Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 96
Inside room 1111.
In the dimly lit room, there was a pungent smell of blood. Two fresh bodies lay silently on one side, their grotesquely battered faces covered by nylon bags. Opposite them was a signed photograph of a handsome and elegant man.
It seemed that one of the couple was an ardent admirer of someone named “Luo Yu”. They regarded him as an idol. Their visit to Blue Harbor City and stay at the Saiya Hotel was specifically to meet him and get his autograph.
Luo Yu had an air of scholarly elegance about him, not at all like an idol. He wore glasses, and the eyes beneath them held a smirk, giving off an unnerving sense of insight.
Holding the photo, Zhou Qian felt a strange sensation, as if he was truly making eye contact with Luo Yu. Strangely, Zhou Qian also felt that this man looked somewhat familiar.
The photo was a Polaroid, which meant someone must have taken Luo Yu’s picture on the spot and then asked him to sign it as a keepsake. What particularly caught Zhou Qian’s attention was the banner behind Luo Yu in the photo, which read: [Meeting, July 23, 1997.]
The content before the word “Meeting” wasn’t captured, which left room for various interpretations such as “concert”, “meet-and-greet,” and so on. Due to the obscured portion, Luo Yu’s identity remains uncertain.
However, the date after the word “Meeting” was particularly intriguing. After Zhou Qian entered the hotel, he noted the year was “Blue Harbor City 1997”. However, the players, being budget tourists, checked in in October, not July. This meant that the two victims in this room might have arrived in Blue Harbor City only three months ago.
Something wasn’t adding up.
The male-female pair of killers supposedly committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning many years ago. Those who died at their hands should have existed many years prior, like the family of three in room 1108. So why were these two recent guests of the Saiya Hotel victims?
Initially, Zhou Qian assumed all the deceased he and Bai Zhou had encountered were victims of the male-female duo. They were simply replicated into this alternate dimension, re-living their lives and being killed again, but this time by Xiong Fei and Li Yuan.
This new clue completely overturned Zhou Qian’s previous assumptions. Why were a couple who checked into the Saiya Hotel room 1111 three months ago dragged into this alternate dimension and subsequently killed?
Frustrated, Zhou Qian complained to Bai Zhou, “The plot is becoming illogical. We must have missed something.”
But what did they overlook?
After some thought, Zhou Qian had an epiphany and gestured to Bai Zhou before quickly heading towards the exit, exclaiming, “The lounge!”
Shortly after, Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou arrived at the lounge area, right opposite the elevator. The coffee table had several magazines and books.
Zhou Qian remembered flipping through one in a hurry during a previous discussion. Suddenly, he recalled seeing something related to “Luo Yu” in a magazine, which might explain why the man in the autographed photo seemed familiar.
After rushing to the rest area, Zhou Qian quickly picked up several magazines and spread them all out on the coffee table. He then tried his best to recall in which magazine he had seen the name “Luo Yu”.
His eyes quickly scanned the covers of these magazines. In a short while, Zhou Qian had an answer and immediately reached for one of the magazines.
Unexpectedly, at that moment, Bai Zhou also reached out to that magazine, and their hands suddenly touched.
Bai Zhou remained still. He lifted his slender index finger slightly, then let it down, making a soft sound.
Turning his head, Zhou Qian glanced at him but didn’t linger. He was the first to pull out the magazine.
After flipping through the magazine for a few pages, Zhou Qian found what he was looking for—an introduction to and an interview with Luo Yu.
[Luo Yu: Best-selling fantasy novelist, known for “Dual World”.]
[Have you ever heard of this urban legend? One day, when you take an elevator, you might enter a parallel dimension and meet another version of yourself. The parallel space defies your imagination. The “you” in that world might be a monster. Who knows?]
[That’s the story of “Dual World”.]
[The author, Luo Yu, believes that there are actually two layers to this world. We usually can only see the first layer, but not the second.]
