Ita Era

Chapter 198 Fragments
Ding Shi picked up a piece of paper from under his finger. The paper read: This is the final warning. $20, not a penny less.

What does this mean? Isn't this supposed to be a family drama? How did it turn into a murder case? Is my task a little too difficult?

Ding Shi turned to look at the computer. Sure enough, an email from the Cloning Administration had arrived. This time it was another fill-in-the-blank question: Among the people you know, someone committed murder. Who was the murderer? Note: You can fill in a nickname or pseudonym.

This is interesting. You can fill in nicknames or pseudonyms to show that this person has not only a name but also other titles. For example, "Mother Bai," "Boss," and "President" are the same person.

However, this note may be misleading.

I don't know many people, so I'll list them all.

First, there's the boss, with a 20% probability. The reason is that her indecent behavior towards herself indicates she's a lecher. A lecher would indecently approach others, and if they resist, she would kill them.

Secondly, it could be Ding's mother, with a 20% probability. The reason is that she's rich and will simply attack anyone she dislikes. The photo shows her being brutally beaten by her bodyguards.

Secondly, there's the private investigator: the possibility is unknown, I don't know him, but his murders have nothing to do with me.

Girlfriend Bai Yuan: I don't know the specifics of my situation with Bai Yuan right now, but someone like her who is obsessed with love and romance probably wouldn't kill someone.

Girlfriend's true love, Lin Yuan: Judging from the photos, this is someone capable of murder. Perhaps another young man was seducing Ding's mother, and he killed him in a fit of rage. Probability: 30%.

Baby Bai Yan: No reason, no ability, no resources. And she only cares about herself, unless the victim is her enemy.

The last person: himself. This is the most logical answer. He killed someone, someone discovered it and tried to blackmail him. When he refused to pay, they mailed the victim's fingers to him. This also explains why he sought out Ding's mother.

Ding Shi replied: Ding Shi.

Incorrect answer, 2 points.

Ding Shi pondered, if he hadn't killed the person, then why was he being threatened?

After a day's work, Ding Shi defined himself with only two words: scumbag. As a scumbag, why would he be threatened without committing murder?
As Ding Shi sat in front of his computer deep in thought, a man holding a kitchen knife approached from behind.

The monitor's screen saver activated, plunging the screen into black. In the black screen, Ding Shi saw the man behind him holding a knife. He and his chair fell to the left, avoiding a fatal blow.

The man lunged forward to finish him off, but was blocked by the back of the chair, and what followed was a one-sided beating. The second-in-command of the Dragon Gang versus the crazed office worker—the outcome was obvious.

Ding Shi tidied his somewhat disheveled hair, stepped on the man's chest with one foot, and dialed a number with the other: "Security Department, Logistics Department of Happy Company on the 80th floor, capture a serial killer alive."

Three minutes later, six people from the security department arrived. The head of security gave Ding Shi $100 as a bonus, and Ding Shi tried to transfer the money to his card.

System prompt: The copy of the funds can only be transferred in, not out. Are you sure you want to transfer $100 to your personal account?

Ding thought for three seconds and transferred $100 to his PayShrimp account, which now has $187.

Should I call the boss? I'm working overtime anyway, so why not? I'm such an animal for letting go of $20,000. I'll cry in my sleep for the rest of my life because of my stupidity.

No matter how gentle and considerate Bai Yan is, can she compare to 20,000 dollars? Even if she could, her relationship with her would only last seven days.

After Ding Shitian finished his battle with the heavens, he dialed his boss's number. His boss's queen-like voice came through: "Speak."

Ding Shi: "Boss, I can do it."

Boss: "What's possible?"

Ding Shi: "Twenty thousand cuts."

The boss remained silent for a long time before saying, "Make it clear to Bai Yan that the two of you will never have any contact again, then come back to me."

Ding Shi: "This..." Shouldn't women be more generous? Why are you so petty?

The boss said, "I can give you fifty thousand dollars."

Ding Shi immediately said, "Boss, wait for my good news." What 7-day girlfriend could compare to the boss's fragrance?
Ding Shi didn't take on any more work because the restaurant had delivered late-night snacks to all the employees working overtime.

The late-night snack was a boxed meal: stir-fried green peppers and black pepper beef over rice, which looked very appetizing.

However, nothing is free, even when working overtime.

Midnight Snack Rules: One out of 20 slices of meat is not beef. Swallowing that slice will result in death. Note: Do not waste food.

Ding Shi picked out 20 slices of beef and placed them on the lid. The 20 slices of beef were all very thick and the same size, and they were covered with almost melted black pepper.

Ding Shi took the boxed lunch and went to the 81st floor to have a late-night snack with Tie Zhenzhen, watching Tie Zhenzhen eat first.

Tie Zhenzhen casually picked up a piece of beef and threw it aside, then ate the other 19 pieces of beef, and then looked at Ding Shi seriously: What do you want to say?
Ding Shi said incredulously, "Your luck is really that good? This isn't luck, it's cheat code."

