Ding!
"Saviors 9527 and 9528 have entered World #78523—Modern Crime Investigation: The Night Wanderer."
Little Deer Assistant's voice echoed simultaneously in both their minds: "Downloading character profiles, please wait... Download complete."
"Savior 9527, character name: Jiang Wuye. Identity: Former squad leader of the Security Task Force, dismissed for excessive use of force. Currently a partner at Starnight Detective Agency and combat specialist."
Little Deer Assistant 9527 paused. "Um... the character setting is 'calm and decisive, with keen observational skills'... I think that's right. Original ending: Unknown."
Yin Wuwang's mouth twitched. Security Task Force? Combat specialist? What were these things?
Xie Qingyan's Little Deer Assistant 9528 chimed in as well: "Savior 9528, character name: Shen Xinglan. Identity: Former detective squad captain, resigned at age twenty-six. Currently the founder of Starnight Detective Agency and special criminal investigation consultant for Cloud City Police. Character setting: Cool-headed and brilliant, with rigorous logic... um, the author wrote 'master detective,' but I'm not entirely sure how skilled that actually is. Original ending: Unknown."
"Unknown ending?" Xie Qingyan frowned.
"The author stopped updating. The subsequent plot was never completed." Little Deer Assistant 9528 explained, a note of helplessness in its voice.
Yin Wuwang sneered. Another worthless author who abandoned their work.
"Mission objective: Repair the collapsed storyline by solving the case using proper criminal investigation methods, guiding the plot toward a logical conclusion." Little Deer Assistant 9527 continued. "Core rules: No OOC behavior, no using cultivation abilities. This world has no spiritual energy—your cultivation has been suppressed."
"I know! I know!" Yin Wuwang said impatiently.
For cultivators, the absence of spiritual energy felt strange—like having their bones removed, leaving their entire bodies feeling weightless. But they had already adapted to this sensation in the previous world, had learned how to survive using mortal methods.
Xie Qingyan asked: "Where are we?"
Little Deer Assistant's voice echoed in both their minds simultaneously: "This is the apartment shared by Shen Xinglan and Jiang Wuye. You're currently standing in the living room. The kitchen is on your right. At the end of the hallway is the shared bathroom and toilet. On the left, the first room is Shen Xinglan's bedroom, the second is the study. On the right, the first room is Jiang Wuye's bedroom, the second is storage."
The two walked to the hallway to look around. Yin Wuwang pointed at a brown wooden panel mounted on the right wall and asked: "Is this wooden panel a door?"
Little Deer Assistant 9527: "Yes. Please press the silver handle downward and push inward to open."
Yin Wuwang nodded, reached out and pressed—click—the handle broke off...
He glanced awkwardly at Xie Qingyan and defended himself: "The craftsmanship in this world is really shoddy!"
Little Deer Assistant 9527: "Savior 9527 has damaged one door handle. Repair cost: 0.05 points. Would you like to pay with spirit stones, or have it recorded for deduction during final settlement?"
Points notifications were sent to both of them. Xie Qingyan glanced at the handle and said mildly: "Record it." Who knew how many more deductions lay ahead—better to save the spirit stones.
"Understood. This world will use the record-now-settle-later method for compensation of items damaged by Saviors. Initiating repairs now."
Yin Wuwang did the conversion and complained: "This piece of junk costs 5 low-grade spirit stones?!"
"It doesn't matter. We can earn it back."
Xie Qingyan's single sentence restored Yin Wuwang's mood. He let out a light snort, opened the door and looked inside. The room contained a bed with a small wooden cabinet on each side, a large wardrobe by the window, and another door beside the wardrobe. Simple and clean—smaller than where his demon soldiers slept.
Not that he minded. After all, he'd slept in trees before.
Xie Qingyan glanced inside but showed no interest in viewing the other rooms: "Let's familiarize ourselves with the story first."
"Please have the Saviors sit on the living room sofa. We will now provide an introduction to this world's story."
"What's a sofa?" Yin Wuwang didn't even bother closing the door, walking straight out of the room while asking.
"A sofa is the thing surrounding the table on both sides. It's long with a backrest—seating that's more comfortable than a chair."
Yin Wuwang eyed the L-shaped sofa in the living room with deep suspicion. Could this thing possibly be more comfortable than my throne?
He sat down with his back straight, pressed down with his hand, and found it quite soft... He slowly leaned back against the backrest, his eyes narrowing slightly. Hmm~ This world isn't bad after all. Not everything here is terrible.
"Fuguang, come sit down. Time to study the mission."
Xie Qingyan looked with amusement at Yin Wuwang—face perfectly serious, yet eyes sparkling—and walked over to sit beside him. It seemed this sofa had thoroughly satisfied the great Demon Sovereign who had conquered three realms.
Little Deer Assistant 9527 said: "The black panel in front is a 'television,' used for viewing images... um, similar to a Recording Stone? Now playing the original plot."
The black panel suddenly lit up. Yin Wuwang instinctively clenched his fists while Xie Qingyan's gaze sharpened, fixed on the glowing surface. The screen displayed what appeared to be a tavern—dim lighting, the clamor of voices. The view shifted to a back alley where a man's corpse lay surrounded by several people in strange uniforms, apparently officers.
A voice spoke: "Bar manager Chen Wan was found dead in the back alley. Cause of death—"
The image suddenly dissolved into static. Bzzt. "Cause of death: cyanide poisoning." Bzzt. "Cause of death: blunt force trauma to the head." Bzzt. "Cause of death: strangulation." Three voices overlapped as the screen flickered erratically.
"What's going on?" Yin Wuwang frowned. "Which one is it?"
"What is cyanide?" Xie Qingyan asked.
"Cyanide is a type of... um..." Little Deer Assistant 9528 paused. "Deadly poison! Yes, a deadly poison. After ingestion or contact, death occurs very quickly... I'm not sure exactly how quickly, but it should be fast."
Xie Qingyan nodded slightly. Though the artifact spirit's explanation was vague, he understood "deadly poison." "Three possible causes of death," he said. "This script is remarkably careless."
[End of V2_Chapter 02]
Next: The suspect's personality does a complete 180. The victim has three backstories. This author really needs to pick a lane.