Chapter 24

Gu Yi'an followed the sound.
With a creak, the window was pushed open.
A shoe dripping with blood abruptly appeared beneath the curtains.
An excited male voice called out, "I’ve come to save you!"
The curtains rustled, revealing the outline of a person.
Before Gu Yi'an could react,
Tang Jiu sprang up and delivered a swift, fierce side kick.
"Thud!"
A figure flew out from behind the curtains and crashed heavily onto the floor, leaving a long trail of blood. It was unclear whether they were alive or dead.
The two male players were startled by Tang Jiu’s kick.
Seeing how relaxed she looked now, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of fear toward her.
Tang Jiu walked briskly over to the person she had kicked. She checked for a pulse and said regretfully, "Not dead."
Hearing this, the male players’ expressions grew even more peculiar.
Gu Yi'an glanced at their faces and didn’t need to guess, they were probably thinking something along the lines of "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."
Gu Yi'an walked over and took a closer look.
The person was covered in blood, it was unclear whether it was his or someone else’s. His face was smudged with dirt and scrapes, and his clothes were torn in several places.
Even though his true appearance was hard to discern, based on his earlier words, "I’ve come to save you", Gu Yi'an had a guess about his identity.
She guessed this was probably the stranger Liu Han who had called her during the day.
But then again, wasn’t Liu Han arrested by the Enforcement Team around eight o’clock?
She had been in the restaurant at the time and even heard the commotion of the arrest.
She had even confirmed this with Lu Zize.
How did Liu Han manage to escape from the Enforcement Team?
Gu Yi'an was very curious.
She thought about it and wondered if this situation might warrant contacting the Enforcement Team.
Suddenly, the person lying unconscious on the ground stirred slightly.
Tang Jiu, who was guarding him, didn’t hesitate for a moment and delivered a hard punch.
The man’s body jolted and then went still again.
Gu Yi'an took out her phone and tried searching online for the Enforcement Team’s phone number.
Unexpectedly, the first search result was the phone number for the Enforcement Team in the Sinless City.
Just as she was about to dial, her phone screen suddenly changed to a call interface.
The number displayed on the call screen was exactly the Enforcement Team’s number she had intended to dial. Similarly, her phone automatically labeled it as "Enforcement Team."
What a coincidence?
Gu Yi’an paused for a moment and answered the call.
"May I ask if this is Junior Investigator Gu Yi’an?" a polite male voice inquired.
"Yes, that’s me," Gu Yi’an replied.
"Could you, or someone you send, come down and open the main gate for the Enforcement Team? We are currently pursuing the fugitive Liu Han. He seems to have fled to the vicinity of your office building."
Gu Yi’an said, "I know. He just tried to attack us. He’s been knocked unconscious by one of our investigators now."
"..." The other end fell silent.
"If you don’t believe me, I can send you a picture message."
About ten minutes later.
Gu Yi’an, along with two other male players, walked to the main gate of the Investigation Bureau.
The gate automatically recognized Gu Yi’an and the others, retracting to make space for the Enforcement Team’s vehicle to pass through.
The Enforcement Team’s vehicle was a small bus.
A man in a black uniform pushed the door open and jumped out, starting a conversation with Gu Yi’an and the two others.
His purpose was to clarify the circumstances of the fugitive Liu Han’s capture.
The two male players were particularly enthusiastic at this moment, describing Liu Han’s eerie appearance as if telling a ghost story.
While they were chatting, Gu Yi'an took the opportunity to open her phone and browse through the full photos of the team members on the Enforcement Squad's official website, confirming that the people they were meeting were indeed from the Enforcement Squad.
"You said he climbed in through the window?" asked the Enforcement Squad member.
"Yes, exactly. He came in through the window, and his shoes were dripping blood when he entered," the male player exaggeratedly replied.
The Enforcement Squad's vehicle circled around the flower bed and parked in the parking lot, from which a team of people disembarked.
The Enforcement Squad member addressed Gu Yi'an and the other two, saying, "We'll split into two groups. Which of you will take two of our people upstairs to bring Liu Han down? The rest of you, take us to see the outside of the window."
Gu Yi'an and the other male player unanimously pushed forward the male player who had drained his phone battery.
The pushed-forward male player had no choice but to lead two Enforcement Squad members into the office building.
Meanwhile, Gu Yi'an and the other male player took the remaining Enforcement Squad members to the back of the office building.
They arrived beneath the second-floor window.
Gu Yi'an immediately spotted several bloody handprints on the wall.
