After confirming the functions of the Player Watch, Chu He lay on the sofa to rest for a while.
A wave of intense exhaustion washed over him like a tide.
Previously in the game, because it was a matter of life and death, the surge of adrenaline had kept him exceptionally excited.
Now that he had calmed down, he felt physically drained.
Fighting off sleepiness, Chu He took a hot shower and went to bed.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, while Chu He was still asleep, a rapid knocking on the door woke him up.
Wearing a tank top and black boxers, Chu He shuffled to the door in his slippers and opened it.
When he saw the two people outside, his sleepiness vanished instantly.
"Is this Chu He?"
"Hello, we are from the Yue City Public Security Bureau."
"May I ask if you know Li Dawei?"
Standing outside the door were two police officers in uniform.
One of the older officers looked at Chu He and asked.
"I do!" Chu He nodded slightly.
Li Dawei was that jerk who had transferred the Player Qualification to him yesterday.
"Li Dawei died last night."
"About twenty minutes after he died, you called him repeatedly."
"I would like to know, what was the reason for your calls to him?"
The other, younger officer took out a notebook and pen, fixed a sharp gaze on Chu He, and asked in a deep voice.
Chu He was shocked upon hearing this.
Da Wei is dead?
How did he die?
According to the time of death mentioned by the officer, it should have been about ten minutes after Da Wei transferred the Player Qualification to him.
Was it because of the Mist Game?
Or was it for some other reason?
"Please answer the question."
"Why did you call Li Dawei repeatedly last night?" Seeing Chu He stunned and lost in thought, the younger officer raised his voice and demanded.
Chu He's mind raced, thinking about how to answer.
Suddenly, the older officer stared at Chu He's left wrist and asked with a cold face, "According to Li Dawei's family's description,"
"Half a month ago, he bought a black wristwatch, similar to the one you are wearing on your left wrist right now."
"But when he died last night, he was not wearing a black wristwatch on his left hand."
"Can you explain why you are wearing the same model of wristwatch as Li Dawei?"
"Or are you saying that the watch on your wrist is actually Li Dawei's?"
Chu He felt a sudden panic in his heart.
If he didn't explain, he would very likely be suspected by the police of killing Li Dawei for the sake of this watch.
But if he did explain, regardless of whether the police believed his story, the moment he revealed information related to the Mist Game to a non-player, he would be erased.
Furthermore, if the police confiscated this Player Watch as evidence, how would he participate in future games without it?
Without the guidance of the Player Watch, he would have no way of knowing when the Mist Game began.
He had to remember that he had to participate in at least one Mist Game per week, or else the outcome would also be erasure.
Seeing the flicker of panic on Chu He's face, the older officer caught the scent of fear in Chu He's heart.
As a veteran in criminal investigation, he sensed something unusual.
"Chu He, we need you to come back to the Public Security Bureau with us now," the older officer said in a deep voice.
"Officer, is that really necessary?"
"Li Dawei's death really has nothing to do with me."
"I admit that I saw him last night."
"Around ten o'clock last night, he called me and asked me to go to the gas station on Tongxi Road."
"When I arrived, I saw that he looked listless, as if he had encountered some trouble."
"I asked him, but he wouldn't say."
"As for this watch, it is indeed Li Dawei's, but he gifted it to me."
"After he gave me the watch, he left on his own."
"And because I had an upset stomach, I squatted in the gas station restroom for about half an hour."
"After that, I went home."
Chu He looked at the two officers in front of him and explained immediately.
This story was full of holes.
But he had no choice; this was just a spur-of-the-moment excuse. As an ordinary person, how could he possibly come up with a complete, flawless story in such a short time?
"He gifted the watch to you?" the older officer asked in a deep voice.
"Absolutely true."
"And there is surveillance at the Tongxi Road gas station; if you check the footage, you will know whether I am telling the truth or not."
"After I met him and he gave me the watch, he left alone," Chu He nodded repeatedly.
"Then why did you call him repeatedly afterward?" the younger officer asked.
"Because of my upset stomach, I was in the restroom for about half an hour, and the more I thought about it, the more I felt something was wrong."
"Li Dawei and I were roommates in college, and we were very close, so I know him quite well."
"He was clearly in big trouble, and I called him just to ask what had happened."
"But the call wouldn't go through, and I didn't know where he lived, so I just went home," Chu He said with a sincere expression.
The older officer heard this and took out a business card to hand to Chu He.
"If you remember anything else later, remember to contact me."
"Definitely, definitely!" Chu He took the card and smiled.
After seeing the two off, Chu He glanced at the business card.
"Song Hu, Captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade. No wonder his intuition is so sharp."
"But does someone of that rank need to come and investigate in person?" Chu He muttered.
At least he had managed to send them away for now.
Chu He felt that they probably wouldn't come knocking again for a short while.
..
"Master, are we just going to leave like this?"
"When we were questioning him earlier, he looked panicked; he clearly has something to hide!"
The younger officer looked at Song Hu and asked in doubt.
Song Hu smiled and said, "I know he has something to hide, but we don't have evidence, so we can't detain him at will."
"Colleagues at the bureau pulled the surveillance, and that Chu He did indeed meet the deceased at the Tongxi Road gas station."
"And according to the footage, the deceased was kneeling on the ground, handing the black wristwatch to Chu He in a pleading posture."
"Li Dawei left afterward, but one minute after he left, the surveillance at the Tongxi Road gas station suddenly broke down and didn't return to normal until half an hour later."
"By the time it came back, Chu He had already left the gas station, but what happened during those thirty minutes, no one knows except Chu He himself."
"And there was no damage to anything in the gas station, so we can't just bring him in because he stayed there for half an hour, right?"
"As for why the surveillance suddenly broke and then recovered, the Technical Department can't give a reason either."
"Furthermore, Li Dawei died of cardiac paralysis, and no poison was detected in his body, just like the sudden death cases happening all over the country recently."
"The only reason I came to see this Chu He today was for that black wristwatch."
"Do you remember those guys we caught when we raided the black market a while ago?"
"We confiscated an identical black wristwatch from them."
"According to them, that kind of ordinary-looking black wristwatch can sell for a million on the black market."
"But the colleagues in the bureau's technical division have studied that black wristwatch and have come up with nothing so far."
"Why Li Dawei would give a million-dollar black wristwatch to Chu He is something no one knows except the two of them."
"In short, Chu He is suspicious, but he definitely didn't kill anyone."
Hearing Song Hu's words, the younger officer asked, "Master, should I monitor him in secret?"
"No need. I said it already, he didn't kill anyone."
"Instead of monitoring him, you'd better go to the Technical Department and urge them to find out as soon as possible what that black wristwatch is and why an ordinary-looking one is worth a million."
"I suspect Li Dawei's death is inseparable from that black wristwatch," Song Hu said in a deep voice.
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(End of this chapter)
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