The male supporting character was actually myself.

The other party then launched into a long explanation of their situation.

She is only 21 years old this year and dropped out of school early without even finishing high school.

Before moving into the apartment, I worked as a waiter in a small restaurant. Later, I quit because I was unhappy that the boss wouldn't give me a raise. I found this cheap apartment online and plan to continue looking for work.

Shi Xiaotong was very lucky; the dungeons she entered since checking in were all relatively easy, so she had extra time to buy a nice-looking decoration that could provide simple predictions.

Five minutes later, the six people gathered at the seaside cabin.

The structure is similar to a rented apartment, with a large living room on the first floor and three bedrooms on the second floor.

“The information I received is that all 132 people on the deserted island died on June 7th, and time on the island has stopped on that day, endlessly repeating everything that happened on June 7th.” Accountant Liang Rumeng spoke first. “We need to find the murderer, the reason, and how he did it.”

Then, by stopping it at its source, the dungeon can be cleared smoothly.

Song Gang added, "I checked them one by one."

Our building was completely isolated from the entire beach.

Newcomers should look at the top left corner of their field of vision; that's where the mission timer is running.

The current time displayed is 240 hours, indicating that this copy requires ten days to crack.

If the countdown reaches zero and the task cannot be completed, you will either be penalized with time deductions or be eliminated. In short, you must complete the task within the specified time.

“I’m going to have great luck today; the newbies can stay with me.” Shi Xiaotong’s eyes were bright as she looked at Duan Chengze.

Tang Zixuan spit out bubbles of saliva out of boredom while nestled on the sofa, and a brief silence fell over the large living room with its floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Help! Murder!"

"Put the knife down! Don't come any closer!"

Suddenly, a shrill scream rang out from outside, and the six people quickly got up and looked towards the island.

The bushes were so thick that visibility was very low. The little white cat jumped up, bumped into an invisible obstacle, and fell to the ground.

Jiang Chen moved swiftly, leaving the room, grabbing the railing with his right hand, and pushing off the window with both feet, quickly jumping onto the roof of the second floor to look around.

Song Gang tried but failed and had to give up.

"Sizzle sizzle!"

The bushes trembled for a moment, then fell silent.

"Ah! Blood, so much blood!" Shi Xiaotong screamed, covering her mouth. Following the direction of her trembling finger, Duan Chengze saw a pair of feet sticking out from the bushes, with a large amount of blood gushing out and soaking the beach.

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the woods again.

Soon, an old man, about fifty years old, stumbled out and tripped over a stone on the ground, falling to the ground.

"His head! His head..." Shi Xiaotong was so frightened that she collapsed to the ground and moved her body backward.

As he fell to the ground, the old man's head rolled down the sand and stopped at the edge of an invisible barrier.

His head had been cut off, leaving only his headless body lying on the beach.

"Did you see the murderer?" Duan Chengze looked up at Jiang Chen.

He shook his head and said in a deep voice, "I only saw a figure, about 1.75 meters tall, a strong man. I didn't see the murder weapon, so I'm not sure if he killed him."

Just as Jiang Chen finished speaking, two more urgent shouts came from the woods.

"Help, help me..." A woman in her thirties staggered, reaching out her hands weakly. After a few steps, she collapsed to the ground, the dagger on her back only showing its hilt.

In the distance, you can see smoke rising from the village chimneys, and the wind whistles through the trees.

But there was no further activity on the island.

Jiang Chen jumped down from the roof and went over to examine the rolling head with Duan Chengze.

He must have struggled before he died. There were several scratches on his face, his eyes were bloodshot and wide open as if they were about to pop out, and his mouth was open as if he was about to say something. He looked rather creepy.

"Judging from the wounds, it must have been an axe or similar sharp weapon," Duan Chengze muttered to himself. "The murderer was very strong and powerful; otherwise, it would have been impossible to decapitate someone in one go."

Liang Rumeng stood a little further back, looking at the two unfazed newcomers with a strange expression, and asked in a low voice, "Aren't you scared?"

“I’m a medical student.” Jiang Chen stood up and explained seriously, “Although I don’t work in a hospital, I was very good at anatomy when I was in school.”

Song Gang frowned slightly and chuckled twice, "Those who study medicine are really bold."

I've been through so many dungeons where people die, and I still get a little scared when I see dead bodies.

Then everyone's attention turned to Duan Chengze.

Chapter 3: Terrifying Desert Island 2

Duan Chengze muttered a few words to himself, then stood up and introduced himself to everyone: "I used to work part-time at a funeral home for two years."

“No wonder.” Liang Rumeng wiped her hands with a handkerchief and nodded. “No wonder the beginner dungeon is so scary. It really suits your personalities.”

Tang Zixuan remained indifferent to everyone, and upon seeing the dead body, he immediately ran back to his room and stayed there.

Only Shi Xiaotong remained enthusiastic, pressing for details: "There are part-time jobs at the funeral home? What kind of work do you do there? Is it tiring?"

