LWGP - Chapter 51
Chapter 51: Glasses
She actually wanted cured meat and rice, but she didn't want to trade for them. The participation scores didn't match up, and she never made a losing deal.
She asked the System, "Do you like daughters?"
System: "What for? I don't have a wife, and I'm just a program. I can't have a daughter."
Wang Jiu: "That's okay, I can live next door to you."
What the fuck!! You've even upgraded your services, have you!
The System ignored her.
Wang Jiu could only extend a hand and gently stroke the toilet… from the top of the tank down to the edge of the seat.
Wang Peng was suddenly reminded of a TV show villain reaching out with his pig trotter hands toward a drugged and undressed heroine, stroking from her cheek down to her arm…
Holy shit!
Wang Jiu suddenly revealed a faint smile, then put the toilet away.
Everyone: "???"
Could it be that important? Why did she look like she cherished it so much!
Wang Jiu's inner thoughts: As long as my act is convincing enough, you won't be able to laugh at me. You'll even be jealous!
After the distribution was complete and everyone had calmed down, they discovered Wang Jiu was gone. It turned out she had walked into the funeral hall.
Meanwhile, Qian Cheng and Song Yuanqiao were taken away by Li Ting. While the latter had his blood and hair samples taken, Qian Cheng discussed the matter of the basement with Li Ting. Before they could finish, Li Ting received a phone call. He didn't try to hide it from Qian Cheng, simply saying, "A sacrificial totem? What does it look like?"
Soon, Li Ting received the photos. The lights in the basement still worked. With the lights on, the Investigation Team members had taken detailed pictures and sent a voice message.
"When we came down, we saw signs of excavation on a section of the wall. The bones and hair inside also showed signs of being moved. Forensics confirmed that someone entered this place and damaged the wall and the corpses. However, the skeletal parts of the bodies were restored, likely put back by the perpetrator. But we don't dare to dig deeper right now for fear of damaging the totem on the wall. We speculate that walling up bodies and drawing totems and sacrificial texts on the surface is a kind of evil cult's sacrificial method. We currently do not know its true meaning."
Qian Cheng heard it too, and like Song Yuanqiao, his expression turned grave and hateful.
It wasn't just human trafficking? There were sacrifices too?
Then… even if his and Lin Zi's daughter wasn't among them, she must have suffered some extremely terrifying torment.
After the two left, Li Ting kept looking at his phone, as if waiting for something.
On the other side, Wang Jiu was in the empty funeral hall, looking at the Old Lady's portrait.
Her gaze was focused, profound, filled with an unspeakable loneliness.
Her expression wasn't one of pity, but a kind of bewilderment.
Like a helpless child who had lost their only family.
Perhaps, after all these years, she had never been able to move on from what happened back then.
"That guy Qian said my last twenty-two years have been full of lies. He wasn't wrong. During our argument that day, you also yelled at me, asking why I had to be this way."
"I could never tell you that I've always been terrified."
"I can't always grab someone's hand. My mom… that day, she insisted on going with those people. She said the Witch God would protect everyone, give them power, and eliminate all their pain. I didn't believe her. I held onto her, trying to stop her, but she tried to drag me in with her. I bit her and ran. I don't even know if she abandoned me, or if I abandoned her."
"Later, none of them ever came back."
"I knew they must have been eaten by that so-called Witch God. That wasn't a god at all, it was clearly a mountain ghost. So many children… so many children were born, and by the time they were three, they were selected and taken away. I knew from a young age they weren't good people. Because when they came, they drove cars, but when they left, those cars made no engine sounds. I knew they were heading into the mountains. They went up the mountain with children, and when they came down, the children were gone. I observed them. They always picked the pretty, healthy, and plump children. So I acted crazy and foolish, making myself filthy and unkempt. You probably don't know, but they beat me… many times, I brought it on myself. It's okay to lose a tooth. It's better than losing your life."
"As long as I didn't meet their selection criteria and was despised by others, I could survive."
"Later, I grew up and saw those totems in the basement. I knew those cultists were even more terrifying than I had imagined. They must have a powerful force outside… I couldn't drag you into this."
"So I deliberately orchestrated the divorce, argued with you, just to find a legitimate reason to go back to Lin City and investigate…"
"I thought, I will definitely find out who those people were back then, who snatched your daughter, tormented you like this, and even wanted to kill you. I thought, once I find out, I will definitely come find you."
