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"I was just joking," Beichuan Si casually dismissed Shen Gu Mirai's concerns, while his gaze shifted towards the shabby little cabin behind her, "Did you see the stuff inside?"
"Even if I said I didn't, Beichuan wouldn't believe me, right?" Shen Gu Mirai admitted honestly and straightforwardly.
"Is that so?" Beichuan Si gave Shen Gu Mirai a long look and, to avoid misunderstanding, laid out his conclusion plainly, "I didn't kill anyone."
"Heh, I kind of guessed that too. If Beichuan were a murderer, he wouldn't be so calm talking to me. After all, a dead person's mouth is the most tightly shut," Shen Gu Mirai chuckled.
From the conversation just now, Shen Gu Mirai could basically determine that the possibility of Beichuan Si being the murderer was very low.
Would a killer, whose hands were stained with so much blood, care about one more life?
Besides, Beichuan Si looked at her with a calm gaze, neither worried about her running away nor afraid she would call the police.
Only—
"I have one more question. Why did Beichuan get into this state?"
Beichuan was still covered in bloodstains, holding a bag of arm meat forcibly glued with lime.
Honestly, if Shen Gu Mirai wasn't too scared to move her legs, she would've run at the first sight of Beichuan.
"I found these things in the bushes by the lake embankment and dug them out of the swamp, which wasted a lot of time," Beichuan Si said breezily.
In reality, the whole process wasn't as lighthearted as Beichuan made it sound.
It was a gathering place of vengeful spirits here, their resentments entwining in the air and ultimately forming a multi-armed spirit.
Even for Beichuan Si, dealing with that spirit took a lot of effort.
But the result was gratifying.
Cold information came.
'Lake Ghost Hand retrieved, one advanced vengeful spirit acquired, skill points gained: 2. Remaining skill points: 5.'
'System prompt: Chain mission ongoing (2).'
'A rampant and brutal killer may be hiding in this city, someone with highly skilled, cunning, and expertly surgical methods. He has caused countless women distress and is everywhere. The perpetrator could be the schoolgirl you're talking to or even the police officer you trust.'
'Completion condition: Find this deranged killer and either capture or kill him.'
'Mission completion reward: Spiritual Dagger Jian Ding.'
Beichuan Si didn't expect that this small forest cabin would be the continuation of the chain mission he started upon his initial arrival.
Not only did it earn him two skill points, but it also unlocked the second part of the mission.
Beichuan Si pondered for a moment.
If he could get the weapon rewarded for the mission, it would mean he wouldn't have to face spirits barehanded anymore—increasing his options with extra tools. The 5 skill points he had been saving would suffice to unlock the dagger skills branch.
As stated before, the skill tree was vast and dizzying, and unlocking skills required skill points.
But this didn't mean skills could only be unlocked using skill points.
Some basic skills, once used repeatedly and practiced to a certain degree of mastery, will naturally climb the skill tree and create branches. For instance, Beichuan Si's 'Baji Fist' was a skill branch evolved from the 'Unarmed Combat' skill once it was mastered, so it hadn't cost Beichuan Si any skill points.
Moreover, such skills obtained from continuous practice and proficiency tended to be more fluid and natural than those he unlocked.
Thus, in general, Beichuan Si wouldn't invest skill points in upgrading skills that had already been unlocked.
But now—
Basic Instrument Use: 2 skill points; Branch Military Dagger Technique: 3 skill points...
Beichuan Si kept his skill points to unlock skills when necessary, but this mission's weapon reward was too enticing to pass up without corresponding skills.
While Beichuan was contemplating, the call he had made was finally answered.
Under the curious gaze of Shen Gu Mirai, Beichuan Si picked up the phone with a calm expression, "Is this Gangye Police Officer? Yes, I'm Beichuan. The location is the park by the lake below the Nakamura Shrine in the Nakama District. We've discovered a large number of female corpses here. Also, could you bring a change of clothing when you come?"
What he said wasn't something that couldn't be heard, so there was no fear of Shen Gu Mirai's curious gaze.
After he hung up the phone, Shen Gu Mirai came over to Beichuan Si with interest.
"Beichuan, you really intrigue me more and more. Who are you really? A police assistant? A detective hidden in the campus? Or maybe—"
"I'm just like you, an ordinary student at Kyubei High School."
Beichuan glanced at the little girl lost in her fantasies.
Ordinary?
Shen Gu Mirai pouted, "You, Beichuan, have certainly given me a new definition of ordinary."
Beichuan didn't entertain Shen Gu Mirai much; he just went to the cabin door, lifted his foot, and kicked hard at the lock on the blue steel plate.
With a crisp click, the lock fell off, and Beichuan dove into the cabin, closely followed by Shen Gu Mirai.
When Shen Gu Mirai saw the gruesome scene inside, she couldn't help but cover her mouth.
"This is just..."
Her stomach churned, something roiling inside her.
If it weren't for considering Beichuan's presence, she probably would've started vomiting already.
Not only were there freshly deceased females on the ground, but several bodies were laid out on neat wooden shelves.
The gleaming white muscle tissue and long-congealed bloodstains formed a bleak and desolate scene.
Most of these women had their heads split open; there were marks from blunt force trauma, their lifeless eyes wide open.
Shen Gu Mirai felt chilled and trembling all over.
For some reason, she felt as if all of these women's corpses had their eyes fixed on her.
A cold dread rose from her heart, palms sweating.
Compared to Shen Gu Mirai's reaction, Beichuan Si seemed much calmer. He had been a medical student before crossing over and had been 'immersed' by the system for more than ten days, so he didn't have much expression change seeing the bodies.
However, when he saw the face of the girl on the ground, he was a bit surprised.
He hadn't expected to meet Hoshino Nana in such a manner.
The deceased's skirt and trousers were wet, her upper body naked, and her arms had long vanished, with unexpectedly neat cuts, yet the wounds were slathered with lime; the perpetrator likely did this to prevent a flood of blood upon removing the arms.
The blood had mixed with the mud and frozen hard. The killer seemed to have an unusual interest in female arms. Those women, whose arms had been removed, were just thrown randomly in the cabin without further post-mortem indignities.
It was now so cold that the multitude of piled-up bodies hadn't developed an obvious odor.
But with spring approaching, this place would soon likely be abandoned by the killer.
Beichuan Si only gave the room a cursory glance before stepping back outside.
His phone rang once more.
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