114. Becoming an Investigator in a Dating Sim

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Seated in the speeding sports car, Chen Shang’s fingers occasionally slid across the phone screen, scrolling through the investigation report on Motoharu Sakura. The report was brief, summarizing only two key points.

The first concerned a mysterious organization called the “Abyssal Gaze Cult.” This group appeared to have been established after the nuclear war, right within Yashu City. Their beliefs and tendencies were unclear, but rumors claimed they had committed live blood sacrifices. Although the cult was small in number, the Consortium of Financial Clans had the police investigate and apprehend them to prevent disruption of city security.

Soon after, the cult vanished without a trace. Some were shot resisting arrest; others, after being captured, committed suicide in a frenzied state; and still others disappeared entirely, as if evaporated into thin air, eluding even the police’s search.

This piece of intelligence seemed highly significant, yet with the cult now completely gone, Chen Shang found no way to start his investigation from there.

The second piece of information was about a man who once claimed to have ventured into the “Abyss.” Several years ago, he posted on a forum saying that after working overtime for thirty consecutive hours, in utter exhaustion, he accidentally stumbled into a strange world called the “Abyss.” There, he saw things beyond description—memories so disturbing that recalling them left him mentally disoriented.

When he finally returned to the real world, it was already noon the next day, and his boss docked half a month’s salary for his absence. Unfortunately, most responses beneath his post were mocking or accusing him of fabricating excuses to skip work. Eventually, for unknown reasons, the poster deleted his own thread, and the incident faded without much stir.

At the bottom of the report was a screenshot of the original post and the poster’s address traced through the IP.

—Looks like this is the only lead to pursue.

Chen Shang thought quietly.

Just then, Chiyo, who was flooring the accelerator and drifting in the driver’s seat, suddenly asked, “Are you planning to investigate alone?”

“What else?” Chen Shang smiled in return. “You’re not still hung up on that date, are you?”

“You promised me all this week,” Chiyo said flatly.

“Well then, I’ll wait until you finish your date before I start investigating,” Chen Shang replied bluntly, putting his phone away.

Regarding the investigation into the “Abyssal Goddess,” Chen Shang merely wanted to borrow Chiyo’s intelligence network; he didn’t want her tagging along.

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Partly because Chen Shang already had two heavyweight immortal fighters with him, making Chiyo’s combat abilities comparatively tier-2, which would be more of a burden than a help.

More importantly, this matter was beyond his control—there was a real risk of a total wipeout. He was determined to avoid that nauseating cliché where the heroine, using her last breath, pushes the hero away, coughing blood and telling him to “run,” before being crushed by monsters.

He didn’t mind using women to fight for him, but absolutely refused to let them die on his behalf; it was a matter of principle.

After a brief pause, Chiyo wore an annoyed expression and said, “Tell me where you’re going. I’ll drive you there now.”

“Forget that, let’s go on the date first,” Chen Shang said, putting his hand on the backrest of Chiyo’s seat, jokingly.

“That’s part of the date too,” Chiyo said without hesitation.

Faced with her persistence, Chen Shang sighed and handed her the phone screen. “Fine, then we’ll go here.”

“Shimen District?” Chiyo glanced at the address. The car’s navigation system automatically input the destination and started routing.

The sports car passed through a cluster of stone-slab and pillar ruins, finally stopping before an apartment building.

Shimen District was near the slums, where rundown roads were occasionally scrutinized by homeless people with greedy eyes as they passed.

Chen Shang assembled his multifunctional light crossbow and cautiously approached the front door.

After a moment’s inspection and confirming no traps or mechanisms at the entrance, he knocked and asked, “Is anyone home?”

“...” No response came from inside.

“That’s strange. The records say he still lives here...” Chen Shang frowned, murmuring, “Maybe he’s at work?”

But Chiyo sniffed along the crack in the wall and then kicked the door open.

“Hey! You can’t just—” Chen Shang was startled by her action.

“Didn’t you smell it?” Chiyo said nonchalantly. “There’s a corpse smell inside.”

“Huh?” Chen Shang was taken aback.

But Chiyo was right. As the door swung open, a pungent stench of decay hit them, with flies buzzing in the dimly lit room.

“Is this what high sensitivity feels like?” Chen Shang shrugged helplessly and smiled.

Their senses were worlds apart. Plus, Chiyo’s years in the underworld gave her unique experience with corpses. What she detected left Chen Shang utterly baffled.

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Chen Shang stepped first into the apartment; the stench grew stronger.

The unlit living room was thick with dust and cobwebs, and the neglected trash bin teemed with multicolored maggots.

By Chen Shang’s experience, this room fit the profile of “a solitary man dead at home for a month before neighbors notice.”

Shimen District had few residents and high turnover; a few deaths here weren’t unusual or cared about.

Suddenly, a small patterned snake fell from the ceiling, striking toward Chen Shang.

Fortunately, he reacted swiftly, switching his light crossbow to chainsaw mode and slicing the snake in half.

Watching the writhing lower half on the floor, Chen Shang’s heart tightened, and he moved forward more cautiously.

This was no longer just a man dead alone for a month; it seemed no one had lived here for over half a year—it was practically an animal nest.

Following the stench, Chen Shang arrived at a bedroom and hesitated.

Chiyo, on the other hand, showed no fear and kicked the door open.

—Definitely no bringing her on investigations next time.

Though Chiyo’s boldness stemmed from familiarity with death scenes and a desire to impress Chen Shang, he couldn’t help but feel an instinctive dread at her door-kicking skills.

The door swung wide, revealing a small bedroom thick with dust and dark red bloodstains, dominated by a corpse hanging from the ceiling—dead for at least six months.

The corpse’s suit was tattered and decayed, flesh nearly devoured, exposing cold, bare bones. The remnants of a Mediterranean hairstyle on the scalp suggested he had been a salaryman trapped in endless overtime.

At the violent door opening, the insects and flies crawling on the body scattered chaotically, creating a gruesome scene.

Luckily, Chiyo immediately activated her personal protective barrier, blocking the swarming bugs.

“Looks like this is the poster,” Chen Shang said, pinching his nose and carefully stepping inside.

Chiyo frowned and followed him in.