“Two~ tigers, two~ tigers, they’re so fast, they’re so fast~”
Tian Lie walked out from the alley while singing the song in a low tone.
In the distance lay the corpse of Catherine Eddowes. Moreover, due to the gunfire from earlier, it appeared that someone had already reported the matter to the police. Some became terrified and ran, while other rushed forward to check out what the commotion was about…
Tian Lie stretched his waist in a languid manner and said, “I hope you will like this surprise I prepared for you… my… friend!”
He laughed out twice and looked at the time. “All right… I should go about completing my own quest!”
…
“Damn it!”
Chen Xiaolian furiously smashed his fist down onto the ground, causing several pieces of the rooftop’s bricks to crack apart. “What is going on here? Why would someone ambush us with a sniper rifle?”
“Enough! The police will be heading here soon! The sound from the gunshot must have alerted no small number of people.” Phoenix took a deep breath and said, “We need to leave this place immediately! Besides, according to what Catherine Eddowes had mentioned earlier, the police are looking for us.”
…
“They’re back?”
Bei Tai jumped down from the rooftop of the warehouse and observed the car coming from a distance.
Phoenix’s two team members, the Titan brothers simply stood outside the doors of the warehouse. The two twins did not say anything in reply to Bei Tai’s words – from the moment Bei Tai got to know them, the two brothers have not spoken a single word.
“Why are you back so soon?” Bei Tai went forward to meet up with them. Seeing Chen Xiaolian and Phoenix alighting from the car, Bei Tai noticed that Chen Xiaolian’s face was not looking too good. Bei Tai became puzzled and asked, “Eh? Guild Leader, where is the victim?”
“Gather everyone together. There is something we need to talk about!” Chen Xiaolian sighed. He raised his head to observe the sky.
Night had arrived. The sky was very agreeable today and he could faintly make out the stars and the moon. A full moon was hanging in the sky above.
A few minutes later, everyone was assembled together in the warehouse.
The only exception was Phoenix’s team member, Monster. He was assigned to the lounge to keep an eye on the storyline characters: the two women, Dr Mu and the forensic doctor, Colombo – they were about to discuss about the issues in the game system. Thus, they cannot allow those ordinary people to listen in beside them.
Chen Xiaolian and Phoenix narrated to the others what happened after they went to the Savage Pub to look for Catherine Eddowes.
“Sniper rifle? Catherine Eddowes was killed by a sniper rifle?”
Lun Tai frowned and muttered, “How could… how could that…”
Chen Xiaolian glanced at him and sighed. He said, “Back then, I had the same reaction as you.”
“Are we being eyed at by another team? Someone is doing the same quest as us… or should I say… on the opposing side?” Lun Tai was quick to consider the first possibility.
That was the first thought to cross everyone’s mind.
Chen Xiaolian turned to Phoenix, signalling to her: You talk.
Phoenix stood with a rifle in her hand and she slowly said, “The first thing to come to my and Guild Leader Chen Xiaolian’s mind was that as well. However… there are several doubtful points about that.
“If the other team is also participating in the same quest, they should have the same goal as us. Why kill the victim? Unless… even though the quest that the other team received was the same, their quest objective is different. Unless… their quest objective is to help Jack the Ripper.”
“That is unlikely,” said Chen Xiaolian. He shook his head and continued, “I personally believe that this speculation does not make sense. Because, if another team is given the quest to help Jack the Ripper… then, this situation does not conform to the balance of the system. Besides, do not forget what we deduced when we began this random quest. No competition will occur in this random quest!”
“Yes, I too, think that it is not possible. The system had made it clear that this time around, both Players and Awakened ones would enter the instance dungeon at the same time. There should be no competition.”
“Additionally… when we were attacked, the system radar showed that there were no other game participants in the vicinity.” Phoenix then continued, “Unless… the other party had utilized a prop to conceal themselves from the radar. Props like these are often a one-time use prop with a considerable price. Who would specifically do such a thing just to mess with us?
