"According to my speculation, the invisible ghost, the mirror ghost, and the possessed ghost originated here. Internal conflicts exist between the invisible ghost and the possessed ghost, while the mirror ghost is relatively independent but likely connected. The reason is that Elizabeth, who was possessed on the first day, still translated the method for banishing the invisible ghost, hoping to use us to eliminate it. However, despite their internal conflicts, the ghosts remain united in hunting people. It's best not to seek loopholes in this regard."
"Why do you say that?" Ling Yan asked.
"The power outage creator can only be a possessed ghost with a physical body, which means the ghosts are doing their utmost to create favorable conditions for everyone to be killed."
"Yes, on the day you died, these two ghosts joined forces to achieve a double kill," Anna added.
"How does this help us now?" Noah was a little anxious.
"The identity of the ghost," Grace replied. "If it's merely a game of ghosts killing people, the information in this house is too rich. Something clearly happened to the Tang family, but where are their people after the incident? How did Victor Ravencourt die? Could it be... that he turned into a ghost and became the ground-bound spirit of this villa?"
"Three ghosts. Which one do you think is Victor Ravencourt?" Ling Yan asked.
"Probably none of them," This time, Anna answered.
"It seems you've also found some information. In fact, among these three ghosts, the invisible ghost has a very fixed walking range; it has been patrolling the corridor. What if this is its fixed route? Or, what if it was originally assigned this mission by the people here?"
A name instantly flashed through Anna's mind: "Alin?"
This name appeared quite a few times in Victor Ravencourt's diary. Victor Ravencourt entrusted many responsibilities to this person. Anna initially thought this might be a loyal old servant in the villa. Now, she considered... it might be a ghost under Victor Ravencourt's control!
"Alin, or any possible ghost servant. If this identity is confirmed, then there will be a clue as to why the possessed ghost holds a grudge against it."
"This is actually not too difficult. We don't know many people who have appeared in the history of the Ravencourt family. Joseph, Victor Ravencourt, and Walter Ravencourt are almost the main ones," Ling Yan said.
Anna took the opportunity to briefly tell Grace about the diary discovery in the basement.
Grace glanced at Anna's expression and said, "I seem to know where the problem lies... But this has nothing to do with our current crisis. I said this to let you know that the collection in your hands may be a targeted prop, specifically targeting a certain ghost."
"The dagger targets the substitute ghost," Anna said. "Then, Sister Grace, can you deduce who the substitute ghost is now?"
"Tell me about the death list and today's situation."
Anna and Ling Yan were relatively isolated from the crowd, and this was Noah's introduction.
"Since morning, you guys have been together until we were blocked by the black fog?" Grace confirmed with Noah, then thought for a while and said, "Among the people who didn't come down from upstairs, see if any were killed by the substitute ghost. If so, the people who are still alive upstairs are the most suspicious. If not, the people downstairs are the most suspicious."
"Ah?"
"On the other hand, if my guess is correct, two people will die in the room upstairs, and it is safe for us to go there now."
"Safe... safe?"
"The invisible ghost has killed people; the black fog chased people away, either it has already taken action or is still chasing; Uncle Francesco's apprentice in the corridor is probably already sacrificed; plus, if the two people upstairs are truly dead, we still have a safe period before Soren's ghost is successfully transformed."
Grace got out of bed immediately, moved her hands and feet a little, and walked towards the door. Anna and the other two were still processing their thoughts and subconsciously followed Grace's steps.
"That... Grace, why are you trying so hard to help us?" Noah opened his mouth and asked this question.
"My initial idea was to get as many people as possible to escape, but because of me, this game that should have been easy was played to a hellish level, so I have to do something," Grace said, somewhat cryptically. She rushed to the second floor and began to knock on the doors of each room.
Soon, Cairo came out of his room, trembling. The old man had been scared to death these days, and now he almost had a heart attack when he suddenly saw Grace. Anna and Ling Yan helped explain for a long time before he recovered.
In another room, the woman who was initially with the white-collar worker lay on the bed with a strange smile on her face, in a hugging posture. Her body was stiff, and it was obvious that she had been dead for some time. Finally, as Grace predicted, the body of another band member, killed by the mirror ghost with his throat cut, was found in a single room.
"Why are there two!" Noah looked at the young man's body, his eyes full of disbelief. He didn't refuse to accept that someone was killed, but everything was a bit chilling as Grace had said.
