Non-Human Seeking Re-employment

Shen Dongqing observed the photographer as he circled her.

The photographer had been deducted of too much Sanity and received a debuff as a result. Her entire being slipped into a bizarre trance. She strode briskly towards the cherry blossom tree on tiptoes, hands at her sides as if lifting an invisible skirt.

AD

She raised her head, exposing a maiden\'s bashful expression, and mumbled, "What a beautiful cherry blossom tree…"

Shen Dongqing spent a long time examining the tree.

The word "beautiful" could not be seen from any angle since an old lady was hanging from the bare branches.

"She\'s completely insane." Shen Dongqing made a conclusion.

"Hee hee…" giggled the photographer.

She sang and danced around the cherry blossom tree, looking like a complete moron.

The photographer appeared to have discovered the figure still hanging on the cherry blossom tree after circling a few times. She was probably not afraid since she was in a state of madness. She raised her head and addressed the elderly lady, who was already dead. She also reached out and yanked on the old lady\'s weakly dangling right hand, shaking it side to side.

"Come down and play."

"Let\'s be good friends, okay?"

AD

"Hey, let\'s have fun together…"

The photographer abruptly came to a halt in the middle of her words, and the confusion in her eyes vanished. Then she screamed and shook the old lady\'s hand away, dropping to the ground on her buttocks.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a dead person hanging in front of her, holding her hand. Who could withstand this impact?

The old lady was swinging with something in her hand, but it fell out and dropped to the ground as soon as the wind blew.

Shen Dongqing took a step forward, bent, and scooped it up.

It was a photograph, with the other half roughly ripped away, leaving only a small portion. There was a young girl in there who had her head bowed, too shy to look at the camera.

Turning it over revealed the time and date, which was exactly eighteen years ago, scrawled on the back.

The party went back to the inn.

The doctor hadn\'t returned yet, and Aunt Innkeeper, probably afraid of being "persuaded" again, had hid upstairs a long time ago, leaving the detective alone in the lobby on the first floor, frowning at the wretched drama on TV.

"Excellent, you\'re back!" The detective approached them and asked, "Hey, what\'s wrong with you?"

The photographer had suffered fright after fright, and even her Sanity had been reduced. She was on the verge of death when she entered the inn and collapsed in a chair with a weak face, as if she didn\'t want to interact.

When the detective saw this, he was obligated to look for the other two people.

Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan appeared to be in good condition. They poured a glass of water as soon as they entered, but then simply lowered their heads and looked at it. They were puzzled as to what was wrong with the water here, which constantly had a fishy odor. With only one sip, you were guaranteed to die suddenly.

Shen Dongqing sniffed in disgust and flung it to the side.

"This is holy water, how can you squander it like this…" said the elderly lady from within. She trudged along in her slippers and walked over aggressively as she said this. Halfway through, she realized who was throwing out the water was Shen Dongqing and slammed on the brakes, stopping instantly, "…Oh, never mind."

Shen Dongqing set the glass down: "Holy water?"

The old lady\'s voice became weaker in comparison to the loud voice just now, and she corrected herself, saying, "This is water gathered from a mountain spring on the mountain, not some holy water hahaha…"

Before she could finish speaking, the elderly lady bolted: "I left the gas on, so I\'ll go first!"

"What did you do to the NPC?" wondered the detective.

Why is this greedy woman so terrified? Looking at her back view was like seeing someone fleeing in fear.

Perhaps the detective had spent too much time staring at the old lady\'s back, causing the game to emerge unexpectedly and prompt an Investigation Check.

The detective said the word "check" thinking he\'d gotten a free test without looking for it.

[Investigation Check successful.]

[You gaze at the innkeeper\'s back and notice a garish item stuck to a corner of the wall. You approach with curiosity to have a look. It\'s a pamphlet, most of which has been torn up, with only one section remaining with the words \'stay away from evil cults.\']

Detective: ?

What kind of a clue is this?

"I simply asked her two questions," Shen Dongqing said as he sat down. After some thought, he added another adjective, "Nicely."

