1.10 The First World

Today is Sunday. His awaiting holiday. Finally, he could take some rest.

Ryan decided to sleep until late in the evening. He felt tired, and mostly, lazy.

{White Ball, we have already stayed in this world for a month. Did you able to sense the abnormal energy again?}

(No, host. And, it's weird, but the serial killer didn't act for two weeks. Did he get bored?)

{No. Rather than stopping, he is waiting for a perfect chance to announce his existence to the world. He had a narcissistic personality. I think, he is planning something grandiosely horrible and might already implementing his decision to action.}

(The situation is exactly the calm before the storm, right?)

Ryan nodded his head.

{I felt uneasy. There's a bad feeling in the air. Whatever the man's plans are, we shouldn't drop our vigilance, White Ball.}

(For once, host, you finally said a realistically right thing.) White Ball sincerely praised its host.

{Hah? Are you trying to pick a fight with me, White Ball? Out of nowhere?} Ryan glared at the system. This damn ball, all the thing that comes out of its mouth, is infuriating him.

(No, host. I am praising you.)

{Bullshit!}

Ting! Tong!

Someone ringed his doorbell. Ryan scrambled off his bed and rushed towards the door.

"Who is it?" He asked.

"Delivery." A man's voice sounded behind the door.

Ryan cautiously opened his door. He saw a man in delivery uniform standing outside of his house while holding a big box.

"Are you, Mr. Zhang Wei?"

"Yes, I am."

The delivery man put the box in his hands.

"Someone send you a package. Here it is. Have a nice day, sir."

Ryan looked at the box with a complicated feeling. Someone is sending him something? Who? He is sitting comfortably on the sofa and started unpacking the box.

"Ugh...what is this? Is this a prank? The box is so big, but, the content is only this small USB? What a skill way to kill my joy. I'm expecting something big, though."

Ryan checked the USB intently. Sender's name or address? Nope. And, the size of the USB is only two gigabytes. Really small. Whatever the content is, definitely not movies or videos.

{White Ball, please check the content for me.}

(You could use your computer, host. It's faster.)

{I don't want to take a risk. What if the sender sends me a deadly computer virus, and started hacking my computer indiscriminately? That man tried such a simple way before, and I, unfortunately, fall for that trick! He stalked me for ten years without me realizing it. Do you know how creepy the situation is? Even until this day, the effect is too traumatic that I refused to use electronic gadgets ever again, except my phone.}

White Ball quietly scanned the USB.

(There's only one folder in there, and the folder is protected by a strong password.)

A transparent monitor appeared in front of Ryan. He saw the said folder. There's a blank box and Ryan knows he needed to type a password to see the content inside.

{You cannot crack the password?}

(I sensed a trace of abnormal energy on the USB, host. I think, if I hacked the folder blindly, there will be a terrible backlash for me. So, the answer is no.)

{Then, you're useless, White Ball. What kind of mighty system are you, that you cannot even hack a simple folder?} Ryan ridiculed the system's self-esteem.

(...)White Ball balled its nonexistence fists tightly. I swear, if one day I get a physical body, I punch host first before anything else!

Ryan ignored White Ball's thought and started pondering the possible passwords for the folder. His fingers are tapping lightly on the wooden table, creating a rhythmic sound from it.

{Try Doctor Jackal.}

White Ball typed the password in a sullen mood. It decided to finish its task as fast as possible and going for an update later. During its maintenance holiday, the system will be pestered the higher up for a host change every day.

[Password is incorrect! You had used your first chance. Only two chances left. Good luck!

Hint: J's favorite pet name for his toy.]

"Pet name? For his toy?" Ryan had multiple black lines on his forehead. It is really that scumbag! The waste of society! Ahhh...He really wanted to smashed his head on something hard, and caused himself a memory loss right away! How he wanted to forget that pet name so much! {Try...my beloved Han Ryan...}

White Ball couldn't hold back its snickers. The system looked at its host with a disdainful expression.

Ryan covered his face with both of his hands and groaned inwardly.

[Ting! The password is correct! Congratulation to my beloved Han Ryan in recovering the special password-from J]

"Damn it! I will kill that despicable jerk sooner or later!" Ryan let out a pitiful scream. Ah!!! How embarrassing!

***

Derrick Lee saw Ryan crossing the street from his car. The black SUV is stopped at the roadside. Aloud honk is issued to attract his attention.

