Chapter 7: A paradise for fluff lovers
After starting the character mission [Broken Wine], a portal shaped like a swirling starry sky appears in front of the player.
When he walked in, the night suddenly turned into day, and the city changed from a steel and concrete style to a fairy-tale style of mushroom houses made mainly of wood and bright colors. It was as if he was not traveling through time and space, but to a new world.
and……
The player raised his paw hesitantly, and a black, furry cat paw appeared before his eyes, with the pad still an extremely cute, tender pink color.
He stretched out his fingers tentatively, and the cat's paws opened like plum blossoms, and its sharp claws popped out as he intended to attack. Judging from the cold light flashing on them, one claw would at least disfigure the cat.
As he watched, some doubts emerged in the player's mind, and he unskillfully manipulated the body, walking towards the puddle on the side of the road, one step deep and one step shallow.
Everything here was beautiful and peaceful, like the wilds of Mondstadt without monsters. A path had been trampled out through the vibrant grass, and a black cat's head was reflected in the clear water.
The short-haired cat was pure black from head to toe, just like a circle of ink in an inkwell. Only its eyes were a brilliant gold, without any impurities, like two polished gemstones inlaid.
His medium body shape doesn't look fat, nor skinny, but just the right amount of smoothness. Even when he's swooping around in front of the water to show off, he still looks quite handsome.
Especially the plaid deerstalker hat on his head that never falls off, the brown cloak draped over his body, and the cigarette in his mouth.
This detective-stereotype outfit adds a detective-like sense of wisdom to Black Cat.
Before entering the role-playing mission, the player still wants to use his brain to play the game in order to avoid death.
After all, for some players, the brain is a detachable external organ.
When I don't use my brain, I just run around the maps mindlessly, brush past the screen mindlessly, and go through the plot mindlessly. A three-hour plot can be fast-forwarded to half an hour, to the point where I can't even remember the names of the main characters.
When he uses his brain, he can analyze a lot of things by setting the background, and he won't miss any clues. He can be called a gamologist and a hard-working person.
Players just like to play without thinking.
But!
It's furry!
It was the furry creature that caused the interstellar alien disaster before. In the second world of virtual reality, due to too many people, a lot of them suffered from mental illness and had to crawl when walking. In the end, it was banned from the game for playing non-human characters!
Against the above background, this hobby became a hobby that the player could not express because he was a mecha warrior who had slashed down many interstellar monsters during mecha drills and competitions.
I didn’t expect this game to be so bold as to secretly break the rules!
In order to live up to all his efforts, he will definitely have a good time!
In an instant, the brain that had been picked up was almost lost again, and its brain was filled with its own cute cat form.
He even started stroking his own tail for fun.
A brown squirrel didn't find any animals on the road, so it looked around and hopped over.
She took two steps back in shock at the black cat's strange and mentally retarded behavior. When the black cat stared at her with burning eyes, a frightened expression vividly appeared on her furry face:
“…that…that…”
The squirrel, who was already somewhat afraid of foreign animals, was almost speechless, and his voice became weaker and weaker:
"…Are you the detective who replied to my letter and accepted my commission?"
The black cat gracefully shook off the grass leaves that had stuck to it when it was rolling on the ground. When the cat's three-petal mouth opened and closed, the cigarette holder followed it up and down against gravity.
He was very enthusiastic about the cute squirrel. Unlike before when he just accepted the quests normally, and ignored the ordinary NPCs who couldn't even give him quests, he immediately put himself in the role of detective Jyouno Hisaji:
"Yes, that's me."
After the conversation, a plot PV began.
In a picture scroll that unfolds like an illustration from a fairy tale, the famous detective Hisashi Jouno, who is in a detective agency filled with books and materials, picks out a special commission from a pile of letters.
This commission came from the distant Forest City. Unlike other animal cities with which they have close interactions, this city seems to be isolated from the wilderness, and its residents are quite xenophobic.
Detective Black Cat opened the letter seriously.
[Dear Detective Mr. Tiao Ye, hello!
I am Rika Tanida, an ordinary resident of Forest City. I have been reading your crime-solving news in the newspaper and I admire your wisdom over animals.
In fact, something happened to me that was extremely puzzling to the animals.
You also know that the situation in Forest City is special. If there was no other way, I would not want to invite you to solve it, because it might put you in danger.
Here's the thing: my neighbor, Grandma Youjiang, lived alone all her life, but she always believed that she had a son.
I had no such impression at all. Some animals said they had seen her son and even found his birth certificate, while others said they grew up with Grandma Youjiang and had never known about this.
Her son was then declared missing and was never found.
She is old and has recently fallen ill. I would like to entrust the task of finding her son to you. Please investigate the truth.
The commission deposit is enclosed with the letter. If you do not accept the commission, just send the letter back to the original address.
I am looking forward to your reply. 】
In the closed forest city, the missing persons whose existence is questioned, what kind of truth is hidden here?
Detective Black Cat's rich associations turned into bubbles floating on the scroll, and his eyes revealed a strong curiosity about the mystery.
He tapped the cigarette holder on the table, and the bubbles that filled the scroll dissipated. Black Cat took a piece of letter paper and began to write a reply.
The picture scroll gradually closes and the plot PV ends.
The player submitted the letter of commission sent by the other party in the backpack as proof. The uneasy squirrel lady Rika Tanida breathed a sigh of relief and led the player inside.
"Thank you so much. They all advised me to find an animal of the same kind to play the role of Grandma Youjiang's son and just make Grandma Youjiang happy."
The squirrel was in a low mood and said sadly:
"But I always feel that what Grandma Youjiang needs is not false comfort. She has been holding on to this for so long, what she wants is the truth."
"You are welcome."
The black cat detective's voice was extremely gentle. If he hadn't taken the gender difference into consideration, he would have patted Miss Squirrel's back affectionately with his paw to comfort her.
"I will definitely find out the truth. Now, let's start with the animals that know the truth."
Rika Yada nodded in agreement. "I have already contacted the animals involved. In fact, they have been questioned many times by the detectives that Grandma Yujiang had hired. But recently a new witness has appeared. Do you want to meet him first?"
"Recently?" Black Cat narrowed his eyes with interest, completely immersed in his role as a detective. "Okay, maybe he'll have some useful clues."
"He is a guitarist who is very popular among young animals here. His stage name is Scotland." Rika Yada is obviously also a fan of him. She couldn't help but say excitedly, "Mr. Scotland looks like an angel when he smiles!"
...Scotland? Mission target?
While the Black Cat Detective was thinking, a prompt popped up to start the mission.
White text appears in a fresh light blue frame surrounding the flowers.
【Broken Wine】
[You accidentally traveled back to five years ago and found that this world is different from the real world. Here, you will act as a well-known detective and find out the truth behind the missing case that seems true or false]
[Mission Rewards: Famous Detective Identity*1, Sands of Time*100, Japanese Yen*100,000, Advanced Experience Books*8, Refined Ore*30]