FI CH50: Double Reversal

The field fell silent.

Behind the mask, there seemed to be a slight delay. “…Dynasty?”

Lin Su showed him the paper. The answers on it were arranged in reverse chronological order, from recent years backwards…

“Didn’t you say the scope was this building? Besides the incidents during the 15 years of construction, I’ve matched all the buildings that existed in this space to their corresponding floors based on the incident points.”

Behind the mask: “…”

He pointed again, being precise. “Oh, the one marked with an asterisk died 86 years ago by falling from the covered bridge. He happened to get stuck on the 4th-floor window, with half his body outside and half inside. I don’t know if that counts as being within the scope of this building.”

Lin Su sighed. “It’s just that the ones from too long ago were almost dissipated. It took me some time to find them.”

The crowd: “…”

Wait… was he serious?

The entire hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Yu Yixun’s mouth was wide open, his face changing colors in astonishment, unable to speak.

It seemed like sweat was pouring from behind the mask. After a moment, he said, “…I’ll first verify the ones within the 15 years of construction.”

Lin Su tucked his hands into his sleeves. “Oh.”

The staff member lowered his head to verify, and all eyes were focused on him. He didn’t dare to breathe too loudly, holding his breath and verifying for two minutes before suddenly pausing.

Then, as if letting out a sigh of relief.

The smiling mask lifted again. “Verification complete. I regret to announce…”

“Although Mr. Lin Kun recorded a great deal, for the answers within the 15-year period, there is one missing. He only recorded the location of the incident, without writing down the identity and state of the deceased soul.”

A wave of discussion immediately broke out behind him!

It seemed they couldn’t believe Lin Su could trace back so far yet miss an answer from within the last 15 years:

“He made a low-level mistake?”

“He shouldn’t have, that’s a huge piece of information!”

The mask flipped the answer sheet over and showed it to the crowd. “The facts are as they are. Important information is missing, so, points must be deducted—”

Before he could finish, he saw Lin Su seem to smile.

A bad premonition suddenly surged through him.

As if to confirm it, another cold, deep voice suddenly came from the side:

“Regarding this point, I have a necessary explanation.”

Following the voice, they saw it was He Zhenling, who had been standing silently on the side. The face covering concealed the lower half of his face, making him seem even more cold and taciturn. When he spoke now, his voice was muffled.

The crowd vaguely remembered that this person also had full marks in both competitions.

The corner of the eye behind the mask twitched. “What?”

He Zhenling, with his hands in his pockets, said lightly, “The one he didn’t write wasn’t missed. It’s because it’s gone.”

“Gone… what do you mean?”

He Zhenling said calmly, “I saw that the deceased soul’s resentment wasn’t heavy. After I finished taking notes, I sent it on its way.”

Mask: …?

Crowd: …???

Sent… sent it on its way to do what?

Lin Su nodded. “I watched it leave, so I didn’t write it down.”

The crowd’s pupils quaked: What the hell! Do you two even hear what you’re saying!?

“What is this, on-the-spot exorcism?”

“Then Lin Kun’s answer should count as a full score, right? He even wrote so much from before.”

“Does exorcism count as extra points? Even if it doesn’t, removing this time, his time used is still less than the first place, right?”

…

Waves of discussion rippled through the hall.

Yu Yixun’s face was a mixture of green and white. He looked around in a panic, completely caught off guard.

The person behind the mask was completely silent.

The hall was in an uproar for a while.

Finally, someone cued the staff member. “So how are the scores for this round calculated? Even if the exorcised part is discussed later, the ranking of the top three should be recalculated, right?”

Everyone looked over in unison.

The mask wiped away some sweat and said, “Mr. Lin Kun’s answer for the 15-year period will be counted as a full score. But the ones from before are not within the scope of the standard answer and cannot be verified…”

“Ah!?”

Someone immediately found it absurd. “Shouldn’t verification be the responsibility of you, the organizers? Why are you pushing it onto us participants? It was your question that wasn’t clear in the first place.”

Once he said it, the previously dissatisfied people also chimed in. “Yeah, and the rule added at the last minute too!”

In front of the organizers, the participants once again became a community of shared interests.

Soon, a slender participant walked out, took Lin Su’s answer sheet, glanced at it, and said, “I’m not sure about the ones from too long ago, but I also detected this incident point from 23 years ago. I just didn’t write it down because I thought the hotel hadn’t been built yet.”

