Chapter 38: The Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital Patient Self-Help Exchange Group
On her way back, Luo Ling bought a phone. After dinner, using the excuse of studying, she went upstairs to tinker with it.
Although she hadn’t used a phone before, she had seen others use them, and she wasn’t in Elsa’s special situation.
Plus, phones nowadays came pre-installed with many apps, making them much easier to use.
After registering an account and adding Liu Songyi, he sent her the group chat invitation without saying a word, followed by a message:
“Busy with work, unable to reply, please do not disturb.”
Luo Ling had wanted to ask Liu Songyi about Ji Ying, since he was also a police officer.
Both the strange arrest and Ji Ying’s police status should have an explanation.
But since Liu Songyi had said so… Luo Ling could only put it aside for now.
Looking at the thirteen large characters on the screen, “Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital Patient Self-Help Exchange Group,” Luo Ling couldn’t help but twitch her lips.
She had wanted to comment on the group name from the beginning, but since everyone at the hospital seemed to take it seriously, she hadn’t brought it up.
The more she looked at it, the more absurd it seemed.
After joining the group chat, Luo Ling noticed that all the group members used their codenames as their nicknames, so she changed hers as well.
However, while browsing the member list, Luo Ling noticed several grayed-out profile pictures of people she hadn’t seen at the meeting today.
Including the Bone Doctor.
“Are they… all dead?”
Luo Ling counted at least four grayed-out profile pictures.
But there were only a dozen or so people in the entire group.
Was this the cruel “real” world Ji Ying had spoken of…?
For the first time, Luo Ling felt that death wasn’t so distant.
Switching back to the chat, she saw that after Liu Songyi’s welcome message, everyone else had copied and pasted it, including Ji Shinian and the scruffy man who had stormed out earlier.
[Ancient Martial Artist: Welcome, White Witch, to the exchange group. Hope we can cooperate smoothly.]
[…]
Only Elsa hadn’t copied the message, but she had sent an emoticon.
[Scarlet Witch: ( ^?^)/ ( ^?^) ]
Luo Ling thought for a moment and copied Elsa’s emoticon.
[White Witch: ( ^?^)/ ( ^?^) ]
They both had the default profile pictures, and with their codenames, it gave off an unintentional sense of… being a couple.
However, welcoming new members seemed to be just a formality. After that, the group continued their previous conversation.
Luo Ling skimmed through the messages. They were mostly sharing clues and information about finding the madwoman, Huang Xiuqin.
But they were still in the process of investigating various locations and hadn’t made much progress yet.
It had only been an afternoon, so it was understandable that the investigation wouldn’t be quick.
After a while, Luo Ling turned off her phone. She was still a high school senior and had to prioritize her studies.
Playing on her phone wouldn’t magically improve her grades.
Anyway… as for the Baiyan Village matter, she would wait until An Yu was ready.
…
“Tell me… was it necessary for things to escalate to this point between us?”
A soft, sweet voice, laced with seductive charm, came from a stunning woman whose face was partially veiled by a light purple scarf. Her expression was filled with playful reproach.
She leaned forward slightly, the translucent veil outlining her alluring curves, her every move captivating.
“Little…bitch…”
“…”
The indifferent woman remained unmoved, simply staring at the seductive woman before her.
Beside her were several young men and women, frozen like statues.
“Don’t you like the nickname I gave you?” The seductive woman tapped her lips with a slender finger, her eyebrows raised slightly, as if in genuine thought. “How about… Little Performer?”
“Gypsy Girl, I didn’t expect you to be in charge of the Speaker in Jiangcheng County,” Performer said slowly. “This makes things much easier. Give me the information on all the Awakened Ones in Jiangcheng County.”
“Little bitch, look at you, is this how you ask for a favor? And using my little darlings to threaten me…”
Gypsy Girl swayed her hips slightly, her expression a picture of playful grievance. “Why don’t you let Little Scientist come out and talk to me? I miss her so much.”
“I’m serious.”
Performer said coldly, and the young man closest to her blankly picked up a pair of scissors and pointed them at his throat.
“No, no, don’t do that. Violence solves nothing. Considering the wonderful time Little Scientist and I shared… let’s talk things over nicely.” Gypsy Girl’s voice sounded anxious, but her demeanor remained languid.
“She wants to kill you.”
“Hee hee, the deepest love often manifests as the deepest hate. Besides, everything is negotiable. Attacking someone’s little darlings right off the bat… isn’t something a polite guest would do~”
Gypsy Girl reached out a finger, as if to lift Performer’s chin, but another hand intercepted hers.
“How boring.” Gypsy Girl seemed to lose interest, leaning back casually, the seductive charm vanishing. “I thought you were the shy type like Little Scientist, easily flustered.”
“…It seems the rumors are true.”
Performer’s voice lowered, and the young men and women she controlled collapsed to the floor, unconscious.
“The Harbinger of Disaster, one of the four omens of the Speaker, Gypsy Girl. You can bestow the Other Shore path upon others, but each use comes at a price.”
Performer glanced at the other Speaker members. “They’re just your ‘Star Charts,’ aren’t they? The price you pay for using your ability.”
By using her ability this way, she didn’t have to pay the price herself or suffer the backlash.
“How can you say that? I’m so offended! They are my most precious, most precious little darlings. I would never use them for my ability!” Gypsy Girl raised an eyebrow. “—Unless you pay extra.”
“Fine. I’ll pay with a quarter of the Sacred Relic from the mysterious Grotesquery in Jiangcheng County. But in return, you’ll need to provide me with additional information about that Grotesquery.”
Performer’s voice remained cold, like a robot devoid of emotion. Perhaps because she had used psychological suggestion on herself too many times, playing too many roles, she had lost her original personality.
“Huh? You’re after… that?” Gypsy Girl’s eyes widened in shock. “Holy moly, I didn’t expect that. So brave? Just you alone?”
Performer didn’t answer, simply staring at her.
“Forget it, whatever. I don’t need your Sacred Relic. A Sacred Relic not from the Present Life path is useless to me,” Gypsy Girl waved her hand dismissively. “As for information on the mysterious Grotesquery, I do have some, recently deduced by a talented young lady. I’ll give it to you for free~
“As for the Awakened Ones in Jiangcheng County, hmm, I can’t betray them, at least not now. But I can tell you this… they’re currently searching the entire city for you~”
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