Qianqi: The Rules of the Game

There is no turning back now.

She either saves everything, or watches as the daily routine she hates most turns into mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

She looked down at her toes.

What kind of person was she in the original world?

MSA-079 tasked her with investigating the people around Lin, but somewhat embarrassingly, Lin was the person everyone at Qianqi School paid the most attention to, yet her knowledge of the people around Lin was limited to Kevin.

Fortunately, Qianqi could tell that Lin probably only had Kevin as a close friend, and that he rarely interacted with others, so it was relatively easy to investigate who he knew.

The only slightly uncomfortable thing for her was that she couldn't have direct contact with Lin. To be honest, she thought direct contact would have saved a lot of trouble.

We'll just have to wait and see; who knows when the disaster MSA-079 spoke of will strike...

The thought of MSA-079's death caused her a dull ache in her heart, a pain that made her panic. She didn't know why this was happening, so she could only try to distract herself from the scene.

MSA-079 and Lin are the same person... Lin from another Parallel World.

He saved him both times.

So this time, let her save Lin.

After making up her mind, Qianqi acted with efficiency that even she couldn't have imagined. In just half a day, she found out Lin's history of wetting the bed in elementary school and thoroughly investigated his underwear. Perhaps this is the kind of job she is suited for.

"Lin... was born in Changkong City in the Far East. He is of mixed Far East and Divine Continent descent. His parents died early, and after living in an orphanage for a period of time, he became independent. He has never shown any outstanding talent from childhood to adulthood..."

"He has almost no relationships beyond friendship. Most of his classmates and even teachers have never spoken a word to him. Many people say that his gaze is terrifying. Even a casual glance from him feels like having a sharp knife pressed against their vest."

"She has an unexpected friendship with Mei and Kevin, who are in the same class. Her recent spending is normal, but there are a few extra 'Maid Cafe' bills that she has never seen before."

So the main investigation is about May and Kevin?

Qianqi spent another half a day finding Mei and Kevin's past information, but she couldn't find any problems no matter how she looked at it. Moreover, she could see Mei and Kevin at school. Kevin goes without saying, but Mei was always the top student in her grade and often participated in various academic lectures. She was more famous on her own than at school.

So you're already facing setbacks right from the start...?

Qianqi rubbed her dry eyelids and picked up her coffee to take a sip to refresh herself.

Dark brown water dripped down the rim of the glass, and the gray-haired girl's lips stopped a centimeter away from the rim.

A thought suddenly flashed through her mind.

Maid Cafe that Lin Cong never goes to...

"Oh dear, let's go to the Maid Cafe and find Ai then..."

Xiao Ai...

"The location of the Maid Cafe where you can patronize is..."

"As expected, they're already closed this late."

Qianqi helplessly slammed her forehead against the glass door of the Maid Cafe and let out a heavy sigh.

I spent too much time on the investigation, so I'll have to come back tomorrow.

"Hmm... what a cute girl~ Hehe, is there something you need?"

Heartbeat, stopped.

At this moment, Qianqi felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, her hands and feet were ice cold, as if she had heard a call from hell.

She will probably never forget that voice; it will echo in her nightmares for the rest of her life.

The mocking laughter of the woman who killed MSA-079, along with the crimson of blood, stained her memory.

She... was being "watched".

Is she going to die?

So fast... they didn't even get anything done...

The fear of death gripped her heart. She tried to calm herself down, but she couldn't. The horrific scene of MSA-079's death replayed in her mind again and again, and his head, covered in blood and connected to his broken spine, gradually took on the appearance of Qianqi.

Qianqi thought of her parents and her life.

I hate the monotonous routine so much, but after I actually lose it, I miss it.

She will die quietly... perhaps even in a world that doesn't belong to her...

Will your parents worry...?

She suddenly realized that her dull life consisted only of the ordinary routine of tomorrow after tomorrow.

But that's not all.

There's someone I've always cared about.

"Forest..."

She murmured the name of the boy who didn't even know her.

"Lin? Do you know Lin? Oh my~ I knew there must be a lot of pretty girls who like him, hehe..."

"Huh? Hmm... hmm?"

Under the cold moonlight, the pink-haired girl's lips curved like a crescent moon in the sky as she gazed with great interest at the belatedly aware Qianqi.

"Hahaha, because Lin has been going to Maid Cafe lately, I'm really concerned, but I don't dare to come during the day for fear of running into Lin." Elysia Qianqi in front of her, her face flushed red. "I can only come to the Maid Cafe at night when no one's around to see what's stealing the heart of the boy I like... right, Chihiro?"

"No, no! I just wanted to investigate Lin's recent movements!"

"Isn't that just being a stalker? Xiaoxi, even if you're cute, you can't be a stalker~ Otherwise, Lin will definitely hate you."

"Ooh~"

Qianqi seemed completely at a loss for words when it came to refuting Elysia's words, like an innocent little girl being manipulated by Elysia.

But she was just pretending.

By making Elysia misunderstand her true purpose, she can conceal the fact that she is actually there to investigate Elysia's target, and also use this topic to get closer to her.

