Three pairs of pupils reflected the dancing lights from the computer screen. Bai Lixin’s fingers danced across the touchpad, moving at a remarkable speed.
“What’s all this?” Young King Yama extended his hand, plucking a thick book and a brush out of thin air. He flipped through several pages and began to write on them.
After flipping through a photo, Bai Lixin curiously gazed at Young King Yama who was busy writing, “What are you writing?”
Young King Yama replied, “Marking down the names of those scumbags. They’ll receive special attention when they arrive in the underworld.”
As he spoke, a dark and cruel villainous smile curved on his lips.
“…” Bai Lixin withdrew his gaze and continued browsing the contents on the computer.
Inside the computer’s hard drive were folders, each clearly indicating the information within.
Borrowing date, age, gender, appearance rating, and more… behind this information, there were some special annotations.
“Worth 100,000”, “Chairman Wang’s favorite”, “Black Market Livestream Room”, “Sales of Forbidden Pictures”…
And so on.
Opening a folder revealed photographs and videos of different individuals.
Half-clothed shots holding an ID, full-clothed videos facing the mirror…
These people were generally young, with the youngest being under eighteen and the oldest around thirty.
Their borrowed sums were generally not large, ranging from a few thousand to ten, twenty and thirty thousand at most.
Their faces carried the unique innocence and naivety of their age.
In their hearts, they thought they obtained the money through discreet shame and pride.
Perhaps they were told that taking such pictures was only a means of repaying debts, and they wouldn’t be circulated.
But the moment those photos were taken, they were already labeled with a price.
Bai Lixin found a hidden livestream room on the desktop. He used his phone’s hotspot to connect to the internet, and easily entered the room.
It was a dark web livestream room.
The room had over a thousand viewers, and on the screen, a pair of gloved hands were showcasing their “products”.
The gloved hands were displaying an image of a nude woman, who looked timidly at the camera, her slender body posed seductively.
“This is today’s merchandise, with code a—54367, a 22-year-old female university student, height 172 cm, weight 52 kg. And she’s still a young chick, the type many bosses should like, right? If you’re interested, hit 1 in the barrage. The auction for this item will begin in one minute.”
The speaker’s voice had undergone special processing, becoming a cute electronic tone.
Who would have thought that these cruel and heartless words were spoken in such a cute voice?
In the lower-left corner of the barrage, the number “1” kept getting sent out.
The electronic tone then excitedly said, “Since so many people like it, I can’t dampen everyone’s spirits. Let’s go for a good start, the starting price is 8888, with increments of 2000. Bosses, you can start bidding.”
The three men fixed their gazes on the barrage.
Soon, several people joined the bidding battle. In a matter of moments, the price for the young woman had jumped from 8888 to 50,000.
In the barrage, occasional questions were being thrown. The anchor’s gloved hand casually played with the photos, answering the room’s questions leisurely.
Bai Lixin noticed that their left middle finger was slightly longer than normal, and the joints were a bit less flexible.
“When will the goods be delivered? Anytime is fine. This item is currently in City X. You can choose to come and pick it up yourself or have us deliver it to your door. But for the sake of privacy, our bosses usually prefer to come and take the person away themselves.”
“What can be done with the goods after the auction?”
“After the auction, the goods belong entirely to you. However, the usage period is only one year. In this year, whether you want to display her as a decoration at home, use her as a plaything in bed, or satisfy certain interests, it’s up to your own desires. But now it’s a civilized society, and we are all civilized people. Play as you want, but rules must be observed. First, no loss of life, and second, no physical harm.”
“Violators will be blacklisted permanently and will also have to pay substantial compensation,” a cute electronic tone laughed from the computer. “I believe all our bosses will follow our game rules, right?”
“Want to play for a few more years? Oh my, my good boss, aren’t you satisfied with just one year? Many of our bosses here get tired within three months. If you really want to play for a couple more years, that’s fine too, but it’ll take a few more months to arrange that. But you know, if the merchandise becomes infatuated with you during usage, then you won’t need to spend money to keep playing, right? So, I suggest you don’t use them for so long, just take a year to start.”
“You want a few more? Of course, no problem at all. You’re the boss, as long as your money is ready, I can even get you ten if you want.”
