This Taoist priest is so unprofessional!

Upon seeing this line of text, everyone held their breath.

The fat man's heart was in his throat.

Has it failed?

Ultimately, can't you fool someone who isn't the original?

The white text continued to appear in the chat box.

"However, this outfit looks good too..."

Thank you.

"Dad...I'm sorry..."

"Dad... I'm so tired..."

"Let's go home..."

With this statement, the game characters began to become transparent.

His magnificent armor and legendary weapon transformed into starlight, emanating from his body.

The boy's figure faded more and more in the starlight, until it disappeared completely.

Zhang Chen immediately formed a hand seal and softly chanted the Rebirth Mantra.

He guided the scattered points of light, through the screen, through the vermilion array, and finally dissipated into the air of the shop.

everything is over.

Amidst repeated expressions of gratitude, the group saw Song Jianguo off into a taxi.

Back in the shop, the fat man slumped into a chair and let out a long sigh, as if all his strength had been drained.

Wang Xiaoer silently tidied up the mess on the table, carefully putting away the used talisman paper and cinnabar dish.

Zhang Chen stood in front of the server, staring at the black screen, without saying a word.

"The person has been sent away."

He turned around, his voice utterly devoid of any ease.

"The debt hasn't been collected yet."

The fat man sat up straight in his chair, his tiredness replaced by resentment.

"That's right, damn it, that murderer is still at large."

"This matter cannot be left unresolved."

Wang Xiaoer stopped what he was doing and looked at Zhang Chen.

"Brother Chen, what's the next step?"

Zhang Chen picked up his phone and dialed Li Hao's number.

The phone rang for a long time before being answered, and Li Hao's voice sounded tired and strained.

"Master Zhang? Is there any progress on Song Wen's matter?"

Zhang Chen reassured him, "It's all over now. Your internet cafe won't be haunted anymore."

"However, this matter is not over yet!"

Then, he changed the subject and got straight to the point.

"I'm certain this was a murder!"

"The motive was to hack his account so that he would lose the qualification for an important game competition."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Murder...is there any evidence? Or rather, is there a suspect?"

Zhang Chen glanced at the fat man.

"Not at the moment."

"I need your help to find out who was in the same internet cafe as Song Wen ten years ago and played the same game with him."

"I know you came to me for an exorcism, and this matter is considered over for you."

Seeing that the other person remained silent, Zhang Chen sighed.

"Alright, once you transfer the remaining payment to my firm's account, we'll be even. I wish Mr. Li all the best in his future business ventures."

"Master, it's not that I don't want to help you."

Li Hao's voice carried a sense of helplessness.

Ten years ago, you didn't even need to register your ID card to use the internet at internet cafes, let alone be monitored.

"This is a complete mess, and there's no way to investigate it."

This result was expected.

Zhang Chen didn't say anything more.

"understood."

After hanging up the phone, the shop fell silent again.

The only lead has gone cold.

In the vast sea of ​​people, after ten years, searching for a murderer whose name is unknown is like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Hold!"

The fat man slammed his fist on the table, making the empty instant noodle bowl bounce.

"We just let him get away like that? I'm so angry!"

He paced restlessly in the cramped space, his fat jiggling with each movement.

"Game...game..."

He kept repeating those two words to himself, as if he were chewing on some crucial information.

Suddenly, he stopped, as if he had thought of something.

"No! There's another way!"

He pointed to the server.

"The game 'Tales of the Underworld' has shut down, but the internet remembers!"

"Back in the day, player forums and various game information sites always left behind some data archives!"

"As long as we can find the match records from that finals game, or related posts, we'll definitely find the killer's game ID!"

This idea struck like a lightning bolt, cleaving through the fog before us.

Wang Xiaoer and Zhang Chen's eyes lit up at the same time.

"Dry!"

The fat man roared, sat back down in front of the computer, and his entire demeanor changed.

He was no longer that greasy shut-in, but a general preparing to conquer cities and territories.

His hands flew across the keyboard, and windows popped up one after another on the screen.

Abandoned databases, closed forum snapshots, ancient webpage caches...

Like a tireless miner, he frantically dug through the nooks and crannies of the internet, excavating digital dust from ten years ago.

Code and gibberish scrolled across the screen like a waterfall.

Zhang Chen looked at him, knowing he couldn't help.

He walked to an open space and took out three copper coins from his pocket.

He held the copper coin in his palm, silently reciting the cause and effect related to Song Wen's death, and then released it.

"Ding-dong..."

Three copper coins fell to the ground, rolled, and came to a stop.

One yang, two yin.

Zhang Chen frowned.

He picked up the copper coin again and repeated the process.

This time, there are three yin signs.

"no."

He shook his head and put away the copper coins.

Wang Xiaoer leaned closer and whispered, "Brother Chen, what's wrong?"

"The hexagram indicates complete chaos."

Zhang Chen's voice was deep.

"This means that the murderer has long since distanced himself from the cause and effect of that year."

"Ten years have passed, and the energy related to this matter in his body has been completely severed."

"Unless he's in the mall right now, I can't figure it out."

Wang Xiaoer only half understood what he was hearing, but he knew that Zhang Chen had also run into a wall.

Both technology and metaphysics seem to have led to dead ends.

The only sound in the office was the fat man's typing on the keyboard.

Wang Xiaoer watched as they were all incredibly busy, while he couldn't get a hand in anything, feeling somewhat superfluous.

He saw that there was another spare computer belonging to the fat man next to him, so he sat down there.

"Hey Fatty, can I use your computer for a bit? Is that alright?"

"Use it, just don't rummage through my things."

The fat man replied without looking up, his attention completely focused on his screen.

Wang Xiaoer opened his browser and idly browsed local news.

He reads social gossip and everyday life stories with great interest.

Suddenly, a pop-up window appeared, taking up half the screen.

"Warmest congratulations! Mr. Zhou Zhenghao, a renowned entrepreneur in our city, has returned to his hometown and invested ten million yuan to build a Hope Primary School!"

There's a photo on GG.

A man in his early thirties, dressed in a well-tailored suit, with his hair slicked back, is smiling at the camera.

Several people who appeared to be leaders stood beside him, with a red banner for the groundbreaking ceremony in the background.

Wang Xiaoer looked at the man in the photo.

The other person smiled perfectly, very kindly, and even with a touch of the refined elegance typical of successful people.

But for some reason, Wang Xiaoer felt uncomfortable looking at that face.

He casually made a comment.

"This guy doesn't look like a good person."

The fat man, already overwhelmed by a bunch of 404 error pages, replied irritably upon hearing this.

"nonsense."

"How many of these wealthy entrepreneurs are clean?"

After saying that, he continued to immerse himself in the sea of ​​data.

Wang Xiaoer said "Oh," casually closed the GG pop-up, and continued reading his news.