Twilight Forest was the largest forest nearby.
Many towns were built near it.
Many people lived by relying on the resources it provided.
However, the forest was filled with wild beasts, which also killed countless people.
At this moment, Occam and Annie had arrived, ready to find clues about the missing girl.
Occam remained as he had been.
Leaning on Annie, they rode the spirit deer together.
Annie blushed and whispered, "Occam, we're almost there."
"Yeah, got it. Call me when we get there."
She heard Occam's weak voice.
Annie felt helpless.
How did his childhood playmate develop such a personality?
Soon, the dense forest suddenly opened up.
A massive tree towered there.
Other than some low bushes, there were no other trees.
This was where they had asked the residents of Ziya Town about the growth of the grass.
"Occam, we're here," Annie said.
Occam jumped off the spirit deer and stretched. He looked as if he had just woken up.
Annie put away the spirit deer and felt helpless.
Sleeping in the game, was the game was too real or Occam too lazy?
"Occam, let's split up and look for clues," Annie said.
"No need, I think I saw a clue."
Occam said as he walked to a bush.
He picked up a bloodstained cloth.
Judging from the style, it was similar to what the residents of many nearby towns wore.
They were all woven linen made from flax.
Annie took the cloth and frowned.
"This is very likely the one the young lady's wore."
With that said, she looked around and could not help but worry for the young girl.
The Twilight Forest was filled with wild beasts and danger lurked everywhere.
A young girl could easily be in danger.
"Occam, I think we need to speed things up."
"There are traces of someone walking past here."
Annie looked grave. Then, she walked forward with Occam.
Along the way, there were traces of blood and fallen cloth.
It looked like someone was chasing the girl.
Annie's expression grew darker and her pace quickened.
She understood that all these signs indicated that the girl was probably dead.
However, before seeing the truth, she would rather be optimistic.
Seeing Annie like this, Occam felt helpless.
However, he could only increase his pace and chase after her.
A moment later, Annie stopped in her tracks and stared blankly at the scene before her.
Occam caught up with her, too, and when he saw what was happening, his face grew grave.
It was a young girl with delicate features. She was lying naked on the ground with her eyes wide open, as if she had experienced immense pain when she was alive.
"Bastard!" After a while, the anger in Annie's eyes almost materialized. She gritted her teeth and spat out a word.
Occam sighed as well.
He walked to the girl's body and covered her naked body with the clothes scattered around.
Then, he observed his surroundings.
He saw some ice cubes that had yet to melt and were still emitting a cold aura.
It looked familiar, Occam thought.
"It should be done by professionals."
"That ice was created by a Mage's magic freezing spell."
He thought of the time few Mages had used this skill on him, freezing him in place when he was besieged by the Epic Guild.
And after the ice shattered, they looked like the ice blocks before them.
Just like the ice blocks before him, they looked a little strange.
It was as if his intuition told him that both of them were the same.
Occam did not think twice.
"Do you think it was a player or an NPC?"
Annie took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.
That was right, the "World of Gods" was like a real world.
Players could communicate with NPCs in depth.
Not long ago, a player posted on the forum.
He said that he had met a young woman in the town and had a few deep exchanges with her.
Instantly, it attracted the envy of countless players.
Many players followed suit.
Annie had seen it on the forums. Although she despised it, she could not say anything. It was their freedom.
However, when he saw the young girl who died tragically in front of him, Annie was furious.
This young girl looked to be in her teens. If she was in the real world, she would be sitting in a classroom and attending lessons.
And here, she was forever stuck at this flower-like age.
Although he knew that it was just a string of data in the game.
But Annie could not help but felt sad for the girl.
"Players have system restrictions. Unless the NPCs are willing, they can't do this."
"It was done by a Mage NPC."
Occam thought for a moment.
"I must find this murderer!" Annie gritted her teeth.
Then, she opened the screenshot function of the game. From the place where the flax grew to the place where the girl died, she took many pictures.
"Alright, let's bring the girl's body back first."
Occam knew the chances of finding the killer were too low.
This was unlike the real world where there were all kinds of advanced detection equipment.
Moreover, this place was extremely remote and there were no witnesses.
It could only be a headless case.
Occam tried to fit the girl's body into his backpack.
He actually succeeded.
Occam breathed a sigh of relief.
Otherwise, Annie would have to summon the spirit deer and carry her back.
Then, Annie summoned the spirit deer and the two of them rushed to Ziya Town.
An hour later, the two of them returned to Ziya Town.
From afar, he saw the young girl's parents standing at the entrance of the town, waiting expectantly.
However, when they saw that it was only Occam and Annie, their faces turned extremely pale.
"Honorable God's Chosen One, have you found our daughter?"
Even though he had already realized the worst, the girl's father still stared at the two of them and asked hopefully.
Annie remained silent.
Occam sighed and pulled out the girl's body.
The girl's father hugged the girl's body tightly in disbelief. Then, he lost his spirit and seemed to have aged dozens of years instantly.
The girl's mother also collapsed to the ground and looked at the girl's corpse in a daze.
A moment later, the girl's father swept his gaze across the two of them and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Thank you, God's Chosen Ones."
Then, he carried the girl's body and walked into the town.
At the same time, Occam and Annie both received a system prompt.
Ding… congratulations on completing the mission "Search for Missing Girl"! '
"Reward: 10,000 EXP."
The mission rewards were indeed attractive.
Annie leveled up.
Occam had not leveled up, but his EXP had grown considerably.
Just as Occam was about to go kill monsters and level up, flames suddenly appeared in the town.
Occam did not bother to go but was dragged by Annie.
At this moment, the villagers were putting out the fire.
However, it was a wooden house that was burning fiercely and could not be extinguished.
Just then, a white-haired old man walked up to Occam and Annie.
"Actually, everyone knows Nancy could be dead, even her parents."
"But before they saw the corpse, they still held a glimmer of hope."
"Now, sigh…"
With that, the old man looked at the burning wooden house, sighed, and left.
When Annie learned that the cottage was the home of the girl, her soul was shaken.
Then she threw herself into Occam's arms, tears falling unconsciously.
"Boohoo, Occam, I don't want this to happen either…"
Occam stroked Annie's head and sighed, too.
He thought of the mission's note.
This result was indeed unexpected.
…