deltrittennovels #572 - Multiple failures
#572 - Multiple failures
Morning light streamed through the window lattices into the police station office, where Tang Yin was staring blankly at the wanted posters on the wall. Those grotesque faces seemed to pierce through the paper, sending chills down his spine. Just then, the door suddenly emitted a jarring creak, startling him.
A middle-aged police officer in a dark blue uniform walked in with the morning light. His slightly overweight figure blocked most of the doorway. His bloodshot eyes scanned Tang Yin up and down, his face filled with surprise.
"You didn't run? You've got guts," the officer said, a hint of amusement in his voice.
Tang Yin looked up, a smile playing on his lips. "Did you want me to run away?"
"Huh!?" The officer's eyes widened, clearly not expecting such a response.
Seeing the officer's astonished expression, Tang Yin sighed inwardly. This enforcer of the law clearly didn't appreciate his sense of humor.
"Um, I haven't broken any laws, have I?" Tang Yin asked cautiously, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
"Name!" The officer didn't answer his question, but instead barked a demand.
"Um, I'm Tang Yin, Tang of the Tang Dynasty, Yin of Hidden Mist Village," Tang Yin answered honestly, while secretly observing the other's reaction.
The officer frowned, muttering, "What a strange name, just like that strange village halfway up the mountain, all weird and peculiar." His gaze landed on Tang Yin. "Are you from the city?"
"Yes, I am," Tang Yin nodded, inwardly scoffing at the stereotype. But the officer was right.
"Age!" The officer continued to press, his tone still harsh.
"Twenty-four."
"Ah? Occupation."
"Student."
The officer's expression suddenly turned odd. "A college student? You should be smart, right? How can you lack even basic common sense!"
Tang Yin cursed inwardly. Just driving late at night, was there a need to make such a fuss? He wanted to retort, but reason told him it was best to remain silent.
Suddenly, the officer's tone calmed down. "What are you doing here?"
This question came suddenly, yet it was expected. Tang Yin knew that his next answer would directly affect his situation. Just then, an idea suddenly flashed in his mind.
"Well, actually…" He deliberately stammered, feigning an embarrassing demeanor.
"Honesty is the best policy," the officer's voice was devoid of any emotion.
Tang Yin took a deep breath, as if making up his mind. "I heard the girl I like lives near here. I came to find her."
"…" The officer was silent, but Tang Yin keenly noticed a strange glint in his eyes.
The opportunity had come! Although the officer tried to maintain a poker face, the flames of gossip had already ignited in his slightly turbid eyes. Tang Yin secretly gloated, as expected, emotional gossip was the most powerful lubricant in human society, capable of easily resolving all kinds of awkward situations.
After all, when a person falls in love, even if they do something outrageous, it seems excusable to others. In the morning light, Tang Yin watched the officer's gradually relaxing expression, the corner of his mouth imperceptibly rising into a smile.
The morning light grew stronger, and the air in the police station office seemed to solidify, making the sound of dust falling audible. The officer rubbed his temples, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes. "Is that so? Hmm… That being said, I haven't heard of anyone here going to Tokyo."
Tang Yin quickly waved his hand to explain, "No, we met somewhere else." His voice was soft and sincere, as if recounting a precious memory.
"Oh?" The officer raised his eyebrows, clearly interested.
"Well, because of the aftereffects of the flu, I spent some time recuperating in a resort villa—" Tang Yin's voice took on a touch of melancholy, his gaze looking out the window, as if recalling that unforgettable past.
For the next dozen minutes, the office echoed with Tang Yin's tearful voice. He described the encounter on that rainy day, the warm moments of the two strolling in the villa garden, and every heartwarming instant. Every detail in the story was carefully crafted, sketching a youthful romance that moved heaven and earth.
The officer, who had originally been sitting upright behind his desk with a deliberately cold expression, unconsciously relaxed. When Tang Yin talked about the first time the girl invited him to her house, this seasoned police officer revealed a boyish, shining gaze.
"That day it was drizzling, and she was standing at the door holding a pink umbrella waiting for me…" Tang Yin's voice carried a faint sadness. "We quickly fell in love. But…" He paused, as if suppressing the pain in his heart.
