"Chi Hao, you..."
Jing Minghe didn't know what to say for a moment.
Why did Chi Hao appear? Was this person crazy? He even began to doubt if the Chi Hao before him was the real Chi Hao.
And why did he see the word "displeasure" in Chi Hao's eyes?
What was Chi Hao angry about?
Jing Minghe felt as if he knew, and yet he didn't.
But he didn't have time to dwell on this question. He was only worried about the consequences if both he and Chi Hao were seen by the ghost players.
He hoped to survive with Chi Hao, and even if they were to die together, it absolutely couldn't be in this Death City instance, and certainly not now!
Jing Minghe felt an unprecedented sense of urgency.
Just as he was contemplating various possibilities, a line of text suddenly appeared in the void before him: Player Jing Minghe and Chi Hao have successfully bound, replacing player Jia Dong as ghost players. Good luck completing the mission.
Jia Dong's actions were once again restricted. Facing Jing Minghe and Chi Hao, he wore a bewildered expression.
Jing Minghe and Chi Hao were unexpectedly bound together as one.
Jing Minghe had envisioned many things that could happen, but never this. The instance had truly given him a big surprise.
Chi Hao had already walked up to Jing Minghe, leaning in close, his gaze sharp, his tone icy, "You really don't listen."
Jing Minghe's mouth twitched. He recalled what he had said to Chi Hao earlier.
To pave the way for others at the risk of one's own life, anyone who did that was a fool.
"So 'Tuotuo' isn't a fool then?"
Facing Chi Hao's teasing, Jing Minghe was truly speechless this time.
"Um," Jing Minghe chuckled, "This, should count as a white lie, right? Don't you think so, Brother Hao?"
Chi Hao sighed softly. He found himself increasingly unable to resist the words "Brother Hao" spoken by Jing Minghe. Fearing that Jing Minghe might say something he couldn't handle, Chi Hao directly reached out and pulled Jing Minghe, "Let's go, let's complete the mission."
Jing Minghe heard very clearly that Chi Hao said "complete the mission," not "find someone."
As expected, Chi Hao's thoughts always coincided with his in a remarkable way.
"Brother Hao," Jing Minghe allowed himself to be pulled by Chi Hao, walking close to him intentionally, "Where do you think we should go first?"
"The fifth floor."
Jing Minghe raised his eyebrows and smiled, "You know me best, Brother Hao. By the way, what do you think our binding means? Is it only for this game of hide-and-seek, or for the entire instance?"
Chi Hao countered Jing Minghe, "Which kind do you hope for?"
"Me," Jing Minghe deliberately paused before saying, "Of course, I hope to be bound with you forever, Brother Hao. With your brilliant mind and agile skills, I won't be afraid even if we encounter danger, right?" Su Dan Novel Network
Although Jing Minghe said this, he didn't actually want this to happen a second time. The longer he was alone with Chi Hao, the harder it would be to hide his feelings. Especially when he was focused on dealing with the instance, if he accidentally revealed his true emotions, wouldn't it be difficult to explain?
After all, the moment he saw Chi Hao appear, his inner panic had almost gotten out of control.
Jing Minghe pretended to banter with Chi Hao, but in his heart, he was silently calculating whether he should try to avoid being alone with Chi Hao in the future.
Furthermore, their relationship shouldn't be too intimate. He didn't want Chi Hao to value him. If, one day, he made a mistake in the instance, the person he least wanted to implicate would be Chi Hao.
The two arrived at the fifth floor, and without any discussion, they both turned towards the cinema in unison.
"Brother Hao, do you also think the cinema is more likely to have a problem?" Jing Minghe asked.
Chi Hao nodded, "Last night, behind the screen, it wasn't that I saw nothing."
"What did you see?"
Jing Minghe wasn't surprised that Chi Hao would keep it to himself. Having known Chi Hao for so long, he understood him to some extent. Chi Hao wouldn't easily trust anyone. For him, revealing certain clues wouldn't cause trouble from the instance itself, but from certain careless players.
"There were signs of struggle, but they were very faint."
Jing Minghe narrowed his eyes and guessed, "Was it players? Or the children everyone speculated about?"
He paused and came to his own conclusion, "It should be those children, or other people on the cruise ship. After all, we didn't find any fresh blood anywhere, except for where Lu Da and Huang Rongfei's bodies used to be."
Chi Hao nodded in agreement, "Exactly. Jia Dong bled quite a lot."
"Yes," Jing Minghe glanced at Chi Hao and said, "Everyone should have noticed that Jia Dong's blood started from the entrance of the restaurant. This means that before he returned to the restaurant after the game ended, all the bloodstains, whether from the place he was injured or on his way back, had completely disappeared."
If it weren't for this, then Jia Dong's hiding place would have been too easy to find.
Unfortunately, if the instance intended for everyone to hide their hiding places, it wouldn't leave such loopholes. Therefore, the signs of struggle that Chi Hao saw were most likely not left by players.
"Then let's go there and have a look first."
As they spoke, the two had already entered the cinema.
Walking all the way to the screen, both Jing Minghe and Chi Hao wanted to get in before the other, which resulted in them entering simultaneously, their bodies pressed even closer.
"I'll go in first," Jing Minghe and Chi Hao said in unison.
Chi Hao pressed on Jing Minghe's shoulder, but was interrupted by Jing Minghe before he could speak.
"Brother Hao, you went in yesterday, so it's my turn now," Jing Minghe said, patting the hand on his shoulder that Chi Hao was holding. He then skillfully sidestepped to block the entrance behind the screen. "Don't tell me you don't trust me, Brother Hao? Or are you afraid I'll get into danger?"
"Both."
"Huh?" Jing Minghe was once again speechless at Chi Hao.
Taking a deep breath, Jing Minghe forced out a smile, "Brother Hao, I've received your concern. Believe me, I'll come out completely unharmed."
With that, without waiting for Chi Hao's reply, he quickly turned, lifted the screen, and slipped inside.
"Minghe!"
Chi Hao clicked his tongue in displeasure and immediately followed. Although the small space behind the screen could only fit one person, with the screen propped up, it wasn't truly limited to just one person standing there.
After Jing Minghe entered, he casually turned on his flashlight. Chi Hao followed closely. Just as he was three steps away from Jing Minghe, Jing Minghe's voice reached him.
"There's something here after all!" Jing Minghe exclaimed, almost instinctively turning back to look for Chi Hao. "Brother Hao, there really is... Why did you come too?"
Chi Hao had already reached Jing Minghe's side, and said coldly, "Can't I come in?"