"It's not necessarily a good thing for the house next door to be empty." Lin Peilan, who has the absolute right to speak in 405, walked over, and the keen observer noticed that the anxiety on her face had faded away.

"So what the hell is going on?" The proposer was a little unconvinced, frowning and questioning.

Lin Peilan glanced at the time, and two minutes had passed since he had spoken to Qi Yan just now.

"We'll see in three minutes, and we'll make a decision." She was inexplicably looking forward to what that young man was going to do.

*

While waiting, Qi Yan returned to the kitchen on the fourth floor, where he warmed the rice cakes on the countertop with the stove, the kitchen window was not closed, and the dilapidated apartment was leaking again, and the food was blown cold after a short time.

Qi Xiaonian walked into the kitchen with Qi Yan: "Brother, according to the previous inference we set up for the dungeon, the main task of the dungeon is to help Mrs. Xu fulfill her wish and help her family return home for reunion before the fifteenth year of the year..."

"But the price of reunion is the death of the player, do you think..."Qi Xiaonian has been very worried about this main quest of sacrificing players in exchange for the paper figure to go home, he can foresee how players will force others for their own interests as the plot of the dungeon advances.

In a world where the law of the jungle is followed, this is understandable, but he personally does not like the powerlessness of being controlled by the rules.

As if all struggles were in vain, cannibalism is a "gift" that the rules fairly give to each player.

Even if he doesn't like this kind of competition, human beings must compete in order to survive, and this quality is magnified and emphasized in the "Rules Book".

Qi Zhen: "Don't worry, that's just what the copy wants us to see." ”

Qi Yan's wording made Qi Xiaonian puzzled: "Hope we see it?" ”

Qi Zhen nodded: "Just like in the "Exile No. 1 Middle School", what the dungeon wants us to see is that the players are divided into two camps, faculty and students, and the camps are-for-tat, and they must go through a life-and-death competition, and one party can completely kill the other party in order to leave the dungeon alive. ”

Qi Xiaonian was silent for a moment, and then raised his head suddenly, and his eyes flashed with brilliance: "But in fact, the player who is in the faculty camp sacrificed the students to resurrect the evil god, and the evil god will also kill the teacher in the end, so the core mechanism hidden behind the appearance of the copy is that the player as a teacher should betray the faculty camp and stand on the same front with the students to fight against the evil god to clear the dungeon." ”

Qi Zhen curled the corners of his lips: "That's right, what the copy shows us is often a puzzle item, and even if it is a real solution, it does not prove that the copy has only a unique solution." ”

Qi Xiaonian smiled: "Brother, it's really a pleasant and novel experience to have a copy with you, but it's a little too exciting." ”

Qi Yan pursed his lips: "Thank you for the compliment." ”

Suddenly, there was a sound similar to the beating of gongs and drums outside the door of the originally quiet community, and after being trapped in this old building for a day and a night, everyone has become accustomed to silence, and their hearing has become extremely sensitive.

"What's going on? It's not like I'm hallucinating, am I? Why do I seem to hear the drums...? ”

"I'm also... What's going on? Monsters? Or is there someone who triggered the hidden plot? ”

"It can't be a monster, right? In this kind of Chinese-style monster core copy with alienation and disconnection as the core of the atmosphere, it stands to reason that there will be no such setting as a monster. ”

"Don't forget that we're all pulled in by bugs, and to be honest, I'm not surprised by anything here, this copy itself was an accident."

"Brother, what's going on?!"

Although Qi Xiaonian had already been mentally prepared, out of human alertness to danger, he was also a little overwhelmed at the moment, and he subconsciously poked his head out of the window to look, trying to find the source of the sound.

But only the oversaturated red paper lights on the apartment playground are swaying in the wind, the poster "Happy New Year" on the billboard has faded, and the firecracker crumbs are swept up by the wind, still looking dilapidated and depressed.

The out-of-place bustle is getting closer.

Qi Yan also looked out the window, and the corners of his lips raised imperceptibly: "It's started, it's a New Year's performance." ”

Just when everyone was surprised by the sudden noise, a deep male voice came from the alley outside the community-

"The left point of gold, the day into the gold, the family business is evergreen; The right point is silver, safe and smooth, and all the best. The Road Circus' most experienced animal trainer and his companions will present a New Year's lion dance performance, which we hope will bring good luck and abundance to the new year! ”

Highway circus, veteran animal trainer......