From the position of the handprints and the bloodstains, it was clear how Liu Han had climbed up to the second floor.
The Enforcement Squad members wandered around the area.
Finally, one of them, wearing gloves, retrieved a blood-stained dagger from the bushes.
"Captain, it's his murder weapon. He must have dropped it accidentally while climbing the wall," the person reported.
The Enforcement Squad member who had just spoken with Gu Yi'an and the others nodded upon seeing the dagger. "Bag it. We'll account for it to the team later."
The person who found the dagger immediately placed it into a large transparent evidence bag.
When Gu Yi'an saw the dagger, she realized she had narrowly escaped disaster.
From the conversation she had just overheard, it seemed these Enforcement Squad members were preparing to leave.
So, she tried to strike up a conversation with the captain. "Captain, about our Investigation Bureau's former team leader, Qian Xiaoman, she..."
"Oh, our new mission is to pursue her. The Divine Eye hasn't located her whereabouts yet."
The captain gave Gu Yi'an an inscrutable look and said, "That Lu guy from your Investigation Bureau, after finding out Liu Han had escaped, called me several times in a row, urging us to capture him. He said he was worried that the new recruit at the Investigation Bureau, Ms. Gu Yi'an, might become the criminal's next target."
The captain hinted meaningfully, "Some people leave, and that's that. Focus more on those around you."
After saying this, he walked away coolly.
Leaving Gu Yi'an standing there helplessly.
Well, she had been misunderstood again.
Gu Yi'an was used to it by now.
The male player beside her asked curiously, "When did you get involved with that Lu Zize? Is it true?"
Gu Yi'an ignored him.
The male player took it as confirmation and sighed to himself, "Is that how it works? Female players have it easy. Just a little gesture, and men come running. I could run my legs off and no one would help."
Gu Yi'an listened, exasperated. If any other investigator had been targeted by Liu Han, Lu Zize would have called the Enforcement Squad too.
Lu Zize had said it was a matter of pride for all investigators.
Casually, Gu Yi'an replied, "Then why don't you try becoming a female player?"
The male player took it seriously and said, "I think I could give it a try."
He actually considered it.
Gu Yi'an didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
The two of them walked a short distance when, under the streetlight, they suddenly saw the Enforcement Squad captain, who had just left so coolly, walking back toward them.
Gu Yi'an looked at the captain, puzzled.
The captain maintained the demeanor expected of a leader, putting on airs and clearing his throat artificially before saying, "Could you please open the door for us again so we can leave?"
The chaos of the first half of the night passed, and the latter half remained quiet, allowing Gu Yi'an and the others to get a good night's sleep.
The next day, Gu Yi'an was awakened by a text message on her phone.
She had fallen asleep with her phone resting on her abdomen, and in her drowsy state, she heard a crisp ringtone.
"Ding!"
Gu Yi'an was inside her sleeping bag, and the confined space made the sound even more piercing.
She opened her eyes warily.
Gu Yi'an shifted, crawled out of her sleeping bag, and then checked her phone.
She had received a message from Divine Eye.
"Junior Investigator Gu Yi'an, please proceed immediately to the Donghuan Line Market in the Divine Eye Special Administrative Zone to investigate the disappearance of vendor Huang Dasheng."
A mission had arrived.
Gu Yi'an glanced at the others in the room.
The three players who had taken the night watch during the latter half were already washed up, their jackets replaced with the black uniforms of investigators.
Tang Jiu was similar to her, having crawled out of her sleeping bag almost at the same time to check her phone.
The two male players, however, seemed to be dead asleep in their sleeping bags, showing no signs of movement.
Given that over fifty accidental deaths had occurred in this office building, Gu Yi'an was genuinely concerned about that possibility.
She stood up, walked over, and poked the back area of the sleeping bag with her shoe.
The person inside the sleeping bag shifted, avoiding Gu Yi'an's little jab.
The other one did the same, preferring to roll around in the sleeping bag rather than come out.
Seeing that both were still alive, Gu Yi'an left them alone.
The three players who had taken the night watch, noticing that Gu Yi'an and the others were awake, informed them that Brother Yong, Lu Zize, and the male player who had taken on the task with a sharp tongue had returned at 7 a.m. and were likely in the director's office.
One of the female players among the three even remarked with envy, "They took showers. I saw they changed into new clothes inside. We can't even manage to take a shower."
In reality, they weren't short of water or a place to bathe, what they lacked was a change of clothes.
