Chapter 81: Xishan Residential Area (1)

[Welcome, players, to the instance “Xishan Residential Area.”]

[The residents in the Xishan Residential Area are either wealthy or privileged, and there is a strong sense of indifference among neighbors.]

[However, starting from a certain day, the residents of the Xishan Residential Area began to die in mysterious and extremely brutal ways. The police couldn’t find the culprit, and it was classified as a series of heinous murders.]

[Objective: Survive for ten days or find the murderer who killed Xiao Xi.]

[Friendly reminder: Each player has only one chance to make an accusation. Once you accused wrongly, there will be consequences.]

Upon entering the instance, Ruan Qing was immediately stunned.

Because this time, he played the role of a... blind NPC.

It’s not entirely accurate to say he was completely blind; he could perceive faint light in brighter areas.

Apart from that, he couldn’t see anything else.

The original owner wasn’t blind from the beginning; he got into a car accident a few days ago. Although his body wasn’t seriously injured, he temporarily lost his eyesight.

It wasn’t permanent; it would probably recover in a few days.

In addition to his temporary blindness, the original owner also had a “husband” and a three-year-old “child”.

The situation was truly terrible.

Ruan Qing pursed his lips. The only thing he could see was the information about the instance on his phone. Everything else was darkness; he couldn’t even see his phone messages.

He could only listen.

Because the original owner was temporarily blind, the phone used had voice prompts enabled.

When Ruan Qing clicked on the instance information, he accidentally opened a text message.

The phone’s mechanical voice sounded emotionless and monotonous.

[Darling, I’ve bought the groceries; I’ll be back soon.]

After the voice finished playing, the next text message ringtone sounded just right. Ruan Qing fumbled and opened the message, and the mechanical voice sounded again.

[I’m already home, waiting for you to come back.]

Obviously, this message was sent by his husband. At this moment, he had just finished buying groceries at the market and was about to head home.

Though Ruan Qing had never been blind, he had experienced being blindfolded before, so he wasn’t completely unaccustomed to it. Losing his sight made his other senses, like perception and hearing, more acute. Therefore, Ruan Qing remained calm, carrying the groceries, and easily made his way out of the market, heading towards home.

The original owner of the body lived on the fourth floor. Upon reaching the elevator, Ruan Qing felt around and pressed the button for the fourth floor.

He was the only person in the elevator at the moment.

The system spoke in his mind, [Due to too many viewers in the live stream of the previous instance, it is highly likely that you were recognized, causing abnormalities in the instance. Therefore, the game system had blurred your impressions among the audience and players.]

Ruan Qing lightly responded with an “Oh”, waiting in the elevator, feeling a headache coming on.

Although he didn’t want a husband and child, he had to go home as per the character setting. The voice message had already been sent, and not going home now would be suspicious.

Besides, the small residential area where the original owner lived was clearly marked as “Xishan Residential Area” in the instance, indicating it was the core of this scenario.

Regardless, he had to come back.

However, not being able to see would make investigating clues somewhat inconvenient, and he could only rely more on his perception.

Being blind for even a day could be very fatal.

Furthermore, due to his uniqueness, he was very likely to be the first target of the murderer.

Now that he couldn’t see, he was afraid that escaping wouldn’t be easy.

He could only hope the killer would strike later, allowing him some time to regain his sight.

Although he couldn’t see, Ruan Qing felt that this instance was better than the previous one. At least there were no ghosts.

However, not being able to see was inconvenient.

Ruan Qing seemed to be pondering, thinking that it would be best to stay with other players in this instance.

He didn’t know when his vision would recover. If they could see, they would surely discuss clues during analysis, which would help him assess the situation.

The only problem was that he didn’t know where the other players were in the residential area.

The Xishan Residential Area was quite extensive, with nearly ten residential buildings. If the players were scattered among these buildings, it would be challenging to find them.

It seemed that he could only search for the players after an event had occurred.

As long as an event happened, the players would definitely come forward automatically.

“Ding!“ The elevator arrived, but he felt like he was not yet on the fourth floor.

Based on Ruan Qing’s estimation of the time inside the elevator, he should only be on the second floor.

Before the elevator doors opened, Ruan Qing positioned himself in a corner, facing the wall to the left of the elevator with his head down.

The original owner had a somewhat self-insecure and reclusive personality, so this action was quite in line with his character.

The elevator doors opened, and a man walked in, but Ruan Qing didn’t pay him any attention, quietly staying in the corner of the elevator.

The man who entered was tall. He glanced at the thin figure in the corner, hesitated for a moment, and then stood on the other side of the elevator.

The elevator doors closed again, and they soon reached the fourth floor.

After the elevator doors opened, Ruan Qing walked out, unaware that the man beside him had been discreetly watching him since the other entered the elevator.

Even after Ruan Qing exited the elevator, the man followed closely behind him, and the sound of his footsteps in leather shoes echoed through the empty corridor.

Though Ruan Qing couldn’t see, he wasn’t deaf. He was well aware that the man was not far behind him.

Was it a coincidence?

Or... the murderer?

Ruan Qing pursed his lips and quickened his pace.

There were no obstacles in the corridor, and it was straight, so he wouldn’t bump into anything.

The person behind Ruan Qing didn’t accelerate; they even stopped.

Then came the sound of keys jingling, and that person opened a door.

Ruan Qing breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed that the person was not the murderer, just a coincidence that they lived on the same floor.

Now it was broad daylight, and most people were either at work or school, so Ruan Qing didn’t encounter anyone else.

He quickly found the entrance to the original owner’s home.

Ruan Qing placed the groceries he carried on the ground, ready to take out the keys from his pocket to open the door.

However, in the next second, his movement froze because he smelled a strong odor of blood.

It was coming from... inside the door.

Ruan Qing’s heart sank; the intense smell of blood meant that something had happened inside.

Ruan Qing wanted to turn around and leave, but it was already too late.

Someone opened the door in front of him, and the smell of blood became even stronger.

It was as if... he was standing at the scene of a crime.

 

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