Lin Han was made a little nervous by my panicked appearance. She picked up the phone to make calls for everyone, first dialing Fatty.
"Sister, a friend of mine was in a car accident, and I have to leave temporarily."
"Is it serious?"
"Not serious, a female driver, reckless driving. The other party's car wasn't great either. I can handle it."
"Female driver? Your sister-in-law?"
Fatty's voice sounded a little shy, "It's not even official yet. Let's not talk about it for now. If it falls through, I won't know how to explain."
"Got it. I understand."
Lin Han hung up the phone with ease and looked at me. I said seriously, "Keep calling!"
"Brother Chang, where did you go?"
"Oh, your niece ate something bad and got pretty sick. They said they called an ambulance. I was in a hurry to get home, so I didn't bother you. I've paid the bill. You guys have fun."
"Should I go back too?"
"No, you finally got to meet Tang Nan. You guys have fun."
Lin Han hung up the phone, thinking, and then asked me, "You did that on purpose, didn't you? You don't want to set us up."
"I hope so too, but you have to trust my intuition."
Lin Han looked at me, frowning. "Who did you get into trouble with now?"
"I haven't seen The Schemer in two years. Today, I arrived in Beijing and just heard about a bloody case caused by a dental prosthesis. Now someone sends a dental prosthesis while we're singing? There's absolutely no such coincidence in the world."
"I'll call Brother Huang."
Lin Han tried to call, but it went unanswered. She tried again, but his phone was off. She looked at me, and I felt some regret. I shouldn't have come. Someone must be targeting me, and I've dragged these good friends into it again.
"Who else can we contact?" I asked Lin Han.
"Sister-in-law!"
"Call Sister-in-law."
Lin Han also started to get a little nervous, realizing that Da Huang's wife's phone was also off.
"Call again!"
"Tang Nan, don't worry. Sister-in-law is pregnant. When I saw her today, she was wearing anti-radiation clothes. Maybe she's worried about the phone radiation and it being bad for the baby, so she turned it off."
Lin Han said, while continuously dialing both numbers: "The other party is currently unavailable. Please try again later."
…
"Let's go!" I picked up the dental prosthesis and shouted at Lin Han. Lin Han followed me. We went down to the reception desk. Lin Han asked the staff if they knew where these brothers had gone. Apart from Brother Chang, who had paid the bill, the staff knew nothing about the movements of the other two. It was evening, the busiest time for KTVs, and the staff couldn't remember everyone coming and going.
"Is there any surveillance footage?" Lin Han was getting anxious.
"What do you two do?"
Lin Han reached into her bag to get out money, but I stopped her and asked the staff, "Are there any strange places nearby?"
The staff looked bewildered, "What do you mean?"
"Places where there are ghosts."
"No, no! Well, I think there is..."
"Where?"
"There's a cinema at the intersection that closed down two years ago. They say when they were showing Harry Potter, magic flew out of the screen and blew up a customer's head. That... that's all nonsense, but that... that cinema did go out of business. It hasn't been rented out in two years."
…
At this time, shortly after New Year's Day in 2007, Beijing was starting to get cold. Lin Han and I were walking on the road. Lin Han was a little cold, hugging her arms. I took off my jacket and put it on her.
Lin Han looked at me gently, "Will Brother Da Huang be okay?"
"No, he won't. I'm here. Lin Han, let me give you a problem."
"What is it?"
Seeing how nervous Lin Han was, I smiled and pulled her into my arms, "Suppose a museum is on fire. There's a famous painting and a cat. Would you save the painting or the cat? The painting is priceless, and the cat is an ordinary cat."
"I'd save the cat, of course. Life is priceless."
"The first part is a premise, and the second is a trap, deliberately using value to bind your morals."
"What do you mean?"
"When did the fire start, and did it kill any cats?"
Lin Han nodded blankly, "Why are you bringing this up now?"
"What happens next might be very strange, or it might be very desperate. But remember one thing, no matter what choice you make, I am the cat in the museum."
"You'll keep the danger for yourself."
"Exactly!"
Seeing that Lin Han understood, I felt a little more relaxed.
The cinema was just ahead, dark... I pondered for a moment, then took out my phone and called Yu Xiaoluo, "Sister, I know you're off today. Help me save someone."
Yu Xiaoluo was very puzzled on the phone, "What's wrong? Where are you? What happened?"
"I don't know what happened, but something must have happened. I'll send you Da Huang's address later. His wife is at home, and she might be in trouble."
Lin Han, listening nearby, chimed in, "I have Sister Xiaoluo's WeChat. I'll send it now."
I nodded. This wasn't the time to ask Lin Han why she was in contact with Yu Xiaoluo.
"Where are you?"
"Second Ring Road, Xizhimen, a closed cinema."
"I'll send your brother-in-law over."
