Mrs. Xu Minxin was silent, and opened the door of 202 with an already stiff face.

Qi Yan changed his mind and said in a casual tone: "By the way, I dreamed of my brother in the afternoon. ”

As soon as he spoke, the faces of Xu Minxin and his wife changed suddenly, the facial features painted by Xu Minxin on his face became distorted, he looked at Qi Yan nervously, and said word by word: "Duoxi, how many times have I told you, you don't have a younger brother." ”

"Huh?"

"There are no little boys in our building, do you remember?"

Chapter 210: Year (29)

Qi Yan looked at Xu Minxin, a paper figure whose facial features had become distorted by fear, and seemed unmoved: "So the black figure drawn on the crayon is a little boy who doesn't exist... Or rather, the non-existent brother, right? ”

Madame became more and more anxious, and the paper body began to tremble: "How happy! Don't talk nonsense! That's just your ......."

"We don't have the little boy you said in this building, and you don't have a brother, remember? Repeat what you remember. Xu Minxin interrupted his wife's anxious questioning and looked at Qi Ji seriously and urgently.

Qi Yan was silent for a moment, and only replied in a faint voice: "I know." ”

He didn't repeat the meaning of that sentence, the paper man Xu Minxin glanced at him, and did not force him to repeat the posture, only sighed lightly, and turned around to open the door of 202.

Qi Yan followed the footsteps of Xu Minxin and his wife into room 202.

The first thing that catches the eye is an old TV set, with a wide plastic frame surrounding the TV screen, visually bringing a heavy sense of age.

Next to the TV is a very rough touch DV player, with some slightly bulging shapes at both ends of the black body, and scratch marks left by children playing around.

Above the TV stand is a color photo of four people.

Like the group photo of Mrs. Xu in room 405, this photo also gives people a bright but eerie sense of contrast.

In the center of the photo sit Xu Minxin and his wife, although the photo is not very clear because of the age, but it can be vaguely recognized that Xu Minxin and his wife are much younger at this time, the background of the photo is a studio built, Mrs. is wearing a red Chinese dress, the slim cut highlights her slightly bulging lower abdomen, it is obvious that Mrs. is pregnant at this time, she is sideways holding her husband Xu Minxin, who is half a head taller than her, and the couple faces the camera with a bright smile.

Like Mrs. Xu's photo, the faces of the two people standing side by side behind Xu Minxin and his wife were torn off, and the vacant parts also left irregular marks, as if they had been maliciously poked two holes with their fingers.

But unlike the daily sense of the 405 photo, a man and a woman standing behind Xu Minxin and his wife with their faces torn apart were wearing the most popular wedding dress styles of that era.

It seems to be a couple who have just gotten married.

Xu Minxin and his wife seem to have deliberately not let themselves realize the abnormality of the photo, this damaged wedding photo is also framed, and the couple also hangs it upright on the TV stand, which is the most eye-catching position in the room, as long as they are in the room, they will be able to see it clearly.

Madame noticed Qi Yan's gaze, she naturally wet a rag, and then stood on tiptoe and carefully wiped the photo frame: "Don't worry, the year has come, and your brother and sister-in-law must be going home soon." ”

"Yes, I guess I'll be back in the next two days, and I don't know what New Year's gifts my brother and sister-in-law brought me." Qi Yan replied perfunctorily.

Before he saw a photo of Duoxiduole in the room with his parents' amusement park, he also had doubts, for Duoxiduole in that era, Xu Minxin and his wife were a little too old, and now it seems that before Duoxiduole was born, Xu Minxin and his wife had a son.

It's a pity that the other party is an older brother, not the "younger brother" he is looking for.

Qi Yan looked closer to the DV player, and found that the front extraction disc of the player was full of dust, because it had been unused for too long, the boot time was particularly long, and reading the video became sluggish, even if the videotape was recognized, the picture that finally flashed on the screen was still stuck from time to time, and the audio track was full of intermittent noise.

After Xu Minxin and his wife briefly explained a few words, they sat on the sofa covered by shadows and fell silent, and the whole room became Qi Yan's home field.

In this box of videos, in addition to the performance records of many joys and many joys, there are also fragments of the family's daily life.

Compared with He Si and He next door, Duoxi Duole's growth environment is enviable, and they have enough love from their parents and family.

The box full of videotapes is not marked or sorted in any way, and you have to look through them one by one to find the performance record of "Friends Who Don't Exist".

