Being an Extra Actor in an Escape Game

The atmosphere was growing awkward.

Ponytail reacts first and immediately says, were here to investigate the case of your missing daughter! We called out downstairs but there was no response for a long time, so we went upstairs to check. Sorry about that.

The dollmakers facial expression visibly calms, saying, is that so I was sleeping, so I didnt hear, perhaps, he then begins to show a slightly more expectant face, then, did you come up with anything?

The dollmaker, named Wu Shen, should be in his 30s, but looking at his tired, unkempt form, he could probably pass for being in his 40s.

Ponytail smiles to say, well, were here to ask you about it. We had collected clues, but we still wanted to ask you for more information.

Really? Wu Shen quickly asks, what clues did you collect?

Ponytail says frankly, perhaps we can talk about it somewhere else.

Sure, sure, Wu Shen nods, looking slightly nervous, this way.

He is clearly really drawn to the information Ponytail said she has; he doesnt know that theyre actually here to try to fish something out of him instead.

He brings Ponytail into the study, which is basically the only room that can receive a guest. Just barely.

The moment they step inside, Ponytails heart skips a beat. They combed through the room just now, which means decorations and books are all out of place. The letters are not where they were, either.

Fortunately, Wu Shen doesnt seem to notice at all, making Ponytail sigh in relief.

After theyre inside, Quarrelsome is about to follow when he spies Glasses stealing glances at the corridor. He asks, whatchu looking at?

Glasses gives him a glance and asks coldly, you dont see anything wrong?

Quarrelsome furrows his brows to say, so what, cant you say whats wrong directly? Is it fun to answer a question with a question? I can tell you, I, dont, ho.

Then he follows the two people into the room.

Glasses cant help but roll his eyes and looks back at the corridor a little longer.

He kept track of the time carefully; it is well past five minutes. Therefore, while Ponytail was negotiating with Wu Shen, his eyes were darting across the corridor, looking for the girl doll.

Yet, it has disappeared, who knows when.

She isnt here to kill him even after five minutes.

Glasses is confused and worried.

Before he entered this Nightmare, he was confident that he had information that other Missiontakers didnt.

Now, he is faced with the fact that the situation is entirely out of his control.

The second floor of the Dollmakers This nominally insignificant scene seems to belie some terrifying secrets.

After blanking out briefly, he takes a deep breath, and turns to walk into the study as well.

The moment he turns around, a little silhouette in a red dress, pokes its little head out from the stairwell at the end of the entrance. The glass beads that are her eyes watching the mans back.

Glasses doesnt notice, but he is the source of the video feed of the stream right now. Under their scrutinous viewsAnd X Beijins tooThey see it clearly.

Immediately the AAAA comment barrages begin.

X Beijin was also spooked himself, cocking his head away to avoid his gaze.

Unfortunately, the screen is locked to his vision. He fails to look away, and instead, his sudden movement attracted Lin Qins attention.

Lin Qin, who was sitting there and blanking out, comes back to ask curiously, whats wrong?

X Beijin awkwardly smiles and responds, nothing never mind.

Lin Qin narrows his eyes and says, I do not know what you were thinking about But my instincts tell me, when you say nothing, there is definitely something.

Its really nothing.

Lin Qin gives him a glance, which translates to, sure, keep going.

X Beijin

He gives up.

He does want to conceal his thoughts, but Lin Qin is an instinctual monster. The people in the Tower were right, perhaps. Lin Qin perhaps isnt particularly smart.

Yet his instincts are unbelievably sharp. Coupled with his supreme fighting power, at least in Escape, hes wholly unrivalled.

Meaning, he is an especially effective counter to people like X Beijin ones who dont think what they say, and whose face doesnt correspond to their character.

Like how the Missiontakers all take X Beijin to be deep, conniving, scheming, antagonistic, but Lin Qin isnt at all deterred and is even excitedly inviting him to fight every time.

Or it might just be hesthatconfident in his fighting strength.

X Beijin cant help but wonder how the Tower would have such an unimaginable fighting power.

The Missiontakers all wonder about X Beijin, the Monster that Never Sleeps, but isnt it equally strange that someone with as much monstrous fighting power as Lin Qin came up?

As X Beijin becomes absorbed in his thoughts, his expression begins to turn stony.

Shortly, though, he snaps out of his thoughts and turns back to the stream, where the Missiontakers are talking to Wu Shen.

They say theyre going to talk about the clue, but after they begin to talk, Ponytail first asks, I would like to confirm first. When your daughter has gone missing, you were making dolls on the second floor, and your wife your ex-wife, was working?

Wu Shen can only answer despite his impatience, yes. I was making dolls in my workshop opposite this room that afternoon. It was always like this. On workdays, my ex-wife had to go to work, so xiao-Chun would play by herself in the store. She is a good girl, she doesnt wander around.

Ponytail nods.

It seems the room they havent explored yet on this floor would be Wu Shens workshop. The structure of this store is clear, now.

