The Doll in the Secret Room

(The maintenance worker's manual is very short and doesn't contain any strange or strict rules.)

(The hospital's HR department once mentioned that all maintenance workers[repairmen] are outsourced, so the hospital has the fewest rules for them.)

(Not only that, but this manual also provides information on the Dean's movement patterns.)

(On Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, the Dean will inevitably appear in the Dean's office. Tomorrow happens to be Sunday, so the Dean will definitely be at the hospital.)

(You speculate that the Dean may always be hiding in a corner of the hospital because you have only seen the Dean's car enter the hospital but never leave.)

(Wearing the mask, you leave the office and walk straight down the stairs.)

(Your clothes effectively conceal your black fur, and no one questions why you're wandering around the hospital.)

(You arrive at the underground first floor and find the master key behind the crematorium.)

(The effect of the red pill is wearing off, so you take off the mask and find that it doesn't have much weight since you put it on.)

(Easily, you conceal the elephant mask inside your kangaroo pants.)

(You put on the deer-head mask, holding the key, and walk to the end of the second basement [level-2].)

(You stand at the entrance of the Dean's office.)

(Using the key, you unlock the golden lock at the entrance of the Dean's office, successfully opening the door.)

(A groan comes from inside the office.)

(With courage, you step into the room but see no one.)

(The office is arranged exactly like the one on the third floor, but there are no books on the surrounding bookshelves.)

(You take off the deer-head mask.)

(The scenery in the office immediately changes.)

(The bookshelves are now filled with many books, but all the book covers are made of human skin.)

(The floor is painted with fresh blood, the tables and chairs are made of human skeletons, and the walls are decorated with heads made from human remains.)

(You force yourself to remain calm, resisting the Unspeakable's mental assault.)

(You approach the desk.)

(The computer on the desk remains on, displaying several words in a blood-red font.)

("Welcome.")

(The keyboard's keycaps are all made of human teeth, and you dare not make any sudden movements.)

(Painful groans echo once again.)

(You follow the direction of the sound, which seems to be coming from behind the bookshelf.)

(You suppress your disgust and examine the bookshelf.)

(All the books are written in English, except for one book in Chinese.)

(You push that book.)

(The bookshelf opens to the sides.)

(A hidden room appears before you.)

(A woman is bound in the secret room, struggling incessantly.)

(The woman's eyes are empty, and she has no lower jaw. She keeps her head lowered, with her snow-white hair dragging on the ground.)

(In front of the woman, there is a doll sitting obediently on her lap, and it's the doll that emits the painful groans.)

(Doll: Save me!)

(You: Who are you?)

(Doll: Save me!)

(You: Mother?)

(Upon hearing this title, the doll immediately closes its mouth. The woman behind suddenly lifts her head and stares at you with her hollow eye sockets.)

(Doll: Are you Toto? No, you're not.)

(You: I'm a friend of Toto's.)

(Doll: How is Toto now?)

(You: Think about your current situation, and I believe you can easily guess how Toto is doing.)

(Doll: It's that man. He ruined Toto and me!)

(The doll screams hysterically, and the woman behind her goes mad as well. She tears out her own hair and throws it on the ground, but it quickly grows back.)

(You: I'm here to help you.)

(Doll: You can't help me. You will only harm me and my daughter!)

(You: I can, as long as you can tell me the truth.)

(Doll: You must be the spy sent by that devil. You want to continue harming us, mother and daughter, don't you?)

(The doll lets out a piercing scream, and you suddenly feel a sharp pain in your heart, as if you're about to die at any moment. You quickly take out the deer-head mask from your pocket and put it on.)

(The screaming subsides.)

(You look up and see the empty secret room, with only a worn-out cloth doll on the floor.)

(You reach out and pick up the cloth doll.)

(You die.)

(The deduction is over!)

Gu Yi opened his eyes and grimly clutched his heart.

Even though he had exited the deduction state, he still felt suffocated.

The power of the doll was no less potent than the unspeakable's mental contamination. Even though he only glanced at the doll, he still couldn't calm down.

This death came too suddenly.

