Chapter 131 The Singer, Oh, the Singer 64

The requirement for an S-rank clearance is: Find The Perpetrator and eliminate him.

Everyone in Xieyou Alley should love the Songstress's singing.

The mission requirements did not state that Hu Zhengzheng herself had to take Hou Pan's life; logically, they could have dealt with Hou Pan just as they dealt with the other residents of Xieyou Alley, with no need to wait for Hu Zhengzheng to arrive before taking action.

"That's assuming we can actually take care of him." Lin Xiangjun skillfully charged and cut the rope, then used a Western-style technique to bind and package Hou Pan completely.

It was quite an arduous task; enduring Hou Pan's incessant cursing, she spoke as she packed him up:

"As the murderer, Hou Pan should only be dealt with by Hu Zhengzheng herself. After all, everyone else in the alley is just a bystander—including Hou Yongcheng and the Old Lady; they all share the mentality of avoiding unnecessary trouble. Hou Pan is different; as the murderer, he certainly wouldn't want the victim's cries for help to be discovered by others, so he must have taken some measures."

What measures he took are unimportant; what matters is that he is different from the others, and Hu Zhengzheng herself harbors an exceptionally strong hatred for him, a desperate desire to eliminate him.

Lin Xiangjun had a premonition that if she were to steal this kill from Hu Zhengzheng, she would likely be immediately categorized by Hu Zhengzheng as a nemesis on the same level as Hou Pan.

"He will definitely be finished off by your own hands." Lin Xiangjun said to Hu Zhengzheng.

Hu Zhengzheng tilted her head. Her hair was only neatly combed when she was in her black-clothed state; right now, it was a bit frizzy, as if it had been flattened and messed up from sleeping, with some stray hairs sticking out, which actually reduced the initial sense of eeriness.

"How, did, you find him?"

When not singing, Hu Zhengzheng's voice was somewhat husky, and her speaking pace was relatively slow.

Lin Xiangjun explained to Hu Zhengzheng while stepping on Hou Pan's backside to tighten the rope with force.

"Actually, at the beginning, I didn't think of this aspect. I thought he would be hiding in the supermarket basement, or in a corner of your home, or somewhere else.

"But yesterday morning, when I passed by the stairwell, I heard him mention a 'paper figure'—that is, this S1 Cowboy next to me—and that was when I felt something was suspicious."

Zhang Minxian was a paper figure. As mentioned in the original book, the existence of paper figures was only gradually discovered and spread a year after the supernatural descent.

This could be seen from Tiger Wang and Zhang Zhendong; even as powerhouses on the leaderboard, when facing Zhang Minxian, they only assumed it was a high-level item.

Therefore, the fact that Li Dongwei could accurately determine that Zhang Minxian was a 'paper figure' was in itself a very intriguing matter.

It's like everyone is happily traveling abroad, and suddenly a strange smell drifts over the street; everyone thinks it's just something burning, but only one person asks for a moment and then firmly states that it is definitely marijuana.

How are you so sure? Have you seen it? Have you smelled it?

"At the time, I just thought it was strange, but what happened later confirmed my guess."

"Of the four of them, one in the Fluorescent Green Short Sleeve was gone right from the start. If you say he wasn't smart enough or had bad luck, then what about Zhang Qi and Tiger Wang? One was already on the leaderboard, with unquestionable strength; the other was cowardly and greedy for life, and in terms of caution, he was definitely one of the best among the players present."

"As a result, one by one they were gone, and only you were left alive."

"The entire team was wiped out, and the only one left was the weakest, most insignificant one. You've already written the word 'suspicious' all over your face, babe."

Tying the last knot securely, Lin Xiangjun clapped the dust off her hands.

"Later I thought, why was Hou Yongcheng so confident that we wouldn't find you? If you were hiding in a clear location, finding you would be inevitable if we just turned the whole complex upside down."

"Then I figured it out."

"At the very beginning of the game, you killed Li Dongwei, disguised yourself as him, mingled among the players, and used words to guide other players to violate the rules."

You could say you played the 'most dangerous place is the safest place' trick to perfection.

Hou Pan's body was bound, but his mouth was still free. He sneered and immediately retorted: "What's the point of saying so much? A Weasel playing Dora, solving cases here?"

Lin Xiangjun: "..."

Is this 'Weasel' nickname never going to go away?

Entering a game and getting mocked by a supernatural entity, this feeling is truly quite subtle.

"You can't take action against him right now, but Zhang Minxian and I have no such problem; this issue probably stems from you. There are three people related to your death: Hou Pan, Hou Yongcheng, and the Landlady, Grandma Lin."

"Grandma Lin is a good person." Hu Zhengzheng interrupted Lin Xiangjun. She didn't seem to understand why Lin Xiangjun linked Grandma Lin to her death, but she still defended Grandma Lin, "Grandma Lin didn't know what Hou Yongcheng and Hou Pan had done; when I died, she even gave me a very beautiful brooch."

Zhang Minxian couldn't help but ask her: "Do you really not know what the Landlady has done?"

"What?" Hu Zhengzheng's face was even more bewildered.

She seemed to truly not know what schemes the Landlady was hatching behind her back, truly believing the Old Lady to be a kind, amiable neighborly grandmother who took good care of her.

Lin Xiangjun walked ahead, dragging Hou Pan toward the direction of 303, while Zhang Minxian explained things to Hu Zhengzheng behind her.

The road was not long; until they reached the bottom of Building 40, Lin Xiangjun said to Zhang Minxian, who was talking until his throat was dry: "You go back first; Zheng Zheng and I will go upstairs."

"I don't... fine, then I'll go back first. You and Zheng Zheng be careful."

Only then did Lin Xiangjun turn around to look at Hu Zhengzheng. Her complexion seemed even paler, her face gloomy and dark, as if water could be wrung out of it with a little effort.

The color of the green dress she was wearing also seemed to have deepened a bit.

The feeling of cognitive breakdown must not be very pleasant.

Lin Xiangjun hefted the bundle that was Hou Pan, led the way, and guided Hu Zhengzheng up the stairwell.

Zhang Minxian's voice came through the earpiece.

"Miss Lin, I have already found Zhang Zhendong and the others, and we are preparing to set off now. It will take about two hours to deal with the remaining residents in Xieyou Alley. On your side..."

Lin Xiangjun glanced at Hu Zhengzheng, who was following quietly behind.

"You all hurry," she instructed, "I feel that once the three of them—the Old Lady, Hou Pan, and Hou Yongcheng—are cleared by Hu Zhengzheng, if the others in Xieyou Alley haven't been cleared yet, Hu Zhengzheng might go berserk."

"Miss Lin, do you need help on your side? Although Hu Zhengzheng looks very quiet right now, she is still a BOSS after all; what if she suddenly goes crazy..."

"It's okay, you don't need to worry about my side."