Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 84

[Serial Killer Case Suspect A: Ruan Mei]

[Ruan Mei is dead.]

[System Judgment: Players will not face any more danger and have completed the level ahead of time.]

As the system notification appeared, Zhou Qian realized something and immediately grabbed Bai Zhou’s wrist, seemingly instinctively not wanting him to be tainted by the blood. Just like years ago, he didn’t want Bai Zhou to be present at Zhang Yanjun’s villa.

However, his reaction was too late, and he watched as half of Bai Zhou’s body was stained red.

The young Bai Zhou was covered in blood.

Zhou Qian was instantly reminded of that day more than a decade ago.

That day, Bai Zhou, who had been alone at Zhang Yanjun’s villa and whom he hadn’t seen himself, did he look like he did now?

After a brief moment of distraction, Zhou Qian noticed the bloody scene dissipate, and Bai Zhou’s height and facial features reverted back to those of an adult.

Through the corner of his eye, he realized they were back in the exhibition hall.

Their positions remained unchanged.

He had Bai Zhou’s wrist in his grip, while Bai Zhou’s other hand was still resting on his shoulder.

The distance between the two was close but not overly intimate.

It seemed like they were leaning on each other yet also engaged in a silent standoff.

The underlying tension was palpable, as if on the brink of a breakthrough or collapse in a split second.

At that moment, Zhou Qian didn’t feel like they had just returned from a virtual game to the real-world exhibit hall. He felt like he and Bai Zhou had time-traveled from when they were ten to the present. The setting changed, time and space intertwined.

Yet their gazes remained unchanged throughout, giving Zhou Qian the illusion that not much time had passed between them.

After looking at Bai Zhou silently for a moment, Zhou Qian was about to speak when he was interrupted by a staff member at the entrance to Hall 1.

He turned his head and saw the eerie-looking worker.

She smiled and said, “Exhibition Hall A is closing. Everyone, please leave immediately. There’s a resting area ahead where you can relax. The next hall will open soon. Please wait patiently.”

Without realizing, Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou let go of each other’s hands. Zhou Qian glanced at Bai Zhou, then at Ke Si and Ke Shi, and nudged Bai Zhou’s arm. “Let’s go.”

Three minutes later, Zhou Qian and Bai Zhou left Hall A and returned to the corridor they had first entered.

Previously, there were two signs lit up, marked “A” and “B”.

Now, the “A” hall sign had dimmed, indicating it was temporarily closed.

“B” displayed a sinister red, likely meaning “currently being viewed, no entry allowed”.

Deeper down the previously dark corridor, two white signs illuminated, one marked “C” and the other “Resting Area”.

The long-haired worker in a white dress appeared like a ghost, guiding the players to the resting area.

“Each hall has a limit on the number of visitors. Your group has completed Hall A, but Hall B is still ongoing. Once they exit, if the number meets the requirement, you’ll be guided to Hall C.

“If not, you’ll have to wait.”

After saying this, the lady in white disappeared, leaving only Zhou Qian and the three others who had come from Hall A.

Sitting side by side with Bai Zhou on a couch, Zhou Qian looked at the rows of snack cabinets filled with drinks, snacks, and fruits, along with some boxed fast food. There were even microwaves on the tables.

These items had to be purchased using the universal currency of Blue Harbor City.

In the game, ten gold coins could only be exchanged for one Blue Harbor coin.

Ke Si and Ke Shi, whose real names were Liu Wansan and Jian Erdan, probably feeling hungry and thirsty, approached the snack cabinets but were quickly deterred by the prices.

“These prices are way too high, aren’t they?”

“Exactly! If it was in-game gold, it’d be one thing, but this is Blue Harbor currency! In reality, drinking water costs hundreds of thousands!”

“Forget it. Let’s bear with it. In the next exhibit, we’ll find NPCs for free stuff…”

Hearing this conversation, Zhou Qian turned to Bai Zhou beside him and joked, “Zhou Ge, you’ve been in the game for so long. You must be loaded, right?”

Bai Zhou replied, “You don’t eat fast food. Shall I get you some fruit?”

Zhou Qian responded, “No need. The prices are clearly a rip-off. The system shop has snacks and mineral water.”

“The system shop doesn’t have fruits,” Bai Zhou retorted. “Do you want an apple or an orange?”

“How about one of each?”

“Okay.”

Watching Bai Zhou go to buy the fruits, Zhou Qian smiled.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came from behind him—

“Qian’er?”

“Wuwuwu… Qian’er!”

Hm? Had He Xiaowei and the others finally emerged?

Zhou Qian turned around and indeed saw He Xiaowei.