He held up the paper and said, “Looking at it comprehensively, the overall credibility is extremely high.”

The crowd recognized him and realized he was the second-place finisher in the competition.

“If even he says so…”

“Taking a step back, can’t the president be invited in advance to verify it?”

The staff member was speechless, then tried to balance it. “In that case, Mr. Lin Kun’s extra points will be offset in the point multiplier. He will be calculated with the highest point multiplier currently on the field…”

This way, it would be another tie for first place.

“Is there something wrong with your math?”

Hao Niu Bai spoke directly. “Never mind your abstract point multiplier. If you gave another half hour, who here could answer to this extent?”

The staff member was speechless.

The situation was at a stalemate.

A voice suddenly shot out from the crowd. It was Tang Yin, with a look of disdain, directly calling out Yu Yixun’s name:

“Everyone’s arguing, why don’t you say something!”

Yu Yixun, who had been hiding and not making a sound, was suddenly startled.

Tang Yin then raised his chin self-righteously and said loudly, “Anyone with eyes can see who is more deserving now. If it were me, I would be ashamed to take this first place under these circumstances!”

“…”

Yu Yixun’s face immediately became a colorful palette.

Xuenima: [Pffft-heh!]

Lin Su patted its vibrating body as it laughed, stroking it like a tiger. “See, I told you we needed this kind of reckless angry youth to crash the organizers.”

Tang Yin was still wreaking havoc at the front.

As if he had finally found his chance, he raised his hand and said loudly:

“Lin Kun should be first!”

Xuenima shook wildly: [Hehehehehehe!!]

…

Under the pressure of the entire field.

The staff member couldn’t take it anymore. He pressed his earpiece and said, “I… I’ll go ask for instructions from above.”

He turned and walked to the side.

Hao Niu Bai ran over jubilantly and bumped Lin Su’s arm. “Ha! You’ve really got it. Letting that Yu Yixun gloat in front of you! First place is definitely yours now… ah, and that handsome guy—”

She glanced in He Zhenling’s direction, then suddenly remembered something and turned back.

“Wait, the way you were giggling earlier…”

Lin Su immediately started giggling again. “Yeah, it was interesting, wasn’t it.”

Hao Niu Bai’s expression was complicated. She nodded. “It was indeed interesting.” On-the-spot exorcism, directly changing the standard answer prepared by the organizers.

She doubted her life. “By the way, is exorcism that easy…”

Lin Su said, “Of course it’s not easy.”

“Ah?”

“So, the score shouldn’t be low either.”

Thinking of something, he smiled with deep meaning. “If I’m not mistaken, it should be the same score as me.”

Hao Niu Bai’s mind crashed again. “Why?”

Before they could continue, the staff member returned.

“Everyone, thank you for waiting.”

By now, his tone had returned to calm, as if he had received clear instructions. He straightened his collar and said, “We were inconsiderate earlier. Now, we will re-announce—”

“In this competition, both Mr. Lin Kun and Mr. He Da Niao have completed the assessment beyond expectations. Both will be multiplied by the top-tier coefficient of 1.5, tying for first place.”

“Regarding the change in the answer after the exorcism, Mr. Lin Kun’s will be taken as the standard answer. Writing the location without the deceased soul counts as a full score; not writing the location or writing the wrong deceased soul gets no points.”

The results were announced, finally calming the dissatisfied atmosphere.

As for both of them being calculated with the same point multiplier… it was indeed difficult to measure the extent of their overachievement.

“That’s more like it.”

“It’s finally normal. Let’s recalculate the scores quickly.”

Hao Niu Bai looked over in shock. “You were right!”

Lin Su gestured for her to look forward. “They’re recalculating the rankings. Aren’t you going to check yours?”

“Oh right, I’ll go over now!”

Hao Niu Bai’s gourds bounced as she ran over.

By now, almost all the participants had gathered at the front to supervise the score recalculation.

Yu Yixun stood to the side, biting his lip. Although he was third in this round, his previous arrogance and silence now made him look like a clown.

Xuenima stood on Lin Su’s head, watching with pleasure: [“Lin-Lin Hou” is straightening out the competition!]

Lin Su pointed: There’s a “Ling-Ling Hou” over there too.

