Chapter 28 Horrifying Crimes 8: The Isolated Island Prison

This situation is very similar to that of the municipal building employees; they all disappeared, but the reasons seem to be quite different.

What is clear is that anyone who becomes a criminal in this innocent city, even if they are not sent to the police station for conviction, will turn into one of the monsters on the streets, and they seem to believe that they can turn back into humans once they return to their homes.

“After this incident, we began to understand why this place is called the City of Innocence, so we set our sights on you. But we didn’t expect you to be a player, which makes things complicated.” He Ju looked Ling Yuanshan’s clothes over again, still unable to understand why he could change clothes.

In fact, even if Ling Yuanshan was a player, the other players would have chosen to sacrifice him to save their own lives. However, when they were ganging up on Ling Yuanshan, it was difficult to catch him, and they accidentally killed him.

The prisoners were still feeling sorry for him and tried to rescue him, but Ling Yuanshan disappeared on the spot. They then realized that Ling Yuanshan had some kind of life-saving item on him and started searching for him again in the City of Innocence, but they hadn't found him after so many days.

Both sides were on the move, and Ling Yuanshan was running around with Wu Wangwang, thus avoiding the pursuit.

He Ju moved the hand holding the knife: "Alright, I've told you everything I know. Now, tell me why your clothes were able to be changed?"

Ling Yuanshan's expression was solemn. He was still carrying the repairman's satchel, which contained his and Wu Wangwang's prison uniforms: "We changed into the uniforms of the staff in the municipal building. It was easy to change them, but after we changed our clothes, those staff members disappeared."

"Disappeared?" He Ju frowned, then his face turned just as ugly as Ling Yuanshan's. "So, when we came in, the most important way to pass through was the number and name on our prison uniforms. Now that you've changed your clothes, doesn't that mean you've become residents of this city?"

Becoming a resident means abiding by the rules of the City of Innocence. Death disappears, crimes turn into monsters, and then you are murdered by the new batch of strange humans. It seems impossible to escape the rules of the City of Innocence.

He Ju received the news and felt that Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang had lost their value for cooperation. How could a player who was already restricted by the regional rules leave the instance?

Staying in this instance is no different from failing to complete the game.

So Heju left without saying a word, not wanting to talk to them anymore, but she didn't choose to grab Ling Yuanshan to exchange for the weight of sin, seemingly thinking that she couldn't defeat the props in Ling Yuanshan's hands by herself at the moment.

After confirming that He Ju had left, Wu Wangwang said, "Young Master, you don't need to worry too much. If committing a crime would turn you into a monster, then we have already committed a crime, but nothing has changed."

Ling Yuanshan turned around abruptly: "That's right, we just smashed up the municipal building, how can that not be considered a crime?"

The joy in his heart had barely begun when Ling Yuanshan became serious again: "But we can't completely disregard He Ju's words. Perhaps she's hiding something? Otherwise, why would the person they framed turn into a monster?"

“They may have just triggered the rules for monster formation, but they didn’t guess right,” Wu Wangwang said thoughtfully. “In any case, we still need to find out why the monster appeared. We can’t have changed our clothes for nothing.”

Before we know what the prison uniforms and the clothes of the residents of the City of Innocence are for, we must make the most of them.

With the situation unclear at night, Ling Yuanshan decided to wait until dawn to see how things were handled in the city center. Residents were not allowed to come out at night, which led to shadowy figures breaking into residential buildings and killing people. The two sides fought fiercely, but fortunately, the old city remained peaceful as always and did not attack.

Worried that He Ju would attract other players, Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang changed places to rest. It was a rare night's sleep, and when it was dawn, Wu Wangwang suggested, "Such a big thing has happened, the outside world can't just ignore it. This place is quite close to the gate, why don't we go and take a look?"

Since it wouldn't take much time, Ling Yuanshan agreed.

They waited in the quiet old town until 8:30 a.m., when the gate opened as scheduled. Today, they were at Gate 6, where the prison warden brought in today's prisoners.

Ling Yuanshan walked straight over and said, "Director, something has happened in the city. Many monsters have turned into humans and are setting fires and killing people in the city. Are they criminals?"

