Ita Era

Chapter 9 Peach Blossom Village (Part 7)
Big Head asked through the gate, "Who are you? What do you want?"

Ding Shi said, "I'm the village chief's assistant, I've come to find out what's going on."

Big Head: "What's going on?"

Ding Shi began to have doubts. Most villagers, even those who raised chickens, wouldn't close their main gates; instead, they would leave them slightly ajar, often locking them from the inside. Secondly, under normal circumstances, ordinary villagers would speak with their doors open, not ask questions through the door.

Ding Shi said, "Regarding the matter of collecting public grain, I've confirmed that all your fields have been rented out."

Big Head: "Yes, they've all been rented out. Go back, I have something to do."

Ding Shi asked, "Is there any water to drink?"

Big Head paused, thought for several seconds, and then said, "Yes." There was no way he wouldn't agree to this request.

Da Tou reluctantly opened the door latch, let Ding Shi into the courtyard, and said, "I'll get you some water." This indicated that he had no intention of inviting Ding Shi to sit down.

Ding Shi nodded his thanks and noticed the yellow mud on Da Tou's trouser legs. Strange, he'd walked around the yard and hadn't seen a vegetable garden; the women had also said Da Tou hadn't planted any vegetables or crops, so where did the yellow mud come from?

But there doesn't seem to be a problem in the front yard.

While observing the courtyard, Da Tou brought out a ladle of spring water. Ding Shi estimated that Da Tou hadn't had time to poison the water, since most poisons at that time were crystalline and needed to be dissolved. Liquid poisons also had a strong smell. Ding Shi confidently drank half a ladleful, and he had to admit, the sweet aftertaste of the spring water was truly delicious.

Ding Shi returned the ladle to Da Tou. Da Tou, who had been observing Ding Shi, took the ladle and asked, "What's your name?"

"Ding Shi (7-9 AM)".

Big Head nodded: "Yes, they are college students." The college student label was the first identity assigned to these people by the system, and the villagers had already accepted this identity because the village chief had publicized it in advance.

Big Head then asked, "I heard people in the county town talking about NPCs. You're a college student, you're knowledgeable, do you know what that means?"

Ding Shi's heart skipped a beat. NPCs didn't exist in this era; no one in the county town would use that term. Da Tou had definitely heard of NPCs, and might even know what they meant, but why did Da Tou think it was a trendy term?

Ding Shi nodded: "NPC is an abbreviation of the three words NO, PANDA, and CAT, meaning that a panda is not a cat. For example, when a bride and groom get married, the bridesmaids and groomsmen are NPCs. They are not the main characters, but supporting characters. The bridesmaids are not the bride, and the groomsmen are not the groom."

Da Tou understood Ding Shi's meaning, but he didn't quite grasp it, nor did he know how to express it.

Big Head pressed further, "Are you a player?"

Ding asked in confusion, "What is a player?"

Big Head looked at Ding Shi suspiciously: "The person who plays games."

Ding Shi said, "I don't usually play games, except for jumping hopscotch when I was a kid." His expression seemed to be looking at an idiot.

Big Head chuckled: "I heard this morning that the village caught a thief, is that right?"

Ding Shi said, "I don't know, I haven't heard of this. I'll be going now."

Da Tou released the dagger from his waist with his left hand, saw Ding Shi out the door, watched Ding Shi ride away on his bicycle, and then closed the courtyard gate.

Ding heard the door close, hid the car in the reeds, and jogged back to Da Tou's house, circling around to the backyard.

Looking over the wall, the backyard ground was uneven, revealing two small vegetable patches with bamboo poles stuck in them years ago. After observing and waiting for a while, Ding Shi climbed over the wall and entered the backyard, heading straight for the corner where a hoe lay, with freshly dug soil beside it.

Jialing's voice came from the front yard. Ding Shi went from the back door where the urinal was placed to the front hall and saw Da Tou drive away alone.

It’s like giving you a pillow when you feel sleepy!
Ding Shi went back to the backyard to dig, but before he could dig a meter, he encountered a strange object. He used a hoe to pry it open and found it was a human hand.

Holy crap! Li Si got buried alive by the villagers. NPCs killing players—is this what the system calls an extremely low-danger casual dungeon?
Ding Shi found the description of the "extremely low danger" instance and raised a question. The system replied: "No zuo no die." The system was also helpless; if you insist on jumping off a cliff, you'll die no matter how low the difficulty.

