The two inspection team members, after reviewing the deceased's final memories, entered and searched the outer study once more.
"Here."
Li Yetai found a key behind a decorative painting of a black butterfly in the study.
The key was black, and judging by its appearance, it was almost identical to the one the deceased had received.
Li Yetai speculated, "That person probably got the information about 'a key hidden behind the decorative painting' from somewhere, then followed the clue to the outer study, only to find a fake key dangerous enough to cost them their life."
"Because the copy has a [no turning back] restriction, the first person to take the task will most likely start searching from the decorative painting closest to the front door. As long as the real key is placed behind the fake key, it ensures that before finding the real key, they will first find the weapon that will kill them."
Zhou Jianyun reminded, "Although I also think this key is real, to be on the safe side, you'd better not use it just yet."
Li Yetai nodded, "Take him back to the team first and let Old Dong and the others confirm."
Zhou Jianyun sighed, "If only the team could assign us a player skilled in identification to go on field missions with us..."
Li Yetai interrupted, "The appraisal is most likely an ability in the 'Secret Eye' direction. Even if such a player exists, it wouldn't be so easy to get them involved in the inspection team's work."
The two took the key back to the inspection team, and after confirming there was no danger, they went to Wei Heng's residence for the second time.
This time, they successfully opened the small door next to the bedroom, descended into the basement, and discovered a pair of sunglasses inside a safe.
Li Yetai carefully placed the sunglasses into the sealed box—this was one of the items owned by the mysterious organization "Dangerous Mask" that could conceal a player's ability type.
In this world, there are various kinds of abilities and a wide range of tools. Some of these can obscure prying eyes and help conceal one's own abilities, such as this pair of sunglasses.
As a member of the inspection team, Li Yetai had also heard that there were some tools that could reduce one's presence, which had similar effects. However, these tools were generally hard to come by because they were equally effective on their owners. It was rumored that a predecessor in the inspection team had actually obtained such an item, but the related memories were buried deep in the corners of his mind until his death, and he never managed to recall them even until his retirement..
Next to her, Zhou Jianyun was updating the data for this mission
I'm sorry, but it seems like the text you provided is a code or a reference number rather than a piece of fiction literature. Could you please provide a different text for translation?
Danger Level: Common
Status: [Realistic], [Fixed Location], [Non-portable], [Cleared]
Description: The instance formed after the death of player Wei Heng (domain type, real name unknown, once disguised as [Plague·Xiaoxue]). The instance can be entered by approaching the residential area, with a safe exit route [Backdoor].
This instance has a special restriction of [No Turning Back], capable of reducing participants' health through widespread severe cold, posing a high risk of frostbite.
...
October 28, 3796, Forum [User0765319] retrieved the belongings left by player Wei Heng, successfully clearing the instance.
While the inspection team members were busy with the final cleanup of the instance, Cheng Tingyu was happily browsing the forum, completely unaware.
Entering the spiritual world had drained her more than she had anticipated. Cheng Tingyu decided to give herself a break for the time being, shifting her focus from making money to entertainment.
Considering the lack of entertainment options in the outer district, Cheng Tingyu could only silently take out his phone and casually browse through those pointless posts that didn't require points.
At that moment, a small number "1" appeared in the private message column. Cheng Tingyu clicked on it and found that it was a private message from the inspection team.
After concluding the inspection of Wei Heng's residence, the investigation team had basically figured out the sequence of events and also guessed that it was Cheng Tingyu who had taken the dangerous key capable of opening his own chest.
[Inspector Team Customer Service 123: You don't need to be too nervous. It's normal for players to obtain items from the dungeon. As long as the power of the items is properly sealed, they can be kept by the players privately.
"PS: If you lack appropriate management tools, you can purchase the relevant items from the 'Screwdriver' insurance company or seek help on the forum."
Cheng Tingyu looked at the words on the screen, paused his phone-playing for a moment, and after two seconds, sent a smiley face.
——Since F0631 City aims to maintain order within the city, they will undoubtedly strictly manage all factors that could cause chaos. Therefore, upon discovering the presence of players with secret pupils, they will immediately arrest or kill them.
However, when dealing with other types of players, the attitude of the inspection team, which represents the city's order, was instead lenient to the point of being considerate.
At this moment, two speculations emerged in Cheng Tingyu's mind.
The first reason is that the destructive power of the secret pupil is higher than it appears on the surface, possessing some kind of danger or value that she does not yet understand, thus necessitating special handling.
The second reason is that the inspection team, or rather the entire city of F0631, is facing a serious issue, necessitating the recruitment of as many people as possible to strengthen their forces. As a result, they have adopted a lenient approach towards player issues that do not immediately cause severe consequences, focusing on the bigger picture while letting minor matters slide.
At the same time, Cheng Tingyu also gained a deeper understanding of the value of the outer district's existence.
This place serves as a massive buffer zone, isolating most of the problems coming from outside the city. Even if some issues do exist, they won't affect the peaceful lives of the residents in the midtown and inner city.
The inspection team's work was highly efficient. Less than an hour after confirming that the replica of Wei Heng's residence had been cleared, Cheng Tingyu received the final payment for this task along with the client's gratitude.
[WXS: Thank you very much for your help this time, teacher. We didn't expect there to be a risk of death in the instance. We will compensate you with an additional task fee.]
[User0765319: It's a minor issue. Since we're entering the instance, unexpected events are inevitable.]
Cheng Tingyu looked at Wei Xusheng's private message and felt that the inspection team probably hadn't informed the other party of the detailed situation in the copy.
