Chase Game

Actually, Ling Yi was just saying it casually, but she didn't expect Liu Hao to actually go.

After Liu Hao and Li Qingping met, they talked about something that made Li Qingping frequently look up at Ling Yi.

Later on, they even walked directly towards him.

Both of them wore enigmatic smiles.

Li Qingping said, "Young Master Ling, right? Interested in solving cases together?"

Ling Yi was surprised: "Huh? I haven't even officially started working here yet..."

Li Qingping waved his hand grandly and said:

"No problem, an internship is fine too!"

What kind of internship is this? I mean, they want me to start working before I've even officially joined the company. Do they think I'm just bored?

Ling Yi thought to himself.

He didn't care whether Li Qingping was pretending to be stupid or not; he simply wasn't going.

"Our operations division provides subsidies for fieldwork, and I can apply for that for you during your internship."

However, on the other hand, as a member of the association, assisting in the investigation is also a duty.

Okay, actually, Ling Yi just spent seven thousand yuan, so she's a bit short on cash.

He was even thinking about how to make money using his skills.

Although the association explicitly prohibits the use of games to acquire wealth, its attitude towards enforcement is rather ambiguous.

Some things, if you don't weigh them, they won't weigh four ounces; but if you weigh them, they won't stop you even if you do.

Working for Li Qingping now is legal and pays well, so why not?

After Ling Yi agreed, Li Qingping led him into the scene, and the three of them prepared to go up to the rooftop together to take a look.

He wasn't surprised to see the association's people here. Even he himself had a premonition that this matter was related to the manhunt game, so how could the association not have noticed?

Although my country's criminal investigation methods are quite advanced, such sudden public incidents caused by players should still be handled by professionals.

"The identity we were assigned to is 'Special Investigator,' which has a lot of power, but we must not make too much of a fuss, otherwise it will be difficult to clean up the mess."

Liu Hao solemnly introduced the situation to Ling Yi, but Ling Yi seemed lost in thought, and it was unclear whether she had taken it all in.

"Hey, did you hear me? What are you thinking about?"

Ling Yiyi said:

"It's nothing much, it just feels like a game, a real-life chase game."

Liu Hao was taken aback, but Li Qingping picked up the conversation.

"Haha, what a coincidence, I think so too. But Ritian is very serious, saying that reality is reality and games are games, and they can't be mixed up."

Ling Yi smiled gently:

"What he said makes sense. I was just thinking about it casually, don't worry about it. Let's get back to the case."

Liu Hao initially wanted to retort, but upon hearing this, he let it go. Since they were already on the rooftop, he instead took out a plastic bag, pointed to its contents, and said:

"I came here to look at it from the beginning, and apart from some of his clothes, this was the only thing I found."

"A flower?"

Li Qingping was puzzled.

Ling Yi explained:

"This is a blue datura flower. Its flower language is deceit and fraud in love. If ingested, it can cause symptoms of poisoning such as headache, hallucinations, delirium, and restlessness."

But it was definitely not an accidental ingestion; this was the consensus among the three men present.

Ling Yi was able to sense this person's physical condition through [Viewing the Past], and there were no symptoms of poisoning.

The association has a monitoring system that clearly indicates this matter is related to players of the manhunt game.

As the three were thinking, a little girl with pigtails walked over. She had a lollipop in her mouth, was holding a tablet in her left hand, and was constantly swiping on the screen with her right hand.

Occasionally, a few English announcements such as "Amazing," "Unbelievable," and "Crazy" could be heard.

Without even taking her eyes off the screen, she said:

"If the blue datura has this flower meaning, then it makes sense."

This little girl is about 1.5 meters tall, wearing a JK uniform, and has a pretty and cute face.

Ling Yi was thinking:

"I remember that joining the association required being an adult, so why are there child laborers here?"

"Well... how should I put it? Yuyao's situation is a bit special. She came here on her own initiative, so she's not considered a formal member."

Liu Hao stammered, unsure how to explain.

Free labor?

The thought naturally popped into Ling Yi's mind.

Li Qingping then placed his rough, large hand on Chen Yuyao's head and spun her around twice like a dribbling ball.

The girl grew impatient and ran off:

"Don't touch my head, or you'll stunt your growth!"

Li Qingping chuckled twice, saying nonchalantly:

"Hehe, don't let her young age fool you, she's actually incredibly clever."

Upon hearing this, Ling Yi couldn't help but think of her younger sister, Ling Miaomiao. Perhaps the two girls would get along very well.

"By the way, Yuyao, what did you mean by 'it makes sense' earlier? Are there any new clues?"

Chen Yuyao twirled the lollipop in her mouth, playing with her tablet as she said nonchalantly:

"I just checked, and the person who fell from the building is named Zeng Haoting, male, 22 years old, and had several scandals during his time in the student council."

One of them is rather unusual. According to a widely circulated story on the school forum, the girl was attracted to Zeng Haoting's family background and harassed him relentlessly, even trying to seduce him into bed.

The incident ended with the female student's failed suicide attempt in her dormitory after overdosing on sleeping pills. The school intervened and mediated between both families.

Ling Yi had a guess in mind and asked, "What happened to that girl later?"

Hearing that the voice wasn't familiar, Chen Yuyao, unusually, looked up at Ling Yi, then at Liu Hao and Li Qingping. Seeing that neither of them reacted, she said:

"He hasn't come to school and his whereabouts are unknown."

Liu Hao was a little confused and asked:

"So you think the suspect is that girl, and what's the motive? Was it love turned to hate?"

Ling Yi replied:

"We cannot identify the suspect yet, but considering the meaning of the blue datura flower, we can use that girl as a starting point for investigation."

Furthermore, I believe the killer isn't afraid of us finding them at all; on the contrary, it's as if they're afraid we won't be able to find them, so they're leaving us information.

"Just this one flower?"

"And the blue paint around his mouth, I guess it has a similar meaning."

Ling Yi pondered, various clues like beads in his mind, but he had no thread to connect them.

Just then, he saw Li Qingping smiling meaningfully. Come to think of it, he hadn't said a word for a while.

and many more!

Ling Yi suddenly realized something that had been overlooked.

"Wait, isn't this related to the players?"

So why should we use ordinary criminal investigation thinking and methods? What's the difference between that and Uncle Hat's methods?

What's the point of inviting us here?

Ling Yi's three soul-searching questions struck Liu Hao and Chen Yuyao like a heavy hammer blow.

Liu Hao scratched his head, looking a little embarrassed, and said:

"Actually, this is only the second time I've dealt with something like this..."

The first time was with Ling Yi this morning, but Zhang Haiping was in charge at the time, so the investigation was very easy and he didn't even notice it.

The little girl stopped what she was doing with her mouth and hands, and looked at Ling Yi with a little surprise.

Finally, Li Qingping came out and said:

"You three inexperienced newbies, huh? You've finally realized it, haven't you? It's about linking players, so use your player-like thinking and skills to investigate. This is a real-life chase game, understand?"