Before Xia Changhong could continue, Ji He said directly, "Didn't this NPC come to F University today? Jiang Shihe's subsequent investigation still can't bypass her, so why don't we take the initiative?"
"Alright, that's enough. Everyone's finished checking the files, right? If you've got everything sorted out, let's go."
After saying that, Ji He put the case file back without giving him any chance to refuse, and had already arranged everything: "Jiang Shihe has been involved in serial murder cases recently, right?"
"Cheng Yuwei, Li Hua, you two are responsible for investigating the cases he handled before, to see if any of them might have become ghosts, harboring resentment towards Jiang Shihe and taking action against him."
"As for Xia Changhong, why don't you come with me? I'll be contacting Jiang Shihe next, so don't worry. What do you say?"
The arrangements went smoothly, and all three agreed. Ji He's expression softened, and the group quickly left.
Of course, those cases must be investigated—
But the purpose was not to protect Jiang Shihe, but to investigate clues leading up to the serial murders. As for Xia Changhong...
As Ji He walked out first, the murderous intent in her eyes was subtly concealed—she truly despised people with a bit of cleverness who blocked her path; they might as well be dead.
...
Just after midnight, when the players were so terrified they almost died, the bright sunshine of the next day rose as usual, and the entire capital city seemed to come alive again, especially the area radiating outwards from F University, where the eerie atmosphere finally dissipated.
Inside the small room of the apartment, Nguyen Thanh An was nestled in the soft bedding, just groggily opening his eyes.
037: [Hello, hello, good morning, my dear!]
"Hmm, good morning, little system."
Ruan Qing'an answered softly, pulling up her long, black hair. She wasn't too tired last night; she had only danced in the living room. Everything else was done by the portrait ghost.
However... Ruan Qing'an hadn't expected Zhang Dan to make the decision to kill her so quickly, so she simply let the portrait ghost handle it.
But 037 was a little curious: "Ancestor, how could you let the portrait ghost handle this? Last time in the elevator, it saw this player but didn't kill him, did it?"
"Little system, there are restrictions on global horror, just like the Three Thousand Dimensions Administration restricts us mission takers from revealing the existence of the Administration, from revealing our identities and missions, and from ruining our personas. There are all such rules."
Ruan Qingan paused for a moment: "Players' abilities are limited, and so are the vengeful ghosts inside. They kill people with ghostly means, and unless the difference in strength is too great, they must abide by the rules."
"If you choose the path to death, the vengeful ghost has the right to kill you."
"If a player chooses the path of survival, they will definitely survive."
037: [Oh, I see. No matter how much this horror instance resembles the real world, it's still essentially a game, and every game has rules.]
Ruan Qingan nodded and said, "Yes, and games also have a limited scope; they don't exist outside the capital."
Including why things change so much at night.
It actually only revolves around the key points of the dungeon, the progress of the story, and the main NPCs, without expanding outwards.
037: [What are the rules of the ghost realm for the portrait ghost?]
Ruan Qing'an chuckled: "I told you, little system, the ghost realm of the portrait ghost is actually very simple, the trigger condition is the face."
"The portrait ghost originated from the deceased Zhang Wu. He was still drawing me before he died, but he was tragically murdered, and the murderer is still unknown. His last obsession was connected to the portrait that witnessed the whole process of his murder, which is also the reason why the portrait ghost first came to me."
"When this player first encountered the Portrait Ghost, he was wearing a mask and hood, covering his face completely, so the Portrait Ghost's ghostly aura was not triggered. But last night he didn't wear one."
"Clearly he didn't know the rules and stumbled into the ghost realm by mistake. The rules of the ghost realm for the portrait ghost are not difficult. He chose the wrong path."
Ruan Qingan raised his finger: "First, add the face to the painting. After understanding the story and the obsession of the portrait ghost, you must add my face so that the portrait ghost can be released from suffering."
037: [But... he probably doesn't know the story. Only the police know the relationship between the portrait and you, Ancestor.]
"Yes, he'll have to figure that out for himself, by guessing and doing his own research."
Ruan Qingan raised a finger again and continued, "There is a second way: not to add a face to the painting. This is the only option for those who do not understand the background of the story. Tear up the unfinished painting because—the ghost in the painting will break down and lose control, falling into a brief period of weakness."
"This period is for players to escape."
As Ruan Qingan spoke, a hint of mockery appeared in his eyes: "If you don't delve into the story, don't use your brain, and just think about taking shortcuts and taking direct action, the process will naturally be more dangerous than exorcising a vengeful ghost."
037 wholeheartedly agreed: "Yeah, with the ghostly quality of that portrait, who would dare to tear it up?"
"Those who are both brainless and cowardly are doomed to die."
Ruan Qing'an chuckled and walked out of the bedroom. The living room, which should have been bright and sunny, was still gloomy and the warm temperature made his back feel cold.
The ghost holding the portrait continued to squat in the corner of the living room.
Upon seeing Ruan Qing'an, its shriveled corpse stirred, as if to greet him: "...dealt with...it..."
"Okay, where's the body?"
"Disappeared..."
The portrait ghost answered haltingly, its voice like a saw, saying that after Zhang Da was killed by it, Global Thrillers would erase Zhang Da's existence, but the instance NPCs were unaware of this.
After praising the portrait ghost a few times, Ruan Qing'an stopped paying attention to the matter. As for the romance quest—the affection points were not visible, and 037 was acting strangely, which made Ruan Qing'an feel that something was wrong, so he simply gave up and continued the romance quest with a lazy attitude.
Even as Ruan Qing'an, clutching his snacks, prepared to lie on the sofa and watch TV while secretly spying on Jiang Shihe—
Her phone suddenly rang.
The person who called was none other than Long Qi.
"Hello, is this Ms. Ruan? This is Long Qi. I would like to invite you to the police station to cooperate with the investigation. Also... Mr. Jiang is here at the police station as well. Someone has reported that you, Ms. Ruan, are suspected of murder."
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