Chapter 9

Chapter 8: Changming Town 8

【Investigation phase is not time-limited, nor process-limited; players can discuss and decide on their own】

【There is a red button on the statue in the “central square.” If more than three people press this button, the investigation ends and the voting phase begins】

【More than half the votes are considered valid】

【Hint 1: Evidence lines provided by the system cannot be destroyed by players after the investigation begins】

【Hint 2: The later the culprit is found, the higher the players’ death risk; once voting ends, all players’ death risk disappears】

【Hint 3: Whether the real culprit is found, and the story restoration completion, both influence the final ending and determine the players’ final scores】

【Players can choose the direction of the ending and strive for the outcome they want】

【Hint 4: Points earned in the game can be exchanged for important rewards. The king of the game promises players that longevity, healing, resurrection, and time reset… he can grant them all】

【Enjoy the game!】

After a long plot progression, the murder finally occurred.

The system directly transmitted the game rules into everyone’s minds.

After receiving the information, Zuo Sanqiu was stunned for three seconds before looking at Shi Zong.

“Damn, the one who died is Elder Gong!

“The system didn’t explain any investigation process, meaning we have to rely on ourselves? Should the six of us meet and discuss first?

“Ugh… even though there’s no clear time limit, that’s even scarier. How do we know when the death risk will peak?!”

…

Zuo Sanqiu asked a flurry of questions and noticed Shi Zong staring off in a direction, looking somewhat puzzled but also vaguely expectant and hopeful.

“Did you find some important clue?!” Zuo Sanqiu asked excitedly.

Shi Zong asked in return: “You said you went to the kitchen to do something? I smelled something. Smells so good.”

Zuo Sanqiu: “………………”

—Just that?

That deserves this look on your face?

Shi Zong said: “I had a check-up at the hospital; I should have a brain nerve problem, unable to perceive smell, can’t taste food.

“But in this dungeon, I smelled rot, and medicine fragrance…”

Turning to Zuo Sanqiu, his eyes glimmered. “Looks like my dungeon experience isn’t bad. What exactly did you make that smells so good?”

Zuo Sanqiu, who roasted a few potatoes and sprinkled a little salt and cumin: “……”

—Poor Shi Boss.

Two minutes later, Shi Zong and Zuo Sanqiu detoured to the kitchen.

Inside, Shi Zong cupped the roasted potatoes in his hands, his face showing a peaceful, reverent, blissful smile.

Seeing this, Zuo Sanqiu could only say awkwardly: “Uh… bro, isn’t… Wan’er, shouldn’t we solve the case quickly? Didn’t the system say late investigation increases death risk? What do you think this risk is?”

Shi Zong, treating the potatoes like an art piece, carefully peeled them bit by bit and scooped the insides with a small spoon.

Although slightly cold, the potatoes were soft and fluffy, combined with salt and cumin, tasting very good. Shi Zong ate while wearing a happy smile.

“Miss Jiang! Hurry up!”

Shi Zong said calmly: “The system used the word ‘possibly,’ so I guess not everyone has a death risk.

“The three major families want to use me, and after using me, they would kill me. Elder Gong should be their helper. Now that Elder Gong is dead… the families might suspect I’m the culprit, or that I know something.

“So the longer the delay, the higher my risk of being caught. You don’t need to worry too much. For now, the risk is mainly on me; you have no risk.”

Zuo Sanqiu rolled his eyes.

“No risk for me means I don’t need to worry?

“Don’t you think I’d worry about you at all?

“Even if you were a stranger, I’d worry. And we know each other!

“I see you don’t trust my character at all. In your eyes, is everyone else heartless? I tell you, that kind of thinking is unacceptable!”

Shi Zong glanced at him thoughtfully, smiled, and said: “Oh, I thought about it. The system surely won’t let players stay in the dungeon indefinitely. Unless the player becomes an NPC.”

“You mean… the player could lose self-awareness and completely turn into an NPC?”

“If time drags too long, that’s one possibility. In that case, even without a death risk, it’s practically the same as being dead.”

After speaking, Shi Zong wrapped up the remaining potatoes and carried them out.

“Huh?” Zuo Sanqiu was surprised. “You like it so much, and you only ate three bites?”

“Good food should be savored. Eat it all in one bite and it’s gone.”

Shi Zong walked out. “Let’s go find the other players.”

Leaving the kitchen, they first encountered Li family eldest son, Li Guangrong.

Without the red-thread restriction, his expression was different from last night.

He said seriously: “I’ve been looking for you. Hearing sounds here, I came over. Why are you here? Is there an important clue?”

Shi Zong said lightly: “Breakfast was delicious, delayed a few minutes.”

Li Guangrong looked at him curiously. “Still in the mood for breakfast? Such a lavish meal, and you couldn’t focus on solving the case?”

Shi Zong: “Roasted potatoes.”