The prison warden chuckled softly: "Whether it counts or not, the government of the City of Innocence will make the first judgment. You can go and arrest them first, and they can come here for testing at noon after you've made the arrests."

"You mean we should just ignore the chaos in the city?" Ling Yuanshan pressed.

“The City of Innocence can operate on its own. The prison does not wish to interfere in their internal affairs. You are free to do as you please.” The prison chief insisted on not entering and immediately ordered the gate to be closed.

The other prisoners looked at each other, none of them willing to stay in the City of Innocence to search. They thought that trying for a few more days might yield a solution, and they only found out about the chaos in the city after they arrived.

The prisoners were eager to ask what had happened, but before they could speak, Ling Yuanshan gave them all the key information and warned them to be careful, as the shadowy figures that had transformed into humans didn't seem very human.

"If it's not human, what else could it be? A ghost?" one prisoner said with disbelief, revealing a mocking smile.

Ling Yuanshan was somewhat surprised: "You haven't seen it before?"

The prisoner sneered and patted his chest: "Don't think I'm easily scared! What haven't I seen? Even if it's a ghost, I can kill it with one knife!"

Faced with this discovery, Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang exchanged a glance, feeling that things had exceeded their expectations.

Wu Wangwang stepped forward: "I am from District 21. As you all know, my situation is special. Every night I live in District 21, I encounter some non-human monsters. Haven't any of you encountered them?"

Everyone remembered Wu Wangwang when they arrived on the island, but upon hearing her speak, they all fell silent.

After a while, a girl who was a little taller than Wu Wangwang raised her hand and said, "I'm from District 19. I saw it last night. A monster covered in insects came over and tried to pick the lock, but it didn't succeed."

But apart from this girl, none of the other prisoners had encountered her. They all cursed at the three of them, wondering if they had planned to prank someone, but they were also worried about Ling Yuanshan, so they could only mutter curses and walk away.

After the crowd dispersed, Wu Wangwang looked at the girl and asked, "Are you a player?"

The girl was taken aback, then her eyes lit up: "You guys too? That's great! This is my second time entering a dungeon, and I was so scared I didn't know what to do."

The girl's identity was Ji Ruo, number 0135. She said she knew nothing and encountered monsters every night, but no one else in District 19 reacted except for her. She thought she was just too nervous and was hallucinating in the dungeon.

Since the other party was a girl, Ling Yuanshan remained silent and gestured for Wu Wangwang to talk to her, as it would be easier to feel at ease if both of them were girls.

Wu Wangwang pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "If you're so timid, how do you plan to clear the dungeon?"

Ji Ruo smiled sheepishly: "My first instance was a murder mystery game. I'm good at deduction, so I knew the answer first and survived. I originally planned to run with other players in this instance, but I didn't encounter them until you asked just now."

Logically, there's nothing wrong with it. Wu Wangwang looked at the other person and thought they were a person, not a ghost or monster, so he could still trust them.

"Based on what you just said, does that mean only players can see the monsters that appear in the prison at night?" Wu Wangwang felt that this didn't seem to make sense; the logic didn't quite hold up. If NPCs couldn't see the monsters, why were the prisoners who gathered in the square every morning all so exhausted?

Ji Ruo touched her face: "I'm not sure. I just asked them, and they all said they didn't see it or didn't know. You guys saw it just now too. Nobody believes us."

There's always a way to find out, so Wu Wangwang wasn't in a hurry to get to the bottom of it. Instead, she asked, "You said you're good at reasoning. Now that we have some information we've gathered, could you take a look at it for us?"

“Okay, as a player, I also need the dungeon information. Only by knowing the answer can I clear the dungeon.” Ji Ruo did not refuse.

The information was all in Wu Wangwang's notebook. She had also written down other information last night, but she hadn't written about Ling Yuanshan breaking into the municipal building.

Ji Ruo read very quickly. After reading it, she pondered for a while and said, "Two key pieces of information are missing. First, the reason why the monsters appeared, and second, the reason why the City of Innocence exists. As long as we know these two points, we can know the truth about this instance."

