Chapter 21

What kind of lunatic is this?
Does he think he's a god?
That person was still watching her.
Gu Yi'an looked up and glanced out the window.
The balconies of the distant residential buildings were empty, and most of the windows were closed.
Could someone inside the residential building be watching her through a window?
Gu Yi'an quickly closed the window and, without hesitation, drew the curtains shut.
Ding!
Gu Yi'an looked at her phone.
The screen displayed a newly received message.
"You are the embodiment of my love and desire."
Gu Yi'an stared coldly at the words.
A few seconds later, the other person must have realized Gu Yi'an had closed the curtains.
Ding!
A new message arrived.
"Darling, don't be afraid. I'll come to save you tonight."
Gu Yi'an raised an eyebrow.
If anyone should be afraid, it should be that lunatic sending these garbage messages!
Who asked him to save her?
His arrival would be the worst-case scenario.
Was he planning to do something like kidnapping?
A heavy sense of crisis instantly enveloped Gu Yi'an.
Someone would come for her under the cover of darkness tonight.
Could he be planning to kill her?
Gu Yi'an couldn't help but speculate.
Matters related to death always make people lose their rationality.
Gu Yi'an stared at the message interface and took out her Sage card.
Whether this card could truly bring her calm or not, she was seeking psychological comfort for now.
Gu Yi'an traced the patterns of the text on the card.
She temporarily calmed down.
First, she was currently in the third game of the gods.
The gods were watching them.
The beginner's hint for this game was: there are no coincidences in the world.
Their player items that could harm ghosts and monsters were unusable.
They had been assigned the identities of investigators and entered an investigation bureau where the previous investigators had almost all died.
Most of those investigators' deaths were labeled as "accidents."
It seemed that what they, the players, needed to do now was uncover the mastermind behind these continuous accidents.
But what was the deal with this person who had inexplicably started sending text messages?
The phone system identified this person as a stranger and even knew his name, Liu Han.
Gu Yi'an had only been in this room for about ten minutes.
That meant this person had been secretly observing the investigation bureau, which was why he noticed her the moment she arrived.
From this perspective, when this stranger Liu Han sent her a message saying he would come to rescue her, the word "rescue" was meant literally.
That implied the investigation bureau was far from safe.
Gu Yi'an looked toward the window covered by the curtains.
The curtains were thick; once drawn, not a sliver of light could penetrate.
She thought, of course, this place had witnessed a bloody incident. Over fifty staff members who had previously worked in this office building had died in accidents, there was no way it could be considered safe.
But there was no other choice. For now, the players only had one option: to follow Lu Zize and the others.
As Gu Yi'an pondered, her gaze inadvertently settled on a camera.
No, it wasn’t the camera.
The stranger Liu Han probably wasn’t watching her through a camera.
After she closed the curtains, he had mostly quieted down and hadn’t sent any new messages since.
Gu Yi'an put away her phone and the cards.
The appearance of this stranger Liu Han meant that the players' task was definitely not limited to finding the mastermind behind the investigators' accidental deaths.
They had to do something else as well.
But as for what exactly, Gu Yi'an currently lacked sufficient clues to deduce.
She glanced at the large boxes piled against the wall and the standing bookcase, then rolled up her sleeves.
Since there were few clues, she would start searching now.
Gu Yi'an began by rummaging through the large boxes.
The topmost box contained sleeping bags, items everyone would need at night.
Gu Yi'an took out all the sleeping bags and moved the empty top box aside.
The next layer of boxes contained bedding, which at first glance appeared clean.
Gu Yi'an lifted one slightly to check inside.
She saw dark, blackish bloodstains.
Gu Yi'an hesitated for a moment but ultimately carried the box down and unfolded the bedding inside.
The moment she opened the bedding, something small rolled out in her line of sight.
It moved too quickly for her to see clearly.
As she set down the bedding, she realized someone had appeared in the room without her noticing!
The person bent down to pick up the object on the floor.
After picking it up, he straightened up and looked at Gu Yi'an.
At the same time, Gu Yi'an got a clear view of his face.
He had a square-jawed appearance, was tall and sturdy, it was the man Lu Zize had called "Brother Yong," one of the two uniformed men from earlier.
