Chapter 36

Chapter 36 Depths of the Sea Without Light

The game system continued to give new prompts.

“【Task Content]: Investigate the cult murder.”

“The detected object is confirmed dead. Your mission is deemed completed.”

“【Investigation Progress]: 100%.”

“You remained calm and resourceful in facing a murderer with extraordinary abilities; you turned the tables, executing the target on site. You demonstrated unparalleled acumen, composure, and wit throughout the task, qualities often unattainable by ordinary people.”

“Your performance was excellent. Being an isolated lone wolf, you emerged as the sole victor of this mission.”

“In recognition of your performance, you have earned the title [Hunter].”

“【Hunter]: You are a hunter with uncanny instincts. Any prey in your sights will not escape your tracking and elimination. You can use this title when posting on the forum, after which your nickname will be prefixed with ‘Hunter.'”

Kui Xin took a deep breath.

Eliminating Fang Zhi was her chosen path, and so far, she felt her decision couldn’t have been better.

Once a player dies, their information is immediately reported on the forum. Ever since deciding to clear pollutants from her surroundings, Kui Xin had been contemplating how to commit murders without being reported by the forum.

She spent a long time thinking, finally daring to risk creating an accidental death scenario. She could not personally carry out the killing but must use other means—drowning him, for example, or making him fall off a building… However, she didn’t know the判定标准—she feared that any factor deemed responsible for his death would also be considered by the system, thus rendering her efforts moot.

Therefore, Kui Xin needed to conduct a risky experiment to assess the judgment criteria of the game’s system and whether it was possible to circumvent death notifications.

However, Fang Zhi’s extraordinary ability rendered her planning moot.

If his ability had anything to do with saving files, she would risk everything to acquire it.

With such an extraordinary power, Kui Xin could ensure her survival rates drastically improved.

She valued her life immensely. In the dangerous second world, she lacked the means to protect herself adequately. Life was a one-off journey, and she did not wish to end it rashly. Fang Zhi’s reincarnation ability provided a re-do option, increasing her room for error, giving her a chance at a comeback.

Kui Xin hoped she would never be forced into triggering such a situation.

Death was abhorrent to her. If her death cycle did activate, it would mean she had reached an unprecedented dead-end.

Kui Xin wanted a smooth life, with no threats present.

Kui Xin could imagine the storm brewing on the forum once Fang Zhi’s death was made public. However, her first priority was dealing with the body.

After viewing the bio specimen exhibits at the investigative building, she felt relatively tranquil observing a human corpse.

As Kui Xin tried to move the corpse, bubbles surfaced on the skin of Fang Zhi’s body.

Instinctively, she retracted her hand sharply, backing off a considerable distance.

These bubbles continuously seared through the surface of his skin, soon melting his remains into a pool of blood and wet clothing.

“What… Is this the natural disintegration of an Heterogeneous Blooded after death?” she stammered.

Xueyao Shu had mentioned this earlier, explaining that only highly-digested Divine Blooded exhibited automatic bodily dissolution upon death yet still suffered mutations and fatal maladies.

Fang Zhi was an exception. He had not only assimilated a large amount of Divine Blood but had preserved his form.

Unsettled, Kui Xin pondered.

No need to deal with the corpse, a relief, saving her a lot of trouble.

She merely needed to dispose of Fang Zhi’s clothes and the blood stains on the floor. No need for thorough cleansing, as the remnants of the corpse had already vanished. The system required strict verification procedures, and without finding a corpse or remnants thereof, it could not conclude death. Who would think the body melted into a pool? Not even acid treatment would leave such clean traces.

Should anyone investigate later, they’d only infer from blood traces a violent struggle occurred, not necessarily concluding death.

Kneeling, Kui Xin used the remaining fabric of Fang Zhi to clean the blade, but the blood wouldn’t come off entirely. Reluctantly, she headed to a nearby flooded area near the tobacco factory to wash the blade. Ensuring its surface was blood-free, she concealed it in her waistband.

She could not discard the weapon carelessly. Despite seeming spotless, it retained genetic evidence invisible to the naked eye. Engraved with the utensil brand, if someone found the knife, they might trace it back to her.