These few keywords and Qi Jiu's reaction made Qi Xiaonian quickly come back to his senses from disbelief, and he immediately turned to Qi Jiu: "Brother, these are your companions, right?" ”

Of course, he knew that the theme of the previous copy of Qi Zhen and Lu Zhi was "Road Circus".

It seems that my brother invited the cast and crew he knew from the previous copy...

Qi Yan pursed his lips: "It's my friend, that's right, I originally wanted to invite Mrs. Xu and her family to watch a magic show, but unfortunately the invitation was not successful." ”

Qi Xiaonian: "... That's a pity. ”

He hasn't gotten out of the sense of disobedience brought by "stringing stages", "But can the circus animal trainer actually dance lions?" ”

Qi Yan smiled: "I asked the other party to prepare some programs suitable for the New Year's performance, but I didn't expect him to be quite attentive, it seems that he checked a lot of information to prepare the lion dance performance." ”

After all, there is no lion dance in the regular performances of the circus.

"I'm looking forward to it." With that, Qi Yan packed the hot breakfast on a tray and walked towards the downstairs of the apartment, Qi Xiaonian followed him almost trotting down the stairs.

Next, the players who were still standing in the corridor of the apartment watched in trepidation, and saw a scene that they will never forget-

The door at the entrance of the community was pushed open, and a burly man riding a golden lion appeared in everyone's field of vision.

The lion has a steady foot, like a warrior rising to the challenge, and even when the sky is dark, the mane on its neck still shines.

The man riding on the lion was erect, he was pulling the lion's thighs with his feet, and the bone drumstick in his hand was raised high, and he was beating the drum again and again rhythmically, and there was no doubt that this was the source of the drum sound that everyone had just heard.

Whether it was the man who suddenly came into view, or the lion who was riding under him, they were out of place with everything in the dungeon.

"This, this..."

"It's outrageous," Lin Peilan tugged at the corners of her lips, she glanced at the time, it was exactly five minutes after the conversation with Qi Yan just now, "but it seems to be interesting." ”

Clearly, that was the young man's plan.

"This show will last for 40 minutes, and residents are welcome to come and watch it for free!" The trainer on the lion lifted his face and smiled generously and confidently at the panicked crowd.

He is the most senior animal trainer in the circus, and as long as the audience gazes at him, he is the most confident performer, doing his best to show the balance and aesthetics between human power and the wild world.

At this time, Qi Yan had already come downstairs, and he smiled to greet the road circus animal trainer who came from afar: "Thank you for coming over and bringing us a New Year's performance." ”

As he spoke, he subconsciously looked at the obedient golden lion, and it seemed that the animal trainer had misunderstood the meaning of the lion dance.

The animal trainer turned over and bowed politely to Qi Yan: "I am honored to be hired by you. ”

"It's just that I don't know much about the New Year here, but I've only heard that there is a lion dance here, so in order to be more in line with the customs here, I brought my closest friends."

As he spoke, Mr. Trainer affectionately touched the lion's head.

Qi Yan smiled: "Actually, the lion dance performance does not require a real lion to participate in the performance, but it doesn't matter, Mr. Beast Tamer, you can perform in your own way." ”

In fact, it doesn't matter what kind of performance it is, as long as it is lively enough, it can wake up Mrs. Xu's family and even attract them to go downstairs to watch the performance, which is the purpose of the performance.

Qi Yan believes that under such a fierce noise, Mrs. Xu's family will not be indifferent, after all, no one can resist the urge to watch the excitement, especially in the atmosphere of the New Year.

And Qi Zhen still remembers that Mrs. Xu mentioned that Xu Minxin also promised to be too happy and happy, and when the "Colorful Years" competition is over, he will take them to the circus to watch the performance.

It seems that the twin sisters have been looking forward to the circus performance for a long time, and since 202 has already "lived" in, and at least one of Xu Minxin and his wife has returned home, then they must not want to miss the circus performance at their doorstep.

The trainer humbly clasped his hands to his chest: "I hope that the performance of me and my companions will not disappoint you." ”

Qi Yan made a "please" gesture towards him, and stood aside silently, ready to watch today's performance.

"This show will last for 40 minutes, the show is about to start, residents are welcome to come and watch it for free!"

The animal trainer's voice was very penetrating and infectious, and the sound insulation of the old apartment building was so poor that everyone in the building could hear his voice clearly.

Mrs. Xu and her newly returned family were no exception, and the first to be pushed open was the door of 401.

