Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The bicycle creaked forward, steadily making its way along the road to the farmers' market.

Taking advantage of the travel time, Bai Fuling continued reading the newspaper, scrutinizing the first article thoroughly.

The Crescent Scythe Murder Case was the first incident that occurred three months ago. It earned its name because each event happened on a night when the moon was crescent-shaped.

So far, the three victims were all young people under thirty—two men and one woman. They didn't know each other and had no apparent connections in their lives.

They were all found lying dead on the streets the next day, their throats slit and their hearts missing.

The police warned the public to be cautious when going out at night, try to travel in groups, avoid being alone, and report any suspicious individuals promptly. Beyond that, no more detailed information was disclosed.

Alright. Bai Fuling closed the newspaper and stored this clue-filled paper in his backpack. It was normal for a mission introduction to have few clues; the next step was to question the relevant NPCs.

Bai Fuling controlled his pixel character and poked the bespectacled NPC riding the bicycle.

Startled by the sudden poke in the lower back, the bespectacled young man straightened up abruptly like a frightened rabbit, nearly causing the bicycle handlebars to swerve to one side.

However, he quickly regained his balance and continued pedaling forward, wobbling slightly.

Strange, why wasn't there any dialogue? Bai Fuling waited for a moment but got nothing. So, he poked the NPC in front of him three times in a row.

The bespectacled NPC leaned forward, trying to escape, but on such a small bicycle, there was nowhere to go. Even when he ended up almost parallel to the ground, clinging to the handlebars—he finally couldn't hold back and spoke up: "Excuse me, is something wrong?"

Shouldn't an NPC immediately spout a bunch of clue-filled lines after triggering an interaction? Why was he turning the tables? Bai Fuling tilted his head. "You're asking me?"

The bespectacled NPC: "...You're asking me?"

Bai Fuling: "You're asking me???"

The bespectacled NPC: "..."

He fell silent for two seconds, then slowly said, "Well, young friend, you—just read the newspaper, didn't you? So, you want to know about that front-page news, the Crescent Scythe Murder Case?"

"Yes, yes, exactly." Bai Fuling nodded with satisfaction.

He realized that, just like the situation at the bus stop last time, this NPC needed to be interacted with multiple times, reaching a certain threshold, before he would provide hints.

—While exploring on one's own was certainly fun, repeatedly pestering an NPC to get hints and take shortcuts was its own kind of joy!

"The Crescent Scythe Murder Case... it's a major incident that's been causing quite a stir recently. A vicious serial killing." The bespectacled NPC said quietly. "But to be honest, I don't know the specifics either."

Bai Fuling waited a few seconds, then couldn't help but ask, "That's it?"

The bespectacled NPC: "...What?"

Just some empty talk, that shouldn't be right! Typically, the first NPC should provide clues pointing to the next steps.

Bai Fuling pressed further: "Don't you have any other rumors or inside information? Like whether there were any suspicious figures on the streets those nights, or if any strange things have happened in the town over the past three months? Have any manhole covers been pried open?"

The bespectacled NPC: "...I'm just a library staff member."

Meaning it was impossible for him to know that much.

Bai Fuling, however, earnestly noted down the keywords mentioned by the NPC: "Okay, library."

The library was a good place; in games, it often held many of a city's secrets. He'd go search there next time.

The bespectacled NPC: "The police have been handling this murder case from start to finish. It seems that, considering various factors, not much information has been released to the public."

Bai Fuling noted: "Police files."

Although the aftermath of hijacking the car last time was being locked in the detention room at Pelland Academy, judging by the NPC's words, this town should have a police station modeled in the game. He'd find an opportunity to check the archives room himself later.

The bespectacled NPC: "Anyway, for safety's sake, um... it's best to stay home at night, try to go out less, to avoid running into the murderer and meeting an unfortunate end."

"In other words," Bai Fuling reversed the logic, his eyes lighting up, "going out more at night might increase the chances of encountering the murder scene? Great!"

The bespectacled NPC: ?

Bai Fuling: If going out could lead to encountering the murderer in the act, that would be the simplest way to solve the case. Rewards would be in hand in no time.

A player should face fear head-on, fearless!

The black text beside him changed its content as soon as he made that initial remark: "Please pay attention to your health points. If your HP reaches zero during the mission, there is no save file, and you cannot be revived."

Oh, alright. Bai Fuling guessed that his earlier input must have triggered a system check, prompting this warning.

It seemed he couldn't just charge ahead recklessly—unless he wanted to restart from a new save file.

Currently, Bai Fuling was quite satisfied with this playthrough and didn't want to start over from scratch. Moreover, you couldn't just restart a game every time you encountered something; you'd be stuck in the beginner village forever.

Bai Fuling shifted his mindset, returning to the thought process of a puzzle game.

Following gaming conventions, to find more clues next, he would need to follow the bespectacled NPC's words and check the archives at the library or the police station.

Of course, there was another location the NPC hadn't mentioned that could also serve as an exploration spot—the funeral home. Investigating corpses was an indispensable part of mystery-solving games.

Bai Fuling thought: The bodies probably haven't been cremated that quickly, right?

