Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1207: Death Network

Inside the conference room, Chen Mingming was reviewing the contents he had seen on the sheepskin scroll while comparing them with the case analysis before him. To his surprise, the information on the scroll was exactly the same as what the police already had.

Not only the data—even the identities had been fully prepared.

It seemed that for this test, that mysterious Boss hadn’t intentionally made things difficult for him. On the contrary, he had provided every convenience possible. The only catch was that the case had to be solved within five days.

“…At present, we’ve tracked down two other women connected to Wang Liang,” reported the officer in charge of intelligence, updating the team with new data. “However, according to the forensic team’s final determination of time of death, both women have solid alibis. They can basically be ruled out as suspects.”

Another female officer added, “Sir Ma, Sir Zhou, I compared similar cases from the past three years and cross-referenced with the wanted fugitives’ database. There’s no connection between them at all…”

“Could it be the killer’s first or second crime?” Ma Hound rubbed his temples. “But for a first-time killer to be this meticulous… is this murderer even human?”

They didn’t even know whether the killer was male or female, or their approximate age, height, or weight. All they knew was that the murderer had obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

Zhou Yusheng tapped the table rhythmically, lost in thought.

This was the first time Chen Mingming had been so close to an actual criminal investigation team. Surrounded by seasoned investigators, he couldn’t help feeling a little dazed.

Zhou Yusheng sat silent, brow deeply furrowed—a side of him Chen Mingming had never seen before.In his memory, his father had always been a short-tempered drunk.

It had been years since Chen Mingming last saw his father looking so calm and composed. For a moment, he drifted off into thought… Could it be that he really was working alongside his father now, solving a case together?

He could no longer tell what was real and what was not.

It felt as though this—this moment—was real, and everything before yesterday had been nothing but a dream.

“Do I have something on my face?” Zhou Yusheng suddenly asked, catching Chen Mingming staring.

Captain Zhou’s loud voice instantly drew everyone’s attention toward them. Chen Mingming wasn’t used to being under so many eyes at once. These weren’t the stares of schoolmates; they carried the weight of professionals. Subconsciously, he felt uneasy.

He drew a deep breath, trying to speak the words he’d prepared in his head. But when he opened his mouth, all he could manage was a weak, “Nothing.”

“Mm.” Zhou Yusheng nodded slightly and returned to his thoughts.

Chen Mingming hesitated, then instinctively stood up and muttered, “I’ll go to the restroom.”

He quickly left and disappeared from everyone’s sight.

But instead of going to the restroom, he went to a small balcony on the same floor. Loosening the top button of his collar, he finally felt he could breathe again.

“I can’t believe I’m like this…” Chen Mingming murmured, looking out at the street below.

The steady flow of traffic and the faint hum of human voices calmed him. Soon, he realized what his problem was.

Under those eyes that were different from students’—in an environment unlike a classroom—he had instinctively tried to hide himself. He had felt constrained, even short of breath.

He was nervous.

It suddenly struck him that this simple meeting had exposed something: he wasn’t as capable as he had imagined.

“What are you thinking about?”

The unexpected voice startled him—a hand had patted his shoulder from behind. It was his father, Zhou Yusheng.

Chen Mingming tried not to panic. He shook his head silently.

Zhou Yusheng smiled faintly. “Don’t pressure yourself too much. You’ve only been a cop for a short time. It’s normal to feel nervous when you’re suddenly thrown into a big case like this.”

He noticed? Chen Mingming’s heart skipped. Had he shown some flaw?

“Do I… really look that nervous?” Chen Mingming frowned slightly.

Zhou Yusheng pointed at his own eyes. “You don’t look nervous, but you’re still too green. What do you think your old man does for a living? I’ve seen hundreds—no, thousands—of criminals. Eyes never lie.”

“I…” Chen Mingming paused, then slowly said, “Maybe you’re right.”

Suddenly, Zhou Yusheng gripped his son’s shoulders firmly. “Relax. You graduated top of your class—you’re already better than your old man. I just have more experience, that’s all. You’ll gain that too, and one day, you’ll surpass me.”

In his memory, his father had never said anything like that before.

Chen Mingming nodded, then said quietly, “I want to take another look at the crime scene.”

“The crime scene?” Zhou Yusheng blinked, then nodded. “Alright. Maybe we did miss something… Wait here, I’ll grab the car. We’ll go together.”

Of course, the investigation didn’t stop after the first discovery of the body. They had revisited the site multiple times. For those determined to solve a case, as long as it remained unsolved, the scene still held value.

Watching his father’s back as he left, Chen Mingming gave a faint, bitter smile.

Investigating a case alongside his father—he had never imagined such a thing.

That feeling alone was enough to unsettle him.

A phrase suddenly came to his mind that perfectly described his current state: All theory, no practice.

…

“…Alright, keep tailing Zhao Le. If the target shows up, report immediately.”

At the local office of the Management Bureau, Liu Minghao finished taking a report call from Bu Bugao, then began eating his breakfast while browsing the Bureau’s internal news network.

“Brother Hao, I’ve finished talking with Director Liu. He’ll handle the rest,” Wei Zidào said as he entered. “What are you reading?”

Liu Minghao replied casually, “News about the ‘Death Network’ case.”

“Any updates?” Wei Zidào asked curiously. “That case is so mysterious—it’s been, what, half a year now?”

“Yeah.” Liu Minghao nodded.

The Death Network case had first surfaced about six months ago. During that period, mysterious deaths began appearing across the country.

Cases where young people addicted to the internet suddenly dropped dead.

