In Virtual Reality

ation.

Ah Ma covered her throbbing forehead and didn't say anything.
The people in Room 502 appeared particularly despondent.

Shen Jia, who knew why Silence turned back, clenched his right hand.

'Did Silence…
really die?'

Although Officer Yang didn't know who Silence was, he deduced something from the group's reactions.
He patted Shen Jia on the shoulder and said, “Rest for a while, and we'll talk about some things later.”

**

Later, when Cao Wei Min rushed to the Calmnorth City Police Station, it was already 7 o'clock in the morning.
Officer Yang, who had been snoozing, thought some wild man had reappeared in the forest when he saw Cao Wei Min's scruffy beard rush into the police station.

Buddy Yang rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned, “You came fast.”

“Where are the people?”

“They've been arranged to rest in a hotel.
Most of them are out-of-town students.
With the approval of the bureau chief, some of the out-of-town students have contacted their families, and they're rushing over.”

Buddy Yang stood up, fiddled in his position, and handed a thick file to Cao Wei Min, yawning again.
“Take a look…
Ha~ this is the compiled information.
Check if there's any contact with Officer Ye.”

Cao Wei Min took the file and flipped through it directly.

After a long time, he closed the file.

“Still nothing?” Seeing his calm expression, Buddy Yang knew what was going on.
“Okay, okay, don't be discouraged.
Maybe all of them will appear suddenly later.”

Cao Wei Min nodded attentively as Officer Yang provided him with the latest information.
“According to your report, there were fifty students who entered the mysterious place, but only thirty-six survived, leaving…
fourteen dead?”

Buddy Yang corrected him, “Actually, there were thirteen casualties, and one individual volunteered to stay in the so-called Dark Virtue university.”

Cao Wei Min felt his heart sink at the thought of so many lives lost.
“What is the plan now?”

“The chief is in a meeting discussing whether to publicize the 'Spirit Shenanigans' and increase public awareness.”

Cao Wei Min frowned, gripping the documents tightly.
“But there have been too few incidents.
Even if we raise awareness, we cannot prevent it.
I fear it may do more harm than good.”

“We can't keep it a secret.
Plus, remember how your city in Jiang province released precautions for the 'Eternal Bus' earlier? The public didn't panic.”

“But many people died this time,” Cao Wei Min replied.

Fourteen people, thirteen lives, and one went crazy and stayed in the mysterious place.

Officer Yang attempted to reassure him, patting his shoulder.
“Don't worry, the decision hasn't been made yet.
For now, let's focus on what we can do.
There's something important I need to tell you.”

Cao Wei Min raised an eyebrow, curious.
“What is it?”

“Hey, look at you, curious old man!” Buddy Yang laughed, but he also knew that the situation was urgent.

“Well, it seems that these students also encountered the pink hoodie,” Officer Yang said, a mischievous glint in his eye.
“Especially this person named Shen Jia.
He had a lot of contact with Oh-Silence, the guy in the pink hoodie.” Tiezi Yang threw his phone to Cao Wei Min, and the screen showed Shen Jia's phone number.
“You can talk to him.”

“Thanks.” Cao Wei Min saved the phone number, feeling complicated.

Silence again…
Was that really the guy's real name?

**

Cao Wei Min's meeting with Shen Jia was brief.

Based on information from his friend Yang, Cao Wei Min proceeded directly to Shen Jia's hotel room.
As he approached the door, it opened to reveal a handsome but wan face with dark circles under the eyes.
Shen Jia had not slept well.
After confirming Cao Wei Min's identity, he allowed him to enter.

Both men sat in silence for a while before Cao Wei Min spoke up.
“Shen Jia, I have acquired more information about the case.
I am here to ask you some questions.”

“Please proceed; I will cooperate,” replied Shen Jia calmly, apparently unimpressed by the unusual behaviour of the detective.

Cao Wei Min inquired about “Silence,” a person mentioned by many of the witnesses.
Shen Jia hesitated momentarily before responding, “I can only say that Silence is an outstanding senior who was instrumental in our escape.
They are intimately familiar with Dark Virtue University and claim to be a junior there.”

Cao Wei Min pressed for more details, but Shen Jia's response was disappointing.
“Their name is Silence, and although it may seem strange, I believe they were not lying to me.
As for their birthplace and other information, I'm sorry, I have no idea.”

After a few more questions, Cao Wei Min's notebook remained empty of valuable clues.
Silence was too enigmatic, and obtaining information about them seemed almost impossible.
Cao Wei Min prepared to leave, but as Shen Jia closed the door behind him, a thought occurred to the detective.

“Wait,” he said, grabbing the door frame and looking back at Shen Jia, who appeared surprised.
“Do you have a sister named Shen Xi?”

Shen Jia nodded in response.

Shen Xi was one of the survivors of the Eternal Bus!

Cao Wei Min's mind was racing with questions about the survivors of the haunted house incident.
He couldn't help but wonder if there was any connection between them.
Tian Si De and Fang Wen Wen, both were alumni to Shen Jia.
This left him with a sense of unease.
But before he could come to a conclusion, his phone rang.
He answered it cautiously, “Hello?”

Ever thoughtful, Shen Jia closed the door so as not to disturb him.

“Is there something wrong?” Cao Wei Min asked.

