Volume 1, Chapter 11: A Visible Bug as a Hint?

Qin Shang raised an eyebrow.

Taking in the sympathetic expressions of the three people, he wondered if he had guessed wrong. Were their true identities actually two accomplices and a God-Slayer? Did they reveal victorious smiles because they deduced that he and the little girl were merely an assistant and a team leader, and seeing them slack off without any intention of playing the game, felt they had already won? Were they happy to see them not exploring?

That didn't make sense!

Qin Shang quickly dismissed the notion. If those three were all werewolves and only he and the little girl were innocent, they had the overwhelming numerical advantage. Why not just rush over and kill them both? Qin Shang glanced at the girl in the pink dress beside him. Those three could probably drown this little priestess just by standing over her; she had effectively zero combat power. If they were all werewolves, they would have pounced and finished them off by now.

"Then where did those strange smiles come from?"

The moment Qin Shang frowned, the little girl—whose username was 'Grandpa Cow Cosplaying as a Maid to Seduce Zhuangzhuang's Mom'—had already arrived at his side. The young girl was lively, seemingly savoring the feeling of having survived a crisis, and she threw her arms around his.

"Big Brother, they’ve finally left. Now we’re safe, just the two of us..."

Qin Shang’s mouth twitched. *Little lady from the island nation, please, contain yourself.* She must have watched quite a lot of "educational material." She delivered her lines so smoothly; was the next one going to be, "Now that it's just the two of us, we can play something exciting... my sister will never know..."

Qin Shang silently grumbled. Of course, as a married man, he still had a strong moral compass. A man pushing thirty like him didn't feel much for a flat-chested little girl. He silently pulled his arm back and looked at her.

"Little sister, do you trust me that much? Aren't you afraid that I might actually be the werewolf in our group?"

"Impossible!"

'Grandpa Cow's' dress rippled as she stomped her small foot, pouting as she replied immediately, "Otherwise, why would you have helped me just now!?"

Hearing this, Qin Shang flashed a sinister smile. *Should I try to bluff her?* With that thought, his expression turned incredibly eerie, and he slowly drew out his words.

"Perhaps it was because I realized you were the team leader, and winning your favor was part of the plan, and now I’ve chosen to keep you only to prepare to stab you in the back?"

"After all, as an NPC, it's easy to know the missions of all players in the dungeon. When you introduced yourself and mentioned your side mission, I, the God-Slayer, confirmed your identity as the team leader."

The little girl froze, her body beginning to tremble. Looking at her posture, another two sentences of intimidation would probably have her knees giving out. Observing that her reaction didn't seem fake, Qin Shang said with disappointment, "No, I'm actually the assistant. My mission prompts and hidden clues were also public; I was just scaring you. After all, testing whether you're a God-Slayer or an accomplice is just standard procedure, right?"

"Big Brother, you're too much!"

The little girl was stunned, a glimmer of moisture appearing in her eyes, followed by a wave of relief. If 'Licking Cockroach Jade Feet' had truly been the God-Slayer hiding in the team, her blindly following him would have been no different from courting death.

Qin Shang smiled and ignored her, watching as the three figures disappeared into the junction between carriages two and three. Only then did he calmly look at the newspapers covering the windows and the pink-and-white cat dolls. The black button eyes of the Hello Kitty plushies seemed to mock him through the slivers of light from the windows, as if saying, *You too will soon become a wandering soul and join our ranks.* It was chilling.

*Damn it, I'm throwing out every stuffed toy in my house as soon as I get out!*

He cursed internally, and then two questions emerged. According to the background information, some passengers in carriage two had left carriage three hand-in-hand due to Miss Mary's plan, while others had died within carriage two. Setting aside the possibility of traitors among those who held hands—there certainly were some—was it reasonable to think a few traitors could slaughter an entire carriage of passengers?

If it was done by human hands, Qin Shang felt it was unlikely. He looked at the newspapers on the windows; they were thick and heavy. He could imagine how meticulously someone had pasted them years ago, and only after all this time were they beginning to peel. Yet, they still blocked every window in carriage two tightly. Was it to keep something out? Was there something outside the windows?

*Could I be wrong? Is the God-Slayer not one of the people in our group?*

Qin Shang was startled, but he quickly overturned the guess. *No, the God-Slayer is one of us. The game prompt said the God-Slayer has infiltrated the team, and there are only six of us players in total.* With seven people present, it was obvious the God-Slayer was disguised as a player. The idea that something outside the windows killed those passengers was absurd. *Don't scare yourself!* Although many games had horror elements, this round likely didn't...

Wait!

Qin Shang was suddenly struck by a thought. "The background says this is London, England, in the 1870s. While that era makes me think of Sherlock Holmes first, isn't it also strange for Hello Kitty to appear in this place?"

"I don't recall the exact year Hello Kitty was created, but this thing is definitely not a product of such an ancient time."

The next moment, Qin Shang looked at the little girl; girls knew much more about these trinkets than grown men. "Grandpa Cow..."

The young girl's face darkened. "I already told you that was just a username I picked in a hurry!"

*Tsk, such thin skin.*

"I want to ask you a question. Which era is Hello Kitty from?"

At this, the girl curled her lip. "It's still very popular now. People who like Hello Kitty often buy merchandise to decorate their rooms. I don't think there's a girl alive who doesn't know what this is, right?"

"No, you misunderstood me. I mean, as a cartoon character, roughly when was she born?"

"I didn't study animation design, I don't know! I guess... the last century?"

Qin Shang’s eyes narrowed. The last century was the 1900s... and this was the 19th century! The backstory was certainly fictional, but in a game with a set background, leaving behind something that didn't fit the era—wasn't that illogical?

For now, Qin Shang could grasp some of the characteristics of the "God’s Path" game. Everything was interconnected; without completing the main quest, you couldn't finish the side quests, and without continuing to explore, you wouldn't get new background clues. Without new clues, it was impossible to judge why the passengers disappeared.

So, Hello Kitty appearing here was a bug! The organizers shouldn't be so brainless as to leave such an obvious, visible bug.

"So, these dolls must be hinting at something!"

What did Kitty represent? Qin Shang had a headache. *I am really not a fan of this stuff!* And even if she were a true fan, would she even know? Who bothers to pay attention to the origins of a familiar mascot? It was like how everyone had heard of Sun Wukong, but few knew that the Great Sage Equaling Heaven’s true species was the Lingming Stone Monkey. Who would spend time researching the complete history of a mascot?