Fortunately, the time is still early, the night is still long, and Qi Jiu also has enough patience.

About forty minutes later, a familiar scene appeared on the noisy jumping screen, and the male and female hosts made a "please" gesture behind them, with a smile on their faces: "Next, please welcome the two children of Duoxi and Duole with warm applause to bring us the song "Non-existent Friends". ”

Qi Xiaonian, who was originally a little distracted, immediately looked at the screen intently, and Qi Xiaonian, who had almost exhausted his patience, also cheered up again.

The picture on the screen suddenly froze, stuck at the moment when Doxiduole held hands and walked onto the stage with the microphone.

But the uncomfortable sound of music still spreads—

"Wet handkerchiefs, rooms with lights off, handkerchiefs, handkerchiefs, gently put them behind the extra children, don't tell it, hurry up and close your eyes, because it's a friend who doesn't exist, Mom and Dad don't want to admit it, it's a friend who is not allowed to exist, it's an extra 'person' in the room......"

"Throw the handkerchief, throw the handkerchief, gently put it behind the extra children, don't tell it, hurry up and hide it, the guests and elders are afraid of it, you need to find him in two minutes, otherwise the guests and the elders will go crazy, the crazy elders and guests will contaminate this game night with plasma, and the corridor is their dry bodies and wet clothes......"

"Throw away the handkerchief, throw the handkerchief, gently put it behind the extra child, don't tell it, hurry up and grab it, only we are his friends, friends should play happily together, we will sing for it, we will play for it, we will bring a wet handkerchief, its favorite handkerchief......"

Obviously, this representative song of Duoxi Duole "Friends Who Don't Exist" is adapted from "Lost Handkerchief".

But the original lyrics full of joy and innocence have been changed to cult nursery rhymes, just like the sound of a looping music box in an empty theater in the middle of the night, and the simple and bright melody has also become gloomy and treacherous, accompanied by intermittent shrill laughter and the constant sound of electricity, Qi Xiaonian in front of the TV feels a strong uneasiness.

"Non-Existent Friends" is no less mentally polluted than hearing singing in a room in the middle of the night, or chanting in a closed closet.

Combined with the screen that stutters on the strange picture, this weird feeling is infinitely magnified, and even has an invisible aggressiveness.

Qi Xiaonian frowned, subconsciously raised his hand and pressed his ear, only then did he realize that his arm was already crawling with goosebumps.

Qi Yan endured the discomfort caused by mental pollution, and quickly calmed down and analyzed in the disturbing melody:

First, the extra "person" in the room mentioned in last night's rules is likely to be this "non-existent friend".

From this, it can be inferred that the rule "Please don't turn off the lights to sleep tonight, the lights won't go out for no reason, and if the lights don't go out, find someone else in the room within two minutes" applies to the main character of the song;

Second, it is clear from the lyrics that the elders and guests of this apartment are afraid of this "non-existent friend", but it is a friend of the children, and it will play happily with the children. Explain that this "non-existent friend" will only cause harm to guests and elders, and children can live peacefully with them;

Thirdly, the lyrics already point out the conditions for summoning this "non-existent friend": a room to play, sing, turn off the lights, a damp handkerchief, and a handkerchief throwing game......

In this way, they can use the power of this "non-existent friend" to help the other guests complete the task of "bringing He Si out of the room", and they can also help Qi Ji complete the side plot and find the answer to the second puzzle with a prize.

Everything is getting a clue.

After getting the information he wanted, Qi Ji turned off the old DV machine, which had been loaded to the limit.

Xu Minxin and his wife looked at him strangely: "What's wrong?" Hi, don't you continue to watch it? ”

Qi Yan took out the videotape, carefully wiped the dust remaining on the disc, he pushed his glasses, and said with a smile: "Well, Duole and I have already found the feeling when we practice, so we won't continue to disturb my parents to rest." ”

Madame finally got up from the sofa: "That's good, you don't have to think about practicing the competition in the past few days of the Chinese New Year, just relax and relax, and accompany me and your parents and grandma, more than anything else." ”

"Our family hasn't been reunited for a long time, and I think it won't be long before your brother and sister-in-law come home." Madame seemed to be caught in a distant memory, and her eyes painted on her face looked out the window into the night, babbling to herself.

"Remember, don't stare at that crayon drawing at night, we'll take it down for you early tomorrow morning." Xu Minxin admonished again, he paused, he wanted to emphasize again that there was no little boy, but in the end he held back.

Qi Yan nodded obediently: "We know, good night parents." ”

"Well, get some rest."