"But you died."
She lowered her head and knelt on the floor, her hands on her knees, looking up at the Old Lady.
"The System says there's a way to save you, but can I really do it?"
She wanted to cry, but she couldn't, like a child with a defect.
There was always a part of her that was incomplete.
She knelt there, silent, yet suffused with an extreme, omnipresent pain.
Outside the hall, a tall figure silently flickered away like a ghostly afterimage. Upon entering the backyard, he took out his phone and sent several messages to a group chat.
—Her danger level is medium. Controllable and trustworthy (on the premise that she still has faith in saving the Old Lady, because then she will still hold reverence for the Old Lady's teachings and won't lose control. She also holds reverence for the government and society, which is why she ceded the benefits from the mini-boss and is unwilling to make an enemy of everyone.)
—There were no totems in the Miao Mountain cave back then; the trail went cold. However, examination revealed that the bloodstains left by the large number of corpses on the ground formed a pattern. It was too fragmented to be reconstructed. It now matches the totem in the basement of Zhou Shanren's house, with a match rate of 80%. They should correspond.
—This complete totem has been sent to the Ancient Civilization Research Workshop.
After a moment, a person with an avatar of an ancient character sent a line of text.
—It's related to witchcraft, involving the sacrifice of living flesh and blood. It's very ancient, seemingly belonging to Black Witch culture. The records we have here are decent. For now, we can only guess that this is a process, from infants to children, then to adolescents and young adults, and finally a large-scale sacrifice. I think the deaths of the entire Miao Village were the result of its later stages.
The young man checked the group, and his eyes trembled.
—Just overheard, Wang Jiu did mention some secrets. In her youth… "He recounted the contents of what he had heard.
The group fell silent.
The person with the ancient character avatar spoke.
—Then it should be correct. She is very smart and escaped disaster. According to our investigation, there were no children among the dead in Miao Village back then. It seems she is the sole survivor.
—The cult is ignorant, but also terrifying. It can brainwash people. Many parents become just as frenzied, like her mother, Zhou Miao. Didn't she almost drag her into the cave back then?
—The most important thing now is that I received news from the data department. The places currently detected with the most frequent game dungeon appearances are basically linked to these ancient civilizations. The number and traces of dungeons opening in Lin City are second only to major places with deep cultural heritage like the capital, ranking in the top five. But it's a small place with a limited area. Its most prominent feature is Miao Mountain.
—I'm thinking this is not a good discovery. Xie Lu, you've experienced many dungeons, what do you think?
Xie Lu had long had a feeling, and certain speculations surfaced, especially after hearing Wang Jiu's words just now.
—I'm wondering if those cultists had foreknowledge of this apocalyptic game and made preparations in advance.
This sentence stunned many people. After a long while, another person sent a few messages.
—If that's the case, the other party is bound to stir up trouble in this chaotic situation. I will relay this to the higher-ups and let them make a decision.
—After so many years of investigation, among so many suspects, those who remain on the list to this day are hardly innocent.
—Special times call for special measures. It's time to make a move.
With a few nonchalant sentences, a murderous aura leaped ferociously from the screen.
The group chat fell silent.
Xie Lu turned off the screen, glanced at the funeral hall, and turned to leave. He had to find Li Ting.
He estimated that the higher-ups would make a decision soon, and that decision would undoubtedly be—a kill order.
They would absolutely not let those suspicious individuals live until the game officially launched.
They had to cut off the enemy's forces in advance and reduce their strength as much as possible.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
He didn't know that just as he left the hall and was discussing matters of state with the group, Wang Jiu had lowered her head, resting it on the sacrificial table. But her hand below was taking another phone out of her pocket, not the one she had used before.
The logged-in WeChat account naturally belonged to another identity.
But she used this account to send a message to one person.
At the same time, Qian Cheng, who was already in his car outside the funeral home, was about to drive. He glanced at his phone and rolled his eyes.
—Thank you, Teacher Qian, for guiding and helping me complete the work on this case.
In the back seat, Song Yuanqiao heard Qian Cheng mutter, "Little brat."
"She hasn't come out yet?"
"No, probably talking to the Old Lady. You have something to say to her?"
"No. It's not like we have a relationship where we can talk much anyway." Song Yuanqiao closed his eyes.
