Chapter 38

【Background: The daughter of the wealthy merchant Hunter has gone missing. As the best detective in the city, you have been hired to find the young lady. Now, you are about to head to Merchant Hunter's estate to investigate...】

【Main Quest: Find Altria Hunter or her body within a month.】

【Temporary Language Acquired, will disappear upon leaving the instance.】

【Clothing, backpack, weapons, and item attributes remain unchanged, but appearance is temporarily altered and will revert upon leaving the instance.】

【Firearms and grenades are from a different era, reducing their power by 50%. Pistol reload time +1 second, sniper rifle reload time +30 seconds.】

【Note 1: This is your first official instance. Failure of the main quest is possible, but you will need to pay a ransom of 100 points, and your highest attribute will decrease by one level. If points are insufficient, equipment will be deducted. If the deducted equipment cannot cover the penalty points, the player will be deemed to have failed the game!】

【Note 2: In the official instance, title quests will be activated. Title quests and side quests are hidden and need to be discovered on your own.】

...

As the bright light before his eyes faded, Qin Ran heard the crisp sound of hooves and wheels rolling over the waterlogged cobblestones, and his body began to rise and fall rhythmically.

The heavy rain from the previous day had left many puddles on the road, and although some were being cleared, only the larger ones had been swept away.

The narrow gaps between the cobblestones were impossible to clean, no matter how hard the cleaners tried.

"Carriage?!"

Qin Ran looked around in surprise.

The carriage was not very large, only able to accommodate 3-4 people, with seats on both sides facing each other. Qin Ran was sitting on the back side, facing forward, and could clearly see the scenery passing by through the window.

It seemed to be a street with a medieval feel.

However, the occasional antique car that flashed by gave Qin Ran a rough idea of the era.

People on the street wore suits and shirts, long dresses and parasols, and greeted each other by tipping their hats.

He himself had changed into a black trench coat, and as he examined his temporarily altered appearance, he noticed a pipe and a deerstalker cap that had appeared in his hands. Looking at the background information that said "You are the best detective in the city," Qin Ran raised an eyebrow.

You want me to cosplay as Sherlock Holmes, but where's my Watson?!

And the female version!

"Find a person? Reduced firearm power?"

Qin Ran carefully read the remaining information, and his brow furrowed.

The reduction in firearm power and the increased reload time were clearly very disadvantageous to him, reducing his combat effectiveness by at least thirty percent.

"Is this the restriction that 'Lawless' mentioned?"

Qin Ran muttered to himself.

Previously, after waiting for three hours, Qin Ran had successfully communicated with the other party, who had generously provided him with a lot of information.

Of course, this was based on the other party's significant gains—Qin Ran could sense the other party's joy even through text.

The information could be roughly divided into four points.

First, veteran players had established a secret market in the game, which opened regularly every month. Any player could enter for just 10 points, and the equipment and items inside far exceeded the level of the player forums.

Second, instances would impose different restrictions on players based on the environment and era, with both positive and negative effects, the latter being more common.

Third, the difficulty of instances would not increase with the player's strength, but with the number of instances experienced. The more instances a player had experienced, the higher the difficulty would be—multiplayer instances would take the average number of instances experienced by all players.

Finally, instances could be failed, but at a cost, and the penalties would become increasingly severe as the number of instances increased!

"This is your first official instance. The main quest can fail, but you will need to pay a ransom of 100 points, and your highest attribute will decrease by one level!"

Looking at this note, Qin Ran immediately recalled the well-meaning warning from 'Lawless'.

"If you don't want to die too miserably in the future, you must complete the main quest, and even if you can't, you must minimize the losses!"

Qin Ran agreed wholeheartedly.

100 points were not a big deal for him, but a one-level decrease in his highest attribute was a loss he could not afford.

After all, that represented the cost of upgrading the skill [Tracking] to the proficient level.

A full 3000 points and 2 skill points!

While this calculation was somewhat rough, it was not exaggerated.

Moreover, Qin Ran could easily imagine the consequences of failing a main quest in an instance!

It would be a vicious cycle!

Failing the main quest of the first instance, losing points and attributes, would leave you underpowered for the second instance, leading to another failure and more deductions.

After several such cycles, the outcome would be obvious.

A player with physical attributes weaker than an average person, facing monstrous creatures, would die a very miserable death!

"Not only must I complete the main quest, but I must also complete as many side quests and title quests as possible—only then can I gain more advantages in future instances!"