[The second layer is a complete replica of the first world. There exists another version of us, identical to us in every way, familiar with every detail of our lives. Unfortunately, while they can see us, we cannot see them.]
[So, if one day you encounter another version of yourself, please be careful. They might be from the parallel world, trying to replace you.]
[In “Dual World”, the male protagonist’s doppelgänger from the alternate dimension comes to the real world, wanting to replace the protagonist and stay in this world. After the protagonist discovers this, he engages in a series of strategic and physical confrontations with his other self.]
[The plot is full of ups and downs, with countless thrilling moments. Want to know if the protagonist eventually triumphs or if he’s replaced by his evil twin?]
[Don’t just be intrigued. Buy the book and find out the ending!]
Frowning, Zhou Qian turned to the next page and immediately saw an interview related to Luo Yu.
Reporter: “I heard you’re going to have a book signing in Blue Harbor City soon?”
Luo Yu: “Yes. Miss, you’re quite informed!”
Reporter: “Haha, it’s because I’m a fan of your books. I really love ‘Dual World’. May I ask, the reason for going to Blue Harbor City is…”
Luo Yu: “I’m going there for inspiration.”
Reporter: “Let me guess, are you preparing for your next book? Oh my god, am I privileged to get some early news about your new book from you? What kind of story are you thinking of writing next?”
Luo Yu: “It’ll still be fantasy-themed. My readers love that from me. I’ve recently taken an interest in murder cases. Blue Harbor City has several famous serial murder cases. I want to go see for myself.”
Reporter: “Ah, are you referring to the murder case at the Saiya Hotel?”
Luo Yu: “Yes, that’s the one. I want to visit the places where the murderer stayed. Maybe they will return from hell to meet me… and provide some inspiration. Who knows?”
Reporter: “You mentioned earlier that the theme is fantasy, so it’s not entirely a detective novel?”
Luo Yu: “It’s not a detective novel. There will be fantasy elements involved. It might even share the same world view as my book ‘Dual World’. I still need to think about the specific setting. Right now, I only have a preliminary idea.”
Reporter: “Wow, I’m truly looking forward to it!”
……
After a while, Zhou Qian closed the magazine.
After pondering for a bit, he looked at Bai Zhou and said, “All the illogical phenomena finally have a clear explanation.”
“This so-called alternate dimension—it’s actually constructed by the author Luo Yu.”
“In a sense, we’ve stepped into the world of a novel!”
“Luo Yu writes fiction, using everything that happens in the real world of Blue Harbor City as his material repository.”
“Now, he’s using a series of murders committed by a male-female duo as a basis for his story. When these serial murders occurred in the real world, they happened in strict chronological order.”
“But when the author writes, the order in which these case materials appear in his mind isn’t linear. There’s no set pattern or logic.”
“One day, Luo Yu might suddenly remember someone he met ten years ago, thinking their character would be interesting to use, so he writes them into the story. Another day, he might pass by the hotel reception and find the receptionist’s appearance unique, so he includes them as well. Moreover—”
“Many details might be fabricated. Because when an author creates, he embellishes and imagines many things. Thus…”
“That’s why the information in this world seems so chaotic!”
Events and people in the real world couldn’t be linked in any systematic way to phenomena in this alternate dimension. There was no logical correspondence between the two.
Unless one considered this alternate dimension purely as the author’s fiction and deliberate arrangement.
Luo Yu was a fantasy author. After getting clues about him, everything seemed to make perfect sense to Zhou Qian—
Many serial killers in the world act alone. Cases involving cooperative efforts, especially between a male and female pair, were rare.
On top of that, the fact that the woman was having an affair and teamed up with her lover made the story even more tantalizing, adding a dramatic twist perfect for a novel.
All the victims stayed on the 11th floor, and crime scenes bore the symbol of an inverted pentagram, adding a mysterious layer to the murders and fueling wild speculations.
