"Uh, big sis, what did you say?"
Exiled Immortal pushed open the door, the sound of the wind chime masking Helena's murmur. He turned his head back, puzzled, "Who died?"
"Exiled Immortal, Qing is dead."
"Impossible! Big brother Qing can solo the Basilisk dungeon; even I might not be his match. Who could possibly kill him? Maybe he just logged off."
Exiled Immortal waved his hand, dismissing it as a ridiculous joke.
But Helena did not argue; she stood there in a daze, making Exiled Immortal's heart fill with a sense of foreboding.
"Hey, hey, hey, big sis, don't joke around. Big brother Qing, he..."
"Just now, I received a notification that our team member Qing is dead..."
Hearing this, the smile on Exiled Immortal's face gradually froze, replaced by bewilderment and helplessness.
They had all agreed to hunt the roaming BOSS together, and they had promised to settle who was stronger one day. Exiled Immortal never imagined the news of Qing's death would come so suddenly.
"Big sis, is there a chance... you heard wrong?"
"I wish I heard wrong, but Qing's name has already disappeared from the leaderboard, and..."
At this point, there was no need to argue the truth. After all, Exiled Immortal had noticed the change on the leaderboard as well—Qing had been removed.
So, one major question simultaneously surfaced in the minds of Exiled Immortal and Helena.
How did Qing die?
The one who could single-handedly take on a Basilisk couldn't possibly have died in a dungeon raid.
Even if he was truly outmatched, once he entered a critical condition, the dungeon boss's desire to attack would decrease, giving him the perfect opportunity to use an escape scroll and return to town.
Could he have been murdered?
This thought was beyond the comprehension of both Exiled Immortal and Helena.
"No, I have to go back to our base and check. Qing wouldn't just die for no reason."
"Boss, you think someone killed him? But who could pull that off?"
"There might not be many who could, but I can think of three ways to kill Qing right now."
With that, Helena gave Exiled Immortal no chance to question further and turned to leave.
Watching her back, Exiled Immortal opened his mouth but could only sigh.
"No, the boss must be out of her mind right now. I need to find John and figure this out…"
First, there was Yuta's provocation and Lawrence's silence, then Qing lost his life. These two incidents couldn't be unrelated.
With this thought, Exiled Immortal rushed into the shop, disregarding other players picking out their items, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "John, stop what you're doing! Something big has happened! Come out, now!"
"Exiled Immortal? What brings you here? Johnny is…"
"Lily, please, get John for me. I really need to talk to him!"
"But Johnny said no one is to disturb him without his permission…"
"Lily, it's alright, you can go back to work."
Before Lily could finish, John had already walked out from the room, his hood obscuring his face, making his expression unreadable.
"Exiled Immortal, too many ears here. Let's talk outside."
"John, you…"
"Shh…"
John pressed a finger to his lips, signaling Exiled Immortal to stay quiet, and quickly left the shop.
"Has Helena already gone back?"
"Yes, as soon as she heard about Qing's death, she rushed back immediately. John, aren't you a seer? Can you predict who killed Brother Qing?"
"Seer is just a term I use. In reality, I don't have that ability."
John shook his head and sighed helplessly before continuing, "However, I might have some clues about Qing's death."
In truth, Helena and Exiled Immortal weren't the only ones shocked; even John was taken aback by the news.
One must understand that in the previous life, Qing lived well until his betrayal and subsequent death. Yet now, he had died so inexplicably early, indicating that there was definitely something fishy going on.
John also had a vague feeling that he was somehow connected to this incident.
In the previous life, his relationship with Helena was merely cooperative, nowhere near as close as it was now. Because of this, the historical trajectory of the previous life would inevitably be affected.
What John hadn't expected was the extent of this impact, to the point that someone who shouldn't have died so soon had lost their life.
Or perhaps, it was even worse.
Qing's death would hasten the opening of Pandora's Box, much earlier than originally intended.
Qing's death was just the beginning.
...
Meanwhile, at the Pioneer Squad base.
Helena's face was dark as she scanned everyone's expressions.
"Half an hour ago, Pioneer Squad's founding member Qing died under mysterious circumstances. Does anyone know anything about this?"
As she announced Qing's death, Helena observed the initial reactions of everyone present.
To her surprise, several of those she suspected the most seemed genuinely shocked. Even Yuta, upon hearing the news, showed not fear but bewilderment.
"This, this can't be possible! Captain, Qing was the strongest in our team. How could he die?"
Yuta instinctively denied Helena's words, but under her cold gaze, his voice faltered.
"No, it can't be..."
"Yuta, are you unaware of this matter?"
"Captain, you suspect me? I admit I have ambitions, but what good would killing Qing do me? Besides, with my strength, how could I kill Qing and remain unscathed?"
"I was just asking. No need to be so nervous."
Helena raised her hand to silence Yuta, then continued, "Where is Lawrence? Why isn't he here?"
Still, no one answered. The room fell into an eerie silence.
The death of a comrade hung over them like a dark cloud, and for those truly unaware of the situation, staying silent was the best option.
"Yuta, go find Lawrence. I have questions for him."
"Cap-Captain, I know where Vice Captain Lawrence went..."
A newly joined member timidly raised his hand and, upon receiving Helena's attention, continued, "Not long ago, I saw Vice Captain Lawrence leaving the base, heading out to the outskirts. He said he was going to... hunt down a wandering dungeon boss. I didn't think much of it."
"Hunt down a boss? All by himself?"
"Well, I only saw the Vice Captain alone."
"When exactly did he leave? Can you be more specific?"
Helena stood up abruptly, her voice full of urgency.
"I... I really can't remember, Captain. Players don't pay much attention to the passage of time. After all, we don't need to rest, and there's no difference between day and night."
Upon hearing this, Helena's expression stiffened. After a long silence, she sighed softly.
She didn't doubt this statement; after all, most of the time, even she wouldn't pay attention to such details.
Moreover, the most troubling issue was that once a player died, not even their body would remain, leaving no useful clues behind.
"...A knight class, suddenly inspired to hunt down a boss. Lawrence, you still think others are that naive."
Though she had no concrete evidence, Helena's suspicions were increasingly directed towards Lawrence.
In recent times, he had been acting so unusually that he felt almost like a stranger to her.
"Yuta, you come with me to the outskirts to assist Lawrence. Everyone else, do as you please."
"Ca…Captain, can I opt out?"
At this critical juncture, Yuta dared not challenge Helena. He only wanted to preserve his own life, and heading to the outskirts felt like a death sentence. Naturally, Yuta was unwilling to agree.
But now, Helena had made up her mind.
Since her indecision had cost Qing his life, there was no longer any need to consider so-called camaraderie.
"This is an order. You have no right to refuse. Of course, you can choose to resist. I'd love to see what growth you've achieved during this time!"