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Who died this time?
Fei is reflexively looking for Ding Yi and Mu Jiashi as soon as she opened her eyes.
In her mind, though, another question remains.
Mu Jiashi has been to this Nightmare, and he has achieved a True End. In other words, he cannot possibly have died to the Raining Hellfire. He must have had means of avoiding the disaster.
She can’t imagine him leaving Ding Yi to die, either──
Perhaps when it is for the absolute necessity in achieving the maximum progress in a Nightmare, but Mu Jiashi is familiar enough with this Nightmare that there is no way that that was the case.
Of course, Mu Jiashi also isn’t someone generous enough to have told them what dangers to avoid as the Nightmare started, but

Regardless, he knows the True End, so he needn’t say anything. Everything remains as it is, the moment the Nightmare is over.
He wasn’t fazed by He ShujĂŒn, after all.
Mu Jiashi is a cold person at heart, and Fei knows. She’s heard of his reputation on the bottom floor of the Tower by now.
She is also sure that Ding Yi wouldn’t be dumb enough that she would split up, which means she would have been safe as long as she was with Mu Jiashi.
So if neither Mu Jiashi nor Ding Yi could be dead, then why did the Nightmare restart?
Finally, Fei sees Ding Yi and Mu Jiashi for herself – they look normal, as expected. The change that happened to He ShujĂŒn has not afflicted them.
Which means, it was not a Missiontaker that died to the Raining Hellfire.
Buzzcut, meanwhile, also notices Ding Yi and Mu Jiashi being normal. They clearly don’t look like they’ve just died.
The Missiontakers are now looking at each other, until Wu Jian quietly proposes a possibility, “so we’re
 in a Nightmare that loops? As long as the Raining Hellfire happens, an NPC would die to it and force a restart?”
The rest of the Missiontakers have to nod.
When the situation is like this, this remains the only possibility.
Fei and Wu Jian are both looking at Mu Jiashi right now.
Wu Jian is mentioning the possibility, because naturally, they’ve experienced something similar in another Nightmare, alongside Mu Jiashi.
Well, more ‘dissimilar,’ because in that Nightmare, death doesn’t even cause the Nightmare to restart.
In this Nightmare, though, what happened to He ShujĂŒn is proof that this absolute rule is still in place.
Well, or maybe not. Since He ShujĂŒn died to the Raining Hellfire, it’s impossible to tell if it’s He ShujĂŒn’s death, or someone else’s death at the same time or just before her, triggered the restart.
Though looking at He ShujĂŒn’s behaviour, none of them would be interested in giving it a test.
Even Mr Suicide has gone quiet and secluded himself, see. There is no sign of how demented he was when he entered, never mind any other Missiontaker.
Even though Fei and Wu Jian know that Mu Jiashi knows this Nightmare through-and-through, they’re still careful to keep themselves safe, just in case the side effect of dying and resurrecting would irreversibly harm their mental state.
In a sense, how He ShujĂŒn is behaving is almost like someone successfully brainwashed and transformed by NE, isn’t it?
Even if Fei and Wu Jian are questioning NE’s true stance right now, they’re not going to test the possibility at all. What if NE is still fundamentally their enemy?
Fei’s thoughts are diverging to ever more distant directions. Countless possibilities present themselves to her.
So she decides to bitterly smile, and bite her lips, and pack the thoughts in to calm down.
Then she looks at Ding Yi, asking, “what happened at the Museum the last run? Why couldn’t you come back in time?”
Ding Yi also lays out clearly what happened at the Museum. As for what Mu Jiashi told her regarding this Nightmare and the Apocalypse in general, though, she decides to keep them secret.
The Missiontakers look increasingly shocked as she continued her explanations, though, and soon enough Ding Yi pauses, confused.
The biggest clue they found was probably about Xie Ji and her fiancé, she thinks.
That’s why Ding Yi placed particular emphasis on clues regarding the engaged couple.
The other Missiontakers are reacting really strangely, however.
Wiping the sweat on her forehead, formed from the hot summer sun, she asks, “what’s wrong? You all look
 surprised.”
Fei then starts telling her what they found on their two paths.
In fact, the clues regarding Xie Ji has linked her up with the elderly security guard to the east.
The security guard also had a comrade-in-arms die early; it must have been Xie Ji’s father.
The problem is
 that Tower resident of this Nightmare, was a man!
This means that Xie Ji’s fiancĂ© is likely the Nightmare owner, but he is utterly unremarkable in this Nightmare. Besides the Museum, he has no links to any other locations himself.
Did Xie Ji’s fiancĂ© also have some extraordinary clues they haven’t’ found out about?
Anyway, besides considering that, XĂŒ Xiaoli and Zhang Minglian are also important to think about – and in fact, they seem to fit the bill better still.
At least XĂŒ Xiaoli had something to do with the library, and he believes in the Apocalypse, which tangentially links him up with the Space Agency.
He might even be an amateur astronomer himself?
And if it comes to the owner of the Nightmare, Lu Chengzhe, who is in the library, is also possible in that case.
In fact, if you think about it, there are also many young men among the amateur astronomers outside the Space Agency.
There is also the possibility for either the Director of the Museum or the guard standing watch outside the restricted area to be the owner as well. Maybe somehow, they got a rejuvenated appearance in the Tower?
Fei thinks she must be going mad.
She shakes her head to make herself focus, and then ask, “XĂŒ Xiaoli, Lu Chengzhe, and Xie Ji’s fiancé  What was his name again? Does anyone know?”
Ding Yi shakes her head a little.
Mu Jiashi chimes in, though, “his name is Ke Zhu.”
Fei nods, and then says, “so these three people will be our primary targets for observation.”
Ding Yi, though, is subconsciously glancing over at Mu Jiashi.
His actions have made Ding Yi suspect Ke Zhu; he was the one who pointed him out to her attention when they entered the Museum.
Now, Mu Jiashi has broken his silence thus far to tell them the irritable man’s name, Ke Zhu.
Does this mean that Ke Zhu is of paramount importance in this Nightmare, or is even
 the Nightmare’s owner?
But they do not have anything to link this man with the other scenes yet. Without such links, how could his memories have constructed such a grand, elaborate scene?
Ding Yi finds herself confused.