"But she couldn't let go of her longing for her hometown, and ultimately decided to put this relationship on hold. The day she cried and said goodbye to me, even the sky was raining…"
The office was silent, and only the officer's soft sobbing could be heard. He had already completely immersed himself in the role of the girl in the story who had no choice but to leave, his eyes glistening with tears.
"And then you gave up everything in the city to come here to find her?!" The officer excitedly stood up, reaching out to pat Tang Yin's shoulder for comfort. His face was filled with emotion and pity.
Tang Yin secretly gloated. It seemed that the romantic story he had woven had completely captured the heart of this police officer. However, just as he was about to press his advantage, the officer suddenly asked, "But, is there such a young girl here…? Who is your fiancée?"
Hearing this question, Tang Yin secretly laughed inwardly. That's how it was in such a small place, everyone knew each other, and making up a name at random would definitely expose him. But he had been prepared for this, and a shy smile appeared on his face: "Wang Lina."
The air suddenly froze. The officer's expression instantly turned livid, and he shouted sternly, "Go back."
"Huh?" Tang Yin was stunned, not expecting such a drastic change in the other's attitude.
"Go back. Go back right now, immediately!" The officer slowly stood up from his chair, his whole being exuding a suffocating sense of oppression. He approached Tang Yin step by step, his uniform casting a long shadow in the morning light, like an invisible high wall.
Tang Yin looked at the officer's suddenly sharp eyes, feeling as if he had stepped on some kind of terrible landmine. The originally warm atmosphere vanished in an instant, replaced by a chilling sense of tension.
The mountain mist gradually dissipated, and the officer rode a slightly old scooter, carrying Tang Yin along the winding country road. The morning dew wet the roadside weeds, and the air was filled with the fragrance of soil. Finally, at a fork in the road, the officer stopped the car and watched Tang Yin embark on the road away from Baifeng Village.
Watching the officer's figure disappear into the morning mist, Tang Yin's brain raced. He knew very well that Wang Lina's connection with Baifeng Village was not close. She was active outside the village all year round, and the villagers knew very little about her whereabouts. It was based on this judgment that he boldly used her as the protagonist to weave that fictional love story.
However, the officer's reaction when he heard the name Wang Lina caused a trace of unease to rise in Tang Yin's heart. That sudden stern attitude, that almost instinctive sense of rejection, was as if the name itself was an untouchable taboo.
"Could it be because of that incident?" Tang Yin recalled the rumors he had heard before—Wang Lina had almost beaten a child from Baifeng Village to death with a baseball bat. But even so, the officer's reaction was a bit too extreme. No matter how bad her reputation was, it shouldn't have caused a police officer who had seen so much to lose his composure.
The sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting dappled shadows on the ground. Tang Yin stopped, frowning as he pondered. "Is it because she's from Hidden Mist Village?" This speculation seemed to explain some problems. As an affiliated village of Baifeng Village, the existence of Hidden Mist Village seemed to have been deliberately concealed. The people of Baifeng Village probably didn't want outsiders to know about this place, so they were eager to drive away any outsiders inquiring about relevant information.
But this explanation made things even more suspicious. Why be so secretive about an ordinary village? There must be some unknown secrets hidden inside.
Just as Tang Yin was lost in thought, a thick fog suddenly rose around him. The white mist seemed to have a life of its own, quickly engulfing everything around it. The fog appearing at this time was obviously unusual, was it artificially created? But it was no longer meaningful to pursue these questions now…
[GAME OVER]
[You have obtained one of the key clues: Forbidden Name, please reload the file]
The screen twisted for a while, and time and space seemed to be forcibly rewound. When G-chan re-operated Tang Yin, he found himself back in the police station office, sitting upright opposite the officer.
Sunlight slanted in through the gaps in the blinds, leaving streaks of light on the desk. The officer rubbed his throbbing temples and looked at Tang Yin with a scrutinizing gaze: "What are you doing here?"
After the last lesson, Tang Yin decided to change his strategy. He took a deep breath and chose to tell the truth: "I'm on a long-distance road trip and accidentally got lost."
"Really?" The officer narrowed his eyes, his tone carrying a clear threat. The atmosphere in the office suddenly became tense.
Tang Yin maintained a calm tone and continued to explain, "Really, I've been lost in the mountains for several hours, and I finally found a convenience store to ask for directions, and then I walked here." He paused and added, "The convenience store suggested that I go to a village that is not marked on the map, but I was worried about getting lost again, so I asked for directions to get here."
