"So, what actually happened?" Rena plopped down on the stairs leading to the train station while she asked that question breathlessly. The siblings had never been in such a sorry state. When Lin Sanjiu first saw them on the train, they were high-spirited and did not care about their surroundings. Their previous attitudes had been destroyed by the dirt, bloodstains, and wounds that covered them. Their clothes were in tatters, and they looked like a pair of homeless children on the street. Rena had lost a shoe, so she walked around with one gray, dirty foot. Reno's hair was in a poofy mess after the explosion; as he was too close to the blast, his face was covered in thick black soot that even blurred his features.
After resting for more than an hour, the siblings, with their sore bodies, gradually regained some of their hearing.
"Hey, how could he be my brother?" Rena spat out some dirt from her mouth. Lin Sanjiu could see the suspicion on the girl's face despite the dirt and blood on her face. As Rena had just regained her hearing, she still found it hard to hear, so she spoke loudly, "If a normal person rotates his head 180°, wouldn't he die?"
Reno shot a glance at his sister, feeling he was treated unjustly. "I have been hearing you babbling about 180° this and that. What the heck are you talking about? When did I ever do that? Why don't you show me how it is done?"
"It's true! If you don't believe me, you can ask Lin Sanjiu—"
Lin Sanjiu, still feeling the heartache of losing a large amount of Higher Consciousness she had worked so hard to recover, looked at the two teenagers when they called her name and found them staring at her, waiting for her answer. She couldn't help feeling a little guilty.
Even though she had successfully saved the siblings, she knew it was largely due to luck. Though she had understood what happened, she still couldn't explain many points. The teenagers weren't stupid; perhaps, once they saw the situation from her deduction, they could put the pieces together and somewhat get to the bottom.
Lin Sanjiu thought for a moment and organized her thoughts. Then, she started writing on her skull. The siblings knew that she couldn't explain the entire situation in a few words, so they were very patient. While they cleaned their wounds, they looked at Lin Sanjiu occasionally, ensuring that they did not miss a single word.
THAT THING WHICH COULD TURN ITS HEAD 180° WAS NO LIVING PERSON. WE DID SEE THE SPIRIT POSING AS RENO. Though Lin Sanjiu had used up much of her Higher Consciousness, her training over these few days allowed her to use her Higher Consciousness more effectively. It was almost as if it was a part of her body, so she could now write her words in the time of a flashing thought.
"Huh, but I monitored him constantly." Rena pointed to her brother. The latter listened to his sister with a blank face and an open mouth. "I didn't see him being swapped! Besides, without the cooperation of the real person, how could the spirits swap their identities so easily?" Rena argued.
HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT THE BUILDING ITSELF WAS PROBLEMATIC? Lin Sanjiu replied in words. She immediately felt that explaining some parts of the situation was difficult. She decided to start from the beginning. Many points still didn't make sense to her, and this was an opportunity for the siblings to help make sense of things.
I THINK THE KEY TO THIS MYSTERY LIES IN THE BUILDING ITSELF. FOR SOME REASON, THE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS IN THIS AREA HAVE ALL BECOME SPIRITS. NORMALLY, THEY CAN'T MOVE. BUT WE IMMEDIATELY BECAME ITS PREY WHEN WE ENTERED THAT PARTICULAR BUILDING. After witnessing how the building could change its structure, it wasn't hard for the siblings to imagine, so they nodded in agreement.
I DON'T KNOW HOW THESE DEMONIC BUILDINGS USUALLY CAPTURE THEIR PREY, Lin Sanjiu paused for a bit, deliberating over her words, BUT YOU TWO ARE NOT EASY PICKINGS.
Over a few days, Lin Sanjiu learned some of the rules in this Kisaragi Train Station World.
The duoluozhongs there were different. They couldn't kill anyone directly. These duoluozhongs were humans who had assimilated with dark matter. For some reason, they evolved into all sorts of different spirits and could only attack humans who had been corroded by dark matter. It isn't all that hard to meet this condition. Any outsiders would slowly and eventually be corrupted by dark matter after they breathed the air and drank the water here. The spirits could also hasten the process.