Gu Yi didn't even understand why he died.

"Another new puzzle?"

Gu Yi lay on the bed, calmly contemplating.

The second basement's Dean's office must be a reflection of the real office.

Inside the office's secret room was a strange woman who was clearly the mother of "I" and also clearly deceased. Under the influence of the Unspeakable's force, she became a vengeful spirit, living in the second basement.

The mental contamination in the second basement was so severe, probably half of it was due to the mother.

Furthermore, only when he didn't wear a mask could he seethe mother of "I".

If he wore the deer-head mask, he couldn't see the mother of "I", but if he attempted to pick up the doll on the ground, it would immediately trigger a death flag.

Could it be that wearing different masks would trigger different outcomes?

Gu Yi pondered for a while.

He had just gained the ability to backtrack deductions, which provided an opportunity to experiment.

(Backtracking begins!)

(You stand at the entrance of the secret room.)

(You push open the door.)

(The doll is screaming hysterically.)

(You put on the bird beak mask.)

(Doll: Doctor? Are you Dr. Gui?)

(You: Yes, ma'am.)

(Doll: How is my daughter? Is she okay?)

(You: Your daughter has a severe illness and psychological issues. She needs immediate hospitalization for treatment.)

(Doll: Psychological issues? Hahaha... You're lying to me, aren't you? You know what she is, you're lying to me.)

(You: I don't understand what you mean. Could you be more clear?)

(Doll: She and us are different. We are superior beings, she is an inhuman creature. How could an animal get sick? And especially a psychological illness?)

(You: She's not human?)

(Doll: Of course, she's not human. Why are you pretending to be confused with me? Where is that man? I want to see that man, I want to kill him!)

(The doll roars angrily, jumps down from the woman's thigh, and pounces on you.)

(You struggle with all your might.)

(The doll punches your ribs, crushing them, and digs out your heart.)

(Your vision turns blood red.)

(You died.)

(The deduction ends!)

"Another riddle for me to guess?"

Gu Yi opened his eyes and scratched his head in distress.

The doll's words made no sense at all, often evading the actual question.

Gu Yi had already figured out most of the story about "I" and her mother, but even so, he couldn't extract any more information from her mother.

There were still the Kangaroo Head mask and Elephant Head mask left to try.

Perhaps this time, there would be a different outcome?

Gu Yi's current mental power was 35/50, and during the second deduction, he only spent 5 mental power, greatly improving his deduction efficiency and saving mental energy consumption.

"Backtracking!"

(Backtracking begins!)

(You are standing in front of the door to the secret room.)

(You push the door open.)

(The doll is screaming hysterically.)

(You put on the kangaroo mask.)

(You: Ma'am, please calm down.)

(Doll: Are you here to deliver something to me?)

(You: Yes, may I ask for your name...)

(Doll: I... I forgot.)

(You: What about Toto? Do you know her?)

(Doll: Toto? Toto is my daughter.)

(You: Where is Toto now?)

(Doll: She... No, you're not a delivery person. Who are you?)

(You: I am the delivery person. Here's a letter for Toto.)

(Doll: Who sent it?)

(You: Chongshan Hospital.)

(Doll: How is that possible? How is that possible? She's been dead for a long time. Who would deliver something to her? Ah...)

(The doll lets out a piercing scream.)

(Blood starts streaming from your ears.)

(You gradually lose consciousness.)

(You are dead.)

(Deduction ends!)

Gu Yi opened his eyes and pondered for a moment.

The kangaroo person was just an ordinary delivery worker and would not have much interaction with the mother of "I". Trying to communicate with the kangaroo mask would surely lead to no progress.

If it were the elephant mask...

(Backtracking begins!)

(You are standing in front of the door to the secret room.)

(You push the door open.)

(The doll is screaming hysterically.)

(You put on the elephant mask.)

(The doll becomes even more agitated after seeing your face.)

(Doll: It's you! You killed my child!)

(You: You've mistaken me.)

(Doll: I can't be mistaken. My daughter was hiding under the treatment pod, and you crushed her like a little bug. You have no compassion. You are a monster, just like everyone in Chongshan Hospital. Monsters!)

