Yang Peng

Thud!

Bai Yuze took a punch to the face, and was subsequently pinned to the ground by Yukino.

Although he could smell Yukino's faint fragrance at such close range, he couldn't bring himself to be happy about it!

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Big sister! Stop twisting!"

"Speak! Where are your accomplices? If you don't talk, I'll break your arm!"

Aikido also included joint locks; now that Yukino was pinning Bai Yuze's arm against his back, she only needed to apply a little more force to make him suffer immensely.

"Stop twisting, it's going to snap! I'm really not lying!"

"Heh, still playing tough when you're at death's door!"

Yukino just kept applying pressure, and in order to save his arm, Bai Yuze had no choice but to tell her that his pocket contained important clues regarding the Rules of the Strange Tale.

Yukino sat on Bai Yuze's back, freed one hand to reach into his pocket, and pulled out the slip of paper to examine it.

"Hmph, you've certainly prepared your props well enough to carry out your plan!"

Yukino still looked unconvinced, but just then, a scream rang out from next door!

"That's... Yuigahama!"

Upon hearing the scream, Yukino's calm and collected mind suddenly lost its composure. She hesitated for a moment, then finally formed her right hand into a blade and struck the back of Bai Yuze's neck.

Feeling the person beneath her go limp, Yukino stood up, carefully pushed open the Gate of Opening, and walked out.

Barely a moment after Yukino left, Bai Yuze climbed up from the floor. He tried to move his numb arm while rubbing his neck and chuckled.

"Panic really does cloud one's judgment. She doesn't even know her own strength."

Bai Yuze considered his situation. He had already collected all the details in the room, so staying there was useless. The most important thing right now was to go out and gather information.

He looked at the ajar door, hesitated for a moment, and chose to follow her.

Stepping out, Bai Yuze glanced back at the room number; it read Room 104.

"If I heard correctly, the sound came from the left."

Bai Yuze looked to the left. There were rooms 101 and 102, and directly across from Bai Yuze's room was 103.

At this moment, the door to 102 was open, and Yukino was standing in the doorway with an expression of disbelief on her face.

Bai Yuze tried his best not to alert Yukino. Due to the height difference between them, Bai Yuze could easily look over Yukino into Room 102.

He saw a man lying on the bed in Room 102, his neck wound showing signs of arterial spray, with bloodstains leaving an unsettling mark on the wall.

A knife was stuck firmly into the man's neck.

In the corner of the room, a girl with pink hair was shivering; clearly, the scream from earlier had come from her.

Seeing Yukino standing at the door, the pink-haired girl rushed over to her.

"Wuu wuu wuu, Yukino, where are we? Is this some kind of prank?"

Yukino knew she couldn't break down in the current situation. If she were to collapse, then her and Tuanzi's situation would become even more dangerous.

Yukino remained silent, simply patting Tuanzi's back to comfort her, and Tuanzi noticed Bai Yuze watching from the side.

"Um, who is this guy? Yukino, did you make a new friend?"

Tuanzi's words hit Yukino like a lightning bolt. She turned around and stared at Bai Yuze with vigilance.

After ensuring he was at a safe distance from Yukino, Bai Yuze helplessly spread his hands.

"You really misunderstood me. If I were truly a kidnapper, I would have tied you up tight long ago. How could I possibly give you a chance to escape?"

Bai Yuze's words made Yukino fall into deep thought. It was true; if Bai Yuze were really a kidnapper, it would have been impossible for her to be lying safely in that dilapidated room.

Moreover, the man's corpse in the room also corroborated Bai Yuze's self-defense. The man's wound was on his neck, and the blood had sprayed out; if Bai Yuze had really done it, he should have been covered in blood.

Of course, the most important point was that kidnapping and murder were two different things. If Bai Yuze were only after money, there would be no need to kill anyone.

Could it be that he felt his criminal record was too light and decided to kill someone just for the thrill of it?

Although Bai Yuze's suspicion had lessened, for safety reasons, Yukino and Tuanzi still kept a safe distance from him.

Seeing this, Bai Yuze shrugged. He walked into 102 and began to examine the man's corpse, attempting to find something useful on him.

The handle of the scalpel stuck in the man's carotid artery glinted coldly. Bai Yuze decided to deal with the knife last and turned his attention to the man's palms.

The man's right hand was tightly clenched around something. After Bai Yuze pried the man's hand open, he obtained two items.

A milk candy and a slip of paper.

[Hello, dear player. I'm not sure if I should address you that way, but regardless, let me introduce myself. My name is Yang Peng, twenty years old. As for the rest, I won't go into detail. I know you are confused, because I was just like you when I first arrived in this hellhole. This place is full of danger, but as long as you follow the rules, you can barely survive here. There are some things I cannot tell you directly; He will alter them and cause trouble, like a child. I don't want to help and end up making things worse, so I have scattered information in every corner of the residence, hoping it will be of help to you. Good luck.]

"Yang Peng? It seems this instance isn't exactly brand new."

Now there were two pieces of news. The good news: there were hints and help left behind by someone in the instance. The bad news: you couldn't tell if the hints were true or false.

There are selfless and great people in the world who dare to pave the way for those who follow, but Bai Yuze couldn't confirm if this person named "Yang Peng" was trustworthy.

Furthermore, it wasn't clear if the corpse in front of him was Yang Peng himself. If it was Yang Peng, did that mean the hints he provided contained errors? If he himself died here, perhaps his hints had some mistakes that led to his demise.

"Um... shouldn't we call the police... and wait for them to handle this?"

Tuanzi watched as Bai Yuze rummaged over the corpse, unable to help but offer a reminder, as to anyone else, Bai Yuze's actions were undoubtedly tampering with a crime scene.

Bai Yuze gave a sheepish laugh and smiled at Tuanzi.

"A smart decision, though I suspect a thing like a mobile phone is useless here."

Tuanzi's words also served as a reminder to Bai Yuze, and it was only then that he noticed his own phone was missing.

"You have a phone on you?"

Tuanzi was slightly taken aback upon hearing Bai Yuze's words.

"You don't? Or could it be that your phone was taken by the killer?"

After saying this, Tuanzi took her phone out from her skirt pocket and dialed the emergency services, but the reality was just as Bai Yuze had suggested; despite the phone showing full signal bars, for some reason, she simply could not get the call to go through.

Bai Yuze stared blankly at the phone in Tuanzi's hand, guessing that the fact Tuanzi's phone remained was a deliberate choice by this instance; a phone with full bars that couldn't call for help—the scene reeked of despair.