Madman

The female corpse's reanimation had something to do with the weather.

Rain pattered outside the window. Layers of dark clouds blanketed the factory, and a flash of lightning let a few threads of light shine through.

Even day was night.

In weather like this, yin energy was at its strongest, so a corpse rising was hardly surprising. Beiwei had noticed this earlier, which was why she had hesitantly said that the area they were passing through was dangerous. That morning, Xie De had kicked a female corpse away, leaving it lying opposite the door.

But apparently, Beiwei had been worrying too much. (Actually, she hadn't.)

Now, thunder rumbled outside the windows from time to time along the dim corridor.

Wearing gloves, Wei Yanchi unhurriedly cut open the corpse's filthy, disheveled clothes. Ignoring the gunshot wound Mr. 39 had just inflicted, he identified her cause of death-a knife through the heart. He also found injuries from punches and kicks on her body.

Bullying? Or... domestic abuse?

Murder? Or... suicide?

He took an old photograph he had found in the boss's office out of his clothes and compared it with the corpse's face, trying to identify her.

Unfortunately, this corpse was neither the boss's cousin nor one of the six people. She wasn't in the graduation photo, either.

Then Wei Yanchi found a long scar on the corpse's lower abdomen.

"She's had a child," Beiwei said quietly.

It seemed this was the crucial clue.

Wei Yanchi stood up and walked forward while removing his gloves. He obediently stopped in front of Xie De and gazed at him with clear, soulful eyes. "Mr. 39, we've found pretty much all the evidence. We're just missing the thread that ties it together. Would you come look for it with me?"

Beiwei came over too, no longer daring to offer an opinion.

The man, who had remained silent all this time, took a drag on his cigarette and exhaled as though sighing. Amid the drifting smoke, his expression held an unruffled calm. He was so leisurely, it was as if he were on his own turf.

He gave a laugh, as though mocking Wei Yanchi for putting on an act when he was clearly a predator, yet he also seemed pleased by the experienced player's humility and obedience.

He simply took the lead, exposing his back to them without the slightest concern that they might stab him in it. His long silver hair swept through an exquisite arc.

Powerful, mysterious, and dangerously beautiful, he also seemed to possess a nasty streak that was difficult to pin down.

Wei Yanchi pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth. The more time he spent with this man, the more he felt that he had been built precisely to his tastes. He was genuinely afraid he might lose control, let out a lecherous whistle, and get punched to death.

His heart was beating pretty fast. Wei Yanchi chuckled softly and hurried after him.

How could Xie De have known the protagonist had so much going on in his head?

While they were gathered around examining the corpse, he had taken his phone out again to argue with 455 about what it meant to say that money could make even ghosts do your bidding.

The thirty grams of gold Beiwei had taken from Li Luohan were treasures he had found in this instance. Gold currently cost 700 yuan per gram, making thirty grams worth 21,000 yuan.

It wasn't a fortune, but it wasn't pocket change, either.

Xie De had lost his job shortly before 455 approached him and still had no source of income. He had been living off his savings lately. Fortunately, he didn't have to pay rent, and this 21,000 yuan would buy him quite a few boxes of cigarettes.

455 sneered at him. "Could you show a little ambition? This instance is full of opportunities, and a measly thirty grams of gold has already turned you into an idiot."

"Fine, then stop using electricity. You think your monthly electricity bill is cheap?"

Xie De felt the urge to complain again. "Good thing you crossed over here. If I'd crossed over to some ancient world where they had nothing, and ended up with a system like you that actually needs charging, I'd have been finished ages ago."

455 was briefly embarrassed, then resorted to bluster. "Of course I need charging. Those systems in novels aren't realistic, okay? Do you even understand conservation of energy? Fine, since you love money so much, let's make some in this instance!"

"How?"

"There are two ways to make money. The first is to sell clues to other players. But we can't find the other players, and you don't know any clues anyway."

455 sighed, sounding rather disappointed in his hopeless charge, leaving Xie De speechless yet again.

"The second way is to find the various items in the instance. Wooden puppets that block damage, for example, or cards that can save your life, or creepy things like Kuman Thong that change your fate. Once you leave the instance, just contact the player community and sell them on the dark web. You could rake in a fortune. Host, gold really is the least valuable thing in an instance."

Xie De grew gloomy. "If I could find those items, why the hell would I be scared of ghosts?"

