Chapter 2157: Chapter 2152: Confinement (26)

There is also a freshly murdered corpse in the real world, and it isn’t the missing fourteen-year-old boy?

This situation is becoming increasingly strange.

Compared to the frozen corpse from before, the nature of this is even more vile.

The only slight consolation is that the victim happens to be a crazed artist himself.

Fu Qian stepped forward to carefully examine the crime scene.

The reason for this judgment is simple; although he hadn’t seen Yiven, he had seen his portrait.

Since the face was not disfigured, it was easy to recognize.

Besides, there were more than one place on the body where blue fibers similar to those on his fingers could be seen.

And upon meeting this mysterious individual from the Art Prison for the first time, Fu Qian inspected him with a bit of respect.

Unfortunately, no key was found, but the murder weapon was easily discovered.

An arched blade, sharp and slender, resembling a willow leaf—professional at first glance.

A surgical knife?

Fu Qian picked up the blood-stained knife, played with it, and noted it seemed like something only found in a hospital.

However, at the same time, the cut felt unprofessional.

Although the initial force was strong, the incision was not smooth.

Judging by the position, it seems more like an ambush rather than a frontal execution.

Such sloppy work doesn’t seem like something from his fellow professional.

So who could it be? The two missing persons?

Fu Qian naturally recalled the scene upon first entering the Art Prison.

According to the previous deduction, many who cast their eyes upon him in the Inner World should be mostly dead.

First, victims of Yiven’s Invisible Tree project, then slaughtered by his fellow professional.

By contrast, people here remain lively, proving Inner World self-death is only an anchor-point loss speculation, not leading to death in the Surface World.

Thus, Yiven’s death must have been at the hands of someone in this world.

If it wasn’t his fellow professional, it’s easy to suspect it was the young man whose brain was opened in the Inner World.

Brother Tantou had mentioned going into this place with another fiery girl, never to be seen coming out again.

Perhaps while exchanging thoughts with Brother Tantou, they were already in the Inner World, but don’t forget his cognition was similar to Zhen at the breakfast shop.

Dreaming without knowing he’s a guest, believing he is in the Surface World.

Only later, through step-by-step guidance, did he remember more, like eating and such.

So it’s reasonable to believe the two missing persons walked into this place in the Surface World.

Let’s see if another corpse can be found next.

Fu Qian wiped the surgical knife clean on Yiven and stood up to continue forward.

...

Perhaps it is the murder weapon, but currently, legal issues are the least of his concerns, no need to worry about being labeled a suspect.

His steps seemed slow but were actually fast; Fu Qian navigated underground while carefully handling the surgical knife, spinning it between his fingers and palm.

As a significant prop, it’s certainly not going back as evidence.

Having been used in a kill once, its proper usage is still a decent weapon.

Indeed, one of his real purposes is to prepare more assault methods.

A previous speculation was whether the blue on his fingers involved Transcendent nature?

Currently, this issue lacks a clear answer, but the bleeding corpse of Yiven somewhat proves one point—

That no matter if the blue involves Transcendent or not, it doesn’t grant oneself extraordinary vitality.

Then there’s no sign of special attack methods manifested, like tentacle vines; don’t count on it.

From this perspective, the Surface World remains the Surface World, somewhat forbidding transcendence.

No matter the source of enlightenment Yiven brother had, all remain within the realm of delusional fantasy.

The distinction between Inner and Surface has not been broken; Invisible Tree exists only in imagination.

Truthfully, this is more sensible.

Remember the initial task assessment regarding one’s situation?

A Mechanical remake of an Old Superior Being must walk as an ordinary person; it’s far from simple.

Being placed in this town was already an astonishing feat, and being dragged into Inner World inflicted a Transcendent dimensional attack, threatening life, incredibly frightening on reflection.

Wanting further progression, direct dimensional attack upon the present world seems excessively unreasonable.

The task can be viewed as the coupling result of the force behind it and the warehouse; imagining signing such an unequal treaty, no matter how dull, is hard.

In this context, it intrigues more about his competitor’s form if they appear before him—

Fu Qian stopped at a moment, looking at another fork not far ahead.

Similar gaps experienced previously abound on this journey, and in Fu Qian’s estimation, the meandering tunnels exceed the prison bounds.

Yet this wasn’t the reason for his halt—the end of one fork seemed illuminated.

...

So is this why Brother Tantou didn’t see anyone leave?

Such discovery couldn’t go unnoticed; Fu Qian quickly reached the end of the illuminated fork.

Proved right, light leaked through a less secure cover panel’s gap.

Since there were steps underfoot, Fu Qian easily pushed it aside.

Peering out, he saw a dust-covered room outside, apparently long uninhabited.

Most conspicuous were the many footprints in the dust, suggesting multiple passersby despite the absence of residents.

A special underground passage leading to an abandoned house exit? A classic setup.

Fu Qian entered directly.

Confirming its long abandonment, Fu Qian swiftly followed one set of prints to a window.

The brown curtain had been half-opened, and standing precisely in the footprints, he gazed into the distance.

Similar to where Rachel and her spouse lived, this is an independent building.

With good visibility, a gray town scene came into view, alongside—

In a sweep, one noticeable location drew Fu Qian’s focus.

Not far away, could that be... a hospital?

Silently watching, he quickly concluded.

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