Chapter 41: Wen Yanxin + "A Letter" (Three-in-One)

Ye Sangsang had considered the possibility of a person involved in the case appearing, but she had not expected it to happen in such a way. The words on the screen left her momentarily unsure of how to respond.

Wen Yanxin had been closely following the news of this game instance. She had never imagined that someone would walk out of that room—a place that had haunted her dreams for years, causing her to wake up in a cold sweat—in a way that recreated the event while minimizing the harm. Even after twenty years, every time she drifted off to sleep, she would become that blind girl again, scurrying about like a terrified mouse. She had developed severe psychological trauma, suffering immensely and unable to escape the shadow of that night.

On an ordinary day, her psychiatrist told her that a girl, much like her, had entered that room, and suggested she watch the broadcast. The psychiatrist had also suggested she submit this case to "Criminal Archives," hoping it might help her confront her trauma. Unfortunately, she hadn't dared to do so, which is why the doctor advised her to watch the stream instead. The doctor had described the girl as strong and confident, noting that she, too, had limited mobility.

Following that advice, she entered the livestream. She was filled with helplessness, her entire body trembling; despite her preparations, she was terrified. Yet, despite her fear, she did not flee; she remained in the livestream, watching.

Darkness arrived on cue. Through the perspective of the livestream, she saw her own room from back then—identical in every detail. It was worth noting that five years after the incident, after waiting with hope, she had finally received a corneal transplant. Her parents had never expected her to recover; in their eyes, even if she did, she would be a useless person without an education. Thus, they had never actively sought treatment or waited in line for a donor.

Recalling the past, she quickly cut off her train of thought, refusing to dwell on it further. She looked at the screen and saw the girl the psychiatrist spoke of suddenly trip in the room. Only someone who had experienced a world of total darkness for a long time could truly understand the difficulty of that moment. Although the girl had warnings of impending danger, she was, in relative terms, someone who had suddenly lost her sight and was in an unfamiliar environment, lacking any memory or experience. One could say her advantages and disadvantages were much the same as hers had been back then.

She watched the girl fumble in the room, slowly becoming familiar with the strange environment. "She should leave, shouldn't she? Being blind is truly maddening," she whispered to herself. If the girl left, she wouldn't have to face this again, and she could give the psychiatrist a clear answer. She watched as the girl meticulously questioned the super-intelligent system, measuring every detail of the room inch by inch. The live comments refreshed rapidly, all urging the girl to leave immediately; they were a group of people who loved excitement but were fundamentally kind-hearted.

Three hours seemed like a long time, but to someone who had lived through it, it was not long at all. As she watched the girl refuse to leave, a wave of irritability rose within her. She felt miserable; she didn't want anyone else to experience her nightmare, and she regretted agreeing to provide the case details for the reconstruction in this game instance. She liked that beautiful girl, who was the same age she had been, and she feared the girl would develop the same psychological scars.

But she could not change anything. In reality, she had been drugged, only realizing something was wrong when she woke up and called the police. Although the process differed, the outcome had been the same. The nanny was punished, and she was scolded for losing face and slapped across the face. Seeing her father's ferocious expression back then had left her heart filled with sorrow and rage. He was merely bullying a girl who was too weak to resist, someone who could be trampled upon at will! Yet, they would eventually grow old, and they, too, would become those who could be trampled and bullied at will, tormented endlessly by their own illegitimate children.

She watched as the girl did not resist, appearing, in fact, quite calm.

She returned to that house. The nightmare returned silently as those three hours ended. She was tense, watching as the other party opened the door and the man spoke. The girl let him in; she could see the girl's guard was up, immediately noticing that the man was taller than the average woman. Yet, the girl remained composed, choosing not to alert him. At the time, she had tried to play along, hoping to politely ask the man to leave. It was exactly like her own experience. The only difference was that she hadn't realized the man hadn't left, or at least, she realized it too late.

Watching the moment the girl hid in the room, she wanted to scream, because there was nowhere to hide in there. The man tried repeatedly to open the door, and then, just like the girl, realized there was a glass partition in the tea room and rushed toward it. The moment the girl closed the glass door, she felt a surge of joy for her; she truly was a courageous and resourceful girl. Aside from choosing the wrong room due to unfamiliarity with the environment, she was exactly as the psychiatrist had described.

The man was strong and chose to smash the door directly. The girl chose to flee. But she was too inexperienced, unfamiliar with the layout. When the girl fell to the ground, she felt a genuine sense of alarm, just like the other viewers. The man closed in, and the girl stepped back. She thought the ending would be disastrous, but the girl felt her Braille book and used the heavy volume to strike the man hard. As he continued to struggle, she leaned down and struck him a few more times until he fell unconscious.

