Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 16 Why Are You Still Alive?
A dozen minutes later, Zhou You finally met the woman he had hoped for.

Like her husband, this woman was around forty or fifty years old, wearing a dusty sanitation worker's uniform. Her face was weathered, and her expression was blank, as if the hardships of life had worn away all her edges. She seemed unaware of what was happening, nervously clutching the hem of her clothes, anxiously watching Zhou You.

Zhou You didn't rush to speak, but instead glanced at the female cleaner and the fat monster.

This female worker was just summoned by the monster.

The problem is that she felt no fear whatsoever towards this monster; when she occasionally glanced at it, she only showed the unease and fear one would have towards an ordinary, stingy boss.

so
—It's because the scenery I saw was different from theirs.

Or is it that their perception has been corrupted in some way, making them unable to recognize the true situation?

Zhou You pondered for a while but still couldn't find an answer. Moreover, with the fat monster right beside him, he couldn't ask for details either. So he could only sigh and then introduce himself to the female worker.

"Hello, I'm Zhou You, an investigative reporter from the provincial television station. I'm here to..."

Unexpectedly, upon hearing the word "reporter," the previously timid cleaning lady suddenly became anxious.

"My partner's past has been brought up again??"

"Uh, no."

"Or are you trying to block my door again?"

"Neither"

“My child really can’t take any more harassment. He’s already emotionally unstable because of his father’s death, and we don’t know where he’ll get the tuition for next semester. And then you guys keep coming to our door to interview and harass him—”

No, is it a tradition for this scriptwriter to not listen to what others say?

The other person became increasingly agitated—and more than just agitated; as she cried out, the head on her neck swelled up like a balloon, visibly about to transform into a new monster.

"Wait, I'm here to deliver your tuition fees!"

A shout.

The mutated state suddenly stopped.

"What did you say?"

Seeing that the cleaning lady had finally stopped, Zhou You immediately comforted her in the kindest voice.

“Auntie, don’t be afraid. I’m not one of those tabloid writers. My master helped solve a case a while ago, and the province gave him a special bonus for it. But we didn’t know his identity at the time, so we only found out where he was.”

Zhou You glanced at the female worker's expression, and seeing that there was no change, he continued.

"Unfortunately, he had already passed away when we found him. I happen to be here recently handling a few interviews, so I thought I'd take this opportunity to hand over the money to you. I'd also like to see if we could hold a memorial service or something for him. Please rest assured, I'm really not here to bother you."

The hastily fabricated lie had many flaws, but it was enough to fool an ordinary middle-aged woman. The female worker's head gradually shrank, eventually turning back into that timid face.

"Young man, are you telling the truth?"

"Of course it's true." To strengthen his persuasiveness, Zhou You even pulled out a thick wad of banknotes from his pocket—since it wasn't his own, he didn't feel bad giving it away. "Look, this money is a bonus from the province. You can take it now, and you don't have to worry about it being forcibly taken away. In a few days, the TV station might do a special program about this case. If anyone tries to do that, they'll be slapping the face of the entire city's leadership."

After saying that, Zhou You turned his head and looked at a certain fat monster.

The fat monster, whose face already showed greed, coughed lightly and turned his face away awkwardly. Seeing this, the female worker finally believed Zhou You's words. She carefully took the money, then suddenly said in a trembling voice, "Um, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you earlier, young man—no, I mean, Mr. Reporter—to be honest, this money has been a huge help. My child was due to pay this semester's tuition, but then his father suddenly... I can't earn that much money on my own. I really don't know how to thank you enough."

“Auntie, you don’t need to thank me.” Zhou You quickly helped the woman who was about to bend over. “There’s just something I might need to trouble you with—the show might need more people to attend later, so I’d like to ask if Master has any other immediate family members? Like brothers or something.”

The female worker immediately began to sigh.

“There was indeed someone before, who did business with him, but unfortunately he was also unlucky. He passed away from a sudden illness a few years ago. He didn’t have a wife or children, and my husband was the one who took care of him in his final moments. After that, my husband was the only one left to keep that small stall afloat. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten this disease.”

Hearing this, Zhou You was finally able to make up his mind.

I definitely didn't choose the wrong person.

"It's alright, it's alright, it doesn't matter—oh, by the way, do you have any keepsakes or items related to my master here? I might need to visit his grave later, since this case actually helped our station a lot."

Throughout, his expression remained extremely sincere, showing no sign of pretense.

"Dear player, you have obtained an unknown special item: an old scarf."

"The talent 'keen observation' effect has been activated. Identification successful."

"Effect: This is something a wife wove for her husband a long time ago, hoping it would keep some warmth in the winter. When a player equips this item, it will increase their cold resistance. It can also be given to certain beings to increase their favorability."

Having obtained this item, Zhou You considered his task for the day complete.

However, adhering to the principle of doing good deeds to the end and seeing things through to the end, he also gave the fat monster a warning, telling it that the city leaders were paying close attention to the case and that it should consider how to change the treatment of sanitation workers—and only left completely after receiving a series of solemn assurances.

He didn't waste the rest of his time; instead, he explored as much of the area as possible, hoping to find more clues about the script or perhaps scout out some routes. Unfortunately, he came up empty-handed.

As they wandered around, the sky outside gradually darkened.

Night has fallen.

Just as the sun dipped below the horizon, the scenery before Zhou You suddenly shifted. The buildings, which had been hazy in the twilight, abruptly tilted and disappeared, and then many familiar things gradually appeared before him.

In the blink of an eye, he was back in that security room.

"The player has entered the second night."

"Game progress will be saved automatically."

But before the dizziness from the sudden change could subside, he abruptly turned his head and looked at the clock.

Just like the first time I entered, it was still 10:30.

"As expected, the return time is always the same. It's a pity, I was hoping to see how this area transitions into this ghostly realm at night, but it seems it's completely fixed."

But just then, a sound of porcelain falling and shattering came from behind him.

Immediately afterwards, a voice filled with extreme terror and utter disbelief rang out.

"You, how could you still be alive!"

(End of this chapter)