Wu Wangwang was somewhat disappointed: "Of course we know that, but could you tell us something we don't know?"

Hearing this, Ji Ruo felt a little embarrassed. She flipped through the notebook again and hesitated before saying, "Types, the types of monsters that form. I see from the records that humans cannot be randomly split into eight types. There must be eight fixed major factors influencing them. Also, it seems you forgot to record the differences in humans formed after the shadows covered different types of monsters."

Unexpectedly, this person actually has some skills. Wu Wangwang took back her notebook, patted her shoulder, and said, "Thanks. Just wait here and don't wander around. This city is much more dangerous than outside. If you really are a player and not something else, try your best to survive until we find a way to come back."

Ji Ruo was stunned: "Aren't you taking me with you?"

This time, Ling Yuanshan rejected her: "We are husband and wife, we don't need a third party. Even if you were a man, I would worry that you would seduce my wife."

Upon hearing this, Ji Ruo immediately showed a speechless expression, and even subconsciously wanted to roll her eyes, but probably felt it would be impolite, so she stopped halfway through: "Oh, okay."

Afterwards, Ji Ruo walked to the door panel and squatted down, probably cursing the despicable couple in his heart.

Seeing that Ji Ruo really didn't intend to force it, Ling Yuanshan grabbed Wu Wangwang and ran away quickly, stopping only near another door.

Wu Wangwang found it strange: "Why do you say we are husband and wife?"

"Have you ever played video games?" Ling Yuanshan didn't answer, but instead asked a completely unrelated question.

"No, what does it have to do with anything?" Wu Wangwang couldn't think of any connection. Moreover, in the original owner's memories, games were supposed to be a very evil thing, because many people said that games harmed children, young people, a generation, the country, and the world.

Ling Yuanshan hesitated, pondering how to explain to Wu Wangwang the passive nature of couples in a competitive game.

Seeing that Ling Yuanshan remained silent for a long time, Wu Wang asked, "Is it so hard to explain?"

After a moment of silence, Ling Yuanshan said, "No, it's just that most couples often do some outrageous things when playing games, such as the support seducing their husbands or the jungler seducing their wives. They also tend to run away together without considering the specific situation, causing everyone to lose. So the 'love-brained couple' setting can eliminate most cooperation requests."

Although she didn't quite understand, Wu Wangwang said she did: "Oh, so you mean that as long as we're a couple, no one will want to cooperate with us, and we'll be at a disadvantage in the game, right? I get it. So, you rejected Ji Ruo because you don't trust her?"

Back on track, Ling Yuanshan became much more serious: "Both are true. She appeared suddenly. In the dungeon, apart from yourself, most players are not trustworthy. Moreover, I can't protect two people at the same time. If I get caught up in something and you run away with her, and she sells you out, I won't even know where to find you."

Compared to strangers, Ling Yuanshan was more willing to believe Wu Wangwang, who had been implicated by him. Moreover, Wu Wangwang worked at his house, and if something happened to him, Wu Wangwang might be fired. Given the recent theft incident, Ling Yuanshan didn't think Wu Wangwang would want to quit his job.

Furthermore, after these few days of cooperation, Ling Yuanshan felt that although he couldn't quite understand what kind of person Wu Wangwang was, her character was still better than those bottomless players who only cared about surviving and getting rewards.

Ling Yuanshan didn't say any of these reasons, and there was no need to. Just give the most important reason so that both sides can understand.

Wu Wangwang nodded: "Alright, whatever you say, young master. Shall we go back to the city to record the type now, or go to the municipal building?"

Ling Yuanshan pondered for a moment and said, "Let's go to the city center. I estimate that most of the residents have been killed. There are a lot of shadowy figures, making it difficult to take a count. Why don't we go to the city hall and see what measures they have in place?"

The two went to the edge of the old city to observe the situation and found that the shadowy figures had already attacked. Explosions were happening all over the city of Innocence. The shadowy figures were like mentally ill people without any moral constraints, trying to move into houses by any means necessary.

Some houses were engulfed in flames, while shadowy figures inside hummed songs and changed clothes.