A wave of immense joy welled up in her heart; the image of that man lying on the floor turned the once-nightmarish scene into one of exhilarating triumph. She hadn't even realized that tears were streaming down her face. Only when they slid down her cheeks did she notice, and she quickly reached up to wipe them away.

The girl prepared to go out to call the police, and she felt a fresh surge of panic. The man had actually been weak; she had managed to find a room to hide in, only to have the door broken down, but she had already acquired a utility knife. The pervert had tried several times to trick her and get the knife out of her hand, but she had sensed it and cut him. However, he was clever; he eventually snatched the knife and tried to assault her. She pretended to agree, but as history repeated itself, she grabbed a book and struck him until he was unconscious. Therefore, he did not constitute a psychological shadow for her.

Her panic stemmed from the fact that, compared to the serial killer, these three people had left her with the most psychological trauma. The girl quickly realized something was wrong; she had sensed it at the door. But she herself had been different—she knew the people, and they even chatted normally. In that environment, she had trusted them implicitly.

The girl grappled with the intruders, and she watched, moved, as the girl waited for them to steal the items and leave. But she had been different; after she mentioned someone was coming, the intruders dropped their facade. She had been bound and thrown onto the sofa, watching them ransack the room like thieves. Like the girl, she had waited for them to steal and leave. Watching the girl on the screen, she saw the path she had dreamed of taking—what if she hadn't spoken? What if she had pretended not to notice?

Would she have avoided all that trauma? She was excited and full of anticipation; perhaps she could have! But reality told her not to romanticize a path she hadn't taken, for it, too, might be filled with thorns. Her hope was soon shattered by the words and actions of Wang Xuesin; as the theft neared its end, he deliberately claimed the girl had discovered them and, catching her off guard, tied her up.

When they began talking about filming a video, she felt her whole body trembling with agitation. Tears flowed incessantly, not just from pain, but because she understood that it was all their fault; no matter how the plot developed, they would never have let her go.

The arrival of the police had been her only hope for escape in that environment. The girl did not struggle, choosing to cooperate. She even toyed with them in front of the police, and when the next assault began, she didn't hesitate to knock out Wang Xuesin, known as Brother Wang. Back then, she had been too excited; she had wanted to expose them, to call for help, but they gave her no chance. They quickly knocked her unconscious, disguising it as if she were sleeping on the sofa.

Chen Jing had claimed to be the nanny, telling the police that she was asleep, and thus escaped notice. She had been assaulted by Wang Xuesin, and videos and photos were taken. When they argued over the spoils, she sat blankly on the edge of the bed, helpless before it all. Chen Jing, taking advantage of the moment they were packing, tried to sneak away with the goods. A horrific nightmare unfolded once again because of this act. Chen Jing ran into the murderer upon leaving and was dragged back into the house and brutally killed; Wang Xuesin and Zhao Changde attempted to resist and were killed in the living room.

As her thoughts returned to the present, she looked at the unconscious Wang Xuesin and Zhao Changde, who had been pushed into the edge of the bathtub and killed, and felt a sense of relief for the first time. She understood now: the girl had done it on purpose, and a spark of excitement grew within her. The girl was like a version of herself from another parallel universe, one who had realized all her own wishes.

She had realized... the ability to protect herself.

When the girl was in the wardrobe, she felt the same fear and terror she had felt while hiding under the bed, listening to the fighting and screaming in the living room. She had never imagined that, on that night, her house would host such a terrifying and tragic event. At the same time, she felt a sincere admiration for the girl's courage and resourcefulness; the girl never thought she should hide, having already planned how to fight back.

She had realized much earlier than she had that if she didn't save herself, she would certainly be killed. She herself had remained hidden under the bed, paralyzed with fear, not daring to move or even breathe heavily for fear of being discovered by that devil. The girl was so, so brave, making her feel the beauty of a dream becoming reality.

Countless times, she had imagined how she would fight back, wondering if things would have been different if she had. She didn't even dare to drink water for fear of missing the girl's movements, her heart in her throat, not daring to take a full breath. She knew all too well the prickling sensation of the scalp and the agony of being discovered.

Thus, she was very worried and afraid that the girl would end up like her. Fortunately, everything went very smoothly for the girl; she hid in the cabinet. Waiting for the right moment, when the killer discovered her presence, she didn't hesitate to pull the circuit breaker. She had thought the girl would, like her, choose to flee immediately. In her own case, after the murderer killed the others and went to the guest bedroom to rest, she had chosen to run. Unlike the girl, whose phone video had been discovered, she had realized through long reflection that the guest bedroom contained many of her photos. If the killer hadn't noticed, fine, but if he realized the house's owner wasn't one of those four, he would certainly have searched for her.