Going outside in the garden, Elaine wanted to enjoy the good weather
Feeling the gentle breeze and warm sunlight, she sighed with satisfaction
This is such a good vacation spot
But her good mood didn't last long
[PROP 'PLASTIC FAMILY' HAS COMPLETED THE TASK 'GATHER INFORMATION'
RETRIEVE THEM?
YES/NO]
She tilted her head, and chose no
[INFORMATION GATHERED BY PROP 'PLASTIC FAMILY' HAS BEEN RECEIVED
REVIEW THEM?
YES/NO]
She almost sighed in sadness, more work was coming her way.
She chose yes
Looking at the dense array of words, she could feel an incoming headache
Resigning to her fate, she began to review the data
It first mentioned that the higher ups in the law and justice enforcement were most likely to have been bribed as a testament to the ever growing missing person cases that have been ignored and shelved in the archives
Multiple affected families and concerned citizens had repeatedly protested and expressed dissatisfaction towards the neglience and evasion of the authorities towards the cases but somehow the discordant voices would be silenced and deleted in multiple platforms, and due to the towns remote location and small size
The matter fail to gain much attention and those that know of the incidents can only discuss it in private
Second information was related to the inn, it mentioned how the inn got founded, who founded it, who managed it, who invested in it, and about the owner's family
The inn was built twenty years ago by a retired couple with the financial aid of the old man's brother who was quite the big deal in the business circle, the couple had a daughter that spent most of her childhood and adulthood abroad with her mother's maiden family
She had died 3 years ago when she came home for a summer vacation, unfortunately she was kidnapped and was critically injured while trying to escape, she passed away upon arriving in the hospital
The one who manages the inn was the old couple's nephew, the adopted son of the old man's brother
He was groomed to inherit the business enterprise of his adopted father, and he did after the old man passed away 4 years ago, he didn't manage the inn until 3 years ago when the old couple's daughter passed away
Dealt with 2 family members passing away consecutively, the old retired couple lost the capacity to manage the inn and relinquished the management rights to their nephew
They mainly stay in the farm house not far from the inn to take care of the cattle and vegetables that the inn would use
Although the nephew runs the inn, he wasn't always present as he also had to manage the business enterprise his adopted father left for him and hired a professional manager instead, he would recieve reports and would sometimes come to the inn personally to conduct routine inspection
While reading the information, multiple speculations ran in Elaine's mind but she didn't pause and continued reading
Most of the information weren't really important or was unrelated to her current situation
It briefly mentioned the solved cases, the drug circle and multiple crimes that were memorable and recently happened
Suprisingly, for such a small town, the crime rates was quite high but a lot of tourist would still visit the scenic spots in town and would stay here for a vacation
Closing the system window, she looked at the fountain inside this beautiful garden.
She already have multiple conclusions but that's sugarcoating it, it's mostly specualtion.
She needed more information before she can solve the secret hiding in this inn, and from what she encountered in this place during her stay, there wasn't only one.
She didn't have a task of solving any mysteries but she couldn't help but want to scratch that itch of curiosity.
This inn was really interesting, no, this dungeon was really interesting.
But first
I'm really curious about that ragdoll
***
"You want me to help you find that tree?"
Elaine outwardly looked at Clyde with puzzlement, but inwardly she could barely supress her smile.
"Yes"
"But the forest seems creepy"
"It'll be fine"
"It's gloomy, and it looks dangerous..."
"I'll protect you"
"That isn't really the point"
"I'll make sure nothing happens you"
Elaine looked at Clyde's serious expression, and almost failed to supress the rising arc on her lips
When I was sleepy someone conveniently handed me a pillow, what a good man this guy Clyde is
Sighing in defeat, she reluctantly compromised
"Then I have a favor"
"I'll do anything in my capacity"
"Can I see that bloodied doll?"
Clyde was silent before he said with a somewhat wary tone
"What for?.."
Elaine didn't play tricks this time and honestly answered, well partly.
"I noticed that the black substance that oozed out of that doll looked liked oxidized but uncoagulated blood, I wanna know the reason why blood that has long left the body isn't showing any signs of coagulation"
Clyde went silent, he really didn't notice nor even thought in that direction when he got the ragdoll, and now that he thought about maybe there really was some mystery involved in the black blood.
If he handed it over he could ask Lina later about what she thought but he needed to carry that ragdoll just in case he was able to trigger the condition for acquiring that soul based ability.
He thought for a few seconds before he made up his mind.
"I'll go get it and let you borrow it but only temporarily, a few hours is enough for you to collect samples of that black blood right"
"Yes, it's enough"
He stood up and left
Elaine stared at the back of Clyde's head before rolling her eyes.
She was the one who found the doll but to maintain her NPC persona she needed to hand the doll over to Clyde and now she even had to practically beg him for it.
it made her kind of annoyed.
She waited for a while before he came back with the ragdoll and handed it over to her.
She immediately left after recieving it and retreated to her room.
Setting the box on her bedside table, she opened it
The strong smell of rotten blood assaulted her nostrils, but she didn't change her expression and wordlessly put on her gloves
Carefully holding the ragdoll, she raised her eyebrown.
[SKILL 'INSPECTION' ACTIVE]
[ITEM'S HIDDEN INFORMATION AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING]
Looks like Clyde had an inspection item, she then read the information she couldn't see before
————————————————
ITEM: SARA'S BELOVED RAGDOLL
TYPE: SOUL-BOUND ARTIFACT
DESCRIPTION: A RAGDOLL MADE BY SARA'S LOVER, CONTAINS A FRAGMENT OF SARA'S ANGUISHED SOUL, BOUND TO SARA, CORRUPTED WITH SARA'S INTENSE HATRED
EFFECT: CAN BE USED TO FIND SARA, CAN BE USED TO CURSE SARA, CAN BE USED TO COMPLETE SARA'S SOUL, CAN BE CONSUMED BY USER USING A SPECIAL METHOD TO GAIN A CURSE RELATED SKILL- PRECAUTION, MAY GET HAUNTED BY SARA
HIDDEN INFORMATION: BY KILLING THE PERSON WHO TORMENTED SARA YOU CAN SOOTHE SARA'S SOUL AND GAIN A SOUL RELATED SKILL
————————————————
Hah.
No wonder.
She sneered, it really was no surpris why Clyde was reluctant to let go of the item, it could help him gain a soul related skill.
An A-class dungeon giving soul-related skill was truly a pleasant surprise.
It's usually only found in the second level dungeons.
Finding it here in the first levels are highly unusual, well unless this was a dungeon connected to the second level.
If that was really the case then the difficulty of this dungeon would be higher than normal, well for the players that are tasked with solving the mystery.
With enthusiasm shining in her eyes, she took a vial and collected the black blood from the doll before sealing it and keeping it in her player inventory, she then prepared to hand the doll back to Clyde.