Thus, the murders committed by the male-female duo made the Saiya Hotel famous, causing a huge sensation.
The fantasy author Luo Yu was drawn here because of this.
Looking for inspiration, Luo Yu stayed here for a long time, possibly up to three months.
During these three months, he stayed in the Saiya Hotel day and night, feeling the presence of the male-female duo and enjoying the sensation of being surrounded by the vengeful spirits of the victims…
The hotel’s atmosphere inspired his writing.
He wrote prolifically.
Regarding the serial murders committed by the couple, he combined historical records and archives he found with his imagination to create multiple crime scenes in the Saiya Hotel.
Therefore, there was no time travel or temporal dislocation.
People killed at different times appear in the same space simply because it was a space constructed by the novel.
However, during the creative process, the author Luo Yu obviously encountered some issues.
For instance, the police might release only limited information about victims, and only a few cases might be suitable for turning into fiction.
Moreover, most real-life victims might have been ordinary-looking people with no distinct features.
But the victims Zhou Qian and others saw in this alternate dimension were all handsome men and beautiful women. This was probably Luo Yu’s artistic touch.
In conclusion, based on real history, to enhance the drama, Luo Yu used his imagination to create many new victim profiles.
For example, if he met an impressively beautiful female reader at a book signing three months ago, he might write her into the story as one of the victims.
That was why those who appeared at the hotel three months ago were also present in this dimension. Furthermore—
Zhou Qian looked at Bai Zhou and spoke his thoughts out loud, continuing, “For instance, when he saw that eleven poor tourists checked into the Saiya Hotel, he got a new inspiration.”
“For the nine of us who are still alive, he had a moment of brilliance and thought that maybe the story of the parallel worlds could be applied to us. Hence, all nine of us have doppelgangers.”
“He probably thought that a game of strategy and mutual destruction involving nine original individuals plus nine counterparts from another dimension, totaling eighteen people, would be a fascinating plot for a novel. Furthermore—”
“Xiong Fei and Li Yuan were killed. Luo Yu might have chanced upon their bodies, so that night, when brainstorming for his novel, he created a pair of executioners based on them.”
“The author saw how they were slashed in the throat, so they were portrayed by him as monstrous killers whose heads can fall off and whose necks can spurt blood.”
“Of course, the method of killing by this pair of executioners is based on the real deeds of that man and woman in history! Speaking of that man and woman—”
Bai Zhou took over. “I need to correct my previous speculation. The scenes where that man and woman fall in love aren’t flashbacks from before their deaths but are probably just the author’s imagination.”
“Yes. Wait…”
Zhou Qian continued, “Let me think… monstrous killers, love story, male monster seducing a man… No, that’s not right—”
“What I just said isn’t entirely accurate. This dimension might not exactly be a novel written by Luo Yu, but rather his draft or collection of materials!”
“For the story about Xiong and Li, Luo Yu wrote it quite messily with many illogical parts. The love story of that man and woman isn’t clear either—”
“All of this isn’t a fully-fledged novel yet. The author is likely still in the process of gathering materials and organizing an outline. That’s why I say this alternate dimension is just his draft world.”
“As for the author himself right now, he is…”
“If he can see us, and he saw Xiong Fei and Li Yuan, then in the real world, the author Luo Yu must be staying at the Saiya Hotel, and probably on the 11th floor. The most likely room he is in—”
Hearing Zhou Qian say this, Bai Zhou looked at him, and they both simultaneously uttered, “1103.”
The room 1103 was where the male and female murderer duo often stayed. It was also the room where they took their own lives.
In the interview, Luo Yu mentioned that perhaps the man and woman would return from hell to converse with him.
Therefore, with the intention of feeling the aura of their deaths and to get inspiration, he might have stayed in room 1103.
When the players checked in, Luo Yu might have been hiding somewhere in the lobby or in a dark corner of the first-floor corridor, watching everything.
He silently heard the front desk say that only the 11th floor had rooms and silently watched everyone take the elevator up.
