxiu could only attribute it to fate.
What goes around, comes around.
She had intentionally harmed her brother, and now, life for life, it was karma.
With this realization, Jiang Xiuxiu slowly stood up.
She pursed her lips and walked towards the study.
She went to the spot where she had encountered the boy's ghost before.
Standing there, she looked up at the top shelf of the bookcase.
The girl’s death at her parents' hands avenged the boy’s murder.
Even if he became a vengeful ghost after death, knowing the girl's self-inflicted demise should have dissipated his resentment.
Yet, the boy's lingering anger in the basement hinted at something deeper.
She recalled the boy’s subtle hints, the book he had pointed out, which indirectly revealed the true reason behind his disappearance.
She remembered the boy’s ghost appearing in the basement, playing with the girl in front of her.
And lastly, she noted how the ball that could vanquish the boy's ghost had rolled to her feet.
Jiang Xiuxiu couldn't help but laugh.
The boy’s hints had been there all along, but her fear of him had blinded her.
If "The Selfish Gene" was indeed a book bought by the couple, it would be like the others in the mansion’s study, always present.
Its disappearance after she glanced at it indicated it was an illusion, created by some means.
At the time, besides her, the only one there was the boy’s ghost, who had been insistently demanding the book.
Once a game is designed, it must allow for the possibility of the players' success.
If Xu Bai could destroy all vital information, there must be another way for players to receive secret messages.
Jiang Xiuxiu looked at the top shelf, where the book “The Selfish Gene” had been and saw another book had appeared there.
Without hesitation, she reached out and took it down.