Six dead

At some point, a gale had risen outside. It swept the drizzle through the narrow passage, making a whimpering sound like the wails of souls who had died unjustly.

Beiwei rummaged around the bed and the storage chest and found a few things: a dried flower, an old ballpoint pen, a pair of broken glasses, and a sweater gnawed by rats.

There was nothing else.

The workers had left very few traces of their lives in the dormitory. These four objects were the most representative.

Beiwei calmly placed them on the table, then turned to ask, "Mr. 39? Do you have any theories?"

Xie De shifted his gaze over. His eyes skimmed the four objects on the table, then met a pair of blood-red eyes beneath it. A mangled face flashed him a ghastly white smile.

Some people looked perfectly calm, but their souls had already left their bodies a while ago.

That person was about to crawl out from under the table.

455 let out another "Bzzzt-" Feeling as though those shocks had given him PTSD, Xie De jolted, snapped out of his daze, and realized he needed to run.

His large, well-defined hand grabbed Beiwei by the back of her collar. Forcing his unsteady legs to move, he hurried out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Afraid the thing inside would get out, he even fastened several locks.

Hearing the thing inside angrily scrape its nails against the door, Xie De closed his eyes, trying to forget that mangled mass of flesh.

Pushed out into the hallway, Beiwei held the dried flower between her slender fingers. Her large, bright eyes showed no fear at all. "Mr. 39, you took me out too quickly. I only had time to grab this flower. Everything else is still inside. I didn't bring it out."

Girl, we'd have been dead for sure if we hadn't left.

A sting in his fingertips made Xie De realize that the cigarette he had lit earlier had burned down to the end. He tossed the butt onto the floor and spoke, sounding as though he was offering a casual explanation, yet also reassurance.

"Remembering what those things were is enough. Clues aren't items, and we're not police investigating a case. We don't need evidence to close it."

Then his indifferent gaze settled on Beiwei. "Aren't you scared?"

Beiwei smiled faintly, confidence surfacing on her face. "Rest assured, Mr. 39, I won't hold you back. I've cleared two instances, so I am an experienced player, after all. I can handle this much mentally. I won't rashly interfere with your decisions."

They needed enough time to search for clues, but staying too long would disturb the anomaly. Mr. 39 had timed their departure perfectly: exactly one cigarette, no more and no less.

Someone with such precise command of his own abilities in an instance game really was both powerful and conceited.

This girl really wasn't scared in the slightest. Xie De felt thoroughly deflated. And what did she mean about not rashly interfering with his decisions? What decisions had he even made?

Fine, fine!

Xie De couldn't keep letting 455 lead him around by the nose. Besides, the thing was clearly a coward too! He took a deep breath and looked toward the place with the most clues-the boss's office. "Go there?" he asked hoarsely.

Beiwei nodded firmly.

455 popped up to praise him. "Well, look at that, Host. You're actually taking the initiative to search for clues."

Xie De couldn't take it anymore. "What else am I supposed to do? I have to get out of this terrifying place. If I don't, you'll electrocute me before I can die of fright! And if I don't take the initiative, am I supposed to rely on this little girl who doesn't even reach my shoulders? She's a minor! Have a little sense of responsibility, 455!"

Unsurprisingly, 455 was left speechless. It quietly hid the records in its database of Beiwei slaughtering her way back and forth through instances, and wholeheartedly supported its host's newfound courage.

But, just as 455 had expected, its host's courage was like a child's enthusiasm for a toy: it lasted all of three minutes.

When they reached the office door, Xie De put his hand on the handle and hesitated again.

"455, do you think I'll get killed the moment I open the door? I'm a little scared to open it."

"Host, don't embarrass yourself in front of a child. Besides, the instance won't put you in a lethal situation with absolutely no hope of survival."

"Fine."

When he opened the door, he found something unexpected.

A green-shaded desk lamp cast warm yellow light over a dashingly handsome face that wore a gentle smile.

"Oh, it's Mr. 39, and Ms. Beiwei."

Wary and puzzled, Beiwei asked, "Wei Yanchi, what did you find here?"

So Mr. 39 had paused before opening the door because someone was inside. Beiwei focused and held her breath. In an instance, the living were far harder to deal with than ghosts.

Seated at the desk, Wei Yanchi sorted through the notes on its surface and said gently, "If you want to know what clues I have, you'll have to exchange yours for them."

His tone was as gentle as a breeze and fine rain, yet carried an inexplicable chill. It was like a deep-sea anglerfish: all you saw at first was the warm light luring its prey, but once you trusted it, you would be devoured, flesh and bone alike.

Beiwei noticed another person in the darkness beyond the desk lamp's glow.

Apparently, she and Mr. 39 weren't the only ones teaming up in this instance. Things were getting tricky.

Beiwei didn't trust Wei Yanchi at all. He was a notorious madman among the players. She had no intention of even stepping through the door.

She frowned and looked at Xie De, only to see the tall, aloof man stride arrogantly inside, utterly natural and composed. His silver hair stirred slightly in the air like flowing spring water from the Tianshan Mountains. He looked as though he didn't care in the slightest.

Huh.

Unlike Beiwei, Xie De genuinely relaxed when he saw a living person inside. They were just exchanging information, weren't they? Perfectly normal.

Wei Yanchi's gaze followed the man's movements, the smile at his lips growing wider. He watched the man step into the darkness, then into the desk lamp's warm pool of light, and come to an elegant halt before the desk. Those dark green eyes regarded him as though he were someone interesting. Wei Yanchi tilted his head slightly.

Mr. 39's slender fingers set down a dried flower.

"We found it in the workers' dormitory. You can probably guess."

The dried flower happened to be a rose. A rose found in the workers' dormitory was certainly a valuable clue. Perhaps the truth lay within it.

Wei Yanchi picked up the flower to examine it and, keeping his promise, handed over the document from the office. It was a ledger.

"The boss embezzled money and withheld the workers' wages," Wei Yanchi said leisurely.

That's it?

The two looked at each other. Clearly, neither had revealed all the clues he had found.

Wei Yanchi chuckled. "If you want to cooperate, at least show a little sincerity, Mr. 39."

His laugh gave Xie De goosebumps. Fine, he was a little embarrassed, but he hadn't brought out any of the other clues or evidence. Mostly, he had nothing to back up his words. Wasn't he just trying to avoid a misunderstanding?

Mr. 39 frowned and changed tack. "We also found glasses, a sweater, and a ballpoint pen. But I don't think they're important."

Wei Yanchi took out a photograph. "All right, then. I have a fairly important discovery here. Six people went missing from this factory, and all six had close ties to the boss. Some were his classmates, some were his neighbors, and one was even closer to him: his younger female cousin."

Their task was to resolve the boss's troubles.

455 had also said that the missing people had disappeared voluntarily. If disappearing meant dying, why would anyone willingly go to their death?

So complicated.

With his clues shared with the protagonist, he was done.

Xie De turned to leave. Beiwei glanced into the shadows several times before immediately following him.

The door closed again. A woman with a dark expression emerged from the shadows. Yue Xiamo held a knife. "Why did you share clues with them?"

Looking at the dried rose on the desk, Wei Yanchi shrugged with a smile. "Why so serious? Just think of it as me easing tensions between the players."

"Hmph. Be careful they don't drag you down with them!"