Netherworld Investigator

Holding the lamp, Qiao Kejun walked down the mountain slowly. When he reached the foot of the mountain, he looked back and saw that the towering mountain was like a huge lizard dragon entrenched in the clouds and mist. The room, glimmering in the sunlight like a jeweled crown, was where he came from.

Following the instructions of the troubadour, he walked east and entered a vast desert.The wheels of the sun rolled over, leaving a dizzy afterimage in the sky.On the way, he met a team of exiled criminals, and learned that if he went further east and crossed a grassland, he could reach a prosperous city-state.

The hot gravel was like a slowly flowing river, and after an unknown amount of time, the weeds grew tamely under his feet, wrapping around his ankle softly.The sound of the flock came from the fertile and lush grassland. He looked around and saw countless white spots spreading across the field.

"Stop!" A voice suddenly shouted from behind.

Qiao Kejun didn't plan to pay attention to it at first, he just wanted to rush to the city-state as soon as possible, even though he didn't know anything about the situation he was about to arrive in.

But he remembered the entrustment of the troubadour, Wronged Baba: "According to the character model established by the system, if the player sticks to the realistic style of doing things, there is an 87.92% probability that the trigger point of the plot will be missed, which will make the game unable to advance, so I implore you to try to talk to strangers as much as possible during the game, even if they say stupid things."

So he stopped and turned around.

"How dare you let your sheep graze here?" A boy in coarse clothes slammed his whip on the ground, splashing the smell of mud and grass.

Listening to his unbelievable voice and seeing his trembling with anger, it seems that it is a heinous thing for sheep to eat grass.

A shepherd who was old enough to be his father stood in front of the seven thin sheep at a loss, looking at the proud young man.

"This grassland was grown thanks to the grace of the noble lord." The young man said in shock and anger, "What are you, you dare to let your sheep graze here."

Qiao Kejun took a silent look at the boundless grassland, and satirized in his heart, this kindness is really not small.

"I want to report on you and let the nobleman exile you to the desert and sacrifice you to the Vulcan." The young man proudly announced his identity, "I am the nobleman's domestic slave."

The shepherd immediately showed a terrified expression, "Ah, you are the nobleman's servant..."

Qiao Kejun thought it was a little funny. After all, the word "house slave" was not considered a glorious profession to him, but in order to integrate into the world view, he didn't want to be special, so he also imitated the shepherd and said, " Are you a house slave?"

His demeanor was indifferent, and his words unconsciously carried a hint of provocation.

The house slave boy was a bullying character, he didn't know the background of this person in front of him, but he couldn't help being in awe when he saw his demeanor.After hearing this seemingly ironic sentence, a trace of unnaturalness of being exposed flashed across the face of the house slave boy, "I am... not yet, just guarding the flock for my father, but I am the son of a house slave, wait for me When you are an adult, you can naturally become a nobleman's servant." His eyes showed longing.

The shepherd heard a little room for turning around, and quickly begged the young man in a low voice.

"If you give me a gold coin, I can pretend that nothing happened." The young house slave raised a sly and greedy smile, and from the familiar look, he knew that this was not the first time he had been blackmailed.

The shepherd was shocked: "I don't have so much money, this, this can buy a whole sheep."

The young domestic slave gave him a slap in the face, "You need a gold coin to forgive you."

Qiao Kejun couldn't listen anymore, he clicked on the portable space, it seems that the troubadour treats him well, the gold coins he has are enough to buy dozens of sheep.For the sake of this rich first pot of gold, he will reluctantly be a hero once.

He asked the shepherd, "Do you also think you are guilty?"

"Yes, I'm guilty." Tears welled up in the shepherd's eyes, "According to the law, my sheep are indeed not allowed to graze here, but I really..."

It seems that it is the setting of unscrupulous people under the evil law, Qiao Kejun didn't intend to say more, and happily paid the ransom for him.

The shepherd was overjoyed, thanked Qiao Kejun a thousand times, and when he heard that he was going to the capital, he offered to lead the way and invited his benefactor to stay at his home for a night.

