Chapter 16: Why Are You Still Alive

More than ten minutes later, Zhou You finally met the woman.

Like her husband, she appeared to be in her forties or fifties.

She wore a sanitation worker’s uniform covered in dust.

Her face was weathered, her expression dull, as though the hardships of life had long since worn away every sharp edge she once possessed.

She clearly did not know what was happening.

Nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, she looked at Zhou You with unease.

Zhou You was in no hurry to speak.

Instead, he glanced back and forth between the female sanitation worker and the fat monster.

The woman had just been summoned by the creature.

But the problem was that she showed not the slightest fear toward it.

Whenever she occasionally looked at the monster, her gaze contained only the uneasiness and apprehension one might feel toward an ordinary stingy employer.

So...

Was I seeing something different from what they saw?

Or had their perception been contaminated somehow, making them incapable of recognizing reality as it truly was?

Zhou You thought for a while but still could not find an answer.

And with the fat monster standing right beside them, there was no opportunity to ask detailed questions.

He could only sigh softly before introducing himself to the woman.

“Hello. I’m an investigative reporter from the provincial television station. My name is Zhou You. This time I wanted to...”

Unexpectedly, the moment she heard the word “reporter,” the timid sanitation worker suddenly became agitated.

“My husband’s case got dug up again?!”

“Uh, no...”

“Or are you people planning to block my front door again?”

“Not that either...”

“My child really can’t take any more harassment. He was already emotionally unstable after his father died. We still don’t know where next semester’s tuition is coming from. And yet you people keep coming to interview us and bother us every day...”

Seriously, is nobody listening to what others say a tradition in this scenario?

The woman’s emotions became increasingly intense.

And it was not merely emotion.

As she cried out, the head on her neck began swelling like an inflating balloon.

It looked as though she was about to transform into an entirely new monster.

“Wait! I’m here to deliver tuition money!”

The shout rang out.

The transformation halted instantly.

“What... did you say?”

Seeing that the woman had finally stopped, Zhou You immediately adopted the gentlest voice he could manage.

“Auntie, don’t be afraid. I’m not one of those tabloid writers. Some time ago, your husband assisted in solving a case, and the province awarded a special bonus because of it. However, his identity wasn’t known at the time, so we only recently managed to locate where he lived.”

Zhou You studied the woman’s expression.

Seeing no change, he continued.

“Unfortunately, by the time we found him, he had already passed away. I just happened to be handling several interviews in the area, so I thought I’d deliver this money to you personally. At the same time, we wanted to see whether it might be possible to organize a commendation ceremony or memorial event. Please don’t worry. I’m really not here to harass you.”

The lie had plenty of holes in it.

But it was more than sufficient to fool an ordinary middle-aged woman.

The sanitation worker’s swollen head gradually shrank.

Eventually it returned to its original timid appearance.

“Young man... are you telling the truth?”

“Of course it’s true.”

To strengthen his credibility, Zhou You even pulled out the thick stack of cash from his pocket.

Since it was not his money anyway, he felt no pain giving it away.

“Look. This is the bonus issued by the province. You can take it right now. And you don’t need to worry about anyone trying to seize it from you. The television station may produce a special program about the case in a few days. If anyone tries something like that, they’d be slapping not only the station’s face, but the entire city’s leadership as well.”

As he finished speaking, Zhou You turned toward a certain fat monster.

The creature, whose face had already begun displaying greed, coughed awkwardly and turned away.

Seeing this, the sanitation worker finally believed him.

She carefully accepted the money.

Then, in a trembling voice, she said,

“I’m sorry for misunderstanding you earlier. Young man, no, Reporter Zhou... honestly, this money is a tremendous help. My child was just about to pay this semester’s tuition. Then his father suddenly... With only me working, I simply can’t earn enough money. Right now I really... I truly don’t know how to thank you...”

“Auntie, there’s no need to thank me.”

Zhou You hurriedly supported her before she could bow.

“But there is one thing I need to trouble you with. The program may require more attendees later on, so I’d like to ask whether your husband had any other immediate family members. Perhaps a brother or someone similar?”

The woman immediately began sighing.

“He did have one before. His brother used to run the business with him. Unfortunately, he was unlucky too. He died of a sudden illness several years ago. He never had a wife or children. My husband was the one who handled his funeral. After that, the food stall was left entirely to my husband alone. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have worked himself into this condition...”

Hearing this, Zhou You was finally certain.

He had indeed found the right person.

“No problem, no problem. That isn’t important. Oh, right, do you happen to have any keepsake that belonged to him? I might need to visit his grave later and pay my respects. After all, this case actually helped our station quite a bit...”

From beginning to end, his expression remained utterly sincere.

There was not the slightest trace of deception.

“Dear Player, you have obtained an unknown special item: Old Scarf.”

“Talent Keen Observation activated. Identification successful.”

“Effect: This is something a wife knitted for her husband long ago, hoping to preserve a bit of warmth during winter. While equipped, it slightly increases cold resistance. It can also be given to certain entities to improve favorability.”

After obtaining the item, Zhou You had essentially completed his daytime objective.

However, believing that a good deed should be carried through to the end, he also took the opportunity to warn the fat monster.

He informed it that city leadership was paying close attention to this case and that it should carefully consider how it treated sanitation workers in the future.

Only after receiving a series of solemn assurances did he finally leave.

As for the remaining time, he did not waste it.

Within the areas available to him, he explored as much as possible, hoping to uncover additional clues about the scenario or scout the terrain in advance.

Unfortunately, he found nothing.

Thus, as he wandered about, the sky gradually darkened.

Night arrived.

The instant the sun sank below the horizon, the scenery before Zhou You abruptly changed.

The hazy buildings of dusk suddenly tilted, vanished, and were replaced by numerous familiar sights.

In the blink of an eye, he found himself back in the security office.

“Player has entered the second night’s cycle.”

“Game progress will be automatically saved.”

Before the dizziness caused by the sudden transition could fade, however, he abruptly turned his head and looked at the clock.

Just like the first time he entered.

It still read ten thirty.

“As expected. Every return starts at a fixed time. What a shame. I wanted to see how this district transformed into this ghostly domain at night, but it’s completely locked down.”

At that very moment, however, the sound of porcelain shattering suddenly came from behind him.

Immediately afterward, a voice filled with extreme terror and utter disbelief rang out.

“Y-you... how could you still be alive?!”