Chapter 15 The Safe

The metal safe hidden in the compartment behind the oil painting looked square, extremely thick, and solid. It wasn't powered and only had a single-line lock cylinder installed in the center of the front.

"Need a key?"

Li Ang glanced at the shape of the lock cylinder and instantly understood. He took out the padlock shackled to his wrist from his suit pocket.

The shape of this lock cylinder corresponded to only the lower half of the padlock key C.

However, when the padlock was opened earlier, the lower half of key C was inserted into the lock cylinder and had not been taken out yet.

Li Ang took out the padlock.

After this padlock was opened, its silver-white shackle (that is, the silver-white U-shaped steel) automatically fell off.

Li Ang shook the padlock. The key C inside didn't fall out from the shaking, but he could faintly hear a slight jingle inside.

It felt like it could be taken out.

"Need a magnet?"

Li Ang pondered. He had checked earlier in the utility room. Whether it was the lock body, the shackle, the keys AB, or the steel pipe in the utility room, none of them were magnetic and couldn't suck the key C out of the lock cylinder.

What about this safe?

Li Ang put the lock body close to the safe, but he didn't feel any magnetic attraction.

"Do I have to use the wires in the house to modify an electromagnetic coil myself?"

Li Ang said to himself, "No, that's unlikely. There's not enough time.

And if an electromagnetic coil is really needed, there must be a hint somewhere..."

He pondered, picked up the lock body, and placed it under the flashlight's light. Squinting, he observed it under the flickering strong light.

He found that light could shine from where the shackle fell off, through the keyhole, to the other side.

In other words, the lock cylinder was not completely blocked.

"You can use something sharp to push out the broken key C in the lock cylinder through the other side of the keyhole."

Li Ang had a flash of inspiration and immediately scanned his surroundings, looking for sharp objects.

"Something that can pass through the lock cylinder must be a slender, sharp object like a needle and thread..."

Li Ang quickly searched the study. Unfortunately, Steven was an American.

He didn't have the good tradition of Easterners who always keep needles and thread at home.

And Steven's family didn't seem to have hobbies like cross-stitch.

After searching, he didn't see any needles and thread.

"Can't find it..."

Li Ang closed the piano lid, took a deep breath, and decided to try a different approach. He said to the lock body, "Why are you so ordinary yet so confident?

You're just an unremarkable padlock.

You're not as high-end as a fingerprint lock, nor as solid and reliable as a combination lock.

Instead of continuing to be mediocre,

why don't you learn from other foreign locks, strive to enrich yourself, and become a better lock?"

After speaking, Li Ang waited in place for three seconds.

However, the lock cylinder was not opened because he said sharp words.

"It really doesn't work."

Disappointed, Li Ang shook his head and had to think of another way.

Holding the flashlight, he pushed the wooden doll to the children's bedroom, took a mechanical pencil from the desk, and skillfully disassembled the mechanical pencil. He took out a 0.5 mechanical pencil lead from inside.

Sitting on the stool, he pushed the pencil lead with his palm, piercing it into the back of the lock cylinder.

Li Ang's hand was steady and accurate, and he used the pencil lead to hold the broken key, slowly pushing it out.

The whole process took a full half a minute. The moment a section of the broken key emerged from the lock cylinder, Li Ang immediately stopped and pinched the broken key with his fingernails, pulling it out.

"Phew..."

Holding the key, Li Ang breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the non-existent cold sweat from his forehead. "Fortunately, traditional craftsmanship hasn't been lost."

He picked up the broken key, ran back to the study, inserted key C into the safe's single-line lock cylinder, and gently turned it.

*Kacha.*

The safe door opened in response. With the help of the flashlight's light,

Li Ang saw that the inside of the safe was divided into two layers. The upper layer was six round-headed pistol bullets made of brass, and the lower layer was a square piece of paper. The paper was written with a bunch of letters and numbers.

AB=

ABB=

, 3712, 2113, 2514, 3616, 1317

"This is..."

Li Ang took out the pistol bullets and the paper from the safe. The pistol bullets were intact and in a firable state.

The handwriting on the paper was a bit frivolous and fancy.

It was not the same handwriting as the tattoo that appeared on Li Ang's arm, which was the hint given by the old woman outside the spirit world.

"The bullets and paper placed in the safe..."

