Exploring the Plot 1

"Holy shit!"

The sudden sound startled Xiao Fan, who whirled around, intending to activate his skill, but saw nothing.

"Who's speaking?" Xiao Fan cautiously looked around.

Creak~

The wardrobe in the room was opened from the inside, and an elderly man with silver hair was curled up inside. He was very thin, and his cloudy eyes were staring at Xiao Fan.

There was some Moonlight Powder sprinkled in the wardrobe; this powder was supposed to prevent the Nether from passing through any obstacles.

Xiao Fan glanced at the old man in the wheelchair, then at the elderly man in the wardrobe, and asked uncertainly, "You... you are Elder Li?"

"That's right."

Seeing Xiao Fan's actions, Elder Li looked at the Skull on the Analects and slowly spoke.

"This was my servant; he was killed by the Nether while trying to save me."

His aged voice was devoid of both sorrow and joy.

"That's such a shame," Xiao Fan said, following his lead.

He didn't believe Elder Li's words. There was a lot of Moonlight Powder in the wardrobe. If it were sprinkled around the room, it could prevent the Nether from entering the room, so that Elder Li and his servants could survive.

But why did he choose to spill it on the wardrobe?

Also, why would there be a dagger on the ground? It couldn't be that the servants were fighting desperately with those incorporeal Nether.

There are too many suspicious points here, Elder Li here, it's difficult for Xiao Fan to examine the clues.

"Should I kill this NPC and then look for clues?"

The moment this thought crossed Xiao Fan's mind, he saw Elder Li extend his hand to him.

"Young man, help me down first."

Looking at that aged hand, Xiao Fan thought it over and over again before stepping forward to help him up.

Just as he was about to make his move, Elder Li spoke again.

"Without me, you will not be able to obtain the Water of Life."

Xiao Fan paused, his mind elsewhere on activating his skill.

He had considered the plot, and he also wanted the Water of Life.

If this thing could be taken out of the Dungeon, whether in the game or manifested in reality, it would be priceless.

"I was asked by Grand Prince Yi Kong to check on you. I noticed you weren't here, so I wanted to see if there were any clues," Xiao Fan explained.

"There's a Black Box inside. Take it with you," Elder Li said, pointing to a suitcase in the room.

"Is there some kind of trap here? This old man doesn't look like a good person."

Xiao Fan didn't act immediately. After thinking for a moment, he realized that the martial arts prowess in this world was generally average. As long as he wasn't instantly killed by his skill, "Stealing Heaven and Changing Day," he would basically survive.

If Elder Li really attacks him, he can use the opportunity to fight back and continue investigating the clues.

Thinking of this, Xiao Fan carefully opened the suitcase that Elder Li had pointed to.

Fortunately, there were only a few pieces of clothing and a Black Box inside.

"Is this it?" Xiao Fan pointed.

"Yes, take him with you, let's go to the lobby." Elder Li nodded.

Xiao Fan picked up the black box, and the system notification sounded again.

"Your current progress in exploring the storyline has reached 50%. Please keep up the good work!"

"Huh? You're fifty already?"

He's reached 10% progress since his last exploration, and it seems like he hasn't done anything in between, so how did the story jump to 50%?

Could it be?

Xiao Fan stared incredulously at the Black Box in his hand, finally confirming that the progress of the plot exploration was calculated based on the appearance of plot-related scenes, objects, NPCs, and so on.

In other words, this Black Box is crucial to the advancement of the plot.

After quickly thinking it over, Xiao Fan placed the Black Box on the bed.

"Elder Li, I'll take you to the lobby first, and then I'll come back for the Black Box. Everyone on this ship except the two of us is in the lobby, so nothing will be lost."

After saying that, Xiao Fan ignored Elder Li's reaction, picked Elder Li up, and ran towards the building.

"Put me down, I can hold the Black Box." Elder Li tried to struggle.

No! You can't!

Elder Li was very thin and small, and was completely unable to stop Xiao Fan.

Xiao Fan quickly returned to the entrance of the hall.

"Open the door, I've brought Elder Li back. I need to go to the driver's seat now, you can take him in." Xiao Fan planned to take Elder Li back to the lobby and then go back to find the Black Box.

The hall door opened a crack at first, and only after seeing that Xiao Fan was holding Elder Li and there was nothing wrong did the door open.

Immediately afterwards, the two men from the Grand Prince stepped forward, picked up Elder Li, nodded to Xiao Fan, and then quickly went back.

The door was locked from the inside again.

"Thank you, Mr. Jiu Chen," came Yi Kong's grateful voice from inside the door.

"Alright, you all stay here and don't move. I'll go start the boat." Xiao Fan turned around and went back to the second floor.

Seeing that the Black Box was still there, Xiao Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This is an important prop in the plot.

Xiao Fan didn't open it immediately, but instead chose to return to the cockpit first to see if there was any way to get the ship out of the Mist Zone.

After leaving the gate, Xiao Fan, for some unknown reason, walked to the door of Yi Kong's room.

Now that he was the only one on the ship free to move around, he figured he could wander around and maybe find some clues.

The door wasn't locked, so Xiao Fan pushed it open and went inside.

The room was spotless and tidy, and the decorations were quite luxurious. Because it wasn't large, everything inside was easily visible.

There were several books on the table. Xiao Fan flipped through them and found they were all adventure books, which showed that Yi Kong really loved adventure.

A group photo was placed on the bedside table.

It was taken at the palace by Yi Kong and a blonde girl; the two of them are smiling very happily in the photo.

Recalling Yi Kong's words, this girl must be his sister who has a terminal illness.

To Xiao Fan's surprise, there was an exquisite Rag Doll on the bed.

"Could it be that Yi Kong, who appears to be a tough guy on the surface, is actually Makka Pakka on the inside? Otherwise, why would a grown man play with Rag Doll?"

Xiao Fan didn't understand other people's unusual hobbies, but he respected them.

Finally, his gaze fell on the large suitcase against the wall.

If nothing unexpected happens, some valuable items will be placed in the suitcase.

Xiao Fan slowly walked forward, about to open the box to take a look, when another voice came from behind him.

Who are you?