Clack, clack, clack...
The two walked along the corridor.
Alain turned on the corridor lights to see the abnormalities on the wooden floor.
He crouched down, carefully rubbing the texture of the wooden floor...
As expected, Alain felt a small patch of waxy sensation. Furthermore, the color of that wooden floorboard was deeper and somewhat opaque.
Looking at it this way, after using the bathroom, Yang Wanhua had indeed left the bedroom and headed elsewhere.
In that case, did she go outside, or was it truly the basement as Alain guessed?
Arriving in front of the basement door, Alain turned on the lights as usual, and very quickly saw that pool of dried blood on the ground.
The bloodstains this time were not in puddles like before, but rather flowed out from beneath the door sill of the basement, gathering in front of the door and soaking several wooden floorboards.
Alain pressed his ear against the iron door, listening.
The metallic sensation against his ear was quite cold, like a chunk of ice crystal.
He closed his eyes, attempting to hear every movement inside the iron door.
Drip, drop, drip, drop...
In the darkness, he seemed to see fragmented water droplets smashing onto a small pool of water, creating splashes and ripples.
Relying on his imagination, his thoughts gradually deepened, and the image in his mind took on color:
It was a figure sitting upright on a chair. Fresh blood dripped along her wrist, falling into that pool of blood on the ground.
And she, in the darkness, was smiling while gazing at the door sill revealing a fan-shaped beam of light.
Alain said no more and glanced at the fire extinguisher at his hand.
Clang, clang!
As the hard-shelled fire extinguisher smashed continuously against the sturdy iron door, small dented pits appeared on the surface of the metal-structured door.
Aside from that, it was useless.
"As expected, it's no good." Alain put down his precious fire extinguisher and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Following Monika's "hint" to open the windows, the two would inevitably have to split up. After that incident in the bathroom just now, he had learned his lesson regarding psychological warfare and was paranoid about everything in the entire mansion.
Alain still intended to try the last possibility.
"Forget it, Alain." Mila shook her head. "Let's just open the windows one by one as Monika said."
"...Tch, fine." Alain looked at that iron door, falling into deep thought.
Although he and Mila had checked the first and second floors, it was inevitable that there might be oversights.
If Yang Wanhua was truly hiding in some secret room they hadn't found, and jumped out while the two were separated...
With such a sudden attack, relying on his long-term battles against viruses, he might be able to react in time.
But what about Mila?
Alain looked suspiciously at the otaku girl's body.
"Wh-what?" Mila crossed her arms, noticing Alain's look full of distrust. "You trusted me so much just now, why are you suddenly doubting me?"
"It's not that..." Alain smiled bitterly. Yang Wanhua might still be in this house, and Alain always felt there was some "outside-the-box method" he hadn't thought of.
In the end, they were just trying to open this iron door without a lock hole.
Then... could they seek help from a professional?
In other words, if Alain went to open the windows, and Mila went to find a "professional," proceeding on two fronts simultaneously, wouldn't that save time?
Moreover, the Failed Works here in the basement had been cleared out by them... Mila's safety could also be slightly guaranteed.
When the time came, he would just have her stay far away from the room door and scream if she encountered danger... there shouldn't be any mistakes.
"Tch." Alain clicked his tongue. If possible, he really didn't want to split up.
But he glanced at the dusk outside the window, which had almost dipped below the hilltop, realizing that night was coming fast.
Upon learning that Yang Wanhua was extremely likely to be in this mansion, he had completely dispelled the notion of staying overnight in the mansion.
Sharing a room with Yang Wanhua? Spare him, please...
"So, the plan is tentatively like this." Alain explained his mental calculation to Mila, seeking her agreement.
Half a minute later, he received the young girl's retort, "Is the level of protection you have for me a bit too high?"
She showed off the katana in her hand,
"No matter what, I am a swordsman. Even if it's soloing a Failed Works, or even two Failed Works, it's a piece of cake."
"Alright, alright, you're the best." Alain waved his hand at her and handed over his mobile phone,
"Password is Mita520." Then he went to open the windows without looking back.
Mila was super disgusted,
"What the hell is this password..."
Alain didn't mind either,
"Be careful alone. Scream if something happens. Don't be shy."
"...Mm." Mila felt complicated emotions; she felt warm inside being cared for, but Alain's protection was too intense.
She looked at Alain's mobile phone, pondering who could be called a "professional"...
"Locksmith?"
She opened the 69 City APP to check if there were any relevant merchants.
......
"This is the last window." On the second floor, Alain opened the window completely before him, breathing a slight sigh of relief.
This mansion was large, and there were many windows; it had forcibly consumed nearly half an hour of his time to open them all.
"I wonder how it's going on Mila's side." He murmured in a low voice, walking down the stairs.
Creak—
Arriving at the end of the stairs, he glanced at the mottled door leaf of the confinement room on his right hand.
"..."
He walked over, stopping in front of the door, looking at that airtight Rupert's Tears window.
This window was the one he couldn't open no matter how many times he tried.
There was no mechanical or electronic structure, at least not visible to his naked eye. As for mechanisms and the like... Alain had also tried searching for a while but couldn't find any traces.
In short, if this window was also included in the "open windows" category of Monika's hint, then Alain was truly powerless.
Or... was there somewhere else he hadn't discovered?
"Let's go find Mila first." Mita's safety was the highest priority. The young girl hadn't made a peep for this period, which made him a bit worried.
Walking quickly toward the basement, as the distance to the negative first floor gradually closed, he could already hear Mila's voice.
"Eh? Is it the same on your side? Mn... alright. Sorry to trouble you."
Judging from her tone, she must have figured out who the so-called professional should be.
According to Alain's conception, it should be a locksmith master. Being able to pick a lock in a few seconds would undoubtedly greatly reduce their lingering time.
They could even give the locksmith master some tips when going back and hitch a ride.
The best of both worlds.
The last step of the downward stairs. In Alain's gaze was Mila standing with her back to him.
She held the mobile phone in one hand, sighing imperceptibly.
Alain frowned; the situation didn't look good.
"What's wrong? Encountered difficulties?" He walked to the young girl's side and asked.
Mila turned her head, looked at him with slight surprise, and nodded her head. "Yeah..."
She handed the phone back to Alain, and he opened the call log to check.
____
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