However, Reno and Rena were different. When the siblings entered the building, only their eyes were corrupted by dark matter. However, due to the quality of their Special Items, they were protected from head to toe. They even had mini filters in their noses for breathing. It was highly unlikely that the duoluozhongs could get the siblings like they did Lin Sanjiu.
Meanwhile, the demonic buildings differed from other duoluozhongs because they could not move. Since they could not move, any prey that entered their doors was extremely valuable. Therefore, the building used a roundabout way to keep them in.
Though the siblings were wearing protective gear, they weren't fully protected. The residential building probably figured that out and acted accordingly. The siblings' weakness was that their exposed skin was still susceptible to dark matter. To the building, Lin Sanjiu was merely a drop of wax on its plate. It couldn't consume her, but it couldn't get rid of her. She was slightly bothersome, but she had never been a target.
"Are you saying that they tried to corrupt us with dark matter by getting a spirit to pose as us?" Rena seemed to be getting the picture, but she was still confused.
"I know what she means. You're stupid," Reno said. "One of the spirits pretended to be you, and the other was pretending to be me. They were hiding in two places close to us because it is easier to get us that way!"
Lin Sanjiu moved her body up and down to show that she agreed. Furthermore, Rena had brought up a point to her: when a person receives a fright in Kisaragi Station World, he or she becomes very susceptible to dark matter. The series of strange occurrences in the building successfully scared the siblings and made them uneasy over the few days. Rena even mentioned that she suspected she had already been badly corrupted by dark matter.
I GUESS THOSE THINGS THAT IMPERSONATED YOU WERE PEOPLE WHO DIED IN THE BUILDING, Lin Sanjiu continued. She didn't have any evidence to support this, so it was just guesswork. JUST LIKE THE REMORAS ON A LARGE FISH, THEY DEPEND ON THE BUILDING TO SURVIVE.
Whether they were once posthumans and whether they could impersonate the siblings because of their abilities. Those questions could never be answered unless they returned to the building.
"I understand that part," Rena said while she touched a deep cut on her face. Surprisingly, she only drew a deep breath as she focused her full attention on the mystery at hand, "But, for a second, he was human, then he was a duoluozhong again. I don't get it."
The constant changes were too complicated for Lin Sanjiu, so she wasn't sure. After pondering for some time, she wrote: I THINK THE BUILDING TRICKED US. IT WORKS LIKE TOY BLOCKS.
"Toy blocks?" the two children stared at Lin Sanjiu's words, finding it somewhat hard to process. "What do you mean?"
If Lin Sanjiu had to write the whole explanation, she knew it would be too much to write and too confusing. She might even need to continue writing the next day. Besides, she needed the two teenagers to fill in the gaps in her deduction. Considering this, Lin Sanjiu wrote: WHY DON'T YOU TWO DESCRIBE WHAT YOU EXPERIENCED AFTER WE ENTERED THE BUILDING?
The two teenagers exchanged glances and began giving their accounts of what happened. Just as Lin Sanjiu expected, even from the start, their accounts differed curiously.
"After my brother played a prank on us," Rena said, "we walked along the corridor trying to find an apartment unit to rest in—"
Reno interrupted, "Wait! I told you I didn't prank you! It was not me!"
"Oh yeah, you forgot what you did? And, you never said that before..."
Seeing that the situation was going out of control soon, Lin Sanjiu immediately wrote, IGNORE THAT, JUST CONTINUE.
The kids instantly became quiet.
"It was very strange," Rena said. "All the other apartment units were old and shabby, but the one that my brother found was very beautiful... so we decided to stay there. We heard some sounds in the middle of the night. At that point, Lin Sanjiu, you checked out that sound, right? But you didn't return. I woke my brother up and got him to look for you. I didn't expect you guys to be away for so many hours. I went out to look for you but couldn't find you. In the end, I waited in the room by myself..." Rena suddenly shuddered as if she had returned to that creepy night. "Luckily, you came back."
While Rena was waiting for her brother and Lin Sanjiu to return, Lin Sanjiu returned to an empty apartment. She searched the entire building to the lobby and met the siblings on the 15th floor. After Lin Sanjiu wrote this, Rena's eyes widened as this was the first time she knew of it.
