Respecting Others' Fates

On the other side, Qin Shang thought of something and took out another item from a fallen express box.

There was also an old mobile phone inside.

This was sent along with the Con artist Character Card.

It should have been sent out before his wife disappeared…

He skillfully charged it and waited for it to boot up. During this time, he made a packet of instant noodles.

He hadn't felt it in the Path of the Gods, but after coming out, the fear and urgency hadn't completely subsided.

However, his hungry stomach protested immediately.

Grumble~

The Character Card and the phone were sent out after Jiang Qiqi disappeared.

Initially, Jiang Qiqi's colleagues in Yanjing were the first to report to the Sheriff's office, and the Sheriff then filed a case.

Later, they discovered an in-transit package addressed to 'Fiercely Licking Cockroach Jade Feet'.

The Sheriff's office reasonably suspected that Jiang Qiqi's disappearance might be related to this package.

So, they impounded the shipment.

The contents were less like Jiang Qiqi's 'relics' and more like clues his wife had left for him.

Yes, clues…

Qin Shang didn't believe his wife had died in the Path of the Gods.

Even though he had already experienced the perilous Path of the Gods game once.

In the previous round, if Qin Shang hadn't disbanded the team in time, people might have died.

But he still didn't believe the game could stump Jiang Qiqi.

Because…

His wife was a detective fan, a mystery enthusiast. Her logical thinking ability surpassed many ordinary people.

He basically never won arguments with her.

"In the last round, the fact that I wasn't suspected of being a Con artist at the beginning was thanks to my wife."

Qin Shang wasn't interested in foreign movies before.

For the first twenty-two years, he was solitary and introverted, basically having no contact with the outside world.

After spending two years in prison, he was even more disconnected from society. He had no idea about 'Jack the Ripper'. If Jiang Qiqi hadn't been lively, sweet, and a detective fan.

He might not have even recognized the words 'Jack the Ripper'…

All of this was truly thanks to his wife's influence.

Jiang Qiqi's appearance was like a beacon illuminating Qin Shang's life.

The two years with Jiang Qiqi were worth more than the previous twenty-something years of his life.

"Huh!?"

Just then, Qin Shang noticed the phone on the table had turned on and quickly grabbed it.

"According to the Sheriff, the Path of the Gods automatically reclaims Character Cards after a player dies, so this Con artist Character Card in my hand definitely isn't Qiqi's."

"Moreover, if my wife had died in the Path of the Gods, how could she have mailed the Character Card to me?"

Therefore, this card and the phone must contain useful clues related to his wife's disappearance.

Enter password!

The first and most troublesome thing after booting up appeared.

Qin Shang's expression stiffened.

Jiang Qiqi had many hobbies, but her identity as a mystery enthusiast was unwavering.

Slacking off at work, texting him with cryptic messages to complain about colleagues, changing the electronic lock of the anti-theft door at home using Morse code – a series of anti-human, chuunibyo actions…

It was all perfectly reasonable for a JK loli detective fan.

But what was her phone password?

Birthday!?

Jiang Qiqi's birthday was unlikely.

She grew up in an orphanage. Qin Shang knew about his wife's past.

She was abandoned at the orphanage gate, with only a name and no other clues. Jiang Qiqi had tried to find her birth parents.

But even with Xu Mingyang's help over the years, there had been no progress.

"The birthday of an orphanage child isn't their actual date of birth, but the date they were adopted."

"So, in Jiang Qiqi's eyes, the date of birth on her ID card has no commemorative value."

So...

It's my birthday!?

Qin Shang tentatively entered a four-digit number.

Incorrect password!

Qin Shang's face darkened.

"Is my birthday translated into Morse code? Binary code? Or some cryptic jumping cipher?"

Qin Shang entered another string of numbers.

Incorrect password!

"Our anniversary!?"

Incorrect password!

Qin Shang's mouth twitched. He looked at the screen displaying 'You have two more attempts remaining' with a complex expression.

Seriously, normal people's passwords have some logic.

How am I supposed to figure out the password of a chuunibyou girl!

Jiang Qiqi, are you messing with me!

Don't you know how bizarrely complex the password you designed is?

"Maybe I should just find a hacker to hack this phone!"

"Detective Jiang Qiqi, your assistant Qin Shang is truly at a loss..."

He tilted his head back, his handsome features etched with defeat.

He had originally thought he'd found a clue, that his wife must have stored clues in her Character Card and phone.

But Qin Shang now realized he couldn't even get past the first step of unlocking the phone!

A familiar ancient poem involuntarily surfaced in his mind...