Li Ang pondered, "The pistol in the house should have been purchased by Steven himself, and later used by his wife Mavis to commit suicide, although she didn't succeed.

The pistol bullets and this piece of paper in the safe should also have been left by Steven..."

Just as he was thinking, the wooden doll behind him made another "kacha, kacha" sound of activity.

According to the law that the sealing time is shortened by half each time,

the first time the flashlight could seal it for 20 minutes, the second time for 10 minutes, and the third time for 5 minutes.

Then, it became two and a half minutes, a little over a minute, or even shorter.

Also, each time after sealing, the time required to "freeze" the doll next time would become longer.

Li Ang had to act as soon as possible.

He didn't have time to think and quickly checked the safe.

After confirming that there were no hidden compartments inside or outside the safe, or passwords engraved on the back bottom, etc.,

he immediately ran out of the study and rushed into the corridor.

When he came to the corridor, he realized that the last unexplored place in the entire house—the master bedroom—

was constantly emitting a strong black gas,

which quickly accumulated on the corridor floor, already reaching the height of his calf.

These gases were clearly insubstantial,

but walking in them gave a strong sense of stagnation and obstruction, like stepping into mud, making it difficult to move,

and they were bone-chillingly cold, making his limbs numb and his face turn blue.

As soon as Li Ang took a step, he retracted his legs, turned back to the study, and moved three chairs from the study, throwing them into the corridor with all his strength.

Using the chairs as stepping stones, he jumped three times in a row, reaching the door of the master bedroom.

*Ci—*

More black mist overflowed from the upper, lower, left, and right seams of the bedroom door. Li Ang used the flashlight's light to shine back and forth, barely clearing a space so that he could see the original shape of the bedroom door.

Li Ang pushed open the electronic combination lock's dial, and a 26-letter English alphabet keyboard was revealed below the dial.

In this situation, the electronic combination lock installed on the bedroom door was still powered on.

Seven "_" symbols appeared on the LCD panel.

"Need a seven-digit password?"

Li Ang covered his mouth and nose with his suit tie to prevent himself from inhaling the gas and causing adverse reactions. His mind raced, "The keyboard has 26 English letters, no numbers, no symbols.

In other words, seven letters, or a shorter password, are needed.

Seven letters..."

He pressed the keyboard keys and entered Steven's name, stevin.

No response.

The names Mavis, Robin, Lynn, and even Steven's parents, Barbara, didn't work either.

*Kacha, kacha.*

The sound of bones trembling came from the other side of the corridor.

The black cat, whose life or death was unknown, moved its stiff body little by little, looking like it might break free at any moment.

Without hesitation, Li Ang turned the flashlight's direction and shone a strong flickering light on the black cat, freezing it again.

"Sure enough, this black cat is much stronger than the wooden doll. The first seal only had less than ten minutes of validity.

If the black cat is an extension of Mavis's power, then how powerful would Mavis herself be..."

Li Ang gently exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, allowing himself to think calmly.

"Seven-digit English letter password.

Before, outside the spirit world, the psychic Barbara said that the houses in the spirit world are built on the basis of the real world, and also incorporate some of the false, fictional things in Mavis's mind.

Mavis and her husband Steven both liked cryptography,

so the room would pop out so much content related to passwords and puzzles.

For example, the padlock that locked my hands and feet at the beginning, the astronomical cryptobox that appeared in the Chevrolet SUV, and the piano password in the study.

In the real world outside the spirit world, Steven and Mavis's room would definitely not have this overly complex and inconvenient combination lock.

In other words, this lock belongs to Mavis's imagination.

Moreover, the second-floor bedroom of the spirit world house is the room Mavis used to close herself off, so the password to the bedroom door must also have some symbolic meaning."

Li Ang's brain worked, and he slowly took out the piece of paper he found in the safe.

AB=

ABB=

, 3712, 2113, 2514, 3616, 1317

"A cryptogram? A hint? If the line of numbers below ABB is the final password, then there are only six numbers,

which does not match the seven-digit password.

Also, the line of numbers below, only the first one has five digits, and the others have only four digits.

In addition, the number 9 or the number 0 do not appear in these numbers and letters...

What does this represent?"

Li Ang frowned and thought for a moment, and his eyes inadvertently glanced at the combination lock's input keyboard, and he instantly understood.

