Why Are You Still Alive

Ten-plus minutes later, Zhou You met the woman as he had hoped.

Like her husband, she was in her forties or fifties, dressed in a dust-covered janitor's uniform. Her face looked weathered and her expression was dull, as if the hardships of life had worn away all her edges. She seemed unaware of what was happening, nervously tugging at the hem of her clothes and looking at Zhou You with unease.

Zhou You didn't rush to speak, instead casting his gaze back and forth between the female janitor and the fatty monster.

This worker had just been summoned by the monster.

Yet the problem was that she felt not a shred of fear toward this creature; the occasional glances she cast its way held only the anxiety and dread one might feel toward a stingy boss.

So, this means...

Either the scenery I see is different from theirs.

Or their perception has been polluted in some way, making them completely unable to recognize the reality of the situation?

Zhou You pondered for a while, but he still couldn't find an answer. With the fatty monster right there, he couldn't ask any detailed questions, so he could only let out a soft sigh and introduce himself to the janitor.

"Hello, I'm an investigative reporter from the provincial television station. My name is Zhou You, and I'm here because..."

To his surprise, upon hearing the word "reporter," the timid-looking janitor suddenly became anxious.

"...Is my husband's business being dug up again??"

"Uh... no..."

"Or are you people trying to block my door again?"

"That's not it either..."

"My child really can't take any more harassment. He's already been emotionally unstable since his father passed away, and I don't even know where to get the tuition for next semester. Then you people come to interview and harass us every single day—"

...No, is not listening to people a tradition in this script?

The woman's emotions grew increasingly agitated—and it wasn't just agitation; as she wailed, the head on her neck began to swell like a balloon, clearly on the verge of transforming into a new monster—

"Wait, I'm here to give you tuition money!"

A shout rang out.

The transformation stopped abruptly.

"What... did you say?"

Seeing the janitor finally stop, Zhou You immediately used his most gentle voice to soothe her.

"Ma'am, don't be afraid. I'm not one of those tabloid writers. Because my mentor helped solve a case a while ago, the province issued a special bonus. However, since we didn't know his identity at the time, it took us until now to locate his whereabouts."

Zhou You gauged the woman's expression, and seeing no change, he continued.

"It's a pity that by the time we found him, he had already passed away. I happen to be in charge of a few interviews here, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to hand this money over to you. I also wanted to see if we could hold a commendation or memorial service for him. Please rest assured, I am truly not here to harass you."

This improvised lie had quite a few holes, but it was enough to fool an ordinary middle-aged woman. The janitor's head gradually shrank, eventually returning to that timid face.

"...Young man, are you telling the truth?"

"Of course it's true." To bolster his persuasiveness, Zhou You specifically pulled a thick stack of cash from his coat—it wasn't his own money anyway, so he didn't feel any heartache giving it away. "Look, this is the bonus issued by the province. You can take it right now, and you don't have to worry about anyone trying to snatch it away. In a few days, the television station might do a special program on this case. If anyone tries to do something like that, they'd be slapping the faces of the entire city's leadership."

Having said that, Zhou You turned his head to look at the fatty monster.

The fatty monster, already showing signs of greed, coughed lightly and turned its face away in embarrassment.

Seeing this, the janitor finally believed Zhou You. She carefully took the money, then suddenly said in a trembling voice: "Um, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you just now, young man... ah, no, Reporter. Honestly, this money is a huge help. My child was about to pay this term's tuition, and who would have thought his father would just... I couldn't have earned that much on my own. Now... really, I don't know how to thank you enough..."

"Ma'am, you don't need to thank me." Zhou You quickly steadied her as she tried to bow. "There is just one thing I might need your help with—the later program might require more people to attend, so I'd like to ask, did my mentor have any other immediate family? Like brothers, for example."

The janitor sighed heavily.

"There used to be one, who did business with him, but unfortunately, that person had a hard life too. He passed away from a sudden illness a few years ago. He didn't have a wife or children, and my husband was the one who saw him to his final rest. After that, my husband was the only one left struggling to keep that little stall going, otherwise, he wouldn't have caught this illness..."

Hearing this, Zhou You was finally certain.

He hadn't found the wrong person.

"It's okay, it's okay, that doesn't matter—oh right, do you have any keepsakes of my mentor here? I might need to visit his grave later to pay my respects. After all, this case really helped our station out quite a bit..."

From beginning to end, his expression was extremely sincere, showing no signs of deception.

"Respected player, you have obtained an unknown special item: Old Scarf."

"Talent Keen Observation activated, identification successful."

"Effect: This is something a wife knitted for her husband a long time ago, hoping to provide a little warmth during the winter. When the player equips this item, it can slightly increase resistance to cold, and it can also be given to certain entities to increase favorability."

After obtaining this item, Zhou You had essentially completed his tasks for the day.

However, holding to the philosophy of seeing a good deed through to the end, he also took the opportunity to warn the fatty monster, telling it that the city leadership was very concerned about this case and that it should weigh for itself how to change the treatment of sanitation workers—and only after receiving its solemn assurances did he finally leave.

As for the remaining time, he didn't waste it, instead wandering as much as he could within the accessible area, hoping to find more clues for this script or scout out some paths in advance. Unfortunately, he came up empty-handed.

And so, as he wandered about, the sky outside gradually darkened.

Night had arrived.

Just as the sun dipped below the horizon, the scenery before Zhou You shifted abruptly; the buildings that had been hazy in the twilight suddenly tilted, vanished, and then numerous familiar objects gradually emerged before him.

...In the blink of an eye, he had returned to that security office.

Player has entered the night of the second day.

Game progress will be saved automatically.

But before the dizziness from the sudden transition could fade, he abruptly turned his head to look at the clock.

Just like the first time he entered, it was still 10:30.

As expected, the time is fixed every time I return. It's a pity; I wanted to see how this area transitions into the ghost realm at night, but it's completely locked in...

However, at that very moment, a sound of porcelain falling and shattering suddenly came from behind him.

Immediately following, a voice filled with extreme terror, to the point of complete disbelief, rang out.

"You, how is it possible that you are still alive!"