"What's going on?" Mrs. Xu swept downstairs with her chaotic eyes, Mr. Beast Tamer, wary of the sudden appearance of the performer.

Almost at the same time, there was the same sound of the door being pushed on the third floor of the apartment.

Qi Yan, who was standing downstairs, could see clearly, the door of 306 was cracked, and a paper figure with a fine facial painting poked its head out from behind the crack in the door, it seemed to be awakened by the noise downstairs, and at this moment it was looking at the beast tamer and the tamed king of beasts with empty eyes.

"The face of this paper man on the third floor...!"

Qi Xiaonian also looked at the third floor along Qi Yan's line of sight, but when he saw the face of the paper man hidden behind the door, his voice suddenly became tense, his pupils dilated slightly, and he looked at Qi Yan in disbelief, "Brother, is this paper man be..."

The facial features of the paper figure poking out of 306 are drawn in detail, and its face is nine points similar to Mrs. Xu's eyebrows.

The difference between the two is that the pale and stiff face of the paper figure lacks the vitality of a living person, but there is no doubt that the paper maker has successfully conveyed a message to the players with his skillful craftsmanship:

306 The face of this paper figure is painted on Mrs. Xu's face!

There is a rule for paper-making craftsmen: you must not tie paper people with the face of a living person.

If a paper figure looks the same as a living person, it probably means one thing -

The living man has died.

Chapter 200: Year (19)

Could it be that Mrs. Xu has passed away?

Qi Yan and Qi Xiaonian tacitly exchanged glances, although the two did not speak, but the same question flashed in each other's hearts.

Qi Yan shook his head lightly at Qi Xiaonian, signaling him not to act rashly.

Qi Xiaonian will understand and will not make a sound.

"Mrs. Xu, there is a famous circus that is coming to our downstairs to perform a lion dance, can you come down and have a look if you have time? Seems interesting. Qi Yan proposed, and he used his peripheral vision to look at the paper figure poking his head out from behind Gate 306 again, and once again confirmed that the facial features of the paper figure were a replica of Mrs. Xu.

Qi Yan quickly analyzed that there are only two possibilities at the moment: either Mrs. Xu has passed away, or this paper figure has someone else, but it just happened to "collide" with Mrs. Xu.

Mrs. Xu did not immediately respond to Qi Jiu's invitation, and Mr. Beast Trainer smiled politely, bowed to the hesitant old woman, and said, "You and your family are welcome to watch our lion dance performance, I believe our performance will bring you a very pleasant Chinese New Year experience." ”

Mrs. Xu finally came to the hallway: "Are you a circus worker?" ”

The animal trainer bowed slightly: "Yes, I am the animal tamer of the road circus." ”

Mrs. Xu, who didn't know any road circus, looked at the golden lion vigilantly: "Will your lion show hurt my family?" This is not the case with the lion dance performances I've seen. ”

The Beast Trainer smiled generously, "I'm sorry that the performance is different from what you expected, but I promise you with my life, my career, and my honor that my old companion will never hurt anyone." ”

The look of doubt on Mrs. Xu's face did not diminish by half.

Qi Yan added on the side: "I have seen the performance of their road circus, Mrs. Xu, you can rest assured, they are a serious circus, with complete documents and legal operations, and there have been no accidents in every performance in the past that have injured any audience." ”

Qi Zheng, who had just returned from the "Road Circus", recommended that he knew that Mrs. Xu, who lived in the background of this copy, did not believe in the promises of a trainer's career and honor, and that she might prefer to trust the reviews and official certificates of others rather than overly idealistic promises.

Sure enough, Mrs. Xu's remarks moved Mrs. Xu even more, and she confirmed again: "So this road circus is very famous?" ”

Qi Yan and Mr. Beast Tamer glanced at each other, and then smiled sincerely: "Yes, Mrs. Xu, the road circus is very famous, and some circus critics once called them the most special circus wandering on the road, there is no specific schedule, there is no fixed performance plan, some are just surprises. ”

He appropriated the previous system's description of the "road circus" and added his own touches.

At this moment, the door of 202 was pushed open, and to the surprise of all players, two paper figures, a man and a woman, walked out of the door of 202 at the same time.

"It seems that these two paper figures are Xu Minxin and his wife."

I have determined Xu Minxin's room number with Mrs. Xu before, and there is no doubt that these two paper figures at this moment are Xu Minxin and his wife, that is, the parents of Duoxi and Duole.