Li Guangrong: “……”

“Cough.” Li Guangrong shook his head, then led the way. “Let’s go. The others are in the inn’s lobby.”

Zuo Sanqiu hurried after him: “Um, may I ask… you, and the other two ghosts, why aren’t you afraid of the sun, appearing so boldly in broad daylight?

“Also… you were all at this inn yesterday? Why did you need rooms?”

Upon hearing this, Li Guangrong’s expression turned subtle, clearly reluctant to answer.

After a pause, he glanced at Shi Zong following behind and said: “Regarding the investigation, I advise you to work quickly. The three major families now suspect you of murder. In five hours, they’ll catch you and eliminate you.

“So, at most, you have five hours to solve the case.”

Why not catch me now? Why wait five hours?

Also, Zuo Sanqiu mentioned no one was on the streets…

What happened to everyone? Where did they go?

Shi Zong nodded calmly. “Thanks for the reminder.”

Zuo Sanqiu couldn’t calm down:

“Five hours? That’s tight. This map is huge! Just walking around takes most of that time!”

He looked at Shi Zong. “You’re really unlucky.”

Shi Zong was indifferent. “We’ll take it step by step.”

Shortly after, six players gathered at the inn and headed together to Elder Gong’s residence, Dongtian Fufu.

The wealthy district of Changming Town was large but simply structured.

The shallow, narrow Four-Leaf Clover River encircled the four major estates, forming almost a complete loop, isolating the wealthy district from the slums, gold mines, and cemetery area.

Without permission, the wealthy district residents could only move within this river-formed circle.

Inside the circle, the estates of the three major families were built around the central square in the east, west, and south, while the Eternal Burial Inn where the players stayed was to the north.

Compared to the estates, the inn was close to the central square, right on the commercial street.

The central square had two commercial streets, shops run by distant branches of the three major families, including craft stores, mahjong parlors, tea houses, etc.

The commerce wasn’t particularly developed since only the three families were consuming.

Elder Gong’s residence, Dongtian Fufu, was near the commercial street.

Though the name sounded mystical, the structure wasn’t much different from ordinary houses, just more luxurious.

Five separate buildings, a front yard and a back yard, made up the residence.

“Jiang Wan’er is at Eternal Burial Inn.”

This note sat on Elder Gong’s living room desk, with the author unknown.

Next to it was a ceramic bowl.

The bowl contained a little pale yellow water, likely drunk by Elder Gong.

Shi Zong tested it with a silver hairpin; it turned black, indicating poison.

Elder Gong’s body lay in the front yard, head toward the gate, feet toward the living room.

A bump on the back of his head suggested a blunt force strike.

An arrow was lodged in his back, forming a through-and-through wound, with blackened blood on the tip.

His lips were black, nails purple, blood at the corners of his mouth—signs of poisoning.

During the investigation, players shared how they found the body and their timelines—

Last night, 2:00 a.m., Zhang Ye and Jiang Wan’er left Four-Leaf Clover River, wandered to the central square, saw the Eternal Burial Inn, and decided to stay there for the night.

2:30 a.m., Jiang Wan’er checked into room 301, Zhang Ye room 302.

Meanwhile,

What’s going on? Have the ghosts of the two brothers returned?

Thus, missing her brothers, Li Fourth Sister also went to the Eternal Burial Inn.

However, after knocking on several rooms, she couldn’t find her brothers, so she randomly picked an empty room to stay in.

Her room was 105.

7:40 a.m.

Zhang Ye, thinking about his lover not having eaten breakfast, got up early to go buy something on the commercial street, only to find the breakfast shops closed.

Not only that, there was no one on the street.

He had no choice but to return to the inn and make something in the kitchen.

8:30 a.m., after roasting potatoes, Zhang Ye wanted to find Jiang Wan’er, and upon hearing noises in the inn’s front hall, he went over and unexpectedly saw Li Second Young Master, who was supposed to be dead.

Li Second Young Master appeared in the front hall because he had an appointment with his mother, Liu Jinhua, who would call him around 8:30 a.m. to discuss Jiang Wan’er.

This era had no mobile phones, and the entire inn only had an old-style telephone in the front hall.

Thus, Li Second Young Master had been waiting in the front hall since 8:00 a.m.

At 8:30, his mother called to tell him that Elder Gong’s personal maid, Ah Hua, had discovered he was dead.

Thus, the investigation phase officially began.

So far, all the players claimed that after checking into the inn last night, they hadn’t left their rooms.

Moreover, after entering their own rooms, they hadn’t seen any of the others.

In other words, all six actually had plenty of time to commit the crime.

None of them had an alibi.

Shi Zong was squatting and re-examining the corpse when he suddenly heard Li Second Young Master speak: “Did you write that note? You’re highly suspicious. You used the note to lure Elder Gong out, then killed him.”

Author’s note:

Shi Zong: But the potatoes really were delicious.

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