Qian Cheng started the car. As it moved onto the main road, he said to himself, "Last night she contacted me on a side account and asked me to act with her today. She didn't even give me a script before hanging up. So infuriating. But I didn't expect you to help me."
It was precisely because there was no script that they and Wang Jiu had to improvise. Many of the things she said were things they genuinely didn't know, so it didn't take much acting.
It just made it harder to tell when she was being real and when she was faking.
Song Yuanqiao opened his eyes and said, "Her objectives were no more than three. First, to expose the secrets of Zhou Shanren and that evil cult, forcing the state to take it seriously. Second, to clear her own connections and prevent the state from investigating her too deeply. After all, her background really can't withstand scrutiny. To investigate it, they'd have to bring up Zhou Shanren. Rather than let others dig it up, it's better for us to expose it ourselves and seize the initiative. Third, even if the first two fail, she needed to buy time for her injuries to recover. After all, there was definitely a master from the military hidden in the funeral home, far more powerful than that Qing Yu, because Qing Yu alone would not have been able to suppress Zheng Yu."
Qian Cheng agreed. "The Yang family made such a big move, and Zheng Yu has an overseas background. Choosing to return to the country at this time—he's no patriot, and he had no real friendship with Yang Dong. He must have had ulterior motives, so of course there would be preparations. If the overt Qing Yu couldn't handle him, then there must have been a covert one."
It was to ensure her safety that they had cooperated with her to buy time. By this calculation, she should have leveled up and put all her attribute points into Stamina.
She had probably recovered a fair bit by now.
Even if she couldn't win a fight, she should be able to escape.
"But she's not in a hurry to leave now. It seems she's already certain that person won't make a move against her."
"The Old Lady taught her not to make an enemy of the whole world. She really took that lesson to heart."
"But you still haven't told me why you helped her."
Song Yuanqiao could hear the ill intent in Qian Cheng's words and shot him a cold glance.
Having been in a position of power for many years, his gaze was very intimidating. Qian Cheng looked away sheepishly.
"I wasn't helping her. I was helping myself."
"When Jiong Jiong had her accident, Lin Zi found out that there was an element of negligence from my family. She asked me to handle it. I… I couldn't bring myself to be ruthless at the time."
"She was probably too disappointed. She told me that no matter how much I acted like a loving father, I ultimately put my family first. I argued that it was for the sake of a long-term investigation, that those people had only made minor mistakes and we needed to investigate the true cause behind it. But she said that truly loving someone isn't about seeing how many correct things you do for them, but seeing how many mistakes you're willing to make for them."
"At the time, I thought she was being irrational, having just lost Jiong Jiong. Later, over many years, as I got older and reflected carefully, I realized she was right."
"For Jiong Jiong, she gave up so many benefits and prospects, even ruining her own health. And for Wang Jiu, she was willing to illegally dispose of a body."
"I said I loved her, loved Jiong Jiong, but… I was never able to make a mistake for them. I wasn't even willing to use my private authority to borrow state resources to find Jiong Jiong."
Hearing his weary, hoarse words, Qian Cheng felt a pang of sorrow, but he had no way to comfort or admonish him.
"On the other hand, Wang Jiu had always hidden herself perfectly. No one knew her story. But for Lin Zi, she made many mistakes. Killing someone means bearing the consequences. Exposing the secrets of Miao Village means bearing the risk of being implicated. From a long-term perspective, these things were all detrimental to her, but she did them all."
Song Yuanqiao leaned against the seat back, his face full of regret. But his life was nearing its end; there was no turning back.
And she was already gone.
Qian Cheng seemed to sense the twilight aura about him and, alarmed, quickly said, "Jiong Jiong's body still hasn't been found! You can't collapse! Are you going to push this whole responsibility onto Wang Jiu? You can't be that selfish. We old men have to man up!"
Song Yuanqiao's tired eyes twitched slightly, as if in deep thought. After a long moment, he suddenly asked a question.
Meanwhile, in the funeral home.
Wang Jiu put away her phone, maintaining her original posture. She just closed her eyes and confessed in her heart as if in prayer.
She confessed three things in her heart.