This reply did give Ding Shi a clue, indicating that Li Si deliberately chose to die. Now only one question remains: was Li Si killed after stealing from Da Tou's house, or was he tricked by Da Tou?

Regardless of all that, I need to notify the village chief and have the scene secured. As for my trespassing, that's irrelevant; I'm the village chief's assistant.

Ding Shi went through the back door to the front hall, preparing to cross the courtyard and leave. The door to the room next to the front hall quietly opened, and Da Tou, holding a sharp knife in his right hand, followed Ding Shi with a fierce look in his eyes.

Ding Shi suddenly stopped, pointed to the ground with his finger. Da Tou looked down and saw his own figure, holding a knife, illuminated by the setting sun in front of Ding Shi.

In that instant, Da Tou cried because he was so stupid.

Ding Shi turned around and asked, "Why did you kill Li Si?"

Big Head was surprised and uncertain: "Because he's a player." Ding Shi remained calm, but Big Head began to panic.

Ding asked doubtfully, "A player? You believe him?"

Da Tou: "I didn't believe it at first, but he talked a lot about the background of our era, future development, the comprehensive reform and opening up in 93, and all the way to internet live streaming."

Ding Shi asked, "What does he want to do?"

Big Head: "He asked me to cooperate with him. I helped him make money, and he helped me get a player identity."

Ding Shi asked, "How do we do it?"

Big Head: "Kill a player."

Ding Shi asked, "Is that alright?"

Big Head: "No. I killed him, but I got nothing."

Ding Shi said, "Turn yourself in. The net of heaven is vast, and though its meshes are wide, nothing escapes it."

Big Head shook his head: "I don't want to, I don't want to be an NPC. Maybe if I kill you, I can get a player identity."

Ding Shi: "Impossible."

Big Head: "Why?"

Ding Shi said, "Because you are no match for me."

Da Tou ignored Ding Shi and charged forward with his knife. Ding Shi snapped his fingers, and a five-kilogram stone appeared in his left hand. The knife struck the stone and broke in two.

Throwing away the stones, Ding Shi first executed a German back throw, then used a triangular lock to restrain Da Tou. Gradually, Da Tou's eyes rolled back due to lack of oxygen. Ding Shi released Da Tou at the opportune moment, pulled out the vines used to bundle firewood, and tightly bound Da Tou's hands and feet. He then stopped a villager who was returning home and asked him to inform the village chief.

The village chief contacted the yamen (government office) via hand-cranked telephone and, along with some villagers, rushed to Da Tou's house. Soon after, the constables arrived in a three-wheeled motorcycle and began interrogating him on the spot. Da Tou confessed to murdering Li Si. As the constables left, they praised Ding Shi for his bravery in fighting against the bad guys.

After working on it until 4 AM, this side quest is finally complete, rated perfect, and I received 1 hit. The village chief's satisfaction level is 30.

Shortly after their first meeting, Ding Shi disliked Li Si for his boastful nature. Li Si's theft of the wood-chopping knife further convinced Ding Shi that he was a troublemaker. However, the fact that Li Si was killed, rather than killing someone, was somewhat unexpected for Ding Shi. In retrospect, Ding Shi became even more convinced that NPCs were normal beings. They could think, have various ideas, and even intentionally kill players.

There was something else that bothered Ding Shi: despite the murder, neither Zhang San nor Zhao Liu were at the scene. Most of the village had come, but these two, fellow players, were conspicuously absent, which seemed odd. After all, besides watching the spectacle, they also needed to gather intelligence. Perhaps they simply didn't care, given it was just a low-risk casual instance. Or perhaps they assumed he would unconditionally inform them tomorrow?
As the village chief's assistant, Ding Shi first rode his bicycle to take the village chief back to his house, then assisted the forensic doctor who rushed to the scene to Da Tou's house to collect Li Si's body. The road was narrow, so Ding Shi and the forensic doctor worked together to pull the body to the village entrance on a handcart. This arduous task was completed around 7:00 AM the next day. The task earned him a reward of 0.5 dollars, and the village chief's satisfaction level rose to 40.

During the new book release period, I will maintain two updates per day, occasionally three. Update times will be 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM.

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(End of this chapter)