As Ge Lei's body was devoured by that invisible mouth, the facial patterns on the walls and ceiling slowly began to revert back to stars and the moon.
It was a terrifying night to remember; the bloody and cruel massacre unfolded right before their eyes.
The six survivors watched the slaughter unfold, helpless and powerless to help or resist. A wave
of despair and helplessness washed over them once more. Wei Dong covered his face, his forehead pressed against the wall, and wept bitterly.
Zhu Haowen, too, lost his usual composure; his hair was disheveled, and he remained silent, frozen in place as if under a spell.
Qin Ci leaned against the wall, his face tilted back, eyes closed, his hand, usually as steady as a scalpel, trembling slightly.
Luo Wei was knocked unconscious by Mu Yiran and collapsed at Ke Xun's feet. Ke Xun, however, stared blankly at the bloody hell before him, his eyes reflecting a fragmented image of crimson and white amidst the flesh and corpses.
"Ke Xun." Mu Yiran stood beside him, tilting his head slightly to look at him, his undisguised concern shining through his clear eyes.
Ke Xun turned to look at him and softly meowed.
He said, "Let's continue ."
Mu Yiran's gaze was gentle as he stroked the soft fur on the back of Ke Xun's head. "Yes, let's continue."
Although everyone was extremely tired and on the verge of collapse, they could not relax or give up at this moment. Ke Xun ran back and forth, encouraging Wei Dong, Qin Ci, and Zhu Haowen—he was the captain of the school team in school, and encouraging his teammates was his job and something he excelled at.
Wei Dong wiped his tears on his pants, his voice hoarse as he asked Mu Yiran, "What do we do next?"
"Activate all the hidden worlds and 'write' the artist's signature completely," Mu Yiran said in a deep voice. "Given the varying degrees of mutations we all possess, we shouldn't enter worlds that don't belong to us until we're more certain. Let's narrow down the trigger points for the hidden worlds we want to activate, trying to reduce them to two possible trigger points before trying."
"It seems the sword from Nezha's battle with the Dragon King is the most likely to trigger the world of the Eyebrow Ruler," Qin Ci said wearily, pinching his brow. "Wei Miao, the Dragon Prince, is now dead. I wonder if the story of this world will continue."
"Meow, meow."
"Ke Xun said, let's try going in with the dragon horns." Mu Yiran said, glancing at Wei Miao's corpse, noticing that the pair of dragon horns on her head had fallen off and were lying on the floor beside her.
"We've now connected three lines," Zhu Haowen wrote on the paper. "The first line is: Ma Liang's Magic Brush → Hailibu → Fire Boy → Nezha's Havoc in the Sea → Meijianchi (speculation);
"The second line is: Tiger Learning Skills → Good Cat Mimi → Black Cat Detective;
"The third line is: Fisherman's Boy → The world where Zhao Haicui died.
"If, as we previously speculated, each world needs to trigger one world and also be triggered by another, then we can consider both the beginning and end points of these three lines simultaneously.
"That is: Which world can trigger the world of Ma Liang's Magic Brush, Tiger Learning Skills, and Fisherman's Boy? Which world can be triggered by the world of Meijianchi, Black Cat Detective, and Zhao Haicui's death? "
Combining the key characters and items of each world that Ke Xun and Dr. Qin compiled before, we can do another matching exercise." "
Then everyone reorganized, first listing the key characters, items, and even locations in each world, and then, at Mu Yiran's suggestion, highlighting the characters, items, and locations that introduced the plot, propelled the plot, caused turning points, and led to the ending.
"First, filter from the highlighted items. If they don't seem like key triggers, then choose from the unhighlighted items." Mu Yiran stretched out her slender finger and pointed to a string of words marked with emphasis after "Tiger Learns Skills" on the paper. "What does the fox do in this animation?"
"Meow-meow-meow."
"Since the tiger was instigated by the fox to start bullying animals and disobeying its cat master," Mu Yiran said thoughtfully, "then it can indeed be considered another important character who prompts the transformation of important characters and drives the plot's turning point. In other animations, I saw that the fox is also highlighted after "The Legend of the Heavenly Book." What does the fox do in this animation?"
The others exchanged glances, and Qin Ci said, "I think it's very possible that the fox in 'The Legend of the Heavenly Book' is the key to triggering 'Tiger Learns Skills'." "
He briefly described the role of the fox in 'The Book of Wonders' to Mu Yiran.
"So once we trigger 'The Book of Wonders,' we can immediately use it to trigger 'The Tiger Learns Skills.'" Zhu Haowen wrote "The Book of Wonders" before "The Tiger Learns Skills."
"Then which animated film can trigger 'The Book of Wonders'?" Wei Dong said, glancing at Luo Wei, who was still unconscious to the side. "Last night, didn't Ke'er draw a 'Taoist of Laoshan' for Little Li? I think we should put that animated film before 'The Book of Wonders.'"
"Meow meow meow."
Mu Yiran translated: "Intuition can't be a lifeline."
After saying that, he also glanced at Luo Wei, got up and went over to wake him up from his unconsciousness.
"Perhaps you would be willing to work with us to find a way to break the deadlock," Mu Yiran looked at him calmly, "If you are still in unbearable pain, I can knock you out again to make you feel better."