Ryan is walking slowly towards the car.

"Sir Lee? It's fancy to meet you here."

Derrick Lee is gesturing for him to enter the car. He had something to talk about with the other man.

Ryan is hesitating to follow him around. He had something equally important to do. Since J is sending him a clue of his whereabouts, Ryan wanted to catch him as soon as possible. He couldn't let the man increased his number of victims after all.

"Mr. Zhang, please give me some face. Let us have a proper discussion about this matter. We found two more victims. Could you cooperate with us?"

"Two other victims?!" Ryan entered the car immediately. "How come? The news didn't report anything like that this morning though?! And, I checked all of my former girlfriend's conditions before I went out. They are still actively kicking and very much alive!"

Derrick Lee started driving his car.

"Unfortunately, the other two were men."

Ryan is beyond shocked when he heard about the news. What the fuck?! The original is actually, swing both ways?!

(Host, I think you grasped the wrong meaning!) White Ball interjected.

{He clearly stated them as men though! How can I misunderstand the words? I might be slow, but, I am not an innocent little kid!}

(You should at least let the ML finished his words first.)

{B...but...}

"Mr. Zhang, are you okay? Are you feeling sick?" Derrick Lee saw Ryan's weird expression and couldn't help himself but asking his condition.

"I am okay. Yeah, no worries. I just couldn't believe that another person got killed by the same killer. Are you sure those men were killed by the same killer as the three women? Perhaps, you're making a mistake somewhere?"

"Yes, I am sure. But, both of them are your former coworkers from your intern days. We tried to widen our searching scopes and checked your former acquaintances. As expected, the two of them were reported as missing persons and probably the first two victims. The killing probably started a year before. They were last seen at the intern farewell party."

Ryan looked at the pictures in his hands, A group of young peoples was standing in front of the hospital lobby, wearing the same sets of white lab coats. The original was standing in the last row, with a gentle smile on his face.

"The two men that standing at either side of you were the victims. Their corpses were found buried in the middle of an abandoned mountain, 10 km from the hospital you worked. Of course, they couldn't be recognized, as there were only piles of skeletons and bones. But, two days ago, an anonymous tip is sent to me, from a person with the surname J. He said, the other two were murdered at least a year ago, with the same method as the recently three women, and had the same initials carved on the side of their necks. He also sends the gruesome pictures of the crime scenes, clearly pointing up the important hints."

Ryan gripped the pictures roughly and he almost tore the pictures apart. Unknown memories surging into his mind so suddenly, making him hiss in pain.

[Ting! Hidden plots acquired! The host gained additional 100 points. Host total points are 1100 points.]

"Mr. Zhang? Are you sure you're okay? Your face is too pale. I think you should go to the hospital first." Derrick Lee had been observing Ryan's face for a while. From the moment he saw the pictures of the two men, his expression is unnatural. There were hatred and fear in his eyes? Did the relationship between the three of them were no good?

Ryan shook his head. He gives the pictures back to its owner.

"Can we talk later, Sir Lee? You can drop me off somewhere."

"Eh, but...?"

"Please?"

Derrick Lee released an exasperated sigh.

"Where do you want to go? I'll send you there. You don't look too good right now. The very least I could do now is sending you to your intended destination."

Ryan gives him a thankful smile.

"The famous cafe in A city."

"I know that place." The other man turned back his car to the opposite way since the cafe is in the middle of the city.

"By the way, where did you want to go, Sir Lee? I ride your car so suddenly without knowing the destination." Ryan asked.

"Oh? I wanted to go to the NFS. The results should be out around this time."

"And, bringing me along the way?"

"Why not?" Derrick Lee shrugged his shoulders. "It's convenient, And, I got this feeling, if I wanted to solve this case, I needed your help."

Ryan helplessly nodded his head.

"You...got a good instinct, Sir Lee."

"It's one of my main strengths. A good instinct along with a good brain."

"..." Ryan didn't say anything afterward. Talking with Derrick Lee kind of reminded him of his friend in the police force. He died so suddenly, his friend must be shocked. He might even go out in craze, searching for Doctor J to take revenge on him. Ah, how I missed him and Da Kyung very much.

Since Ryan is too engrossed in his moody feeling, he didn't realize that the once clear sky had turned gloomy and is surrounded by darker clouds.