dkrc Chapter 170 Rubik's Cube Haunted House = Tongue of the Dead?
Chapter 170 Rubik's Cube Haunted House = Tongue of the Dead?
Chapter 170 Rubik's Cube Haunted House = Tongue of the Dead?
After Li Jiuhe walked out of the haunted house, he did not go far immediately, but stood at the entrance of the passage outside the exit.
He noticed that the outside was not where he and Ma Li had come in before; it must have been the side of the haunted house, and it was on the first floor.
He stood there for a moment and waited, and the words appeared before him quickly.
[Your partner has already killed Guo Fan. Tsk tsk, I didn't expect her to have this kind of taste!]
"Now that Guo Fan is dead, fulfill your promise and tell me his identity and why he plotted to control the Investigation Bureau and was in such a hurry to crack this haunted house sequence artifact?"
No problem. Have you ever heard of the Tongue of the Dead?
Upon seeing the words "Tongue of the Dead," Li Jiuhe's head buzzed, wondering why the Death Pass would suddenly bring up this.
However, he immediately replied calmly, "I've heard of it. It seems to come from the tongue of a sequence member called a 'fear-eater'."
Yes, the Tongue of the Dead is formed because the Fear Eater ingests a large amount of fear, and it contains a great deal of fear.
So what do you think it's similar to?
Li Jiuhe's heart skipped a beat, and he blurted out, "Is it this haunted house?"
[Absolutely correct! After the Rubik's Cube Haunted House was transformed into a sequence object, it also absorbed and absorbed a large amount of the fear generated by visitors. So, in essence, the haunted house is actually similar to a giant version of the Tongue of the Dead.]
"Who exactly is this Guo Fan? What does he need this haunted house filled with fear for?" Li Jiuhe was already vaguely sensing that something was wrong.
He is a member of the Guo family, one of the three major families in the Tian Shu Kingdom.
"A family with the same lineage as the Guan family?"
Yes, but the Guo family is different from the Guan family. They are usually very low-key and don't get close to the rulers of Tian Shu Kingdom like the Guan family does.
Sigh, to be honest, the reason I was so eager for you to take down Guo Fan was because their target wasn't just the Rubik's Cube haunted house, but also me.
Li Jiuhe nodded: "I already guessed. That's why you made You Hong rush to kill the Moth Woman, and then made a last-minute agreement with me to sabotage Guo Fan's plan to crack the haunted house. But I don't understand, what do they need you and the haunted house for?"
[Hehe, of course it's because of my abilities! I can break through the limitations of space and time and open passages to other dimensions —]
The moment Li Jiuhe saw the text "pass" displayed, his heart clenched again, and he felt like he almost couldn't keep his composure in front of this guy.
The Haunted Cube has some overlap with the abilities of the Tongue of the Dead, meaning that the Haunted Cube can also utilize the Tongue of the Dead's abilities.
The Death Pass, with its ability to open passages to other dimensions, is very similar to the "Morning Bell of the Second Seventh Day," which has not been seen for a long time.
In other words, the Death Pass can also serve as a substitute for the Morning Bell.
"The Magic Cube Haunted House" is roughly equivalent to "The Tongue of the Dead," and "The Death Pass" is roughly equivalent to "The Morning Bell of the Seventh Day." So, is it just missing yourself?
If what the pass said at this moment was true, Li Jiuhe suddenly understood that Guo Fan's intentions might be the same as Si Mingyu's back then!
The only difference is the sequence of objects used to achieve their goals, but their functions are not significantly different.
If that's the case, then Guo Fan's third self-identification should be himself, but that guy doesn't seem to know him at all, so there's no possibility that it's targeting Li Jiuhe.
Could his third goal be roughly equivalent to himself?
This information was extremely important to Li Jiuhe, who had been unable to figure out why Si Mingyu had collected the Tongue of the Dead, the Morning Bell of the Second Seventh, and was targeting him.
However, this Death Pass is a "know-it-all," not only knowing many secrets of the sequence diagram, but also clearly knowing more about the abilities of sequencers and sequence objects.
Li Jiuhe felt this deeply when he first met the pass.
It seems that this thing can not only build physical bridges in space, but it is also an information bridge itself.
"Do you know what Guo Fan is trying to do by collecting haunted houses and targeting you?" Li Jiuhe asked tentatively.
The Death Pass was unaware of his doubts because, although Li Jiuhe communicated with it through thoughts, the thoughts he didn't want the pass to know formed a natural barrier in his mind, which the pass couldn't detect.