“How is the money exchanged? Worried about being tracked? Don’t worry, we’ve been around for decades, our industry chain is mature. Before live streaming, we used mailing and offline auctions. We started live streaming only recently. Our website’s IP is overseas, untraceable domestically. Our account transactions all occur on the international network, absolutely safe. If you’re still not at ease, we can trade face-to-face, and pay with cash.”
“Is the merchandise authentic? Absolutely authentic. We know everything about their ID, home address, school, social connections, and family members. Plus, they’re absolutely obedient and well-behaved, they won’t cause unnecessary trouble for our bosses.”
The anchor explained enthusiastically, their voice trembling slightly, as if they thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of controlling others’ lives.
The auction price gradually climbed to 150,000 during the anchor’s chatter.
Finally, the auction price for the girl stopped at 300,000.
Afterward, the anchor introduced several more “products,” both male and female, all of them being exposed.
Bai Lixin also selected one, noting it for a face-to-face transaction.
The livestream lasted for three hours, and some “products” received no bids. At the end, the anchor divided the photos into two stacks: one stack contained the sold “products,” while the other held the unsold ones.
“Now, bosses,” the anchor picked up the unsold stack again, “these items didn’t sell. Since our bosses don’t seem to like them, how about appreciating some photos? The photos are quite affordable, 200 yuan each, ten people per bundle. So those are 50 photos in total, plus an extra five videos. They’re in the little yellow cart in the livestream room. Interested bosses can place an order directly.”
Bai Lixin clicked on the purchase link below the livestream. In a matter of minutes, the transaction count jumped from “0” to dozens, then to hundreds and even thousands.
Bai Lixin clicked through each product introduction. In one of them, he saw Chen Ping’s information, which was supposed to have been thoroughly erased.
The photo showed Chen Ping crawling on the ground, his face a mix of seduction and grievance as he looked up, as humble as a begging dog wagging its tail.
Those who borrowed money probably never dreamt that when they sold their most intimate photos, they were sealing their fate with no chance to turn back.
“Isn’t that Chen Ping?” Young King Yama frowned, “The so-called ‘destruction’ of the photos was a lie. From the moment they sold their bodies, their dark history was destined to be eternal.”
“These people really played a clever game.”
“If borrowers can repay, they can earn a lot of money. They pretend to erase all traces of their dark history, but in reality, they’ve already backed up the data.”
“These auctioned individuals are probably those who couldn’t repay. They were either coerced or threatened, forced to agree to become ‘merchandise.’ Some borrowers might be kept in the dark. Those bastards might even pretend to be kind-hearted, brainwashing them with ideas like, ‘I’ve got a way for you, go accompany a big boss for a year, perform well, and the big boss will reward you with a lot of money.’ If they can sell their bodies once for money, they can do it a second or third time, ultimately leading them down an irreversible path.”
“And as for the photos and videos of those who paid back their loans, they can be seen as entirely at the mercy of those bastards. If they’re in a good mood, they’ll spare them; if not, they’ll pack the photos and sell them off.”
“Among those hiding behind the livestream as buyers, perhaps there are people who recognize these ‘merchandise.’”
“Among these people, there could be well-dressed politicians, wealthy capitalists, or even inconspicuous ordinary people around us.”
“With those kinds of photos displayed like timed bombs, it’s fine if they don’t get leaked. But once they’re leaked, it’s like a sword hanging over their heads.”
“I really don’t understand what these people who borrow a mere three to five thousand are thinking. Risking their whole lives for such a small amount of money? Have they lost their minds?”
Bai Lixin: “You’re quite talkative tonight.”
Young King Yama pressed his lips together: “I am irritated, I need to vent.”
Bai Lixin quickly skimmed through the photos one by one, then suddenly stopped at the product description of one of them.
He was looking at a girl’s photo. He had seen other photos of this girl just a few days ago.
He wouldn’t mistake It; the protagonist of this photo was the same girl who was said to have mysteriously disappeared from her room.
If her photo was among these photos, it meant that the girl had also been inq contact with this kind of crowd and had reached some sort of financial agreement.
Her disappearance was likely related to this group.
