Ita Era

Chapter 89 Acquaintance
Ding Shi had a sudden inspiration and focused his attention on his right fist, channeling his Force into it. His Strength and Agility remained at 7, with no other numerical changes, but he could feel the Force within his body continuously flowing into his right fist.

Ding Shi punched the coffee table, cracking its surface. He withdrew his fist, feeling no pain. He then withdrew his primal force, still feeling no pain.

Ding Shi conducted a second experiment, dividing the Force into three parts: one for Agility, one for Strength, and one for his right fist.

The lightning-fast punch slammed into the coffee table, the fist passing right through it.

Good news: Ding Shi has found the trick.

Bad news: Ding Shi's arm was not protected by the Force and was cut in two places.

In Ding Shi's third experiment, he extended the Force to his arm. The results were not good; the larger the area covered by the Force, the smaller the Force values ​​remained at the points and on the surface.

Ding Shi's fourth experiment focused solely on his fist, with remarkable success. However, the recoil caused some pain in his arm.

On his Nth experiment, Ding successfully found the perfect offensive ratio of 8:2. If agility is increased by 8 parts Force, then 2 parts Force are needed to protect the legs. This way, the legs will not be injured during rapid running. The same applies to fists.

While Ding was diligently studying the magic box game, it ended, releasing two curses: one was the Yihao Evil Ghost, and the other was the Death Poison.

The moment the Deadly Poison is released, it randomly selects a player not in a safe house as its host. The only way to cure it is to bite someone and transmit the Deadly Poison to them. It doesn't need to draw blood; just leaving saliva is sufficient. Of course, saliva from talking or spitting doesn't count.

Therefore, biting can also be understood as kissing or nipping; as long as the mouth touches any exposed part of the other person's body, the virus can be transmitted.

The incubation period for the deadly virus is 6 hours. Assuming the host spends 1 hour successfully transmitting the virus, the new host will only have 5 hours left to live. The host only knows that it has been infected with the deadly virus, but is unaware of its remaining time.

The clock tower next door rang; it was 12 o'clock.

The first floor is a buffet restaurant, filled with all kinds of food and drinks, as well as various cold weapons displayed and hung on the walls. Tang swords, Damascus swords, Western swords, butterfly knives, halberds, broadswords, spiked clubs, and so on, are dazzling to the eye.

These weapons probably correspond to Rule Thirteen: Theft is a bad thing, unless it goes unnoticed by the butler.

A quick count reveals 35 players inside the villa. Some are in work uniforms, others in casual clothes, and each wears an animal mask. The masks are very sturdy and can only be removed by the person wearing them.

The biggest problem facing the 35 players now is: to eat or not to eat?
There were 30 dishes and 10 types of drinks on site, only one of which was poisonous.

The best way is to eat only one dish and abstain from alcohol and water; the chance of poisoning is only one in forty. The second best way is to not eat or drink at all, since you only have 24 hours, which you can manage. However, everyone knows that there are many mini-games in the villa where you can earn money, and tomorrow's auction is a hellish dungeon auction, offering a chance to obtain items not available in other difficulty levels. Without food, the chances of winning in the mini-games are extremely low.

"Someone died."

A woman's voice came from the direction of the restroom. Death wasn't surprising; the first Pandora's Box had already claimed several lives, and evil spirits were still lurking. But everyone understood what the woman's voice meant: this person hadn't died a natural death.

Inside the women's restroom, a player wearing a squirrel mask collapsed and died, with a large pool of blood beneath her.

The man in the elephant mask took a few steps forward, squatted down, turned the female player's head, stood up, and said, "Her throat was slit."

The man in the tiger mask asked, "Could it be an evil spirit?"

Elephant denied it: "The demon's methods of killing are quite obvious, such as removing the entire head or ripping out the heart. Although I can't be sure, I think this is a case of murder. Furthermore, the killer's methods are skillful, and it's possible that they honed their skills in the game, but they are most likely a master in real life."

The tiger asked, "Was the murderer a woman?"

The elephant circled the body and shook its head: "It's hard to say. Judging from the knife wound, the deceased was 1.67 meters tall, and the murderer should be between 1.65 and 1.75 meters tall."

Today, 70% of the guests are within this height range. Tiger then asked, "Any other clues?"

The elephant didn't answer immediately, but instead searched the corpse. The player's important items were in their inventory slots and couldn't be found.

The elephant seemed to have touched something, and lifted the deceased's coat, discovering a round sticker about the size of a thumb on the back of the deceased's undergarment. The sticker featured a clown image.

The tiger asked, "What do you mean?"