Xuenima vibrated: [Hehehe…]

His own ranking had been announced, so Lin Su didn’t stay long and turned to walk towards the elevator.

He entered the elevator and went all the way up to the 13th floor.

The doors opened. He waited in the corridor for about ten seconds before hearing another ding! from the side.

Then he saw He Zhenling walk out.

Their eyes met. Lin Su said, “Let’s go to your room this time.”

“…”

He Zhenling let out a scoff and turned to walk in front.

The room door closed.

He Zhenling poured a glass of water at the table. “Feel free to get sleepy.”

Lin Su looked towards the master bedroom.

A soft scoff came from his side, and a glass of water was placed on the table with a thud. He Zhenling looked over.

“You’re being wanton too.”

Lin Su turned back and got sleepy on the sofa. “I was just taking a look. What were you thinking?”

“You were the one thinking of ‘going where’.”

“…”

He took a sip of warm water and got back to the point. “The ranking of this round is very interesting. It further confirms the previous guess.”

He Zhenling sat down opposite him. “Is that so.”

Lin Su gave him a knowing look, then replied indulgently, “They could have ranked us, but they let us tie for first. On one hand, it’s to make us restrain each other. On the other hand, it should be to stabilize you.”

He Zhenling said with a half-smile, “Oh, so that’s how my ‘first place’ came about.”

Lin Su, with a keen sense, comforted him, “Of course, you also deserved it.”

The gaze from across him was still on him.

He added warmly, “We each lead in our own way, neck and neck. We are the only two 18+ on the field.”

He Zhenling was silent. “?”

“Don’t make me explain the joke. Figure it out yourself.”

“Heh, I can only understand it as something R-rated.”

Lin Su sighed and shook his head, then spoke in his consciousness: “Ni Ma, Xiao He has this kind of competitive spirit.”

Xuenima lay lazily, letting itself go: [He’s probably shaking his plumes at you.]

“?”

[Fanning his tail.]

“…”

Lin Su skipped over its equally wanton self.

He sat up a little straighter and brought the topic back. “Sending away the deceased soul, were you deliberately testing the organizers’ attitude?”

“Half and half.”

He Zhenling leaned back in his chair. “I also wanted to change the answer on a whim.” He said lightly, “After all, a changing rule should correspond to a changing answer.”

Lin Su was pleased: Ni Ma, his screen is so beautiful.

[…] Enough.

After sitting for a while, it was time for dinner.

The restaurant was on the first floor of the hotel.

Lin Su was about to go out. He saw He Zhenling get up to follow and paused. “Can you eat with your face covering on?”

“I’ll go down and get some, bring it up to eat.”

“Then why don’t I bring it for you.”

He Zhenling put on his face covering. “No need. I’m afraid you’ll bring me a pile of chicken skins.”

Lin Su: .

He followed him leisurely. “You’re overthinking it again.”

…

When they got downstairs, most people were already in the restaurant.

Hao Niu Bai was getting food and waved as soon as she saw him. “Hey! Lin Kun!”

Lin Su walked over and got a plate.

Hao Niu Bai glanced in the direction He Zhenling had left. “You guys came down together?”

Lin Su nodded. “We live on the same floor, after all.”

“That’s true.” Hao Niu Bai glanced again and sighed. “He seems so cold and aloof, barely talks to anyone. Is it awkward when you two come down in the same elevator?”

Lin Su’s hand paused: …Not awkward at all, we even said a lot of flirty things.

“Huh? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

“I’m savoring the memory.”

“?”

Before Hao Niu Bai could continue, another person appeared beside them. Tang Yin, holding a plate, stood over as if unintentionally, cleared his throat, and said,

“You’re here too. Um… about this afternoon, no need to thank me.”

Lin Su complied smoothly, picking up a small sausage. “Okay.”

Tang Yin: “…”

He stared at Lin Su sullenly, not even picking up a small sausage himself, snorted, and left in a huff.

The two of them turned their heads in unison to look at his departing back.

Lin Su: “Why is he angry.”

Hao Niu Bai: “I guess his ‘no’ means ‘yes’.”

Lin Su sighed. “He’s not direct.”

Hao Niu Bai thought for a moment. “But people who directly ask you to thank them are also rare these days.”

As they were talking, another figure appeared beside them.