Tie Zhenzhen reached for Ding Shi's lunchbox, picked up a slice of beef and set it aside, then put the remaining nineteen slices of beef into her own bowl and ate them all, one slice at a time. She then poured her own green pepper and white rice into Ding Shi's bowl.

Tie Zhenzhen: "I'll help you eat the meat, and you'll help me eat the rice."

"No problem." Ding Shi scratched his head, wondering how she did it.
Tie Zhenzhen placed the two pieces of poisoned meat together, and the two of them examined them for a while. Tie Zhenzhen then discovered the flaw: "It can't retain the thickening sauce."

Ding Shi was eager to learn and asked, "What is thickening sauce?"

Tie Zhenzhen explained, "Dissolving sweet potato starch or tapioca starch in water creates a thick broth. Pouring this broth over the vegetables and then stir-frying them creates a thickening effect. Look at the meat; doesn't it have a layer of transparent crystals on the outside? It's soft and tender when you eat it—that's thickening."

Tie Zhenzhen pointed out two pieces of poisonous meat: "The thickening sauce is absorbed by the meat, and the longer it sits, the more different it looks. But if you turn it over and over, it is no different from normal meat."

Ding Shi finally asked the question he had been wanting to ask: "Didn't you ever wonder how you were able to accurately pick out two poisonous pieces from 40 slices of beef?"

Tie Zhenzhen replied, "No."

Ding Shi: "You can have your doubts."

Tie Zhenzhen said, "I have no doubt. Because I am destined for great fortune."

Ding Shi: "What do you mean? What destiny? Does Ita even have such a thing?"
Tie Zhenzhen said, "Simply put, I won't lose any game of life or death with a probability of success. For this, I need to pay two prices. The first price: I will never get a C rating in any dungeon. The second price: I will only get the worst items."

Tie Zhenzhen further explained: "There are news reports of a child surviving a fall from a great height, which is an extremely low probability, but for me it's a 100% chance. To give another example, if I'm stabbed in the left chest, there's a chance my heart is on the right side. If I'm stabbed in the right chest, there's a chance my heart is in my buttocks. If I'm stabbed in the buttocks, I'll die."

Currently, the human heart is located in only these three areas.

Tie Zhenzhen said, "You understand what it means to get the worst item, right? Assuming that scratch cards can yield both white cards and legendary cards, then I'm 100% guaranteed to get a white card."

At this point, Tie Zhenzhen felt a pang of sadness and said, "I can't even afford to eat anymore, so I have to run dungeons every day to find food."

The listener was heartbroken, and Ding Shi pushed the last two mouthfuls of his rice towards Tie Zhenzhen.

Tie Zhenzhen refused with tears in her eyes: "Thank you, but no need, I'm too full right now."

Ding Shi pulled out a tissue: "Can the Fate Chart be turned off?"

Tie Zhenzhen: "No."

Ding Shi asked, "How did you obtain it?"

Tie Zhenzhen said, "For my first class dungeon, I chose an internal energy class. I slipped and fell off a cliff, but luckily survived. At the bottom of the cliff, I met an old man with a white beard. He asked me if I was lucky or unlucky to have survived. I said I was lucky. He asked why, and I replied that it's better to live a miserable life than to die. The old man said that he had a unique skill called 'When things reach their worst, they turn around,' which could replace the fate of 'better to die than to live a miserable life' with his original fate."

Ding asked, "Did you learn it?"

Tie Zhenzhen sighed and nodded. Even though Ita Internet had been online for several days, Ding Shi had never heard of anyone changing their destiny, and no one had even discussed the concept of destiny. Was it lucky that Tie Zhenzhen had changed her destiny?

Ding Shi is unable to provide an evaluation.

Ding Shi said, "I'll add you as a friend after we leave the instance. If you don't have food, come to my house for meals. I can't say the food will be fancy, but there will be plenty of compressed biscuits, instant noodles, and boxed lunches. It's okay if I'm not home; I'll tell my housekeeper about this."

Tie Zhenzhen said with emotion, "Ding Shi, you are such a good person."

Ding Shi waved his hand, indicating it was no problem. Just because she ate 19 slices of beef for him, he was willing to make her beef instant noodles for the rest of her life.

That being said, with Tie Zhenzhen's strength and intelligence, if she didn't have the destiny of turning adversity into fortune, she should have been eliminated from the dungeon long ago.

Perhaps the dog system simply pitied her.

……

When it was time to leave work, Ding Shi got into a taxi and headed to the address Bai Yan had left behind.

Half an hour later, the taxi entered the Jiangbei villa area from the Jiangdong commercial district and came to a smooth stop in front of Bai Yan's house.

Ding paid $10 to the driver using Alipay.

This is a small two-story villa without a garden or swimming pool. The villa area is about 150 square meters, and the main building is about 100 square meters.