Before the anchor finished, Bai Lixin took out his phone and captured the girl’s face.
Not long after the livestream ended, Bai Lixin received a text message on his phone.
The message only had a time and an address. At the end of the message were two words: “delivery.”
Shen Mo looked over, “The time is tomorrow… oh no, it’s already past midnight, so it should be tonight. Do you need me to accompany you?”
Bai Lixin nodded earnestly, “Of course, I really need you.”
Shen Mo’s previously depressed mood instantly lifted, “I’ll definitely protect you, rest assured.”
If such a handsome “boss” appeared to pick up the goods, those bad people might target him. He must go along.
“Protection is secondary, the main issue is that I don’t have money,” Bai Lixin beamed at Shen Mo, “Can you get me 100,000 yuan in cash?”
He omitted the word ”borrow.”
Shen Mo nodded repeatedly.
Take it, take it! Take 10 million, 100 million, even a billion! No problem!
Young King Yama frowned. He was torn between speaking and keeping silent, and had an unsatisfactory expression on his face.
———————————
In the live broadcast room.
[The big boss won this round.]
[Hiding my face and crying, so money can really do whatever it wants.]
[Young King Yama lost due to money.]
[”Father and Son Round” – “The Older, The Wiser”]
[Damn, a father and son round, I just want to know, is the big boss still wearing his face from the underworld copy? Why didn’t Master Tuanzi recognize him?]
[Face-blindness?]
[What face-blindness? He can recognize God Xin. Maybe it’s because the big boss is a serpent in this copy?]
[Maybe he recognized him but chose not to acknowledge it.]
[Why? Could it be because he likes God Xin?]
[I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem like it. The way Young King Yama talks to God Xin feels like a kid seeking approval, not that kind of complex.]
[I just find it puzzling.]
[Ahhh, I’m so angry. Clearly, it’s just a game, yet I’m getting so worked up. The people in the livestream room are all trash, and those thinking about borrowing from loan sharks are brainless too. How can they be so foolish!]
[Sigh—brother, I’m getting worked up too. Don’t overthink it, just concentrate on God Xin’s family drama more, you’ll feel happier.]
[Yeah, yeah, I strongly recommend that we watch the livestream without using our brains. Even now, I can’t figure out who the murderer is.]
——————————–
At five in the morning, the group chat in the system erupted in excitement.
Man in the suit: [Quick, open the internet, check the trending topics for City X. There are floating corpses in the river. The dead players have been identified. It’s the player whose profession is a nanny.]
In the early hours of the morning at five o’clock, Bai Lixin, who hadn’t slept, quickly searched for news based on the information provided by the man in the suit.
He clicked on the top link, which contained a video lasting several minutes.
Earlier this morning, the police received a report and fished out a female corpse from the river. Because there were onlookers at the scene, the face of the female corpse was captured on video and posted online.
Just as the man in the suit had said, judging from the clothes and facial features, the deceased was indeed the nanny player.
Mohawk: [I’m also sure that the other dead player is the software engineer. I passed by his workplace when I was delivering takeout tonight. According to his colleague, he died from overwork. After continuously working for four days without rest, he finally collapsed and died. His colleague found him at around seven in the morning of the next day.]
Bai Lixin: [The earliest time they discovered his death was at seven in the morning?]
Mohawk: [Yes, what’s the matter?]
Bai Lixin: [That means he died before seven o’clock, but the system’s notification time was at ten in the morning.]
Man in the suit: [Is there a problem with that?]
Bai Lixin: [No. It’s just that I’ve always thought the system’s death notifications were in real-time, that they would notify us the instant the person dies. Now it seems the system aggregates all the deaths from the previous day and reports them all at ten the next day.]
Mohawk: [It’s probably like that. There’s a delay in the notifications, but does it matter?]
The man in the suit: [I still think we should look for that female player who left our group the earliest. I believe she should still have some important clues on her. All of you, pay attention and see if you can find her.]
Mohawk: [Today, I went to the Wangchuan Fruit Shop that I’m responsible for and asked around. I haven’t seen the man with sunglasses.]
The man in the suit: [I haven’t had a chance to go yet. I’ll go tomorrow.]
