While Greed was speculating about the plot, the agents returned. They had also brought two fuses. Together, they headed for the power distribution room. Once there, they installed the fuses and the lighting was restored. But as they went outside, they found all the candles in the hallway had been extinguished.
Except for Little Superman, the other three were a bit nervous. Extinguished candles are always a bad omen, and in some paranormal thriller scenarios, this could basically mean the team is doomed. Greed seemed to feel the wind in the hallway becoming stronger, making them even more tense, ready to face any threat.
But at that moment, Little Superman went straight to the extinguished candles. He leaned in to study them and asked, "Does anyone have a lighter? Matches would work too."
"No," the agent shook his head, "We don't have anything on us. The drawers and closets in the room don't have any tools, high difficulty scenarios don't easily provide these items."
"Let's go back to the room first," Greed said, "The hallway is likely unsafe now. Plus, I have some theories about the plot that we need to discuss."
"I need to find some matches," Little Superman insisted on his main quest, "Otherwise, the hallway is so dark that we can't move, and we'll trip over when we go out."
Greed had let things take their course, now more inclined to see "how much trouble you can cause."
They returned to the room on the second floor, while Little Superman insisted on finding something to light a fire. Inside the room, they discussed the plot, Greed presented his theories, and as he mentioned this felt like a dream, the agent and Deathstroke both agreed.
"It does feel strange," Deathstroke said, "Have you noticed this building seems like an empty shell? There's no detailed arrangement at all. No odds and ends in the bedside table drawers, no clothing in the wardrobe, no marks on the carpet, and even the curtains simply hang by the windows without any folds. It doesn't look like someone has lived here. If this is a dream, it makes sense not to have these details."
"So do you think it's the murderer's dream?" The agent asked.
"I think it's the detective's dream," Greed said, "Or rather, we're now in the detective's dream, relying on his memory to help him find the killer."
"That setup is interesting," Deathstroke nodded, "Like that movie... The Cell?"
Greed continued, "The challenge lies in the fact that this detective's memory isn't good; he can't recall many details. He might not even be a detective, just an ordinary person, accidentally involved in this event, so he wouldn't be going through drawers and wardrobes, hence they are empty in the dream."
"But what's with the power outage?" The agent asked, "It's not like he suddenly lost consciousness during the dream."
"That's not impossible," Greed thought for a moment, "It's common for people to momentarily lose consciousness when dreaming, or even inexplicably shift scenes. However, I believe this is a reflection of the dream owner's psychological state. The power outage and extinguished candles plunge the dream into darkness, and such darkness represents the dream owner's very low emotional state."
"I feel something's off," The agent said, "You say the dream owner is an ordinary person, but the dream is too stable and logical. When I entered the Dream Dimension, it was a chaotic mess, full of random things."
"But if you say he's not ordinary, a slightly clever person should at least check their bedroom. Even having inconsistent dreams is unusual. If it's truly a dream scenario, the dream owner seems neither emotional nor intelligent, rather dull."
"We have too few clues now. Perhaps once the dangers within the estate fully reveal themselves, we'll be able to figure out what's happening. But I still lean towards thinking this isn't the real world."
"Can anyone help me?" Little Superman appeared again at the door.
Everyone looked up at him, but it was clear it wasn't yet the time for him to face the consequences. He stood there intact, not injured, without any anxious expression on his face.
"What's up?" Greed asked.
"I found some strange patterns that look like flames," Little Superman said, "I think this might guide us to find the lighter."
They walked out the door again. Greed observed the wall panels carefully, as only the wall panels in the hallway had patterns. In his mind, he quickly enumerated possibilities, trying to see which patterns could form a flame-like design.
"Who knew, Little Superman walked directly to the nearest candlestick, pointed at it, and said, 'There's a flame pattern here, but not on the other side. I'm a bit confused.'"
"Greed hurried over to check, and then discovered that no combination was needed at all. This flame pattern was extremely fiery, like a very standard shape of a flame, as if afraid others wouldn't understand."
"They hadn't noticed before because it was assumed in such scenarios to stay as far away from things like candles as possible. Candles either symbolize the supernatural or are related to time, and knocking one over could lead to unimaginable consequences. Simply put, even a candlestick counts as a sharp object, and in a script akin to Death Comes, you absolutely shouldn't get close to it."