He Xiaowei ran over with tears streaming down his face. The moment he saw Zhou Qian, tears gushed even more. He rushed over and hugged Zhou Qian tightly, crying out, “Qian’er! I thought I’d never see you again! You don’t understand; that instance was so terrifying! Ahh, a murderous maniac! I almost didn’t escape… Wuwuwu…”

“Calm down, calm down.” Zhou Qian patted him on the shoulder, then looked up to see Hidden Blade coming from behind.

Hidden Blade didn’t look well either. It seemed that the instance was indeed tough.

Behind Hidden Blade was the bald man.

Now, only one henchman was following the bald man. Both of them looked utterly defeated, like they’d been taught a lesson by the instance.

When they reached the rest area and saw only Liu Wansan and Jian Erdan behind Zhou Qian, they realized that everyone else, like Ma Luoluo and Meng Pingping, had died. The bald man almost collapsed but was caught just in time by his last remaining henchman.

They both sat on the floor, looking pale and completely different from when they first entered the instance. Before, the bald man had been the proud leader of the “Invincible Legion.” Now, his arrogance was entirely gone.

Zhou Qian glanced mockingly at the bald man, then turned to He Xiaowei. “So, what happened to you guys?”

He Xiaowei sobbed. “Serial killings… The killer was so twisted. You have no idea…”

Another serial killing? Could it be that in this exhibition, all the criminals had killed multiple people?

As Zhou Qian was about to ask something else, an apple appeared between him and He Xiaowei. It was from Bai Zhou.

Turning around, Zhou Qian looked at Bai Zhou. With a blink, Bai Zhou grabbed his wrist and pulled him over.

Moments later, Zhou Qian was out of He Xiaowei’s reach, seated on a nearby sofa. An apple was thrust into his hand, and Bai Zhou, sitting next to him, said casually, “Eat the apple.”

After glancing at Bai Zhou’s expression, Zhou Qian chuckled.

Without saying anything, he took a bite of the apple, and the number in his mind dropped to 60%. However, before he could take another bite, Hidden Blade came over. He said something to Bai Zhou with a serious face, who then got up and walked away with him, engaging in a quiet conversation.

Zhou Qian glanced at them, took another big bite of the apple, and frowned as the number rapidly increased to 71.2%.

He Xiaowei seemed oblivious to what had just happened.

He moved closer and sat beside Zhou Qian again. When he held onto Zhou Qian’s arm, his hands were still trembling from fear. Zhou Qian comforted him for a while before He Xiaowei finally relaxed.

After listening to He Xiaowei’s story, Zhou Qian got a rough idea about the instance they experienced.

In that story, a killer targeted prostitutes, claiming that all desires in this world were embodiments of sin. His purpose was to rid the world of passion and desire, cleansing humanity.

Zhou Qian snorted in disdain. “This killer is probably a woman-hating pervert. He comes up with high-sounding reasons, but they don’t hold up. Why doesn’t he target the clients?”

He Xiaowei, now a bit recovered, said, “Exactly! If he’s doing the godly work of cleaning up the world, why doesn’t he kill men? Anyway, he’s just twisted.”

“Wait a minute—” Suddenly, Zhou Qian grinned. “So, after entering that instance, you became…?”

He Xiaowei’s face turned red.

Zhou Qian pressed on, “It’s a pity I didn’t see it. Was it fun dressing as a woman, Xiaowei Ge?”

“Ahh, Qian’er! Don’t tease me! I was terrified!”

“The scenes after the murders… I won’t speak of it. Knowing that a killer is after you at any moment is scarier than ghosts! How can some humans become so terrifying?”

After rambling for a while, He Xiaowei seemed to remember something important and looked at Zhou Qian. “By the way, there’s something I never told you.”

Curious, Zhou Qian asked, “What is it?”

He Xiaowei said, “I was afraid of offending some big shot and didn’t dare to tell you. But I’ve come close to dying multiple times. During those moments, my mind was filled with regrets. One of those regrets involves you. I think I should tell you. Just in case you encounter him… If because I didn’t warn you, something happens to you… I would regret it for the rest of my life. I couldn’t bear it!”

Zhou Qian became more intrigued. “What is it?”

Grasping Zhou Qian’s wrist tightly, He Xiaowei said with deep concern, “In the ‘Last Wish’ instance, remember when you fainted? A creature resembling a dragon appeared. After it wrapped you up…”

Suddenly, He Xiaowei stopped talking. Zhou Qian urged, “What? Why did you stop?”

He then noticed He Xiaowei staring straight ahead, mouth agape, frozen in place.

