absurd deduction game.

The nights in Yolikev haven't been as lively as they used to be in a long time.

After saying goodnight to her parents, the young girl, Felia, returned to her bedroom on the second floor, removed the gemstone jewelry from her fair neck, took off her heavy dress, and changed into a pale yellow nightgown.

She wasn't very sleepy, so instead of lying down in bed, she sat silently in front of her dressing table, staring blankly at the kerosene lamp.

The dim, warm light reminded her of the gleaming glasses in the ballroom, the lavish banquet that lasted until late into the night, the sounds of people talking and laughing still ringing in her ears, the sweet aroma of delicate pastries filling her nostrils, and the adoring gazes of handsome young men as if they were real.

This should have been her daily life—the only daughter of a big banker in Yolikev.

However, with the occurrence of various strange events, people no longer go out at night, and the frequency of social interaction has decreased significantly. She has not seen the sons of those important figures for a long time, which means that the arranged marriage has not even materialized.

Felia wasn't in a hurry to get married.

Her parents treated her very well, and her family was quite wealthy. She didn't need to get married to escape anything. The reason she had these wild thoughts at night and missed those attentive advances was simply because she naturally loved being around people and enjoyed having someone to play with. She had reached her limit in her tolerance for boring nights.

Yes, she wasn't a lady, but that didn't stop her from being the most popular girl in town. Everyone praised her for being energetic, like a vibrant sunflower.

Ah—I heard that the investigators from the town would actively seek out monsters at night. It sounds a bit dangerous, but at this moment, the girl vaguely sensed a desire for excitement.

That's so cool, isn't it?
If she could travel with the investigators, wouldn't she be able to uncover many secrets that adults keep hidden? That would be far more enjoyable than dancing with boys!
Thinking this through, even though she knew it was impossible and her parents would not agree to such a crazy idea, Felia still subconsciously walked to the window, reached out and lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside.

It was pitch black outside.

Everyone says that nighttime lights will guide monsters and attract their attention, so no one would venture into a room near a window, and she should have too. But her father said that the Mother Goddess had already blessed their house, so a little light wouldn't matter... Yes, that's a privilege of big bankers.

With a hint of pride, Felia leaned against the window and pushed it open a crack, trying to see everything in the darkness.

She didn't expect to see any monsters, but she wanted to see the investigators working at night. For the past week, she had seen five or six figures passing by her street every night, busy and efficient, some handsome and capable, others comical.

The streets were deserted at that moment.

Felia waited quietly, when suddenly she heard a sound like the flapping of insect wings.

The sound was neither too loud nor too soft, and it was impossible to tell how far away it was, but it was definitely the sound of flying insects flapping their wings. Could it be that mosquitoes got into her room?

Felia hated the kind of bugs that would cause red bumps on her skin. She looked around but couldn't find it. Just as she was hesitating whether to call the maid to help her find the annoying flying insect, she heard a thud from the window.

This really gave her a big fright.

She stumbled back a few steps, warily moving away from the window. The curtains she had lifted fell back down, blocking out all the darkness.

Is there something? What is it?
No, she didn't close the window properly!
Felia's heart skipped a beat. She was just craving excitement and had a bit of a yearning for the mysterious, but she wasn't stupid. If she encountered a monster without an investigator by her side, she would only die as miserably as the corpses in the town!

She didn't have time to think about why the Mother Goddess's blessing had failed.

The flapping of wings became louder, sounding somewhat noisy in the ears.

Between going downstairs to call the maid and immediately closing the window, Felia chose the latter. If the monster came in through her window, her parents might also suffer!

Although the girl lacked common sense and judgment, she had a deep love for her parents. She dared not delay any longer and mustered up her courage to pull open the curtains.

"Buzz buzz buzz buzz..."

In an instant, she stared wide-eyed in shock and fear, for a familiar face—probably her neighbor Uncle Smith—was desperately squeezing its face through the crack in the window, its eyes pitch black and a sharp, thin, hard black mouth protruding from below its nose.

The face of the usually gentle and smiling middle-aged man had been completely distorted and deformed. When "he" saw her, he revealed an expression that was extremely similar to that of an insect. Then, his thin claws gripped the window frame and squeezed in a little further.

By the light of the kerosene lamp, Felia saw mosquito wings on Uncle Smith's back... Her beloved Uncle Smith had turned into a mosquito...

A second later, Felia let out a terrified scream.

At the same time, the mosquito monster outside the window finally squeezed halfway into the window. The window could not bear the weight and began to crack. Then, with a few cracks, splinters of wood splashed onto Felia's arm. The pain made her abandon her reason and turn to run away.

"Help!" she cried, hoping the maid would hear her and come to her rescue.

However, for some reason, despite making such a loud noise, there were no footsteps outside the door, as if everyone in the house was asleep. Felia turned the doorknob, but was grabbed by the incredibly fast "Uncle Smith" and thrown backward to the ground.

She was forced to see the monster more clearly.

The monster had Uncle Smith's face, but below it was a black mosquito body magnified countless times. Remnants of human skin could still be seen on its multiple legs. Felia refused to imagine how Uncle Smith's limbs had been assimilated into the six mosquito legs she now had. Her body was pressed firmly to the ground by those six legs, and their sharp mouthparts were pointed directly at her forehead.

"Help! Help me!!" the girl screamed frantically, disregarding her image, before trying to evoke the monster's pity.

"Uncle Smith, it's me!"

The monster ignored her cries and ruthlessly plunged its mouthparts down.

"Ah!!" In the nick of time, Felia grabbed the middle of the mouthparts with both hands and desperately tried to move it backward. In this critical moment, she suddenly remembered several deaths in the town.

—The victims had all had their brains and brain matter drained, leaving only empty skulls when they were discovered.

This included a doctor who was highly respected in the town.

It turns out to be this thing...

Felia was somewhat desperate. Her strength was no match for the monster's. Its mandibles approached inch by inch, pressing against her forehead.

The pain of her broken skin brought tears to Felia's eyes. She kicked the monster hard in the stomach, but her nightgown hampered her performance.

“Help——!!!”

With a whoosh, a blood-red sword shadow flashed past, and Felia suddenly felt light on her body, followed by her face being drenched in cold blood.

She instinctively shut her mouth, staring blankly at the cross-section of the monster's severed head, wanting to scream but afraid that the foul blood would flow into her mouth and infect her.

The next second, the motionless insect corpse was kicked away by a long leg, and a somewhat indifferent female voice told her, "It's alright now."

Felia turned her head blankly and saw a tall, Eastern woman wearing a trench coat and trousers, with her hair tied in a high ponytail, holding a blood-red longsword that was incredibly sharp.

Seeing the girl in such a disheveled state, Qu Xianqing took out a handkerchief from her pocket and threw it to her: "Wipe your face."

Then he bent down, picked up the insect corpse and the mutated head, went to the window, and threw them out.

Yu Xing was waiting downstairs for dinner.

Before hearing the girl's cry for help, they had already hunted down many monsters. When no one was around, Yu Xing did all the work herself... and talked about it. Now that there were witnesses, Qu Xianqing was worried that Yu Xing's tentacles would also be identified as a type of monster, which would give the likes of actors an opportunity to slander and set up a scheme. So he told Yu Xing to wait downstairs and came up alone.

Her system provided an introduction to the new monster.

[Side quest triggered: You encountered and killed a Drug User (adult)] (End of Chapter)