Fortunately, the shadowy figures only attack people inside houses and do not steal their houses. If they are not inside a house, they ignore them. However, some residents who have been evicted will attack them in order to defend their houses.

Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang didn't fight over the house. They carefully avoided the areas of explosion and fighting and still made it to the city center. There were still many dark figures crawling out of the city center. The police had come out to maintain order, but they were not dealing with the dark figures. Instead, they told the people in the city center not to leave the city center today.

There weren't even any banners in the city center; it was just staff and police using megaphones to make announcements. Moreover, the glass on the 46th floor hadn't been repaired, and dark shadows were still falling out of it.

It's a bit clearer during the day, but the 46th floor is too far away. Even without the reflection from the glass, it's still hard to see what's going on up there from a low vantage point.

Wu Wangwang felt the answer was right there, so she asked, "Young Master, do you have any other props that can make you fly?"

“If humans could fly, they would be like tigers with wings in dungeons, rendering any other setting meaningless. That’s why I’ve never seen a flying item,” Ling Yuanshan replied with a solemn expression.

They couldn't get to the upper floors of the city hall, and they couldn't get out until they found the answer.

After listening, Wu Wangwang thought it made a lot of sense: "Then are there any more destructive props?"

Ling Yuanshan thought Wu Wangwang wanted to attack, so he said, "There is one, but it can only be used once per instance. Unless it's an emergency, I won't use this kind of limited-use item. Even if we use lethal weapons to open the passage, we can't search for clues in such a safe way afterward."

“Who said I was going to attack?” Wu Wangwang turned around and pointed to the walls of the City of Innocence. “I want to tear down the walls. We can’t get the data because the access channels inside the City of Innocence are also blocked. But if the City of Innocence riots, the prison can’t just ignore it.”

"Isn't this a bit much? If we do something like this, we'll never be able to clear our names." Ling Yuanshan hesitated, worried that this action might trigger other rules.

After pondering for a while, Wu Wangwang said, "No, no, no, I still have a question. According to He Ju, our attack on the municipal building is already a crime, but we didn't disappear. Assuming Ji Ruo's words are true, and only we players can see the monsters, then what do the NPCs see?"

The NPCs don't believe the monsters exist, but they are indeed running all over the city, and the corpses on the ground are undeniable. So, in the eyes of the NPCs, what is this innocent city? And what kind of scene does it present?

Ling Yuanshan had a sudden inspiration: "You mean... our actions and what we players see are separated from those of the NPCs?"

Wu Wangwang shook her head again: "It's not necessarily that they're separated, but rather that they're numbered. Our identities are different from those of NPCs, and this difference creates a difference in perspective."

The information provided in the first instance must have a purpose. Now that we know we have obtained the NPC identity and have not disappeared due to the crime, why not pull off a big heist and force the prison to intervene in the City of Innocence?

Ling Yuanshan hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Okay, let's take a gamble. At worst, we'll split up. As long as one of us doesn't die, the other can live too."

After saying that, Ling Yuanshan took out a large box, which contained fireworks.

Wu Wangwang had only ever seen fireworks during the village's night sacrifice rituals. She carefully picked one up: "Fireworks?"

“Yes, I got this in a love-themed dungeon. It’s a firework that lets you give your entire home to your lover in heaven or hell. We put it around the wall, then light it, and we can see the most beautiful fireworks on the island.” Ling Yuanshan took out a handful and handed them to Wu Wangwang.

"How romantic! The lover isn't here, but they think the lover might miss home, so they send it to the lover." Even Wu Wangwang, a ghost, was somewhat moved.

Ling Yuanshan felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He was a man of action, and since he had already made a promise with Wu Wangwang, he would carry it out immediately. The two decided to start from the nearest Gate 6 before the shadowy figures attacked the old city, each going in one direction and finally meeting at the other end of the City of Innocence.

The entire process took a whole day. After meeting at Gate 2 diagonally opposite each other, Ling Yuanshan lit the fire.

Wu Wangwang asked with some concern, "What if someone knocks some down?"

Ling Yuanshan lit the fuse and pulled Wu Wangwang towards the city center. He replied, "No, once this thing sticks to you, you can't take it off unless you dig up the wall, but that's almost the same as damaging the wall. Run quickly, that thing is extremely dangerous."