“If they are an enemy with a grudge against us… why not directly attack me or Guild Leader Chen Xiaolian? Back then, the sniper had the opportunity to directly open fire at us. However, it is apparent that the other party’s goal is to kill Catherine Eddowes. After killing her, the sniper retreated without showing any hesitation!”
There should not be any competitive sort of quest objective.
Yet, if the act was not due to other game participants who have a competitive sort of quest objective…
Could it be they were simply here to mess with them due to a grudge?
But why not kill them directly for vengeance? Why kill off an important storyline character?
“Do you have any enemies in this game?” asked Phoenix as she looked at Chen Xiaolian.
Enemies?
Chen Xiaolian looked at Lun Tai and Bei Tai. All three of them shook their heads.
Tian Lie… he had died in the Tokyo instance dungeon.
Could it be…
Qiao Qiao’s father?
That seems improbable!
He had already taken Qiao Qiao away. Besides, Chen Xiaolian had helped him back in Hangzhou by saving Yu Jiajia.
Logically speaking, Father Qiao should not be that kind of bastard who would reciprocate kindness with enmity.
No matter how much they think about it, they can’t figure out what the answer was!
“Enemies… what about you?” Chen Xiaolian turned to look at Phoenix.
Phoenix turned to look at Chen Xiaolian. She coolly replied, “As I told you back when we were on the rooftop in the morning… my only enemy is dead.”
Among them, Chen Xiaolian may be the only one who understood that sentence of hers.
…
The door to the lounge was opened and Chen Xiaolian entered.
Monster promptly stood up and nodded toward Chen Xiaolian. Then, he walked out of the lounge.
The monkey was not on his back. It climbed down from one of the steel beams outside the warehouse before climbing onto Monster’s neck.
“You came back? How was it?” Seeing Chen Xiaolian return, Colombo breathed a sigh of relief. “I don’t wish to stay in the same room with that fellow anymore. There is a disturbing monkey smell on his body… besides… he never talks. I am about to be bored to death.”
“How is Dr Mu?” Chen Xiaolian fixed a complicated look at Dr Mu.
A bitter smile appeared on Colombo’s face. “He is still not awake… I suspect he may have narcolepsy. Or maybe some other illness. I tried checking his pulse, but there is no problem. Since I don’t have any other medical equipment here, I can’t do anything else… it would be best… I mean, if at all possible, it would be for the best to send him to the hospital.”
Colombo was very concerned for his friend. Chen Xiaolian sighed and patted Colombo’s shoulder and said, “Tomorrow. By tomorrow night, all this will be over. When that time comes, everything will become fine.”
Within the room, the two women on the bed have had both their hands and feet tied up. Additionally… due to the concern that they would cause a havoc; their mouths were gagged as well.
“We are looking more and more like kidnappers.” Colombo smiled bitterly and glanced at the two women on the bed. “You need to remember, I am a forensic doctor! A forensic doctor! Presently, I am practically an accomplice to your acts of kidnapping.”
“We are trying to protect them. As long as you are clear on that, you’ll be fine. You are definitely not a kidnapping accomplice,” Chen Xiaolian said with a sigh.
“Right, how did your search for Catherine Eddowes go?” Colombo asked.
Chen Xiaolian was about to talk about what happened… however, he suddenly caught sight of the two women on the bed. Polly was looking at them with especially terrified looking eyes.
Err… forget it.
The two women had already suffered from such a great shock. If they were to be told that one of their colleagues were killed…
They might mentally collapse.
Chen Xiaolian simply shook his head and replied in a vague manner, “Things didn’t go well.”
Colombo had wanted to continue asking. However, Chen Xiaolian patted his shoulder and said, “All right, tell you what. Later on, we will be grouping up everyone. Then… we will do something stupid.”
“Something stupid?” The forensic doctor was shocked.
Chen Xiaolian nodded his head and said, “En… we don’t have any clues right now. All we can do… is wait here. Our search for Catherine Eddowes failed… right now, these two women are all we have. I think… Jack the Ripper would probably come find us. That is also the only hope we have now… other than this, we have no other clues.”
