Chapter 11: Madman

The reanimation of the female corpse was related to the weather.

Outside the window, a light drizzle was falling continuously. Layers of dark clouds blanketed the factory, occasionally flashing with lightning and letting through a few faint rays of light.

Daytime was just like the dark night.

In such weather, the Yin energy was at its thickest, so it wasn't surprising that a corpse would rise. Hu Wei had noticed this phenomenon earlier, which was why she had hesitantly mentioned that the path they were taking was very dangerous. Earlier that morning, Xie De had just kicked away a female corpse that was lying right across from the door.

But obviously, Hu Wei was overly worried (actually, she wasn't).

Now in the dim corridor, the rumbling sound of thunder could occasionally be heard from outside the window.

Wei Yanchi, wearing a pair of gloves, methodically cut open the messy clothes on the female corpse. Ignoring the gunshot wounds Xie De had just inflicted, he observed the female corpse's cause of death. Her heart had been pierced by a knife, and he also noticed bruises from punching and kicking on her body.

Bullying? Or... domestic violence?

Murder? Or... suicide?

He pulled out an old photograph he had found in the boss's office from his clothes and compared it with the female corpse's face, trying to uncover her identity.

Unfortunately, this female corpse was not the boss's cousin, nor was she one of the six people. There was not even a trace of her in the graduation photo.

Next, Wei Yanchi found a long scar on the female corpse's lower abdomen.

Hu Wei said in a low voice, "She had given birth to a child."

It seemed this was the key clue.

Wei Yanchi stood up, taking off his gloves as he walked forward. He obediently stopped in front of Xie De and looked at him with a pair of clear, affectionate eyes.

"Mr. 39, we have pretty much found all the evidence. We are just missing one thread to connect them all. Could you accompany me to find it?"

Hu Wei also walked over, not daring to voice any more opinions.

The man, who had maintained his silence since earlier, took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled it like a sigh. Amidst the swirling smoke, his brow carried an unhurried calmness, methodical as if he were reigning over his own domain.

He let out a chuckle, as if mocking Wei Yanchi's posturing despite clearly being a carnivore, yet simultaneously enjoying the humility and obedience Wei Yanchi showed as a high-level player.

He walked directly at the forefront, entrusting his back to them without the slightest worry that they might betray him. His long silver hair swept in an incredibly beautiful arc.

Powerful, mysterious, dangerously beautiful, with a personality that seemed to carry an inexplicable, indescribable wickedness.

Wei Yanchi pressed his tongue against his upper palate. Truly, the more they interacted, the more he felt this person was grown to fit his exact fetishes. He was genuinely afraid he wouldn't be able to resist whistling like a hooligan and then getting punched to death for it.

His heart was beating quite fast. Wei Yanchi gave a low chuckle and smoothly followed along.

How could Xie De possibly know the protagonist had so much inner drama going on?

While they were gathered around examining the corpse, he had fished out his phone again, debating with Gibberish about what it meant that "money makes the mare go."

The 30 grams of gold Hu Wei looted from Li Luohan was the treasure Li Luohan had found in this scenario. The current gold price was 700 yuan per gram, so 30 grams meant 21,000 yuan.

It wasn't a lot, but it wasn't a little either.

Before Xie De was found by Gibberish, he had lost his job and had no source of income, living off his savings these past few days. Fortunately, he didn't have to pay rent. This 21,000 yuan was enough for him to buy quite a few cartons of cigarettes.

Gibberish despised him.

"Can you have a little ambition? Opportunities are everywhere in this dungeon. A mere thirty grams of gold has already turned you into a mesmerized idiot."

"Alright then, stop using electricity. Did you think your monthly electricity bill was cheap?"

Xie De couldn't help but complain again.

"Good thing you transmigrated here. If I had been the one to transmigrate to some ancient times with nothing around, encountering a system like you that actually needs charging, I'd have been finished long ago."

Gibberish felt embarrassed and argued defensively, "It's supposed to need charging! Those systems in novels are totally unrealistic, okay? Do you even understand the conservation of energy?! Fine, since you like money so much, then we'll focus on making money in the next scenario!"

"How?"

"There are two ways to make money. The first is to find other players and sell clues, but we can't find any other players, and you don't know what the clues are anyway."

Gibberish sighed, feeling somewhat disappointed in his failure to meet expectations, leaving Xie De speechless once again.

"The second method is to find various props inside the scenario. For instance, wooden puppets that can block damage, or cards that can substitute for your life, or bizarre things like Kuman Thong [1] that can alter fate. After leaving the scenario, we can directly contact the internal player network and sell them on the dark web. You can absolutely make a fortune. Host, gold is truly the most worthless thing in the scenario."

Xie De became depressed.

"As if I could find those items, I'm scared to death of ghosts."