They rushed forward with all their might, but during the escape, the fireworks were already lit. A huge firework rose into the sky and exploded in the darkness, like a beautiful red rose.

At this moment, Wu Wangwang and Ling Yuanshan were running against the shadowy figure. The beauty of the fireworks was reflected in their eyes, as if they were in a romance novel, and even their running was filtered through a romantic lens.

"It's so beautiful," Wu Wangwang exclaimed.

Ling Yuanshan didn't say anything. As a human, he was almost out of breath from running. He had been eating less lately, and it was okay if he didn't do strenuous exercise, but running like this was almost killing him.

Finally, they stopped in the city center. Because of the fireworks, people in the city center also stopped what they were doing and looked up to watch the fireworks. Everyone's face was full of surprise, as if they had never seen such a thing before.

Stopping in a corner, Wu Wangwang observed the people around her. She tugged at Ling Yuanshan's clothes and said, "Young Master, look at their expressions. It's like they've never seen fireworks before."

Even Wu Wangwang, that country bumpkin, has seen him.

Ling Yuanshan caught his breath and looked around in the direction Wu Wangwang pointed. His sense of unease grew stronger—the people of the City of Innocence seemed to be playing modern people, not real modern people. They seemed to have never seen anything that modern people should know.

Is this possible?

Even if someone was originally a prisoner who abandoned their identity to live in the city of no crime, it's impossible that they hadn't seen such common-sense things.

Things were too strange. Ling Yuanshan looked at the city hall again. The prison might be coming soon. The fireworks would last for about an hour. He gritted his teeth and said, "Wu Wangwang, shall we take a gamble?"

"What are we betting on?" Wu Wangwang asked calmly.

“I bet I can break through the building’s partition, and that all the secrets are hidden up there, so we don’t have to go to the prison to look for clues.” Ling Yuanshan clenched his fists, looking nervously at Wu Wangwang.

Wu Wangwang pondered for a moment: "But didn't you say that we can't break through? Even if we do, we might not have enough time to find clues."

Ling Yuanshan laughed: "So it's a gamble, betting that when the prison staff come, they will first take control of the scene and record the situation of the residents and prisoners, rather than checking whether the information upstairs has been leaked."

It is indeed a gamble, a gamble on the warden's mind. What is the core of this instance? Is it an unspeakable secret, or the inability of prisoners to escape? The priority of these two options will determine how the warden will act. You can approach after the fireworks have been set off for an hour, and the wall will disappear. Given the prison's strength, it should take less than an hour.

Given that it had already taken them a long time to get to the city center, and considering Ling Yuanshan's understanding of the fireworks' destructive power, he felt they didn't even have half an hour left.

Wu Wangwang pulled out a pair of scissors: "I have no objection, let's go demolish the building."

With a firm resolve, Ling Yuanshan drew his long sword and, along with Wu Wangwang, stealthily entered the municipal building. The fireworks outside attracted everyone's attention, and they easily reached their previous location, stopping on the twentieth floor corridor.

The props were incredibly durable. Even when Ling Yuanshan and Wu Wangwang swung their weapons at the floor, they didn't leave any marks on the blades, which remained shiny. Since that was the case, they went all out.

Time was of the essence, so Wu Wangwang actually added more force and smashed a hole first. Before the two could be surprised, a head appeared in the east. The eyes on the head were pitch black and the pupils were not visible. The whites of the eyes were full of blood, the area around the eyes was purple, and blood kept flowing out.

Its hair was sticky and clinging to its face, and its mouth looked as if it had been violently torn apart, with blood splattered all over its face. It tried to squeeze into the hole, letting the steel bars around the hole tear open its head.

The tearing pain forced it to open its mouth wide, like a black hole that devours hearts, with blood constantly dripping out and flowing all over the ground.

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Author's Note: [End of Chapter]

Wu Wangwang: If you look at me again, I'll drink you up! [Laughs loudly]

Ling Yuanshan: Don't stuff everything in your mouth... [Please!]

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Thank you for watching, and I hope you enjoyed the article.

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