Hearing this, Gu Yi'an comforted her, "Once we complete the tasks assigned by Divine Eye, we should receive wages. Let's discuss with Brother Yong or Brother Lu to see if we can get an advance on our pay."
She hadn't meant to bring it up, but as soon as she did, the female player remembered, "Brother Lu's bank card is in your hands."
Gu Yi'an calmly replied, "I'll return it to him later."
After she and Tang Jiu finished washing up, the two male players finally got up. They took just five minutes to get ready, and the seven of them headed toward the director's office.
Familiarity breeds ease.
The players could now ignore the ever-present cameras and knocked on the director's office door as if it were second nature.
Soon, the door opened.
It was the sharp-tongued newbie male player who had taken on the task earlier. He greeted everyone wearily, looking utterly drained as he drifted to a chair and sat down.
Brother Yong was seated in the director's chair, with Lu Zize standing behind him.
Lu Zize was pointing at certain images on the computer screen, giving Brother Yong guidance.
The players' entrance caused quite a stir.
Brother Yong and Lu Zize both looked up at the players.
Lu Zize was the first to speak, asking, "You received the task to investigate the missing vendors?"
"Yes."
"Right."
Everyone responded.
Seeing this, Lu Zize pondered for a moment and said, "Let's hold off on that investigation task for now. I'll first teach you how to obtain director-level permissions."
He sighed at this point. "Yesterday, our investigation bureau lost Sister Man and Team Leader Liang. As for you newcomers, there were originally twelve of you, but now you're down to eight. Brother Yong and I are both worried that we might meet with misfortune at any moment. It's better to pass on the director permissions to you as soon as possible."
Brother Yong listened to Lu Zize's words, got up from his seat, moved to another chair nearby, and sat down again. His demeanor suggested he tacitly approved of Lu Zize's decision.
Lu Zize said, "The steps to obtain director permissions aren't difficult. Come over one by one, and I'll teach each of you. There are several places in our bureau that require permissions. Especially the weapon storage area, you must have permissions to avoid being attacked."
Hearing the word "weapons," the male player perked up and quickly asked, "Brother Lu, what kind of weapons are there?"
"Guns."
Upon hearing this, the players all felt a stir of excitement.
In this world, which so far had no ghosts or monsters, guns could be considered the most powerful weapons.
Lu Zize asked, "Who wants to go first?"
At his question, Tang Jiu and the other players instinctively looked at Gu Yi'an.
Gu Yi'an, thrust into the spotlight, showed no sign of embarrassment.
Upright in conduct, steady in demeanor.
She smiled and handed Lu Zize's card back to him.
"Brother Lu, thank you for your generosity."
Lu Zize adjusted his glasses and declined. "I'll be even more generous. I'll cover your three meals today. Keep it for now."
Feeling the intense gazes of the other players behind her and remembering that they truly had no money, Gu Yi'an thought it over and, yielding to poverty, put the card away again.
The steps Lu Zize taught for obtaining director permissions weren't particularly difficult, focusing mainly on acquiring dynamic passwords.
An hour later, all eight players had successfully learned the process.
Lu Zize printed out the materials obtained with director permissions and handed them to Gu Yi'an.
With everything prepared, the eight players set off to investigate the missing vendors.
They first looked at the map.
One player remarked, "This Donghuan Line Market is the same one Brother Lu took us to yesterday. It's pretty big."
Gu Yi'an pulled out a photo of the vendor named Huang Dasheng.
Tang Jiu leaned over to take a look and exclaimed, "Huh, isn't this one of the butchers who were fighting yesterday?"
Gu Yi'an asked curiously, "Was it him who gave you the meat?"
Tang Jiu shook her head. "It was another one."
She muttered, "Could it really be such a coincidence? Is the disappearance of this vendor related to the butcher who fought with him yesterday?"
Gu Yi'an closed the file and said, "We'll know when we get there. Let's head to the market first. Let's go."
The investigation turned out to be easier than Gu Yi'an and the others had expected.
They first went to a restaurant near the market for lunch. The moment the restaurant owner saw their uniforms, he immediately claimed he hadn’t done anything wrong, insisted he was a law-abiding citizen, and then asked if they were investigators.
Since Gu Yi'an and the team were in need of a breakthrough, they asked the restaurant owner about the butchers in the market.
The owner told them everything he knew.
"I know there are only two butchers in there. One sells at a low price, the other at a high price. The meat from the cheaper one tastes strange, so I don’t often go there. I usually get my supplies from the pricier one. I’m an honest man, I really don’t do anything to rip off customers. Today, the expensive vendor didn’t show up, so I didn’t even bother with the cheaper one. He put up a sign today saying his meat is of the same quality as the other one’s. I didn’t believe it."
