Chapter 245: Ghost in the Mirror (VIII)

"Not really."

Although the player group actually has a worse atmosphere than the NPCs in the dungeon, behavior like Qiao Qiang's is nothing in the history of players. There are many people who will kill other players without even having any conflicts.

But no matter what, the proportion of such people in the huge player group is small, and these people basically have some abnormal characteristics.

But looking at Qiao Qiang, players have also experienced many ups and downs and seen all kinds of life, but if it weren’t for the things that happened later, players would still think that this man is an honest supermarket manager.

You disguised yourself so well, how come you cursed so harshly?

Especially in this matter, strictly speaking, the girl who returned the lamp did nothing wrong.

But Qiao Qiang scolded her as if she had committed some unforgivable mistake.

Running a community supermarket like this, similar things probably happen frequently.

With just such a small conflict, this person is being too petty.

Think about it again, Qiao Qiang was later murdered. It couldn’t have been caused by such a small matter, right?

The players looked at each other, watching Qiao Qiang return to his honest self.

Zhu Ping reacted quickly: "Let's go and take a look at that girl."

Maybe there was some conflict between the two of them before? Besides, the players have no other clues to look for now, and they might find something by following the girl.

But if that girl wants to follow, Qiao Qiang definitely can't let her go.

Zhu Ping asked two people to stay: "Guan Yingying, Iris, you two stay here. Continue to monitor Qiao Qiang and see what's going on with him."

Iris opened his mouth, as if he wanted to refute. But he and Guan Yingying were the weakest among the current players.

So he finally shut up.

This is also why Zhu Ping chose to let the two of them stay, so that weaker players are easier to control.

The rest of the players left the supermarket together.

After he disappeared, Iris complained quietly, "Damn, they only know how to pick on the weak."

Guan Yingying did not respond, she just looked seriously at Qiao Qiang who was sitting on the recliner.

Iris saw her expression and came over to ask, "Did you find any clues?"

Guan Yingying's eyes were still on Qiao Qiang. When she heard him ask this, she shook her head.

"There are no clues. If we are left behind, we should just complete our task well," said Guan Yingying.

Iris thought to herself, this girl must be stupid, right? Staring at Qiao Qiang, what kind of mission is this? She doesn't care about the points, just staring at this NPC?

Guan Yingying ignored his gaze and continued to look at Qiao Qiang.

She didn't lie, Guan Yingying did not find any other clues.

But she always felt in her heart...she had seen this Qiao Qiang before.

It was not the familiarity in appearance, but a kind of familiarity that was difficult to describe, as if it came from the soul.

Guan Yingying couldn't help but wonder why she felt familiar with an NPC in a dungeon. Did she know this Qiao Qiang before?

On the other side, after the players came out of the supermarket, they secretly followed the girl who had just returned the lamp.

The sun is still very hot, but compared to the bustling scene on the street just now, there are fewer people in the community now.

Some players pondered: "Why are there fewer people? Is this a clue?"

Zhu Ping quickly responded: "Because it's already past one in the afternoon, this is the time for the NPCs to rest."

The hustle and bustle of people they saw just now was because the office workers had just returned and the students had just finished school, so the community seemed very lively.

At this time, those who should go home have already gone home, and those who should eat have finished eating. Most people are taking a lunch break at home, so naturally there seem to be fewer people.

"What a realistic copy!" someone couldn't help but sigh.

Zhu Ping was also thinking.

In theory, the dungeon is automatically generated by the system, and the NPCs in the dungeon are also products of the system.

But this copy is weird.

Xinxin Home Community should be the scope of the copy, and at most their bus routes back and forth can be included.

Apart from these, other places should be the small worlds that the copies rely on.

But the strange thing is... there is no one elsewhere, and the surroundings seem like a dead city. There are only NPCs inside Xinxin's home.

It’s as if... the entire small world is within the scope of the copy.

Thinking of this, Zhu Ping suddenly had a bold idea.

"You guys continue to follow her, I'll go out and take a look."

After saying that, Zhu Ping quickly walked out of the community, identified the direction, and used her acceleration skills to move away quickly.

She left in a hurry and the players didn't know where she was going, so they could only continue to follow the girl until they reached her doorstep.

This is not a public place like a community supermarket, and it also allows players to hide and observe secretly.

If you don't have the corresponding skills, it's impossible to peek into this kind of private residence.

Fortunately, there are many talented players, and some people actually have skills in this area.

A player transformed into a centipede and crawled through the crack in the door.

After a while he came out again.

"How is it?" other players asked, "Why are you back so soon?"

The player looked a little embarrassed: "I'm about to take a shower."

After he finished speaking, some players showed expressions of understanding, while others looked a little disdainful, apparently thinking that there was no need to be so particular about NPCs.