When had he arrived here?
Why hadn’t she heard any sound?
Gu Yi'an’s mind raced, but she released what she was holding and stepped forward to greet him proactively. "Senior."
The man gave a casual nod and immediately asked, "Who told you to touch these?"
His question came aggressively, and coupled with his imposing build, it instantly created an intense sense of intimidation.
Gu Yi'an held the prop in her hand, a slightly embarrassed expression on her face as she explained, "Sorry, senior, it was my own idea. I thought having a mattress pad would make it more comfortable at night."
"Don't mess with things you shouldn't touch."
The man warned her.
He glanced at the open box and the bedding Gu Yi'an had just set down on top of it, ordering, "Put that back in."
"Okay."
Gu Yi'an agreed quickly, and her actions were just as swift. In a few moves, she stuffed the items back inside and closed the box again.
"Move aside."
The man walked over to Gu Yi'an's side, his tone impatient.
Gu Yi'an was more than happy to keep her distance from him and immediately stepped away a few paces.
Then, she watched as the man moved the box she had just closed to the floor.
Repeating Gu Yi'an's earlier actions, he began inspecting each box one by one, even taking items out to examine them.
Gu Yi'an kept a close eye on his movements, noting the things he paid particular attention to.
The man seemed especially interested in a file folder and a notebook, but he ended up putting them back as well.
Judging by his behavior, he seemed more like a player at that moment than Gu Yi'an did.
After checking the last box, the man closed the lid, and his gaze inadvertently drifted to Gu Yi'an, who was standing quietly nearby.
His expression shifted abruptly, and he snapped, "Why are you still here?"
Before Gu Yi'an could respond, he added, "Like some female ghost."
This time, his voice was a bit quieter.
From his reaction, if Gu Yi'an couldn't tell he had been startled by her, she would have wasted all these years of living.
Gu Yi'an didn't know how to respond to his comment.
Where else could she be if not here?
Lu Zize had told her to rest here, she didn't dare go anywhere else without permission.
Gu Yi'an remained silent.
Startled by Gu Yi'an, the man realized he had lost face.
His tone lost some of its earlier anger but remained stiff as he said, "What's your name?"
Gu Yi'an didn't mind his tone and replied, "Gu Yi'an."
She casually took out her work badge and hung it around her neck so the man could see the name on it.
Seeing her action, the man still spoke in a rigid tone, "Wear your work badge during work hours, but avoid it otherwise. Some bored people love to find our contact info on the official website and send us all sorts of nonsense every day."
"Thank you for the reminder, senior."
Gu Yi'an expressed her thanks, finally understanding how that stranger Liu Han had obtained her contact information, likely from the official website.
Did the official website list the contact details of every investigator?
Her thoughts shifted, and she asked, "Senior, won’t our uniforms reveal that we’re investigators?"
The man stretched out his leg and nudged the box containing the bloodstained bedding. Though visibly impatient, he still answered her question: "Our uniforms are the same as the enforcement team’s. No one dares mess with them."
Gu Yi’an understood, they were essentially borrowing the tiger’s authority.
The man said, "Don’t call me 'senior.' It sounds weird. Just call me Brother Yong, like Lu Zize does. I’m probably older than both of you."
Brother Yong hoisted the box of bloodstained bedding onto his shoulder and said to Gu Yi’an, "Come downstairs with me and wash your hands. The investigator who trained me before died from touching some highly toxic substance, no one knows where it came from."
A highly toxic substance?
Gu Yi’an hadn’t considered that possibility.
In her previous two games, she had encountered ghosts and monsters. Their methods of killing followed certain rules, nothing like poison, which was impossible to guard against completely.
Brother Yong’s tone remained flat as he recounted, "My mentor had a habit of wetting his thumb with saliva to flip through documents. That day, he was reviewing files as usual and put his thumb to his mouth. By the time we found him, his body was already cold."
He walked to the doorway and glanced back at Gu Yi’an. "Aren’t you coming?"
Gu Yi’an shook her head. "Brother Yong, I didn’t touch anything. I’m a bit tired from today and would like to rest for a while."
Brother Yong stared coldly at her for a moment.
"Suit yourself."