The detective noted that Shen Dongqing seemed gentle, with a white and tender face, and did not appear to be someone who would do crazy things, so he trusted what he stated.

"Did you come across anything when you went out?" The detective began exchanging the clues they had gathered.

This game instance proved to be different from the others. It did not expose players to direct danger, therefore they were reasonably harmonious, and there was no such thing as forcing teammates out to survive.

"The people here sing really badly," Shen Dongqing murmured, resting his chin on his palms and tilting his head.

The detective was baffled: ???

Well, I\'m afraid he couldn\'t keep up with Shen Dongqing\'s thoughts with his ability.

The detective could only settle for the next best thing and approached Zhou Wenyan.

"I spent the whole morning exploring the attic where Su Xiaoying stayed…"

The attic was low and slanted. No one would stay there if it weren\'t for the lack of available accommodations.

So, even after eighteen years had passed, the contents were essentially untouched, and they are still set there just as they were.

"But maybe I\'m just unlucky; the Investigation Check has failed continuously. Why don\'t you give it a shot?"

This was the most vexing aspect of this gamefield\'s rules.

Perhaps the player\'s desired clue was right in front of them, but if the dice roll failed, they would never find it.

"I have the \'Library Utilization\' skill," the photographer muttered, raising her hand weakly.

Last night, the doctor told her that this Library Utilization skill would come in handy while looking for clues, especially when looking for paper archives, as there would be extra bonuses.

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Shen Dongqing was resting on the wooden table, staring intently at the torn piece of photo.

"What are you thinking about?" Zhou Wenyan reached out and rubbed his unruly hair.

"I wonder if Ah Ying and Su Xiaoying are the same person," Shen Dongqing was thinking really hard.

"Why do you believe so?" Zhou Wenyan sat down next to him on the stool.

Shen Dongqing took the drink, drank half of it, wiped his lips, and explained, "Because their names are similar."

"It shouldn\'t be possible," Zhou Wenyan pondered seriously.

"Why?" Shen Dongqing cocked his head.

Zhou Wenyan took the ripped photo, pointed to the girl in it, and said, "Guess."

Shen Dongqing: ?

Zhou Wenyan noticed Shen Dongqing blinking in bewilderment, thought he was super adorable, and leaned in to kiss his cheek. "In any case, there are only two options, and you can always guess right," he replied after kissing him.

Maybe he\'d been with Shen Dongqing for a long time, and Zhou Wenyan had grown tired of thinking. He now preferred to solve puzzles in a simple and rough manner.

But in this case, Shen Dongqing opted to think.

You may wonder why. Shen Dongqing\'s response to this was, "I can\'t fail to live up to the game\'s painstaking efforts."

The game worked hard to collect data and upgrade to better his gaming experience, and finally came up with a new mode. Of course, he had to cooperate with it and couldn\'t easily break the play.

The detective and the photographer returned downstairs about twenty minutes later, with the detective holding a notebook.

This notebook had been hidden in the attic for 18 years and had accumulated a thick layer of dust.

As soon as the detective opened the notebook, a cloud of dust kicked up.

It was Su Xiaoying\'s diary.

"So if someone doesn\'t enjoy keeping a diary, we wouldn\'t know anything?" Shen Dongqing asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

The other players: …

"That\'s only a game setting, don\'t mind it," the detective laughed dryly.

He looked down at the open notebook when he finished speaking.

It should be noted that, thanks to the game\'s setting, the handwriting on the notebook had not faded after 18 years, and it was still easy to tell what was written.

Su Xiaoying had always taken notes and had filled nearly half of the notebook with them. The detective leafed through it and read the diary entries she made after arriving in the ancient town.

…

September 15: Sunny.

I came here with some friends to collect local cultural material. I have to admit that it\'s pretty nice to get away from the noisy city every now and then and visit the remote countryside to appreciate the breeze mixed with the aroma of paddy and the brilliant night sky.

September 16: Light rain.

Because the weather abruptly changed, I could only stay in the inn and listen to the rain. I met a friend by chance.