"...Then there's no other way. We can only wait for the random reward items distributed by the scenario system after successfully clearing it."

"......"

He figured he might as well hug the protagonist's thigh and mingle with the main character's group. With this kind of setup, how bad could it get?

............

They returned to the first floor, with Xie De standing at the very front of the stairwell.

The first floor had already turned into a living hell. Those earthbound spirits seemed to be repeating the scenes of their deaths. A raging fire was burning, and they were tied to the machines, struggling desperately and crying helplessly until despair swallowed them whole.

The supervisors had long since run off without a trace, the main door was locked tight, and there was no sign of the boss either.

Who would save them?

They didn't want to die!

He didn't want to die either. The smell of burning flesh reached his nose, and Xie De almost threw up again. When had he ever seen such a spectacle? He wanted to retreat, but his legs were so weak they wouldn't move.

Wei Yanchi, like a madman, continued walking forward. He took out the photograph, leaning in close to the desperately struggling workers to carefully examine their faces.

Then he stated with certainty, "Mr. 39, you were not wrong. Those six people are not here, they ran away. The rest of the people are probably all dead, because they were chained to the machines and the door was locked."

The protagonist's actions were truly terrifying.

Xie De felt the gap between himself and the other party, weeping silently in his heart. This is a true big shot.

Hu Wei nervously watched the fire burning around them, silently moving closer to Xie De.

She opened her mouth and asked, "What are the names and identities of those six people?"

Wei Yanchi tossed the photo into the flames and casually replied.

"If you believe me, the six people who survived are: the boss's cousin, Ma Hui; the son of the friend of the boss's neighbor's son, Li Qiang; the brother-in-law of the boss's little brother, Zhang Zhi; the best friend of the sister of the brother of the boss's younger brother, Chunju; the friend of the underling of the sworn older brother recognized by the boss's cousin, Wu Yong; and the last one is the boss himself."

"How interesting," Hu Wei said thoughtfully.

Interesting my ass! Xie De was dumbfounded. No, wait, ah? How the fck did he remember that?! How exactly did he memorize that?!

Swish.

The surrounding scene changed instantly. The flames vanished, yet the agonizing corpses remained, staring straight at them.

The scenario system reappeared.

"Hello, players. After a night's rest, I assume everyone is full of energy. Oh, kind-hearted players, since you couldn't solve the boss's predicament within a day and a night, then next, please help the agonizing workers find the main culprit who killed them!"

"Player One, please answer: who is the father of the child?"

Player One?

Wei Yanchi pulled out a card from his pocket that had appeared at some unknown time. It happened to have a capital "One" on it.

Hu Wei also touched one. She was number four.

Xie De's heart was beating incredibly fast. He also glanced at his own card, which was clearly marked with a "Two."

Haha, so thrilling.

Also, what kind of ridiculous question was the scenario system asking?

What child belongs to who?

Who could possibly answer this? Where did a child come from?

At this moment, a gloomy woman emerged from the corner, and a man wearing glasses walked up from the stairs.

Yue Xiamo and Lao You.

Everyone was here.

Everyone's eyes were all focused on Wei Yanchi.

The dungeon system said with immense malice, "Please state the answer within 30 seconds. If the answer is wrong, the workers will think you are covering for them, which is a very despicable behavior."

"May I ask, who is the father of the child?"

"29... 25... 20..."

The mechanical countdown sounded like the horn of the Grim Reaper. Xie De didn't even dare to blink, nervously watching the protagonist to see how he would break this deadlock.

Wei Yanchi lowered his head in thought. At the very last second, he looked up and answered.

"Zhou Bapi."

The system paused.

"Answer correct."

Holy crap, badass.

But before Xie De could breathe a sigh of relief.

The scenario system threw out the next question, "Player Two, please answer: who is the person Ma Hui likes?"

Player Two?

Xie De froze. Wait, wait, wait!!

"You have 30 seconds to answer."

The dungeon system said coldly.

"Ahhhh, Gibberish ! I'm done for, done for, done for."

Xie De looked at the protagonist in panic. Brother, tell me the answer!

As a result, the protagonist nodded heavily at him.

What the heck?

"...23... 21... 16..."

Hold on.

Those names the protagonist just mentioned... Li Qiang, Zhang Zhi, someone's brother... Think quickly, you dead brain, ahhhh.

"Gibberish ! I can't think of it! Woohoo, I'm going to die."

At the critical moment, Gibberish called out a name, "Chunju."

He believed it.

"Chunju."

"Answer correct."

—-

[1] Kuman Thong - Kuman Thong (Golden Boy) is a Thai occult talisman from Thai folk religion and black magic traditions, traditionally crafted from the dried remains of stillborn or aborted fetuses. Believed to be a household spirit, it is worshipped to bring luck, wealth, and protection to owners, though modern versions are often made of clay or wood.