Finally, he also went to the 11th floor, checked into 1103, and included the new people he met and the inspiration he got into his novel draft.
Now, Zhou Qian and the others had entered the world of Luo Yu’s manuscript, which was based on some historical data, combined with his own imagination, sudden insights, and his private settings.
Therefore, because the draft also contains a “dual world” setting, the players might be hunted and replaced by their alternate selves.
After organizing his thoughts, Zhou Qian said, “If we, as mere tourists, can enter the world of the manuscript, is it possible that the author himself might also come in?”
“Possibly,” Bai Zhou replied. “So, maybe when we find him, we can figure out how to leave this place.
“There are countless room 1103s in this space right now. He might be in one of them. He might not even know what has happened and might still be writing.”
“We really need to get out,” Zhou Qian said. “This theory probably hits the nail on the head. The situation is going to get more dangerous.”
“First, the swastika killer who murdered Xiong Fei and Li Yuan might be another serial killer imagined by the author. If the author imagines this and incorporates this setting into his draft, there might be another terrifying murderer hunting us in this space.”
“Second, if the author gets inspired and randomly decides to kill off a character, any of us could be killed off at any moment. This is his manuscript world; whatever he decides is logical.”
By the end of this conversation, Zhou Qian shook his head. “A virtual game from an exhibition hall? This is bigger than I thought. Initially, I believed it was just a time-travel gimmick. I underestimated it.”
“Of course, this theory only explains the plot clearly, but there’s still a fundamental problem we haven’t solved.”
What Zhou Qian was referring to was the issue related to the elevator and the floors.
No matter which number the players press inside the elevator, they always end up on the 11th floor, but they encounter different murder cases each time.
After a moment, Zhou Qian put down the magazine, and he and Bai Zhou exchanged glances in the dimly lit rest area.
Together, they uttered the same two words. “Page number.”
……
Inside the virtual game hall’s private room.
The gamblers were silent for a long time, completely stunned.
[What exactly is the relationship between Zhou Qian and 137—]
[Why are you asking that? Is that the main point? The main point is, what do they mean by “page number”?]
[It’s a shame that the gambler who previously sent Zhou Qian a reminder message isn’t here.]
[Yes, even though his theory about 137 was wrong, he was right about He Xiaowei being fake! He’s too sharp. If he were here, we could ask for his opinion.]
[Wait, don’t we have Priest? Priest, what do you think?!]
Seeing the gamblers looking at him, Priest began to explain, “Zhou Qian has already analyzed that this world isn’t a complete novel. It’s a world formed by the author’s drafts, written in the hotel for inspiration.”
“The author is writing about a series of murders. So, how do you think an author would organize the drafts for such a complex case for convenience?”
Without waiting for an answer, staring at the screen, Priest continued, “For example, on September 7th, 1987, a family of three was murdered. I would label it as A1 and place it on the first page. News reports, police disclosures, and crime scene photos are all there.”
“Then, on this page, I would write an outline about this case—”
“The outline would describe how a man, a woman, and a child were killed by a murderer with specific features in a particular way. They lived in room 1108.”
“Next, on January 29th, 1988, an elderly woman and her granddaughter were victims. They lived in room 1112. I would place this case on the second page of the draft.”
“On April 5th, 1988, another murder of a couple took place. They stayed in room 1108. This case is on the third page of my draft…”
“In this way, I think you should understand easily.”
Priest said, “A man and woman duo are the murderers, and all the victims are on the 11th floor. Based on this case, Luo Yu created his novel. Thus, every page of his manuscript has cases occurring on the 11th floor.
“That’s why, no matter which number is pressed in the elevator, players always end up on the 11th floor.”
“Upon exiting the elevator, players see different murder cases. It’s not because they’ve traveled to different times, but because they’ve opened different pages of the manuscript.”
“So, the numbers on the elevator panel don’t represent floors, but page numbers in the manuscript.”
