Gu Jingyong reached out and picked up the kitchen knife. Tan Xinger looked at the two notches at the front end, the thin blade curled at the edge, and could imagine what it had been through.
"Aunt Li, why hasn't this knife been replaced despite having so many notches?" Gu Jingyong looked at Aunt Li beside him, while Tan Xinger stared at her curiously. She had thought Aunt Li wouldn't speak, but to her surprise, Aunt Li slowly turned around, set down what she was holding, and looked at the kitchen knife in Gu Jingyong's hand before slowly speaking.
"Oh my, we haven't made bone soup recently, that's why the knife is damaged. It must be Xiao Nan secretly using the knife to cut things while I'm not around."
Aunt Li finished speaking and continued with her work. Tan Xinger was somewhat surprised by her actions. Had she been triggered by players like herself and then spoken out the plotline?
"Knowing that this knife is a murder weapon doesn't seem to be of much use."
Tan Xinger had been somewhat surprised a moment ago, but now her thoughts were in turmoil.
Upon hearing her words, Gu Jingyong looked at the kitchen knife in his hand in contemplation, seemingly not sure what the next step would be.
"Sir is back, why don't you go to the door and greet him?" Amidst the silence, they heard the sound of a car, followed by Aunt Li's voice.
Tan Xinger knew Aunt Li was talking to her to prevent her from mentioning Xiao Nan's name to others, so she said to the others, "I'll go take a look."
Then she hurriedly left. Watching Tan Xinger leave, the others were curious about this "sir" and followed her outside.
The villa door opened, revealing a man outside. He was wearing a suit and looked very refined. He took off his coat and draped it over his arm. Although his face was not particularly outstanding, it seemed to carry a unique temperament that made people rarely notice his imperfect features.
Tan Xinger stood aside, watching the man reach out his hand. She reluctantly took the clothes and hung them on the nearby wardrobe.
Afraid of others suspecting her interaction with NPCs, she even pretended to inspect the man's suit.
The three people in front, along with the two on the second floor, were staring at the three of them. Kang Shu calmly went about his actions.
He sat on the sofa for a while, then walked to the dining table when Aunt Li informed him that dinner was ready. He seemed somewhat dissatisfied with the dishes on the table.
"Aunt Li, don't make so many dishes next time when I'm alone. It's too extravagant."
"Yes, sir, I'll pay attention next time."
"Hmm."
Kang Shu sat down and began to eat methodically, paying no attention to the gazes fixed on him.
Finally, after everyone watched him finish his meal on an empty stomach, Kang Shu finally made a new move.
He stood up and went upstairs, saying halfway to Aunt Li, "Aunt Li, there's no need to clean the study today. Don't let them come up."
"Yes, sir," Aunt Li responded immediately.
They all thought Kang Shu's "them" referred to the players, but Tan Xinger vaguely guessed that here, "them" should refer to herself and the other NPCs.
As Kang Shu's figure disappeared around the corner of the stairs, almost simultaneously, the twins next to Jiang Nan followed Kang Shu's footsteps.
"Damn it, trying to get ahead."
Jiang Qiqi saw their actions and pulled Tan Xinger, wanting to rush up as well.
As the main NPC, every action of Kang Shu was crucial. Since he specifically mentioned the study, there must be something fishy, but Tan Xinger didn't think they could find anything now.
Jiang Qiqi was stopped by Gao Xin, who told her not to act rashly.
"Why?"
"It's not that simple. Have you forgotten that there are still five players who haven't shown up in this instance?"
Before Gao Xin could finish speaking, they heard the sound of a fight coming from upstairs, sounding intense.
"Could it be those people?"
Jiang Qiqi looked upstairs, not expecting those five people to eavesdrop in the corner and rush to the study first. They must have clashed with the people from the Northern Alliance.
"Why don't we search the entire villa?"
Tan Xinger asked Gu Jingyong softly as she moved closer to him.
"Competitive instances include gameplay similar to decryption instances. Only when you meet the necessary conditions or obtain a certain item will the fragments open."
Gu Jingyong finished speaking, noticing her lack of understanding, and added, "Even if you turn the entire villa upside down now, you won't find any clues. Only when you deduce the first crime scene will it be possible to trigger the plot."
"Ah, I see. So if someone else has triggered it already, can't we pick up the pieces?" Tan Xinger heard the commotion upstairs, the sounds of fighting continuing, and asked eagerly.
"As long as they haven't taken away the fragments, then naturally we can."
Gu Jingyong smiled as he looked upstairs, feeling that it was about time. He took Tan Xinger upstairs with him.
The corridor of the villa was spacious, with a few calligraphy pieces hanging on the walls. One of them should be "Fishing Alone in the Cold River," with an old man depicted only in silhouette, which added a finishing touch to the entire painting.
What Tan Xinger didn't notice was that, at the moment she turned around, the old man in the painting also turned around. The small strokes slowly transformed into a black eye, blinking, and then returned to their original state before anyone else arrived.
The study was the second room on the right. As Tan Xinger approached the door, she heard the sound of furniture crashing. She furrowed her brows. What were these people doing? If they destroyed the evidence, how could they find any clues?
When Tan Xinger finally saw the condition of the study, her frown deepened. The scene was a mess.
