Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 668 Side Quest 3
The Five Thunder Talisman is formed from pure Yang Thunder energy. Once activated, it is most taboo to encounter water.

It explodes when it comes into contact with water, even more effectively than frying fish.

Dai Long instructed the other party to place an activated Five Thunder Talisman inside the water tank, which was equivalent to having someone use a key to open a power outlet.

It would be strange if the other party didn't get struck dead.

Hearing that sudden clap of thunder outside, one can easily guess what happened.

But Xiao Ran saw a hint of pleasure in Dai Long's eyes.

It seemed that this thunderclap gave Dai Long an outlet, and the pent-up anger in his chest dissipated along with it.

Dai Long seemed to have sensed something as well. He looked up at Xiao Ran and, upon discovering that Xiao Ran was looking at him, a hint of panic appeared on his face.

It was as if Xiao Ran had seen right through her.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Ran simply said, "Those who disturb my heart cannot be allowed to live. You did the right thing."

Jin Chanzi also said from the side, "Relax, this is not your fault. It's just that the other party deserved this fate."

Even the old demon Qinghai agreed, saying, "They deserve to die. Those who drown infants will have their souls fall into the underworld and go to the Avici Hell, never to be reborn."

Think of Fengdu City, where countless souls suffer torment, enduring countless years before finally getting a chance to be reborn as humans.

As a result, the baby was reincarnated into your family before it even opened its eyes, and you sent it back down. You can imagine how serious this sin is in the underworld.

Hearing the comforting words from everyone, Dai Long's expression improved considerably.

Xiao Ran didn't intend to continue the conversation on this topic and changed the subject, saying, "I wonder where Wu Man is now."

"Yes, I miss him too. I don't want to compete with you in terms of running strength for the rest of the journey. It's much more comfortable to sit on the tiger demon's back."

"Golden Toad said, resting his chin on his hand."

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, Xiao Ran left the tiger demon with Wu Man. Wu Man was also a beast tamer, and his own strength was undeniable. Even if the tiger demon wasn't of any particular use in any special situation, it could still be used to relay information to them by following their scent.

As the group was talking, a customer at the next table suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching his stomach and rolling around. The surrounding diners seemed unfazed by this, showing no alarm whatsoever, and instead pointing and watching the spectacle with amusement.

Only after the man convulsed a few times and stopped breathing completely did the boss come out with a dark face, call over the cook, and give him a thorough dressing-down.

The cook was also aggrieved, and said with a mournful face, "This has nothing to do with me. I usually just spit into the food and add a few boogers as a garnish, or at most I'll add some croton oil and then stand at the outhouse door to sell some antidiarrheal medicine. I don't have the guts to poison people."

"Hey, it's no use telling me all this. You should go and talk to the official instead."

The boss said with a pained expression.

Just then, two constables walked in. They glanced at Xiao Ran and his group before frowning and walking to the corpse.

"Arrest him! He's the one who poisoned us! Officers, arrest him immediately!!"

The boss strode up to the two officers, pointing menacingly at the cook, his expression completely different from before.

The cook was also taken aback, but then seemed to realize something, and suddenly jumped up, pointing at the boss's nose and cursing, "You son of a bitch, you've ruined my life! You still owe me six months' wages! You did this on purpose!"

Upon hearing the chef's words, the owner readily admitted, "That's true, but who told you to take someone's life? A customer died after eating your food, so who else could it be but you?"

Upon hearing this, the two constables frowned and were about to step forward to arrest the man.

Just then, another commotion was heard outside the door.

A woman rushed in, and upon seeing the body lying on the ground, she burst into tears and threw herself at him, crying, "My husband..."

The woman held the man's body and cried her heart out, then pointed at the restaurant owner: "My husband died of poisoning while eating here, your restaurant is not without responsibility."

After saying that, she turned around and grabbed the arms of the two constables: "Sir, arrest them all. Even if I have to take this to court, I will get justice for my husband."

Xiao Ran and her group sat at the table, watching this scene, exchanging glances in silence.

They had only sat down for a sip of water when such a grand show began to unfold. If they brought a bag of melon seeds with them, it probably wouldn't be enough to satisfy their hunger.

Did you notice?

At this moment, Jin Chanzi suddenly turned around and asked Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran didn't know what Jin Chanzi was referring to, so she shook her head.

"Haven't you noticed? This place is a den of wicked people. Morality and ethics have all been smashed to pieces. Everyone is doing evil. The only good people are those government officials. Don't you find that strange?"

Xiao Ran initially thought it was normal, after all, this was the Lost City, but after Jin Chanzi said that, Xiao Ran realized that something was wrong.

What do morality and ethics matter? Here, from top to bottom, evil has seeped into the very bones. Even an eighty-year-old man on the street would rather raise his cane and randomly hit a passerby with it.

If the whole town were like this, it would be fine, but there is a group of constables in this town who are upright, honest and upright, and even wield the power bestowed upon them by the supernatural tales.

It is precisely because of their existence that this town has been able to survive to this day; otherwise, with these people, this town would have long since become a battlefield.

"You mean, the problems in this town actually all stem from... the government!"

"It's probably true, but I'm not sure of the specifics."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran immediately felt that there was some truth to it. These officials in front of her were not only upright and incorruptible, but more importantly... this group of people were so righteous that they were almost evil.