[WXS: Of course, it's a small matter for you, teacher, but for us, it's a big deal. Please, you must accept this compensation. We might need to trouble you again in the future.]
As a person living a stable and affluent life, Wei Xusheng was unwilling to offend someone with special abilities and insisted on transferring the compensation money to the other party.
Cheng Tingyu glanced at the last sentence and smiled faintly.
From Wei Heng's standpoint, he naturally wanted to maintain good relations with capable players. As for Cheng Tingyu, he was also curious about the "Dangerous Mask" behind Wei Heng and wanted to gather more information. Both sides exchanged a few more polite words and shifted the topic to Wei Xusheng's sister, Wei Xujing.
[User0765319: I've been busy with your aunt's affairs lately. Is your sister okay?]
[WXS: It's fine, I'll just stay in the outer district for a couple more days. I'll head home together with my sister once her condition improves.]
Cheng Tingyu looked at the newly received private message and immediately noticed its implication—his younger sister Wei Xuguang was also in the outer district, and her situation was not good.
She rubbed her temples, asked a couple more questions, and then received a reply—Wei Xuji was not actually ill, but had been caught up in some kind of side quest, affecting his health status and temporarily preventing him from leaving the outer district.
As a novice player who had just crossed over less than a month ago, Cheng Tingyu had more to learn than the extensive and complex knowledge points required before final exams. Naturally, he wouldn't miss such an opportunity to understand the dungeon, so he asked Wei Xugui in detail about his experiences.
[User0765319: Could you describe the situation of that copy in detail?]
Wei Xusheng didn't quite understand the purpose of Cheng Tingyu's question, but his sister's matter wasn't a secret. Since the big boss wanted to know, he naturally answered every question.
[Aunt doesn't like younger relatives staying overnight at her house. My sister, having a more flexible work schedule, can visit Aunt more often. Sometimes, when she can't make it back to the central district in time, she simply rents an apartment next to Aunt's house.]
"..."
Cheng, who still hadn't found a suitable place to rent, fell into silence.
Is the salary in the central district that much higher than in the outer district, that one can afford to rent an apartment just for occasionally coming over for a few days instead of choosing a suitable hotel?
[WXS: However, considering the cost-effectiveness, the place my sister rented isn't particularly bustling; the address is on Mulberry Street.]
To deepen her understanding of the outer city, Cheng Tingyu had bought a map of F0631 City at a convenience store while purchasing supplies earlier. She vaguely remembered that Mulberry Street was not far from Wutong Street.
Just as Cheng Tingyu was pondering the connection between Wei Xugu's rented house and Apartment No. 6, Wei Xusheng had already poured out his sister's affairs like beans spilling from a bamboo tube
[WXS: I've heard people say that sometimes the instance area can expand unpredictably. My sister must have been affected by the influence of Apartment No. 6 on Wutong Street and got captured by the instance there. Leaving randomly would cause the instance entrance to spread, so she must go through the incubation period before she can return to the central district.]
Cheng Tingyu looked at the message sent by Wei Xusheng and casually searched the forum for information about Apartment No. 6.
The number of posts about Apartment No. 6 on the forum was surprisingly high, and the content was quite detailed.
Considering that the flyers for Apartment No. 6 had been distributed so widely that they could even be seen in capsule hotels, and coupled with the fact that the apartment offered a rental arrangement where tenants were paid to stay, it was no wonder that some forum users were willing to spend some time there.
However, many posts basically required points to unlock. Cheng Tingyu pondered for a moment and selected a post titled "Overview and Solution Ideas for Apartment No. 6," priced at 5 forum coins. The reason for choosing it wasn't entirely because of the low price, but because the poster's section clearly stated "Inspection Team 313."
The poster indicated the file number of Apartment Six as "F0631-M-0851" in the post. The danger level of this copy is "Menace," which means it is threatening and has four main characteristics: [portable], [highly contagious], [fixed location], and [unreal].
"Entering within a hundred meters of Apartment No. 6 and successfully falling asleep at least once within twenty-four hours has a high probability of entering the instance."
"The entrance to the copy exhibits irregular diffusion. If you find yourself entering an apartment as shown in the picture after falling asleep, you must stay still upon waking and immediately contact the inspection team for handling."
"Those who have entered the instance will automatically become the instance entrance, and this condition will disappear thirty days after the first entry into the instance."
"After successfully obtaining the entrance to the instance, choose to sleep, and there is about a sixty percent chance of re-entering the instance."
Cheng Tingyu read the words in the post and roughly understood what the so-called contagion was all about.
A person who falls asleep in Apartment No. 6 can enter the copy. After entering the copy once, the individual becomes a mobile entrance to the copy. If the person leaves Apartment No. 6 and goes to other areas, the innocent passersby around them will enter the copy when they fall asleep and will also acquire the same contagiousness.
The nearly unsolvable diffusion mechanism, the only consolation being that the contagion would automatically disappear after thirty days.
Cheng Tingyu carefully read the content on the screen.
The post not only contained text but also a series of photos, along with a friendly reminder that if users wanted to access more comprehensive information, they could spend points to unlock the walkthrough video.
Cheng Tingyu nodded slightly, understanding two things: first, the inspection team had some method of obtaining players' experiences within the instance; second, no wonder this post could be unlocked for just five forum coins—there were additional charges..
With the idea that experiencing the atmosphere of the instance in advance would help with efficiency, Cheng Tingyu paid another 20 forum coins and gained the right to watch the walkthrough video.
She clicked on the video, and the image gradually loaded.