Twin Ponytails: [Speaking of this, I did find something. After chatting with you guys, I went to the Wangchuan Fruit Shop that I was assigned to and found out about the man’s whereabouts. He only recently started showing up in the area. Every day at two in the afternoon, he would go into the shop and sit for a while. Because he also wears sunglasses indoors, he was initially mistaken for a blind person. But later, the waitstaff realized his vision was fine, yet they didn’t know why he always wore sunglasses.]
[During my shift tonight, I sneaked into the ophthalmology department and reviewed the records. In the corner, I found his medical records. He had been receiving treatment at our hospital since last year. Despite actively seeking treatment, his condition wasn’t improving. By the final stage, the vision in his right eye had almost diminished to zero, and this kind of blindness is irreversible.]
Mohawk: [That’s suspicious! Someone who was blind suddenly regained their sight. That swollen eyeball looks like a symptom of a disease, and the librarian also had an eye problem. Could he be the owner of that eyeball? Let’s make a guess and try entering the answer into the system.]
The man in the suit: [… You can only input the answer once. If you get it wrong, it’s considered a game failure. Who should try?]
There was a sudden silence in the chat room.
Twin Ponytails: [How about… I give it a try. If I chat in the group within a minute, it means my answer is correct.]
Then time seemed to slow down in an instant.
It was five in the morning, the most drowsy time, yet they had no hint of sleepiness.
The players anxiously waited.
Mohawk: [Why hasn’t anyone spoken? Could the answer be wrong?]
Xia Chi: [Wait a bit longer, it’s only been a minute.]
Just when everyone was becoming anxious, Twin Ponytails finally appeared in the chat box: [I’m back! You’re right, that librarian is indeed the owner of that eyeball. His name is “Xu Xiangtian”, I saw the name on his records earlier. Quickly enter the answer.]
The man in the suit: [That’s great! Your discovery has been a huge help.]
Mohawk: [The name is correct, I’ve successfully entered it too.]
The man in the suit: [Mine is correct as well.]
Xia Chi: [No doubt, this is the correct answer.]
Three pairs of pupils reflected the dancing lights from the computer screen. Bai Lixin’s fingers danced across the touchpad, moving at a remarkable speed.
“What’s all this?” Young King Yama extended his hand, plucking a thick book and a brush out of thin air. He flipped through several pages and began to write on them.
After flipping through a photo, Bai Lixin curiously gazed at Young King Yama who was busy writing, “What are you writing?”
Young King Yama replied, “Marking down the names of those scumbags. They’ll receive special attention when they arrive in the underworld.”
As he spoke, a dark and cruel villainous smile curved on his lips.
“…” Bai Lixin withdrew his gaze and continued browsing the contents on the computer.
Inside the computer’s hard drive were folders, each clearly indicating the information within.
Borrowing date, age, gender, appearance rating, and more… behind this information, there were some special annotations.
“Worth 100,000”, “Chairman Wang’s favorite”, “Black Market Livestream Room”, “Sales of Forbidden Pictures”…
And so on.
Opening a folder revealed photographs and videos of different individuals.
Half-clothed shots holding an ID, full-clothed videos facing the mirror…
These people were generally young, with the youngest being under eighteen and the oldest around thirty.
Their borrowed sums were generally not large, ranging from a few thousand to ten, twenty and thirty thousand at most.
Their faces carried the unique innocence and naivety of their age.
In their hearts, they thought they obtained the money through discreet shame and pride.
Perhaps they were told that taking such pictures was only a means of repaying debts, and they wouldn’t be circulated.
But the moment those photos were taken, they were already labeled with a price.
Bai Lixin found a hidden livestream room on the desktop. He used his phone’s hotspot to connect to the internet, and easily entered the room.
It was a dark web livestream room.
The room had over a thousand viewers, and on the screen, a pair of gloved hands were showcasing their “products”.
The gloved hands were displaying an image of a nude woman, who looked timidly at the camera, her slender body posed seductively.
“This is today’s merchandise, with code a—54367, a 22-year-old female university student, height 172 cm, weight 52 kg. And she’s still a young chick, the type many bosses should like, right? If you’re interested, hit 1 in the barrage. The auction for this item will begin in one minute.”
