Grim Reaper Game

Chapter 6 A New Quest

I briefly explained my train of thought to Henry. “Of course, the most important thing I came up with was how the crime was committed. This will explain why poison was detected in the bottle and in Cain’s glass. It will also explain why only Cain died while the other three were unharmed despite there being poison in the bottle.”

“What exactly happened?” Henry asked eagerly.

“Do you remember the various precautions we took during chemistry class?” I asked.

“I’ve forgotten all about it! Just tell me!” Henry urged.

“My chemistry teacher in junior high had a habit. No, it wasn’t only a habit. It was downright OCD. Whenever he picked up a bottle with a label on it, he would make sure the label faced his palm.” I smiled.

“Yeah… I remember now. My chemistry teacher also repeatedly stressed the importance of holding a labeled bottle with the label facing our palm,” Henry said.

“If a junior high chemistry teacher already behaves in such a manner, what about a chemistry professor in college? Steven, who was Cain’s student, must have known this habit of his. If Steven had the intention of killing Cain, he would have made use of this fact. Ever since Steven found out about Cain’s party, he must have started devising his plan. Did Cain really buy the bottle of wine that cost 1,500 dollars?”

“Are you saying… that the bottle of wine was actually a gift from Steven?” Henry asked.

“That’s right. Steven was Cain’s student. Knowing that his teacher was having a party, he would have every reason to give the wine to him as a gift. Moreover, he could even tell Cain to lie about buying the wine himself during the party. That way, Jamie and Frank would feel genuinely grateful toward him. I suppose someone like Cain, who would even steal his student’s work, would not turn down Steven’s suggestion.”

“Hmm, you’re right…” Henry nodded.

“In reality, Steven had tampered with the bottle of wine long ago. He smeared the poison on the side of the tip that faced the label,” I explained.

“Steven is kind of dumb. What if Cain poured the wine too forcefully? Wouldn’t he end up pouring poisoned wine for the others?” Henry asked.

I smiled. “That won’t happen. That’s high-class wine that costs 1,500 dollars a bottle. Cain would be very careful when he poured it. He wouldn’t let a single drop go to waste. The price of the wine guaranteed the viability of Steven’s plan.”

“But if nobody else poured the wine, and Cain had his own habit that was hard to change, how did the poison end up in his glass?” Henry asked.

“That’s easy. It was in the last glass of wine,” I said.

“The last glass?”

“Didn’t they finish all the wine in the bottle? As long as Steven insisted that Cain poured him the remaining wine, the other two would certainly not have a word against him. When Cain poured Steven the last glass of wine, he’d certainly have tipped the bottle upside down so as not to waste a single drop. Wouldn’t that make sure the poison would get into Cain’s glass? That would also explain why the poison in the bottle only killed Cain, wouldn’t it?” I explained.

“Ahh! Ahh! Ahh! You’re amazing for even coming up with that!” Henry exclaimed.

“Hehe. It’s only a guess. We’ll still have to see what your brother finds in his investigation! Just tell him what I told you,” I said.

Henry leapt to his feet gleefully. “Okay, Azrael. When I get the reward from my brother, I’ll buy all your meals for ten days and make sure you’ll always get eggs and drumsticks in every meal! I’m going to tell my brother right now!” He excitedly ran out after finishing his sentence.

“Hey! You promised to buy me lunch…” Henry was long gone. I could not help but laugh bitterly and shake my head. Despite all the thinking and talking, I did not get my free lunch. It was certainly a loss for me!

The next evening, Henry excitedly came to me and told me the culprit was caught. It turned out Steven and Frank conspired against Cain together. Their plot was exactly as I had described.

“Azrael, you’re amazing!” Henry just became my fan.

“What was Frank’s motive?” I asked out of curiosity.

“Haha! It turned out Cain did not only steal his student’s work, but was also a p*****t. He actually blackmailed a female student by threatening to give her poor grades. The worst part was that this student was actually Steven’s girlfriend and Frank’s distant niece!”

I did not feel happy at all after hearing this. Cain deserved to die. I believed Steven and Frank had done nothing wrong.

However, laws existed for a reason. Nobody could break these laws without being punished.

I could only sigh.

As promised, Henry treated me to a decent meal at the cafeteria. Of course, the meal included my favorite egg and drumstick.

After dinner, Henry went out to have fun while I returned to my room to surf the web.

Just like last Friday, I was the only one in the room. It was getting dark.

After playing games for a while, my computer screen suddenly turned pitch black. I was wondering what happened when a person sitting in front of a computer appeared on the screen.

