Chapter 98 The Singer, Oh, Singer 31

"Since ancient times, haven't we always believed in 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'? Look at ghost stories, fairy tales, and folklore. Aren't they all about some poor scholar in a past life whose kindness overflowed, saving a fox, a snake, or a Weasel, and in this life, the little animal gradually takes on human form to repay the favor?"

"Conversely, those who kill entire families, plot for others' wealth, or are filled with malice and have committed countless evil deeds—they are the ones who should be anxious and unable to sleep soundly at night. It makes sense, too; it's always the evildoers who have a guilty conscience. Since when do good people feel guilty?"

"And this Hu Zhengzheng is strange too. She sings about seeking revenge, but instead of finding the murderer, she goes after the players. The players didn't provoke her or bother her. They were sleeping soundly in their beds, only to have someone break in and stab them for no reason. Tsk tsk, think about how miserable those players are."

It was as if a bolt of lightning had struck Lin Xiangjun on the crown of her head.

"Say that again."

Zhang Minxian had been chattering on and on in her mind, but Lin Xiangjun suddenly interrupted her. She was stunned for two or three seconds before realizing, "Uh... you said those players are miserable?"

"The sentence before that."

"Sleeping soundly in their beds..."

"The one before that, the one before that! That sentence, something about a murderer, something about something—say it again." Seeing that Zhang Minxian couldn't get to the point, Lin Xiangjun was getting anxious.

"Oh, oh, this one: Hu Zhengzheng sings about going to seek revenge, but instead of finding the murderer, she goes to persecute the players..."

That's the one!

Lin Xiangjun felt as if she had been enlightened, and she couldn't help but cast an approving look at Zhang Minxian.

What a good employee, what a good employee! She really knows how to get to the point!

Do you remember the last line of the song Hu Zhengzheng sang?

"Reincarnation and the next life are so far away, seeking the murderer in the middle of the night to lay the departed soul to rest."

Why did Hu Zhengzheng clearly say she was going to "seek the murderer," yet in reality, she went to cause trouble for the players?

Because the murderer is hiding among the players!

Lin Xiangjun recalled the system notification from when she entered the instance during the day.

【Clearance Condition: Among you, there is one person who does not like the Songstress's singing voice, and the Songstress is very dissatisfied. Only when everyone likes the Songstress's performance and everyone has heard the Songstress's performance will the Songstress allow you to leave.】

"So, this person who doesn't like the Songstress's singing voice is the murderer who killed the Songstress." Lin Xiangjun finally sorted out most of the information.

"Since this person is the murderer, the system's hint to make everyone like the Songstress's performance is easy to understand: just kill the murderer. But the problem is the latter part: how do we interpret the condition of having everyone hear the Songstress's performance?"

Lin Xiangjun had another headache.

That's the bad thing about scattered and fragmented rules.

The results derived from them are also scattered and fragmented, like squeezing toothpaste out bit by bit.

Suddenly, the screaming stopped.

Having gotten used to the screaming, it had become like background noise, so its sudden cessation made one feel a bit unaccustomed to the silence.

"Miss Lin, the Songstress has come downstairs." Zhang Minxian screamed in her mind, "She is covered in blood... Oh my god, she looks just like a serial killer. Her hands are dripping with blood from her fingertips to her elbows. With disheveled hair and wearing a red dress, she looks like something out of the Nine Yin White Bone Claw or Sadako... It's scary, too scary."

However, the singing did not become lighter; instead, it became increasingly heavy and resentful.

"The sky is dim, the earth is heavy, whose young lady is crying deep in the night?

"Don't coax, don't coax, let her cry, cry for seven days until the ghost knocks on the door.

"Black long dress, white brooch, be a good woman in the next life.

"Reincarnation and the next life are so far away, seeking the murderer in the middle of the night to lay the departed soul to rest—"

The tail end of the note was drawn out longer and longer, becoming more viscous and shrill, as if a mouthful of blood were stuck in her throat. When she sang, blood foam seemed to roll out from her throat, creating an inhuman, eerie sensation.

Lin Xiangjun kept her head lowered.

"Can you see how many people she killed?"

Zhang Minxian looked carefully, then gave a negative answer.

"No way, I can only see that she is covered in blood, and both her hands are dripping... I can't see how many died, and it's very quiet over there."

It was indeed very quiet.

The singing slowly faded away, returning to the entrance of the alley, and then suddenly vanished.

Only then did Lin Xiangjun raise her head, rub her stiff cervical spine from keeping it lowered for so long, and lie back down on the bed.

"Sleep," she said to Zhang Minxian with her eyes closed, "There shouldn't be anything else happening tonight."

Once a night is enough for this kind of commotion.

Any more than that, and the players really wouldn't be able to survive; the mental strain alone could cost them their lives.

However, although she had laid down, the sleepiness was gone.

Lin Xiangjun closed her eyes, but her mind was extremely active, and she didn't fall asleep for a long time.

Although it was only natural not to be able to sleep at a time like this—after all, there had just been eerie singing and victims screaming, and Building 39 and Building 40 were not far apart, and she had opened the window earlier to observe the situation below—there was still a faint smell of blood in the air.

If anyone could fall asleep instantly in this situation, they would truly be a total loser.

But there was no help for it if she couldn't sleep. There were things to do tomorrow; if she couldn't sleep and didn't have the energy, it would be of no use other than delaying tomorrow.

Tossing and turning in bed like stir-frying herself, she finally had no choice but to take out a prop card.

【Super Sleep Aid Tablet: Gives you baby-like sleep. Each tablet guarantees eight hours of sleep. Take one tablet at a time, at most once a day. The system will not be held responsible for any consequences resulting from exceeding the safe dosage. One tablet at a time is fine; close your eyes and open them, and it's a beautiful day. Take a few more, and once you close your eyes, you won't open them again.】

This was a D-rank prop, which was originally a pile of white medicine bottles she had burned for herself. These bottles later turned into three props and a pile of ordinary medicine.

This Super Sleep Aid Tablet was D-rank, and there were twenty tablets in a bottle.

Lin Xiangjun took one out, used a sharp knife to scrape off a little powder, and threw the rest back.

She hadn't tried eating the medicine by scraping it into powder before. Doing it this way made her face wrinkle up from the bitterness instantly.

Zhang Minxian watched her Miss, who looked like some kind of unspeakable, mysterious needle-and-pill cultist, eating the sleeping pill with the vibe of someone popping ecstasy pills, and she hesitated to speak.

"Miss Lin, what are you..."

Lin Xiangjun, while wrinkling her face and holding a mouthful of water to dilute the medicinal taste in her mouth, wrapped herself in the quilt and took the time to answer Zhang Minxian's confusion.

"Sleeping too soundly in the instance is too dangerous. If there's any danger, I won't be able to wake up or respond. So, I just scrape a little to hypnotize myself; as long as I feel a little sleepy and can fall asleep to restore my energy, that's enough."

Zhang Minxian nodded and praised, "As expected of Miss, so smart and cautious."