"...Then there's nothing we can do. You'll just have to wait for the reward items the instance system hands out at random after you clear it."

"..."

Then I'd better cling to the protagonist and worm my way into his party. How bad could the perks possibly be?

They returned to the first floor, with Xie De standing at the front of the stairwell.

The first floor had become hell on earth. The earthbound spirits seemed to be reliving their deaths. Fierce flames blazed around them as they struggled desperately, tied beside the machines, crying helplessly until despair swallowed them.

The overseer had long since fled without a trace. The main entrance was locked tight, and the boss was nowhere to be seen.

Who would save them?

They didn't want to die!

He didn't want to die either. The smell of scorched flesh filled Xie De's nose, and he nearly threw up again. When had he ever witnessed anything like this? He wanted to retreat, but his legs were too weak to move.

Like a madman, Wei Yanchi kept walking forward. He took out the photo album and leaned close to the desperately struggling workers to examine their faces.

Then he said with certainty, "Mr. 39, you were right. Those six people aren't here. They escaped. Everyone else probably died, because they were tethered to the machines and the door was locked."

The protagonist's behavior was seriously terrifying.

Xie De felt the gulf between them and silently wept inside. Now this is a real pro.

Beiwei nervously watched the flames burning around them and quietly moved closer to Xie De.

She asked, "What are those six people's names and identities?"

Wei Yanchi tossed the album into the flames and said casually, "If you trust me, the six survivors were Ma Hui, the boss's cousin; Li Qiang, the son of a friend of the boss's neighbor's son; Zhang Zhi, the brother-in-law of the boss's lackey; Chunju, the best friend of the sister of the boss's younger brother's buddy; Wu Yong, the friend of a lackey of the man the boss's cousin had taken as her big brother; and finally, the boss himself."

"How interesting." Beiwei looked thoughtful.

What exactly is interesting here?! Xie De was dumbstruck. Wait, what? How the fuck did he remember all that?! How did he possibly remember it?!

With a whoosh.

The scene around them changed instantly. The flames vanished, but the agonized corpses remained, staring straight at them.

The instance system appeared again.

"Hello, players. After a night's rest, I'm sure you're all brimming with energy. Oh, kindhearted players, since you failed to resolve the boss's troubles within a day and a night, please help these suffering workers find the culprit responsible for their deaths!"

"Player one, please answer: who is the child's father?"

Player one?

Wei Yanchi pulled a card from his pocket. No one knew when it had appeared there, but it happened to bear a large numeral one.

Beiwei took one out as well. Hers was four.

Xie De's heart was racing. He glanced at his own card, which bore a large two.

Ha ha. What a thrill.

And what the hell kind of question was the instance system asking?

Whose child?

Who could answer that? Where did a child come from?

Just then, a woman with an icy air emerged from a corner, and a man wearing glasses came down the stairs.

Yue Xiamo and Old Eugene.

Everyone was here.

All eyes turned toward Wei Yanchi.

The instance system said, brimming with malice, "Please give your answer within thirty seconds. If you answer incorrectly, the workers will believe you're covering for the culprit. That is a very reprehensible thing to do."

"Who is the child's father?"

"29... 25... 20..."

The mechanical countdown sounded like death's trumpet. Xie De didn't even dare blink as he watched the protagonist nervously, waiting to see how he would break out of this deadly predicament.

Wei Yanchi lowered his head in thought. At the final second, he looked up and said, "Zhou Bapi."

The system paused. "Correct."

Holy shit. Awesome.

Before Xie De could breathe a sigh of relief.

The instance system posed its next question. "Player two, please answer: who does Ma Hui love?"

Player two?

Xie De froze. Wait, wait!!

The instance system said coldly, "You have thirty seconds to answer."

"Aaaaah, 455! I'm screwed, screwed, screwed, screwed!"

Xie De looked at the protagonist in terror. Bro, tell me the answer!

Instead, the protagonist gave him a firm nod.

What the hell?

"...23... 21... 16..."

Wait!

Those names the protagonist just listed-Li Qiang, Zhang Zhi, somebody's brother. Come on, you useless brain, think! Aaaaah!

"455! I can't figure it out! Oh, I'm going to die!"

At the crucial moment, 455 supplied a name. "Chunju."

He trusted it.

"Chunju."

"Correct."