—No, in games, corpses are usually preserved intact for the player's investigation, often even kept fresh.

So, if the bodies weren't at the funeral home, they'd be in coffins. If he couldn't find them at the funeral home, he'd go dig up graves at the cemetery!

As a player, Bai Fuling had absolutely no psychological burden about grave robbing. If necessary, he could even steal a coffin and carry it away.

But whatever he planned to do next, he needed tools first. Therefore, the farmers' market remained the first stop on his journey.

The bespectacled NPC dropped Bai Fuling off at the farmers' market. Almost the instant Bai Fuling jumped off the back seat, the NPC pedaled the bicycle furiously, disappearing around the corner of the road ahead in the blink of an eye.

Watching the rapidly departing figure, Bai Fuling remarked, "This NPC resets pretty fast."

A second later, he suddenly remembered: Wait, the game hasn't explained how to summon mounts yet. How am I supposed to call that bicycle back later???

Standing still for a moment, Bai Fuling recalled that the bespectacled NPC had mentioned being a library employee—so he'd just find him again during his next library exploration. NPCs don't leave their designated activity areas.

Thoughts flowed through his mind, but Bai Fuling didn't pause his actions. He controlled his pixel character and stepped into the farmers' market.

The market was filled with a dazzling array of items, and Bai Fuling's inner "take-what-you-can" mentality couldn't help but stir. However, the probability of being caught red-handed here was too high. Getting locked up again would waste time, so Bai Fuling restrained himself.

Although the player was tempted by the idea of zero-cost shopping, for now, he'd be a law-abiding good citizen.

He still had the 199 yuan obtained from the previous gang leader in his backpack, enough to buy farming tools like a hoe, sickle, and axe. He had already scavenged a watering can from a trash bin earlier, so he didn't need to buy one.

After looking around, Bai Fuling also bought fertilizer, insecticide, and seeds.

He stored all these items in his backpack. The backpack's initial 20 slots were almost full.

Expanding the backpack costs money—250*2 yuan per slot, which is 500 yuan.

But the game panel deliberately doesn’t write 500, instead showing 250*2. Bai Fuling thinks this is probably the game developer’s lame joke.

—Maybe the developers wanted to amuse players, but no one's laughing.

Bai Fuling's never even had 500 yuan to his name! The number 250*2 feels like a taunt.

Farming, solving cases, and making money—all three are top priorities right now. While Bai Fuling's lost in thought, his fingers idly swipe across the screen, so the pixel character wanders around.

Sometimes when he gets caught on something, he taps the jump button, leaping directly onto someone’s stall and hopping right over it.

Gotta say, the NPCs in this game are incredibly smart. When he jumps onto stalls or vaults over their heads, they actually shout and scream over-the-top, and some even chase after him.

Bai Fuling steers his character to dodge the pursuing NPCs, weaving through the crowd. He circles around the area and finally climbs a tree to get over the wall, leaving the farmers' market.

Outside, there's a narrow road with a van parked by the side. A tall man is leaning against the van.

As Bai Fuling passes by, the man suddenly steps forward, shoves a cloth over his face, and hooks an arm around his body. A line of text appears on the screen:

“…You feel dizzy…”

The last scene is him being dragged into the back of the van, then the door slamming shut with a “bang.” The gray pixel van immediately roars to life and drives out of the narrow road.

Bai Fuling stares at the darkened screen, stunned for a moment before it dawns on him: Did he just trigger some new quest?!

Aw, bummer—he didn’t even get to plant the seeds back at school yet. But since there’s a rare, exciting new plot, he might as well play it first. What if it’s some exclusive hidden Easter egg?

Bai Fuling rubs his hands together, full of anticipation.

He watches as the screen stays dark for a while before slowly brightening again. The surroundings have completely changed.

In sight are the plaster walls of a house and some simple living equipment, with nothing else around.

Through the window, overlapping forests and mountain shadows can be seen outside. This seems to be a remote, deep forest far from the city.

Leaning against the wall is a tall man wearing an eyepatch over one eye, smoking. Pixelated smoke rings slowly rise.

“Hey, kid,” the man says in a hoarse voice, “awake?”

“Haha,” Bai Fuling excitedly jumps up, runs two laps around the room, then clings to the window to look outside. “Wow, wow, we’re out of the city?”

The man: ?

He pauses, seemingly surprised by the other’s reaction.

“Hey, kid,” he calls again.

“Wow! Can’t see the end of it—we really unlocked a new map.” Bai Fuling casually ignores the NPC, still clinging to the window.

“…Kid!”

“Hey, there’s a kettle over there—grab it, grab it… Hmm, what’s on the table? Wooden arrows?” Bai Fuling starts openly looting the place.

At this moment, the tall man leaning against the wall can no longer stay seated. He stands up: “You—”

“What’s the mission? Spit it out,” Bai Fuling finally looks up with a grin upon hearing the voice, his eyes sparkling like gems. “Let’s get it done quickly. I still need to hurry back and farm—I have to plant the seeds before midnight refresh, or the day count will reset!”

Author’s Note:

The player is a locust (?)—looting everything in his path (??).