Otherwise, the other person's ability wouldn't be a pass, but would become "telepathy".
I suspect he wanted to use me and the haunted house to tear open a time tunnel and create a new one, but I don't know his exact purpose.
"I don't quite understand. You can create a time portal, that's fine. But a haunted house contains a lot of fear, so what's the point of its existence? It doesn't seem to have much to do with time travel, does it?" Li Jiuhe asked, voicing his doubts.
Because he didn't understand the significance of Si Mingyu obtaining the Tongue of the Dead.
It's normal that you don't understand, after all, apart from knowledgeable sequence beings like myself, very few people know these secrets.
]
Death Pass took the opportunity to shamelessly boast about himself.
[Because the spacetime that Guo Fan is trying to tear apart doesn't belong to our current spacetime, but rather crosses a much larger dimension.]
"Is there a difference?"
'
[Of course there's a difference. For example, if you want to enter the abandoned wooden cabin, although the cabin is also an independent space-time, the dimensional crossing is ordinary, and under the right conditions, I can easily let you in. But I suspect Guo Fan wants to use us to cross a higher-dimensional space-time, because only in spatial rifts of that level would there be a spatial creature called "Fearful Insect."]
"Afraid of insects?"
[Yes, these spatial creatures are invisible and intangible, only perceptible. They guard the spacetime wormhole, possess formidable attack power, but are extremely timid. If you unleash fear upon them at this moment, these insects will temporarily flee. Once the spacetime wormhole is no longer protected, it can overcome the differences between higher dimensions, briefly open a passage, and traverse spacetime.]
Li Jiuhe asked in astonishment, "So, all it takes is you and the Rubik's Cube Haunted House? No need for a third sequencer or sequenced object?"
He was surprised that it seemed like he wasn't involved in this.
If they don't need me, then why did Si Mingyu and the others try so hard to target me in the first place?
"No need. As long as we have a definite spatial and temporal location, plus me and the Rubik's Cube haunted house, we can do it. It's just that I can't guarantee success on the first try; in fact, if we fail, that spatial and temporal location will be sealed off and can never be reopened."
Upon hearing Death Pass's reply, Li Jiuhe suddenly realized that he now understood his role.
Because this method cannot guarantee 100% success, Si Mingyu and his team will establish their own safety net under these circumstances.
If opening the spacetime rift does not achieve their goal, they may use their sequence abilities to reset the mission and try again.
Therefore, Li Jiuhe's role is merely an insurance policy; it can be ignored, but when necessary, it is their only chance to turn the tide.
In this light, he finally understood the doubts he had had at the time.
But now another new question has arisen: after Si Mingyu opened the spacetime rift, did they intend to go somewhere themselves, or did they intend to bring people from somewhere else to the current spacetime?
According to the Death Pass, this crossing of time and space is bidirectional, allowing for both coming and going.
Moreover, is what Guo Fan is doing the same thing as Si Mingyu, or is it just a coincidence?
However, this guy with the pass does know a lot of information. He can even explain clearly how to cross time and space, and even the creatures that are afraid of insects near time-space wormholes.
Alright, I've told you everything I needed to. According to our temporary agreement, I can let you enter and exit the abandoned wooden cabin once. However, I must remind you of one thing: after you successfully solve the haunted house, this Rubik's Cube haunted house will also grant you one request.
Li Jiuhe pondered for a moment: "Besides releasing fear and creating one's own ghostly space, what other abilities does a haunted house have?"
I think I mentioned it to you before; it can connect to some other dimensions, but it's not as powerful as me. I am the strongest, traversing life and death, going wherever I please—
"Let me finish dealing with things outside first."
Li Jiuhe ignored the guy's nagging and quickly walked out of the haunted house.
At this moment, Ma Li caught up from behind, her voice urgent: "Brother Li, Brother Li—"
Li Jiuhe turned around and looked over. Ma Li hurriedly said, "I just found a playing card under Guo Fan's body!"
"Playing card? What card?" Li Jiuhe was taken aback and immediately became alert, because it was most likely one of the black and white playing cards.
The other ghost card is still on the wooden table at the entrance of the haunted house. Without his instructions, the investigators from the Yuanmeng City Investigation Bureau will not approach the entrance of the haunted house for the time being.