The elephant shook its head: "It might be the rules; perhaps the killer can track targets with stickers on them."

Wang Meng, the chick who had plugged his nostrils with cotton, stepped forward and crouched down to examine the sticker. The elephant looked at Wang Meng and asked, "Brother, have you made any new discoveries?"

Wang Meng shook his head, wondering: Why was he matched with Sha Bi in the same dungeon? What a coincidence!
The knife wound wasn't special, nor was the victim, but the sticker was. It was a pencil sketch of a clown; from one angle, the clown seemed to be crying, from another, he seemed to be smiling. Everyone in City A's criminal underworld knew this was Stupid Dagger's signature sticker; all the big shots who died at his hands had one of these stickers.

Ding Shi naturally recognized the Sha Bi sticker as well. He was even more shocked. Why would he be matched with Wang Meng and Sha Bi in the same instance at the same time? Thinking about it, he encountered Sha Bi in the second instance, Wang Meng in the third instance, and Wang Meng and Sha Bi in the fourth instance.

If this isn't targeted, then what is?
The problem is that Sha Bi doesn't have Wang Meng's outstanding physique. Sha Bi is just over 1.7 meters tall and has a slender build. If he eats and drinks well inside and outside the instance, his figure will definitely change. Ding Shi observed the people around him but couldn't identify any suspicious targets.

Silly Bite is a member of a killer family in City A. In the words of the family leader, he's both cowardly and insane. He's insane with most people. Only when facing equally professional killers or bodyguards does he become cowardly. But this cowardice is merely a facade; in reality, he's usually the one who makes him back down, because he sees these people as obstacles preventing him from becoming the Joker.

The elephant stood up and addressed the onlookers, saying, "Now we can be certain that there is a player-hunting assassin among us."

The tiger looked around, its gaze landing on Ding Shi's mask, and said, "The third rule: Don't get close to the duck, or it will bring you misfortune."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ding Shi's side was immediately empty. Da Xiang said, "I don't think the third rule is mandatory. But to be named by the rule, either this brother has a special identity, or this brother has other stories."

The elephant extended its hand: "Can you call me Elephant? Let's chat."

Ding Shi didn't shake hands with the elephant; he waved and backed away from the restroom. He couldn't speak; if he did, Wang Meng and Sha Bi would immediately recognize him.

The tiger, standing beside the elephant, asked, "What does this mean? Are you disrespecting me?"

The elephant replied, "I have no face. At least not now." Then it added, "You can call me elephant."

The tiger and the elephant shook hands: "You can call me tiger."

……

At 12:30, Ding Shi sat on the stairs, watching the players wandering around the buffet, enjoying the delicious-looking food. Compared to cheating, Ding Shi didn't believe in luck, like in gambling; those who believed in luck often ended up selling their wives and daughters. The dungeons in the world of Ita always left players a way out, and that way out was never through gambling on chance, as gambling on chance always resulted in certain death. This was evident in the dungeon preparation room; Ita didn't throw players into an environment of complete ignorance, but rather provided some information to prepare them mentally for the dungeon.

Taking the Little Fire Seed dungeon as an example, it is indeed very dangerous, basically a dead end, but the system gives you the choice whether or not to enter the dungeon, and does not force you to enter the dungeon.

Even when Death kills, he doesn't act directly, but rather indirectly through the butterfly effect.

The problem still lies in the rules.

Ding Shi racked his brains, repeatedly considering the rules of the buffet in Rule Four, but to no avail. Then Ding Shi thought of the first rule: a room with the door closed is an absolutely safe zone.

Why is "absolute" added to the term "safe zone"? A safe zone is understood to be free from external attacks, and fighting is prohibited within it. Killing oneself by hanging shouldn't count. What about eating poisoned food? While eating is an active act, the poison is added by someone else, not oneself; it's not self-inflicted, but rather an external attack.

At 12:45, many people had already left the restaurant, choosing to go on a hunger strike and return home to drink tap water.

Ding Shi picked up a plate and started serving the food. He didn't intentionally reduce the variety; he only took the dishes he liked. Pork, mutton, beef, chicken, and other meats quickly filled a large plate. He then poured himself a Coke and turned to go back to his room.

Elephant watched Ding Shi's actions from the side. He had noticed Ding Shi sitting on the stairs thinking. Seeing Ding Shi act decisively and without hesitation, Elephant believed that Ding Shi had solved the mystery of the restaurant.

Not eating was impossible, but the elephant wouldn't completely trust Ding Shi either, so the elephant only took braised pork ribs with fermented black beans, which was the dish Ding Shi took the most of. As for drinks, forget about them, since there was tap water as a substitute.

