However, none of the Chinese player squads claimed responsibility for the incident.
Are you kidding? Not to mention these two Japanese guys weren't even killed by them; even if they had been, wouldn't keeping a low profile and making a fortune in silence be better? What kind of idiot would take the initiative to stir up trouble?
A man dressed like a sophisticated intellectual from the Republican era pushed through the crowd, stepped forward, crouched down to carefully examine the wounds on the two bodies and the surrounding battle traces. He stood up and smiled faintly, "Captain Hiirock, shouting won't help. The killer has already left."
The bearded man immediately widened his bull-like eyes and retorted, "You Chinese sure know how to lie through your teeth! How do you know the killer's gone far? Maybe it's one of your people..."
The man in the republican-style outfit merely chuckled, unfazed. A gem-encrusted cane appeared out of thin air in his hand, and he casually prodded the headless corpse of Daito. "Look here, everyone. The cut is clean and precise, severed in one stroke, with no other superfluous wounds."
With that, he paced a few meters away, his cane rising to trace the shattered ceiling before coming to rest on Taa's body. "Now look here. These battle traces were clearly not made by ordinary weapons; they must be from some very powerful skill..."
He wiped the blood from the end of his cane on the corpse's clothing, pushed up his glasses with his pinky finger, and concluded, "From these clean, decisive wounds and the scene evidence, we can infer that the killer is an extremely powerful player, specializing in instantaneous high-intensity output. Initially, I'd judge this to be an assassin or mage-specialized veteran player, or even possibly a Tier 2 player."
The man's deductions aligned perfectly with all the evidence left at the scene, and the other players couldn't help but nod in silent agreement.
"What the hell's the point of all this! Does that prove it wasn't one of your people?" The bearded man slammed his fist against the wall, sending a shower of plaster dust cascading down.
"Heh, I just wanted to establish that the killer is very strong," the man replied with an indifferent smile. "A player this powerful definitely wouldn't be some nobody, now would they, Captain Hiirock?"
The bearded man was utterly confused, but many of the smarter people in the crowd had already grasped the implication.
Such a powerful player couldn't possibly not have left their mark on the leaderboards. By comparing the names of the top dozen or so players on the leaderboard with those present, the killer's identity would essentially be revealed.
"Nightmare..."
From the side of the Chinese player squads, a handsome young man in a security uniform emblazoned with the "Fortune City" logo fixed his gaze on the familiar name ranked sixth on the Point Rankings, murmuring thoughtfully.
"Captain, what did you say?" Wang Ke, catching a snippet of sound, leaned over curiously to ask.
"Nothing," Jia Shuai dismissed him casually. Despite having no evidence, he had a gut feeling that this murder was somehow linked to that "old acquaintance" from the previous Illusionary Realm.
...
"Nightmare, to make it short: I've secured a safe house as you requested. The exact location is marked on the accompanying map of Bed City. Please come at your earliest convenience."
After reading the system message from the Dancer, Luo Jie downloaded the map and began composing a reply.
"Dancer, target Marikawa Shizuka has been acquired. There was a minor incident at Fujimi Academy; I might be a bit late. Please wait patiently with the Boxer."
After a quick check for errors or omissions, he sent the message.
The system didn't offer any instant messaging; remote communication between players was solely via system mail.
However, this service was exorbitantly priced, with each additional message in a single Illusionary Realm costing 50 points more than the previous one.
Even the most big-spending player wouldn't dare use this for casual chat. Unless it was an urgent matter of life or death, most people avoided wasting message slots.
There was a soft knock on the door, and Ross entered, carrying a pack of canned beer of an unfamiliar brand. He plopped down cross-legged opposite Luo Jie.
"Hey, Nightmare, want a drink? The fridge in this place doesn't have much else, but there's plenty of beer. Tastes a bit light, but it packs a punch..."
Fighting their way out from the hill where Fujimi Academy was located, and with the drone's aerial surveillance, Luo Jie had led the two members of the Winged Angel Squad, along with the well-endowed bombshell Marikawa Shizuka, carefully avoiding all the zombie-infested main streets, and reached a suitable temporary safe house just before nightfall.
It was a penthouse in a high-end apartment building, with a split-level layout and roughly 300 square meters of space. In a downtown area where space was at a premium, this was undoubtedly a luxury residence.
As for how they got in – was a mere twenty-something floor window supposed to stop three Illusionary Realm players?
"Are you even old enough to drink?" Luo Jie raised an eyebrow, looking at him with a playful expression.
"Uh... don't be such a buzzkill. Who's gonna check ID in the Illusionary Realm?" Ross looked a little sheepish but argued back.
"Speaking of which, where's Marikawa Shizuka?"
Luo Jie stood up and walked to the window, pulled open a gap in the curtains.
Beneath the blood-red sunset, zombies shambled aimlessly through streets littered with debris and bloodstains, mindlessly chasing plastic bags tossed about by the wind.
Distant buildings were occasionally visible with bright flames and black smoke, and occasionally, the faint sound of screams could be heard from somewhere, painting the apocalyptic scene with even greater desolation.
"Sophie's in the shower with her," Ross replied, popping open a can and taking a big gulp, seemingly unconcerned. "Girls, y'know? They're always more into cleanliness than us roughnecks... Wait, did you take a shower too?"
Ross had just noticed that Luo Jie's hair was still damp and that he clearly smelled of shower gel.
"This is the master bedroom," Luo Jie replied nonchalantly, nodding towards a small door nearby. "It has its own en-suite bathroom and shower. I checked the place out earlier. Besides the main bathroom on the first floor, both large bedrooms upstairs and down have their own en-suites. The facilities are quite complete... The EMP attack story event hasn't happened yet, so I suggest you take a shower while you can. Once the power grid goes down, you'll be living like a caveman for a while."
Σ(っ°Д°;)っ (Anime-style shocked expression)
Ross's face once again morphed into an anime-style shocked expression, presumably having forgotten about the impending EMP attack in a few days. He promptly dropped his half-finished beer and bolted.
Watching the clumsy young man disappear up the staircase, Luo Jie couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.
He suddenly realized that Ross, in some ways, was similar to Marikawa Shizuka – both were a bit scatterbrained about trivial matters but reliable when it counted.
Moreover, through getting to know them and observing them during this time, Luo Jie had found that both had good character. Perhaps he could recommend them to the Ivory Mountain Chief's squad.
His current cooperation with the Chief and the others was only temporary. Once this mission was over, he would eventually return to his lone wolf ways. If he could find two promising new members for them before he left, it would make their acquaintance worthwhile.