Her face was flushed, and her eyes held a hint of shyness, but she felt no embarrassment at all.

Like I said before, it seems like she was born for this job.

Chapter Forty-Eight: Qianqi: The Rules of the Game

Elysia, according to her, is a girl who works at Maid Cafe, and it's likely that the "Little Ai" Kevin mentioned is her.

This was the first time Qianqi had ever met such an... unrealistic girl.

Her smile, brimming with youthful energy yet shrouded in mystery, along with her elusive gestures and words, made her seem like a bubble that could vanish at any moment.

To be honest, Qianqi really thinks that only a girl like this could attract Lin's attention.

Unfortunately, Qianqi witnessed Elysia kill MSA-079, although... it may not have been Elysia in front of her who did it.

Since there are two Lins, it's not surprising that there are two Elysia. Qianqi had already considered this, and she even thought that perhaps another version of herself would appear in front of her, but their ideals were completely opposite.

... But there's no turning back now. Even if the "self" blocks her path, Qianqi will find a way to get rid of her.

The current goal is to determine whether Elysia, who is standing right in front of us, is the one who killed MSA-079.

The fact that Elysia didn't directly attack Qianqi already gives a 90% indication that it wasn't the pink-haired woman from back then, since the pink-haired woman did see Qianqi.

However, it's also possible that the action wasn't taken simply because a certain condition wasn't met.

According to the intelligence provided by MSA-079, his death was most likely due to saying something he shouldn't have, which led to him being "watched."

Like an instant-death skill in a game that can only be activated after meeting strict conditions, it is a "mechanism-based kill".

Therefore, before that part of the mechanism is triggered, Elysia should be harmless.

"What's your relationship with Lin?" Elysia stared at Qianqi, whose ears were red and who was sipping her drink, with bright eyes. "Are you best friends? Or...?"

"We haven't... we've not even spoken yet."

"... Isn't that just unrequited love?"

Qianqi blushed with genuine embarrassment this time.

Elysia seems to be right... all her actions fit the explanation of unrequited love.

Afterwards, Qianqi racked her brains to appease Elysia for more than ten minutes before finally satisfying her and making her put away her gossipy curiosity, sending this big shot away.

After Elysia left, Qianqi's expression changed. The innocent student girl aura disappeared from her body. She calmly took out her notebook and pen and began to organize the clues on the table in the milk tea shop.

Coming to the Maid Cafe was the right decision. Elysia is also one of the key figures. MSA-079's suggestion that she pay attention to the people around Lin is very likely an implication for Elysia.

There are only five people worth paying attention to right now.

Lin, Elysia, Kevin, Mei, and Qianqi herself.

If this were a game, these five people would likely constitute the main plot of the entire game.

Lin MSA-079, from Parallel World, aims to prevent an impending disaster. He assigns the mission to Qianqi, asking her to uncover the truth behind it.

This disaster will affect everyone, and the way to stop it lies with Lin and those around him.

Currently, Elysia appears to be a strong suspect and warrants close attention...

Qianqi's pen suddenly paused.

She thought of something.

If... this were a game.

Lin is the protagonist, and the game's plot revolves around him and the people around him.

The ultimate goal of the game is to prevent an impending disaster, and the way to do that is to find the truth.

It seems reasonable, but the ultimate goal is to prevent a catastrophe that will destroy the world, which is strange in a way.

MSA-079 states that a disaster can take any form, indicating that its outbreak is uncontrollable, making it unlikely to be man-made.

All the information provided in the game relates to a few people, but in the end, it's not about dealing with murder, but about the apocalypse.

The only word to describe this game is "unreasonable".

Of course, this was just Qianqi's own thought. This was not a game; it was just that the existence of "mechanic-based kills" gave Qianqi a strange and inexplicable feeling of sluggishness.

"Time to go home, sigh..."

Qianqi sighed with a hint of helplessness.

Go home...

She used to hate going home, and she still hates it now, but the reasons for hating it are different now.

Before, she didn't want to go back to her cage-like home, but now, Qianqi misses the home where her parents are, because she doesn't belong here, and the people in the house aren't her parents. She doesn't know how to treat them.

Coming home so late and skipping school, he's probably going to get a scolding.

But...

I have some expectations.

Qianqi, who has always been a well-behaved girl, has never been criticized by her parents, which is a novel experience for her.

"This uniform... Are you from the Chienyu Academy, classmate?!"

Qianqi was waiting for the last bus to go home when a slightly familiar voice made her pause. She turned around and saw a head of sunny white hair.

The handsome and cheerful white-haired boy smiled and waved to her.

Kevin?

Qianqi never expected to see him here. After a moment of stunned silence, she finally reacted. "Ah... yes."

"Haha, you're out having fun so late too?" Kevin was very popular with girls at school, and was the "Prince Charming" of all the girls. In addition to being handsome, he benefited from his good personality and good character, and could strike up a conversation with anyone very naturally.

Want to go out and have some fun?

That makes sense; Kevin often hangs out with Lin after school, so it's not surprising that he would be near the shopping street.

"Is this bus number 13?" Qianqi glanced at the last light still lit on the bus stop sign.

"Yeah, it's the last train."