I took a closer look and was shocked by what I saw. I nearly fell tipped over my chair.

The picture, the computer, the table, the chair, and the back of the person all looked so familiar. It was basically me sitting in front of my computer!

“Here we go again!”

I immediately broke into cold sweat, and my heart began beating rapidly.

I closed my eyes and kept telling myself to stay calm.

“Since I can’t escape, I might as well face it head on!”

I opened my eyes. Suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of me. It made me dizzy.

The light quickly receded, but I still saw nothing but darkness before me. I could not stand firm on my feet and eventually fell to the ground.

However, the ground was incredibly soft. It felt as if I had fallen onto a bed. Not only did it not hurt, I even felt comfortable.

After a while, I slowly opened my eyes. My vision gradually became clear.

I was in a small room that seemed like a bedroom. I happened to be lying on a large bed in the room.

“Today’s headline: A man in his thirties was found dead in a rented house on a bed in Eastport Avenue. His neighbor said the deceased was named Sean Beck. He was known to be quite the hooligan in the local scene. Rumor has it that he was found dead with more than a hundred needle wounds on his body. It was a tragic death. One suspects he was stabbed to death…”

The television mounted on the wall happened to be broadcasting this piece of news.

I was stunned. Just as I was about to take my phone out to have a look, the bedroom door was opened. A woman with a slender figure slowly walked in.

“Honey…” She looked at me and called out gently.

My jaw nearly dropped. This was Kylie Johansson, the girl I had a crush on for the longest time. In fact, I confessed my feelings for her but she turned me down. I became addicted to mobile games because of her.

Kylie slowly walked to the bed and leaned over. “Honey, be good and stay home tonight!”

I stared blankly at her.

“You look like an idiot.” Kylie reached out and touched my face. She took a lollipop out of her coat and began peeling the tinfoil around it. “Open your mouth. Have a lollipop!”

I was very confused. All I could see was her beautiful face, and all I could hear were her gentle words. I could smell her alluring scent. Without thinking, I opened my mouth just as she instructed.

Hang on! She was part of the Grim Reaper game. She was not the real Kylie I knew. She was nothing more than a character in a game!

I came to my senses and quickly snatched the lollipop from her.

Kylie did not say anything when she saw that I would not eat the lollipop. She straightened up. “I’m going to work. I’m on the night shift again tonight.”

With that, she walked to the closet by the bed and opened it to retrieve a nurse’s uniform.

After a moment of confusion, I gradually calmed down.

I silently watched as Kylie walked out of the room with her uniform. I carefully observed her every move.

“Oh, right.” Kylie turned around when she reached the door. “Don’t go out in the evenings from now on. A psychopathic killer who enjoys killing people with medical equipment has shown up in the city. Five people have already been killed in the past month. The police can’t find any clues. Now, rumor has it that the murders were committed by a ghost. It’s terrifying!”

I sensed the tone of concern in her voice. “You should be careful too. Why are you heading out so late?”

“I don’t have a choice. This is my job!” she replied, before closing the door with a bang.

Within two seconds, she opened the door again. Kylie peeked in and looked at me. “Honey, will you come and find me if I go missing?”

“Of course,” I answered without hesitation.

Kylie fixed her gaze on me. “If you want to look for me, head straight after you walk out of the room. You’ll arrive at Drakonia Medical Center.” With that, she closed the door and left.

After she was gone, I still could not calm down. Everything felt so real. How could I treat Kylie like a character in a game?

I glanced at the lollipop in my hand and shook my head while I smiled. What the hell was this? I was about to throw it away, but it then occurred to me that this might be a useful item in the game. I might be able to use it to restore health in the future if I end up being injured.

The tinfoil around the lollipop was partially torn off. A bit of it was still sticking to the lollipop. I rewrapped the lollipop with the tinfoil and chucked it into my pocket.

Immediately after that, I took my phone out and logged into the Grim Reaper game.

Quest: Solve the serial murder mystery.

Mode: Single-player mode.

Time limit: Eight hours.

Completion reward: Lifespan of thirty days.

Quest difficulty: Hard

Quest description: You are an ordinary white-collar worker. Your girlfriend, Kylie Johansson, is a nurse at Drakonia Medical Center. Recently, there have been multiple murders in the city. Who will be the next victim? Police investigations have been unfruitful. Is the culprit a human or a ghost? All the answers to these questions can be found in Drakonia Medical Center! Search for the answers. You only have eight hours! You must do so before the break of dawn!