Confused, Zhou Qian instinctively looked back, only to see Bai Zhou and Hidden Blade behind him. Bai Zhou was leisurely peeling an orange, while Hidden Blade chuckled awkwardly. “Haha, I wanted to get a potion to replenish my disciple’s state, but accidentally used the wrong prop and froze him. Ha… ha… ha…”

Upon hearing that, Zhou Qian raised an eyebrow and quickly narrowed his eyes. He swiftly stood up, grabbed Bai Zhou’s wrist, and took him aside, staring intently into Bai Zhou’s dark eyes.

When the two of them were together, Zhou Qian was always the talkative one, while Bai Zhou spoke little.

This time, Zhou Qian remained silent, just staring at Bai Zhou. After a moment, Bai Zhou finally asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Zhou Ge, you’re being sneaky.” Zhou Qian questioned, “What did you do to me?”

Bai Zhou’s gaze drifted to the center of Zhou Qian’s forehead. After observing it for a moment, he lifted his left hand, deliberately pressing his thumb against it. Quickly, he withdrew his hand. Just as Zhou Qian was about to press him further, Bai Zhou popped a piece of peeled orange into his mouth.

Zhou Qian: “…”

Bai Zhou: “Is it still sour?”

Zhou Qian: “……”

On the nearby sofa, He Xiaowei was paralyzed. He glanced down and noticed a system notification flashing before him:

​[Player 137 used the prop on you: One, Two, Three, Wooden Statues*]

*This is referring to the game Red Light, Green Light, which has a variety of different names depending on which country you’re in. You can read the rules on Wikipedia.

​[Effect: Unable to speak or move. Anyone who makes eye contact with you for more than ten seconds will be infected and turn into a wooden mannequin too, which will be released after 30 seconds.]

[Item Time Limit: 30 seconds.]

Once the effect wore off, He Xiaowei looked at Hidden Blade in horror. “Master…”

Hidden Blade patted him on the shoulder. “Talk less, do more.”

He Xiaowei: “I was just warning my brother! Last time, out of nowhere, a dragon suddenly appeared and kissed him. He was molested—”

Before he could finish, Hidden Blade hurriedly covered his mouth, his face showing a broken expression.

What…what? 

What did He Xiaowei say? 

What did 137 do?! 

My God, he is…? 

Why did He Xiaowei tell me this? If something happens, won’t I be implicated?!

It took a full minute for Hidden Blade to calm his internal turmoil. He cleared his throat and seriously said to He Xiaowei, “For the next instance, you must remain silent.”

He Xiaowei: “?”

Hidden Blade: “I am testing your composure. It’s up to you to pass.”

He Xiaowei: “…”

……

In the corner of the rest area on a sofa, the name “Ke Si” above his head had disappeared, revealing the real name Liu Wansan. Pretending to be afraid and despondent, he observed the others.

Not far away, Zhou Qian, 137, Hidden Blade, and He Xiaowei were discussing something. Nearby, their leader, the bald Batu Fei, and his henchman Chen Dami sat on the ground, looking defeated.

After a while, Batu Fei suddenly sat up aggressively, glaring viciously in Zhou Qian’s direction. However, his fury didn’t last long, as his eyes soon filled with fear again.

He entered this instance to pursue and kill Zhou Qian, resulting in the loss of many of his comrades.

So, he directed all his hatred towards Zhou Qian.

He desperately wanted to kill Zhou Qian to vent all his fear, anger, and resentment.

Yet, he was also afraid. He suddenly realized that he might not even have the courage to enter the next instance.

Liu Wansan observed all this with a slight downward curve at the corner of his mouth.

He didn’t speak immediately but rather opened the system panel, preparing for the next instance.

On the system panel that only he could see, his name wasn’t Liu Wansan, but Wen Bin.

In the virtual game at Exhibition Hall A, that night, he jumped from a car to evade a potentially fatal situation. He then ran with all his might, managing to return to the mountaintop villa within the stipulated time.

Of course, he didn’t enter the villa right away but chose to watch from behind a tree.

During this time, he noticed “Ke Shi” Jian Erdan and the real “Ke Si” Liu Wansan coming out.

After the two conducted some checks in the yard, Jian Erdan went to the backyard, leaving Liu Wansan alone in the front yard.

Seizing this opportunity, Wen Bin tried using a particular tool.

There were two paths before Wen Bin at that time.

The first was to openly appear in front of everyone, but that meant he would have to bow down to Zhou Qian and even beg him in every way possible.

Wen Bin knew that if he intended to stir things up, he had a chance to harm everyone. Therefore, Zhou Qian might not necessarily disagree with him joining forces. But Zhou Qian would surely act condescendingly, perhaps even mocking him.

Thus, unless absolutely necessary, Wen Bin wouldn’t choose this path.

His ideal choice was the second path.

But to tread this path, there was a precondition: He had to gamble on whether a treasured prop he had could be used in this instance.

This instance was extremely unfavorable to players. Players who thought they had figured out a way to avoid dangers could easily face death if not careful.