"One, Old Lady, I didn't mean to lie again in front of your memorial. There's definitely a master outside spying. I reckon even with my current attributes, I might not be able to beat him, so I had to deceive him. Let me fill you in on the lies. The basement is real, the skeletons are real, and Jiong Jiong's bones really aren't in there. But I faked those totems a few years ago. I wanted to smoke that group out back then, but one person's power is limited, so I helped the government skip a step and connected the dots for them. It's the government's responsibility anyway. Though I did trick old man Song and that fool Qian."
"Two, you must be curious how I knew what the totem looked like, and you're probably wondering if I made it up. Of course not. Because I've really seen that totem. This is the second thing I have to confess to you. I lied to you. I didn't break free from my mother's hand back then. I followed her into the cave. I saw their sacrificial ceremony, and I saw them being eaten."
"Three, you've always been curious why I chose the name Wang Jiu. I'll tell you now. It's because my mother, drunk one time, said that among the batch of young girls brought into the village, she was ranked ninth. The man who bought her, my nominal deadbeat dad, was surnamed Wang, so she was casually called Wang Jiu. Before she was given the name Zhou Miao, she had already forgotten her original name. It's laughable, really. When I was very young, she would occasionally recall some memories and, in a daze, teach me strange languages. It wasn't until I was with you and traveled to many countries that I realized she had been muttering in German. I think, if she hadn't been tricked and trafficked by Zhou Shanren and lost her mind, she might have been the daughter of a good family. I still remember, as she was being eaten by that monster, she was still shouting at me, telling me to run, to find someone. I was groggy at the time and couldn't hear clearly. I don't know if she was telling me to find you or to find Zhou Shanren. I think, if it was the German-speaking version of her, she must have been telling me to find you."
"Alright, confession over."
"Next, I have a prayer for you. I'm going to save you, no matter the cost. This process will surely be very long. I'm afraid I won't be able to control my wicked heart and will do things you never wanted me to do. I need to find something to do, like killing those people. But to avoid too great a disparity in strength, I'll let the state lend a hand."
"Will you blame me?"
No one answered her. Wang Jiu smiled. "No answer means you tacitly agree not to blame me."
She muttered to herself, "You really do love me the most. And there's a gift."
Wang Jiu opened the gift bag and pulled out a glasses case. She paused for a moment, then—click—the case opened, revealing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses inside. It was a style she used to wear often, but these were better looking. And, well… definitely more expensive.
The Old Lady came from a wealthy family. When she was young, she had cultivated a sense of frugality in her, but once Wang Jiu became financially independent, the Old Lady became willing to spend lavishly.
This brand…
"The Old Lady really did have good taste," Wang Jiu murmured, stroking them carefully.
Then she saw the second letter.
She hadn't read it yet, originally wanting to keep it as a memento. But given the rate at which game items were dropping and real-world materials were decaying, she wasn't sure how long it would last.
So Wang Jiu opened it.
There were surprisingly few words in the letter, nothing compared to the first one. Just two lines.
"As a parent, if my child might be in danger, I would rather she break free from the restraining hoop and become a great, unruly monkey who can turn the world upside down. As long as they are not harmed, whether it's Jiong Jiong or Ah Jiu."
"I bought a ticket. I wanted to go to Lin City to tell Ah Jiu that if she really feels that lying and creating a persona gives her a sense of security, that's fine too. People have many sides, after all. But her old glasses were too tacky; I had to buy her a better-looking pair. But when I see her, I have to scold her a bit first, or she'll really get too full of herself."
Wang Jiu stared at it for a long while, then folded it, put it away, and lowered her head to put on the glasses.
It was like putting on a restraining hoop.
But when she looked up, the corner of her mouth hooked into a ferocious, wicked smile.
At the same time, all registered players received a system notification.
"Today at 23:00 is the final deadline for the tutorial period. By that time, all living beings on Earth will have completed their three chances for the tutorial instances. After 24:00, the game will officially and fully launch. For specific notifications, please wait until 23:00 tonight. All living beings, please be prepared."
So soon! There were still people around them who hadn't experienced a tutorial instance. Did this mean they had to go through it three times in a short period (in case they kept failing)?
Everyone was shocked.
It seemed the game's operational speed was accelerating. No one knew what the fully launched game would be like.
Everyone was both anxious and intensely curious.
Wang Jiu, however, thought of the toilet and those supplies, a thoughtful look on her face.
She was afraid the new world of the fully launched game would drive everyone to despair.
Thanks for the chapter! ✨
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