If even the officials are like this, then wouldn't the officials be the reincarnation of Bao Zheng? As Xiao Ran pondered this, a line of information suddenly appeared in front of her.

Side Quest 3: Good vs. Evil

Mission Description: Investigate the source of evil in this town.

Task Difficulty: C

Task Reward: Rank C

This unexpected side quest was received not only by Xiao Ran, Dai Long, and Huang Le, but also by others.

The three exchanged glances, and after confirming that they had all received the mission, Xiao Ran thought that since Wu Man hadn't arrived yet, she might as well do it. After completing this side mission, Huang Le and the others would have a guarantee that they could evacuate from here as soon as possible if things went wrong in the future.

Just then, Qi Tongwei led his men in. After the constable finished explaining what had happened, Qi Tongwei snorted coldly, "Take the boss and the cook away."

"What an injustice!!"

Upon hearing that even he was being arrested, the boss immediately cried out that he was innocent and knelt down in front of Qi Tongwei: "My lord, my lord, I am innocent! This was all done by the cook, it has nothing to do with me."

"It's okay?" Qi Tongwei laughed in anger, pointing at the boss's head: "This cook said you owe him more than half a year's wages. Who knows if you deliberately poisoned him to frame him and embezzle the wages for the past six months?"

"what!!"

Upon hearing this, the boss was stunned for a few seconds.

Qi Tongwei then continued, "Even if you didn't do it, someone died in your restaurant. How can that not be your responsibility? You may be spared the death penalty, but you won't escape punishment. Take him back for a thorough interrogation!"

"slow!!"

Just then, a loud shout interrupted Qi Tongwei. Xiao Ran strode forward and bowed to Qi Tongwei, saying, "Greetings, Officer."

Upon seeing Xiao Ran, Qi Tongwei's expression immediately turned cold. He gripped the hilt of his knife at his waist and stared at Xiao Ran with a venomous gaze.

"Kid, don't go looking for trouble. I haven't even settled the score with you for stealing my purse yet."

"My lord, what are you saying? We are just ordinary citizens, how dare we offend the majesty of Heaven, let alone offend you, my lord? I only want to say that the murderer who poisoned this person is neither the boss nor the cook, but I'm afraid..."

Xiao Ran's gaze fell on the woman on the ground.

When Xiao Ran looked at her, the woman panicked and stood up, pointing at Xiao Ran and shouting, "Don't make false accusations! They were the ones who poisoned my husband. How can you say that I poisoned him?"

"May I ask, madam, who told you that your husband died here, and why you arrived so promptly?"

“Well… I heard a neighbor calling out in the street, so I came over.”

"Who shouted that?" Xiao Ran pressed further.

"The person who called out only shouted once outside the door, and I didn't notice it because I was in a hurry."

"Nonsense!" Xiao Ran shouted angrily upon hearing this, then turned to Qi Tongwei and said, "Everyone was here when the incident happened, and no one has left the restaurant since. In such a short time, someone ran from here to your house, and considering the time it took you to get here, isn't that a bit too fast?"

"You!!" Upon hearing this, the woman's face turned deathly pale, her eyes darting around as if she were trying to find an excuse for herself.

But Xiao Ran didn't give him that chance and continued, "Besides, you said as soon as you came in that they poisoned your husband. Even if someone passing by outside the restaurant informed you, how would you know that he was poisoned, not from illness, or beaten to death? Why did it have to be poisoned?"

"I……"

The woman took two steps back. Faced with Xiao Ran's interrogation, she broke out in a cold sweat and couldn't utter a single word.

At this moment, the two constables responsible for keeping an eye on Xiao Ran whispered to Qi Tongwei, "We've been watching outside the whole time, and no one has left the restaurant."

Upon hearing these words from the two constables, the woman seemed to have lost her soul, collapsing to the ground, unable to utter another word in defense.

"take away!"

Seeing this, Qi Tongwei waved his hand, signaling the constables to arrest the woman and send her to jail.

"Heh, I didn't realize you were so quick-witted, but you haven't been using your mind for the right things."

"Sir, although I am a bodyguard, I used to be a coroner in the yamen in my early years. It was only after the world fell into chaos that I had no choice but to join the bodyguard business."

"Oh, you're a coroner!"

"Yes."

"Then why do you still want to be a hair comb maker?" Qi Tongwei wasn't going to beat around the bush with Xiao Ran at this point, and was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Due to the pressures of life, our escort mission was unsuccessful. We lost the goods, didn't get the payment, and even lost a lot of money. So we're trying to scrape together some travel expenses," Xiao Ran said, looking embarrassed by his lack of money.

"Nonsense! You just stole a month's salary from me, and you still want travel expenses!" Qi Tongwei stared at Xiao Ran with wide eyes.

Just as he finished speaking, something suddenly slipped out of Qi Tongwei's sleeve. Looking down, he saw it was a purse embroidered with the character "Qi".

The air immediately became quiet.

Qi Tongwei and the others also had very strange expressions.

Xiao Ran stared at the purse at Qi Tongwei's feet, and said with a half-smile, "Sir, this wouldn't happen to be the purse you mentioned that was lost, would it..."

(End of this chapter)