"It was a Queen, but after I saw it, the card suddenly disappeared." Ma Li frowned slightly. "I also heard a woman's cold laugh, which was very strange, but I didn't see anyone."
Li Jiuhe cautioned, "Be careful lately. Although Guo Fan is dead, he may have left some hidden tricks."
0
"Yes, you too." Ma Li nodded.
She dared not tell Li Jiuhe that she had regained her freedom and that she could leave at any time from now on.
However, Ma Li decided that after things were over here, she would quietly slip away without telling anyone.
At this moment, the investigators outside the haunted house had already spotted Li Jiuhe and Ma Li; they were indeed located to the side and rear of the haunted house.
Song Zhixing and his men had been guarding the haunted house for almost four days, but they had not seen Li Jiuhe and Ma Li come out of the haunted house. However, no other strange things had happened in the haunted house, so they waited patiently.
Upon hearing that Li Jiuhe and the other person had appeared, they immediately rushed over.
"Investigator Li, how's the situation? Are you all alright?"
Li Jiuhe shook his head: "The haunted house has been solved. Let's go to the entrance first."
"Have you seen the Moth Woman's group?" Song Zhixing asked as he walked.
He hated these people to the core. It could be said that the biggest setback this bureau chief ever suffered was caused by the Moth Girl, the Silent Singer, and others. How could he not hate them?
"The Moth Woman has been killed. Her accomplice is named Guo Fan, and he should be from the Guo family." Li Jiuhe said in a low voice, "This case has many connections, so don't make a fuss about it for now. I will report the details to headquarters for a decision."
Li Jiuhe now knows that even the Investigation Bureau doesn't dare to confront such a family head-on.
This can be seen from the weapons and defensive equipment on Guo Fan. The Guo family has even more sequence patterns than the Investigation Bureau, and they do not share them with the Investigation Bureau at all.
These families hold a position completely above the Investigation Bureau. He didn't know what kind of situation this was. Did the Tian Shu Kingdom have to act according to the whims of these families?
Or perhaps these families have already integrated with the high-ranking officials of the Tian Shu Kingdom, and there may be their relatives or friends among them.
Upon hearing this, Song Zhixing immediately understood what was going on, and at the same time, he felt a little relieved.
After all, if their investigation bureau was being targeted by the Sequence Family, they could explain away the fact that the bureau was being secretly controlled and wouldn't be severely punished by their superiors.
"What about Guo Fan?" he asked in a low voice.
"He died in the haunted house and never got out," Li Jiuhe said casually.
Song Zhixing asked no further questions.
Then everyone returned to the entrance of the haunted house.
At the same time, Li Jiuhe also took the opportunity to check the rewards for completing this mission.
In fact, by the time he left the haunted house, he had already completed both mission lines: one was to "solve the mystery of the beheading butcher at the resort" and the other was to "pass through the haunted house and find out the culprit who controls the investigation bureau".
The "Beheading Butcher" mission is Level I, Grade A, but the "Pass through the Haunted House and Find the Culprit" mission is much more difficult, at Level IV, Grade B, comparable to the mission in Ye City in the Boundary Stone.
Looking at the listed rewards, Li Jiuhe quickly selected for a moment, confirming that he had obtained 4 points, 2 time anchor resets, and 3...
A low-quality label allows you to carry any item that has been reset once, and increases the reset limit by 2 points.
The total task duration has also been increased to 6 hours.
The duration of this task is basically enough to cover his sleep time, so at least he doesn't need to set an alarm to wake up and reset the loop task line.
At the same time, Li Jiuhe's professional experience has also been greatly improved.
[Current Career Stage: Quest Designer - Junior (Upgrade Progress 36%)]
This upgrade progress includes both the growth after each completed task and the slower growth resulting from constantly setting "survive" tasks.
Upon arriving at the entrance, Li Jiuhe told everyone to wait outside the passage, while he himself walked back to the wooden table at the entrance.
Looking down, I saw that the Joker card was still there, unchanged.
"Is this 'pass' card dangerous?"
Although Li Jiuhe had already set up a new task just in case, he still tried asking about the Death Pass.
The answer regarding the pass came quickly, and it was exactly as he had expected.
I'll let you know when you're about to enter the deserted cabin! Besides that, it seems we don't have any further collaboration, right?
Just as Li Jiuhe was about to answer, the haunted house building above him suddenly roared.
The roaring noise was even felt by the investigators in the outer passageway, who all looked on guard and cautiously glanced around.
