Conquering OtherWorld Starts With a Game-Chapter 199: Key Clues

The Kolv family, who developed the Misty Woods out of dire necessity and financial hardship, lacked the resources to invest heavily in the lumberyard.

There weren't any signs of industrial-sized equipment throughout the lumberyard. Instead, the presence of axes, hand saws, and machetes, haphazardly left beside piles of logs when the workers hastily evacuated, suggested that the operations here were manual and rather primitive.

"This place is even worse than our undead logging camp," Yang Ying, who had often teleported to Desolate Outpost's lumberyard to farm gold, couldn't help herself from making a remark.

Players who had been there to farm gold nodded in agreement. At least, the undead logging camp outside Desolate Outpost that was managed by the zombie NPCs had diesel generators and electric saws.

"Indeed, the Kolv baronetcy that owns this land has really fallen on hard times," said Unceasing Entropy. After eyeballing the abandoned logging tools for a bit, she then made her way toward one of the wooden huts.

The wooden hut, built with natural logs in an Eastern European style, had moss growing on the walls that were shaded after being vacant for half a year. Stubborn weeds had also sprouted through cracks in the stone steps.

Qin Guan, equipped in lavish gear, automatically positioned himself ahead of Unceasing Entropy, then tugged at the door, which creaked open shakily.

This hut seemed to be a dwelling for the workers, with ceramic or wooden bowls and plates on a table near the door as well as two wooden bunk beds on each side, topped with musty-smelling dry straw. Bedding and personal items had all been taken away.

The workers could clearly determine what was and wasn't important when they evacuated in a hurry: bedding and clothing were personal property, while logging tools like axes and saws belonged to the employer.

The door of the second wooden hut was locked shut. When players looked through the windows, they could see logging tools inside, along with baskets of potatoes and wheat, which were all moldy by now.

The third wooden hut was also locked from the outside with a padlock. Peering through the window, it appeared to be the foreman's residence—there was only one bed inside.

"Eh?!" Unceasing Entropy who was peering through the window spotted something and called for assistance, "Can I have a warrior break down this door?"

"I've got it, I've got it." Tang Jia, already bored to death, pushed Qin Guan aside, who himself was about to draw his weapon, and rushed forward.

Tang Jia swiftly smashed the lock, and Unceasing Entropy didn't hesitate to run in.

Qin Guan, unwilling to be upstaged and discover nothing himself, quickly followed.

This wooden hut was much neater and cleaner than the others, with bedding, a pillow, and a duvet still on the bed, a man's coat hanging on a coat rack by the bed, and two pairs of boots positioned against the wall next to the rack. A glass of relatively high purity sat on a dust-covered table alongside an iron cigarette case and a tobacco pipe.

Unceasing Entropy looked around the hut in astonishment, then lifted the black leather file under her arm and quickly flipped to page 6.

This page contained the testimony of the foreman, Arnold Hayden.

Foreman Hayden's testimony didn't seem of any value, this was a judgment Unceasing Entropy made during her initial quick browse through. Hayden wasn't involved in logging; he just supervised four workers, detested life in the mountains, and always found excuses to linger whenever he went down the mountain to deliver lumber.

After quickly reading through his testimony again, Unceasing Entropy still found the account meaningless, filled with complaints about life in the mountains and grumbles about his inept workers.

She then flipped to the last few pages to review the potentially relevant persons listed by Investigator "Shrew."

Under Foreman Arnold Hayden, Investigator "Shrew" noted: This man is the last remaining serf of the Kolv baronetcy. His father once served as the coachmen for the previous baron.

Being a leisurely coachman in a big city versus managing a dilapidated logging camp in the mountains presented a stark contrast in working environments. Investigator "Shrew" seemed to understand Hayden's resentment and the subtle joy he expressed when the lumberyard was forced to close.

Unceasing Entropy fell silent.

Qin Guan copied Unceasing Entropy and seriously scrutinized the small hut, even checking the moldy tobacco inside the cigarette case. But unfortunately, he couldn't find any clues.

With no other option, Qin Guan temporarily set aside his competitiveness and humbly asked Unceasing Entropy, "Qingyue, is there an important clue here?"

"Yes." Unceasing Entropy wasn't someone who liked to keep up the suspense and flipped back to page 6, pointing at the recorded session. "The person responding to Investigator 'Shrew'… might not be the original 'Arnold Hayden.'"

"Uh…" Qin Guan glanced over the boring dialogue on the page, mulled for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed in realization.

"All the workers from the logging camp shared the same response to Investigator 'Shrew's' questions: a mysterious fog suddenly enveloped the mountains, obscuring visibility beyond 20 meters, causing panic and a hasty evacuation," explained Unceasing Entropy. "The workers even managed to grab their bedding in their rush to leave. How is it possible that Arnold Hayden, the foreman who normally does nothing but laze around, left without his coat or forgot his cigarette case and pipe?"

"That's impossible," declared Qin Guan confidently.

A smoker wouldn't likely forget their tobacco!

