Working Records in a Weird World - 65

 

| WRIAWW | Sleeping Together | 65

Compared to those who committed all kinds of evil without any morality, Joshua naturally preferred good people.

These individuals were like finely crafted mechanical watches. Once you understood their behavioral principles and moral gears, a slight adjustment could make the entire system operate according to your desired rhythm.

The silver-haired man gazed at Zong Le's back as he mediated the dispute, a hint of pleasure flickering in his eyes. Within just a few seconds, a detailed "favorability enhancement plan" had already taken shape in his mind.

On the other hand, for some reason, even though Zong Le had come to mediate, the conflict somehow ended up targeting him.

"I knew you were up to no good! That post on the forum last time must have been your doing!"

"What did you say? Are you kidding me? Can you not bring your past task grudges into this new mission? You're acting like a rabid dog for no reason. And you, stop playing the peacemaker. You're just a C-level. If it weren't for your 'Talented Newcomer' title, who would even bother looking at you? This is an A-level mission. What use is someone of your level here? Stop barking and mind your own business."

Zong Le, who was innocently caught in the crossfire: ?

"Wait, I was just trying to stop you two from arguing..."

But before he could finish, he was once again drowned out by their shouting.

With no other choice, Zong Le reached out and grabbed the collars of both men. "I said, stop arguing."

The two survivors, who were suddenly lifted off the ground mid-argument: ???

They exchanged bewildered glances, each seeing the same shock in the other's eyes.

One was an A-level, the other a B-level. Normally, at the very least, their strength enhancement levels were undeniable. Strength enhancement was comprehensive, naturally including reaction speed.

Yet, neither of them were able to react in time when their collars were grabbed, and their feet left the ground. The key point was that the person doing this was only a C-level.

How was that even possible???

"Now, you can finally listen to me properly, right?"

Zong Le was completely unaware of the psychological activities of the two individuals. Instead, he felt that his plan was brilliant: "Don’t you think arguing during a mission is something only fools would do? If you’re not careful, the weird might take advantage of the situation."

However, Zong Le didn’t really intend to restrain them. Moreover, both of them were agility-types, so they quickly broke free after being grabbed. Although they stopped arguing, their expressions were still unpleasant, and they unanimously turned their frustration toward Zong Le.

Just as Zong Le was bewildered by their sudden hostility, Joshua, sensing the timing was right, emerged from around the corner: "What’s going on? Was someone attacked?"

Seeing Joshua, the two survivors immediately fell silent, only muttering, "N-nothing happened."

"It was just a minor conflict, and it’s already resolved."

"If it’s resolved, that’s good. I don’t want any conflicts within the group while we’re carrying out such a dangerous mission."

Joshua’s tone was meaningful. Though his words seemed like a simple inquiry, they carried an undeniable authority, masking his underlying leadership with a gentle demeanor.

"Yes, boss."

"You can rest assured." The two nodded repeatedly.

At that moment, Liu Jianhua and Dong Feng returned with the other two teams.

Thanks to Joshua’s timely intervention, they were unaware of the earlier conflict and directly reported their findings.

"We discovered the master bedroom, where there’s a dressing room. Inside the display case is a set of wedding attire. Since there are dried bloodstains on it and the lingering resentment of multiple deceased individuals around it, we suspect it might be related to the side mission. Everyone should go take a look."

The group arrived at the dressing room, and the sight before them was chilling.

The pure white wedding gown was splattered with black bloodstains, resembling tar.

Joshua’s slender fingers hovered over the torn waistline of the gown before he suddenly said, "Look around for other evidence. At the very least, there should be a groom’s suit."

Sure enough, in a closed wardrobe on the other side, there was a brand-new men’s suit, its ironed creases clearly visible. A fresh red rose was pinned to the chest, and the collar was similarly stained with dried blood.

Even someone like Zong Le, who wasn’t skilled in logical reasoning, could see the problem.

"So, the groom killed the bride and then committed suicide?"

Liu Jianhua, a low-level medium who sensed two lingering resentments, couldn’t help but ask, "But that doesn’t make sense..."

He frowned as he recalled, "When we went upstairs, the receptionist mentioned that a couple had rented this place for their wedding. But strangely... both of them died the night before the wedding, they never got the chance to wear these outfits."

The dressing mirror reflected the group’s puzzled expressions. If both the murderer and the victim had perished, how could the bloodstained wedding gown and the pristine suit be explained?

Just then, the system sent a notification: [Deduction successful. Side quest completed (2/4).]

This meant their earlier conclusion that the groom had killed the bride and then committed suicide wasn’t wrong.

"But what about the other abnormality?"

Meanwhile, Dong Feng’s team, lacking any medium abilities and consisting entirely of strength-type members, were able to make some discoveries by tapping and fumbling around.

Fortunately, the side mission was relatively minor, and the attitude towards homicide in Guiyi City was quite lax. The police wouldn’t get involved unless money or power was involved, which allowed them to wrap things up easily.

"Look, right under the bar, there’s a pool of blood and a stain of alcohol. Coincidentally, I happen to have some expertise in wine tasting. Based on the residual aroma, I’d say it was a bottle of aged dry red wine, it's quite old."

The dried alcohol stain actually looked more like blood than the blood itself.

Joshua nodded. This time, he wasn’t in a hurry to deduce anything. Instead, he raised his eyes and asked, "What do you guys think?"

