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

As Song Yuan spoke, she began to recite the contents of the account book. She omitted the entries concerning daily necessities, focusing only on the most important part:

"This village has a long-standing and large-scale human trafficking problem."

This practice didn't just exist in recent years; it started decades ago and has continued to this day. The ledger meticulously records how much the village chief paid to buy each woman and child who was trafficked here, and how much he then spent to sell them to other villagers. He was the middleman and the main beneficiary.

The ledger clearly listed the price of each woman. According to their standards, those who were "fertile," "intelligent," and "beautiful" were more expensive, while those who were average-looking and frail were relatively cheaper.

After recounting the contents of the ledger, she briefly explained the clues she had obtained from the village chief's wife and the village chief's unusual reaction on the return journey. She concluded by making a comment about Qiao Ran's skills:

"It's just that your skills aren't very useful; they can only force the other party to act within their capabilities, which limits their application too much. Otherwise, you could get more useful clues."

For example, some NPCs can't speak, and when players give them commands, they only make random noises. Or some NPCs can't write, so they can't execute commands related to writing.

Qiao Ran sighed helplessly:

"Is it my fault? This is already great, okay? There's no such thing as an overpowered skill."

If such a skill truly existed, why don't I just ask the NPC, "Tell me the complete walkthrough for this dungeon"? What would be the point of playing then? The game might as well not even be made.

After listening, Song Yuan actually thought it made sense: "That seems to make sense... So what are your thoughts on what happened last night?"

Qiao Ran pondered for a moment and said, "Well... the clues I got from the village chief's wife are, to be honest, a bit contradictory. She said the villagers committed the murders intentionally, but they weren't driven by hatred. So what could they have been after?"

The way the corpses were disposed of was also very strange. In the previous dungeon she played, "The Frozen Train," there was also a tragic scene of cannibalism, but that was an extreme case. This village wasn't experiencing a famine, so cannibalism was an incomprehensible and perverse act here.

Neither of them spoke again, silently contemplating everything. Suddenly, a thought quietly crossed her mind:

This place is barren, backward, decadent, and primitive. The people here are less like humans and more like wild beasts. Romance and emotion here are like desert water, vanishing in an instant. So, in such a place, what could possibly drive the villagers to brutally murder those three people?

All doubts were like a thin veil veiled before my eyes, torn away in one fell swoop; my previously chaotic thoughts were now all sorted out in that instant.

[Ding~ Congratulations to player "Song Yuan" for achieving the first completion condition: finding the truth behind the disappearance of the three volunteers]

[Ding~ Congratulations to player "Qiao Ran" for achieving the first completion condition: finding the truth behind the disappearance of the three volunteers]

An hour and a half later, He Xiao woke up. After quickly tidying himself up, he walked out of the dormitory and found his two "subordinates" already waiting for him:

Song Yuan and Cui Xiaofei squatted side by side under the eaves, counting ants and lost in thought. He Xiao walked up and kicked Cui Xiaofei.

"Take me to that place you mentioned yesterday!"

After saying that, he ordered Song Yuan, "You, go to the classroom and teach my classes. From now on, you'll be teaching all my classes, understand?"

Song Yuan understood: "Okay, I understand."

The reason for this task allocation was that Song Yuan was relatively smarter. He Xiao didn't trust Cui Xiaofei to cover for him.

Cui Xiaofei didn't dodge in time and was kicked, causing him to jump up while clutching his buttocks.

"But...but Brother Xiao, that place is just too terrifying...you don't know, I'm already traumatized by it!"

He Xiao chuckled coldly and pulled out his gun barrel: "So, do you want to take me with you, or do you want to get shot?"

Cui Xiaofei's lips trembled with fear: "No, no, no...! I...I'll take you there, Brother Xiao, this way please..."

The reality was indeed as Cui Xiaofei described—it was terrifying. Behind the school was a small hill covered in bamboo and weeds. But once you went around to the back, you discovered it was actually a cemetery.

It was a small hill, not very big to begin with. The hillside was full of mounds of earth, and it looked like no one had paid respects there for a long time. The offerings were infested with maggots and moldy, and the incense ash was damp and black. Every breath you took was filled with cold, damp air. If you stayed any longer, you were afraid that a disheveled female ghost would crawl out of the grave and have a chat with them.

He Xiao felt a chill run down his spine. He kicked Cui Xiaofei beside him and scolded:

"Are you stupid?! If you can't find a toilet to pee in, why would you go all the way to this place?!"

"I'm innocent, Brother Xiao! I must have been misled by some kind of illusion created by ghosts, and I just wandered here in a daze. It really wasn't on purpose!"

"Tsk, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and search! Didn't you say he was dead? Then his items and weapons must have dropped. If there's nothing, then you little bastard, you're deliberately lying to me. I'll shoot you first!"

"I...I'll go right now!"

Terrified, Cui Xiaofei scrambled away to find evidence. He Xiao, meanwhile, took the opportunity to wander around—if someone like Qiao Ran would be here, it meant there were clues. But where were the clues?

He walked down the hillside and, standing on the mountainside, discovered from a distance that there was a huge pit about five or six meters in diameter at the foot of the mountain.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the pit was extremely deep, obscuring the view inside. He Xiao bought a flashlight and casually shone it inside:

The beam of light shone to the bottom of the pit, revealing a stark white skull. Two dark, hollow eye sockets stared at him intently, as if they were alive. A chill ran down his spine.

Holy crap!

"This drop rate is way too high." He Xiao cursed under his breath and quickly backed away, but his heel accidentally bumped into something hard. His heart skipped a beat, and he mechanically turned his head to look:

Behind him, Cui Xiaofei was pressing his toes against his heels, excitedly holding something up and shouting:

"Brother Xiao, we've found it!"

"You scared the hell out of me!"

He Xiao was so angry he could hardly breathe, and raised his hand to slap Cui Xiaofei. As if he had expected it, Cui Xiaofei quickly crouched down to avoid the blow, forcing a fawning smile.

"Excuse me, Brother Xiao, I saw you were watching so intently, I didn't want to disturb you..."

"You dare hide?! Did you find the thing or not?!"

"Found it! Found it! It's right here!"

He held up a scale-like necklace, a small purse-like object, and various odds and ends. They were all D-grade or F-grade: a half-burnt candle, a silver watch, a flashlight… Cui Xiaofei presented them to He Xiao like treasures.

"Brother Xiao, look, I really didn't lie to you!"