The chef's skills were quite good. Ding Shi went to get a large bowl of rice halfway through, and his belly was round and full. It wasn't that Ding Shi lacked restraint; he just took too much. There's a hidden rule at buffets: no waste.

After eating his fill, Ding Shi began to ponder Yi Hao's methods of killing and the identity of the assassin among the players. Because he was so full, he became drowsy after less than a minute of thinking and fell asleep in the wicker chair.

At exactly 2 p.m., the female housekeeper's voice came through the radio: "From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., you can collect 50 yuan in cash from the housekeeper on the first floor every 10 minutes."

This sentence was repeated three times until it startled Ding Shi awake. After hearing it the whole time, Ding Shi stood up, glanced at the time, walked to the door, and stopped. He looked back at the radio. Why repeat it three times? Does she really like giving players freebies? There's no such thing as a free lunch; the female housekeeper's initiative to give out freebies is definitely a way to harm the players.

The housekeeper's words were perfectly correct; there was no trap, unless a new trap had been dug on the stairs?

Ding Shi slapped his forehead, realizing one thing, and then another.

First thing: my guess was right; I wouldn't be poisoned by food in my own room.

The second thing: the poison doesn't take effect at 2 PM, but rather two hours after ingestion. There are two hours for meals between 12 PM and 2 PM, corresponding to the two hours from 2 PM to 4 PM when the poison takes effect. The housekeeper plans to lure everyone outside, causing those who eat the poisoned food to die from the poison.

Because Ding Shi forgot what time he had eaten lunch, he couldn't leave his room before four o'clock. No, he couldn't open the door.

Just as he was thinking this, there was a knock on the door. Ding Shi asked, "Who is it?"

No one answered. Ding Shi knocked again, but the knocking continued, and still no one answered. After a while, the knocking stopped. Ding Shi felt uneasy. Could this be Yi Hao's evil spirit's killing rule?
The phone rang, and Ding Shi, recalling the rules, answered, "Hello."

"Hello duck, I am an elephant."

"You're the duck," Ding Shi replied politely, "Hello, elephant, is there something you need?"

The elephant said, "I'd like to share some experiences with you. For example, I know who the killer is."

Ding Shi asked, "What do you want?"

The elephant replied, “Lunch, dinner, breakfast. Or other information. Your voice seems somewhat familiar.”

Ding Shi said, "You must be Yu Yuan."

The elephant exclaimed in surprise, "Who are you?"

Ding Shi: "I am Ding Shi. Aren't you an entrepreneur? Why do you know about criminal investigation techniques?"

Yu Yuan replied, "I watch Detective Conan."

Ding Shi laughed: "Haha."

Yu Yuan asked, "Why didn't you talk to me in the restroom?"

Ding Shi said, "Firstly, I can't be sure it's you, as your voice is still different because of the mask. Secondly, I have two enemies among the guests."

Yu Yuan said, "I've already contacted Wang Meng, and I'm coming to find you." Clearly, he knew that Ding Shi and Wang Meng had some personal grudges, deep-seated grudges, but they didn't seem to have reached the point where they had to fight to the death.

Ding Shi hurriedly said, "Don't go out." Then he explained the rules: those who have eaten the food should not go out to gamble on the odds.

Yu Yuan reciprocated, saying, "The assassin is a rat."

Ding Shi asked, "Are you sure?"

Yu Yuan answered definitively, "When the rat took the plate from the ultraviolet disinfection cabinet, I saw traces of blood on his right hand. It's also possible he injured himself, but there were very few drops of blood on his cuff. How so?"

Yu Yuan thought for a moment: "If it's a normal injury and bleeding, it will show patches of blood. A throat cut will show splattered blood. Although I can't be 100% sure, the rat is the most likely suspect. Moreover, he took the food just like you, without any psychological burden, but he was the first person to take the food."

Ding Shi replied, "OK, thanks for the information. Do you know which room the mouse is in?"

"309."

Aside from Wang Meng and Ding Shi, Yu Yuan didn't encounter any other acquaintances. Yu Yuan was lucky; he drew a job as a writer, a job he could stay at home in. On his first day, he gathered everything that might harm him into one room and covered up the sharp corners of the furniture. Furthermore, Yu Yuan had plenty of savings, so he decisively called his neighbor to help him buy groceries.

Staying home is certainly safe, but without exploration there is no reward. Yu Yuan understood this before accepting Death's invitation. Yu Yuan stated that after returning home tomorrow, he would continue to lie low until he completed the main quest.

(End of this chapter)