It\'s amazing that she was born in the same year, month, and day as myself, and our names are also similar. Perhaps she is my long-lost little sister.

September 17: Sunny.

She took me on an adventure in the ancient town, showing me many things that I wouldn\'t have seen in the city. On the top of the mountain today, we counted the stars side by side; it was fantastic!

September 18: Cloudy.

The little sister hasn\'t learnt to read due to family reasons, but this hasn\'t dampened her quest for knowledge. I intend to visit her home and teach her to read. I didn\'t expect that one day I would be a teacher.

…

The diary came to a stop here, and the rest of the notebook was blank. There was no more writing.

"Something must have happened at this \'friend\'s\' place," the detective reasoned.

The photographer: "Who might this friend be?"

Because the players had only met a few people in town, they had no idea who Su Xiaoying\'s friend was.

The detective: "Su Xiaoying disappeared 18 years ago. She was only 18 years old at the time. To reduce the scope, it\'s enough to find people of the same age in the ancient town."

The photographer: "But until now, except for the old man and the innkeeper aunt, I\'ve never seen any other natives."

"There\'s also the old lady on the cherry blossom tree," Shen Dongqing reminded her.

It would have been better not to bring it up. This statement reminded the photographer of the elderly lady swaying on the tree, and her face grew pale.

"There\'s no need to look; I know who it is," Zhou Wenyan stated.

"Who?" inquired the detective.

"My identity is a native who moved away when I was a child, and a woman named \'Ah Ying\' wrote to me requesting me to return to visit my gravely ill grandma," Zhou Wenyan explained.

The photographer seemed to think of something and asked: "…that elderly lady?"

Zhou Wenyan nodded: "Right. We were unable to find Ah Ying."

As a result, the trail hit a dead end.

The key character was yet to be discovered.

The doctor, who was long overdue, came just as the players were sinking into contemplation.

"I went to the village infirmary, and when I got there, I went on a frenzied Investigation Check spree and managed to uncover a register of drug receipts from 18 years ago," the doctor remarked as soon as she walked in.

The natives were rather ignorant, and they trusted traditional prescriptions more than modern treatment. As a result, the local infirmary was typically vacant, and relatively few individuals received treatment.

Thud!

The doctor laid out the register on the table: "It could be useful, but I didn\'t discover Su Xiaoying. Take a look at this."

Zhou Wenyan opened the register, read it page by page, and finally locked on a name — Zhou Ah Ying.

This individual, with this surname in addition to the name, had to be the one who wrote to him.

His gaze swept over the name and looked at the medicine that Zhou Ah Ying had received.

Abortive drugs.

Zhou Ah Ying visited the infirmary to obtain abortion medication.

The doctor "tsked" and concluded, "It must be because she doesn\'t love herself. She got an abortion here after having a child with someone. This girl…"

Everything was implied in her words, even if she didn\'t express it outright.

The players on the scene immediately concocted a plot in their heads.

A young girl fell pregnant by mistake in a little isolated village. She was forced to seek assistance from the local doctor. The doctor sympathized with the young girl and made an exception, prescribing oral contraceptives to her. No one knew about it because of doctor-patient confidentiality.

But what did this have to do with the disappearance of Su Xiaoying?

Zhou Wenyan delicately tapped the name with his fingertip: "Perhaps…it wasn\'t for her."

"Then who was it for?" Shen Dongqing couldn\'t figure it out.

The detective\'s brain worked faster: "Su Xiaoying!"

Su Xiaoying and Zhou Ah Ying were friends. It was natural for Zhou Ah Ying to obtain abortion medications if Su Xiaoying was pregnant but too ashamed to obtain them.

Photographer: "So, what\'s the deal with Su Xiaoying\'s pregnancy? Didn\'t she vanish after September 18th?"

The detective\'s imagination immediately connected it to The Story of an Abducted Woman. "Was she kidnapped and sold to some bachelor in the village?" he wondered.

The doctor said quietly, "This village does not appear to be impoverished. Isn\'t it unlikely to be a case of buying a woman?"

The three players got into a heated debate.

