Side Quest!

The carriage sped along.

The violent contact between the wheels and the ground made Qin Ran and Hunter sway constantly inside the carriage, but neither of them said anything.

Hunter was worried about his daughter.

Qin Ran, meanwhile, was thinking about the instance before him.

"Instances are random!"

Qin Ran had once asked Lawless how Underground Game instances were created, and the answer he received had been quite definite.

That raised another question.

What if the players who entered did not possess a skill like [Tracking]?

The answer was obvious.

The instance had been arranged from the very beginning.

When Qin Ran came back to his senses, he was already in the carriage, heading toward Hunter's estate.

He was not in a "free" state.

He was in a "story" state within the game.

No matter how strong the players were or what skills they possessed, they would automatically enter this state.

Moreover, as long as the players did not do anything that conflicted with their identities, they would proceed directly to the current event: examining the corpse.

Qin Ran even guessed that even if they did something inconsistent with their identities, as long as it did not endanger the lives of the surrounding NPCs, Hunter before them would "ignore" it.

The only possible difference was the stack of money in Qin Ran's pocket.

Perform well, and he would receive an advance payment.

Perform ordinarily, and he would leave empty-handed.

As for those who wanted to court death?

They would truly die!

The many guards in the estate were definitely not for show.

Qin Ran narrowed his eyes as he considered what might happen next.

Clearly, the discovered corpse could not possibly be the missing Artilly. His main quest was to find her or her body.

Even though this was only his first instance, Underground Game's rules would not arrange something simpler than a Beginner Instance.

Therefore, the focus should not be on the corpse.

It should be... Sheriff John.

According to this identity's simple memories, the sheriff was an acquaintance of his, even someone who could be called a friend.

With such a friend, the difficulty of finding someone would naturally be greatly reduced.

Asking him for help should be the obvious choice for players.

But what about the corpse that served as the "trigger"?

"A side quest!"

A sharp glint flashed through Qin Ran's narrowed eyes.

The sheriff, as a friend, could help the players.

By the same logic, the players could choose to help the sheriff.

And Qin Ran was definitely going to help him.

He had not forgotten the goal he had set for himself earlier—in the instance, he would not only complete the main quest, but also complete as many side quests and title quests beyond the requirements as possible!

The carriage raced onward.

Even after entering the city district, it did not slow down.

The coachman kept shouting for pedestrians to move aside.

And the uniformed police officer sitting beside the coachman, who had gone to the estate to deliver the news, made the citizens cooperatively step out of the way.

Half an hour later, the carriage stopped smoothly in front of the police station.

Without waiting for the coachman to open the door, Hunter pushed it open himself and stepped down.

Qin Ran followed him out of the carriage and looked up at the police station before him.

It had a small frontage and was only three stories high.

If not for the officer standing guard at the entrance and the patrolmen coming and going, it looked more like a general store than a police station.

The main reason was how noisy it was inside. Shouts and angry curses rang out one after another.

The accompanying officer led the way, allowing Qin Ran and Hunter to enter the station without obstruction.

Hunter, frantic with worry, followed closely behind him.

Qin Ran, however, had enough leisure to inspect his surroundings.

He saw many "criminals" dressed in ordinary, even slightly dirty clothes. They were locked in crude cells. Most of them were young, their faces full of defiance as they confronted the officers working outside through the iron bars. From time to time, they spat out curses, drawing retaliatory abuse from the officers, after which they immediately burst into laughter—though they would be beaten badly afterward, they seemed to enjoy it without end.

One or two of them stood out.

Because every round of insults began only after receiving their signals.

Even though they were some distance away from Qin Ran and were being very discreet, the vision granted by his E+-rank perception allowed him to easily see the entire process.

Gang members?

Watching the scene before him, Qin Ran immediately made the guess.

However, before he could confirm it further—

The officer leading them had already crossed the hall.

Qin Ran had no choice but to quicken his pace and follow.

The morgue.

It was located on the basement level—not the entire floor, only about a quarter of it had been turned into a morgue. The rest was likely used to store evidence or other items.

As they descended the stairs, firelight illuminated the darkness.

Although there were electric lamps, kerosene lamps and candles were still in use. Qin Ran looked up at one of the strange-looking electric lamps—a filament resembling bamboo fiber sat inside a sealed glass bulb, though it was black.

It differed from the electric lamps he knew.

It was probably an early model of an electric lamp.

An early model meant it was crude, still being improved, and expensive.

So it was not strange that the original lighting tools were still in use.

The officer leading them stopped.

A tall, sturdy middle-aged man stood there waiting.