Normally, these were attributed to exhaustion or health neglect—people losing themselves in the virtual world for days on end until their bodies gave out. Such incidents weren’t uncommon and were generally ruled as natural deaths.

But as these cases increased in number, the Management Bureau began to take notice. They had a special department dedicated to monitoring seemingly ordinary incidents—because many extraordinary crimes were hidden among them.

Eventually, someone noticed a shocking pattern: over 70% of these sudden deaths had occurred while the victims were playing the same game.

That discovery made the Bureau act immediately.

When they investigated further, they found something even more unbelievable—after those victims died, their in-game accounts were still active, moving around as if nothing had happened.

Yes—active. The accounts were active: able to move, chat, even join raids—not just exist as static data within the game. What was even more unbelievable was that none of these deceased players’ accounts had any traceable IP addresses.

It was as if they had appeared out of thin air.

As the investigation deepened, the Management Bureau discovered many people in a comatose state. Nearly all of them had collapsed in front of their computers—with the same game still running on their screens.

Across the country, such coma cases were not few. Although scattered and isolated in various regions, when combined nationwide, the total number was astonishing.

These comatose individuals’ accounts continued to remain active. Yet, on certain days, their accounts would suddenly vanish—and at the same time, those very individuals would die.

Eventually, the Management Bureau classified this as an extraordinary incident and named it “Death Network.” They reached a shocking conclusion:

The three souls and seven spirits of those comatose victims might have been sucked into the game itself!

Over this period, the Bureau had invested significant manpower and resources into tracing the cause. But the massive Mount Tai case last month forced them to halt the investigation temporarily. Now that the Mount Tai incident had been resolved, “Death Network” was once again under active investigation.

Although Liu Minghao and Wei Zidào weren’t directly involved in the main task force, they still followed developments closely—after all, the victims of the “Death Network” case didn’t follow any regional pattern. For all they knew, they might encounter a related incident while working on another case.

“According to this report, in the past two weeks, the number of comatose victims has suddenly increased,” Liu Minghao frowned. “It’s growing several times faster than before—and it’s no longer limited to Emerald Fantasy.”

“It’s gotten worse?” Wei Zidào frowned as well.

From what he knew, the earliest victims had all been players of that one game, so naturally, the company behind it had been thoroughly investigated from top to bottom.

Originally, the Bureau had considered shutting down the game’s servers entirely. But they feared that doing so might endanger the trapped souls inside, possibly killing the comatose victims outright. So the game had to remain operational. In fact, the company had since changed ownership and was now under the Bureau’s strict supervision.

“Yeah, the higher-ups are in a panic,” Liu Minghao said seriously. “And there’s something else—the original game received an update last week. But this update wasn’t developed by the company itself, nor did it go through their servers. It was an automatic version update. Our tech team couldn’t trace where the new data came from at all. And ever since that update, coma cases have spiked—and not just among players of that game. Even stranger, a number of abnormal accounts have appeared in-game. It seems the same phenomenon has started showing up overseas too.”

“Overseas…?” Wei Zidào inhaled sharply. “Don’t tell me this game has turned into a demon?”

“I don’t know,” Liu Minghao shook his head. “But the Bureau plans to send agents to play the game directly—to find a way for their souls to enter it intentionally. That’s all we’ve got for now.”

“How many victims are there in total?” Wei Zidào asked quietly.

“According to incomplete statistics, about eighty thousand,” Liu Minghao replied. “Most of them are already dead. There are roughly sixteen to seventeen thousand still comatose.”

Wei Zidào gave a bitter smile. “If that number keeps rising, the Bureau won’t be able to keep the lid on it…”

Eighty thousand might sound like a lot, but when spread across the entire nation—or even the world—it seemed almost insignificant. Yet even a small number, when it kept increasing, would eventually draw public attention. At that point, no amount of explanation could cover it up.

“Yeah…” Liu Minghao sighed. “Trouble after trouble. Oh, by the way—the equipment I requested should arrive this afternoon. Once it does, we’ll try locating that ‘24’s signal. Go make the preparations.”

“Got it!”

…

Far away in the capital, at the Management Bureau’s headquarters—

Inside a room filled with dozens of high-end computers, rows of men and women were locked in fierce battles… against in-game monsters.

“Damn it! Is this Demon King Castle’s first floor hell difficulty or what?!”

(Note: Changed Demon King Tower/Fortress to Demon King's Castle)

“Heal me! HEAL ME!!!”

Shouts and banter echoed throughout the room. It looked exactly like a busy city internet café.

“Everyone, attention—I’ve got a prompt!”

Suddenly, one young agent at a computer hit the small bell beside his desk, immediately drawing everyone’s focus—including one of the lead investigators of the case.

“YES/NO?”

“After all this time… it finally appeared—the secret behind the game.”

“Do we click ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, Captain?”

“‘Yes’! Otherwise all our work will be wasted!”

The young man nodded, took a deep breath, and stared at the strange interface. It was the first time such a prompt had appeared, and a countdown circle was ticking down—meaning it wouldn’t stay for long. Who knew when they’d get another chance?

Finally, under the captain’s order, the agent clicked “Yes.”

He was tense, but with dozens of agents and support staff present—and this being the supposedly nuclear-proof Management Bureau headquarters—he wasn’t too worried. Even if the computer exploded, it couldn’t hurt anyone.

But the moment he clicked the button, the young man suddenly slumped forward onto his desk—silent and motionless.

And on his computer screen, his game character began to move on its own. Then, in the in-game chat, a single eerie line of text appeared:

—I… I really made it in! Inside the game!

The entire room fell silent, a chill creeping down every spine.

(End of Chapter)