Chapter Sixteen: Wake Up, Brother

The atmosphere in the room plummeted to freezing point with Fang Nian’s words, as though all pretense had become useless in that instant. The three of them gazed at each other warily, each on guard against the other.

The doctor smiled blandly, his gaze taking on a strange glint as he looked at Fang Nian and asked, “Officer, did you discover something?”

Fang Nian’s lips curled faintly. He pointed at the two registration books on the table. “This registration book is from these past few days, and the other is from a long time ago. Although the handwriting is similar in both, if you look closely, you’ll see they’re clearly from two different people. If I’m not mistaken, boss, you must be left-handed? Even though you’ve tried hard to imitate the style, the strokes are fundamentally opposite.”

The two men started in surprise. The bald boss shuddered but did not deny it, while the doctor’s look toward him took on a trace of wariness.

The bald boss gave a helpless smile, then raised his right hand, pointing at a scabbed scar as he explained, “Ah, actually, just a few days ago, I injured my right hand while repairing a car, so I had to write with my left hand lately. Is that so strange?”

The doctor went over to check and nodded. “Indeed, Officer, this is a fresh wound.”

At that, Fang Nian pulled out an old registration book and a medical record from below. “Boss, I must say you’re clever—using an injury on your right hand to cover up your identity. If I hadn’t noticed what’s written in this registration book, I really would have been fooled.”

Seeing the items in Fang Nian’s hands, the bald boss trembled slightly.

Fang Nian continued, “This is the registration book from ten days ago all the way back to last year’s Spring Festival. If you observe carefully, you’ll find that every Wednesday’s entry is missing.”

“Perhaps you didn’t notice, but this medical record was tucked under the front desk. It clearly documents a little boy’s case. The boy suffered from kidney disease and needed dialysis every Wednesday. So the innkeeper was never here on Wednesdays, which is why those entries are blank.”

With this, Fang Nian produced the bald boss’s registration book and smiled. “So, boss, how do you explain the registrations from the past few days? Did your child die? Or did the owner… change?”

As Fang Nian’s words fell, the hall was plunged into silence, the drumming rain sounding all the more piercing.

A moment later, the bald boss suddenly burst out laughing, his expression morphing into something cold and sinister. “No wonder you’re a cop. I didn’t expect you to be this sharp. So, what else have you found out?”

Fang Nian knew it was time to lay his cards on the table. He pointed to today’s registration book. “This registration has nine entries, corresponding to the names of the nine guests who checked in. Normally, that female criminal and I were the last to arrive—our names should be numbers eight and nine. But on this list, we’re placed at positions two and three.”

The bald boss paused, spreading his hands. “What’s so strange about that? The previous book got soaked, so I recopied the entries.”

“Is that so? Then how do you explain the order?”

“Nine is the man murdered in the hallway, eight is the blond-haired man, seven the red-haired one, six the burly fellow, five the woman with the SUV, and four the child. Don’t you think this sequence is familiar?”

At these words, the boss’s composure finally cracked, his eyes flickering with panic. The doctor also realized something, suddenly leaping up and producing a scalpel, pointing it at the bald boss.

“Isn’t this the order in which people here were killed? Did you arrange all this?”

The bald boss tried to wave his hands and cover up. “It’s all just a coincidence! I don’t know what you’re talking about. And that registration—it wasn’t written by me, let me think, wait… actually, that book was—”

Suddenly, a whistling sound rent the air as the bald boss collapsed to the ground, life leaving him instantly. A scalpel jutted from his neck, and it was the doctor who had thrown it.

“You?” Fang Nian looked at the doctor with caution, whose smile began twisting grotesquely. He took out another registration book from his breast pocket.

“You’re very clever. That bald fellow really wasn’t the owner. He was just a petty thief who came to stay here more than ten days ago, killed the innkeeper, and, finding the man had no close family, impersonated him and turned this place into a black inn.”

“That registration book on the desk was placed there by me. It was I who killed all these people. Every detail was meticulously designed by me—including your… car accident.”

A chill ran through Fang Nian, his mind suddenly much clearer, but he didn’t interrupt.

“You’re right. My identity in this hunting ground is the murderer. My goal is to eliminate everyone according to this set of IDs. Your analysis is correct: to clear the game, I must execute you all in order. The bald man was number three, and you… are two.”

Fang Nian felt as if jolted by lightning, a sudden understanding dawning. “And number one? Is it…”

“Yes, your little girlfriend. That’s why she cannot die.”

“Girlfriend?”

The doctor grinned wickedly. “Yes, in this hunting ground, she really is your girlfriend, and also a police officer. The only way for the two of you to clear the game is to capture me and bring me to the station.”

Fang Nian was stunned. “How do you know all this, when I know nothing?”

The doctor laughed louder, his tone turning dark. “Because I am the architect of this hunting ground. I came here only to savor the thrill of the hunt.”

Fang Nian’s heart sank. “The architect? Impossible. Hunting ground architects are forbidden from entering their own designs. If what he says is true, he is god here. How could anyone defeat god?”

With that, Fang Nian put down his knife. Confronted with such a situation, there was no way to reverse it. In truth, he had already lost the moment he stepped into the hunting ground.

Seeing Fang Nian’s vacant gaze, the doctor smiled faintly, glanced at the clock on the wall, and said coolly, “Alright, the game is over. Once I finish you off, the next will be that little girl. In ten minutes, she’ll be blown to bits. If you still have questions, you can ask the King of Hell yourself.”

As he spoke, another scalpel appeared in his hand. “Goodbye.”

But just as the doctor was about to hurl his blade, a gunshot rang out. The bullet, as swift as lightning, struck the doctor’s left arm.

“Aagh…” the doctor howled, dropping the scalpel and collapsing. Fang Nian, regaining his composure, sprang forward and pinned the doctor to the floor. A pair of slender hands passed him a set of handcuffs, and he swiftly cuffed the doctor.

The doctor turned his head, wailing, and was shocked to see the escaped woman standing there.

“You—aren’t you—?”

The woman smiled. “Ran off in the car, did I? Only to be blown up by the bomb you set. Did you really think I was that stupid? Did you really believe your plan was flawless, that we both fell into your trap?”

“Wake up, brother. The moment the first person died, we both learned our identities. He gave me the key to the handcuffs. My escape was just to let you put on this little show.”

“And doctor, next time you brag, do pay attention. ‘Because I am the architect of this hunting ground’—please. Haven’t you heard? Villains are always undone by their own monologues. Ridiculous.”

Fang Nian smiled wryly. He hadn’t expected this woman to be so fierce—and so witty.

…

With the doctor packed away in the trunk, the sky finally cleared. The first light of dawn spilled across the land. After a night of relentless rain, Fang Nian was astonished to see a rainbow on the horizon. Since the sun’s decline, not a single rainbow had appeared in the real world.

Once everything was ready, Fang Nian cupped his fists to the woman and smiled. “All you need to do is deliver him to the police station five kilometers away—and you’ll have cleared the game. Don’t forget our deal: the prize money is yours, the intel is mine.”

The woman nodded readily. “Don’t worry, I keep my word.”

After exchanging farewells, the woman drove off.

But she hadn’t gotten far when disaster struck. A tremendous explosion shattered the morning calm, and the once-crazed inn was reduced to a heap of ruins.