He turned to look at Dr Mu and sighed inwardly: The guide character given by the system is currently unconscious. I wonder, if Dr Mu is not unconscious, could he have given us any clues?
“Clues…” Colombo considered the matter and said, “A pity. My apartment had been destroyed… I have some information regarding this case in my apartment – I have been researching up on this case for years.”
Chen Xiaolian’s interest was suddenly piqued and he sat down beside Colombo. He looked at him and laughed. “I have been wanting to have an opportunity to talk with you. I am very curious, why would you show so much interest in this case?”
“… … is that a strange thing?” Colombo shrugged his shoulders. “Do not forget what my profession is. I am a forensic doctor.”
He gestured for a bit and continued, “Since my days in the Royal College of Physicians, I had already known what I wanted to do. Can you understand? Ever since I was young, I loved detective novels. I like researching those detective cases the most.
“In UK… I’m sure you know that for the past few centuries, Jack the Ripper’s case is the most infamous one.
“Unfortunately, I am already in the field of medicine. Thus, there was no way for me to become a police officer. However, I chose to become a forensic doctor. That could somehow be considered as police work.”
“Won’t you feel… nauseated?” Chen Xiaolian smiled wryly. He said, “Truth be told, I have also read up on some of the stuff regarding Jack the Ripper. Naturally, the things I read would not be more than the things you’ve read. Even so, I feel uncomfortable. Those bloody photos, the records that were filled with darkness and brutality…”
“Ha ha ha ha!” Colombo laughed. “I am a forensic doctor. Half the time, the work I am involved in require me to perform identification…there are wound cases and murder cases. Do you know how many bloody scenes I have seen before? Do you know that I had to stay in the morgue for 24 hours, looking at the corpses in the morgue and treating them like cattle and sheep… dissecting them and…”
After saying that, Colombo sighed. He continued, “Truth is, most forensic doctors deal with a huge level of stress. Many of them had to go look for a psychiatrist to receive counselling. As time passes, they will feel negative and depressed.”
“Thus, the study of strange cases and detective novels became your hobby?”
“There is a need to do something to relieve the stress that comes from work.” Colombo smiled softly.
“It seems that your line of work is not an easy one,” said Chen Xiaolian. He patted Colombo and said, “Once again, I am sorry for the destruction of your apartment.”
“The money you gave me is enough for the renovation costs… naturally, I also have insurance,” said Colombo. Then, he frowned and said, “I am only afraid that the police would consider this incident as a terrorist attack and have me classified as a suspect due to my disappearance.
“Additionally… the things that you’ve said… even if I were to tell the police about it, I will only be considered a lunatic.”
“Those problems will be solved, I promise.” Chen Xiaolian comforted him.
That evening, Chen Xiaolian and Phoenix made the unanimous decision to utilize the stupidest method.
The so-called stupidest method was to place the two women, Dr Mu, Colombo, Chen Xiaolian’s team and Phoenix’s team…
Together!
Everyone sat together in a circle within the warehouse.
They were all there together!
“First, we cannot let the two women leave our line of sight. Second, we cannot let Dr Mu leave our line of sight! At present, they are the important characters,” Chen Xiaolian explained. “I believe that Jack the Ripper would definitely come looking for these two women. As for Dr Mu, he is the guide character that the system had tasked us with protecting. We must ensure his survival.”
“Then, we should wait around like idiots?” As always, Dagger would interject his opposition.
Chen Xiaolian showed no surprise at his opposing view. He merely glanced at Dagger and asked, “Unless you have a better idea?”
“… … …” Dagger shut his mouth.
“Everyone, get your weapons ready. Be prepared for battle at any moment,” said Chen Xiaolian. Then, he turned to Phoenix.
Phoenix said, “Just now, I have shown the schematics of the warehouse to everyone. Once any mishaps occur, we’ll know where to retreat to… no matter what happens, remember… ensure the safety of the people we need to protect!”