Gu Yi'an took the opportunity to ask if the expensive butcher often argued with the other one.
"All the time. He often says the other one sells fake meat, that its source isn’t legitimate. The other one lives in a remote area and claims his meat is top-quality, raised by his own family."
After hearing the owner’s words, Gu Yi'an flipped through the documents in her hand.
It was a stack of old case files from the Investigation Bureau about missing persons. All of them had ended without finding the missing individuals, becoming unsolved cases.
However, there was one noteworthy detail in these cases: they were all related to the butcher who sold "top-quality" meat.
Some of the missing persons had had contact with the butcher, while others had been seen near his residence.
But since the Divine Eye surveillance system hadn’t captured anything suspicious, the investigations had been discontinued.
Did Lu Zize intentionally give her these files?
Gu Yi'an pondered this as she distributed the documents to the other players.
"Take a look. Huang Dasheng is probably in serious trouble."
The other players had actually been waiting for Gu Yi'an to summarize the situation, but instead, she handed them the files.
They hesitated for a moment but eventually picked up the documents.
As soon as they looked, all seven players, including Tang Jiu, turned pale.
Tang Jiu spat out the candy in her mouth and exclaimed in shock, "H-H-Human... meat?"
Gu Yi'an nodded, confirming this point.
The male players who had cooked meat dishes the night before immediately collapsed under the table, frantically inducing vomiting.
Gu Yi'an said, "Our previous investigators had already uncovered this. In the end, they chose to give up due to a lack of evidence. If the investigators don't provide a conclusion, the case can't be handed over to the enforcement team."
"Are we just going to let him roam free?" someone asked.
Gu Yi'an replied, "This is the choice Lu Zize and Brother Yong have given us. The matter is already clear; there's no need for further investigation. We now have two options: either go to the butcher's house to find evidence, or return and follow the previous investigators' approach, temporarily shelve the case due to lack of clues, leaving it unresolved."
Tang Jiu decisively said, "Let's go find evidence."
That was exactly the answer Gu Yi'an wanted to hear.
"Aren't you afraid?" she asked.
Tang Jiu said, "The previous investigators shelved the case, and they all died, we never even met them. If we follow their example, won't we also face the same fate?"
Tang Jiu's thoughts aligned with Gu Yi'an's.
This dragon's den and tiger's lair had to be braved.
Upon hearing this, the other players' expressions turned extremely grim, yet they had to admit that Gu Yi'an and the others were right.
They had come to this world and only triggered the investigation task. If they couldn't even complete this task, wouldn't it disappoint the god who was always watching over this place?
The novice male player who had worked all night last night felt utterly disheartened.
He said, "I just saw it last night, and I even fought hard. I haven't slept until now. Do you know how that feels?"
No one else spoke; everyone understood this male player, but they had no choice but to go.
The novice male player said, "I've lived this long only to realize how strong my sense of justice is. To find evidence, I'm willing to go anywhere."
His words were clearly sarcastic, he didn't want to go at all.
But who among those present actually wanted to go?
The thought of what they were about to witness made them all uneasy.
Gu Yi'an twirled the Sage card in her hand, pondering, "The Divine Eye system is everywhere. Why did it specifically overlook the area where that butcher lives?"
Gu Yi'an wanted to call the restaurant owner over to ask more questions, but she saw that he was already holding a metal basin, vomiting uncontrollably.
Their conversation just now hadn't been kept from the restaurant owner.
Putting two and two together, the restaurant owner immediately understood the whole story. That meat, he had eaten it too.
Fortunately, Gu Yi'an's table was far from the other customers, and the other customers had deliberately avoided this group in uniforms; otherwise, no one else would have been able to eat.
The restaurant owner noticed Gu Yi'an's gaze on him.
He trembled and said, "Investigator, please give me a moment."
He immediately grabbed the basin and ran to the back kitchen.
A few minutes later, the restaurant owner, having washed his face, hurried back respectfully.
"Please ask. I'll tell you whatever you want to know."
Gu Yi'an thought for a moment and asked, "Do you know if that butcher has any connections? Like, someone backing him?"
The restaurant owner hesitated for a moment, then, as if recalling something, a look of hatred flashed in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Let me ask my friend."
The restaurant owner went to contact someone.
Half an hour later, he reported his findings to Gu Yi'an.
"That guy is an outlier from a major family. I heard someone in his family holds a fairly high position."