"In a power outage, the mirror ghost has almost no conditions to kill people. Such conditions can only be created by other ghosts, and the most convenient one is, of course, a substitute ghost." Grace pulled a bedsheet over the young man's body and walked out the door without stopping.
"We didn't see a doctor during this round. Of course, Mr. Cairo could also be a substitute ghost. I have no way of judging."
Cairo, who was following behind the group, turned pale: "I... I could be a substitute ghost?"
"I only put forward all the possibilities."
Grace seemed to know that time was getting tighter and tighter, and she no longer cared about other people's emotions. She kept talking as she walked: "So, in addition to guarding against substitute ghosts, you also have to pay attention to preventing substitute ghosts from hiding in the dark to create favorable conditions for the mirror ghost. In addition... uh?"
At this time, the group of people had just passed by the stairs leading to the hall and happened to see the couple supporting each other, walking back from outside in the rain.
"Hey! Are you okay?" Noah shouted immediately.
The couple looked up, but it was too dark to see clearly. However, they recognized Noah's voice and hurriedly answered: "Noah! Brother Rami is dead!"
"Rami is dead?" Noah was shocked, and Grace beside him sighed.
"In order to save us!" The man cried. "We burned the hut with the ghost's body, but I don't know if it will work!"
"Huh? Wait... Did Soren die after lunch?" Grace suddenly turned her head and asked the people around her.
"Yes, we were not in the room at that time... Damn!" Anna also reacted to a problem.
This should have been a very obvious thing, but in the ghost's pursuit and various chaos, no one had actually thought about it carefully.
"...Three hours have been compensated," Grace immediately raised her voice. "Everyone, pay attention to the surroundings! Soren may have become a fierce ghost!"
Everyone was shocked and their spirits were tense again. However, the ghost did not appear. Grace led the others downstairs carefully. The protective shield was still there. After entering, people felt much more at ease.
"Grace?" The woman in the couple asked timidly.
"I am temporarily resurrected. I am not a ghost. You don't have to be afraid that I can come in," Grace explained casually, her eyes still looking around.
"What should we do next?" Noah had become very trusting of Grace in this short period of time.
"Tomorrow is the most dangerous day... Doctors probably don't need to hide, because the number of ghosts and people will be equal, and every ghost will come out to hunt and kill openly, but this is also our opportunity. If the dagger in Anna's hand can kill the substitute ghost before it commits a crime, there will be one more survivor. In addition, the collection in our hands should also come in handy."
When Grace was about to explain the distribution of the collection, Francesco and his apprentice walked out of the corridor. Both of them were exhausted. Although they were not chased by ghosts, today was the biggest blow to them.
"Francesco, are you okay?"
"No... The ghost didn't chase us. We ran away for a while and didn't see a ghost." Francesco sighed, pulled his apprentice beside him, and the two walked towards the protective shield.
And the accident happened in just a moment.
In the dense darkness of the corridor, a mud-like black shadow suddenly rushed out, piercing through Francesco's ribs from bottom to top and out of his chest, bringing out a column of blood.
Things happened so quickly that no one reacted. Francesco even turned his head and looked at his apprentice in some confusion.
Then, his body fell heavily to the ground, and completely lost his life.
Safe.
After the evil ghosts showed their killing efficiency, no one could feel a little joy for half a day's safety. On the last day, nine ghosts and nine people—this is almost an unsolvable dead end.
"The only remaining loophole is the substitute ghost," Grace became the only one who spoke at this moment. "Everyone cooperates to help Anna kill the substitute ghost so that at least one person can survive..." At this point, she hesitated slightly, stood up, and pulled Anna upstairs.
No one asked them where they were going. Although no one distrusted Grace at this point, they also knew that no matter how capable Grace was, she could not save everyone from this situation.
Who will die? If only one person can survive, who will it be?
Everyone's eyes revealed a trace of suspicion.
On the other side, Grace took Anna to the balcony on the second floor.
"Sister Grace, you pulled me here..." Anna leaned against the door, subconsciously hugging her arms across her chest. Seeing her like this, Grace didn't care, walked into the rain, grabbed the railing, and looked at the rain outside.
"Let me take another look at the outside world, even though it may be fake."
"...Fake?"
"As long as you are alive, you can tell me whether my judgment is correct," Grace turned her head away. "But I don't want you to survive by depriving innocent people of their lives. That would be an irreversible mistake."
Anna's heart suddenly tightened.