"So Manager Lin Qing from customer service and I drove to his house. It was half past ten when we arrived."
"I noticed the door was ajar. When I pushed it open, I found Brother Li hanging from the ceiling. I rushed over and tried to lift him down, but he was already dead. The room was freezing cold and eerie..."
"Did either of you take anything from the crime scene?" The young security guard cut Gao Linzhi off impatiently.
"Anything?" Gao Linzhi shook his head instinctively.
"I didn't take anything. But Manager Lin picked up a black-and-white game poster from beside her and was about to leave. I stopped her, and we worked together to save him and call the police."
Everything he said was true. He hadn't taken anything.
The best strategy for him right now was to tell the "truth," but not the whole truth.
This was a classic Prisoner's Dilemma.
"Lin Qing took the game poster!"
"You're sure?" A trace of delight appeared in the young security guard's eyes as he immediately pressed him for confirmation.
Gao Linzhi thought carefully, then said with certainty, "I'm sure."
The old security guard looked very pleased. "Excellent, Engineer Gao. Think back a little more. Did Manager Li show any unusual behavior before he died?"
Gao Linzhi thought for a moment. "If you mean anything unusual, Brother Li used to be the hardest-working, most easygoing person in the company. But over the past three months, he's been late all the time and slacking off."
"The general manager even scolded him directly in front of everyone three or four times. He said, 'If you want to work, work. If you don't, get lost. The company doesn't keep dead weight.'"
The two security guards exchanged a look, visibly excited.
The young security guard hurriedly made a phone call and was about to report something right in front of Gao Linzhi.
Only when the old security guard gave him a shove did he leave the interrogation room. He went out and reported something to someone, then hurried straight back in.
When he returned, the young security guard spoke pleasantly:
"Mr. Gao, based on our preliminary understanding, you and Manager Li Ziming were close while he was alive. He's been the one looking after you ever since you joined the company. Did he leave you anything?"
His sudden change from hostile to polite was almost laughable.
"If you're asking what Brother Li left me, there was actually quite a lot," Gao Linzhi replied after thinking it over.
"What was it? Tell us right away. It could be very helpful in finding out the true cause of his death," the young security guard asked impatiently.
"C++ for Beginners in 21 Days, Python Mastery in 42 Days, In-Depth Algorithms in 89 Days... A Guide to Treating Cervical Spondylosis, A Complete Guide to Preventing Heart Attacks and Strokes." Gao Linzhi immediately pulled out his phone. "I can send them to you right now. They're all high-definition PDFs."
"Are you trying to start trouble with me?" The young security guard's face turned livid as he listened. He stood up and glared at Gao Linzhi. "Do you still want to leave?"
"You're the ones who told me to tell the truth." Gao Linzhi took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.
Did the other man mean he wasn't going to let him leave?
Sure enough, in a world with such strict controls, people without connections often couldn't hold on to even a stroke of good fortune.
Unless that good fortune was powerful from the very beginning. Luckily, his cheat was exactly that kind.
"All right, all right, Xiao Qi. Calm down." The old security guard pushed the young security guard back into his chair and shot him a meaningful look.
The young security guard sat back down, his expression cold as he stared at Gao Linzhi.
"Engineer Gao, sorry for the trouble. We'll stop here for today. You can go home now, and we'll get in touch if we need anything else." The old security guard smiled at Gao Linzhi.
Gao Linzhi nodded and got to his feet.
He left the eerie interrogation room and walked out of the Security Office Building.
Bathed in the afternoon sun, one thought filled Gao Linzhi's mind:
Give it a few days, and I won't have to put up with this crap anymore!
Go home, level up, get stronger!
Xinyuan Residential Area, Building 7, Room 702.
Back home, Gao Linzhi tossed himself onto the bed and pretended to fall asleep.
In reality, he lay there looking at the game panel in his mind.
Suddenly, a minimap popped up in his mind.
A "woo-woo" sound rang out too, the unmistakable classic BGM that played when enemies appeared in a game.
It showed the area within ten kilometers of him, with himself at the center.
Two red dots appeared on the minimap to the northeast.
He instinctively thought, "Zoom in."
The minimap quickly enlarged. He took a closer look and recognized the two security guards who had just interrogated him.
So they really were fishing for information.
Gao Linzhi thought to himself, then focused his mind on the game panel.
[Physique: 5 (The human limit for an ordinary person is 10 points, and the same applies below)] [Mental Strength: 7.] [HP: 50 (Physique X 10)] [MP: 70 (Mental Strength X 10)] [Talent: The Only Ordinary Player.] [Game Backpack: 10 slots.] [You are the only ordinary player in this game. You have access to the full range of game functions and can play the Skyfall real otherworld game in two ways.] [True Body Teleportation Mode/Create Game Character, Mind Possession Mode] [Whether your true body or your game character dies, you will be revived as usual.] [However, dying in your true body carries severe penalties: you will lose a large amount of game experience, all your equipment, and suffer a Resurrection Cooldown... These death penalties can be waived by spending Skyfall Stones.] [If your game character dies, you will only lose 10% of your experience. You can waive the penalty with a small number of Skyfall Stones.] [Skyfall Stones: 0 (Click to recharge. Recharge now to receive an Exclusive Newbie Gift Pack. Countdown: 6 days, 23 hours)] [All enhancements gained through either method of play will be applied to the player in real time.]
Now this was more like it. He really was an ordinary player. How could you get stronger without paying?
He continued reading.
[Experience: 0/100.] [Note: Leveling up in this game will always require only 100 experience points. However, the amount of experience gained from killing monsters depends on the character's level.] [Quality: White, Green, Blue, Purple, Gold, Red] [Dark Gold Quality is a hidden quality and is not displayed in the game.] [Enter the game?]
He thought it over, and came up with an initial plan.
With a thought, he opened the [Game Backpack].
The next moment, an item inventory appeared in his mind.
Sure enough, there were ten slots.
[You can spend Skyfall Stones to unlock more storage space. Each slot costs 10 Skyfall Stones. The more slots you unlock, the more it costs.]
In the first slot lay the Blue Orb.
The treasure Brother Li had left behind was actually in here.
[Resurrection Pearl (3/3): After the character dies, they can be revived with no loss. Once all charges have been used, it can be recharged with experience.] [The total experience required to recharge it once is equal to the character's total experience.] [Works on both game characters and real people.]
Gao Linzhi's eyes widened.
After all, everyone else had teleported in with their true bodies. They only had one life!
It was easy to imagine how precious a treasure like this was.
Even to him, it was invaluable.
Before you continue