Chapter 84 The Singer, Oh, the Singer 17

Lin Xiangjun frowned and tore off that long strip of toilet paper.

She carefully inspected every single sheet.

Each piece of toilet paper had five layers; among the five small sheets, only the edge of the second-to-last one had a water stain as small as could be, about the size of a pea.

Only then did Lin Xiangjun heave a sigh of relief.

An instance must fully consider the average level of all players. One month after the weird world first descended, under normal circumstances, most players did not possess overly powerful items.

In other words, it was impossible for a three-star instance to present a situation that humans could not observe, even with the help of items.

Simply put, players at this stage were like junior high students, and a three-star instance was like a College English Test Band 6 reading comprehension question. Clearly, the difficulty of this question was beyond the syllabus for junior high students.

If the answer wasn't directly in the original text at this point, the person who wrote the question deserved to be strung up and whipped.

The same principle applied to the instance.

If the rules within an instance could not be observed by players through any means other than using high-level items—such as a paper figure—or by seeking help from the weird, then there was only one possibility—

This instance was being annexed by a five-star instance.

The entire weird world was in a stage of collapsing order.

At this level, it could basically be confirmed that no one could survive except for the male and female leads.

Fortunately, that was not the case.

It was just that this clue was very obscure and difficult to observe, not impossible to observe.

Lin Xiangjun breathed a sigh of relief and crumpled the toilet paper into a ball, tossing it into the trash can.

Now she could confirm that Rule Fifteen was indeed an incorrect rule.

It had been raining in Xieyou Alley the whole time.

Lin Xiangjun felt great after deducing one rule. She glanced at the time; it was already six in the evening, so she planned to eat something to fill her stomach first.

Gao Xiu had prepared plenty of food for her, and every item suited Lin Xiangjun's preferences. She picked and chose for a while before deciding to have rice for the afternoon.

The side dishes were stir-fried cabbage, dry-pot cauliflower, steamed fish, and Coke chicken wings. The staple food was a mixed grain rice of black rice and white rice, and the portions were large.

Gao Xiu had packed every dish into a full 1000ml lunch box, and the rice as well. Lin Xiangjun took out five large boxes, filling the table completely.

Home-cooked meals were truly fragrant; the ones from the system mall couldn't compare at all. The food was still slightly hot when taken out. With every bite of rice and dish, her sense of happiness was simply overflowing.

Since her physical fitness had improved, Lin Xiangjun's appetite had increased significantly. She used to be able to eat these dishes for a whole day, but now, in just twenty minutes, only a thin layer of oil remained at the bottom of the lunch boxes.

After eating, she felt a bit lazy. She sat on the sofa and slowly pondered all the clues she had gathered so far.

The bowls weren't disposable, but she didn't need to wash them; she just had to collect them all together and take them back.

Just as Lin Xiangjun was immersed in the drowsiness brought on by a full stomach and rising blood sugar, a sharp ringtone from her phone suddenly broke the peaceful atmosphere.

Lin Xiangjun's eyes instantly regained their clarity.

She answered the call, and Zhang Minxian's voice came from the other end.

"Miss Lin, I followed your request and inquired about the funeral customs in Xieyou Alley.

"There's nothing different otherwise, except for young girls who die unmarried. If they died innocent and met with disaster for no apparent reason, like accidents or serious illnesses, the custom is to dress them in bright colors—red, green, blue, or purple are all fine. They say young girls love beauty, and they need to look pretty when they get to the underworld to find a good family.

"But if they died under dishonorable circumstances, like being pregnant before marriage or being raped and murdered, they have to wear all black. It's said to be to show the ghost messengers that they were dignified in their conduct and didn't violate female virtue; they wear white shoes to indicate that in their next life, they will only walk a pure path; finally, they wear one piece of white jewelry, which is the only piece of jewelry on their entire body, to show that they won't over-dress to seduce men in the future."

Zhang Minxian said all this in one breath. She took two breaths and continued:

"That girl, originally named Hu Zhengzheng, was raped and murdered on her way home one night. Her body was dumped on the main road between Building 4 and Building 5.

"Xieyou Alley is an old place without surveillance. After she died, the murderer was never found. Her parents died early and she had no relatives, so it was the Landlady who paid some money to have her cremated.

"She was indeed wearing a blue dress the day she died. Many conservative-minded people in the alley felt that she invited trouble by dressing too flamboyantly.

"What else... oh right, when people die here, the custom during memorial services is to offer pure white flowers. It doesn't specifically matter what kind of flower, as long as it's white."

There was so much information gathered that Zhang Minxian had to think for a while with the phone in her hand before remembering.

"When Hu Zhengzheng was cremated, it was the Landlady who arranged everything. She gave Hu Zhengzheng a piece of jewelry she liked very much. It seems her children were quite unhappy about it. I heard it was a pearl brooch?"

Lin Xiangjun quickly noted down the key points in her notebook.

Zhang Minxian was truly worthy of being a manicurist; her ability to gather intelligence was strong. In the time it took her to eat a meal, she had already inquired about all the information she wanted.

The work ability of this employee was truly gratifying!

"Alright, I've received the information. Where are you now?"

"I am on the path between Building 5 and Building 7, and I'm about to reach the intersection."

Lin Xiangjun thought about Zhang Minxian's location.

Building 5 was where that rank 8097 and his two sidekicks lived. Although 8097 had mentioned wanting to move at noon, she wasn't sure if they had actually moved.

In case they were still in their original house and hadn't left, wouldn't they be able to see any actions Zhang Minxian took?

"Go back to downstairs of my building now and try opening the umbrella again—don't hang up the phone. Tell me immediately what you see. Don't worry about accidents; I have plenty of paper figurine cards here that I can use to give you a new body."

Lin Xiangjun had Zhang Minxian conduct the experiment downstairs of her own building, firstly for convenience of observation.

Secondly, because Tiger Wang and his group could only have moved to number 39 if they moved to a new house. Unless they were specifically observing, they wouldn't be able to see downstairs of her building.

Upon hearing Lin Xiangjun's words, Zhang Minxian silently gasped in her heart.

A lot of paper figurine cards.

This was more than just "having a mine at home"; did she run a money-printing press at home to be this extravagant?

However, hearing this really gave one a sense of security.

At least she didn't have to worry about being abandoned due to body damage.

About ten minutes later, Zhang Minxian arrived downstairs of Lin Xiangjun's building.

Lin Xiangjun was already waiting by the window.

The third floor wasn't very high, and she could clearly see the scene downstairs.

Zhang Minxian was carrying a pile of things. Lin Xiangjun took a rough look: a juicer, an electric fan, a small sun heater, an electric blanket, and she still had to talk to her with one hand.

She looked just like a homeless person in the game who made their home wherever they went.

From the moment she entered the intersection, she shifted all her things upward, carrying them with her elbows, while holding the phone with her shoulder, freeing up both hands to struggle with opening the umbrella.

The black umbrella slowly opened.