"That's a little strange, um…" The officer stroked his chin thoughtfully, a glimmer of elusive light flashing in his eyes. An indescribable and strange atmosphere permeated the air.
The fluorescent light in the police station emitted a faint hum, which was particularly clear in the silent night. Tang Yin sat on the hard wooden chair, his eyes fixed on the burly officer in front of him, and asked softly, "Is there really a village there?"
"I don't know." The officer subconsciously avoided Tang Yin's gaze and pretended to organize the documents on the table. That deliberate evasive posture made his clumsy lies even more obvious. Tang Yin laughed inwardly, this uncle was really an honest person, he couldn't even lie.
The officer cleared his throat and tried to change the subject: "Okay, I got it. You didn't do anything, right?"
"Yeah." Tang Yin responded briefly.
The officer frowned, his tone carrying a few warnings: "Is that so, but wandering around outside so late, it's normal to be suspected, right?"
Looking at the darkening sky outside the window, Tang Yin tentatively said, "Um, sorry, can I stay here tonight…"
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"Okay, I'll tell you the way back." The officer said decisively, completely ignoring the request to stay.
Tang Yin was stunned, not expecting the other party to refuse so decisively. "Um, I'm too tired to walk." He pretended to be exhausted.
"Being able to say that means you're okay!" The officer ruthlessly exposed his disguise.
"Actually, the gasoline is also…" Tang Yin still wanted to struggle.
"I'll share the oil from my scooter with you." The officer's attitude became more and more resolute.
Tang Yin pretended to cover his stomach: "…Ah, suddenly I feel so uncomfortable."
"Is that so, then you'd better leave quickly!" The officer remained unmoved, but instead became more eager to drive him away.
A strange atmosphere permeated the air, and Tang Yin finally couldn't help but ask directly: "Is something wrong here?"
"Nothing." The officer looked away again, appearing even more suspicious.
Tang Yin sighed in his heart. This uncle's performance was too deliberate, and instead confirmed the guess that there was a problem here. However, before he could continue to ask, the officer insisted on sending him away from the village.
In the end, Tang Yin could only watch as the thick fog enveloped the surroundings again.
[GAME OVER]
[Although you have failed twice in a row, you have unlocked new options, go and try it quickly.]
The screen twisted again, and time and space rewound. This time, Tang Yin chose a completely different strategy—going all out.
"What's it to you!" He suddenly stood up and roared at the officer.
The officer was obviously not expecting such a reaction: "Huh!?"
Tang Yin continued to be aggressive: "This is a society ruled by law! We have freedom of movement! No matter when, no matter where we go, it's my freedom!!"
The officer's face instantly darkened: "You kid are tired of living, right?"
"Die if I die, who's afraid of who!! I can't stand this feeling of being half-dead anymore!!" Tang Yin roared hysterically.
"You little bastard, don't be too arrogant!!" The officer slammed the table and stood up.
Tang Yin seemed to have completely lost his mind: "Anyway, this time will definitely fail!! What should I do next!! Dance naked!! You perverted god!!"
"Eat shit!" The officer cursed angrily.
"Don't talk so much nonsense, can't you let me stay!! Will I die if I walk the normal route to Hidden Mist Village!!" Tang Yin continued to roar.
The officer's expression suddenly became unusually serious, and he pressed the intercom: "Are you crazy! What the hell is wrong with you!! Calling headquarters! Calling headquarters! Understood, execute the kill order!!"
A gunshot suddenly rang out in the silent night sky.
"Ah!!!" Tang Yin's screams echoed in the police station.
[GAME OVER]
[You have obtained three key clues, new options have been unlocked in the earlier choices.]
G-sauce furiously pounded the VR pod, "What the hell is wrong with this game?!"
Chat: "Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter!"
Then, the game screen cut back to an earlier scene.
...
Another thirty minutes and Tang Yin would be at Baifeng Village.
That village of the main family that the people of Hidden Mist Village held such complex feelings toward.
Tang Yin decided to drink the alcohol he'd bought at the convenience store.
He stopped his motorcycle, propped it up on the side of the road, locked it, and then took his driver's license, bank card, business card, ID card, and other personal belongings from his wallet, hiding them in the toolbox under the seat.
Since he was doomed anyway, and things had come to this, he might as well drink.