Chapter 95 The Singer, Oh, the Singer 28

Back to the point.

Lin Xiangjun stood up, took the pendant off Zhang Minxian's waist, threw it into her pouch, then sat back down and picked up a large slice of fish for herself.

"Who do you think invented this thing? Chew, chew, chew. This bite is so satisfying. Chew, chew, chew."

Zhang Minxian was still draped in a bedsheet like a wandering hero. Seeing that Lin Xiangjun had no further actions, she felt a bit bewildered.

"Is this all?"

"Yeah." Lin Xiangjun didn't even lift her head. "Go do your own thing. If anything else suddenly appears on your body, just take it off and give it to me. Don't break it."

Zhang Minxian didn't know how Lin Xiangjun determined whether this rule was correct or not, but that didn't stop her from following orders.

If the boss said it was fine, then it was fine. Just listening to orders was enough.

Therefore, she calmly said "okay" and returned to the bedroom to continue making the bed.

In fact, it was quite easy to judge whether this rule was right or wrong, or rather, all the rules were easy to judge—as long as you grasped the key point: Hu Zhengzheng's experience.

She was raped and murdered on a night when she was wearing a beautiful blue dress. She was not a "perfect victim," and because of this, she fell into controversy. Even after death, she was labeled with insulting terms and could not find peace.

What did the first half of Rule Twelve say?

You should wear black clothes, black pants, black shoes, and carry a black umbrella. Do not wear jewelry and do not dye your hair. Only then will you be safe.

What does this part sound like?

It sounds like the monologue of a victim who has been attacked and broken. She thinks that if she had maintained the image of a "perfect victim"—not coming home late, not wearing makeup, not wearing pretty clothes—would she have been safe?

Looking at the second half in connection with the first, it seems more like a supplementary explanation, perhaps even carrying some obscure symbolic meaning: to eliminate all items that do not fit the image of a perfect victim—such as the cute green dinosaur pendant—entirely.

But this "elimination" does not mean completely destroying them, like burning or throwing them away, but rather other, gentler methods of handling them.

Don't forget the disgust that flashed in Hu Zhengzheng's eyes when she saw Zhang Minxian, who had no issues with her clothing.

She does not like this kind of attire.

This is a form of oppression, a mental chain. No one would like it—except for the vested interests.

Where do these cute, brightly colored little things come from? Lin Xiangjun thought as she stuffed it into her pocket.

The answer was self-evident.

"Hu Zhengzheng is still too inexperienced. When she encounters something wrong, she blames herself. If she were in modern society and saw a car exhaust pipe being molested, she wouldn't think it was her own fault."

Lin Xiangjun rolled her eyes.

"What's this about dressing provocatively? By that logic, cars on the street are way too exposed for not wearing clothes, 4090 graphics cards are unchaste for not wearing clothes, and the Komodo dragons in the wild—why are they so sexy? Isn't that tempting me to commit a crime?"

(The above part is from a news video; you can search for it on Douyin yourself.)

Tsk, car exhaust pipes are just too sexy.

She finished the last bite of fish, put down her chopsticks, and cleaned up the table.

It was nearly seven o'clock, and the sky was completely dark.

"Tonight, you can sleep with me." Lin Xiangjun said, releasing Patrick Star as well.

After she brought Patrick Star into the instance, it had been staying in the paper doll collection album.

Everyone was very busy when they first entered the instance, and no one could spare the time to take care of this little idiot, so Lin Xiangjun hadn't let it out.

Now that most of the rules had been explored, and she didn't intend to go out tonight, she simply called Patrick Star out to keep watch.

Actually, after digesting the Security Ghost, Patrick Star's intelligence had improved slightly. Although it wasn't very obvious, Lin Xiangjun had observed it for a long time and confirmed that the time it took to react to a command was a tiny bit shorter than before, and the way it completed commands wasn't as rigid.

Lin Xiangjun patted Patrick Star's head. "Tonight, you'll keep watch for the two of us. If you hear singing or any other strange sounds, wake us up, okay?"

Patrick Star paused for about three seconds, slowly nodded its pointed head, moved its massive body, and stood by the bedside.

"Miss Lin, this is…"

"It's called Patrick Star. It's a high-level paper figure, but so far it has only devoured two ghosts, so its abilities aren't very strong yet."

The bed had been made neat and pretty by Zhang Minxian, and with both beds placed in the same room, Lin Xiangjun slept on the side near the door, and Zhang Minxian slept on the inside.

Actually, logically speaking, paper figures are creatures similar to robots. Even if they never sleep, as long as there is enough underworld currency, there wouldn't be any problems.

But perhaps out of habit from when they were still living people, even if they no longer needed sleep, they would still get into bed when the time came. Some were used to lying down and playing on their phones, others closed their eyes to rest; regardless of what they did, they had to lie on the bed.

Just like now, in a relatively dangerous instance, Zhang Minxian was lying flat, staring at the ceiling, constantly alert to the movements around her.

Lin Xiangjun was different; she was the only human present, and if she didn't sleep for a long time, she would really die from sudden cardiac death.

Although the bed had been tidied up and looked clean and neat, it was actually quite hard to lie on and not very comfortable. There was also a faint musty smell on the bed, as if it hadn't been taken care of for a long time.

Lin Xiangjun thought about the existing clues while planning to go to the remaining empty room first thing in the morning to look for rules, and drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

Midnight.

Xieyou Alley fell into a deathly silence.

Lin Xiangjun was sleeping soundly when she suddenly felt someone pushing her from both the left and right. Her whole body swayed left and right on the bed, like a child in a crib.

She woke up with a start.

It was Zhang Minxian and Patrick Star shaking her at the same time.

Both of them were paper figures and neither had small strength. Once they were anxious and used force, Lin Xiangjun's seventy-kilogram weight felt like a toy.

Seeing that Lin Xiangjun had woken up, Zhang Minxian withdrew her hand and pointed outside the window with a serious expression.

Patrick Star still had that glitchy appearance, taking three seconds before slowly withdrawing its hand.

"The sky is dim, the earth is heavy, whose daughter is crying deep in the night?

Do not coax, do not coax, let her cry, cry until the seventh day when the ghost knocks at the door.

Black long dress, white brooch, be a good woman in the next life.

Reincarnation and the next life are so far away, at midnight, searching for the killer to mourn the lost soul."

The voice carried a sobbing tone, the intonation drawn out long. In the silent night, it carried some painful sorrow, as well as resentment filled with hatred.

The Songstress was singing.

Lin Xiangjun had now mastered Rules 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14, and 15. The unmastered rules were 3, 5, 8, 10, and 11.

Among the mastered rules, there was only one rule related to the Songstress's singing, which was Rule One.

[1, The Songstress likes fresh flowers. After she finishes singing, please place a fresh flower in her hand. If she wears a green dress, give her a yellow flower; if she wears a blue dress, give her a red flower; if she wears a red dress, please give her a white flower; when she wears a white dress, do not give her a red flower, a white flower, or a yellow flower.]