Chapter 44
Chapter 44: Growth
Although many parts of the video were blurred, the readers were still able to infer what happened.
Replies were made at a high speed. Every time Roland refreshed the page, the replies he saw previously would be squeezed to the next page.
“Scum! Why did the recorder not kill this criminal?”
“Don’t blame him. He doesn’t know who the criminal is, does he? Besides, he has at least saved a girl. That’s two coins. Tsk, tsk. He’s truly generous. Two gold coins can be exchanged for twenty-eight thousand bucks in real life. Is it worth it to spend the money on an NPC?”
“Does anyone still regard the characters in the game as NPCs? Do you not feel anything different about such advanced technology?”
“Hehe, few players of this game are fools. It’s been more than a month. Even the stupidest person should’ve realized something is wrong.”
“What’s wrong with this game? The virtual cabin is not harmful to our health, is it? (kidding) In any case, the criminal should be executed. I definitely support the investigation.”
“Roland, find the criminal and kill him. I’ll tip you in advance.”
“It’s a shame that I’m too far away from Delpon, or I’d definitely help.”
Roland read the replies and finally found the information he needed.
“I’ve been a police officer for thirty years, and I’ve handled more than a hundred homicide cases. Here’s my social media number: 24xxxxxxx.”
Roland immediately friended him. The guy was online. He asked, “Roland?”
“That’s me.”
“All right, I’ll cut to the chase. I’ve watched your video three times, but since I was not there, I can only provide three pieces of information.”
“What are they?”
“First of all, the cave is not the crime scene but only a site for body disposal. Secondly, this is a serial killer. Based on my experience and the color of the bones, the person kills a girl every month. Thirdly, you have to protect the girl you saved. I don’t think she saw the criminal, but it doesn’t mean that she’s not in danger.”
“Why do you think that the girl did not see the criminal?”
“The crime scene should be where the basket fell. The place was quite messy. I’m 80% sure that the criminal raped and attempted to kill her there. However, no clothes, blood, or semen could be seen in the video you posted, which means that the criminal cleaned the place carefully.”
“Are there no other ways to find the criminal?” Roland asked.
“In the modern day, we could gather the semen inside the girl and examine the biological information of the murderer. However, there are no DNA databases in the game world. If you want to find the criminal, you have to be prepared for a long investigation.”
Roland was slightly bummed after he read that.
Then, the guy sent another message. “But you can at least narrow it down to a certain group of people. The criminal was very calm. He should be calm and addicted to clothes collection.”
Got it!
Roland thanked him. He was also surprised at the guy who played an immersive game at such an old age. It was quite impressive.
Roland calmed down as he read other replies. His anger was not gone, but had been temporarily buried.
After breakfast, Roland went to the boxing club to practice.
It had been almost a month since he joined the club. Now that he was familiar with the basic moves, he had started practicing with the coach several days ago.
As they practiced, the coach called a stop and stared at him in a strange way, “You are slightly aggressive today.”
Briefly dazed, Roland took off his gloves and said, “Something happened.”
“Don’t let it bother you.” The coach looked at Roland and said, “You are very talented. If you practice, I will be no match for you in two months. However, talented people tend to be sharp-edged. One-third of my fellows were in jail once, one-third constantly fought with others, and only the last one third live a peaceful life.”
“Thank you,” said Roland sincerely. Then he asked with curiosity, “So, you’re among the last third?”
“No, I’m among the first.” The coach smiled bitterly. “That’s how I know that you have few opportunities to change your life once you’re put in jail. Even your family will be affected. My nephew failed his vetting because of his relationship with me. He had a good chance!”
The coach appeared lonely under the light. “I’m sorry for him.”
“Young people should be prudent.” The coach patted Roland’s shoulder and said, “Sometimes, your mistakes will haunt you for the rest of your life.”
Roland was silent.
He returned home in the afternoon. He checked the forum and found a lot of tips given by players who asked him to find and execute the criminal.
Roland smiled and entered the game at ten that night.
He waited for several minutes in the monochrome space, then time flowed again in the game world.
Roland stared at the couple who were filled with tears of joy. He said to Betta, “You’ll protect the girl for the next couple of days in case the criminal asks for trouble. Also, when the girl is awake, ask her if she saw the criminal.”
“Why don’t you protect the girl and let me investigate the criminal?”
“Because your charm is higher than mine,” said Roland casually. “And my intelligence is higher than yours.”
Betta was lost for words.
Roland did not investigate the criminal after he left the temple. Instead, he returned to Lamb Girl and locked himself in his room, focusing on Language Proficiency.
He had a lot of feelings after the conversation with the coach.
He was only one final step from grasping Language Proficiency. He felt that he was close to success.
After witnessing the disgusting crime scene, saving the girl, and talking to the coach, he felt that his abilities had been improved.
It was not about his attributes, but about his control of his mind.
He found it easier to control his emotions now.
He practiced Language Proficiency again and again, not frustrated by the failures. He would rest when his head hurt, and continue when the pain was gone.
From morning to noon, and from noon to night, he never stopped.
He simply focused on magic.
Finally, when night was about to fall, he successfully cast Language Proficiency for the first time.
The thirty-seven nodes connected perfectly.
“You’ve learned level-two spell ‘Language Proficiency.’ EXP +445. You’ve reached LV4.”
Reading the message, Roland slowly stood up.