His tone gave away no emotion. "Anyway, once you’re in here, you’re all going to die sooner or later. What difference does it make?"
With that, Brother Yong disappeared through the doorway, the box still on his shoulder.
Gu Yi’an breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Faced with the choice of trusting Lu Zize or Brother Yong, she had chosen the former and decided to stay in the room to rest.
She wasn’t entirely sure if she had made the right decision.
Brother Yong’s words had sounded sincere, and he seemed like the type to be tough on the outside but soft on the inside.
But appearances could be deceiving.
One could know a person’s face, but never their heart.
Neither Brother Yong nor Lu Zize could be fully trusted.
Gu Yi’an took a moment to calm herself, recalling the sounds Brother Yong made as he left. She realized she hadn’t heard any footsteps.
His steps had been incredibly light, perhaps he had trained specifically in stealth.
The room was brightly lit.
Gu Yi’an first located a bottle of water, then found some tissues.
She dampened the tissues and meticulously wiped her hands several times before tossing them into the empty wastebasket.
Finding a clean spot, she spread her uniform on the floor and sat down.
Several cameras were operating in the room.
If she started rummaging around again, Brother Yong would likely return.
A vague idea began to form in Gu Yi’an’s mind.
Was there nothing in this world?
She sat in silence, her thoughts gradually drifting.
Suddenly, a clamor reached her ears, the sound of chaotic footsteps and people talking.
As Gu Yi’an stood up, she saw Lu Zize, looking clean and refreshed, along with the disheveled group of players, entering the room carrying bags of various sizes.
Compared to the tense atmosphere before they left, the mood now seemed much more relaxed.
The players were now addressing Lu Zize as "Brother Lu," even though some of them appeared to be a decade older than him.
"Brother Lu, did you really wait outside the door all night?"
Lu Zize patiently replied, "It's true. You can clearly hear their movements."
Upon hearing this, a few male players immediately revealed lewd smiles.
The female players behind them looked at them with disdain.
Gu Yi'an couldn't understand their conversation, but she keenly sensed the distance between herself and the others.
Because she hadn't participated in the outing, it seemed she was being excluded from the group.
However, Lu Zize was paying close attention to Gu Yi'an.
He stopped answering the other players' questions, handed the items he was carrying to the players behind him, and walked over to Gu Yi'an.
He glanced at the curtains behind her and asked, "Yi'an, did you close the curtains?"
Gu Yi'an ignored the way he addressed her and nodded.
She said, "Someone was secretly peeping. They even sent me a text message. So I closed the curtains."
"They sent you a text message?"
Lu Zize's tone was slightly faster than usual.
It sounded like he was somewhat displeased at the moment.
Gu Yi'an noticed that Lu Zize was more concerned about someone sending a text message than about someone peeping.
Could it be that Lu Zize already knew about the secret peeping?
She thought this to herself but didn't voice it, simply nodding instead. "Yes, they sent a few messages."
Lu Zize immediately said, "Let me see."
There was a hint of irritation in his tone.
Gu Yi'an found this somewhat surprising.
Based on Lu Zize's previous behavior, he seemed very mild-mannered and shouldn't be acting like this.
Lu Zize noticed Gu Yi'an's expression, adjusted his black-framed glasses, and deliberately smiled.
He said gently, "Did I scare you? This isn't just your problem, it concerns the reputation of all of us investigators. Let me see the messages they sent. If it's a request for help, we'll investigate immediately. If it's intentional harassment, we'll contact the law enforcement team to have them arrested right away."
They could have that person arrested?
Was it that serious?
Gu Yi'an wasn't yet familiar with the rules of this world.
Although she disliked receiving such messages, if it was just texting and indulging in verbal fantasies, it shouldn't warrant arrest.
Of course, if the person actually carried out the last message they sent and came looking for her, then their arrest would be justified.
Not wanting to contradict Lu Zize, Gu Yi'an took out her phone, opened the message thread from the stranger Liu Han, and handed it to Lu Zize.
"Senior Lu, can these text messages serve as evidence to arrest that person?" Gu Yi'an asked.
Lu Zize's gaze remained fixed on the screen.
Line after line of text messages lay there.
Lu Zize's tone was frighteningly calm, "Yes, enough to get him killed."