The single player mode changed to team mode, the shepherd followed closely behind Qiao Kejun, and the flock of sheep gathered loosely around the two.

Qiao Kejun wondered why the shepherd didn't go ahead, after all, he didn't know the way.

Shepherd replied that in the team mode, the member with the most spiritual power will automatically become the leader.He informed Qiao Kejun of the exact coordinates, and an arrow indicating the direction floated up in the air, and they just had to follow along.

The two of them walked all the way on the grassland for an unknown amount of time, and when they saw a corner of the city gate, it was almost dusk.Surrounded by gray-black city walls, a tall tower stands in it, and flames can be vaguely seen rising from the top, burning a scorching gap in the crimson sky.

There is a small forest on the outskirts of the city. The roots of the tree are deeply rooted in the dry brown soil. There are many red fruits growing on the tree. They look like apples and smell like apples. Object, apparently designed to prevent people from climbing over it.

"What is this?" Qiao Kejun asked.

The shepherd uttered an unfamiliar word.

"Nine?" Qiao Kejun—since he is already in the game, let's call him Joker, Joker asked doubtfully.

"Nai, a kind of fruit."

Looking through the whirling branches and leaves, you can see a round clear spring in the middle of the forest, like a bird that feeds the living beings, this is the only water source for the city-state.It is because of this magical spring that a small oasis can be grown in the desert and a city-state can be established.However, this scarce spring water is obviously not enough to supply all the residents in the city-state daily, so this plant called "柰" was born.Its fruit is very juicy and when mixed with water makes a delicious and extremely thirst-quenching drink.

This kind of fruit is collected by the king and distributed uniformly. Residents are prohibited from picking it without authorization, but some people take risks in order to earn gold coins, steal the fruit and sell it on the black market for profit.Qiao Kejun saw a few black shadows running around near the fence, and the shepherd told him that if these people were found, they would be tortured with black ink, and the number of black spots floating above their heads would increase according to the severity of the crime.

The points of different colors represent the survival value of the characters in this game world. For example, if you make a mistake, you will increase the black points, and if you kill the sinner, you will increase the red points. When the points accumulate to a certain amount, qualitative changes will occur, leading to unpredictable consequences.

Like a goshawk, the night spread its black wings, circled a few times above the sheep, and then swooped down into the city-state.

Stepping into the city, Joker saw clearly that the burning tower in the distance just now is actually a huge pillar of fire standing in the center of the city. The pattern on the pillar is exactly the totem image of Sauros in the game CG, like a lizard. A compound animal with scales on its body, the lines are hollowed out, revealing the flames burning fiercely in the column.

When players feel insufficient mental power, they can get supplements from the pillar of fire, and the more people do this, the flame of the pillar of fire will rise accordingly, brighter in the night sky.

The house structure of this city-state is very special. There is a window that can be opened and closed on the roof. When the light is dim at night, you only need to open the skylight to let the afterglow of the fire pillar into the house.

Joker was walking on the bustling street, passing by a tavern, and heard the joyful singing of toasts coming from inside, he always suspected that the troubadour was among them, and was looking at him and secretly laughing.

The task is to find the "Blade of Justice". Although I don't know what the name refers to, it sounds like a weapon. So before going to the shepherd's house, Joker first came to a blacksmith in the city.

The blacksmith was muscular and as thin as cast iron. He stood by the furnace with his back to the gate, and turned around when he heard Joker enter.

The fire illuminated each other's faces, and when they saw the lamp in Joker's hand, the blacksmith's eyes flashed with surprise, and he exclaimed: "This is a special beam of flame, which can create unparalleled flames. weapons."

It seems that this task is not difficult to complete.

But the blacksmith then said that the king had recently ordered him to make a large number of ironware, and he was temporarily out of skills, so he needed the guest to stay in the city for a few days to wait.

Joker promised, and before leaving, he took a look at the dots floating on the blacksmith's head, densely packed with red dots.

If he remembered correctly, the number of red dots increased with each sinner killed.

The afterglow of the fire pillar shrouded the shepherd's dilapidated house like dusk and moonlight. Thick cooking smoke rose from the neighboring house, but the shepherd's house was deserted.

