"Maybe, he doesn't have his guard up now. This is our best advantage." Light reflected off Rena 2's black round eyes. Lin Sanjiu couldn't tell if the girl was nervous or whether she found it fun. "You can wait at the side of the bathroom. When he comes out, just ram yourself at his ankles. I am sure he would fall after a few times. I will ambush him from the other side. Once he falls, I have my way of subduing him…"
After hesitating for a moment, Lin Sanjiu nodded and spelled, "Okay".
Lin Sanjiu didn't trust this Rena, but to her, Reno 2 was more suspicious than Reno 1. If they just subdued him and tied him up, it might be easier to find out the truth. After Reno 2 entered the bathroom, it had been silent. They didn't hear any sound of water. It was fairly reasonable since Reno would expose himself to black matter if he really washed his hands—if he was an imposter, he certainly wouldn't make such a rudimentary mistake. On the other hand, Lin Sanjiu was certainly undaunted when she tried to bathe her body.
If she didn't hear the occasional footsteps, Lin Sanjiu, who was hiding at a corner of the wall, would think that he had disappeared from the bathroom. After some time, they finally heard the door of the bathroom opening with a click.
Rena 2, who had pressed herself tightly to the wall, looked up and 'exchanged a look' with Lin Sanjiu. Since Lin Sanjiu was just a brain, Rena 2 was probably just trying to console herself. For their plan to be a success, Rena 2 had already removed all her accessories.
The door opened slightly and Reno 2 peeked out. He was not in a rush to get out. He looked from the left to right and back again with a single eye. After looking a few times, he finally opened the door a little wider.
Lin Sanjiu could see everything clearly from where she was hiding as she was using her higher consciousness to 'see'. Just when she thought that Reno 2 would step out, and while she gathered her strength, she suddenly heard him calling out softly, "Rena?"
Rena 2 bit her lips but didn't make a sound. She shrunk closer to the corner of the wall.
"Rena? Lin Sanjiu?" Reno 2 was probably getting suspicious as it was too quiet outside the bathroom. He came out from the bathroom, but he didn't take a step forward. Instead, he stood at the door and yelled, "Where are you two?"
"If we don't make a sound, he will come out to check the situation eventually." Rena 2 and Lin Sanjiu had shared the same thought as they waited quietly at their hiding places. They didn't move as they were afraid that they would make a sound.
"Rena! Lin Sanjiu!" Reno 2 stuck his head out and took a careful step forward, "Gosh. Did they disappear again? What's wrong with this goddamn place?"
"Huh?" a thought flashed through Lin Sanjiu's mind. Even though she didn't really capture its significance, Lin Sanjiu trembled a little. But before she could think it through, she saw Rena gesturing vigorously to her with an anxious face.
Reno was walking swiftly to the end of the corridor, heading towards the living room. Lin Sanjiu could already see the tip of his shoes. Almost instinctively, before Lin Sanjiu could even react, she had already rushed out and rammed herself against Reno 2's ankle. As she had gathered her energy for some time, the impact of that collision far exceeded the other times. On top of that, Reno 2 was caught unaware, so he was knocked over and the momentum pushed him in Rena 2's direction.
"Bro, don't be scared! I'm just going to punch away that thing that is possessing you!" Rena 2 said sharply, due to her emotions. Next, she used both her hands, which were wrapped in something black, and grabbed Reno's bare arms which were not protected by his short sleeves. She pinned him to the ground.
Just then, Reno 2 suddenly let out a painful howl. His body shook violently like a fish out of water. Mrs. Manas, who had been observing everything from Lin Sanjiu's mindscape, could help blurting, "There's something wrong with him!" Lin Sanjiu rushed forward. She drew all her higher consciousness towards her front and lunged forward...
Rena 2 couldn't react in time and took that blow from Lin Sanjiu head on, her whole body flew backward. Before she could land on the ground, a few vague wisps of smoke rose from her face. She held her face and sprinted toward the main door without saying a word.
Before she could catch her breath, Lin Sanjiu quickly turned around, afraid that the circumstances would change if she let her guard down. She launched another attack at Rena 2. Lin Sanjiu hit "Rena's" singlet and the imposter let out a sharp shriek. Her upper body started to change indistinctly.
At that moment, a yellow paper whirred around the air. Lin Sanjiu turned behind and saw Reno. Enduring his shivers, he stood up. Unfortunately, 'Rena' had already sprinted to the main door. She seemed to know that the ability was very powerful so she crouched and hurried out of the door and slammed it behind her. In the end, that imposter slipped out of the range of Reno's ability.
"Don't… don't worry about me. I'm fine. Just chase that thing!" Reno roared. His teeth were still chattering. Lin Sanjiu stretched her body and slipped through the gap of the door. However, when she reached the corridor, bathed in yellow light, it was silent. She didn't see 'Rena' anywhere.
"What happened? How did you know she was an imposter?" Mrs. Manas was obviously startled by that rapid battle which didn't leave any time for any breather that she didn't even check Lin Sanjiu's subconsciousness. "And, why can this Reno activate that almanac ability too? If that is the case, both Renos can use that ability!"
In her higher consciousness form, Lin Sanjiu didn't need to breathe. However, at that moment, Lin Sanjiu looked as if she needed some time to 'catch her breath'. After that, she replied, "I nearly believed her… But, did you see how Reno reacted when she pinned him to the ground?"
Mrs. Manas checked a few images in Lin Sanjiu's mind and suddenly exclaimed, "Oh!"
Lin Sanjiu flew back to the living room and continued, "Yes. His face turned green and he started shivering. It was like he was feeling an intense cold… His sudden hypothermic like reaction, added to something I remembered. So, there can be no other reason."
Before Mrs. Manas could ask Lin Sanjiu what she remembered, Lin Sanjiu added, "If I'm right, 'Reno 1' upstairs isn't the real deal…" As she said this, Lin Sanjiu slipped back into the living room. There was a black figure on the sofa and the person was breathing.
"You're back? Did you catch that thing?" Reno sat up and asked urgently when he saw Lin Sanjiu. Before Lin Sanjiu could answer 'no', a suddenly dim light from the window flooded the room. She saw a small "X" on Reno's wrist.