New Dead, Accelerated Time

"Call--"

Lin Yu woke up from his Dreamscape and sat up in bed.

Sherlock was still fast asleep in his sleeping bag on the ground, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, sleeping very soundly.

Lin Yu walked to the bedside and kicked Sherlock.

"Time to get up."

Sherlock was jolted awake from his Dreamscape and instantly rolled twice on the floor in a panic.

"What? Who attacked me? Ouch!"

He shouted, then frantically untied his sleeping bag and jumped out in a panic.

Lin Yu looked at Sherlock and sighed helplessly.

"Sherlock, it's me."

Upon seeing that it was Lin Yu, Sherlock recovered.

"Oh, it's you, May."

He exhaled and looked at the sky outside.

At that moment, just as dawn was breaking outside, Sherlock frowned.

How long did we sleep?

Lin Yu glanced at the Alarm Clock on the bedside table. "About three and a half hours. I went to sleep a little before four in the morning, and it's almost seven now."

As Lin Yu spoke, Sherlock frowned.

"That's not right, I don't feel any pain in my head."

"My head will definitely hurt if I don't get eight hours of sleep!"

As Sherlock spoke, Lin Yu suddenly realized something.

Something's definitely not right!

He said in a low voice.

Now, Lin Yu discovers that he has lost three more abilities!

The abilities of "Hooligan," "Chef," and "Corporate Slave" have disappeared!

This means...

Or perhaps three people suddenly realized their lie last night.

Or...

They died.

Neither of them feels right.

Thinking of this, Lin Yu grabbed the Torch.

"Hey, Sherlock... we need to hurry."

"Go and confirm some things!"

Lin Yu said this and walked out the door without looking back.

Still not fully awake, Sherlock paused for a moment, then quickly followed him outside.

"Wait for me, May!"

As he spoke, he followed in Lin Yu's footsteps.

Where are you going? What do you need to confirm?

Lin Yu did not answer, but instead relied on his Memory to arrive at one of the areas.

That's the area where the Player who believed he was the "Chef" was located.

Lin Yu wandered around and found him in one of the strongholds.

The gates of the stronghold were wide open, the fires inside had been extinguished, and snow was pouring in.

The Player was a middle-aged man with a slight bald spot.

He lay curled up beside the fireplace, long dead.

Sherlock strode forward, reached out and pressed his hand against the corpse's skin, frowning.

"Excluding the influence of temperature, the time of death... is approximately 12 hours ago."

"With no obvious signs of external injury or poisoning, it is possible that the person froze to death or died from unnatural causes."

"However, judging from his expression—I suspect he was scared to death."

Lin Yu breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Sherlock accurately report the time of death.

I originally thought I'd be seeing a few more corpses, but now it seems... that's probably not necessary.

"The cause of death should be 'Chate,' and this thing kills people in their Dreamscape... probably scaring them to death."

"Furthermore, based on this person's death and the information I already know, one more thing can be determined."

As Lin Yu spoke, he looked at Sherlock.

Sherlock also looked at Lin Yu: "What are you trying to say?"

"Sherlock, what day do you think it is now?"

"The third day, I guess?"

"No, it's the Day Five now," Lin Yu said seriously, "Every time we sleep... it takes us more than 24 hours to fall asleep."

"This is the killing method of the monster called 'Chate' that inhabits this place... I found the corpse of the NPC we encountered at the beginning, and its death appearance was almost identical to this."

As Lin Yu spoke, Sherlock's expression changed slightly.

"Such a thing happened? Bro, why didn't you tell me sooner!"

I didn't fully trust you before.

Lin Yu said calmly.

"So that explains everything. No wonder my head doesn't hurt," Sherlock's face turned ugly, but only for a moment before he laughed. "Heh heh, that's right, quite interesting!"

Sherlock gritted his teeth and grinned, a hint of excitement in his eyes. "So this Instance isn't just interesting because of the hidden 'Truth' and 'puzzle,' it's quite difficult in itself."

"Now I'm going to play seriously."

Sherlock pulled off his woolen hat and stuffed it into his clothes, revealing a head of flowing, lead-gray short hair.

He carefully smoothed his hair, then took out a black bowler hat from his pocket.

Lin Yu watched Sherlock's actions and became curious as well.

"Is that hat some kind of powerful Item? Can it protect you from mental attacks, or prevent you from sleeping so much?"

"No, this is only for decoration," Sherlock's ears and nose were red from the cold, "But it represents my determination—it represents that I'm now going to put seventy percent of my effort into this Instance!"

Sherlock spoke earnestly, and Lin Yu paused for a moment before replying.

"Can't you just go all out?"

Sherlock shook his head. "I don't think... it's that bad yet."

Give me ten percent!

As Lin Yu was speaking, Sherlock wanted to argue, and then...

Looking into Lin Yu's sharp eyes through the wind and snow, Sherlock shrank back and said.

"Alright, alright, I'll give it my all!"

He muttered to himself, tucking his black bowler hat inside and replacing it with a woven straw hat.

"Full Power Mode, Activated!"

Lin Yu watched Sherlock change his hat, feeling somewhat helpless.

"What kind of weird quirk is this?"

"So, does the wool hat represent your 'dormant mode,' and that heavy earmuff hat represent your 'energy-saving mode'?"

Sherlock was horrified.

How did you figure that out?

As he spoke, Lin Yu sighed.

"That couldn't be clearer!"

Sherlock pondered for a moment, then looked at Lin Yu.

"Okay, May, as expected of Doctor, your thinking is sharp and meticulous... You must be very skilled in surgery, right?"

"I know nothing about surgery. I'm just a medical student; I haven't even completed my residency training."

Lin Yu said helplessly.

He dared not agree so easily... what if he was found out later?

Saying you're a medical student is the best option.

After all, the "April" I encountered before was also a medical student who obtained the "Doctor" Profession.

Sherlock nodded slightly.

"I see..."

"So, where should we go next? You should have a plan by now, right?"

"After all... it seems like you can get some kind of revelation in your dreams."

"Did you use one of your Item to do this?"

"I asked, "Sherlock asked.

Lin Yu looked at the "Detective" with surprise.

He nodded and said, "That's right, I can indeed receive hints in my Dreamscape."

"The owner of the notebook we found before, 'Vill Valetti,' has been appearing in my dreams these past few days!"