By the candlelight, Qin Ran clearly saw the man's rugged features and excessively muscular build. Even his oversized uniform was stretched taut over his muscles.

He held a lit cigarette in his hand, and three or four cigarette butts already lay on the floor.

Clearly, he had been waiting for quite some time.

According to the simple memories of Qin Ran's identity, this man was his "acquaintance and friend," Sheriff John.

"Qin Ran!"

When the man saw Qin Ran approach, he greeted him directly, then turned his gaze toward Hunter.

"I can't confirm whether that's Miss Artilly Hunter, but... I hope you're mentally prepared—even after all my years on the job, it's the first time I've seen a corpse this miserable!"

"Don't worry. I've prepared myself!"

Hunter replied.

Their exchange was exceedingly cold.

Clearly, the unpleasantness between them was far more serious than Hunter had casually described to Qin Ran.

The sheriff opened the door behind him and entered first.

Qin Ran and Hunter followed in single file, while the accompanying officer left the door slightly ajar and stood guard outside.

The scent of blood mixed with alcohol filled the small room.

A corpse lay covered on a wooden bed.

It was not covered with a white sheet, but stitched cowhide.

Hunter stretched out a hand and grasped one corner of the cowhide. His entire palm trembled constantly, and his face was filled with struggle.

He feared seeing the sight he least wanted to see.

In the end, the cowhide was lifted.

Just as Sheriff John had said, it was an exceedingly gruesome corpse.

Its face was a bloody blur. Its chest and abdomen had been cut open, its internal organs nowhere to be found, leaving only an empty shell of a body, like slaughtered livestock hanging from a meat hook.

After being soaked in blood, the red hair appeared even more vivid and striking.

And that was the only thing connecting it to Artilly Hunter.

In the portrait Qin Ran had seen, the missing young woman also possessed such dazzling long red hair.

Qin Ran examined the corpse without the slightest discomfort.

The war in the Beginner Instance had already accustomed him to all kinds of corpses. Bodies blasted apart by rockets were certainly more miserable than this one.

Hunter did not show any discomfort either.

On the contrary, the wealthy merchant carefully observed the corpse.

Two minutes later, he let out a long breath.

"She isn't Tilly!"

"Although she has the same red hair as Tilly, she has no earlobes, and the skin on her arms is much rougher than Tilly's!"

Hunter said with certainty.

His face was filled with intense relief.

Then Hunter seemed to realize that such relief was inappropriate in front of the deceased.

"Sorry, I didn't mean it!"

"Sheriff John, I'm willing to offer a reward of one hundred dollars to find the murderer of this poor lady!"

He immediately added.

"Alright!"

The sheriff nodded. He did not become excited because of the reward. He led Qin Ran and Hunter out of the room and toward the upstairs hall.

In the hallway outside the hall, Hunter prepared to leave.

"Mr. Qin Ran, I must leave. I'm worried about my wife!"

"I hope you can find Tilly as soon as possible!"

Hunter said.

"Of course!"

Qin Ran promised.

Hunter then left in quick steps.

Qin Ran watched him board the carriage before turning to Sheriff John.

"This isn't the place to talk. Come to my office!"

Before Qin Ran could speak, Sheriff John said directly.

"Alright!"

Naturally, Qin Ran would not refuse.

The sheriff's office was on the second floor. It was a small but sufficiently bright room with a desk, several chairs, and a cabinet filled with documents.

"What's going on downstairs?"

Qin Ran spoke slowly.

While in the carriage, he had been considering how to smoothly accept the side quest. What he had seen and heard upon entering the police station was undoubtedly the best opening.

"A week ago, Black Hand Jimmy, the underground boss of this district, was assassinated!"

"Although we haven't found that guy's body, the entire district has turned into a complete mess!"

"Those looking for the murderer, those trying to rise to power, and forces from other districts have all started moving!"

"Every day, at least a dozen brawls break out—you saw the people locked up outside, right? In a few days, this place will be packed to the brim!"

"The worst part is that a murder case has appeared now! I simply don't have enough manpower to deal with it!"

Sheriff John's furious voice rang beside Qin Ran's ears.

"So this is where the importance of having friends comes in—I'll help you solve this murder case!"

Qin Ran said decisively.

As Qin Ran spoke, prompts began appearing on his retina.

[Side Quest Discovered: The Female Corpse at the Police Station!]

[Side Quest: Your friend, Sheriff John, is overwhelmed by the chaos on the streets, and you have agreed to help him. You must find that cruel murderer as quickly as possible and bring justice to that poor woman. This will also affect your friendship with Sheriff John!]

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