CHAPTER 532: CHAPTER 261: STRANGER_2

Whether it was the seven-eyed woman or the man with the numbers "404" on his face, they were high-pollution creatures that these low-level investigators could not handle. Let alone fighting them, just making eye contact was enough to push their sanity to the brink of collapse.

Sue watched as the two left the room, leaving her alone within the light sphere.

The blinding white light engulfed her vision, and once again, her consciousness was dragged into chaos.

She had no desire to wake up again.

However, the process didn’t last long. She heard the sound of bells coming through the window.

It was already eleven o’clock.

According to the recent campus regulations pushed by the Disciplinary Committee, after eleven, students are prohibited from wandering around the campus. If caught, they will face a deduction of 3 credits and a day of labor in the pumpkin field. These thoughts filled Sue with despair, indicating she had been sent back to that dangerous place and that she was becoming increasingly connected with the noble lady named Sue.

She was lying on her back in bed, half-covered by a blanket.

It was apparent she hadn’t lain down by herself. In that moment of eye contact with the man with the number-face, she had fallen unconscious.

"If you’re awake, then answer the questions."

That familiar voice came from beside the bed once again.

Sue wanted to pretend to be dead with her eyes closed, but the man with the number-face wasn’t planning on letting her off so easily, "I know you’re awake, no need to be nervous, just a few simple questions."

Sue frowned tightly, resignedly opening her eyes to a slit.

"Aah—!"

She immediately let out a piercing scream, almost leaping from the bed, but the terrifying surroundings made her dare not move significantly.

This was an interrogation room, with blue arcs illuminating that face with the floating "404" numbers.

Blue currents were everywhere, different from Sue’s skilled electrical elemental magic. She had no doubt that if her answers couldn’t satisfy the man with the number-face, she would be electrocuted along with this body to ashes. It was hard for her to imagine what Zack and Zul’gara went through, whether they also suffered similar torture before their deaths?

A terrifying piece of information surfaced in her mind.

Students were discussing the death of the alchemy class professor. A search team found his mutilated body somewhere on the island, showing signs of cuts and electrocution.

That was Zul’gara.

Sue had to consider the worst-case scenario—that the man with the number-face could locate her and see the contents of the Magic Book because Zack and Zul’gara, unable to withstand the torture, revealed their identities and guild matters to him.

"Now it’s the part where I ask and you answer."

Ethan patiently waited for the mentally unstable Time Traveler to calm down, the piercing scream echoing long in the quiet infirmary building. Anyone unaware of the circumstances might think he was conducting some cruel human experiment here.

He took out a drawing board prepared in advance, with the questions he had prepared for the Time Traveler on it.

"What is this?"

The screaming diminished somewhat, Sue stared at the board for a while, "A, a square box."

"And this?"

"A, a stool with two wheels."

"Next one."

"... A small square box."

Ethan didn’t continue flipping the drawing board. So far, this was the Time Traveler’s interpretation of a computer, motorcycle, and cell phone. The point of showing these to her was to confirm one thing.

These beings, seemingly coming out of nowhere and attached to the "locals," were they really players?

Or more accurately, were they from the same place as him?

No modern person would find these items unfamiliar, perhaps they would even feel a sense of familiarity.

Ethan looked at the senior with the slicked-back hair sitting at the bedside. The senior gently stroked his chin and said, "She’s not lying."

An unexpected answer.

Ethan had nearly concluded that these Time Travelers were characters played by players, and "resurrection" was a capability all players needed.

However, after this round of questioning, he became unsure where these Time Travelers had emerged from.

Could they really be the legendary red octopus faces, a sub-species of the Deep Sea Race?

"... Can you not electrocute me?"

Seeing Ethan silent, Sue tentatively made a request.

Though her head still pounded fiercely, she was gradually able to look directly at the number-face. His features were still too blurred to distinguish, leaving only those three exceptionally conspicuous red numbers.

But at least, this number-face could communicate.

She quietly assessed her situation, immediately realizing any attack she launched would lead to immediate death.

Without rescue and in an extremely dangerous dimension, she still wanted to live.

"Who are you?"

"I’m a B-grade investigator from the Guild, located in the dimension: Golden Land, timeline: 402 years, dimension ID: 006, race: human... pure-blood human."

This was terminology only used by guildmates when greeting each other. She was well aware that what the number-face wanted to know was not the information about that noble lady.

Golden Land...

This place sounded somewhat familiar to Ethan. After a bit of thought, he recalled it was a location from the Gallog Dynasty, famous for its gold production. The year 402 matched the Gallog Dynasty’s existence time, though the dimension ID’s meaning was temporarily unclear.

He then asked, "How did you join the Guild?"

Upon hearing this, Sue cleared her throat.

This was a story from long ago. She deliberately slowed the narrative pace, which could prolong her life, and if lucky, might make the number-face abandon the idea of killing her.

Meanwhile, she was well aware that she was engaging in something extremely dangerous.

Revealing secrets associated with the Guild to an unknown, extremely dangerous entity.

If the number-face mastered the Guild’s dimension transfer technology, went to other dimensions, or even the Guild headquarters, it would undoubtedly bring catastrophic disaster to their colleagues.

In principle, she should respond obstinately with, "Go ahead and kill me, I won’t say anything," but...

She would truly be killed by the number-face.

Before this conversation even began, Zack and Zul’gara might have already died at his hands.

It was evident this number-face possessed some power that could break the blessing of the goddess.

Sue admitted her cowardice. The omnipresent arcs made her unable to stand firm.

Ethan patiently listened to the legendary-like story.

A normal girl born in Golden Land, who coincidentally met a Guild investigator and was invited to join the Guild, becoming an investigator traversing various dimensions. The story also interspersed with numerous travel experiences, such as the dangerous dimension ’Nest’ filled with insect eggs ready to hatch into giant insects, or ’Drought,’ with only a single massive volcano with a volcanic crater filled with numerous living fire elements.

Her survival from these Guild-rated extremely dangerous planets clearly showed her skills, which was why she was sent here for exploration and investigation.

Combat and knowledge were not her strengths, her only "talent" was survival by any means.

In conclusion, Sue mentioned that most investigators joined the Guild through coincidences.

"What about Zack and Zul’gara? Are they also residents of Golden Land?"

"No, Zack and Zul’gara are cave-dwellers from the ancient world. They have a deep understanding of ancient technology and magic, always completing missions together."

"In the investigation process, do you attack the locals?"

...

Faced with Ethan’s numerical interrogation, Sue momentarily couldn’t find words to respond.

During mission execution, the Guild investigators indeed didn’t pay much attention to the "local residents." After all, they would leave the dimension after mission completion and never interact with the residents again. Even if they left a bad impression, it wouldn’t affect their future life substantially.

Moreover...

She truly felt that attacking this number-face was understandable to the two of them.

When faced with an indescribable terrifying existence, some, like her, would faint, but others would launch an attack under extreme mental stress.

Zack and Zul’gara likely chose the latter.

"I wouldn’t."

Sue declared, "My assignment is an investigation task, the goal is to investigate the cause of Zack and Zul’gara’s disappearance."

Theoretically, this task was already completed.

Zack and Zul’gara encountered the number-face and were killed during the battle.

As for the other task related to the goddess...

"One last question."

However, the number-face seemed to see through her heart.

Sue also noticed the omnipresent arcs flickered a couple of times.

"Who is the goddess you mentioned? Why are you seeking Her?"