Ding Shi rang the doorbell on the iron gate and waited a moment. The green light on the monitor next to the gate lit up, and Ding Shi smiled at the camera. The green light went out, and the small iron gate opened.

Ding Shi entered through the small iron gate, which closed automatically. He then walked to the front hall with its double glass sliding doors, reached out and pushed open the door, lifting the curtain.

The living room lights came on, and Bai Yan came down from the second floor barefoot. She was wearing a long black T-shirt, and her pants were not visible, leaving much to the imagination.

Bai Yan, her hair loose, yawned: "Why are you here?"

Ding Shi said, "I heard there was a burglary in the Jiangbei villa area. I was worried, so I came to check on you." Why aren't you wearing pajamas?
Bai Yan stepped forward and hugged Ding Shi tightly, seemingly using him as a pillow for a few seconds to nap, before taking his hand and leading him inside. The glass door and curtain closed automatically.

Bai Yan pushed Ding Shi onto the sofa, sat on Ding Shi's lap, wrapped her arms around Ding Shi's head, and gave him a passionate French kiss.

Meeting your girlfriend's requests is every boyfriend's duty.

Ding Shi's hands started to wander, slipping inside Bai Yan's T-shirt, and that was it.

Ding Shi woke up again the next morning. He opened his eyes and saw Bai Yan sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at him with a happy expression.

Bai Yan leaned down and gave Ding Shi a light kiss, saying, "Lazybones, time to go to work. I've prepared breakfast and I'm waiting for you downstairs."

"Mm." Ding Shi watched Bai Yan leave the bedroom.

Ding realized he wasn't wearing any clothes, then turned around and saw his clothes neatly laid out to the side.

This is a very atypical girl's bedroom. Apart from a large white goose for girls to hug and sleep on, the bed is furnished with only the usual furniture.

As Ding Shi put on his pants, he tried to recall why he had blacked out. No matter how hard he tried, his memory only went back to those few seconds of the hand-to-hand contact, and then he couldn't remember anything else.

Does that mean all memories after 10:40 PM will disappear? If so, given Ita's nature, it should be 10 PM or 10:30 PM at the earliest.

Dog system, make a system. You don't want the memories of a day's work, but you want the most enjoyable and unforgettable memories of your life.

Ding went to the bathroom to wash up and found scratches and bite marks on his body. He cursed the damn system again in his mind. "Isn't this just about the result? Don't you even understand? Sleeping is all about the process!"

Ding Shi was unwilling to give up, so he took advantage of going to the toilet to dial the number in red: "Hello."

Ding Shi: "Red Robe, did you black out last night?"

The woman in red replied, "No."

Ding Shi asked, "What time did you go to sleep?"

The woman in red replied, "1 a.m.

Ding asked, "No blackouts?"

The woman in red answered confidently, "I remember clearly even getting up once in the middle of the night. What's wrong with you?"

Ding Shi said, "I have blacked out, but I'm not sure if it's the protection mechanism of the Ita world."

Red-clad: "Tell me."

Ding Shi: "Last night at 10:40 pm, I was being intimate with my girlfriend, and then I blacked out. I woke up at 7 am the next morning."

The woman in red said, "Ita will not stop people from being intimate, even if the other person is an NPC, unless you use violence or other means to forcibly take what you want."

Ding Shi asked, "Have you tried it?"

The woman in red: "I've seen it before."

Ding Shi pondered, "Why did I black out?"

The woman in red asked, "Were you drugged?"

Ding Shi replied, "No, I haven't even had a sip of water."

The woman in red asked, "And what about your girlfriend?"

Ding Shi said, "She seems very satisfied and happy."

The man in red coughed up blood and asked, "I'm asking if your girlfriend has blacked out?"

Ding Shi said, "No. I'll check the situation again tonight. I'll hang up now."

Red dress: "See you at lunch."

Ding Shi: "Okay."

Ding Shi went downstairs and had breakfast with Bai Yan. Breakfast consisted of soy milk, steamed buns, and fried dough sticks.

What we eat doesn't matter, it's who we eat with that matters. It's a simple yet happy breakfast, and the conversation isn't particularly meaningful.

First topic: Whether you love someone, how much you love them, and what you love about them.

Second topic: Do you drive? Do you need me to drive you to your company? I want to go to Jiangxi to buy two succulent plants.

Third topic: What do you think is my attitude towards money? This topic is a tactic used by Ding Shi. He feels he needs money, but he doesn't know why he needs it.

Unfortunately, Bai Yan is obsessed with love and has no memory of Ding Shi's need for money.

After breakfast, Bai Yan saw him to the door, pulled up Ding Shi's collar, kissed the corner of his mouth, her eyes sparkling, and said, "Miss me."

"Mmm." At Bai Yan's prompting, Ding Shi kissed Bai Yan's forehead and left the villa.

(End of this chapter)