When Qin Ran learned that the difficulty of instances increased with the number of instances experienced, he knew what he had to do.

Moreover, he had already gained a head start.

The rewards from the beginner instance were enough to put him far ahead of other new players.

And now, in his first official instance, Qin Ran was not averse to further expanding this advantage.

To do a job well, one must first sharpen one's tools!

Qin Ran began to quickly check and prepare.

He first looked at his original tactical backpack, which had completely changed.

A wooden box about 1.5 meters long and 45 centimeters wide was now in front of him, with a pure black base and two silver locks. A leather strap was woven through, forming a shoulder strap, and two keys, one large and one small, hung from it.

When Qin Ran's fingers touched the larger key, some basic memories of the era, the people he knew, and his residence flashed through his mind.

After a brief organization, Qin Ran picked up the smaller key.

Click!

Qin Ran easily opened the box with the key.

Inside were the sniper rifle [Viper-M1], the pistol [M1905], a dagger, 5 [U-II] grenades, 3 cans of food, and 3 bottles of water, all neatly arranged.

Even the magazines were neatly placed.

Of course, the appearance of these weapons and items had changed to fit the era, but their usage remained the same.

This relieved Qin Ran.

If the usage of firearms had changed due to the era, it would have been a disaster for him.

While [Firearms: Light Weapons] had reached the proficient level, it did not include the usage of true firearms, which would fall under [Firearms: Special Weapons].

Qin Ran took out the dagger and the pistol [M1905], attaching them to his waist and covering them with his trench coat.

After some thought, he also took out two [U-II] grenades and placed them in the outer pockets of his trench coat.

While the main quest was just to find a person, Qin Ran was not naive enough to think it would be that simple.

There would inevitably be situations where he would have to fight.

Or rather, 'combat and exploration intertwined' was the theme of the dungeon instances!

If it weren't for the conspicuous nature of the sniper rifle [Viper-M1], which the trench coat could not conceal, Qin Ran would have carried it rather than leaving it in the box.

After all, he was now the 'best' detective in the city, not a musketeer.

Just entering the official instance, Qin Ran did not want to do anything that would contradict the instance's setting and attract trouble.

Moreover, even a musketeer would probably not be able to openly carry a sniper rifle [Viper-M1].

This was not a war-torn city like the beginner instance.

It was a very safe, peaceful, and somewhat prosperous city.

At least, that was how it appeared on the surface.

...

"Sir, we are almost there!"

The driver informed Qin Ran through the window separating the driver's seat from the passenger compartment. About two minutes later, the carriage came to a complete stop, and the driver opened the door.

Qin Ran got out with the box and looked around.

As the background information had described, this was an estate.

It had a lawn, a fountain, and a wall.

The large five-story building in front of him was clearly the center of the estate.

Standing next to the mermaid fountain statue, Qin Ran looked at the building with its white and blue exterior, which made him think of waves and the sea.

Especially with the lifelike mermaid statue standing in front, it really made him feel as if he were in the ocean.

"The Hunter family had a naval general a hundred years ago!"

"Sir Qin Ran, welcome. I am the butler of the Hunter family!"

With a slight introduction, a kind-looking old man immediately came forward and bowed to Qin Ran.

At this moment, the driver, with the help of a few young men, led the horse into the stable and pulled the carriage to one side.

Qin Ran's gaze swept over the young men.

Each of them was muscular and agile, clearly trained in some form of combat.

"The estate needs protection, and relying solely on the police is not enough!"

The kind butler explained, then turned to the main topic: "The master is waiting for you, sir. Please follow me!"

He made a gesture inviting Qin Ran to follow, and the kind butler led the way.

Qin Ran nodded and followed, walking up the steps and entering the building.

A wide corridor with a red velvet carpet and candlesticks on the walls greeted him.

After passing through the corridor, the view opened up.

A uniquely styled hall appeared before Qin Ran, with crystal chandeliers refracting sunlight, making the entire hall appear bright and clear.

However, the owner of the hall was frowning.

He was a middle-aged man with fair skin, not very tall, and somewhat overweight.

Behind him stood a middle-aged woman with a sorrowful expression.

From the central oil painting in the hall, Qin Ran could guess that this was his 'employer' Hunter and his wife.

Although the painting was from ten years ago, the changes in their appearances were not significant, and they could be clearly identified.

"Detective, please help me!"

The man immediately stood up and approached Qin Ran, pleading.