Chapter 16 - The Team

The car drove out of the residential complex and continued forward.

Lin Qiu Shi and Cheng Qian Li sat in the back seats without much conversation. The atmosphere in the car was very quiet. It wasn't until the car got on the highway that Lin Qiu Shi couldn't help but ask, "Where exactly are you taking me?"

"I thought you wouldn't ask," Cheng Qian Li said. 

Lin Qiu Shi: "If I ask, will you tell me?"

Cheng Qian Li: "I won't."

Lin Qiu Shi: "..." You guys are really interesting.

Half an hour later, the car stopped outside a stand-alone villa in the suburbs. 

Lin Qiu Shi got out of the car and observed the building in front of him. This villa stood alone, with no one around, just standing solitary in the wilderness.

The villa was surrounded by lush grass and trees. Standing at the door, one could hear the noisy sound of insects. 

After Ruan Nan Zhu parked the car, the three walked along the path forward. Lin Qiu Shi took out his phone and saw that it was exactly 1 am. Probably because the place was too remote, the phone signal was very weak, with only one bar left.

Ruan Nan Zhu walked in front, went to the villa door, and pushed it open. 

After Lin Qiu Shi entered, he saw that the lights inside the villa were bright. Three people were sitting in the living room on the first floor, seeming to be discussing something. There were two men and one woman. Seeing him come in, they all looked at him.

"Brother Ruan," one of them called Ruan Nan Zhu very respectfully, "you're back." 

Ruan Nan Zhu nodded slightly, randomly found a sofa to sit on, and gestured for Lin Qiu Shi to sit next to him. Lin Qiu Shi hesitated for a moment before following Ruan Nan Zhu's gesture.

Ruan Nan Zhu said, "You just came out of that door, right?" He reached out his hand, "where's the note?"

Lin Qiu Shi was slightly surprised. He didn't expect Ruan Nan Zhu to be so straightforward without any preamble, directly asking him for that note.

"Don't you think you should explain the situation first?" Lin Qiu Shi said, "Barging into my house suddenly, taking me here, not saying anything and just asking me for something?"

Ruan Nan Zhu said, "Qian Li, explain to him." 

Cheng Qian Li shrugged helplessly. He got up, picked up the laptop in front of him, tapped it for a while, then casually handed it to Lin Qiu Shi. 

Lin Qiu Shi was puzzled but still took the laptop. He saw nearly ten web pages open on it: "What is this?"

Cheng Qian Li: "Take a look."

Lin Qiu Shi scrolled the mouse. He quickly browsed the web pages and found that all the news were from yesterday, mostly about accidental deaths. One that Lin Qiu Shi was very familiar with reported a car accident in X City. The driver was speeding and crashed into the guardrail, dying instantly. Looking at the surname abbreviation and photo in the news, Lin Qiu Shi finally realized what these contents were. 

All the people who died in the web pages were the same group of people he had seen inside the door. Almost all of them had died overnight, although the causes of death varied, including suicide and homicide. 

Lin Qiu Shi: "People die inside the door... the people outside will die too?" 

Cheng Qian Li nodded: "Let me tell you first so you know what's going on. That door is not a joke or a nightmare. If something happens inside, the outside person will be gone too."

Lin Qiu Shi said, "I see, but what exactly is that thing?"

"It's hard to scientifically explain what it is. It defies conventions in the first place." Cheng Qian Li glanced at Ruan Nan Zhu sitting next to him, "You just came out of the door, right? Hurry up and give us that note you got from inside. That thing is very important."

Lin Qiu Shi: "I didn't bring the note with me." 

"It doesn't matter if you didn't bring it, do you remember what was written on it?" Cheng Qian Li asked.

Lin Qiu Shi nodded. He hesitated for a moment, and under everyone's gaze, still said the content of the note: "Philsha Bird." 

"Check it out," Ruan Nan Zhu ordered, and everyone started moving. 

Seeing their nervous looks made Lin Qiu Shi feel nervous too. He said, "What exactly is going on? I don't understand..."

Ruan Nan Zhu said, "Have any strange things happened around you recently?" He was looking at his phone, "Some kind of omen or something."

Lin Qiu Shi: "Omen?"

Ruan Nan Zhu: "Yes, omen." He explained, "For example, seeing things you haven't seen before, having minor accidents, or..." He paused here, "your pets don't let you touch them anymore?"

Lin Qiu Shi: "Yes, yes, yes, my cat doesn't let me hold it anymore. Can you see something's wrong with me?" 

Cheng Qian Li: "It can't be cured. Just get rid of it." 

Lin Qiu Shi: "..."

Ruan Nan Zhu glanced at Cheng Qian Li. Cheng Qian Li quickly made a serious working expression. 

Ruan Nan Zhu said, "You're about to die soon." 

Lin Qiu Shi was stunned: "Huh?? What do you mean?"

Ruan Nan Zhu said, "The literal meaning." He slowly said, "But as long as you can get through the twelve doors, you can survive and completely get rid of the door's control."