The instance was not only full of traps, but there were also strict restrictions on items.

Offensive items, strong defensive items, life-saving items, and escape items like the Universe Teleportation Mirror were all prohibited.

However, Wen Bin discovered that the tools for private chats between players were still functional. Based on this, he took a gamble and pulled out the [Identity Duplication Camera].

[Item Function: Aim the lens on the card at the target and take a frontal photo to capture their appearance, physique, voice, etc. The photo will slide out after 30 seconds. Place it on your forehead for 30 seconds, and you can disguise yourself as the person in the photo.]

[Disguise Time Limit: 24 hours]

[Note: The camera film is consumable and can only take three photos.]

The private chat prop was for players to use among themselves. So was this identity duplication prop.

Taking a deep breath, Wen Bin aimed the camera at “Ke Si” Liu Wansan, who was wandering around the yard. With a soft “click”, the shutter was pressed. The faint sound quickly blended into the night, carried away by the wind, leaving no trace.

30 seconds later, a photo slid out of the camera, slowly developing like a Polaroid.

Wen Bin pressed the photo against his forehead, and when he removed it, he had transformed into Liu Wansan, even having the title “Ke Si” above his head.

What Wen Bin needed to do next was to completely replace Liu Wansan’s identity. He continued to hide behind the tree, waiting for the right moment. About three minutes later, he seized his chance.

The real Liu Wansan approached where Wen Bin was hiding, which was near the front gate. Seeing this, Wen Bin picked up a stone and threw it towards the gate. As expected, Liu Wansan was alerted by the noise and approached the gate to investigate. Seizing the moment, Wen Bin sprinted forward and pushed Liu Wansan hard from behind.

Caught off guard, Liu Wansan fell forward, his upper body tumbling out of the front gate. Without hesitation, Wen Bin quickly grabbed Liu Wansan’s ankles and shoved him completely out of the gate.

Due to stepping out of the plot’s designated area, Liu Wansan quickly vanished. Fortunately, in this instance, the system didn’t announce players’ deaths in real-time, and Wen Bin breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, “Ke Shi” Jian Erdan ran over from the backyard. “I heard some noise. Is everything alright?”

Wen Bin looked at him, smiling and shaking his head. “It’s fine.”

Shortly after, Zhou Qian pushed open the villa’s main door and walked over. “How did your inspection go? I’ll review it with you once more and then tell you what we should do tomorrow.”

Successfully posing as Liu Wansan, with all his features, including the title “Ke Si” above his head, Wen Bin approached Zhou Qian. “We’re almost done. I’m really nervous. What exactly should we do tomorrow?”

……

Blue Harbor City, 1993.

Ke Family Mansion.

Ke Zheng retrieved the latest newspaper from the mailbox at the entrance. After scouring through it, he found the piece of information he was most eager to know—”According to police disclosures, there has been new progress in the city’s major serial child murder case. Numerous fingerprints have been extracted from the children’s bodies. There seems to be another suspect. The truth remains to be uncovered. Ruan Mei has been acquitted.”

It really wasn’t A’Mei…

He had always said so: How could Ruan Mei commit such a crime? It was impossible.

Ke Zheng let out a long sigh of relief.

By noon, there was a knock at the door.

Ke Zheng immediately opened it, welcoming Ruan Mei inside and holding her tightly. “Thank goodness you’re okay. Welcome home!”

Ruan Mei replied with a smile, “I’m fine. You can go to work. I’ll take care of the house.”

In the afternoon, Ruan Mei saw Ke Zheng off to work.

The only child they had left at home had been sent to Ke Yun for care.

Thus, after her husband left, the house felt eerily empty.

Ruan Mei went to the master bedroom on the second floor and sat quietly by the bed. After a moment, she noticed the straight baseboard at the corner of the wall in front of her bend slightly. She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she found herself in Exhibition Hall 7 of the Blue Harbor City 2301 Exhibition Center.

The pitch-black hall slowly illuminated, and all the bodies of infants and children vanished. A short-haired staff member in a red dress approached her.

“Are you satisfied with everything we’ve done for you?” the staff member asked.

“I had already been arrested by the police. I thought I was facing the death penalty…”

Ruan Mei looked at her. “How did you manage this?”

“Because we can change history,” the staff member replied with a smile, handing Ruan Mei a red ribbon. “Please wear it on your left hand.”

Ruan Mei accepted the ribbon and indeed wore it on her hand.

She then heard the staff member say, “Welcome to the Murder Exhibition Hall. Those without a ribbon on their hand can become suspects. When the time comes, we invite you to view them.”

“By then, you can choose a substitute to your liking. They can replace you and become the ‘past’ suspect.”

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