Plot Kill

"Moreover, I also saw a name that shouldn't have appeared in the files. I didn't expect it, alas..." Brother Lei said, frowning and sighing, as if recalling something.

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Seeing this, Liu Xing quickly gave Tina a look. Tina understood and immediately said to Brother Lei with a smile, "Brother Lei, it's not good to keep us in suspense like this. Can you continue telling us what happened?"

As soon as Tina finished speaking, the sound of dice rolling echoed.

Tina, Quick Conversation, 39/70, Success.

Tina, Persuasion, 23/55, Success.

Liu Xing looked at Tina with some surprise. He didn't expect Tina to have such a high Quick Conversation skill, and also the Persuasion skill at the same time. Was this a new tactic?

However, due to the double success of Quick Conversation and Persuasion, Brother Lei nodded and said, "If you want to know about this matter, you must promise not to tell anyone outside. After all, this is an internal secret, and revealing it might have negative consequences."

Liu Xing and the other two immediately nodded. Everyone knew that the information Brother Lei was about to share would definitely be important intelligence.

"The truth is, when I first started working, I was assigned to be in charge of security for the Harvest Festival. Since there weren't many other events in this small county town, the Harvest Festival was always as lively as New Year's, so the crowd was always very large."

"I was on patrol at the time and found a little boy who had gotten separated from his family. So I brought him here. After all, the Lost Children Center for the Harvest Festival has always been set up here, so parents would come here to look for their lost children after realizing they were missing."

"I asked the little boy his name at the time. He said he was Ji Lei. Just as I was about to ask about his parents, he suddenly pointed behind me, to the area with the peach trees, and said his father was there." Brother Lei pointed to the peach trees behind the temple as he spoke.

Liu Xing looked at the peach trees. He didn't find anything special about them, except that they were much thicker than ordinary peach trees.

"Then Ji Lei ran towards the peach trees. I looked back and saw a man smiling and waving at Ji Lei. Ji Lei also excitedly rushed towards the man, looking very close. So I thought Ji Lei had found his father, and my task was over. I left to continue maintaining order at the Harvest Festival."

"After that Harvest Festival ended, I was sent to attend the Criminal Police Advanced Class in Rongcheng, and I stayed in Rongcheng for a few more years before returning to this county town. Since I had transferred to become a criminal police officer, I was no longer responsible for the public security work of the Harvest Festival."

"Until last year, a child disappearance case occurred during the Harvest Festival. The suspect at the time was the child's father. Because his parents were divorced, the child was awarded to his mother. At the time, the child was attending the Harvest Festival with his mother. Suddenly, the child's mother realized her son was missing. So, while looking for her child, she suddenly saw the child's father pulling the child up the stairs leading to the Immortal Crane Temple. The child's mother immediately chased after them, but when she reached the Immortal Crane Temple, she found nothing. Both the child and his father were nowhere to be found."

"So, the child's mother reported it to us, and I was assigned to this case. I came here, hoping to find some clues. That's when I met the old man who told me the secret. Under his reminder, I checked the files of lost children from recent years and found that in every cycle, that is, every twelve years, there would always be a strange child disappearance case. It was that when the child disappeared, a family member of the child would also disappear at the same time, and the final disappearance location was at this Immortal Crane Temple. This included Ji Lei, whom I just told you about, and his father." By the end, Brother Lei's emotions became low again.

"Brother Lei, this matter is not your fault..." Ming Shi Xiang wanted to comfort Brother Lei, but for a moment, she didn't know what to say.

At this moment, Liu Xing suddenly thought of a phrase – serving as an accomplice.

There is an ancient legend that people eaten by tigers would turn into 'chang' ghosts, specifically luring people to be eaten by tigers.

Clearly, the adults in these child disappearance cases were the 'chang' ghosts, just like Ji Lei's father, who lured Ji Lei away!

As for the "tiger," Liu Xing was certain it was a Mythical Creature, and it resided in this Immortal Crane Temple!

However, what puzzled Liu Xing was why this "tiger" made things so complicated. As a Mythical Creature, it should be easy to hunt a small child. Why did it need to create some 'chang' ghosts first?

After all, in Liu Xing's opinion, the time it took for the "tiger" to create 'chang' ghosts must have been more time-consuming and labor-intensive. So why would the "tiger" do such a thankless task?

Puzzled, Liu Xing looked at the peach trees again. They still showed no abnormalities, but Liu Xing had a hunch that there was definitely something wrong with these peach trees!

However, Liu Xing could now be certain of one thing: Minami Kotori's mother had most likely become a ghoul.

At this moment, Li Ming and Tian Dao finally climbed up to Immortal Crane Temple and arrived at the Children's Lost and Found Center, meeting up with Liu Xing and the other two.

"Uh, why are you all sitting here? Where did Kotori go? Did you find her mother?" Tian Dao asked, somewhat surprised.

Tian Dao's words suddenly made Liu Xing and the other two realize that they had been so engrossed in listening to Brother Lei speak that they had forgotten to keep an eye on Minami Kotori!

Plot Kill!

This was Liu Xing's first thought. When he was initially listening to Brother Lei recount the secret, he had kept glancing at Minami Kotori, paying attention to her movements. But as Brother Lei continued his story, he gradually forgot about Minami Kotori's existence. Therefore, Liu Xing was certain this was a Plot Kill. Kpcao, in order to advance the plot, had forcibly removed Minami Kotori from their group's control.

Liu Xing had seen a similar situation when he was watching Wu Lei play a tabletop RPG. At that time, Wu Lei, as a Player, adamantly refused to explore the cellar that triggered the plot. This forced the kp to resort to a Plot Kill, directly causing an earthquake that shattered the floor, making Wu Lei fall in.

However, now was not the time to dwell on such matters. Liu Xing and the other two instantly stood up and began searching for Minami Kotori's whereabouts. Seeing this, Tian Dao and Li Ming realized that Liu Xing and the others might have lost Minami Kotori.

"There!" Liu Xing was the first to spot Minami Kotori.

PS: I originally thought I'd be busy with family matters all day, but it went unexpectedly smoothly, so there will be two updates today. Of course, there will be two tomorrow as well.