"To avert the killings, we must avert yourself from being killed."
First stated that it was a good thing that he detected the remaining eight. If not, we might've been complacent and thought that we had finished the first mission. The surroundings amazed me again when the scenery changed. Pyramids of Egypt
"The place changes from time to time," First reminds me. I'm aware of it yet it never fails to astound me. This virtual reality and even nth planet are really something else!
I'm going to Black Street now. The landmarks here are not that big, unlike the actual size on Earth. I can say it's just a replica but close to reality. It's not snowing here anymore. I guess even the weather changes. There are still people, cars, houses, and establishments. I observed that the people here are quite unapproachable. They look normal doing their activities, but they don't look at me—I seem to be invisible to them. I only become visible when I talk to them.
"They're virtual people. Everything here is virtual except you."
First read my mind again. They seem off because they're a product of a virtual setup.
That must be the reason behind it. I might be a virtual character, and my real body is on the nth planet inside the capsule bed in a white building, but I am still a real person that must win this game. It also means that Zarod and his minions are completely made by computers for the virtual reality world.
I think it's afternoon because the heat of the sun is striking. Speaking of the sun, the snow is instantly melting and disappearing. I took off my jacket, gloves, and bonnet. Maybe the weather here is also virtual but feels genuine.
"Stop!" I was startled at First. "They're here, but only six of them."
As I slowly turned onto the so-called Black Street, I saw six more minions. Where are the two? When they smelled and saw me, they didn't hesitate to attack me, so First and I didn't hesitate to fight back too. We still did the fighting technique that First had done to me earlier in case he added moves that he had just learned to use. After a fierce battle, we also defeated the six. First was right, not to brag, but they defeated them like they were just 'small fries'. That was rather a faster battle than expected.
I have already walked to find something to eat. When I saw that someone was selling delicious food, I bought one of them. While eating, I felt that my left arm was hurting. I touched it.
"You're bleeding!" It's First again. I told him to turn off our communication first, but for some reason, he turned it on.
I looked at my bleeding arm. I hadn't felt it before. Now I just felt the pain when I squeezed it to bleed. I didn't notice it earlier because my sleeve was covering it. I temporarily wrapped it in a scarf as I did with my knee and neck wound. After eating, I wandered around so that I could become familiar with this place while First is tracking the other two to finish them off. It took us several hours, but no news. I returned to the hotel around 6:00 PM to take a night's rest. When I enter the hotel lobby, there seems to be a commotion inside. They were bewildered and looked pale. There were some police, and there was a police tape marked 'keep out' around the hotel.
Everyone looked busy. So, I approached one of the hotel's janitors whom I happened to bump into.
"Excuse me," I called him. It seems like he didn't hear me. "Hi! Excuse me. Did something happen?" I inquired out of curiosity. The information that I will gain might even help us to investigate further for our mission.
He turned to me. "Ah. Hello, Ma'am. There was an incident here."
"What is it about?"
He looked at the surroundings first, then he whispered. "A woman died on the 6th floor."
"What? When?" I gasped at what I heard from him.
He made a pause for a few seconds. He looked at the hotel's clock in the lobby. "It was midnight… They said it was Zarod."
Z-Zarod?! That's why there are only a few policemen, because it happened this past midnight. Maybe they are still investigating the crime scene.
Since it was included in the mission, I became curious and inquired a police detective. I was lucky because he gave me some information. After all, he said I was a resident of the hotel, and I might have been a witness, so he shared some information. It was unfortunate because we finished the minions first. I didn't witness the crime, just in case we get to face Zarod again.
I entered my room which is on the 2nd floor. The reported victim of Zarod was on the 6th floor. I lay down on my bed and rested for a while. It seems like a lot has happened in this game. I faced Zarod, killed 13 minions, and kept looking for two more, and now a murder has happened. And it is in the hotel where I am staying that the crime scene has taken.
"You have 73% life percentage. Probably, because of the minions." It got reduced. "Are you ready for our next mission?" First mentioned that we can skip missions as long as we fulfill all of them.
"Mm," I agreed as I strengthened myself even more in the incoming heavier test.
First checked his monitor screens. "Our next mission is to avert the killings."
It's morning. I meant to go to bed early last night so we could investigate every midnight.
I peeked out the window. Great Wall? The Great Wall of China is today's view. But of course, it's not as long and big as the original, just a mini version of it. No more snow, but it's still cold. I no longer wear a bonnet and gloves, just a blouse, jacket, and my long skirt. I don't even buy some clothes anymore because I won't last long in this virtual world, I do not intend to. We must solve this as early as possible.
I took a shower and got dressed. I sat on the edge of the bed and recalled what the police officer had told me. He says, every midnight Zarod kills someone. They find out that Zarod may be the suspect because the victims of Zarod are usually bloodless at the crime scene. I immediately remembered that just by his stare, one would die. There was a sign that the victim was strangled due to redness and tanning of the neck, and there were two small holes in its neck.