He Zhenling came over, holding some food in one hand and two tea bags in the other. He looked down at Lin Su:

“There are only two tea bags left over there. I got one for you.”

Lin Su’s eyes lit up, and he reached out happily. “Oh.”

The tea bag hovered above his palm. “No thank you?”

His fingers twitched, urging, “Thank you.” Give it to me quickly.

He Zhenling let out a scoff, handed it to him, and turned to get other food.

Hao Niu Bai beside him: …?

She looked at Lin Su as if in a dream, opened her mouth, then swallowed her words.

Lin Su had come down relatively late.

By now, many participants had finished eating and were leaving the restaurant in twos and threes to go back.

The main dishes in the restaurant were also a bit cold.

Lin Su simply got some food that could be taken away, preparing to go back with He Zhenling.

Just as he finished getting food, he suddenly heard a loud “clang!” from the other side of the lobby!

It was accompanied by startled cries.

Lin Su and He Zhenling exchanged a look and rushed over together.

When they reached the lobby, a circle of people was gathered around the elevator entrance.

The middle elevator door was stuck half-open, and the car inside was slightly deformed. Fortunately, there was no one in the elevator, so a bigger accident was avoided.

“It suddenly fell…”

“It stopped on the 7th floor for a moment, then fell from the 7th floor!”

“That was so scary. Good thing the elevator was empty.”

A wave of relieved discussion came from the surroundings.

Lin Su stared at the number above and narrowed his eyes slightly.

It was time to go back to their rooms. For a moment, everyone stood where they were, looking at each other helplessly. “So what do we do now? Do we still take the other elevators?”

“It’s not like all three elevators will fall, right?”

“Where are the organizers? Go call the staff to fix it.”

Amidst the discussion, a familiar voice suddenly rang out. “If you’re afraid to take the elevator, then take the stairs.”

Their gazes shifted, and they saw it was Yu Yixun.

Yu Yixun seemed to have finally regained some ground and said leisurely, “Anyway, I’m taking the stairs.”

Someone beside him immediately reminded, “What if you encounter a ghost wall on the 7th floor? Wouldn’t that be even more…” The person stopped halfway, suddenly remembering that Yu Yixun lived on the third floor.

His face turned ugly, and he stopped.

Yu Yixun, with great foresight, let out a scoff and turned to leave, as if it had nothing to do with him.

Seeing this, a few people who lived on lower floors also followed him up the stairs.

Only those living on higher floors were left僵stuck in front of the elevator.

Just then, the right elevator door opened with a ding!

Turning their heads, they saw Lin Su had pressed the button at some point and walked in naturally. With a stride of long legs, He Zhenling also stepped into the elevator.

Lin Su held the elevator button and poked his head out. “Aren’t you guys coming up?”

The crowd: “…”

Was there a problem with these two’s perception, or was there a problem with the way they perceived the world?

However, the double full-score winners of two rounds had both gone in.

The remaining people seemed to have gained some confidence and decided to take a gamble and follow them in.

The elevator doors closed with a “clang.”

The numbers ascended slowly, and all eyes were fixed on them. As they got closer and closer to the 7th floor, everyone’s hearts were in their throats. Finally, the number jumped to 7.

The elevator seemed to shake slightly, clang!

Lin Su, standing at the back, glanced up slightly.

Then, the elevator continued to ascend slowly, then stopped on the 9th floor, and the doors opened normally.

Everyone suddenly let out a sigh of relief and all rushed out. Those who were one or two floors off prepared to take the stairs.

Only Lin Su and He Zhenling were left inside.

The doors closed again and ascended.

In the quiet space, He Zhenling said softly, “You guess, was it man-made or ghost-made.”

Lin Su: “I’m not guessing. I choose both.”

He Zhenling laughed very lightly.

The two got out of the elevator on the 13th floor.

He Zhenling followed Lin Su to his room. Pushing the door open, he leaned against the doorframe at the entrance:

“It seems the afternoon’s competition made them anxious. They’re preparing to shorten the event.”

Causing an elevator accident, interfering with the signal.

Then deliberately inciting the ghosts on the 7th floor, and under the guise of an “event competition,” quietly guiding the participants to take action—

Lin Su said, “They were also seduced by you, wanting to see if you could take care of it on the side.”

He Zhenling sneered, “Quite good at getting freebies.”

