Chapter 57

"Hey, young man, did you hear what I said? It was all for nothing," Pan Feng said, widening his eyes. "I already told you that the derivatives are very strong. What do you want to experience? Are you looking for death? Why don't you go with us to complete the main quest and then leave the script?"

"As you said, a Level 4 derivative in this level of script is only slightly stronger in intelligence and combat power compared to a boss like Ashford," Feng Jue said. "Why can't we kill it?"

"The problem is, do you really need to help us kill it?" Hua Xiong asked.

Xiao Tan put on a shocked expression and said to Feng Jue, "Yeah! We don't need to kill it, right?"

"The reason you say it's unnecessary is because... if players kill derivatives, it doesn't count as a side quest or hidden quest, and it doesn't help the main quest at all, plus it involves a lot of risk, right?" Feng Jue said.

The three nodded in unison, "That's right."

"Besides the possible gains in specialization levels and skill points, have you all overlooked the most important thing a 'game' should offer to players?" Feng Jue asked.

"Uh... what?"

"Fun," Feng Jue smiled. "You said it yourself, the chance for players to encounter derivatives is extremely rare, and it might not happen again. But with team scripts, I can queue up as many times as I want. What's the harm in dying once?" He paused and continued, "It would be too boring if I just watched two GMs clear the main quest and then got kicked out of the script. Even if I normally queue up for a script and get killed halfway through, it would be more interesting."

Xiao Tan looked up at a 45-degree angle to the sky, "After what you said... I suddenly feel like not chasing down that derivative would be a loss."

"That's right, how many people even get to encounter one? Even if we die at its hands, so what?" Feng Jue said, "It's like you've beaten Contra a thousand times, and suddenly at the end of a level, you encounter a boss from Castlevania. Even if you die, you wouldn't consider bypassing it, right?"

"Oh! That makes a lot of sense!" Xiao Tan said excitedly.

"This kid's thinking is a bit off..." Pan Feng whispered to Hua Xiong.

"Not just off, it's downright perverse..." Hua Xiong whispered back.

"You two are whispering so close to me again! What's the point?" Feng Jue shouted.

...

At 5 PM, at the entrance of the gun shop.

Feng Jue and Wang Tan were examining the death scene.

Young Master Atobe and Name Really Hard to Choose had already turned into white light and disappeared. When players are killed, their bodies do not remain in the script. Similarly, if a player mutates due to infection, they turn into white light and disappear when the mutation time limit is reached, and a corresponding ordinary zombie monster will spawn at their last location.

In short, the game company does not allow players' bodies to remain in the script in any form. Players either leave as white light or remain alive.

Without bodies, it was difficult to intuitively reconstruct the process of the derivative's attack, but Feng Jue made some inferences based on the torn and blood-soaked sofa: "They were sitting here, holding guns, each responsible for guarding a direction." He sat down on the sofa, "So there are more shell casings near the sofa, and the direction of the monster's blood splatter also indicates this." He looked in the direction Name Really Hard to Choose was responsible for, "The derivative came from that direction..." He stood up and walked forward, stopping at the crossroads, then turned back, all the while observing the ground, "The derivative's appearance should be that of a woman, at least from a distance, it doesn't look like a monster, perhaps even a beautiful woman..."

"How do you know that?" Xiao Tan asked.

"The bloodstains on the ground are very useful. It's hard not to leave shoe prints if you walk down this street." Feng Jue squatted down and looked at the ground, "There is a row of high heel prints, very clear." He looked up, "And all the zombie bodies on this street, regardless of gender, are not wearing high heels." He explained, "This means the owner of these footprints is not here. It killed two players and then left."

Feng Jue stood up and took a few more steps, "About ten steps from the sofa, the footprints stop. This should be the distance from which it launched its attack." He walked to the sofa, "Here, there is a clear footprint in front of the sofa, where it stood when it attacked." He looked back at the ten steps away, "About seven meters, it leaped in one go, proving it's not a slow-moving zombie like a Blood Wolf."

He circled around to the other side of the sofa, "After the killing, it left in another direction. After walking a certain distance and stepping on new bloodstains, it left more marks."

"Bro Jue," Xiao Tan asked, "You still haven't answered my question. Is a woman in high heels definitely a beautiful woman?"

"Look at the footprints when it came," Feng Jue said, walking back to the other side, "These footprints are 'walked,' not 'run,' and certainly not the 'shuffle' of a zombie." He pointed to the ground, "From the stride and the depth of the bloodstains, I estimate the height to be around 1.65 meters, not heavy, and the gait is graceful."

"Maybe it's just a monster with a very seductive walk," Xiao Tan added.

"A monster in high heels, or a man in high heels... if it walks slowly toward you, would you sit on the sofa and wait for it to get within ten steps?" Feng Jue asked.

"Hmm..." Xiao Tan thought about it, and it seemed to make sense.

"If the derivative's appearance looked like a monster from a distance, Name Really Hard to Choose would have already opened fire," Feng Jue continued, "Then there would be two possibilities. First, the derivative starts running and charges over to attack."

"From the footprints, we can already rule that out," Xiao Tan said.

"The second possibility... the derivative continues its pace, slowly walking over and then attacking." He paused, "In that case... Name Really Hard to Choose and Young Master Atobe wouldn't have stayed on the sofa. They would have had enough time to stand up and retreat, fighting while retreating."

"Maybe they were pinned to the sofa by some superpower of the monster?" Xiao Tan suggested.

"Rather than explain it that way, it's better to assume that the derivative's appearance is not that of a monster," Feng Jue said.

"That makes sense..." Xiao Tan said, "So, assuming the derivative's appearance is that of a human female, why do you think it's a beautiful woman?"

"Saying 'beautiful woman' is just my intuition. It could be average-looking," Feng Jue said.

"Whatever..."

Feng Jue smiled and continued, "So, the sequence of events is... they were sitting here, watching a woman who doesn't look like a monster, walking gracefully toward them." He sat down on the sofa again, "When the derivative got within about ten steps, they finally noticed something was wrong and immediately resisted. But realizing the danger at that distance was too late. The derivative pounced instantly and ended the fight." He touched the torn leather on the sofa, "The marks are like something Wolverine did, and the last few footprints beyond ten steps show no signs of acceleration or deepening."

"What does that mean?" Xiao Tan asked.

"How far can you jump forward without a running start?" Feng Jue asked.

"Two meters at most."

"The derivative can jump at least six meters."

"Hmm..."

"After jumping that distance, it used some claw-like weapon or its own hands to quickly tear apart the two bodies and the sofa beneath them," Feng Jue said, resting his chin in his hand. "That's about it."

Xiao Tan looked up and shouted to Pan Feng and Hua Xiong, who were hiding on the rooftop of a nearby building, "Brothers! You need to keep a close eye out!"

The two ignored him and continued chatting...

Feng Jue said, "Don't worry, they said that as long as the derivative is within one kilometer, they will receive a system notification and see the target's coordinates on their script map."

"I mean, why doesn't the system just send them the coordinates of the derivative?" Xiao Tan said.

"That's why derivatives are called 'uncontrollable data.' They must have some ability to resist system searches and interference. If the system could do what you said, it would just zap the derivative with lightning, right? Why would it need GMs to do it?" Feng Jue said, "Speaking of which... we can't fully trust what these two guys say."

Xiao Tan's expression changed, "What? Are they lying to us in some way?"

"It doesn't seem like it, they are probably telling the truth," Feng Jue said, "But... they are just employees. How do you know that the information about derivatives given to them by the higher-ups at Dream Company is entirely true?"