This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

After hanging up the phone, Li Hao, feeling disoriented, told Zhang Chen and Wang Xiaoer the whole story.

The entire second floor fell into a deathly silence.

After hearing this, Wang Xiaoer frowned deeply.

He stared at the dark computer screen and could almost see a thin boy trapped inside, filled with resentment and bitterness.

"So, it was that boy named Song Wen who, unwilling to die like this, unwilling to not obtain that divine artifact, left his ghost here, remaining in this game?"

Zhang Chen shook his head, his expression even more solemn than before.

"more than."

His gaze swept across the entire internet cafe, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

"Ordinary obsessions, no matter how unwilling they are, cannot generate such great power, let alone turn the entire internet cafe's network into its 'domain'."

"There's probably more to that story than meets the eye."

Zhang Chen's voice was low and carried a hint of coldness.

"His resentment was forcibly 'locked' here by someone using something."

"Lock?" Wang Xiaoer didn't understand.

"Yes, a lock!" Zhang Chen said, emphasizing each word. "It's like driving a nail into this resentment, preventing it from dissipating, from reincarnating, forcing it to accumulate and ferment here day after day, growing stronger and more ferocious!"

Zhang Chen concluded that there must be a "token" or "array core" that carries this resentment, hidden in some corner of this internet cafe.

Even if we smash all the computers here, it won't help if we can't find that thing.

If its resentment doesn't dissipate, it will eventually find a new host.

He looked at Li Hao, whose face had turned deathly pale, and said in a deep voice.

"We need to find a way to find the murderer from back then."

Zhang Chen's gaze shifted to the pitch-black night outside the window, and his tone became even more resolute.

"Or... find Song Wen's family."

However, ten years have passed, and Jiangcheng is no longer what it used to be.

Skyscrapers rose from the ground, while old alleyways were leveled.

Finding an ordinary person from ten years ago in this concrete jungle is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Li Hao held his phone, his fingers tapping incessantly on the keyboard, trying out various search engines.

"Song Wen", "Speedy Space Internet Cafe", "Accidental Death"...

Combining these keywords yields very few results, mostly worthless old posts that have long been forgotten.

The information disappeared without a trace, not even causing a ripple.

Zhao Qiang, standing to the side, was unable to offer any assistance.

Zhang Chen leaned against the window, looking at the quiet street below, his brows furrowed.

The trail seems to have gone completely cold here.

Even knowing the deceased's name and the general course of events, the insurmountable barrier of time washes everything away completely.

The assailant who pushed the person has already disappeared into the crowd.

Song Wen's family may have moved away from the city long ago.

A sense of powerlessness once again enveloped everyone's hearts.

The air in the private room was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

Just then.

"Gurgle—"

An untimely sound broke the silence.

Wang Xiaoer clutched his stomach, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Um... I've been up and about all night, I'm a little hungry."

As he spoke, he rummaged in the pocket of his jacket.

A moment later, he pulled out a bread that was slightly deformed from being pressed.

He bought this at the convenience store next door before he left, and had kept it in his pocket ever since, having long forgotten about it.

The plastic bag containing the bread had been torn in one corner, making it look rather disheveled.

Wang Xiaoer didn't mind at all. He opened the plastic bag, tore off the wrapping paper stuck to the bread, and prepared to have a couple of bites first.

He casually tossed the plastic bag and the greasy wrapper into the trash can in the corner.

But just as the paper slipped from his hand and flew out...

Out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to catch a glimpse of the inside of the wrapping paper, where... it looked like it was printed with densely packed small black characters?

"Um?"

Wang Xiaoer's movements stopped.

Curious, he bent down and picked up the wrapping paper that he had crumpled into a ball.

He unfolded it carefully.

A strong smell of ink and cheap butter wafted over me.

He then realized that this was not a proper greaseproof paper at all.

It was a piece of old newspaper that had been reused.

I don't know which unscrupulous workshop used waste newspapers to line the bottom of the bread in order to save costs.

Wang Xiaoer pursed his lips, just about to throw it away again.

But my gaze was drawn to a small, block-sized section on a newspaper clipping.

It was a brief social news report.

The title, printed in bold Song typeface, read: "Teenage boy playing in internet cafe falls and dies unexpectedly, drawing sighs of regret."

Wang Xiaoer was a little stunned, thinking he was seeing things.

He stared wide-eyed, reading down word by word.

The report was extremely brief, just over a hundred words long, and in the tone of an official announcement, attributing everything to an unfortunate accident.

But in the main body of the report, several key names, like red-hot branding irons, burned fiercely into his eyes.

The deceased's name: Song Wen.

Her parents: Song Jianguo and Liu Xiue.

Wang Xiaoer's breathing suddenly became rapid.

He continued reading, his gaze sweeping to the very end of the report.

There was also a line of inconspicuous small print there.

"...It is understood that his father, Song Jianguo, is an ordinary employee at a scrap metal recycling station in the eastern part of our city, and his family is poor..."

Chengdong Scrap Metal Recycling Station!

"Holy shit!"

Wang Xiaoer could no longer hold back. With a strange cry, he suddenly jumped up from his chair!

His action startled everyone.

"What are you yelling about, you little brat!"

Zhang Chen was in a bad mood and yelled at her irritably.

Wang Xiaoer ignored him, holding up the greasy piece of paper in his hand, his face flushed with excitement, his lips trembling, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.

"Chen...Brother Chen! You...look at this!"

Zhang Chen frowned and walked over with a suspicious look on his face.

When his gaze fell on the newspaper scrap and he read the words on it.

He was as if struck by lightning, instantly frozen in place.

next second.

Zhang Chen snatched the greasy piece of paper from his hand, his hands trembling with excitement.

That piece of waste paper, discarded by his predecessors and now stained with oil, was more precious to him than any talisman!

He repeatedly checked every word and every punctuation mark.

Song Wen!

Song Jianguo!

Chengdong Scrap Metal Recycling Station!

"Holy crap!"

Zhang Chen suddenly raised his head, staring intently at Wang Xiaoer, his eyes filled with wild joy and an unbelievable sense of absurdity.

"Waiter, your luck... it's simply unbeatable!"

Wang Xiaoer felt a little uneasy under his gaze, scratched his head innocently, and pointed to the bread in his hand.

"I'm just hungry..."

Looking at his bewildered expression and then at the newspaper in his hand, Zhang Chen couldn't help but burst into laughter.

You search high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly!

Who would have thought that when modern search methods have become ineffective, the key to breaking the deadlock would appear in such a retro, even somewhat comical, way!

This is no longer a matter of good luck.

This is the will of Heaven!

It was the unsettling resentment of that boy named Song Wen that was guiding him from the shadows!

Li Hao and Zhao Qiang, who were standing nearby, also came over. When they saw the contents of the newspaper, they were equally dumbfounded. The way they looked at Wang Xiaoer was as if they were looking at a living koi fish.