Both Chen Xiaolian and Phoenix were not ordinary people. With their enhanced body, forgoing sleep for two days was not a problem.
When night came, Colombo was unable to hold on and he finally fell asleep. The same was true of the two women. After going through a frightful day, they could no longer stay awake and fell asleep.
During the night, Chen Xiaolian went over to check up on Dr Mu’s situation a few times. However, Dr Mu remained unconscious.
“Do you have any method?” Chen Xiaolian asked Phoenix. “You know magic…”
“You really thought I am a magician?” Phoenix smiled wryly.
The night went by quickly.
When dawn broke, nothing had happened.
That caused Chen Xiaolian and the others to feel frustrated!
Time was moving rapidly. The system had only given them 48 hours to complete this random quest.
In other words… by 10 o’clock in the evening, the time given will be over!
By then, if they still could not… then, they would have failed the quest.
“Keep an open mind,” said Phoenix. She looked at Chen Xiaolian and said, “Failing some quests is an inevitability. Besides, this is only part of this instance dungeon. If we fail, we will only suffer from a deduction of marks.”
Chen Xiaolian nodded his head.
After dawn arrived, the sun rose up and Chen Xiaolian went to open up the doors to the warehouse, allowing the rays of sunlight to enter.
“I believe Jack the Ripper will not appear in the day,” Dagger sneered. “According to history, the fellow would only kill at night. Your way of waiting for the rabbit does not appear to be working.”
“I will repeat, if you have a better way, then just say it. Otherwise, please shut your mouth,” Chen Xiaolian coldly replied. “We cannot let our guard down even during day time! Anything could happen… additionally, we’ll also have to go through another night today! Before 10 o’clock today, there will be a small time period where night falls.”
During the day. Chen Xiaolian appeared increasingly restless.
He walked around the warehouse a few times, seemingly trying to figure out something.
Colombo had woken up. He helped conduct an inspection on Dr Mu’s body. Then, this forensic doctor felt the heaviness of the atmosphere and chose to sit silently in a corner.
In the afternoon, Chen Xiaolian looked out at the sky.
The weather today was not particularly good. It had been drizzling and the air was moist.
“You need to calm down right now,” said Phoenix. She walked to stand beside Chen Xiaolian and she whispered, “You are the Guild Leader… if you are anxious, your team members will be affected by you.”
Chen Xiaolian glanced at Phoenix and said, “I am not being anxious. Instead… I feel that I have thought of something. However, I am unable to figure out exactly what that is.”
“Oh?”
“My feelings is telling me that I must have missed an important clue,” said Chen Xiaolian. He took a deep breath and continued, “But, I just couldn’t figure it out.”
He abruptly took two steps forward and looked at the sky outside. He said, “I am going out!”
“What?” Phoenix frowned. “There is not much time left until night falls. Where do you plan on going at a time like this?”
“It’s very simple! I want to go to the places that we have been to from yesterday night until today… I’ll revisit those places to try and figure it out. Maybe I can figure out what is it that I am missing,” Chen Xiaolian said in a serious manner. “Trust me, I am certain that I have thought of something. I just couldn’t properly form it out at the moment. I have a hunch that I would be able to find something.”
After saying that, Chen Xiaolian strode out of the warehouse and into the rain.
Phoenix tried to chase after him. However, Chen Xiaolian simply turned around and waved his hand. “It will be enough with me alone! You and the others stay here to protect those people.”
Pausing, Chen Xiaolian made an eye gesture at Lun Tai who was sitting within the warehouse. Lun Tai nodded his head and quietly went to sit beside Dr Mu.
Thus, Chen Xiaolian went out… for a long time.
A few hours later, the sun gradually descended and night fell once more.
The time left until the closing time for their quest, 10 o’clock, was getting closer!
The last glimmer from the setting sun disappeared…
The final night had descended!
As for Chen Xiaolian… he had yet to return!
…