Unable to take the metro home, with the blade on her, she navigated her way through rain and dim skies using shadow transition to get home.

Simultaneously, other players in Jingchu Region who accepted the cult murder investigation task received prompts similar to Kui Xin’s.

“Detection: Target deceased.”

“A nearby player has completed the task before you. Your mission is deemed a failure.”

In a southern city of the Jingchu Region:

“Who?” a composed man mused, peering at the pouring rain outside the window.

Jinshui City:

“Someone killed Fang Zhi?” A pale-skinned youth murmured, “Someone got there before me…”

Tonglin City:

Su Rong anxiously bit her lip, “The investigation target is dead… Fang Zhi died, a public disclosure must be imminent… That’s right, I should check.”

Opening the forum, she saw that the banner displayed a fresh red announcement post: “Proxy 1286, killed by Remover 233 on July 29.”

“Oh my God!” Su Rong gawked incredulously.

Initially embarking on the task out of curiosity, she hadn’t anticipated a successful completion or failed outcome. Now, her involvement in Fang Zhi’s demise was apparent—and catastrophic.

Should Proxy 1286 be identified as Fang Zhi, and if the Remover 233 who slew Fang Zhi was indeed in Tonglin City…

Would that imply that the Remover 233 was active in her region too?!

She rubbed her arms, chills running down her spine as she whispered, “They can’t panic, they can’t panic… Remover 233 must have targeted Fang Zhi, unaware of her presence as a player… hold on, could they recognize the celebrity Heterogeneous Blooded Su Rong too?”

She nearly cried, determined to avoid stepping out the entire summer and focus on studies instead.

Checking the forum updates, multiple new posts emerged instantaneously.

The top reply read: “Beware Remover 233!!! Perhaps the first killing could be excused by happenstance, but what about the next? I’ve reason to believe they’re systematically hunting players.”

Upon returning home, Kui Xin stripped off her clothes for a quick shower, then boiled water to submerge the clothes she wore during the incident and the knife she used in a pot.

Common scenes in horror movies and crime dramas depicted killers cooking mutilated victims’ bodies to obliterate traces of genetic evidence and identify a victim quickly. This act served the same purpose.

After boiling, Kui Xin would air-dry the clothes and tear them apart, claiming accidental damage. She intended to throw them in the rubbish at the bottom of her apartment building.

Regarding the knife, she planned to place it openly in the kitchen but would avoid using it. She found the idea of disposing both the clothes and knife equally disturbing. She would leave the pot in the cabinet for disuse, reserving it for future needs.

Amidst waiting for the clothes to finish boiling, her phone buzzed, interrupting her thoughts. A call came in.

Her heart sank looking at the caller ID.

“Hello, Ms. Kui Xin. This is… the local police station,” said a male operator.

“Hello, is there anything I can help you with?” she replied politely.

“As we reviewed the city’s surveillance footage, we noticed you closely followed a man on Bahan Avenue earlier today. The individual was 181 cm tall, physically robust, wearing dark colors. Does that ring a bell?”

“…Yes.” She responded carefully. “I thought this guy seemed suspicious, a bit like the killers you see in the news, and I followed him to observe him. Eventually, he turned around and asked why I was following him. When I realized his nonchalant demeanor didn’t align with a killer, I stopped trailing him… was he really the killer?”

“He was,” the officer confirmed. “Could you please recall the direction he left? It could significantly contribute to our investigation.”

“I remember he headed south,” she answered.

“Anything else?” the officer questioned.

“No further details,” she lied smoothly, maintaining an expressionless façade while answering ambiguously.

After probing her responses, the officer concluded, “We appreciate your cooperation. If we require more information, we’ll contact you again.”

Hanging up, Kui Xin fell into contemplation.

Before she could digest this, another notification popped up on her phone. It was the same local police station number.

Puzzled, she answered. A female voice spoke from the other end, “Hello, this is Tonglin City Police Department. We just called you regarding…”

“Uh,” she paused, “weren’t you just on the phone?”

The woman responded bewildered, “We don’t recall calling you…”