"I probably eat cold food again today. My mother-in-law has a bad temper. If she is not happy, I can't eat hot food." The shepherd smiled bitterly and drove the sheep into the pen.

In this place where the house stood on the wall, Joker saw the number on the shepherd's head clearly. When he met him just now, he merged with the grass, and the shepherd followed him after that.

"Oh, you mean the green dots?" The shepherd smiled innocently and explained that in addition to the black dots for doing bad things and the red dots for killing bad people, every time they do good deeds, there will be an extra dot on their heads. green dot.When a person is in danger and needs to activate the rescue mode, the more black spots there are, the lower the probability of being rescued.

Joker frowned, "Isn't there anyone who is both good and bad?"

The shepherd said blankly, "I only know that there are good people and bad people, such as a good person like you."

Hearing this, Joker's face changed suddenly. It happened that there was a large water tank in the yard. He quickly poked his head over and took a selfie next to the water.It turned out that because he helped the shepherd just now, his head became "a little greener". Who came up with this setting!

Then look at the shepherd's head, which is green. Could it be that he wants to sacrifice himself to feed the sheep?

When entering the back room, the shepherd's footsteps could not help but slow down.

In a small dim room, a woman whose face cannot be seen is sitting silently on the edge of a small wooden table. The food on the table has no trace of heat, and the woman is like a cold cast statue.

Seeing the shepherd's reaction, he seemed to be used to this scene, but worried that he would neglect the guests, he coughed lightly and reminded his wife, "Today I brought guests back for dinner."

If this trembling tone can grow its own legs, I am afraid that every syllable will already be scrambling to escape.

"Who did you pick up again?" The shepherd's wife suddenly burst into a series of hysterical curses, "Do you want to get back the money that the old drunkard borrowed last time! A few days ago, I let a street child eat for free at home Drink, today is good, such a big man, is there something wrong with your brain! Look, look, we are not as good as sheep, and we can't survive, how can we control others!"

The shepherd quickly waved his hands, worried that his wife's rude words would offend the guests, but the woman who was pierced by despair obviously couldn't listen to a word.She sobbed and said, "The sheep are almost unable to eat grass. Even if they only eat hay, the hay is transported to the city by officials and merchants to stock up and sell. The price is soaring day by day. Our family can't afford it at all. The sheep rushed out of the city..."

Tears and the faint light ran across her face, and surprisingly, despite the tiredness and wrinkles in the eyes, it was still a delicate and beautiful woman, which made her accusation even more obvious. Desolately said, "Your heart is good, but we can't survive. What's the use of being kind."

"It's different this time." The shepherd said eagerly.

"Same." The woman stood up unsteadily and rushed out the door.

The shepherd wanted to chase at first, but when he was about to cross the threshold, he took back his steps.He turned around, slumped and sat on the ground with his head down, silent, like a tired sheep.

In the middle of the night, the shepherd's wife hadn't come back yet.

The shepherd suddenly jumped up in fright. He wore a crumpled overcoat, walked around the house a few times, walked to the yard, sat on the steps, looked up at the night sky, and felt a sinking weight in his body.

Sitting here is dawn.

At daylight, he heard a rude knock on the door.

The shepherd went to open the door, and an old man reeking of alcohol squeezed in through the crack of the door.I saw him gesticulating his hands excitedly, as if he was a great conductor standing in front of an invisible orchestra, and told the shepherd in a tone of regret that he had witnessed the shepherd's wife buying a piece of bread and officials last night. The youngest son of the merchant committed adultery.

So this morning, all the idlers in the city-state gathered in the tavern, listening to the old drunkard happily repeating what he had seen and heard over and over again.

"It's a pity, such a good old man. Hateful, such a little bitch." At this time, the faces of those who were mediocre and cowering were full of charming heroism. They cursed the behavior of women angrily, while happily Encouraging the shepherds to take revenge.

In such an atmosphere, the shepherd trembled his hands and moved his sluggish legs, as if he was walking towards the gallows, he stepped onto an encouraging stage in the downtown area.

