[Alex, an SSS-rank ghost storyteller from the land of the setting sun, has connected to the A-rank ghost story world, Ishimura Oni-do, but has not yet cleared it. A total of 12 ghost storytellers have previously challenged it.]

What is this? I looked at my reflection in the river and saw a foreigner with a distinctly Western face. Could it be that I've traveled through time?

What kind of melodramatic plot is this?

I first processed my identity information: Alex, an SSS-rank supernatural tale teller from the British Empire. So what? Am I the protagonist of this world, or have I transmigrated into some supernatural novel?

Let me see what my SSS-level talent is...

[SSS-Rank Talent: God's Chessboard]

[Effect: Enter a parallel world without supernatural tales to enjoy life. It is guaranteed to be in a superpower without war, and the soul of the replaced person will take your place.]

[Invitation to Join]

What kind of weird talent is this? Have I become the protagonist of a comedy novel?

The huge gap in my social status made it hard for me to accept reality for a while, but there is something more important right now: how to survive in this world!

Rules of the supernatural... Good heavens, I've never read this type of novel before. Suddenly inheriting the identity of an SSS-level supernatural storyteller, am I going to be played to death?

Fortunately, the memories I retained hadn't disappeared. With my years of experience as a police officer, I was able to quickly analyze a bunch of information and extract the most useful pieces of information.

The method to complete a game world is unlikely to be revealed at the beginning; you'll have to discover it for yourself.

Rules are not necessarily correct; you need to rely on your own judgment. Even if there are two conflicting rules, one of them may not be correct.

Without combat or survival-related talents, once you make a mistake, you'll likely not have another chance.

In other words, to leave the instance alive, you must analyze the correct rules!

As long as I can leave this instance alive, I'm not going to be this damn ghost storyteller anymore!

Although I can only retire at 40, with the funds I currently have—the wealth left by my predecessor—I can easily use money to overcome obstacles and retire!

Okay, theory formed, let's begin practice!

I glanced at the rules of this world, and holy crap, there were 16 rules in total, with at least seven or eight of them conflicting and influencing each other. It was terrifying, truly terrifying!

My current talent is useless. I have the title of the strongest, but in reality, I'm just an ordinary person!

I sat by the river and began to ponder. I heard the other ghost storytellers whispering behind my back. As expected of an SSS-level ghost storyteller, they remained calm and composed under pressure. They must have already figured out a way to break the rules!

I'm totally baffled! I don't understand it at all! What kind of weird rules and supernatural tales are these? They can all just go to hell!

This is even more painful than fighting a gunman with a criminal!

No, I can't just treat these rules as cold, impersonal rules. No one else can help me, and I absolutely can't show weakness in front of them!

Only an SSS-rank ghost storyteller like Alex could have enough of a deterrent effect!

Yang Kaixu, who had just transmigrated, was nothing in front of these old foxes!

So now, I must accept my identity, Alex! Just treat it as role-playing!

role play......

These rules alone don't reveal anything! However, these rules are all related to the people in the village, and whether certain people are trustworthy cannot be determined solely by the rules; on-site investigation is necessary!

And that happens to be my forte.

I treat this world as a case, ignoring most of the rules and obtaining information from the villagers. Although most people don't reveal important information, I can learn more from their facial expressions, and even their tone of voice can become the basis for my judgment.

Then, based on the information obtained, we work backward to deduce the rules, eliminate incorrect rules, and then use the relationships between the rules to determine the unknown rules!

I see!

The Stone Village Ghost Child! The ghost child wasn't hiding among the villagers! I initially believed the fetus in the pregnant woman's womb was the ghost child, but her symptoms contradicted a correct rule I had established!

Further investigation revealed that the "ghost children" were not human at all! The strangely shaped stones scattered around the village were the real "ghost children"!

I dared not let my guard down; I didn't want to die again immediately after transmigrating. Fortunately, my judgment was correct, and I successfully survived the first day.

The next morning, the rules reminded me that I could change my talents because I hadn't used any talents in this instance, so I would have one chance to redraw my talents each day I survived.

Once you use your talent midway, the opportunity is gone.

Something's not right, absolutely not right!

My predecessor, "Alex," obtained the SSS-level talent "God's Chessboard" after completing the previous dungeon. Since he only obtained it after completing the dungeon, he naturally didn't have the opportunity to use it.

That's why he used this talent in this instance, swapping our souls. So when I transmigrated, I was immediately in the instance, and so far, it's been a perfectly logical progression.

If that's the case, why would you say he didn't use his talent at all on the first day?

Didn't Alex already use the God's Chessboard to exchange our souls?

I have two speculations about this.

First, he is him, and I am me. Alex is Alex, and Yang Kaixu is Yang Kaixu. Although we use the same body, we are two different individuals. Therefore, his use of the talent will not be attributed to me.

Secondly, this talent is just for show; what actually brought me to this world wasn't the talent's effect at all! I was manipulated by something else!

If this speculation is true, it would be far more terrifying than the world of ghost stories!

Once we've identified the suspect, all officers will feel much more confident. Most people believe they've won the case the moment they confirm the suspect's identity.

The worst-case scenario is that the killer's true identity cannot be determined for a long time. The unknown can bring changes, and changes can sometimes lead to murder!

What exactly is this being that brought me here, and what is its purpose?

Perhaps I'm just overthinking it.

After all, the first scenario can also be explained. There's no way around it; sometimes, the more you analyze, the more you tend to overthink.

I need to focus my attention on the copy.

Not only should you survive the second day, but you should also clear this dungeon today!