(The doll flies at you and snaps your neck.)

(Everything turns pitch black.)

(You are dead.)

(Deduction ends!)

Gu Yi pinched his nose and sighed with lingering fear.

Now, the identity of the doll has been confirmed. This fellow is indeed the mother of "I".

The true cause of death of "I" is also almost certain. "I" was mistaken for a bug and beaten to death by the elephant repairman.

--Just like the scene of my own death in a previous deduction.

However, there are some parts of this that are not quite believable and can only be taken as temporary references.

The main reasons are these two points:

1. The doll's mental state is very poor, and she is likely speaking nonsense. Gu Yi can only believe half of what she says.

2. According to the Bloody Diary, "I" has reached some kind of cooperation with the "Unspeakable." It shouldn't be easy for the elephant repairman to just beat "I" to death.

Furthermore, as soon as the doll saw him for the first time, she immediately mistook him for "I."

This led Gu Yi to come up with a bolder speculation.

--Actually, the role he is playing is an entirely different species, not belonging to the patients or medical staff, but belonging to the same species as "I."

Therefore, when he asked Dr. Li if "I am of the same kind as them," he responded with "yes and no."

The character he is playing may have severe cognitive impairments, to the point where he sees all species as humans and uses different masks to distinguish between them.

At the same time, he may possess powerful mimicry abilities, like a Ditto that can transform into any other species.

All the clues in the hospital are sufficient to support this theory.

"Yes, that's it."

Gu Yi clenched his fist, feeling that he had reasoned out the truth about his own identity.

Although he didn't know what significance this conclusion held, Gu Yi was confident that it would be useful in the future.

Gu Yi decided not to explore the underground secret room any further.

The doll in "I's mother's" hands must also be an important prop, but with the clues and items he currently had, it seemed insufficient to obtain the doll.

He would temporarily set aside the puzzle of "I's mother" for now and focus on stealing the elephant mask.

Following the path deduced earlier, Gu Yi successfully reached the third-floor office. He took out a red pill and swallowed it, then successfully picked up the elephant mask and placed it in his kangaroo pants.

Previously, Gu Yi had conducted an experiment.

As long as he could pick up the elephant mask, even if he no longer transformed into a monster, he could still continue wearing the mask.

Gu Yi hid in a corner of the office and searched around.

In the back of the office, he found a large package of toolboxes.

There were a total of ten toolboxes, all hidden in the farthest corner of the office, covered in dust as if they had never been used. Inside, there were various tools, but each one was extremely heavy, making it difficult for him to lift even when he transformed into a monster.

Gu Yi put on the elephant mask.

Now he could successfully pick up the tools from the toolbox.

After contemplating for a while, Gu Yi eventually took out all the items from the toolbox, hiding them all in his kangaroo pants. No one knew if these items would be useful in the end, but having them on hand was better than not having them.

Gu Yi restored the toolbox and suddenly felt a pang in his heart. He leaned against the wall, panting, waiting for the effect of the medicine to subside and transform back into his human form.

One of the three red pills had been used up.

Gu Yi felt a pain in his chest. He unbuttoned his shirt and looked down.

There was a patch of black fur on his chest. Clearly, using the red pills had severe side effects, accelerating his mutation process.

"Tsk... If I'm not mistaken, if I consume the third red pill, I might completely transform into a monster and not be able to return," Gu Yi murmured.

The elephant mask was a crucial item that Gu Yi absolutely needed, and he couldn't think of a second way to obtain it besides taking the pills.

The remaining two red pills could only be used in extremely dire situations.

Dadadada...

Footsteps could be heard outside the door.

Gu Yi's face turned pale as he quickly hid in a corner, listening carefully.

At least two people were passing by in the corridor outside.

Could it be the repairmen coming?

No, it's not right. Today isn't a payday, so they should have left the hospital already!

"Brother, stop it!"

A deep voice came from outside the corridor.

Gu Yi's heart skipped a beat—this voice was unmistakably the voice of the shop owner.