[Shit, is that even possible?]
[Wait, the elevator only has 12 buttons, but the manuscript has many pages, right? How does that work?!]
[Bro, that’s the point! Zhou Qian pressed “11” twice and saw different murder cases. Why? This can be explained by the problem you just raised—]
[The elevator only has 12 buttons, but there are many pages in the manuscript. So, the relationship between “elevator numbers” and “page numbers” is “one-to-many” rather than “one-to-one!”]
Priest said, “Yes, the elevator only has 12 buttons. So, when Zhou Qian and the others pressed for the 11th floor the first time, they might have ended up on page 11 of the manuscript.
“But the second time they pressed for the 11th floor, they might have been on page 22, which is twice 11.”
“The murder records on these two pages of the manuscript are different, so of course, the scenes they saw were different.”
“Of course, this pattern is just my speculation. How the 12 elevator buttons correspond to different pages of the manuscript is something they’ll still need to figure out. Also—”
Priest narrowed his eyes and said, “When Zhou Qian and 137 met that man and woman, they had already entered the manuscript world. After that, they successfully made it to the main hall.”
“So, pressing the number ‘1’ still gives one a chance to get to the first floor. Players won’t always be stuck on the 11th floor. It’s just a matter of probability.”
“However… I suspect that the first floor is quite dangerous now.”
The gamblers all asked in unison, “Why?”
Priest explained, “Because when they first discovered that pressing the numbers in the elevator only takes them to the 11th floor, most people would instinctively press ‘1’ several times. Common sense and past experiences would make them believe that they can exit the hotel from the first floor, thinking it’s the safest.”
“The reason Zhou Qian and his group never encountered other players is because they never pressed the button for the first floor.”
“But it’s different for other players. Most of them will meet on the first floor. And don’t forget, based on the author’s ‘Dual World’ story setting, another group of ‘players’ will emerge from an alternate dimension.”
“So… the current situation on the first floor is probably chaotic.”
At that moment, inside the game,
When Zhou Qian looked at Bai Zhou again, his expression had become more serious. “If the author’s manuscript isn’t very long, by trying a few more times, we can figure out its pattern. What we need to do next is find the author of this manuscript world and find a way back to reality.”
“Yes, we need to do it quickly. Then go to the first floor,” Bai Zhou said.
“We indeed need to hurry. He Xiaowei probably pressed ‘1’ multiple times, thinking he saw a ghost. He might have encountered the fake players.”
Zhou Qian’s expression turned grave. “I just hope that Hidden Blade’s intuition is reliable. At least he can protect He Xiaowei a bit. Wait, can he really handle it? He is He Xiaowei’s master after all.”
“Don’t worry. Under such circumstances, ‘intuition’ will be very useful.” Bai Zhou said, “When I played dungeons with Hidden Blade, his intuition was always accurate. He typically grasped the moves of the boss and the location of treasure chests quickly—”
Before Bai Zhou could finish, Zhou Qian, while pressing the elevator button, interrupted him with a simple “Oh.”
Bai Zhou sensed something but wasn’t entirely sure. “Zhou Qian?”
Zhou Qian walked into the elevator first, then looked at him thoughtfully.
Bai Zhou entered the elevator and looked back at him uncertainly. “Zhou Qian? Do you have something to ask me?”
Zhou Qian: “After we came out of ‘Last Wish’, why did you disappear for seven days and didn’t contact me?”
Bai Zhou: “I went to play some instances. Why?”
“Right, instances.” Zhou Qian asked, “With Hidden Blade?”
Bai Zhou: “?”
Zhou Qian no longer looked at him, just at the number panel. After the elevator doors closed, the number “12” reflected Bai Zhou’s face. Zhou Qian pressed it firmly with his thumb.
“Forget it, let’s go. We have to find the pattern between the page numbers and the elevator numbers, and that author.”
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Kinky Translations 
Thanks for the update!
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