"...No, no need. " Luo Wei took off his glasses, lowered his head, and slowly wiped them with the corner of his clothes for a while. "I promised Ya Qing I would solve this problem, so I'm joining you."
Qin Ci recounted the results of their discussion and analysis to him. Luo Wei put his glasses back on, his lifeless gaze fixed on everyone without any emotion. "I want to go to the world of Nezha's Havoc in the Sea right now. You can continue your analysis."
No one stopped him, watching him pick up the dragon horn that Wei Miao had dropped and step into the round door.
Qin Ci thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll also try going to the world where Zhao Haicui died. We know the least about this world; we can hardly even list the important characters and items. I at least need to gather some information."
Among the group, Qin Ci's mutation was still the least severe, so everyone didn't stand on ceremony with him and watched him enter the door with the rabbit ear headband.
"Meow, meow." "Ke Xun wants to try his luck in the world of Black Cat Detective.
" "Black Cat Detective, Dr. Qin said there are five episodes," Mu Yiran said calmly, looking at him. "There are many characters, and important characters appear in every episode, making it difficult to narrow down the focus. We can't just rush in."
Ke Xun pointed to the props Ge Lei had left on the ground. His body had been completely devoured by an invisible force, leaving only the clothes and a skull: "Meow, meow meow meow meow, meow meow."
"He said there's an episode of Black Cat Detective where the female praying mantis eats the male," Mu Yiran translated to Zhu Haowen and Wei Dong. "Ge Lei's character should be that male praying mantis, so we can focus on that episode."
Wei Dong quickly added, "Speaking of that episode, I remember it too. I felt really sorry for the male praying mantis. It seems like all the characters besides Black Cat Detective's group are praying mantises, oh, and locusts too. The male and female praying mantises met while killing locusts together—the locusts are the key!"
"But it seems there aren't locusts in other cartoons," Zhu Haowen said expressionlessly.
Ke Xun: "Meow."
Mu Yiran: "There are also a bunch of various insects congratulating the male and female praying mantises."
Zhu Haowen continued expressionlessly: "I don't think there are various insects in other cartoons."
"Meow…" Ke Xun scratched his head, "Meow meow meow aow meow meow… meow meow meow… meow meow aow."
Wei Dong looked at Mu Yiran: "Is he… singing?"
Ke Xun reached out and slapped him on the head.
Mu Yiran said: "He said that if we exclude all the insects and cats, then there aren't many characters and items left. Even if we try them one by one, it won't take too long—I think so too, so I'm going into this world to try."
"Aow!" Ke Xun hooked his two paws and hugged Mu Yiran's arm tightly, not allowing him to go.
Mu Yiran's arm was a few degrees harder than last night.
"I'll go," Wei Dong took a deep breath. "I still have some recollection of that episode, and my mutation is less severe than the three of you. You guys stay here and continue working on the other shows. I'll be right back. If all else fails, do what Brother Qin did and gather some information first."
Mu Yiran couldn't shake off the big cat's entanglement and could only nod slightly. Wei Dong took a deep breath and strode into the room. The
remaining three continued studying the other animated films. Around 10 a.m., Luo Wei returned first, his face still expressionless. He no longer had Wei Miao's dragon horn prop, but instead had an ancient sword similar to Qi Qiang's.
"The dragon horn was returned to the Dragon Prince in 'Nezha Conquers the Dragon King.' Nezha's sword triggered the world of 'The Eyebrow Ruler.'" Luo Wei's tone was as calm as a still well. "I'm back to let you know that I'm going back to 'The Eyebrow Ruler' to try and trigger the next world."
"So do you know which world 'The Eyebrow Ruler' will trigger?" Zhu Haowen looked at him calmly. "What are the important characters, items, and scenes in 'The Eyebrow Ruler'?"
Luo Wei took out a piece of paper with all the clues listed in his pocket: "I will try them one by one according to what's written on it."
"The paperification mutation in your body is quite severe," Zhu Haowen said coldly. "Foolish courage and radicalism won't help you get revenge, unless you want to die for Li Yaqing. In that case, we won't stop you from doing something so meaningless."
Luo Wei stared at him blankly for a moment before speaking calmly, "Then, please help me analyze what the important trigger points are in 'The Eyebrow Ruler'."
While Ke Xun was responsible for recalling the plot and the others were responsible for finding the key points, Qin Ci and Wei Dong returned one after another. Neither of them had been able to trigger the hidden world, but they had both roughly understood the plot and the surrounding environment.
"I found that the male praying mantis has a face that looks a lot like Ge Lei's..." Wei Dong said with a somewhat unpleasant expression, "Watching him play the guitar and sing to the female praying mantis, I... I..." He shook his head and couldn't say anything more.
"Meow?"
Mu Yiran looked at Ke Xun: "Is there something wrong with the singing?"
Ke Xun meowed a few times.
"Old animated films are well-made," Mu Yiran relayed to the others, "and often incorporate musical or song elements. Perhaps the key to triggering the hidden world is not limited to animated characters or items. As an important part of old animated films, music may also be the key to triggering the hidden world."