Lin Qiu Shi: "The door's control?" He felt like he had ten thousand whys, with countless questions surging up in his mind, but he didn't dare ask them all, looking at Ruan Nan Zhu, who didn't seem like a very patient person at all. 

Sure enough, Ruan Nan Zhu said, "You don't have to be in a hurry to ask questions. You still have a week to slowly figure out what happened. Qian Li, he is all yours now." 

Cheng Qian Li: "I swear this is the newbie Q&A session I hate the most."

Lin Qiu Shi: "..." Sorry to trouble you. 

"Then let me ask the last question for today, okay?" Lin Qiu Shi thought about it and felt this was the most important question at the moment. 

"What's the question?" Cheng Qian Li said.

"That... What's your relationship with Ruan Bai Jie?" Lin Qiu Shi asked. "She must be related to you guys, right?"

An bizarre silence fell over the room. Cheng Qian Li's expression was very strange, almost distorted. After studying for a while, Lin Qiu Shi realized he was trying not to laugh.

"You'll know later," Ruan Nan Zhu gently said, "Don't worry."

Lin Qiu Shi: "..." Why do you all have such weird expressions? 

While they were talking, the people in the house had found some information about the Philsha Bird and related materials. 

After listening to everyone's report, Ruan Nan Zhu announced, "Cheng Qian Li, introduce everyone to him. I have to go out for a bit." 

Cheng Qian Li: "Okay." 

After Ruan Nan Zhu left, the sound of the car engine could be heard outside shortly after.

The remaining Lin Qiu Shi and Cheng Qian Li looked at each other speechlessly. Finally Cheng Qian Li stood up and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Lu Yan Xue, the only girl in our team. She's bolder than men and has a tougher personality than men too."

Lu Yan Xue: "Damn, Cheng Qian Li, do you even know how to talk?" 

Cheng Qian Li ignored her and introduced the other two people: "Chen Fei, Yi Man Man. Chen Fei is the one wearing glasses, the other one is Yi Man Man. He loves to gossip and talk a lot, best to stay away from him." 

Chen Fei nodded at Lin Qiu Shi. Yi Man Man said: "Cheng Qian Li, are you itching for a fight?" 

"And this is Lin Qiu Shi, you all know about him already," Cheng Qian Li said. "The person Brother Ruan brought back." 

Judging from their attitude, the three were still quite friendly, but they were not talkative and did not intend to socialize with Lin Qiu Shi. 

Cheng Qian Li seemed to see Lin Qiu Shi's thoughts. He sincerely explained: "Don't blame them for not welcoming you. After all, we don't know how long you can live. It's painful to waste feelings on a dying person. "

Lin Qiu Shi: "..." I feel much better after you say that——not! What do you mean you don't know how long I can live? 

"At least you have to get through the next door," Cheng Qian Li said. "But Brother Ruan will probably take you through your next door, so there shouldn't be any major issues."

Lin Qiu Shi: "Then Ruan Bai Jie..." 

Cheng Qian Li: "Are you hungry? Want something to eat?" 

Lin Qiu Shi: "..." You changed the topic too bluntly. 

Lin Qiu Shi was not hungry and could not sleep after being woken up in the middle of the night either. So he just sat in the living room watching them work. They seemed to be looking for information about the Philsha Bird. Although it was just a fairy tale name, they were digging as if trying to find every clue. Chen Fei and Yi Man Man were also discussing going to the library tomorrow. 

Cheng Qian Li said if Lin Qiu Shi had nothing to do, he could go upstairs to sleep. The room had been prepared for him already, the one furthest inside on the right. There was also a computer and stuff inside, so Lin Qiu Shi could play games if he got bored. 

Lin Qiu Shi: "Then...I'll go to sleep." 

Cheng Qian Li: "Good night." 

Lin Qiu Shi trotted upstairs and had just turned right when he saw someone standing at the end of the corridor. He thought it was another resident of the villa at first and was about to greet them. But as soon as Lin Qiu Shi saw the person's face clearly, cold sweat broke out on his back. 

Cheng Qian Li, who was supposed to be sitting downstairs, had appeared in front of him with an expressionless face and walked towards him. 

"Cheng Qian Li?" Lin Qiu Shi slowly took a step back, "What are you doing here?" 

The man looked cold, with a completely different temperament from Cheng Qian Li. Hearing Lin Qiu Shi's words, he said lightly: "I'm not Cheng Qian Li." 

Lin Qiu Shi: "Then who are you?" 

The man said, "I'm his older brother." 

Lin Qiu Shi: "Ah?" 

The man said, "Cheng Yi Xuan." 

Lin Qiu Shi fell into a bewildered silence. He didn't speak, turned and ran back downstairs to see Cheng Qian Li indeed sitting in the living room chatting with Lu Yan Xue. Seeing him run back, Cheng Qian Li asked in confusion, "What's wrong?" 

Lin Qiu Shi: "You have an identical twin brother?" 

Cheng Qian Li: "Oh right, I forgot." 

Lin Qiu Shi: "..." How could you forget such an important thing? And what's with your names, Yi Xuan Qian Li, Yi Xie Qian Li???