The speaker’s voice had undergone special processing, becoming a cute electronic tone.
Who would have thought that these cruel and heartless words were spoken in such a cute voice?
In the lower-left corner of the barrage, the number “1” kept getting sent out.
The electronic tone then excitedly said, “Since so many people like it, I can’t dampen everyone’s spirits. Let’s go for a good start, the starting price is 8888, with increments of 2000. Bosses, you can start bidding.”
The three men fixed their gazes on the barrage.
Soon, several people joined the bidding battle. In a matter of moments, the price for the young woman had jumped from 8888 to 50,000.
In the barrage, occasional questions were being thrown. The anchor’s gloved hand casually played with the photos, answering the room’s questions leisurely.
Bai Lixin noticed that their left middle finger was slightly longer than normal, and the joints were a bit less flexible.
“When will the goods be delivered? Anytime is fine. This item is currently in City X. You can choose to come and pick it up yourself or have us deliver it to your door. But for the sake of privacy, our bosses usually prefer to come and take the person away themselves.”
“What can be done with the goods after the auction?”
“After the auction, the goods belong entirely to you. However, the usage period is only one year. In this year, whether you want to display her as a decoration at home, use her as a plaything in bed, or satisfy certain interests, it’s up to your own desires. But now it’s a civilized society, and we are all civilized people. Play as you want, but rules must be observed. First, no loss of life, and second, no physical harm.”
“Violators will be blacklisted permanently and will also have to pay substantial compensation,” a cute electronic tone laughed from the computer. “I believe all our bosses will follow our game rules, right?”
“Want to play for a few more years? Oh my, my good boss, aren’t you satisfied with just one year? Many of our bosses here get tired within three months. If you really want to play for a couple more years, that’s fine too, but it’ll take a few more months to arrange that. But you know, if the merchandise becomes infatuated with you during usage, then you won’t need to spend money to keep playing, right? So, I suggest you don’t use them for so long, just take a year to start.”
“You want a few more? Of course, no problem at all. You’re the boss, as long as your money is ready, I can even get you ten if you want.”
“How is the money exchanged? Worried about being tracked? Don’t worry, we’ve been around for decades, our industry chain is mature. Before live streaming, we used mailing and offline auctions. We started live streaming only recently. Our website’s IP is overseas, untraceable domestically. Our account transactions all occur on the international network, absolutely safe. If you’re still not at ease, we can trade face-to-face, and pay with cash.”
“Is the merchandise authentic? Absolutely authentic. We know everything about their ID, home address, school, social connections, and family members. Plus, they’re absolutely obedient and well-behaved, they won’t cause unnecessary trouble for our bosses.”
The anchor explained enthusiastically, their voice trembling slightly, as if they thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of controlling others’ lives.
The auction price gradually climbed to 150,000 during the anchor’s chatter.
Finally, the auction price for the girl stopped at 300,000.
Afterward, the anchor introduced several more “products,” both male and female, all of them being exposed.
Bai Lixin also selected one, noting it for a face-to-face transaction.
The livestream lasted for three hours, and some “products” received no bids. At the end, the anchor divided the photos into two stacks: one stack contained the sold “products,” while the other held the unsold ones.
“Now, bosses,” the anchor picked up the unsold stack again, “these items didn’t sell. Since our bosses don’t seem to like them, how about appreciating some photos? The photos are quite affordable, 200 yuan each, ten people per bundle. So those are 50 photos in total, plus an extra five videos. They’re in the little yellow cart in the livestream room. Interested bosses can place an order directly.”
Bai Lixin clicked on the purchase link below the livestream. In a matter of minutes, the transaction count jumped from “0” to dozens, then to hundreds and even thousands.
Bai Lixin clicked through each product introduction. In one of them, he saw Chen Ping’s information, which was supposed to have been thoroughly erased.
The photo showed Chen Ping crawling on the ground, his face a mix of seduction and grievance as he looked up, as humble as a begging dog wagging its tail.
Those who borrowed money probably never dreamt that when they sold their most intimate photos, they were sealing their fate with no chance to turn back.