"Wait, so that's what it means..."

He took a breath through his tie and pressed the keyboard seven times, entering seven English letters.

*Di—*

A green light lit up on the LCD panel, and the combination lock opened silently.

"..."

Li Ang squatted on the stool, looking at the black mist pouring out of the door seams, paused, and then pushed open the door without hesitation.

As soon as the door was pushed open, the black mist poured out wantonly.

Li Ang waved the flashlight in his hand, like waving a lightsaber, splitting the mist.

When the black mist gradually dissipated and the concentration decreased, Li Ang was able to see the scene inside the bedroom.

Different from what he imagined,

Beige wallpaper, cross-shaped casement windows, gray-white curtains, a double bed, covered with a white quilt, a silk quilt cover, bedside tables and lamps placed on both sides of the double bed,

A mechanical alarm clock and ashtray are placed on the left bedside table,

Lipstick is placed on the right bedside table.

Two paintings hang on the wall above the double bed, one of a butterfly and one of a peacock.

At the foot of the double bed, there is a TV cabinet with an LCD TV on it. The TV is on and is looping the news program that Li Ang heard in the living room before,

about a serious car accident in Carmel Town, in which a Chevrolet SUV collided with a motorcycle.

Next to the TV cabinet is a dressing table,

With a mirror, cosmetics, and a stool.

Looking at the furnishings, it should be the place where the hostess washes and does her makeup every morning after waking up.

A very ordinary double bedroom,

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Except for the small amount of black mist remaining in the corner of the room, and the motionless figure standing outside the double bed.

It was a woman of medium height with black hair reaching her waist, wearing a gray dress.

Her face was covered by black hair, making it impossible to see her facial features, but judging from the facial contours revealed in the hair crevices and her white (or rather, pale) skin, she should be considered pretty.

She was wearing a gray dress, and the corners of the dress had been burned by fire.

The black mist was constantly pouring out of the sleeves and hem of the dress.

"..."

Li Ang squatted on the stool, looking into the room under the protection of the flashlight's strong light.

The woman in the room, suspected to be Mavis, slowly turned her head and glanced at Li Ang.

*Bang—bang!*

With just one glance, Li Ang's heart beat violently again, making him think that his heart was about to jump out of his chest and explode on the spot.

Without any hesitation, Li Ang flicked the flashlight's direction, causing it to cover the black-haired woman.

The flashlight's strong flickering light shone, and the black mist melted and dissipated like snow meeting the scorching sun. The black-haired woman's turning movement also became sluggish and slow.

Effective!

The strong-light flashlight once again proved itself. Li Ang held the flashlight and continued to irradiate the black-haired woman,

while the other hand held the top of the stool's backrest, his feet stepping on the stool surface, adjusting his center of gravity,

to control the stool's four feet to leave the ground one by one, swaying forward in the room full of black mist.

Li Ang controlled the chair to slowly enter the bedroom. When he reached a suitable distance, Li Ang kicked off the stool surface and jumped up, stepping on the double bed.

"...Today, a serious car accident occurred in Carmel Town. A Chevrolet SUV lost control during driving and collided with a motorcycle. Two injured people have been sent to the hospital and are currently being rescued..."

On the TV, the local news program was still playing,

while the black-haired woman was still affected by the flashlight's light and did not attack or move.

However, when the flashlight's light shone on her, it was obvious that she felt a little overwhelmed.

The light slowly dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye,

as if the power consumption was too high.

A sharp pain came from Li Ang's arm, and a new tattoo appeared [The pistol is in the drawer of the left bedside table!]

A hint from Barbara outside.

Li Ang narrowed his eyes, stepped on the double bed, rushed to the left bedside table, and opened the two drawers of the bedside table. Finally, in the second bedside table, he saw a pistol.

Disassemble the magazine, and it was indeed empty and could be loaded with six bullets.

[Quick! Steven, quickly eliminate her! I can't hold on any longer!]

Barbara once again sent a tattoo reminder, the handwriting was messy and scribbled, as if she was suffering great pain.

"..."

Li Ang glanced at the tattoo on his hand, then at the looping recording on the TV, and slowly loaded the pistol,

then jumped up, stepped on the stool, faced the black-haired woman head-on,

and used the pistol barrel to lift up the bangs that covered the other person's face.