The investigator is here!

Xin Jiu had almost forgotten the massage service Xiongxiong at the front desk had mentioned.

"Let's go now."

The brown Xiongxiong respectfully led the way.

The other players were practically crying with envy, thinking they had to work hard to earn points in the next instance so they could show off in a big way the next time they entered a service area.

The spa was on the hotel's top floor.

The brown Xiongxiong led her into a private room.

It was beautifully decorated, with a small artificial waterfall and a stream with little goldfish swimming in it.

Water babbled softly.

Mist swirled.

A massage bed stood in the center, with various essential oils on the shelf beside it and aromatherapy candles already lit.

Beside the massage bed stood a pure black Xiongxiong over two meters tall. Fluffy all over, she rubbed her enormous paws together and looked at Xin Jiu expectantly.

Xin Jiu: "..."

Even the Goblin King's hammer couldn't kill her, so she should be able to withstand a Xiongxiong's paws... right?

"Hello, honored guest. My name is Heihei, and I'll be serving you today."

She was a girl, too.

The brown Xiongxiong smiled. "Heihei is our best massage therapist."

Xin Jiu could tell. One look was enough to see how strong she was.

The black Xiongxiong had her lie face down on the massage bed.

After pouring essential oil onto her back, the Xiongxiong pressed her paws down. Xin Jiu felt as though a mountain had settled on her back.

"Um, could you go a little lighter...?"

"Oh, was I using too much force?" The black Xiongxiong quickly lifted her paws, looking flustered.

"A little."

The black Xiongxiong hurriedly bowed. "Sorry, sorry! I just, I just got too excited to see the number one player. I'll be careful."

She used much less force this time.

Gradually, Xin Jiu felt her tense muscles begin to relax.

It seemed the service area's best massage therapist did have some skills.

Xin Jiu felt so comfortable that she grew drowsy.

"Ah!"

The black Xiongxiong suddenly cried out.

"What's wrong?"

"Y-you're the esteemed investigator?"

Xin Jiu opened her eyes. At some point, the investigator ID badge she had put in her coat pocket had fallen out.

She actually called her the esteemed investigator?

That sounded like a pretty high-ranking position.

"Is there a problem?"

"N-no problem." The black Xiongxiong stopped massaging her and rushed out. "Please wait a moment. I'll go get the manager!"

She was gone before Xin Jiu could call her back, leaving Xin Jiu no choice but to get up and put her clothes on first.

Two minutes later, a clattering of footsteps came from outside the door.

Then a whole crowd of Xiongxiong flooded in.

Leading them was the white bear who had welcomed the players when they first entered the service area.

"We didn't know the esteemed investigator would be gracing us with a visit and failed to welcome you properly. Please forgive our discourtesy."

Xin Jiu: "...?"

The white bear wiped its forehead with a paw. It looked as though it was wiping away sweat, but its fur was too thick for any sweat to be visible.

When she said nothing, the white bear continued, "May I ask whether you're here to inspect hygiene or food safety? Or have our employees violated any laws or regulations? Whatever it is, we'll cooperate fully."

The other Xiongxiong nodded in unison.

Inspect hygiene?

Food safety?

Employees violating laws and regulations?

Xin Jiu now understood what an investigator did.

The Xiongxiong in this service area were all friendly and seemed rather timid, so she didn't need to worry too much.

But what about other service areas?

Would they start beating her up once they learned she was an investigator?

After all, investigators could be pretty unwelcome sometimes.

"Esteemed investigator?"

Xin Jiu came back to her senses and asked, "Codename: Divine Descent has a thousand servers. Does every server have an investigator?"

"There's only one investigator, but there are six inspectors."

"Inspectors?"

"Yes. Inspectors mainly handle food safety in service areas and whether the facilities comply with the law. They don't have as much authority as you. As for their other duties, I'm not too clear on those."

Her investigator position had been a system reward for being the first player to clear an instance.

What about the inspectors?

Were they triggered at random, or predetermined?

"Let's inspect hygiene first," she said.

The white bear hurried to lead the way. "Yes, yes, of course. I'll take you to the kitchen right away."

Ten minutes later.

The players in the hotel saw Xin Jiu surrounded by a crowd of Xiongxiong like stars clustered around the moon, while the white Xiongxiong respectfully handed her documents.

"These are our restaurant's ingredient purchasing records and disinfection procedures. These are the employees' health certificates..."

The other Xiongxiong trembled with apprehension, barely daring to breathe.

"What's going on?"

"Is this how the number one player gets treated?"

The Xiongxiong led Xin Jiu into the kitchen.

The kitchen was huge, and its work surfaces were so clean they reflected the light.

Over a dozen Xiongxiong in white one-piece work uniforms bustled about, with nothing exposed but their eyes.

Some chopped vegetables, some stir-fried dishes, and others plated food.

"It's shedding season, so I require all employees to cover themselves completely. We absolutely cannot let the players find a single bear hair in their food."

Xin Jiu nodded, slowly sweeping her gaze around.

A little apprentice chef bear saw the ID badge hanging on her chest, and the kitchen knife in its paw clattered to the floor.

All the Xiongxiong froze.

The white bear strode forward and blocked the terrified little bear from view, giving a dry laugh. "This kid is new and easily frightened. Please, keep looking. This is the fresh food section..."

Xin Jiu obligingly looked away.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the little bear pick up the knife at lightning speed and then shrink into a corner.

After inspecting the restaurant.

The next stop was the store.

The store at Bear Resort was much like stores in the real world, selling things such as bottled mineral water and instant noodles, as well as modern alcoholic drinks.

Prices ranged from 50 to 3,000 points.

The most expensive item was Moutai.

The restaurant served alcohol, so surely no one would be stupid enough to buy Moutai here to drink.

Sang Yi sneezed in her ocean-view room.

Many players sat outside the store eating instant noodles.

When they saw Xin Jiu appear with the Xiongxiongs, they were so shocked that their noodle forks fell to the ground.

The last stop was the resort's specialty store.

Its storefront sign was pink, and so were its shelves.

It sold only three products, which were also the only products in the service area that could be brought into instances.

[Bear Gummies: Eat one gummy to instantly recover 20% of your stamina (30 per bottle).]

[Bear Biscuits: Eat one biscuit to heal injuries sustained within an instance, depending on the circumstances (10 per pack).]

[Bear Honey: Offers no bonus effects, but NPCs in certain stages seem to love this honey.]

Xin Jiu picked up a bottle of Bear Gummies. The bottle was transparent, filled with colorful little bear-paw-shaped gummies.

"How much do these products cost?"

"They're all 5,000 points."

They were good items, just a little expensive.

Just as Xin Jiu was about to buy one of each, the white bear asked somewhat nervously, "How many samples will you need for inspection, esteemed investigator? I'll have the employees bring stock over from the warehouse."

Samples for inspection?

Xin Jiu's attention was caught entirely by those first words, and she overlooked the part about bringing over stock.

When would they need to bring over stock?

When large quantities were involved, of course!

"How are the products handled after sampling?"

"They can't be sold anymore, so you may dispose of them however you please. As for the previous investigator..."

Halfway through, the white bear abruptly stopped.

The previous investigator?