The Solved Puzzle

What Beard Guy had mentioned was actually all information freely available on the Player Forum, or rather, it was not particularly important information. After all, once someone became an Official Player, they would soon figure it out.

That was precisely why the gap between newbie players and Official Players was anything but small.

"By the way, how did you all obtain Player Qualification?"

Pushing the empty Instant Noodles cup aside, Bai Zhi asked the people in front of him.

"Uh... I had a strange dream."

Night Owl was the first to raise her hand in response.

"I can't remember what the dream was about anymore. Anyway, after I woke up, a prompt somehow appeared and told me that I had obtained Player Qualification."

"As for me... I think I got it from grabbing a red packet in a group chat."

Glancing at the highly conspicuous Black Fingerprint on her calf, Temperance Gentleheart sighed helplessly as she felt her body growing increasingly exhausted.

"I grabbed a red packet worth a few yuan in my class group chat, and then a panel popped up saying I'd obtained Player Qualification... If I'd known, I wouldn't have been greedy for those few cents."

"In fact, there is still no conclusion regarding how Player Qualification is obtained. The Relevant Department once conducted statistics on this matter, but after investigating several hundred Players in succession, they still found no common ground. Otherwise, the number of Players would not be so small."

Beard Guy shook his head.

"The only controllable method currently known is the monthly refresh in each Player's personal System Store. There is an extremely small chance that a Player Qualification Acquisition Card will appear. Such Cards can sell for exorbitant prices on the Black Market, but they are the kind of thing money cannot buy... I obtained Player Qualification while playing basketball."

"Me? I was surfing the internet when a prompt suddenly popped up on a webpage."

Seeing the other three all turn to look at him, Bai Zhi answered with a calm expression.

"[Do you want to understand the meaning of life? Do you want... to truly live?] It was probably some inexplicable prompt like that."

"This is a new way of obtaining Player Qualification?"

After hearing his words, Beard Guy's eyes immediately lit up slightly.

"Yeah, yeah. And the two options underneath were 'Yes' and 'Sure.' There wasn't even an option to refuse. It was completely forced on me."

Curling his lips, Bai Zhi stood up.

"Players are the only main force capable of fighting those Anomalies, but their casualty rate remains extremely high, right? When a Player dies, their original ID becomes invalid. Is that why a simple ID like [Black&White] was approved immediately?"

"A User ID is the code that represents a Player's identity. A Player ID is merely a codename. Player casualties are indeed severe, but compared to helplessly facing Anomalies and possessing the strength to fight back, there are still quite a lot of people who want to become Players..."

After pausing briefly, Beard Guy hurriedly stood up as well.

"Are we going to conduct another thorough investigation now?"

Without anyone noticing, Bai Zhi had quietly become the leader of this temporary team because of the calmness and composure he consistently displayed.

"Of course. But you'd better be mentally prepared, because the remaining Sealed Right Hand may very well not be in this Villa..."

Waving a hand, Bai Zhi took his Flashlight and headed upstairs.

"For efficiency's sake, I'll search the third floor and the Top Floor. You handle the first and second floors."

"Uh..."

Reality seemed to be exactly as Bai Zhi had said. After spending another hour or so thoroughly searching the entire Villa, they still failed to find the missing right hand.

They searched through every Wardrobe and drawer, cut open the Sofa with a knife, and even endured the nausea of emptying and carefully rummaging through the fly-covered Trash Can in the Kitchen... Yet in the end, they still found nothing.

Beard Guy even tore apart the Toilet in frustration, broke open the underground Water Pipe, and went out into the rain to inspect the area around the Villa. All he gained was disappointment.

But that was not the main issue. The main issue was that as time slowly passed, the four of them could clearly feel the temperature around them continuously dropping. Even after they lit a Campfire in the First Floor Hall, that bone-deep chill still refused to dissipate.

Temperance Gentleheart was in the worst condition. Having suffered two consecutive attacks and still burdened by that strange Black Fingerprint, even though her Constitution ranked second among the Players present, her face was already pale. Leaning beside the Campfire, she looked weak beyond measure.

Under the current circumstances, Night Owl was instead in the best condition among those present. Beard Guy had the strongest Constitution, but the nearly nonstop search and his taut nerves had already consumed a great deal of his stamina. Bai Zhi's Constitution was even worse—a half-crippled six points. If he had not constantly taken out food to replenish his strength, he would likely have collapsed long ago.

"...You still feel like grilling meat right now?"

Curled up beside the Campfire, Temperance Gentleheart wore an exceptionally complicated expression as she watched Bai Zhi take out a large pile of seasonings and pre-prepared Grilled Skewers, apparently intending to cook.

"People are made of iron, food is made of steel. Skip a meal and you'll feel weak. Want one?"

As he used a Brush to coat the skewers with seasoning, Bai Zhi looked toward Temperance Gentleheart.

"This is premium beef I ordered online. It's definitely got some chew to it."

"Please, you're probably the only one who can still eat at a time like this, right?"

Rolling her eyes, Night Owl sat far away from the Corpse Puzzle Pieces that had been brought into the First Floor Hall. Her voice was extremely weak.

"If this continues and we still cannot find a way out, all of us are going to die here, understand? And you're grilling meat..."

"Then we'll die with full stomachs."

Placing the skewers over the Campfire, Bai Zhi looked entirely unconcerned.

"..."

"Staying here means waiting to die. Let's just escape this Villa!!"

Having once again found nothing upstairs, Beard Guy came down drenched from head to toe after braving the torrential rain and making another round on the Rooftop. His tone was exceptionally foul.

"This is simply an unsolvable puzzle. That missing right hand is impossible to find!!"

The prolonged fruitless running about, combined with the chill that seemed to be seeping ever deeper into his body, had left him somewhat despairing.

"Come warm yourself by the fire, then eat some grilled meat to replenish your strength. Going outside now would be suicide."

Still intently brushing seasoning onto the skewers from time to time, Bai Zhi spoke with remarkable calmness.

"You...!?"

"I've already solved the puzzle. I know where the Sealed Right Hand is."

Turning to look at him, Bai Zhi remained as calm as ever.

"If you're willing to trust me, I'll lead you through this."

There was still about an hour and a half until dawn.

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