Chapter 61: Conditions
For a whole hour, Yun You couldn't decipher the patterns mixed with a hint of madness.
The drawings made of vegetable soup and black spots had no discernible pattern, and rather than being a meticulously depicted text, it was more like... a masterpiece created by a mentally unstable person on the verge of collapse.
"Could it be that Aurora also had a mental breakdown when writing this section?"
Yun You couldn't help but consider the possibility.
Aurora had always shown remarkable ability in the past, so Yun You would subconsciously forget... that this girl was essentially just a child desperately searching for her father.
She was alone, had experienced untold life and death dangers, and finally arrived here with great difficulty, only to not find her father and endanger herself.
In such a situation, having a mental breakdown is rather normal.
Yun You had long foreseen this scenario...
But the thought that Aurora might no longer be around still weighed heavily on Yun You's mind.
"Think again, think carefully, Yun You."
"Maybe you just missed something, maybe you just haven't found the method..."
She thought silently as she took out her phone from her pocket, planning to look at the patterns from different angles.
But she knew herself that it might be futile.
"Hey! Chica!"
"We're back!"
Just as Yun You's mood was about to hit rock bottom, Jack's magnetic and passionate voice suddenly appeared at the door.
Its arrival awakened Yun You from her sorrow, clearing her mind again.
Indeed, what did she have to be dejected about?
Her team was still fine, Jack and Frost Moon were alive and well, completely capable of facing the hidden dangers lurking in the unknown.
Aurora might have encountered a problem, but Yun You believed that as long as they continued to explore, she would have a chance to see the girl again and lend her a hand, pulling Aurora out of the dire straits.
Human will is all that matters.
If you don't even have the courage to face difficulties, then there's no point in discussing anything else.
The girl encouraged herself inwardly and turned to look at Jack and Frost Moon.
After a trip, they really bought a lot of stuff.
Jack was carrying a large bag of barbecue in his left hand, seeming to prepare for the night's vigil, while his right hand held a whole case of glass bottles filled with a milky-clear liquid mixed with many white rice grains, presumably the alcohol he bought for Yun You.
"We went through three private brewers and finally found some real gems."
Jack shook the wooden crate containing the liquor and said with a smile, "Rice wine, handcrafted, with an alcohol content of only around 5 percent."
"Though it's called wine, its taste is akin to ordinary sugar water, silky smooth, quite easy to drink."
"I know you don't like alcohol, especially that industrial trash mixed with medical alcohol and water, so I got some rice wine..."
"You don't have to treat it as alcohol, just drink it as a beverage."
Saying that, Jack handed the heavy box to Yun You.
Taking the weighty box, Yun You's expression remained relatively unchanged, yet a hint of warmth rose in her heart.
She hadn't made any specific requests to Jack, but the mercenaries understood her plight and purposefully chose a better, more suitable wine for the girl, rather than perfunctorily picking something.\\p>
This kind of caring made Yun You feel tangibly that they were a team, one that should care for each other and consider each other's needs rather than merely being a group bound by the interests of employment.\\p>
"Thanks."
The little girl put away the rice wine, a faint smile gracing her lips.
Then, she pulled over three chairs, gesturing for Jack and Frost Moon to sit down and rest for a while.
"It's getting late, almost nine, an hour before curfew."
"Sit here for now, I have some new discoveries."
Upon hearing this, Jack and Frost Moon nodded and sat down around the bed.
Yun You then briefly summarized her recent discoveries, sharing them with the two.
Upon hearing Aurora's series of analyses, the two couldn't help but be amazed at the young girl's meticulous thinking, and they agreed with her views on several rules.
However, upon seeing the disorderly patterns drawn by Aurora on the ceiling, they fell into deep thought.
But soon, Frost Moon broke the silence.
"I think... could it be that some condition is missing?"
Adjusting his glasses, he looked at the ceiling and said softly, "I've played puzzle games before where there are many seemingly nonsensical pictures that, after undergoing a series of special methods like 'burning,' 'freezing,' or 'soaking,' reveal the correct text answers."
"Do you think the ceiling patterns might be the same?"
Upon hearing this, Yun You and Jack reacted.
"That makes sense, it's just..."
The young girl's brows furrowed, murmuring, "What method would it need to activate it?"
"Hasty experimentation might damage the patterns, and there are far too many conditional methods; using a brute-force approach, who knows how long it will take..."
"I think it doesn't require exhaustive effort."
Jack stroked his chin, picking up from Yun You's words, speaking in a deep tone: "The answer might be hidden in Aurora's last sentence."
"Sky, darkness, look up, its blood—four words."
"Excluding the ambiguous words, 'sky' and 'look up,' only 'darkness' and 'its blood' remain."
"So, could the condition for solving this pattern be..."
"In darkness, at night, smearing the ceiling with the blood of the creature that appears at night, which will reveal the real clue?"
Yun You paused for a while, then nodded.
"Very possible!"
"But if that's the case, we would have to actively engage with 'it' and figure out how to wound this 'creature.'
"This... won't be solved soon, it can't be rushed, it needs to proceed slowly."
"Alright, for now, let's put aside the puzzle-making; we'll figure it out later tonight."
Having made a simple decision, Yun You lowered her voice, closed the door, and sat down on the bed, instructing: "Now, tell me about your findings in the town."
"Did you come across any important information?"
Jack nodded.
"Indeed, at least I think there's some interesting new intel."
Taking out paper and pen, he wrote down his findings as he spoke: "We've come to understand the town's geography, so no need to mention that."
"The critical information boils down to two main points."
"First, the townspeople's issue with 'memory' defects."
"Second, we discovered something in the mine that doesn't belong to this era."
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