Reno wanted to speak for himself badly, but he winced as he held back his words. When Lin Sanjiu signaled for him to speak, he exhaled and described his version of events like a machine gun, "If that is the case, it was problematic from the beginning! I didn't play any pranks on you. I went to that beautiful apartment unit, and Rena found that place. Yes, I didn't see Lin Sanjiu around. Rena told me you checked the surroundings and would return soon."
Telling his part of the story to this point, Reno realized that the person beside him was not a living person. His face turned slightly pale, "As you didn't return, we went out to find you. The elevator came up, and it opened. Then, we saw you."
Unexpectedly, Lin Sanjiu's narrative matched Reno's at that juncture. Lin Sanjiu felt that she was getting a clearer picture, so she quickly mentioned how she had heard a flushing sound and how Reno saw her corpse. She told them how she flew above the floor and found Rena. The teenagers were stunned as she recounted her experience.
"Ah, so the timeline goes like this," Reno said as he gestured to the entire situation, "We entered two different apartment units simultaneously. After Lin Sanjiu left, she returned to an empty apartment. Meanwhile, the fake Rena told me to look for you. I met you when you came out of the elevator. Then, you stayed with us in the apartment I was in. This occurred while fake Reno went out and left Rena alone to find us. She didn't manage to find us. That was until Lin Sanjiu flew upward and met the real Rena."
Even though the situation was still extremely messy, they figured out this part.
"No wonder." Rena's face also looked pale. "While walking along the corridor, I felt that something was a little off. I even examined the angle of the wall. I just couldn't wrap my head around how a person can twist his head in that manner. Furthermore, my brother doesn't wear a Special Item in front of his chest. So, from that point, it wasn't my brother."
"But how did the building do that?" Reno asked, "When Rena was looking for us, how did she miss the floor we were on?"
SHE DIDN'T MISS IT. WHEN WE WERE ESCAPING, WE WITNESSED HOW IT ACTS. OR AT LEAST, SOME PART OF IT, Lin Sanjiu continued. IT IS QUITE SIMPLE. EVERY BUILDING APARTMENT AND CORRIDOR IS LIKE A SINGLE TOY BLOCK. THE BUILDING CAN MOVE EACH BLOCK IN WHATEVER MANNER IT WISHES.
FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN WE WERE PRANKED. RENO WALKED AROUND A BEND AND ENTERED A STRETCH OF CORRIDOR ALONE. AT THAT TIME, THE CORRIDOR WAS MOVED AWAY AND REPLACED BY ANOTHER CORRIDOR, THE FAKE RENO. THE DUOLUOZHONG PROBABLY DIED WITH HIS NECK TWISTED IN THAT MANNER. HE MIGHT NOT HAVE HAD ENOUGH TIME TO CHANGE IT, SO HE SLIPPED UP. HENCE, HE TRIED TO PASS IT OFF AS A PRANK SO THAT HE HAD AN EXCUSE. ON TOP OF THAT, THE BUILDING USED THE TOY BLOCK SWAPPING METHOD SO MANY TIMES BECAUSE IT WORKS. ON THE OTHER HAND, WE WERE CONFUSED BY THE SITUATION.
Reno remembered that he didn't notice anything out of place when he walked into the corridor. He couldn't help dropping his jaw.
Lin Sanjiu had solved the first part of the mystery, which bothered her. She was more confident with her deduction and urged the siblings to continue. The two siblings' narratives weaved around each other like casually drawn scribbles. Sometimes, they crossed each other; at other moments, they were very different. It resolved many questions that Lin Sanjiu had.
When they were almost done recounting what had happened, Lin Sanjiu stopped and thought for some time. She sighed. Even though this sounded a little weird, that building could be considered the craftiest opponent ever since she came to this world. At every crucial point, the building planned everything ahead of them. It created a very effective trap, using the duoluozhongs to create a smokescreen. If Lin Sanjiu had not been a bystander observing the situation, the siblings would have fallen prey to its tactics and fought to the death with each other.
Feeling relieved, Lin Sanjiu wrote: NOW, WE CAN ORGANIZE THE POINTS WHEN THE SWAPS OCCUR.