This was a rare opportunity to show off in front of the 1st! The survivors, except for Zong Le, keenly realized this and were eager to activate every brain cell they had, hoping to make an impression in front of the big shot.

"I think someone was standing here drinking red wine, and then suddenly died while drinking!"

"You’re quite the genius. ‘Suddenly died while drinking’—does that even make sense? In my opinion, the person drinking red wine was probably standing here, leaning against the bar, maybe trying to sober up a bit, and then suddenly got stabbed."

Wild guesses flew back and forth. Joshua maintained an enigmatic smile, making it impossible to tell who was right or wrong.

When his gaze turned to Zong Le, the black-haired young man was staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. Sensing the sudden silence, he blinked in confusion, realizing everyone was looking at him with a "your turn" expression.

Zong Le: "..." It was the same feeling of being called on by the teacher to answer a question.

So, there was no way to dodge this, huh?

"Uh, well, I think the deceased was probably a financial elite," the black-haired young man struggled to recall the news reports he’d seen a couple of days ago. "Maybe some kind of investment executive or something? They must have earned a lot, otherwise they couldn’t afford such expensive red wine."

His answer made the two survivors who had clashed with him earlier roll their eyes.

There was nothing on the scene to indicate the identity of the deceased. His guess was even worse than theirs.

But to everyone’s surprise, Joshua actually nodded in approval. "Not bad."

"The deceased was indeed a financial elite, with a salary ranking among the top in Guiyi City, and he had a bad habit of being a clean freak."

It seemed the "low IQ and EQ" label he had temporarily assigned to Zong Le could be slightly revised.

The silver-haired man narrowed his eyes slightly, resting his hand on the bar counter as if personally experiencing the assassination and deducing the details:

 "He must have just received his year-end bonus and carried a substantial sum that allowed him to rent this apartment for a while. The surrounding area is all CBD—prime real estate. Being able to lease the top floor of Blue Ocean Apartment is undoubtedly a status symbol in their financial circles."

"One day after renting the apartment, he stood here as usual, admiring Guiyi City's illuminated nightscape while uncorking an expensive bottle of dry red wine from the liquor cabinet. Just as he finished tasting it, a heavy blow struck the back of his head. The blurred edges of the bloodstains on the floor suggest cerebrospinal fluid leakage. As for the murder weapon..."

Joshua walked over to a golf bag containing several clubs. He pulled one out, gauging the distance. "Yes, this is definitely the weapon."

[Deduction is successful, side quest completed (3/4)]

Seeing the equally bewildered expressions on the others' faces, Zong Le finally felt a sense of validation.

See? He wasn't the only one who couldn't follow the brain process of someone by the brain faction. If everyone was equally lost, that was reassuring enough.

But the other survivors clearly understood better than Zong Le, skillfully skipping the tedious "How did you figure that out?" question and cutting straight to the conclusion.

"According to your reasoning, these murders don't seem to have any similarities."

"Right, a little girl hanged, newlywed couples killing each other, a finance elite killed from behind. We only know they were all killed by the weird in the apartment, but we're still clueless about how they did it."

"No rush. Some clues remain hidden in the mist, we still need to wait for the weird to reveal itself." Joshua calmly adjusted his cuffs. "It's getting late. Let's each pick a room to stay in."

As required by the main system, the haunted house trial required sleeping in bedrooms. The number of assigned participants happened to match the bedrooms—except there was one extra person.

"Zong Le, why don't you stay with me?"

The lowest-level member naturally paired with the highest-level was perfectly reasonable.

Zong Le was probably the only reluctant one, while the other survivors wore expressions that said, "How lucky."

Though Joshua was known to lack combat abilities, his healing and defensive skills were nothing to scoff at. Staying with him guaranteed safety, if nothing else.

"I'll take the secondary guest room."

"I'll sleep in bedroom three."

After brainstorming together, they sketched a simple floor plan of the apartment on the dining table and assigned rooms accordingly.

"The apartment isn't too big. If anything urgent happens, just shout and we all should be able to hear it."

"Got it, boss!"

"Understood!"

Without further delay, everyone prepared to settle into their rooms.

Joshua wandered alone through the apartment, pausing for a long time at the newspaper on the small round table in the corner of the living room, flipping through it carefully.

The silver-haired man's slender fingers swiftly flipped through the pages, moving so fast they nearly left afterimages.

His reading speed was extraordinary, since he was restricted by the position of Patriarch of the Temple, his strength enhancements had been restricted, causing his mental capabilities to multiply instead.

Photographic memory became one of his most basic abilities. He didn't need to read word by word, simply flipping through pages allowed his enhanced mind to absorb everything instantly.

After completing his information search at such an inhuman speed, a glimmer of understanding flashed in Joshua's cobalt-blue eyes. Closing the newspaper on the desk, he returned to the master bedroom deep in thought.

The overhead light in the bedroom was already off, leaving the space in perfect silence. Only the floor lamp by the bedside table remained on at its lowest setting.

Under the soft glow of warm lighting, the left side of the bed already held an occupant.

The black-haired young man lay on his back beneath the covers, hands folded across his chest with his eyes shut. As he breathed steady, looking at eased.

Joshua: ?

This wasn't part of the plan. He'd intended to use the cover of night for some pillow talk, playing the role of philosophical mentor to further analyze the other's personality.

This was a prime opportunity to improve his favorability, how could this person just fall asleep like this?

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