This is obviously a difference in concepts.

The player who turned into a centipede didn't say anything. He waited at the door for a while and then re-entered the room.

Time passed by minute by minute, and every once in a while, the player who turned into a centipede came out of the room to report.

In fact, there is nothing much to report. This girl was just like an ordinary office worker. She took a shower in the room, then heated up the unfinished takeaway, and ate while looking at her mobile phone. She acted like an ordinary NPC.

However, after monitoring her for a while, the players did know her basic information.

The girl's name is Guan Qing. She is a recent college graduate and just moved into Xinxin Home Community last week.

She still looks as innocent as a student who has just entered society, and doesn't look like the murderer of Qiao Qiang at all.

Did I find the wrong person? Maybe this NPC is just a simple passerby.

As time passed, the players squatting at the door gradually lost their patience. They simply decided to leave only the player who could transform into a centipede to continue monitoring, while the rest of them went to look for other clues.

But other players think so, but the player who can transform into a centipede does not think so.

It seems that there is no other clue about that girl, but he is not like Guan Yingying and the others. This guy is quite capable.

Seeing that other players were looking for more important clues, but they wanted to leave him alone here to watch this meaningless spy, this player immediately decided not to stay here and instead followed them to look for other clues.

He was quite powerful, and the commander Zhu Ping was not here, so how could the players offend him? So the group left the girl's house.

Not long after they left, the girl finally finished the leftover takeaway, then put on some beautiful makeup, and happily went out carrying her bag.

She did not linger in the community, but walked straight to the gate. She soon left Xinxin Home and walked towards the hotel, her first stop.

Almost at the same time as she set off, a system prompt sounded in Jie Fangcheng's mind.

[Ding——Player Jie Fangcheng triggers the side quest: Welcome. ]

Over there, Jie Fangcheng was playing Landlord with someone else. He was having the most fun when a virtual screen appeared in front of him.

[Side quest: Welcome. ]

[Introduction: Although they have already rented a house, some couples prefer to stay in a hotel for one night. As a hotel manager, you need to provide customers with comfortable services and let them feel the hotel's professionalism and enthusiasm. This is what you need to do! ]

Xie Fangcheng felt overwhelmed when he saw this task.

The main thing is that he has never worked in the service industry. How can he make this couple feel at home?

Xie Fangcheng immediately called out "Hello" a few times, but only the security guard replied in a friendly manner: "Ah? Your companions? I haven't seen them either."

OK, it looks like he is the only one who can do this task? How difficult it is!

When Jie Fangcheng was thinking this, he looked up inadvertently and his eyes passed over the ghosts in front of him.

...Huh?

It seems like he is not the only one in the hotel!

Jie Fangcheng looked at the ghosts around him.

Manager Jie, who has extensive experience in hiring NPCs to do work, put down the cards in his hand.

"Everyone, I have a small matter that I would like to ask for your help."

As he spoke, he placed the stick in his hand on the table.

The ghosts around: "..."

.

Jie Fangcheng was urgently recruiting NPCs to serve as waiters, and farther away from Xinxin's home, Zhu Ping was standing stiffly on the asphalt road.

If someone came here with her, they might just swear.

Looking north from Xinxin Home, there seem to be other high-rise buildings over there. Xinxin Home is just an ordinary old community in this city.

But if you really walk all the way north, after walking a certain distance, you will reach the "end".

In front of Zhu Ping, the asphalt road looked like a piece of torn paper. There was still the shadow of the asphalt road under Zhu Ping's feet, but on the opposite side, there was only a large patch of sticky black fog, which seemed to have formed a terrifying abyss.

There seemed to be some kind of scene surging in the black fog, but when Zhu Ping wanted to take a closer look, her heart suddenly skipped a beat and she felt the hairs on her body stand up.

What is that black mist?

Zhu Ping gritted her teeth, relying on her own strength, she calmed herself down, slowly took a step forward, and stepped into the black fog.

Almost the moment she stepped into the black fog, the monster hidden in the fog pounced on her and took away Zhu Ping's arm in the blink of an eye.

Zhu Ping screamed, exerted force with her legs, and quickly retreated from the black fog.

One of her arms disappeared, and the blood splattered all over Zhu Ping.

This is not the time to be frugal.

Zhu Ping quickly took out her life-saving recovery potion from her backpack. The bleeding from the wound stopped instantly, and granulation tissue began to grow on her arm.

Zhu Ping took a few steps back in doubt. The monster in the black fog seemed to be restrained. It twisted wildly but could not be chased out.

This made Zhu Ping feel a little relieved.

But another question came to her mind.

Why did that monster just now look so much like Guan Yingying? ?