"The former emperor's great undertaking half-complete, was tragically cut short!"

After a long while, Qin Shang's gaze was vacant, then he suddenly paused.

Wait, that's not right!

"Jiang Qiqi, who can't even remember her Taobao password, definitely knows that her password-creation style is outrageously unique. If I don't crack the password, I can't unlock the phone."

"Since she left me a clue, it must be a four-digit number that I know. Is the password really related to birthdays or anniversaries?"

Wait, four digits...

Suddenly, that electronic prompt echoed in his mind...

[Ding! You are currently on the Death Train...]

[ID: 0927]

Right, my first instance in the Path of the Gods, the Death Train.

Its ID is a four-digit number, isn't it?

Qiqi left the Character Card and the phone, which means there must be a connection between them.

Smartphones have poor battery life; they usually die in two to three days.

My wife could almost perfectly predict my reaction after receiving the package.

A dead phone and a silver-white card.

When a normal person realizes their phone is dead, the first thing they'd subconsciously do is take out that small card, right?

Based on my experiences in the Path of the Gods, others are similar to me.

They all entered the instance the moment their hands touched their Character Cards.

So, Jiang Qiqi was betting that I would enter the game first, and then investigate the clues on the phone after coming out...

"My method of obtaining the Character Card is different from everyone else's. They seem to have been chosen by the Path of the Gods and given Character Cards, but mine was sent by my wife."

"And there's another point, the naming part..."

"I didn't have a naming phase. Most people's IDs are self-chosen, like Little Loli's 'Grandpa Niu Cosplays Maid to Seduce Zhuang Zhuang's Mom', but mine was directly my wife's Taobao account." Qin Shang frowned slightly.

"The moment I touched that silver-white card, my vision went black, and I woke up in the first carriage of the Death Train."

"If there's any four-digit number related to the Path of the Gods Character Card, it can only be this one..."

The next moment, his finger tapped the screen, entering 0927!

Please, let this work!

Otherwise, I only have one chance left. Although I could find a hacker on Xianyu tomorrow to help me 'unlock' it.

But not being able to unlock my own wife's phone would be too embarrassing to spread around.

Moreover, who knows what their lively and spirited wife saved in the photo album.

Those hacker big shots are completely shameless.

Otherwise, why do you think resources leaked by Mr. Qin and Mr. Liu in the domestic and 91 zones came from?

Edison Chen and Cecilia Cheung suffered this loss back then.

Of course, their situation was purely the fault of the computer repairman!

"Click..."

The sound of an old-fashioned smartphone unlocking echoed.

Qin Shang immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't know why his wife would use such an old phone to transmit crucial information.

However, upon entering the main interface, Qin Shang realized something was amiss.

The first thing was the apps.

There were simply too few applications; his wife had deleted almost all the pre-installed system apps.

Except for those that couldn't be deleted, she had deleted most of the memory-hogging ones.

Also, an app called "Path of the Gods Player Official Forum" caught Qin Shang's attention.

However, Qin Shang didn't open the forum first. Instead, he opened the memo app.

Given Jiang Qiqi's personality, she must have left him a clue in the memo.

"Husband, I've discovered something interesting that can change your destiny. Your late-stage brain cancer is incurable. I searched all over the country but couldn't find a single case of 100% recovery. But where there's a will, there's a way. That Character Card is your chance to turn things around."

"This might be a bit risky, but it's the most stable method. I don't have much time to explain, so I'll just say this. We will definitely see each other again."

"You'll have to explore the Path of the Gods on your own. Oh, and in the game, don't trust anyone 100%. Respect others' destinies..."

Signed, "Your loving Qiqi"...

After reading the memo, Qin Shang's mind was in a mess. That's it?

Nothing more?

Just one or two sentences of advice?

The Path of the Gods is my chance to rewrite my destiny, what chance?

A way to fight brain cancer and survive?

So his wife's disappearance, at its root, was to find a cure for him.

Qin Shang's heart sank, his expression quite complex.

Jiang Qiqi's deep affection for him was sometimes bewildering.

His wife was clearly a fan of mystery novels and detective stories; that group tended to be rational.

Why did she fall so hard for him?

But the chance to turn things around mentioned in the memo...

Could the Path of the Gods hide a secret that could cure brain cancer?

His wife seemed to know a lot about the Path of the Gods game. As expected, Qiqi must also be a player!

But why had she never mentioned the Path of the Gods before?

And why did she urgently send these things out before disappearing?

Did she not even have the chance to tell him in person?

Or was this memo just meant to comfort him?

Did Jiang Qiqi encounter danger at that time?