Well, now they knew why the Divine Eye system couldn't detect it.
Gu Yi'an looked at the case file in her hand. The so-called "Sinless City" was far from living up to its name.
From Liu Han and Sister Man, to this butcher, and even the unresolved death of the previous investigator, countless evils were hidden within the Sinless City.
Perhaps it should be called the City of Sin instead.
Ding!
A notification sound for a text message.
All the players present picked up their phones.
Gu Yi'an glanced at the sender, Divine Eye.
"Junior Investigator Gu Yi'an, the investigation mission has concluded. Please return to the Special Zone Investigation Bureau immediately."
Gu Yi'an's gaze fell on the operating camera on the table.
What did this mean?
They had clearly uncovered something, yet they were being told to abandon the case?
Who was interfering with the Divine Eye system?
Tang Jiu slammed the table and stood up. "It's covering up for someone!"
The relieved expressions on the other players' faces shattered at Tang Jiu's outburst.
One player cautiously glanced at Gu Yi'an's expression and said timidly, "Isn't... isn't this a good thing? None of us want to go anyway."
Tang Jiu snorted coldly. "It's not the same. It's protecting a murderer! If we let him go today, he'll just keep committing crimes tomorrow, the day after, and beyond. How can that be allowed?"
Seeing that the other players didn't share her view, she turned to Gu Yi'an.
"Say something."
But Gu Yi'an suddenly smiled.
A person who was usually aloof and detached suddenly smiled.
Tang Jiu felt a pang of unease at Gu Yi'an's smile and asked nervously, "Gu Yi'an, have you lost your mind?"
"No."
Gu Yi'an's voice was calm.
Though she was smiling, there was no warmth in her eyes.
"I finally understand how to clear this world."
"The god has played quite the game with us. What a fine 'Sinless City' this is."
"Or rather, the City of Sin."
Ever since the players arrived in this game world, they had been bombarded with various cases.
It was called the Sinless City, yet it was filled with so much sin.
Hearing that Gu Yi'an knew how to clear the game, the players immediately grew curious.
They stared at her eagerly.
Gu Yi'an had never been one to hold back. "Overthrow the sin. Or rather, overthrow it."
She pointed at the camera on the table.
This was the embodiment of sin itself.
The others were confused for a few seconds before it dawned on them.
Gu Yi'an meant overthrowing the Divine Eye system!
It sounded incredibly unreliable.
The players instinctively began to ponder Gu Yi'an's words, and as they did, they realized that over the past two days and one night, they had constantly encountered various cases, each representing a sin. This made them lean toward Gu Yi'an's speculation.
Could it be that they were truly going to engage in a life-and-death struggle against the forces of evil?
Veteran players all knew about the games of the gods. In most cases, the difficulty of the game lay solely in deducing the nature of the game itself.
If players could figure it out, the game was incredibly simple.
If players couldn’t figure it out, the game would reach a deadlock.
Of course, there were exceptions. For instance, if the ghosts or monsters were too powerful, even if players knew that defeating them would allow them to clear the level, they simply couldn’t manage to kill them.
The novice players observed the expressions of the veterans and knew who to trust.
Thus, through silent eye contact, everyone reached a consensus.
To clear this level, it was highly likely that Gu Yi'an's suggestion of overthrowing the Divine Eye System was the key.
"This... is way too difficult, isn’t it?" one player remarked. "Our every move is being watched by it. It rules this place, deeply entrenched, how could it be toppled overnight?"
Overthrowing the Divine Eye system was no longer a matter of mere difficulty.
It had become an inseparable part of daily life for the people in this place.
Surveillance cameras were everywhere.
Sometimes, people could handle everything just by scanning their faces.
"It’s just a special zone," Gu Yi’an stated calmly.
The other players exchanged glances. One male player said, "Think about it again. Could the condition for clearing the level be something else? Like finding the culprit behind the deaths of so many investigators."
Gu Yi’an glanced at him, this was the same male player from last night who had seriously considered becoming a female player.
The more the male player thought about it, the more convinced he became of his idea. He enthusiastically analyzed, "Look, our hint is that there are no coincidences in the world. Yet the deaths of those investigators, without exception, were all labeled as coincidences. That’s just too unbelievable. They must be closely tied to our novice hint. Didn’t Brother Lu and the others keep talking about accidental deaths? I think if we find that killer, we can clear the level."
Gu Yi’an curled her lips slightly and looked at him, asking, "Haven’t you realized that’s a death warrant?"