Chapter 295: The Matter Regarding Work
Translator: Pluto Editor: Vermillion
"The way he was murdered is a little weird," Lin Sanjiu suppressed the chill in her heart as she continued staring at the body, or rather the term "human pouch" would be more suitable. "Killing is just killing. Why did the murderer waste time doing something so unnecessary?"
Mrs. Manas wasn't able to answer Lin Sanjiu's question either.
"Since he is dead and his innards have all been removed, what did we see just now?" Lin Sanjiu couldn't make sense of the situation and shook her head, "When he took the book from me, I could feel the strength from his fingers. His body didn't seem like an empty shell."
"An empty shell."
That phrase somehow lingered in Lin Sanjiu's mind for a few seconds while a vague thought formed in her mind. However, that feeling disappeared in a flash and Lin Sanjiu found herself as confounded as before.
"Maybe, someone with a shapeshifting ability knew that he was dead. So, they pretended to be the appraiser so that they could cheat people of their items?" The more Mrs. Manas tried to analyze the situation, the more she felt that it was hopeless. She sighed, "I think we can't get that book back."
When Lin Sanjiu thought about the book she lost and the fact that she had no money with her, she felt so stifled for a moment that she wasn't as bothered with the mystery of that "human pouch".
"But, that shop assistant clearly left in front of us, but how did the fake appraiser leave? There is only a single entrance, so the person would have to walk past the guest hall…"
When she said this, Lin Sanjiu suddenly hit her own forehead, "Ah!" Then, she ran to the window. The window wasn't big but it had a wire grate so Lin Sanjiu overlooked it. As expected, when she pulled the wire grate, it came off easily. She threw it aside and peered her head out of the window to look outside.
Both Mrs. Manas and herself were dumbfounded when she saw what was outside. Now, she knew why there was a constant wind and why there was even a window grate...
There was a deep ravine right outside the window. She couldn't even see the bottom of that ravine.
Sticking her head out, she could see that the house was built right over a ravine. As she lowered her gaze following the steep precipice, it only led into a dark abyss with a bit of dark mist. Looking left and right, she realized that this house wasn't the only property that was built over this ravine. There were quite a few neighboring houses with similar windows facing the ravine. One of the people living in these houses even hung their clothes outside their window.
From the looks of it, these residents did not seem to mind that a ravine was right outside their house. It was as if it was something very normal.
"This…" Lin Sanjiu stammered as she stared at the black abyss. The ravine seemed like it could house some sort of large monster. Still unable to believe what she was seeing, she examined the ravine a little closer and finally discovered a vague clue.
Apparently, the houses were built before the ravine appeared.
She made this inference after she noticed some ruins, made of broken bricks and stones, on the other side of the ravine. Lin Sanjiu observed the ruins carefully for some time. Finally, within the ruins, she noticed a high-rise building which had been cut right in the middle. Half of its structure had been crushed. The other half which remained had been eroded by the wind over the years and had long lost its original facade.
"As far as I can tell, the building had been cleaved in the middle… along with the ground below it?" she mumbled to herself.
The people were probably unprepared for this horrifying attack. Lin Sanjiu figured that this must be created from the battle with the invading Red Nautilus. Many years after the battle, the people rebuilt new cities from the ruins and developed new technologies. They had put their past so well behind them that even these people living over a ravine had already treated it as just a normal part of life.
Despite discovering something surprising, Lin Sanjiu couldn't help feeling that there was no way she could get her book back. If the person who pretended to be the appraiser was prepared to climb down such a steep precipice to escape, he would definitely plan an escape route that would make it impossible for Lin Sanjiu to find him.
Heaving a long sigh, Lin Sanjiu zoned out for a bit. The appraiser's death was just too strange. "Perhaps, this unique method of operation could be a clue in the future."
When Lin Sanjiu thought of this, she converted the corpse into a card and kept it in her deck, even though she was somewhat reluctant.
"Although it is a little late this time around, don't you always have to collect a dead body on the first day that you arrive in a new world?" Mrs. Manas didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "I wonder what sort of curse this is?"
"Gaining one corpse and losing a Special Item? This transaction isn't that worthwhile," Lin Sanjiu smiled bitterly.
A single Special Item wasn't really that a big deal to Lin Sanjiu. After she recovered her card deck, she had access to all her other Special Items. Even if she lost this, she had many other items. However, she was more bothered by the fact that she didn't know what to do now that her first attempt to get her item appraised had failed.
"If we think about it carefully, it is quite odd," Mrs. Manas said suddenly. "If that person killed this appraiser, he could only cheat that one book from you. Isn't this operation a little too costly? If he wanted to do this again, how could he be sure that the victim, you, wouldn't be waiting here for him?"
"Who knows? Maybe, his method of operation is to strike once and change locations?" Lin Sanjiu replied moodily.
"If that is the case, do you think that the shop assistant is an accomplice?" Mrs. Manas asked. Lin Sanjiu thought about it but she couldn't be sure. She was just trying her luck when she went back to that basement. Quite predictably, after waiting in the same spot for some time, the skinny chap didn't reappear.
"Alright, I blame this on my bad luck," she grimaced again. "How should I earn some money right now?"
She was actually talking to Mrs. Manas but, perhaps due to her bad mood, she didn't notice that she had blurted it out. As her voice faded, a person who had just walked past her suddenly stopped. His hooves stopped as he looked at Lin Sanjiu from head to toe. For some reasons, this man had goat legs instead of normal human legs.
Lin Sanjiu noticed his gaze and sized him up quickly. Unfortunately, the person's upper body was covered by a hooded cape. She could only tell that the person was a male.
"Do you need money?" the faun asked with a deep voice. It was as if his vocal cords had been flattened by a train before.
"I have a job. Are you interested?"