Qi Yan looked at the photo of the four people hanging on the wall again, and he guessed that in the photo, the lady's bulging lower abdomen was pregnant with two happy sisters at that time.

So who is that "non-existent brother"? How will 079 formally meet with him?

Qi Yan looked forward to it more and more.

After leaving the room of Xu Minxin and his wife, Qi Yan did not return to 203 directly, but walked towards the stairwell with Qi Xiaonian.

Outside, the snow fell again, illuminating the dark night of the apartment.

The snow light shone through the window grilles in the stairwell, mottled and cast on the moldy walls, and Qi Ji found the torn missing person poster and repasted the second half of the missing person that He Si had given him.

Although the little baby girl has been "found", in a sense, she has disappeared forever in those silent years.

On the fourth floor of the apartment, the remaining eight players were as anxious as ants on a hot pot, trying to find a way to rescue He Si without breaking the rules.

When they heard the sound of footsteps coming from the stairwell, they all showed wariness, followed by doubts and suspicions.

After all, they didn't expect that Qi Yan and Qi Xiaonian, who had already obtained their family identity cards, would appear on the fourth floor where players gathered at this time.

"Uncles and aunts, are you interested in playing a game with us?"

Qi Yan stood at the top of the staircase and invited everyone, he seemed to smile, the lenses on his face reflected the snow light, and no one could see his expression at the moment.

Chapter 211: Year (30)

Lin Peilan also didn't expect the other party to take the initiative to send out an invitation, she looked at Qi Yan for a few seconds, and smiled: "Many happy children, we are very interested in your game, why don't you tell us 'uncles and aunts' in detail what the game is, as well as the gameplay and rules?" ”

Lin Peilan is very face-saving and very cooperative with Qi Jiu's performance.

Qi Ji thought about it and accurately concluded: "It's probably a trick-or-treating game that gives adults a headache, especially those who have a strong desire to control and have violent tendencies. ”

Lin Peilan's eyelids jumped, and he was a little puzzled: "Are you going to deal with He Chengwei?" ”

In the task given to them by Mrs. Xu, she only mentioned rescuing He Si, and did not mention dealing with He Chengwei.

He Chengwei is the "paper man" who went home, and the information that players have is still uncertain, and whether shoveling He Chengwei himself will destroy their main quest.

Moreover, due to the restrictions of the rules, Lin Peilan is not sure whether they, as guests, will be punished by the rules if they hurt the paper figures.

Qi Jiu: "It's not me who wants to deal with him, but a friend of mine. ”

After all, tonight is destined to be a "game night".

Next, in order to welcome this "game night", Qi Ji and all the players prepared the layout.

"By the way, who of us is more familiar with circuit control, the kind that guarantees that the 307 can be powered off on time." Qi Zhen asked.

"Let 307 power off on time? What do you mean... Let the people who live in 307 break the fourth rule mentioned at the party? A player asked cautiously.

Players who have experienced last night know that the lights in apartment buildings cannot be turned off at night, and if the lights are not turned off, if you can't find the extra "people" within two minutes, the people living in the room will meet the consequences.

The players who died last night with 406 and 407 are a good example.

Lin Peilan was puzzled: "Are you sure that this rule can also bind Mrs. Xu's family?" ”

Qi Zhen nodded: "I'm sure." ”

From the lyrics of "Non-existent Friend", it can be understood that the elders and guests of this apartment are afraid of this "non-existent friend", including Mrs. Xu's family.

"But then... In case something unexpected happens, it's He Si... Isn't that the end of our mission? Some players questioned, after all, in their opinion, the current Qi Ji and Qi Xiaonian are the identities of Mrs. Xu's family, and they are not on the same front as guests.

Qi Jiu: "Don't worry, He Si will be fine, I promise." ”

The skeptical player choked, and since Qi Jiu was so sure of his assurance, he couldn't say anything more.

Next, Qi Yan explained some specific arrangements with the other players, and under the urging of Mrs. Xu, he and Qi Xiaonian walked to their room downstairs again.

From time to time there was a girl's muffled cry from the corridor on the third floor, and the dull sound of a whip on flesh that could not be thought of.

Because the old apartment building was so quiet, these chilling voices were amplified several times, not only for the guests who came from afar, but also for Mrs. Xu and her family to hear the suppressed cries that permeated the apartment building.

No one spoke, silently, intermittently between whips and cries, so quiet that even the sound of falling snow could be heard.