Shen Dongqing set down the drink bottle and made a noise that drew the attention of the others: "In any case, we can be certain that one of the two became pregnant. Is it important who became pregnant?"

"That\'s unimportant," commented Zhou Wenyan.

Shen Dongqing: "Then that\'s it. What are you arguing about? Annoying."

Other players: …Um, it seems so.

They stopped convincing each other and began looking for other hints.

Before they knew it, it was raining again outside, and a chill blasted in through the front door with it.

Shen Dongqing rubbed his nose, raised his head, and gazed about, his gaze falling on the wall-mounted calendar.

It was an old-fashioned calendar, the type where you tear a page every day, and it was currently stuck on the 16th.

The 16th of September.

Shen Dongqing looked down at the notebook and realized the date was the same as when Su Xiaoying arrived in the ancient town. A thought raced across his mind, but he couldn\'t grasp it.

He puffed up his cheeks in distress, clutched Zhou Wenyan, and pointed this out to him, "Look!"

Zhou Wenyan paused for a moment to consider: "The two times are identical. It\'s been eighteen years… It takes eighteen years to reincarnate."

"Su Xiaoying vanished on September 18, possibly at night or the next day. It must be a special day."

"We only have three days if that\'s the case."

Despite this, Zhou Wenyan\'s expression was devoid of any anxiety.

"It\'s time to eat," Shen Dongqing said, stretching his waist.

The other players then saw Shen Dongqing take out an unusual prop and fish out dish after dish of piping hot scrumptious food.

Other players: ??? What exactly is this operation?

Shen Dongqing was awfully stingy when it came to food, and only Zhou Wenyan could share it with him. So, the other players could only eat rough peasant meals with tears in their eyes.

It could be argued that the peasant dishes were fresh and organic if there was no contrast, but with the aroma of lobster and steak drifting around, the players couldn\'t fool themselves no matter how hard they tried.

The players finished their lunch as though chewing wax and wanted to find Aunt Innkeeper to learn about the customs of the ancient town and so on.

They had no idea that Aunt Innkeeper had already guessed this and slipped away long ago. They didn\'t know where she had gone.

The rain had stopped at this point, so the players decided to go for a walk to digest their food. If they happened to run into any natives, it would be an excellent opportunity to ask some friendly questions.

It had just rained in the ancient town. The ground was wet, and puddles had formed from the accumulated water. You were bound to get splattered the instant you walked into it.

Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan clasped hands and stepped on the little puddles one by one.

In comparison to the other anxious players, these two men appeared to be on holiday.

The doctor whispered, "Are they really lovers?"

The photographer looked over and thought the scene was lovely, so she grabbed her camera and took a photo, capturing their backs on the screen.

A black and white style building with cyan slate in the background, with splashing water and the sun unexpectedly producing a rainbow. Zhou Wenyan\'s head was turned to gaze at Shen Dongqing in the photo, and there was a hint of doting in his eyes, and Shen Dongqing was also smiling at him.

Doctor: "Hey, you haven\'t answered my question yet."

The photographer stated: "It looks like you know they\'re a couple."

The doctor: "Don\'t you think it\'s weird?"

The photographer: "What\'s weird?"

The doctor wanted to say something but when she saw the two men approaching, she promptly shut her mouth and remained silent.

The sound of the shutter may have alerted the two men. Shen Dongqing came over and happened to notice the photograph.

"If you mind, I\'ll delete it…," the photographer said, a little embarrassed.

"No need." Shen Dongqing said, "You took a great picture."

Zhou Wenyan: "If possible, I hope you can develop the photo for us after we leave here."

"Of course!" said the photographer emphatically.

Following this brief episode, the players resumed their search for people in the ancient town.

The bizarre thing was that there wasn\'t a single person in sight as they strolled along. There was nothing but row after row of buildings with pitch-black windows inlaid on them, silently monitoring this group of intruders.

The players explored the small village before returning to square one before dark.

They got nothing.

The detective was a little alarmed.

His mission was to locate Su Xiaoying. If they couldn\'t find any information regarding Su Xiaoying, the plot would remain stuck here.