They couldn't see anything from their positions, but Li Jiuhe, who was standing at the entrance, noticed the anomaly.
Turning my head, I saw a boy standing in the passageway to the right of the entrance leading to the haunted house.
The boy was about ten years old, with a pale, bloodless face. He was wearing a plaid short-sleeved shirt, overalls, and a pair of black leather shoes, and his hair was neatly combed.
Li Jiuhe had never seen this boy before, but after just one glance, he suddenly realized that this little guy must be the embodiment of this Rubik's Cube haunted house.
Standing in the dimly lit passage, the boy looked up at Li Jiuhe and said expressionlessly, "You have passed my test. You are a Sequencer worthy of my acquaintance and respect. I can grant you one request. If you need anything, please let me know. If you don't need anything for now, you can come to me later."
The boy's tone of voice and actions were completely inconsistent with his appearance, creating an eerie contrast.
"Can you promise me one thing?"
Li Jiuhe silently repeated the sentence, then glanced down at the Joker card on the table, but quickly abandoned the idea and asked the boy, "Do you have the ability to connect to other dimensions?"
The boy tilted his head slightly to the side: "You mean the connection to the ghost realm?"
Li Jiuhe shrugged: "I don't know what you call this. Simply put, it's about establishing a connection with an independent alternate dimension, which should be a place where yin and yang meet."
"A place where Yin and Yang meet?" the boy asked again. "Is this space high-dimensional or low-dimensional?"
Li Jiuhe shook his head: "I don't know either, but it should be similar to our current world."
He had obtained this information from the Death Pass before, and in fact, he had no concept of the so-called "dimensions".
"I can give it a try." The boy nodded. "What's the name of that place?"
"The deserted wooden house was last seen in the Dragon Ridge Mountains near Nanfeng Town in Mingzhu City," Li Jiuhe replied.
Just then, the words "Death Pass" appeared before his eyes.
So this is your plan? Are you going to rescue someone from the abandoned cabin? I only allowed one person in and out, and you switched to making a deal with the Rubik's Cube Haunted House?
Li Jiuhe answered with a thought: "I have more than one person to save."
The boy then asked, "If it connects to the abandoned wooden house, will it be fine for you to go in?"
Li Jiuhe shook his head: "No, I want to rescue them—"
Before he could finish speaking, the boy interrupted him: "I'm sorry, my abilities are limited. At most, I can only connect the passages and allow one person to pass in one direction. If you go in, you can't come back. If you want someone to come out, you can't go in, and only one person can come out."
Haha, my Death Pass is the strongest in the world! The Rubik's Cube Haunted House? It's nothing, no, it's just a fart!
]
The Death Pass immediately appeared before Li Jiuhe's eyes with arrogant and overbearing words.
Li Jiuhe frowned, mentally replying to the pass: "If I agree to cooperate with you, the cooperation would involve me helping you kill people to improve your sequence abilities, but on the condition that I only kill those I deem worthy of death. Is that feasible?"
The death pass holder was clearly stunned for two seconds.
No, you have to listen to me on who to kill, otherwise what's the point of cooperation?
"I'm an investigator, I have my own principles, and I can't kill innocent people indiscriminately." Li Jiuhe denied in his heart, "I will only kill those sequencers who deserve to be killed, and you can also take the opportunity to improve, like Guo Fan just now."
Hahaha, so you noticed my little secret!
At this moment, an indescribable awkwardness emanated from the text on the death pass.
Li Jiuhe thought to himself, "Of course I noticed. I was already out when Ma Li killed that guy. You didn't talk to me the whole time, which means you were at the scene of the murder and didn't have time to pay attention to me. So Guo Fan's death should have allowed you to absorb and transform some sequence energy as well."
"Alright, I can consider your suggestion. It's basically a stripped-down version of our cooperation. You won't accept my abilities, and after killing the target, I won't share any of the abilities I absorb. All these sequence ability conversions are mine. I'll only provide you with valuable information or spatial access."
"Yes." Li Jiuhe nodded.
However, the previous temporary agreement cannot be changed. I am a very trustworthy collaborator, because it enabled my Sequence ability.
"Could I prepay for one of the evil sequence beings I want to kill, put it on my tab, in exchange for entering the abandoned cabin and bringing one more person out? Or could I not go in, but have two people come out at once?"
[Holy crap, how many relatives do you have living in that deserted cabin? It's a shame you're not in business; you can even haggle over this? I'm speechless—let me think about it.]