A two-storey building. The first floor is the storefront. There is likely another bathroom and kitchen thats buried within the mountainous pile of boxes and dolls and trash.

The second floor is the living area with a bathroom, bedroom, study and workshop. Wait, wouldnt a childs room be missing Ponytail glances around a bit.

In terms of area, this study/bedroom was likely the masters bedroom? That makes the smaller room next door xiao-Chuns room?

After xiao-Chun has gone missing, the father moves over to sleep in his daughters room

For nostalgias sake? It sounds really perverted, though.

Ponytail tchs inside but continues asking, and, was there no CCTV in your store?

Wu Shen looks embarrassed, saying, the camera broke. It broke a pretty long time ago, and because we never actually used it, we didnt fix it He says, looking frustrated, its all my fault. Sigh, its all me!

Please dont blame yourself. I believe xiao-Chun wouldnt wish for you to be like this either.

Wu Shen seems slightly out of it. After his daughter has gone missing, it is apparent his mental state has been impacted. From both his diary and his letters to his friends, it is easy to see he has become utterly lost.

Suddenly, he buries his face into his hands to cry, murmuring xiao-Chuns name with a scratchy voice. His body curls up. It is painful to watch.

Ponytail patiently waits for him to calm down.

A long while later, Wu Shen wipes his tears away to reply with a tone that is still slightly hoarse, I apologise After xiao-Chun has gone missing, I often have these episodes, he lowers his head to hide his reddened eyes, adding, perhaps, it really is the Heavens punishment for me

Why do you think the Heavens are punishing you? If you didnt do anything wrong

No, I did wrong, Wu Shen suddenly raises his head and widens his eyes, I did something wrong!

Ponytail is shocked by his bloodied eyes, but still reflexively asks, what is it?

Wu Shen grits his teeth to say, I should never have married that woman! If only I didnt marry that woman, then xiao-Chun wouldnt wouldnt

Quarrelsome reflexively counters, if you didnt marry her, xiao-Chun couldnt have been born in the first place!

Wu Shen trembles and freezes, then, his neck slowly turns in his direction. He is looking at Quarrelsome with a terrifying expression.

Quarrelsome can feel a chill seeping down his back. The man sure did end up going insane because of his missing daughter pitiful.

His wife killing xiao-Chun, or, xiao-Chun running away from home due to her mothers wrath, may be mere guesses of Wu Shen.

And, all the man can do is to throw useless tantrums here, blaming his missing daughter on his wife But fundamentally, the day xiao-Chun went missing, he was in the store. He failed to look after xiao-Chun. Its his responsibility.

The situation has turned frigid.

Suddenly, Wu Shen stands up, and points at the door, saying get out.

Ponytail seems spooked, saying, Mr Wu, we

Get out! Wu Shen, with widened eyes, grim expression and veins popping on his neck, yells, Im telling you to get out! How could people like you ever find xiao-Chun!

The insane father has chased the three Missiontakers out of his store.

They still seem dazed even after they have been hustled out.

Quarrelsome seems slightly embarrassed, saying, no really, did he just

It was his quarrelsome retort that set off Wu Shen Still, his attitude seems over-the-top. Is the rift between the man and his wife already so deep?

Ponytail seems to be in thought. She begins walking while saying, something is off with his emotional state. I suspect

Quarrelsome asks, what?

Glasses mockingly says, tch, really need to spell it out for you? This father, who loves his daughter so utterly-nutterly much is also a suspect.

He too? Quarrelsome is genuinely surprised, saying, he looks like hed kill whoever dared hurt xiao-Chun any what could he have done to her?

Ponytail reminds him, dont forget that one of the information we got was that, the day xiao-Chun went missing, she was in the store alone with Wu Shen. Although everyone seems to have conveniently ignored his suspicion because he is her father, why cant he be the thief crying out thief?(TL: Chinese saying meaning the perpetrator yelling out about his deeds)

Quarrelsome seems astounded, saying, it I suppose it makes sense.

Glasses gives him a glance, speechless, and asks Ponytail, why did you even team up with this guy? For his stupidity and obedience?

Quarrelsome gives Glasses a ferocious glare.

Ponytail cant be bothered with their argument again, so is murmuring to herself, the bookstore owner, the dollmaker, the dollmakers wife who could have laid their hands on xiao-Chun?

X Beijin is also listening intently.

While it is paining him that Ponytail listed him alongside the couple, but he really is curious now about the development and truth behind this Nightmare.

He watches the stream while listening in when suddenly, something feels off.

Where are they going? Does it look like, theyre heading for the bookstore?

Then hes going on camera? And will have to be exposed to the viewers? Wouldnt they be convinced that this bookstore owner next door is even more like the perpetrator???

Panicked, X Beijin tries to fiddle with the video source.

Unfortunately, hes too late.

As Glasses has just come into view in the entrance. The viewers of the stream also end up seeing the man behind the bookstore counter.