She saw several unfamiliar figures, with two women and one man fighting against Qi Zai and Qi Shang.
The two women were dressed in long coats and pants, with their hair tied up behind their heads. They looked to be under thirty, while the man appeared much younger, about the same age as herself, resembling a high school student.
But appearances could be deceiving. Their attacking techniques were extremely tricky. If they had weapons, the situation would be even more tense.
"Have you had enough? The villa isn't enough for you to wreck?" Jiang Nan had been leaning against the wall the whole time, and it was only now, with Tan Xinger's arrival, that he shifted his gaze to the people fighting.
Hearing Jiang Nan's words, Qi Zai and Qi Shang felt aggrieved but still stepped back, standing beside Jiang Nan.
Watching this scene, Tan Xinger formed a new opinion of Jiang Nan's identity and status. The tattoo on his body was quite basic, but his strength and prestige didn't match.
Seemingly aware of Tan Xinger's gaze, Jiang Nan looked at her, his cold eyes filled with complexity, before casually glancing at Gu Jingyong, then smiling meaningfully.
"... Is he mentally unstable or something? Why is he laughing like that?" Tan Xinger looked at Gu Jingyong, not holding back her criticism.
"He does have a condition, but it's more of a mental one," Gu Jingyong replied, trying to sound serious but ultimately failing as he chuckled.
Their conversation was quiet, but it seemed like they were having a good time. Jiang Qiqi leaned in, wanting to ask Gu Jingyong for his opinion.
"Since the protagonist mentioned the study, there must be some clues here. But now, it seems unnecessary to search for clues in this chaos."
Gu Jingyong's voice fell into everyone's ears, and they all looked at the chaotic scene in front of them. The tables and chairs were in disarray, files and picture frames scattered everywhere, and broken glass shards lay on the floor, right at Tan Xinger's feet.
"Huh, if they hadn't come up here causing trouble, it wouldn't be like this now."
The slightly taller woman spoke first.
"Xiao Cui, stop twisting the truth!"
Qi Zai couldn't contain his anger and shouted. Seeing another argument about to start, Jiang Nan glanced at them impatiently, then walked to the center of the study and began searching on his own.
Qi Zai had to swallow the rest of his words and followed Jiang Nan into the study to continue searching.
Although the study was large, with ten people crowded in at once, it felt cramped. Tan Xinger observed everyone while examining the layout of the study.
It was a typical study layout, with a whole wall of bookshelves filled with books and some decorative items. Facing south was a full-length window covered by curtains. The sunlight streamed in, brightening up the room, but no one knew what was hidden beneath that brightness.
"There's nothing here."
Jiang Qiqi walked up to Tan Xinger, looking a bit frustrated.
Tan Xinger picked up a picture frame from the floor. Beneath the broken glass was a photo of a young couple standing by a cliff, smiling brightly at the camera.
The man looked exactly like Kang Shu, while the gentle woman in the trench coat beside him was undoubtedly the hostess.
"Take it easy. Isn't the decryption in competitive instances supposed to be simple?" Tan Xinger placed the frame on the table and comforted Jiang Qiqi, who looked troubled.
"Decryption isn't difficult, but figuring out the hiding place of the bodies based on the mission clues is really confusing," Jiang Qiqi shrugged. There weren't many clues given out on the forums about this instance, and coupled with the shadow of the hidden points from the previous instance, they didn't dare to act rashly.
"Let's go," Gu Jingyong stood by the window, lifting the curtain and looking outside.
As they left, the woman named Fang Cui glanced at her companions and soon left the study too.
On their way downstairs, they encountered a new NPC carrying a basin and towels, wearing gloves and a mask, likely to clean up.
"The gentleman said the study doesn't need cleaning," Tan Xinger called out to the NPC, expecting her to go back upstairs. However, she replied, "I know. I'm going to the attic to help the gentleman clean the fishing room."
The fishing room? Tan Xinger hadn't figured out what that was when a voice came from the staircase.
Kang Shu appeared from nowhere and said, "No need. I've just bought a new batch of bait, and they shouldn't see the light of day for some time. Xiao Zhou, you don't need to clean it either."
"Yes, sir," Xiao Zhou acknowledged before leaving with the items. Kang Shu glanced at them before departing himself.
"The fishing room?" Tan Xinger looked at Gu Jingyong, who also shook his head, unsure of what that place was.
"Let's find the crime scene first; otherwise, we won't be able to trigger the subsequent plot," Gu Jingyong suggested. As soon as he finished speaking, an electronic broadcast suddenly sounded.
"Player 48880 has triggered the plot point. The Fragmented Corpse Villa instance is officially open. Enjoy your game."
The broadcast ended quickly, leaving everyone astonished.
"It's on the second floor," Gu Jingyong heard the commotion upstairs and headed up immediately.
As soon as they reached the top of the stairs, they bumped into Jiang Nan, who also seemed in a hurry, about to rush down the corridor.
Tan Xinger pulled Gu Jingyong, racing ahead and looking back triumphantly at him.
Gu Jingyong smiled lightly. What's wrong with letting Jiang Nan lose face?
At the end of the corridor was a bathroom, and as soon as Tan Xinger pushed open the door, she saw a man emerging from the bathtub.