The words spoken by the help-seekers on the encouragement platform will be systematically evaluated and send signals to the surrounding people and institutions.The more green dots accumulate, the higher the valuation will be, and the more intensive the scope and quantity of dissemination will be.

The gang gathered in front of the official and merchant's house, and it happened that the shepherd's wife was walking out with her head bowed. People rushed up, surrounded her, and beat her to death.This gratifying process lasted no more than a quarter of an hour, and when it dispersed, many people still had dissatisfied expressions on their faces.

Hearing the frightening movement outside the door, Guan Shang's youngest son was terrified, his legs trembled like chaff, and he fell to his knees with a plop.On the bed behind him, a graceful and cold female body was lying on her back. Her body was covered with hideous scars, and a heart under her proud chest had already stopped beating.Only one pair of eyes was wide open, and his expression was as terrifying as a ghost returning from the underworld to seek his life.

At noon, the loud chatter in the tavern drowned out the noisy cicadas on the sidewalk.

A young man who had been drunk until the daytime was happily telling what he had seen and heard, his expression and tone were exactly the same as those of the old alcoholic before, "The shepherd's wife went to work overnight at the official businessman's house in exchange for some dry grass to feed the sheep. ,Pity……"

He took a sip of the fragrant wine made from natto, and said: "The one who was caught and raped was the old drunkard's own daughter. That little girl was very promiscuous. She played that kind of game with the little yamen, and was strangled to death in the end..." There was not much pity for life in that tone, nor was there aversion to evil deeds, but it was full of envy and yearning for that kind of lustful life.

It happened that the youngest son of an official businessman passed by wearing luxurious clothes, but there were no black spots on his head, and he was very clean.Someone expressed emotion, saying that this incident cannot be regarded as the fault of the rich, but that the life of the rogue is not good enough.For such remarks, most of the spectators were silent, but there were not a few who secretly said yes.

I saw the dandy walk a few steps, suddenly a figure flashed obliquely by the side of the road, the grief-stricken old drunk threw himself on the dandy to argue with him, but before he could touch his collar, he was caught The guards on the side stopped him and kicked him into the dust.

"It's so shameless." The people in the tavern pointed. "Because of his lies, the shepherd's wife was beaten to death in public. Such a despicable person does not deserve our sympathy at all."

Just across the street, the shepherd lay dead in his yard, surrounded by starving sheep, gnawing at his hair.

Joker watched the tumultuous tragedy like a bystander. After putting down a few gold coins on the table, he left the shepherd's house in silence.

He planned to go to the blacksmith's shop first, but when he was walking on the road, he suddenly felt a little dry, and then he remembered that he hadn't had a drop of water for most of the day.Coincidentally, I saw a stall selling ready-made Nai juice on the side of the road.Nai is an extremely sour fruit, there are few ways to obtain it, and the taste is not good if eaten directly, so most of the residents in the city-state will choose to buy the juice that has been blended.

Joker approached, and was about to take out money to buy a cup to quench his thirst, but saw a man sneakily throwing something into the water.

"What are you doing?" Joker asked.

The stall owner was startled, looked around for a while, and then admitted in a low voice, "It's a scavenger."

Scavenger is a strange aquatic animal that is difficult to detect with the naked eye. They can change colors and shapes, and their lips are developed like suckers with strong adhesion.When this strange creature is absorbed together with the juice, it will cause people's eyes to be out of focus, their minds to be dizzy, resulting in hallucinations, and become easily moved by words and visions. In the process, the scavenger will direct some The black spots are licked clean.

"Will there be any side effects from drinking this for a long time?" Joker asked again.

"No way." The stall owner thought for a while, "Except that they will be less and less able to accept the taste of nai fruit itself, but this is not a disadvantage, after all, this is how we have our market."

The conversation with the stall owner came to an abrupt end. At this moment, a long and passionate bell sounded from the center of the city-state where the dragon-patterned fire pillar stood. .The flow of people flocked to the small square in the center of the city like a reverse tide.On the majestic high platform, an official solemnly read out the order just issued by the king.