As soon as someone reminded them, the group wasn't entirely lazy and returned to their respective rooms to start searching.
Every nook and cranny of the rooms was scoured, and Tang Tang and the others meticulously checked even the mattress, but found absolutely nothing.
Not only them, but the other four rooms also yielded no results.
Li Ziang poked his head out, "Is there a problem with the starting point?"
Ning Wei was lost in thought and didn't answer his question.
Suddenly, she looked up sharply at the shark chandelier and instructed Li Ziang, "Can this chandelier be taken down?"
The ceiling in this row of dormitories was very high, so the chandeliers were also high. Even Li Ye Ye, the tallest, couldn't reach the shark chandelier.
"I remember there's a ladder in the kitchen. How about we get it and try?" Wang Jing suggested.
The pressure was on Li Ziang. This group was like headless flies, completely following Ning Wei and the others' train of thought.
Since they weren't using their brains, they had to contribute some physical labor.
Li Ziang, being sensible, quickly led his companions to fetch a ladder from the adjacent cafeteria.
After setting up the ladder beneath the chandelier, just as Ning Wei was about to climb, Li Ye grabbed her.
He lowered his voice and said into Ning Wei's ear, "I'll go."
Ning Wei didn't stand on ceremony. He was the tallest among them, making him the most suitable for the task.
As Li Ye climbed up, the light shone on him, making his face look even more handsome.
Because everyone else was busy searching for clues, Bai Xue, who had finally calmed down, also walked over and watched them.
A few of the younger girls, seeing Li Ye's serious expression up there, exchanged glances with each other.
Li Ye was completely unaware of what was happening below, focusing his attention on how to remove the chandelier.
Mei Nan, realizing Li Ye wasn't accustomed to such tasks, guided him from below on which wire to pull.
After a long struggle, the chandelier was finally taken down.
If it weren't for his pleasant face, Ning Wei would have started complaining again.
In front of outsiders, she still had to save Li Ye some face.
Once they had the chandelier, Ning Wei began to examine it thoroughly, finally focusing her gaze on the inside of the shark's mouth.
Tang Tang and the others helped to hold one end, and Ning Wei tilted her head, peering inside with one eye. A smile then appeared on her face.
"There's something inside this mouth, and it's emitting a faint red light," Ning Wei told everyone, pointing to the inside of the shark's mouth.
Mei Nan took it and looked. Indeed, it was as Ning Wei had said. However, they couldn't tell what it was inside just by looking; it needed to be removed.
There was also a problem with removing it: it was highly possible they wouldn't be able to put it back, and then how would Ning Wei and the others sleep? They wouldn't be able to see anything in the dark.
Ning Wei waved her hand grandly, "It's fine. At worst, you can help us move rooms later. Besides, there are two dead people next door, and I doubt they'll be able to sleep well either."
Tang Tang and the others nodded vigorously, clearly agreeing.
Since everything was decided, they began to dismantle it.
Mei Nan forcibly disassembled it, quickly removing the object from inside the shark's mouth.
It was a cylindrical object, perfectly fitted into the corner of the mouth. One could easily miss it if not looking closely.
After it was taken out, perhaps by accidentally touching a switch, the cylinder began to emit white smoke. Although it was faint, Ning Wei noticed it immediately.
She quickly covered her mouth and nose and shouted, "Don't breathe it in!"
Tang Tang, who was closest to her, wasn't so lucky. She happened to inhale a mouthful and leaned back, only to be caught by Zhu Yilian and the others.
Li Ye took the small object and squeezed it hard in his hand. The entire cylinder shattered, revealing a small pill inside.
With the mechanism destroyed, the white smoke naturally stopped.
Everyone silently moved back two meters, finally able to breathe fresh air.
Li Ye held the pill up to the light and examined it, then said, "This is compressed sleeping gas."
The mystery was finally solved. The pill was hidden inside a mechanism and sealed within the chandelier. Once the light was turned off, the small mechanism would begin to operate, slowly releasing a sleeping gas to incapacitate everyone.
"Then what are you waiting for! Hurry up and take down the ladders and chandeliers!" Li Ziang, seeing that the secret had been revealed, said to his companions with renewed vigor.
This time, there was no need for Ning Wei and the others to speak. The group automatically removed the chandelier from Mei Nan and the others' room as well.
Tang Tang was feeling somewhat dazed because she had inhaled some of the gas.
Even in this state, she was afraid Ning Wei and the others would leave her alone in the room, so she held tightly onto Zhu Yilian's clothes, murmuring softly, "Don't leave me alone."
Zhu Yilian held her hand, "Don't worry, we won't abandon you."
Tang Tang nodded slightly and lay in Yuan Yuan's embrace, with Zhu Yilian and Wang Jing keeping her company.
Since the men were doing the work of removing the chandeliers, the six women in Bai Xue's group could only stand by and watch, unable to help.
Bai Xue repeatedly turned her head to look at Zhu Yilian and the others, her eyes carrying an indescribable emotion, likely envy.
Before long, all three chandeliers were removed.
To preserve the lighting, this time they were not overly rough. They found a way to easily remove the small mechanism that released the sleeping gas.
Afterward, they reinstalled the chandeliers; otherwise, they would have to navigate the rooms in darkness.
As for the room with the dead body, no one mentioned it; it was impossible for anyone to stay in there anymore.
"Are you sure this chandelier only has this one mechanism?" Li Ziang asked, intending to reinstall the chandelier but fearing there might be other contingency measures hidden within.
"Don't worry, this chandelier is fine now," Ning Wei's words always carried a certain convincing magic.
Everyone efficiently reinstalled the chandeliers, but then they were all bewildered again about what to do next.
Ning Wei and her group were moving rooms, and Li Ziang felt awkward about going over to ask.
From left to right, the first two rooms were now vacant: the first because it had no chandelier, and the second because of the corpse.
Starting from the third room, the order was: the dormitories for the two male passengers in Li Ziang's team, then Mei Nan's group, followed by Bai Xue's group, and finally the room for Ning Wei and the five girls.
"Are you scared living at the very end? How about we switch?" Song Zhi asked Wang Jing.
Wang Jing knew he meant well but still shook her head, "It's good for the two female passengers' rooms to be next to each other. They can look out for each other if anything happens."
Tang Tang had already been taken to a room by Ning Wei and the others. It seemed unlikely she would wake up anytime soon.
Looking up again, it was already six o'clock.
"Shouldn't we have dinner?" Ning Wei's biological clock was very precise. It was dinner time, and she was already feeling hungry.