"Okay, have him report to Team Leader Wang first. Tell him the dental prosthesis has appeared, and I suspect the 'Invisible Executioner' has reappeared."
"Okay!"
…
After hanging up the phone, we were almost at the cinema entrance.
There was a door leading to the basement. Normally, a chain passed through the doorknob, with a rusty copper lock on it. Now, the copper lock had been opened. Next to it was a movie promotional poster, depicting a round table with three ghost-like figures.
Lin Han looked at the poster, puzzled, "I've never heard of this movie."
Lin Han and I had different focal points. I noticed the promotional unit on the poster, which clearly read 'Fairytale Forest'.
For a moment, I remembered what Gao Ji had told me: the Fermi paradox also applied to 'Fairytale Forest'. Pretending not to know of each other's existence was the best way for both sides to survive. Once someone probed, they would inevitably touch the laws of the forest, survival of the fittest.
For two years, I had pretended they didn't exist, living meagerly in university. I never expected that as soon as I arrived in Beijing, they would prepare to make a move against me.
Seeing that I hesitated to open the door, Lin Han dared not move either. She asked me, puzzled, "What's wrong?"
"Do you remember what I said?"
"Yes!"
"Don't fall for it, no matter what."
With that, I pushed open the door. At that moment, my blood began to boil. Forcing myself to lie dormant for two years, I had actually wanted to fight 'Fairytale Forest' to the death long ago. The law of the forest is survival of the fittest, but why did you in 'Fairytale Forest' assume that I was the weak one?
…
Entering the cinema, the first thing we had to pass was a dark corridor. Previously, one could reach the cinema through the underground food court in the mall next door. After the cinema closed, it was separated from the food court by a rolling shutter. The door leading to the basement from the street had become the only entrance to the cinema.
Lin Han turned on her flashlight, and we walked inside together. The corridor was very clean. After being closed for over a year, the path to the ticket booth was still spotless. At the ticket booth, the electronic screen was lit, displaying a looping message: VIP Hall 6 is now showing. Please proceed with your tool kit.
There was no one at the ticket booth. Under the faint light of the emergency lights, I could see two rectangular tool kits, about the size of eyeglass cases, on the clean counter. I picked one up and handed the other to Lin Han.
Lin Han took it carefully and asked, "Can we look?"
"Since there are no rules against looking, we can look."
"Okay!"
Lin Han opened the tool kit. Inside were a pair of handcuffs without a key and a bullet. I opened my tool kit, and it was the same.
I held the tool kit in my left hand and extended my right hand towards Lin Han. Lin Han placed her hand in mine, her small hand cool, her palm full of sweat. I enclosed her hand with mine, "Are you scared?"
"I'm not scared as long as you're here."
"I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this again."
"After tasting delicacies, how can I go back to eating coarse grains? Tang Nan, do you know why rich people jump off buildings when they go bankrupt?"
"No."
"Because they can never go back to the days of eating chaff and vegetables. I'm the same way. I've gotten used to the thrilling life of constant danger with you. To go back to how things were would be like eating chaff and vegetables, a thorn in my throat."
I smiled, because I felt the same way. The two years of mundane life had been too bitter.
"Many men have pursued me in the past two years, including elites, entrepreneurs, scientists... but I didn't like them. They were all too bland. Do you have a girlfriend?"
"No!"
"Why not?"
"I've avoided talking about 'Fairytale Forest', but I know that one day, we'll have to confront each other. I don't want to drag anyone else into it."
Lin Han looked at me seriously, "Hold my hand, and don't let go this time!"
We walked into VIP Hall 6 together. It was a luxurious VIP hall with leather seats, about 50 seats. The seats were filled with virtual paper figures, with A, B, or C written on their blank faces!
As we entered, we could hear a low gasping sound from the sound system. The screen was playing live content, using QQ video calls. Da Huang's wife, dressed in a radiation suit, was tied to a chair. Beside her was a man wearing a hood, holding a dagger that exuded a chilling aura. Da Huang's wife was too scared to speak, gasping and staring wide-eyed ahead.
In front of her, there should have been computers and phones, transmitting the cinema's footage.
Below the cinema screen was a high-tech round table with three chairs labeled A, B, and C. Da Huang was sitting in seat B, directly facing the large screen. A tool kit was placed in front of the round table.
"Brother Huang!"
Lin Han called out.
Da Huang turned his head upon hearing the sound, his face extremely grim, "Why are you two here too?"
"We're here to save you!"
"Nonsense. I'm going to die. If you come, the whole family will be wiped out."
"Don't worry, Tang Nan is here."
I didn't comfort Da Huang or speak to him. Instead, I observed the surrounding environment. The lighting was normal, like before a movie screening. In the direction of the projector, there were several high-definition cameras pointed at the round table.
I looked at the paper figures with ABC written on their faces. That's right, this was a game with an audience, a group of insane people gambling within the scheme of 'Fairytale Forest'!