Lin Su sighed, “Unfortunately, outsiders always think too simply. Wanting to be the oriole that benefits from behind, they don’t even look at you, this big bird…”

A gaze suddenly fell on him from the front.

His voice stopped abruptly, and he looked up with clear eyes: …0v0

Their eyes met for two seconds. He Zhenling let out a scoff, then let him off lightly. “In any case, it definitely won’t be peaceful tonight. Don’t sleep too deeply.” He paused, then added.

“If you’re really too sleepy, remember to have your father king stand guard.”

Xuenima: [?]

Lin Su: “…”

He Zhenling prepared to leave after speaking.

Before leaving, he turned around, holding the doorknob. “Also, call me if anything happens. Don’t be alone, and don’t be reckless.”

Lin Su asked for advice, “How do I call you? Scream my lungs out?”

He Zhenling looked at him for a few seconds, then his lips curved. “…Ring the doorbell.”

He turned and closed the door with a clang!.

Lin Su: “…”

It was quiet in the entrance hall for a long time. His face turned pale yellow: Ni Ma, the doorbell he was talking about is…

Xuenima shut itself up: [Shh, don’t ask your father.]

Night gradually fell.

With the elevator accident in the afternoon, a tense atmosphere enveloped the hotel.

The magnetic field here was disturbed, and the participants couldn’t communicate with each other via messages.

In the presidential suite on the top floor.

Lin Su was nestled on the living room sofa, with Xuenima floating in front of him, giggling as they watched a comedy sketch:

“Good thing I let you cache some before we left.”

Xuenima also hehehe-ed: [I originally saved it to watch on the plane. Good thing you slept like you had for the past 17 years on the plane.]

Lin Su was benevolent. “You’ve also become desensitized.”

Xuenima asked again: [What do you think the other participants are doing now?]

“Maybe they also cached some videos.”

[Then what do you think that Yu Jitian is doing now?]

Thinking of something, Lin Su’s eyes filled with interest, and he curved the corner of his mouth without speaking.

…

They watched videos until almost midnight.

Outside the large floor-to-ceiling windows, the night was dark. In the desolate surroundings, not even the sound of the wind could be heard.

The hotel was somewhat dilapidated, and the soundproofing wasn’t very good.

As Lin Su was watching a video, he suddenly heard a faint, dull thud from downstairs, accompanied by a slight movement.

He turned his head as if sensing something. “They’re here.”

[Are you going?]

“No. Since the organizers are both suppressing my score and trying to get free labor, I’ll naturally choose to be rebellious.”

Lin Su leisurely dragged the progress bar. “Besides, Xiao He probably won’t go either.”

Xuenima played the video: [Will the other participants be in danger?]

“No one would run to the 7th floor in the middle of the night. The organizers will probably use some means to lure the ghosts to other floors. As long as they don’t open their doors, they basically won’t…”

Lin Su suddenly paused and was silent for a moment.

“Ni Ma, based on the current scores. The one most likely to be chosen to deal with the ghosts is—”

Xuenima also paused: [You guys.]

“So the most likely place to lure them to is—”

[This floor.]

One person and one spirit both fell into silence.

After a moment, Xuenima said: [It’s okay. If you don’t do anything wrong during the day, you won’t be afraid of ghosts knocking at your door at night. Even if ghosts knock, we won’t open the door~]

Just as the words fell, there were two “knocks” on the door.

Lin Su: “…”

Probably because he didn’t answer.

After a few seconds, there were two more “knocks.” Not hurried, not slow, echoing in the silent corridor.

Lin Su sighed lightly and got up.

[Aren’t you going to ignore it?]

“It’s not a solution for it to keep knocking. I’ll go out and say hello, tell it to knock on another door.”

He walked towards the entrance hall.

With a “click,” he pulled the door open.

The door opened, and a tall figure came into view.

He Zhenling stood outside the door, one hand raised, and looked down. “Were you asleep? It took you so long to open the door.” He paused again. “Don’t overthink it. I came because I remembered…”

Lin Su sighed. “Stop explaining.”

He turned around. “Come in, you dead ghost.”

“…”

__

Author’s Note:

Su: So it was you, you dead ghost.

He Da Niao: If you say so. (Loading ultra-stable emotions)

*He Zhenling, courtesy name Kaiping, style Lingling Jushi. (Mistake)

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