“It's me, Li Dui,” a harsh and low voice came through the phone.
“I heard you rushed to Calmnorth City overnight? Are you going on a business trip or trying to switch jobs?”

Cao Wei Min hesitated to respond.

“Come back quickly.
The bureau is going to hold an important meeting.”

**

In one day, Cao Wei Min shuttled back and forth between Jiang City and Calmnorth City.
He finally arrived at the Jiang City Police Station before 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

When he pushed open the door and entered the conference room, Old Li glanced at him.
“Why are you standing? Sit down.”

After everyone sat down, Old Li continued, “The higher-ups have decided to selectively reveal the 'Spirit Shenanigans' to the public, one is to protect more people's safety, and the other is to strengthen the investigation of the mystery! The direction of the online discussion needs to be controlled, and too much panic should be avoided.
Comrades responsible for this aspect must be cautious.
And Little Wang,” Old Li pointed to Wang Ju, “You and He Du have both dealt with survivors of the buss incident.
You have experience, so the two of you will be in charge of coordinating with Calmnorth City on this mystery.”

Cao Wei Min's mind was still racing with thoughts about the mystery.
“Li Dui!” he suddenly exclaimed.
“I have found out that Shen Jia, one of the survivors of this university mystery incident, is the brother of Shen Xi, a survivor of the Eternal Bus incident.
Tian Si De and Fang Wen Wen are also Shen Jia's alumni.
There is some connection between them.
Moreover, there were 36 survivors this time, and they also came into contact with the pink hoodie.
We can draw the hoodie image from the descriptions of these mystery survivors—.

“Comrade Cao Wei Min,” Old Li interrupted him, “as I said before, you are responsible for searching the visitor records of the Mofen Amusement Park in recent years.
You don't need to focus on anything else for the time being.”

“But!” Cao Wei Min opened his mouth, wanting to refute something.

“Officer Cao, what is your duty? You were brought into the investigation of these strange and mysterious events to ensure the safety of the public, not to vent personal emotions! Obey orders!” Old Li said firmly.

“…Yes.”

The meeting ended unpleasantly, and after Cao Wei Min left, Wang Ju found Old Li.

“Captain Li, what about Xiao Cao?” Wang Ju asked.

Old Li waved his hand.
“It's fine.
Young people need to follow orders and gain more experience.
Otherwise, when they face big problems, they'll charge ahead without listening, causing our police station to suffer.”

Wang Ju hesitated for a moment, then laughed.
“You're right.
Little Cao's temper needs to change.”

Old Li changed the subject.
“Have you found any more information?”

“We've found more information about 'Jin,'” Wang Ju said, handing him some records.
“Not everyone thinks that the young person wearing a pink hoodie is male.
Some survivors think they are female.”

“How many survivors?” It could be due to mental shock or misidentification if it was a small number.

“Half,” Wang Ju handed him the records she had in her hand.
“It's not a small number.”

Old Li thought about this.
If they couldn't determine the gender, could they trust any other information they had on 'Silence'?

“This is really…” he muttered, his eyes narrowing.

…bad.”

The clues were as delicate as a spider's silk, barely visible but still discernible.

**

After clearing the game, Xu Jin Yi immediately turned off the recording and rushed to the gaming website.

…Tsk, she wasn't the first to clear the game.
Someone had beaten her by only three seconds!

Logging into her account, Xu Jin Yi edited the video and submitted it to the official “Death Notice” channel.
Although she didn't clinch the top spot, she could still get the annual Outstanding Video Contributor award, right?

The video was soon uploaded to her personal gaming account as well.

After loosening her muscles, Xu Jin Yi rose and grabbed a bottle of lychee soda.
She looked at the nearly-empty fridge and decided to go for a walk and buy some things from the supermarket in the evening.

In the brief time since submitting her video, she had refreshed the gaming website platform and saw numerous comments in the comment section.

The top comment read: [Thank you to the “Death Notice” official channel.
Excelsior, who had disappeared, finally remembered their account.
[Serene smile.jpg]]

 

——— Translator's Notes ———

Old Li Captain/Lieutenant His title might change since I am not sure about his position.
He might be the Captain of their little group but his official position in the police hierarchy is Lieutenant?

Zhongyuan (中元节) Festival: a traditional Chinese festival, also known as Hungry Ghost Festival, held on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month to commemorate and honor deceased ancestors and ghosts.
People usually burn offerings, including paper money, and items believed to be useful in the afterlife during this festival.

Paper money: a type of paper burned during traditional Chinese ancestor veneration ceremonies to provide currency for the deceased to use in the afterlife.

Osmanthus tree: a common ornamental tree in China with fragrant flowers.

The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling.
It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor-driven rotary cannon.

“Tiezi” (铁子) means “iron buddy,” which is a common way for friends to address each other in casual conversations.
I don't know if this is his real surname, so for now I use it as a Buddy

Yang 杨 = poplar

“Anbei” (安 = (bound form) calm; peaceful / to calm; to set at ease / safe; secure; in good health / content; 北 = north / (classical) to be defeated)

“野人重出森林了” (wild man reappeared in the forest) is a Chinese idiom that means something unexpected has happened.

“唰一下” (shuā yī xià) is a colloquial expression that means something may happen suddenly.