“Isn’t that Chen Ping?” Young King Yama frowned, “The so-called ‘destruction’ of the photos was a lie. From the moment they sold their bodies, their dark history was destined to be eternal.”
“These people really played a clever game.”
“If borrowers can repay, they can earn a lot of money. They pretend to erase all traces of their dark history, but in reality, they’ve already backed up the data.”
“These auctioned individuals are probably those who couldn’t repay. They were either coerced or threatened, forced to agree to become ‘merchandise.’ Some borrowers might be kept in the dark. Those bastards might even pretend to be kind-hearted, brainwashing them with ideas like, ‘I’ve got a way for you, go accompany a big boss for a year, perform well, and the big boss will reward you with a lot of money.’ If they can sell their bodies once for money, they can do it a second or third time, ultimately leading them down an irreversible path.”
“And as for the photos and videos of those who paid back their loans, they can be seen as entirely at the mercy of those bastards. If they’re in a good mood, they’ll spare them; if not, they’ll pack the photos and sell them off.”
“Among those hiding behind the livestream as buyers, perhaps there are people who recognize these ‘merchandise.’”
“Among these people, there could be well-dressed politicians, wealthy capitalists, or even inconspicuous ordinary people around us.”
“With those kinds of photos displayed like timed bombs, it’s fine if they don’t get leaked. But once they’re leaked, it’s like a sword hanging over their heads.”
“I really don’t understand what these people who borrow a mere three to five thousand are thinking. Risking their whole lives for such a small amount of money? Have they lost their minds?”
Bai Lixin: “You’re quite talkative tonight.”
Young King Yama pressed his lips together: “I am irritated, I need to vent.”
Bai Lixin quickly skimmed through the photos one by one, then suddenly stopped at the product description of one of them.
He was looking at a girl’s photo. He had seen other photos of this girl just a few days ago.
He wouldn’t mistake It; the protagonist of this photo was the same girl who was said to have mysteriously disappeared from her room.
If her photo was among these photos, it meant that the girl had also been inq contact with this kind of crowd and had reached some sort of financial agreement.
Her disappearance was likely related to this group.
Before the anchor finished, Bai Lixin took out his phone and captured the girl’s face.
Not long after the livestream ended, Bai Lixin received a text message on his phone.
The message only had a time and an address. At the end of the message were two words: “delivery.”
Shen Mo looked over, “The time is tomorrow… oh no, it’s already past midnight, so it should be tonight. Do you need me to accompany you?”
Bai Lixin nodded earnestly, “Of course, I really need you.”
Shen Mo’s previously depressed mood instantly lifted, “I’ll definitely protect you, rest assured.”
If such a handsome “boss” appeared to pick up the goods, those bad people might target him. He must go along.
“Protection is secondary, the main issue is that I don’t have money,” Bai Lixin beamed at Shen Mo, “Can you get me 100,000 yuan in cash?”
He omitted the word ”borrow.”
Shen Mo nodded repeatedly.
Take it, take it! Take 10 million, 100 million, even a billion! No problem!
Young King Yama frowned. He was torn between speaking and keeping silent, and had an unsatisfactory expression on his face.
———————————
In the live broadcast room.
[The big boss won this round.]
[Hiding my face and crying, so money can really do whatever it wants.]
[Young King Yama lost due to money.]
[”Father and Son Round” – “The Older, The Wiser”]
[Damn, a father and son round, I just want to know, is the big boss still wearing his face from the underworld copy? Why didn’t Master Tuanzi recognize him?]
[Face-blindness?]
[What face-blindness? He can recognize God Xin. Maybe it’s because the big boss is a serpent in this copy?]
[Maybe he recognized him but chose not to acknowledge it.]
[Why? Could it be because he likes God Xin?]
[I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem like it. The way Young King Yama talks to God Xin feels like a kid seeking approval, not that kind of complex.]
[I just find it puzzling.]
[Ahhh, I’m so angry. Clearly, it’s just a game, yet I’m getting so worked up. The people in the livestream room are all trash, and those thinking about borrowing from loan sharks are brainless too. How can they be so foolish!]
[Sigh—brother, I’m getting worked up too. Don’t overthink it, just concentrate on God Xin’s family drama more, you’ll feel happier.]