Shen Dongqing leaned against the wall and murmured to Zhou Wenyan on a sudden outburst of insight, "Isn\'t our mission to come back and visit grandma, who is seriously ill?"

At this point, they had not only visited the elderly lady, but they had also witnessed her death. In short, they had exceeded their mission\'s objectives.

If that\'s the case, how come we can\'t get out of here?

At the right moment, the game released a patch: [You hesitate since grandma\'s death is strange and you want to find out what caused her death. Furthermore, you are intrigued by Zhou Ah Ying and Su Xiaoying and wish to assist the detective in locating Su Xiaoying.]

Shen Dongqing: "Then why don\'t I call the police?"

[……]

Shen Dongqing stated convincingly: "Isn\'t everyone aware that when they encounter a difficult situation, they must look for the police uncle? Besides, they\'re all dead, so failing to call the cops violates our character setup."

After all, they were all modern-day youths. When a homicide occurred, it was impossible for them to consider the supernatural.

The game scrambled to create another patch: […Because of the ancient town\'s remoteness, the nearest police station is a day\'s journey away. Due to a landslide caused by recent rains, the path is temporarily impassable.]

"But we are not curious, and we don\'t want to know the relationship between these two people at all," Shen Dongqing stated again, as the game rushed to put an end to his idea of calling the cops.

[You want to know.]

Shen Dongqing: "No, I don\'t want to."

[…You really want to know.]

Shen Dongqing refuted innocently: "I really don\'t want to."

Shen Dongqing seemed to hear the sound of the game coughing blood during the brief pause.

It simply ignored Shen Dongqing after it vomited blood. To keep this tricky fellow from pestering, it just played dead and threw a Luck Check dice roll for the players present.

There were five people there, and after four failed attempts, someone eventually succeeded.

The game\'s voice rang feebly: [You stare at this building complex and suddenly find a deep lane among the crisscrossed buildings. There seems to be a faint sound calling out to you from its depths. There is no doubt that you want to enter.]

Shen Dongqing: "I…" He paused and said with a smile before the game was driven insane, "This time, I truly want to."

The players took another look at the building complex.

The dense fog in front of them receded, and a trail revealed, wide enough for only one person to travel through, twisting and turning and leading to who knows where.

After hesitating for a moment, the players decided to enter.

The doctor said, "I\'ll walk in the middle, alright? I\'m a doctor, so you guys must protect me."

The other players had no objections. As a result, Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan walked in front, the two girls in the middle, and the detective at the back.

The light suddenly dimmed just one step onto the trail.

When the photographer looked up, it was already dark outside, and the crescent moon was obscured by heavy clouds.

The omens were not promising.

The game required a Luck Test every three minutes as they followed along the trail.

"What is the point of the Luck Test?" asked Shen Dongqing.

The doctor elaborated: "If you succeed, you will come across some pleasant surprises. You will be very unlucky if you do not succeed."

The doctor had just finished explaining when she failed the Luck Test. With a heartbreaking yowl, a black cat leapt over from her side. The doctor was so terrified that she almost fell.

Then because she was frightened, the game forced her to pass a Sanity Check, deducting 2 points of Sanity.

At this time, the doctor\'s Sanity had been reduced by a total of six points, yet she did not become lunatic like the photographer. Her face, however, was bloodless and as white as paper.

After a bit of walking, the party arrived at the main site.

Finally, the players learned why they hadn\'t found any natives. This crowd of people turned out to be hiding here.

The old lady who had hanged herself from a tree during the day was laid in the center of a small mourning hall. Her face was covered in white paper, and she appeared to be asleep.

They noticed Uncle Driver and Aunt Innkeeper sitting inside among the other natives seated to the side eating. Their expressionless faces matched those of the others around them.

They ate in a particularly odd manner, with no sound of bowls and chopsticks colliding, let alone noises of conversation.

Everything was extremely quiet, like a mime, with only images and no sound.

It was unnerving how silent it was.

Doctor: "They\'re not eating anything!"

"Look on the bright side." Shen Dongqing said, "Maybe the food just tastes terrible."