Where's the cute girl we were promised? She's completely wiped out S-rank dungeons!

It was a female voice, sounding quite young, with a clear and calm tone.

He Zhixiao narrowed his eyes, confirming that the person who came was neither a man-eating NPC nor a hideous monster.

However, he still pointed the gun at her, uttering threats as he strode closer:

"Stop playing tricks! Get out here and stand in the light with your hands up!"

Under his scrutinizing gaze, Song Yuan slowly stood up, raised her hand, and walked into the moonlight.

She was still wearing the little black dress and Doc Martens she had worn when she first entered the instance, her dark eyes as calm as still water.

"Don't shoot, I've come to seek refuge with you."

"You want to defect to me?"

Once they reached a place with light, He Zhixiao could see her face clearly. Among the top ten players on the newcomer rankings, only a handful were recruited by the three major guilds. The others were either killed or hiding, afraid to show themselves easily.

He quickly recognized him as the newcomer who had just made the list.

He Zhixiao had never watched Song Yuan's live stream. In addition, he had always looked down on women, so when he saw Song Yuan's petite and bowed head, his wariness immediately decreased.

He lowered his gun and lazily approached her: "Come on, tell me how you got on the wanted list, and why you want to join me?"

Song Yuan kept her hands above her head and answered honestly, "Because the Crystal Guild wanted to recruit me. After I refused, they were furious and put me on their wanted list."

Her eyelashes were lowered, and her tone was calm, yet it conveyed a unique sincerity:

"Actually, I'd rather join your guild, which is why I've come to rely on you. Please, let me work for you. I can share all the clues I've found with you. Just let me stay, and I'll do whatever you ask."

He Zhixiao was just worried about not being able to find a smart person, but now, in just a few minutes, a smart person has come to his door with clues.

He felt a surge of wild joy, his smile more pronounced than an AK-47. He coughed lightly and, with a touch of mercy, said:

"Fine, you're smart to know what's good for you. Put your hand down."

Song Yuan released her hand as instructed. He Zhixiao sized up her appearance, then laughed out loud without any attempt to hide his laughter, his words full of teasing and malice:

"You're not bad looking. That perverted chairman of Crystal Window only likes pretty men and women. With your looks, you probably won't last long. Hahaha..."

Song Yuan looked at him quietly, her lack of shyness or fear displeasing He Zhixiao, who was laughing heartily. His lips drooped, and he raised the gun, pressing it against her forehead.

"What kind of attitude is this? Are you very dissatisfied with what I said?"

Song Yuan was speechless: "...That's not what I meant."

"Ha, who knows what you're really thinking."

He Zhixiao sneered and deliberately pressed the cold muzzle of the gun against her forehead. Seeing that Song Yuan neither flinched nor begged for mercy, he became even more displeased.

"So tell me, what clues have you found so far?"

"I analyzed the conditions for passing this mission. There are two conditions: first, to find the truth behind the disappearance of the three volunteers; and second, to help the children in the mountain village leave the mountains."

She began to explain in detail, as if reading a report:

"The first one is okay, but the system rules stipulate that we cannot reveal our identity as detectives, so we players cannot conduct investigations openly during the day. It is best to carry out the operation at night."

However, the second condition is very vague. "Helping the children leave the mountains"—does this "help" really mean the player has to stay here and educate these elementary school students until they succeed in life?

Obviously not. So let's think about it from a different perspective:

"Is leaving the mountains a physical or spiritual matter? Do you mean the children in the school? If so, are they all the children in the school, or just a specific one...?"

As He Zhixiao listened, the more he listened, the more sense it made—with a lackey and a stupid woman by his side, how could he, with his own IQ of 60, possibly have thought of these things? However…

"These are all your analyses and guesses," He Zhixiao frowned impatiently. "Where's the actual evidence?"

"Oh, that's all." She spread her hands seriously. "That's all for now."

"Then what use are you!"

He Zhixiao gritted his teeth: "If you want to prove you're valuable to me, there are ways. What are your weapons and skills? Show me your character panel."

This was awkward. After Song Yuan pulled up the system panel as instructed, He Zhixiao knew that besides her high IQ and very low luck, everything else was unknown:

"What's going on with your weapon and talent section?" He Zhixiao pointed at the red "None" marks and mocked, "New players usually get a weapon and talent after their first clear. Why don't you have them? I don't think you're that useful. You want me to carry you? It's not that easy."

"Oh, well, there's nothing I can do then." Song Yuan lifted her leg. "I'm leaving."

"Wait!"

A bullet struck near her feet with a "thud," stopping her in her tracks. He Zhixiao aimed at her forehead and said menacingly:

"You're no longer of any use to me, so why should I let you leave alive?"

"I'll try my best to be of use," Song Yuan said, looking fearlessly at the dark muzzle of the gun. "Having one more person under you can't hurt, can it? You're a high-level player, so it shouldn't be too difficult for you to guide me, right?"

He Zhixiao was very dissatisfied with Song Yuan's temper—he still preferred players like Cui Xiaofei, who acted like a lackey, or women like Zhao Meng, who were delicate and weak, but he also knew in his heart that she was right.

Although Song Yuan lacks talent and skills, she has a high IQ and can help find clues and do analysis. She has a low luck value, but in an emergency, she can push someone out to block damage.

With a luck value of 0.01, she's 100% guaranteed to die.

Therefore, although he was very unhappy, He Zhixiao still snorted coldly, put down the gun, and put it back in his pocket:

"never mind.

"If you want to follow me, you'd better obey. I'll do whatever I say. If you dare to mess with me, I'll be the first to shoot you, you hear me?!"

Song Yuan nodded, about to say "I understand," when, the instant He Zhixiao's fingertips touched the doorknob, a piercing scream from a woman tore through the night:

"Aa ...

The scream was so horrific that He Zhixiao's pupils constricted in shock, and goosebumps rose all over his back. He cautiously took a step back and drew his pistol. Just as he hesitated whether to go in, Song Yuan darted forward and kicked the door open.

"You idiot, what are you doing?!"

He Zhixiao was startled and raised his pistol, the dark muzzle moving repeatedly in the darkness of Song Yuan and the room.

"Did I tell you to move?! Who gave you permission to act on your own?!"

Song Yuan blinked and explained, "I'm sorry, I was just worried about what might happen to the people inside."

He Zhixiao was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged. So what if she was smart? This woman was just as reckless and stupid as that good-for-nothing Cui Xiaofei.

"Fine! It's already on, go in and turn on the light!"

Song Yuan nodded, obediently walked into the darkness, and turned on the light:

Everything in the room was normal.

But the person who was sleeping in the bed had vanished without a trace. Apart from the blankets looking a little messy, nothing in the room had changed its position.

"Brother Xiao! Brother Xiao, waaaaaah!!!"

Before He Zhixiao could even process Zhao Meng's sudden disappearance, Cui Xiaofei suddenly appeared from some hidden corner, running and crying, and in a flash, slid down to her knees and hugged his leg.

"Someone's dead! Someone's dead!!! Brother Xiao, help me!"

"Dead? Where is someone dead?!" He Zhixiao, who wasn't initially that nervous, became tense because of this. "Who died?!"

"It's that Qiao Ran, the one ranked number one on the new talent list!" Cui Xiaofei said, wiping away tears. "I just woke up needing to pee and was looking everywhere for a toilet, and then I saw him! I saw him being eaten alive by an NPC!!! It scared me to death!"