[Yeah, yeah, I strongly recommend that we watch the livestream without using our brains. Even now, I can’t figure out who the murderer is.]
——————————–
At five in the morning, the group chat in the system erupted in excitement.
Man in the suit: [Quick, open the internet, check the trending topics for City X. There are floating corpses in the river. The dead players have been identified. It’s the player whose profession is a nanny.]
In the early hours of the morning at five o’clock, Bai Lixin, who hadn’t slept, quickly searched for news based on the information provided by the man in the suit.
He clicked on the top link, which contained a video lasting several minutes.
Earlier this morning, the police received a report and fished out a female corpse from the river. Because there were onlookers at the scene, the face of the female corpse was captured on video and posted online.
Just as the man in the suit had said, judging from the clothes and facial features, the deceased was indeed the nanny player.
Mohawk: [I’m also sure that the other dead player is the software engineer. I passed by his workplace when I was delivering takeout tonight. According to his colleague, he died from overwork. After continuously working for four days without rest, he finally collapsed and died. His colleague found him at around seven in the morning of the next day.]
Bai Lixin: [The earliest time they discovered his death was at seven in the morning?]
Mohawk: [Yes, what’s the matter?]
Bai Lixin: [That means he died before seven o’clock, but the system’s notification time was at ten in the morning.]
Man in the suit: [Is there a problem with that?]
Bai Lixin: [No. It’s just that I’ve always thought the system’s death notifications were in real-time, that they would notify us the instant the person dies. Now it seems the system aggregates all the deaths from the previous day and reports them all at ten the next day.]
Mohawk: [It’s probably like that. There’s a delay in the notifications, but does it matter?]
The man in the suit: [I still think we should look for that female player who left our group the earliest. I believe she should still have some important clues on her. All of you, pay attention and see if you can find her.]
Mohawk: [Today, I went to the Wangchuan Fruit Shop that I’m responsible for and asked around. I haven’t seen the man with sunglasses.]
The man in the suit: [I haven’t had a chance to go yet. I’ll go tomorrow.]
Twin Ponytails: [Speaking of this, I did find something. After chatting with you guys, I went to the Wangchuan Fruit Shop that I was assigned to and found out about the man’s whereabouts. He only recently started showing up in the area. Every day at two in the afternoon, he would go into the shop and sit for a while. Because he also wears sunglasses indoors, he was initially mistaken for a blind person. But later, the waitstaff realized his vision was fine, yet they didn’t know why he always wore sunglasses.]
[During my shift tonight, I sneaked into the ophthalmology department and reviewed the records. In the corner, I found his medical records. He had been receiving treatment at our hospital since last year. Despite actively seeking treatment, his condition wasn’t improving. By the final stage, the vision in his right eye had almost diminished to zero, and this kind of blindness is irreversible.]
Mohawk: [That’s suspicious! Someone who was blind suddenly regained their sight. That swollen eyeball looks like a symptom of a disease, and the librarian also had an eye problem. Could he be the owner of that eyeball? Let’s make a guess and try entering the answer into the system.]
The man in the suit: [… You can only input the answer once. If you get it wrong, it’s considered a game failure. Who should try?]
There was a sudden silence in the chat room.
Twin Ponytails: [How about… I give it a try. If I chat in the group within a minute, it means my answer is correct.]
Then time seemed to slow down in an instant.
It was five in the morning, the most drowsy time, yet they had no hint of sleepiness.
The players anxiously waited.
Mohawk: [Why hasn’t anyone spoken? Could the answer be wrong?]
Xia Chi: [Wait a bit longer, it’s only been a minute.]
Just when everyone was becoming anxious, Twin Ponytails finally appeared in the chat box: [I’m back! You’re right, that librarian is indeed the owner of that eyeball. His name is “Xu Xiangtian”, I saw the name on his records earlier. Quickly enter the answer.]
The man in the suit: [That’s great! Your discovery has been a huge help.]
Mohawk: [The name is correct, I’ve successfully entered it too.]
The man in the suit: [Mine is correct as well.]
Xia Chi: [No doubt, this is the correct answer.]
