“It’s possible. If we can find the source of this smell, we might find the key to solving the case,” another person chimed in.
After a heated discussion, everyone agreed that the smell might be related to the daily deaths in the village.
Therefore, they decided to use Jiang An's discovery as a clue to launch an investigation.
Over the next few days, the team members searched everywhere for places where the smell might exist. Jiang An was the main force, as she was the only one who had smelled that smell before, and she also had a basic sense of smell, making her nose the most sensitive.
They scrutinized every detail, hoping to find some clues.
Persistence pays off. During a search, a team member finally smelled a similar odor in an abandoned house on the mountain.
"Here! This smells like that!" the team member exclaimed excitedly.
Everyone immediately gathered around, carefully sniffing the surrounding air.
"That's right, that's the taste! It seems we've found the right direction." Jiang Anxin was overjoyed.
Further searching revealed some suspicious items inside the house, including strange herbs and spices. These discoveries brought them one step closer to the truth.
Meanwhile, good news came from Team Leader Zhang. After a detailed autopsy, he discovered bite marks on the victim's neck, indicating that poisonous insects kept by someone had been attracted by the scent on the body and bitten him.
As for why the neck, it's probably because that's the most convenient location.
“This aroma likely comes from a rare poison,” Team Leader Zhang said solemnly.
"Poison? Is this how the murderer killed people?" someone asked in confusion.
"It's not certain yet, but judging from the condition of the body, it's highly likely," Team Leader Zhang replied.
By combining all the clues, they realized they were close to the heart of the strange incident. Next, they needed to dig deeper to uncover the real culprit.
As for why this happened, Jiang An guessed it was related to the trafficking of women in the village.
Over the years, it must have happened more than once; someone seeking revenge is the most likely motive.
As for why it was the whole village, it's because they were all protectors.
Fortunately, the mission in the instance was not to kill the murderer, but to find the cause of death.
Things often turn out unexpectedly.
When the five players finally found the culprit through clues, they discovered that the killer was an unexpected person—the village chief.
That's right, it's that old village that looks very old and is loved by the villagers.
He slowly spoke, "You've finally found me. Yes, I am the murderer. In fact, from the moment you stepped into the village, I already sensed that you were outsiders!"
The village chief sounded nonchalant. Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this.
They never imagined that this seemingly kind and amiable old village chief would be the murderer.
"Now that you have found me, please sit down and listen to my story..." As the old village chief recounted his tale, a shocking past gradually came to light.
As the last sentence ended, the old village chief suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed heavily to the ground.
Jiang An looked at the old village chief's face and noticed a relieved smile on his face.
Perhaps, he had longed for such an ending!
However, to Jiang An's surprise, in this village so poor that people even had to resort to trafficking to find wives,
The old village chief was both a perpetrator and a victim.
He was a perpetrator because when women were being trafficked in the village, he chose to stand by and neither stop nor support it.
He was a victim because his only descendant—his granddaughter—disappeared simply because she went to play in town.
Nevertheless, Jiang An still believes that the old village chief is more of a perpetrator.
After all, his inaction and indifference indirectly led to the tragic fate of many more innocent women. When he tacitly approved of the first human trafficking, he became an accomplice.
[Congratulations to players Zhang Shunli, Jiang An, Chen Xun, Han Chengxi, and Song Tian for successfully completing Quest 3 and exiting the instance!]
[Congratulations to the 5 players who ranked 67th and won the top 100 team rewards! Both rewards have now been sent to their inventory!]
[Please prepare, the five players will be leaving the instance in one minute and returning to their respective locations!]
Hearing that familiar mechanical voice, the group was overjoyed and exchanged glances.
【3, 2, 1】
Jiang An suddenly felt everything go black before his eyes, and then his body was sucked away by a powerful force.
When she opened her eyes again, the surrounding environment had changed.
She successfully completed the dungeon quest and left the dungeon world safely, returning to her steamship.
Looking at the familiar steamship in front of him, Jiang An felt an indescribable sense of warmth and familiarity.
During the days she spent in the dungeon world, she constantly thought about the ship.
Only now did she realize that she had come to regard this place as another warm home, while the once familiar modern apartment seemed to have gradually become a distant memory.
Just then, the little turtle suddenly appeared from some corner and snuggled affectionately against Jiang An.
Jiang An smiled and reached out to gently stroke its head.
She then turned on the screen to check her status, but was surprised to find that the dungeon time was very different from before.
I originally thought that time would stand still outside the instance, but it seems that this is not the case; time is still quietly passing by.
After some observation, she realized that although the flow of time in the instance was much faster than in reality, there was still a connection between the two.
They stayed in the instance for a total of seven days, while seven hours passed in the real world.
Thinking of this, Jiang An felt a tightness in his chest.
Clearly, her disappearance has plunged the little turtle into extreme fear.
She looked at the little creature in her arms with heartache and whispered, "Little turtle, I'm sorry, it's my fault. I didn't tell you about my mission, and I made you worry..." As she spoke, she gently stroked the little turtle's head to express her apology.
This time, she misjudged the situation. She had always assumed that time was frozen, which led her to leave without explaining things to the little turtle.
Suddenly, she thought of something!
"Xiao Zhi, have you completed today's 300-kilometer flight mission?"
[Master, it's not finished!]
"Xiao Zhi, start sailing now and increase the speed to the maximum!" Jiang An ordered directly.
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