"Are we getting into some supernatural story now?" Qin Guan asked, then paused, sensing something wasn't right. "Wait, you mentioned finding a rope earlier. Is it connected to the foreman?"

"It's hard to say, the dots aren't fully connected yet." Unceasing Entropy shook her head, closing the black leather dossier and headed outside. "We've seen all there is at the lumberyard. Let's split up and search the surrounding area."

The lumberyard wasn't huge, approximately one and a half basketball courts in size, including the space for piling logs. Searching the vicinity within a two-hundred-meter radius posed no challenge for the players—the double debuff of night and thick mist didn't affect the players' visibility. Moreover, players were proficient at using Identify, which was a perfect skill for finding objects.

In less than half an hour, a player using Identify found the hemp rope hidden in the bushes.

Unceasing Entropy and Qin Guan, who had split up to lead the search, hurried to the location where the rope was found. The player who discovered the rope proudly showed them the item he had pulled from the bushes.

Unceasing Entropy examined the coiled rope and asked the player, "Was it coiled up like this when you found it?"

"Yes," the player replied. "It was coiled up normally and hidden in that bush over there."

This time, without needing any hints from Unceasing Entropy, Qin Guan realized something. "This rope was intentionally hidden, wasn't it?"

Unceasing Entropy took the hemp road, mulled for a moment, then looked up and all around.

Then, she lowered her gaze and scanned the surrounding ground. After noticing a rock hidden in the grass, she strode over, crouched down, and observed.

Qin Guan, doing his best to keep up with Unceasing Entropy pace, also crouched down to inspect the rock but couldn't discern anything. He had to ask once more, "What's going on, Qingyue? Can you explain?"

Unceasing Entropy raised a skeletal finger and touched the rock, then tried pushing it. The rock could be shifted with the strength of an undead.

The irregularly shaped rock, between 30 to 40 centimeters at its highest with a width of over 20 centimeters, was hard to lift but could be pushed or kicked.

"…I see," Unceasing Entropy muttered.

"What do you mean by that?!" Qin Guan was going crazy.

"Vanilla, do you remember 'Shrew's' questioning of the villagers?" Unceasing Entropy asked. "Drunkard Mike claimed there was a monster in the forest that ate people. The monster was as strong as a bear, with a leopard-like tail and teeth as long as a child's arm…"

"Wasn't that just nonsense? Even the villagers themselves said the drunkard was just exaggerating." Qin Guan was still utterly confused.

"Indeed, it was an exaggeration." Unceasing Entropy nodded. "Some people at the bottom rungs of society do tend to exaggerate and crave attention. However, these people don't have much experience and lack imagination. Their exaggerated tales need to have some basis in reality.

"For example, the description of the monster being as strong as a bear is because the villagers think the most fearsome and intimidating beast is a bear. Then, they added monstrous, exaggerated fangs, which sound terrifying when mentioned."

Unceasing Entropy then paused for a moment before continuing, "But why add a 'leopard-like' tail to the description? What's so scary about a leopard's tail?"

Qin Guan was momentarily stunned.

He definitely had an alright intellect with a flexible mind than most. Just that, there was still a considerable gap between him and a genius.

With Unceasing Entropy's hints, if Qin Guan couldn't catch on, it would be a disservice to his million followers.

His gaze shifted stiffly to the hemp rope Unceasing Entropy was holding. Even if he was aware that it was just a game and they were doing a quest within it, Qin Guan felt a chill run down his spine. "So… it was a person? What the drunkard saw was a person, one that was joined with the rope?"

"Yes." Unceasing Entropy once again touched the rock with her finger and looked up once more.

Above the rock, there was a branch from a nearby tree, about three meters off the ground.

The scenario of a person tied up with a rope, which could scare a grown male villager, only made sense in one scenario.

And that was… a hanging corpse.

"Wait, wait, so you're saying, in the rumor he concocted, Drunkard Mike included a hunter, meaning the hunter is also related to this?" Qin Guan pieced it together.

"The drunkard claimed the monster was seen by the hunter, removing himself from the narrative, while the hunter firmly denied it," Unceasing Entropy stated. "Considering this rope was intentionally hidden in the bushes, we can infer that the drunkard accidentally witnessed the hunter taking down a hanging body and moving it.

"Why would the hunter secretly move the body and hide the rope? To conceal the truth of this hanging. But from whom? The villagers and lumberyard workers."

Unceasing Entropy pointed to the lumberyard camp in the near distance. "Someone who hangs themselves is likely harboring unresolved anger or resentment. Choosing a spot not far from the lumberyard seems to convey a message of 'dying for someone at the logging camp to see.'"

Qin Guan had an epiphany and quickly interjected before Unceasing Entropy could continue, "Wait, let me guess. There are only five people in the lumberyard. Four workers and the foreman. If the workers left safely but the foreman was replaced, it's definitely a message for the foreman, Arnold Hayden. That guy must be up to no good, right?"

"Yes," Unceasing Entropy confirmed. "The foreman Arnold Hayden and the body moved by the hunter are key clues to this quest."

"Then let us go find that hunter now!" Qin Guan declared enthusiastically.