Duan Chengze gave her a strange look and replied politely, "A mover."

"Move what?" Shi Xiaotong still seemed a little confused.

Song Gang looked at her like she was an idiot, his lips twitching. "What else could a funeral home have? Dead people, of course!"

The other person immediately turned pale, and looked at Duan Chengze with a hint of fear in their eyes.

The little white cat rubbed its head, which had just been bruised, and lay on its host's shoulder with its tail drooping, looking dejected.

The virtual countdown hasn't started, which means the instance hasn't opened yet.

Jiang Chen glanced at the still-hot sun and estimated it to be around three or four o'clock in the afternoon.

"Since we're just idling around anyway, we might as well take this opportunity to rest," Song Gang advised. "We don't know what dangers we'll encounter once the dungeon opens, so conserving our energy will allow us to react faster and potentially save our lives in a critical moment."

No one else objected.

“There are three rooms upstairs. We’ll be staying here for several days, so let’s divide the rooms.” Liang Rumeng said in a commanding tone, “Shi Xiaotong and I will stay in room number one near the stairwell.”

Duan Chengze's gaze fell directly on Jiang Chen, and he smiled slightly. "Let's share a room."

Jiang Chen nodded in agreement and then chose room number two in the middle.

Song Gang and Tang Zixuan lived in room number three, which was the innermost room.

"This protagonist is alright, not too reckless, and doesn't seem to be the dark type." As soon as they entered the room, the little white cat sighed, "Host, what should we do?"

"Check your equipment and see what items in the system space can be used in the dungeon."

"Oh!"

The count was completed in one minute.

The food maker is still amazing; even when all other items are disabled, it remains operational to ensure a constant supply of food and water.

Anything that could be used as a weapon is prohibited, especially firearms and ammunition, which are currently all under lockdown.

Jiang Chen only has ordinary daily necessities available for use.

Once he got into the zone, Duan Chengze was clearly wary of everyone, especially those with experience who knew more about the dungeon.

That's why he chose to temporarily team up with Jiang Chen.

He appeared very polite, but in reality, he was always on guard and rarely spoke. This made Jiang Chen wonder if the protagonist was like him, and if he had just made up his own experiences when he mentioned them before.

If Duan Chengze didn't have the experience of working part-time at a funeral home, how could he possibly remain expressionless when facing corpses?

This type of protagonist usually has a big secret, and he might really need his protagonist halo to break out of the cycle.

Time passed quickly, and as night fell, the beach huts automatically lit up with soft lights.

Looking down from the building, Jiang Chen saw that the entire deserted island was pitch black.

The little white cat was on duty, so he lay down and slept for a while.

"Buzz!" He was awakened by a sudden vibration.

Duan Chengze had already sat up in bed. "The countdown to the dungeon opening has started. Do you want to go out and take a look?"

“Together.” Jiang Chen quickly took a flashlight from the system space and put it in his pocket.

The people in the other rooms also woke up, and the six of them walked out of the beach hut together.

The moonlight was so bright that the two corpses were clearly visible on the beach.

A cool sea breeze was blowing, and the bushes were rustling.

Jiang Chen walked up to the headless corpse and examined it closely. There were some scratches on his hands, like marks from a dagger cut.

The owner of the pair of feet in the bushes was a man in his thirties. He had a bright red birthmark on the left side of his forehead, his neck was almost severed, and his head drooped in front of his chest. You had to use your hands to lift it up to see his face.

"Did you find anything?" Duan Chengze had just finished checking the surroundings.

His eyesight remained excellent even in the dark, allowing him to clearly distinguish various footprints.

Jiang Chen pulled a note from the other person's blood-soaked shirt pocket. It read in crooked handwriting: "3 o'clock, see you at the usual place."

"Judging from the handwriting, the person's education level is not high." Duan Chengze took the note and held it up to examine it carefully in the moonlight. "It was written in pencil, and judging from the edges of the note, it was probably torn from a workbook."

After reading it, he folded the note and put it back in to avoid violating the butterfly effect rule.

Jiang Chen mentally gave the protagonist, Duan Chengze, a new label: bold and meticulous.

At least for now, he seems to be quite cautious and reliable.

The further you go on the island, the more corpses you see.

The deserted island wasn't large, and the twenty-one households lived relatively close together. Most of them died in the island's main square, where a stage had been set up, and the actors in costumes were already dead, their postures strangely slumped against the prop table.

"More than a hundred people died in a short period of time. What do you think could be the reason?"

Duan Chengze bent down to examine a corpse lying under the stage and casually asked a question.

"The water source was poisoned with cyanide."

"That would require a very large quantity. Who would prepare so much cyanide on such a small island?"

Jiang Chen thought for a moment and replied, "Or perhaps there are other special poisons that can be used in the dungeon. If it weren't for poisoning, it's hard to imagine how so many people could have died in such a short time without any external injuries."

“That makes sense,” Duan Chengze replied briefly.