"Little Superman's thought process was straightforward: if a candle goes out, he'll check why. If it's too dark after the candle goes out, he'll find a way to light it, and if he can't, he'll inspect the candlestick again. This inspection revealed the pattern."
"The group checked the candlesticks in the corridor and found, just like Little Superman said, some had flame patterns, and some did not. So, they began deducing codes in various ways, from geometry to sequences. They tried almost every method of puzzle-solving."
"Finally, Little Superman discovered the truth: all you had to do was connect the candlesticks with flame patterns, and there was a box of matches under the floor at the intersection point."
"The group exchanged glances. Greed thought for a moment and said, 'If we assume this is a dreamscape, I prefer to think it reflects some psychological state of the dream's owner: although his emotions have gradually sunk into darkness, he still harbors hope. He hopes someone can light up a flame, and maybe the matches symbolize that.'"
"'I always felt Batman wouldn't mess with such mystical stuff,' the agent said. Though words like Batman are blocked, everyone understood what he meant, 'I think he's utilizing reverse thinking, or using the introduction to mislead and deceive.'
"'The introduction describes it as a high-difficulty level scenario, making everyone highly suspicious, eager to use the world's most complex codes to crack the puzzle. But in reality, the puzzle is quite simple, wasting players' time sufficiently.'
"He had a point. At least his theory had more logic than Greed's psychological suggestion and seemed more like something Batman would do. However, if his theory were correct, then time must be an essential factor."
"If you use a not-very-clever blind eye technique just to delay players' time, it proves that if no breakthrough is achieved within a certain period, some deadly danger will arrive. This way, the introduction isn't entirely deceptive; the logic barely holds together."
"'We need to find others,' Greed said, 'it was obvious there were people in the previous rooms. I'll go and knock on the doors again and see.'
"'Don't you all want to get out?' Little Superman asked, 'I want to check upstairs on the Roof Terrace; maybe there's a way out there.'
"Greed waved his hand to let him go. Little Superman always had good luck in exploration, always bringing new clues. It might be a good choice to let him walk alone. Most importantly, if Batman had set up a scare scene, it could teach him a lesson."
"As a creator of the scenarios, Greed knew beginners always need this kind of transformation: stumbling into a high-difficulty level scenario, joyfully searching for clues, recklessly charging ahead, finally getting repeatedly beaten by various monsters, scared into a panic, only to realize that playing the game is not just about enthusiasm, but requires thinking."
"After Little Superman left, they entered the corridor and started knocking on doors. Greed remembered the doors where there had been footsteps, so he knocked on those first. As soon as they knocked, sounds of footsteps approached from inside. Deathstroke put his ear to the door and listened carefully, then said, 'It should be a middle-aged male. The footsteps are not steady, indicating he's not a professional. The left foot hits the ground heavier, possibly indicating uneven shoulders. His pace is not hurried, indicating he's not nervous. Although he approached the door, he didn't get very close, clearly being cautious.'
"Greed nodded, even though the other side didn't open the door, they spoke a few words outside, still receiving no response, but these clues were already quite useful."
"They then knocked on another door with footsteps. Deathstroke continued listening at the door, then looked puzzled, signaling Greed to keep knocking. After listening for a while, he looked up, confused, and said, 'Middle-aged male, not a professional, left foot heavier on the floor, not very close to the door...'
"Greed also looked at him, and they stared at each other incredulously. Deathstroke spread his hands, 'I'm not making this up, the footsteps are exactly the same as the previous room. If you don't believe me, come and listen.'
"Greed leaned over, and Deathstroke knocked on the door. Greed couldn't really discern the specifics like height and weight, but the footsteps from behind both doors sounded identical."
"'Are you guys crazy?' the agent suddenly said, 'Isn't it more bizarre that knocking on the door immediately brings footsteps than two doors having the same footsteps?'
"Greed and Deathstroke were both stunned. Yes, normally, when they knocked on the door, someone would come over. Once they stopped, the person would walk away, but there was no sound of footsteps walking back, and the time wasn't enough for someone to walk away either. Yet, every time they knocked, the footsteps would approach from afar."
"They suddenly felt a chill down their spines. This meant that every time they knocked, something would approach, but as soon as they stopped knocking, it would withdraw, only to approach again in the same way with the next knock, like the legendary Earth-bound Spirit, endlessly repeating the actions they did before their death."