Sure enough, they had gone off course.
Hearing An Shu's words, Bai Ci wasn't particularly surprised. Unable to muster a genuinely shocked expression at the moment, she decided to simply look deep in thought.
“Are you saying that the deaths of those blind date partners might be related to this ring?”
Bai Ci lowered her eyes slightly, looking at the ring on her left middle finger.
“Because it considers me its fiancée, it disposes of anyone who covets its wife? Regardless of whether those people are good or bad?”
“If it only targeted bad people, that would be one thing, but that's not exactly something we can test in practice.” Having said this, she let out a soft sigh.
“Setting aside how it judges good and evil, if it really is indiscriminate, then we'd just be sending an innocent person to their death for no reason.”
Following Bai Ci's train of thought, An Shu imagined an even worse scenario. “If it really is indiscriminate, and Miss Bai's family curse also has the condition you mentioned, wouldn't that mean...”
One curse required her to marry before the age of thirty, while the other—regardless of what kind of entity it was—demanded that anyone who even thought about marrying her had to die.
She went from being stuck in a corner to being completely trapped from both ends.
Bai Ci knew exactly what the truth was. The deaths of those men were clearly the result of the [What is Love] curse, and had absolutely nothing to do with the ring.
But logically speaking, she had no way to explain that.
And looking at the outcome, regardless of why those blind date partners died, she was indeed caught in a deadlock.
Other players might be able to survive by finding an NPC to marry, but if she wanted to survive, her only option was to break the family curse.
“Although those are all hypotheses, they seem highly plausible.” Bai Ci put on a slightly discouraged look. “In that case, my only choice is to face it—or them—directly.”
“Captain Chen, Officer An, I would like to file a formal report. I wonder if the Bureau of Investigation has a way to verify exactly how many curses are on me?”
She paused, then continued, “If there really are two, then we can look for the simpler one to resolve first. The priority is to stay alive.”
Now that Bai Ci had put it that way, what reason did they have to refuse?
At least, An Shu didn't—neither professionally nor personally.
“I just submitted a testing request, and the Bureau has already approved it,” Chen Quan suddenly spoke up.
He had been drafting the application ever since Bai Ci first mentioned her family curse.
“We can take you to the testing department now to thoroughly examine the ring's anomalies, as well as check if there are any other unknown energy fluctuations on you, to get to the bottom of this.”
“However, there is one thing I must make clear,” Chen Quan added, his tone sincere.
“Although the testing department's equipment is the latest model we've imported, we still cannot guarantee a hundred percent that it will uncover every issue. Moreover, the entire process will take up some of your time.”
Hearing this, Bai Ci looked up and smiled at Chen Quan. “It's no trouble at all. As long as we can clarify the situation, I'm willing to wait as long as it takes.”
“The sooner we find out, the sooner I can put my mind at ease. That way, I won't have to keep worrying if it's my fault, or worry about causing you any more trouble.”
“Could I check in with my mother first? Just to let her know I'll be back a bit late, so she doesn't worry.”
Having received an affirmative response, Bai Ci took out her phone and dialed Mother Bai's number.
“Mom, I ran into a friend here and we're having a great chat. I'll be back a bit later, so you don't have to wait for me for dinner.”
Out of concern, Mother Bai on the other end of the line asked for Bai Ci's address and what time she would be home, offering to come and pick her up.
“I'm already so old. If I still have my parents pick me up, I'd feel a bit embarrassed.”
Bai Ci said over the phone, “Mom, I met a friend I get along with well, so I'll be back a bit later. You don't have to wait for me for dinner.”
Mother Bai immediately asked with worry, “Where are you right now? About what time will you be back? If not, let me go pick you up.”
Bai Ci demurred, “I'm already a grown adult. Having family pick me up would be so embarrassing.”
“If you're really worried, you can just wait for me at the neighborhood entrance.”
Only after she said this did Mother Bai reluctantly agree.
Hanging up the phone, Bai Ci put it away and looked at Chen Quan and An Shu, signaling that she was ready.
“Alright, Captain Chen, Officer An, let's head to the testing department now.”
Chen Quan nodded and stood up first. “Let's go, I'll take you there. An Shu, organize the conversation records from just now.”
“Yes, Captain,” An Shu immediately replied.
Bai Ci followed Chen Quan out of the interrogation room, walking down the hallway of the Bureau of Investigation.
The hallway was still bustling with people, mostly uniformed investigators walking briskly with busy expressions on their faces.
Occasionally, someone who saw Chen Quan would stop and greet him respectfully. Chen Quan merely nodded slightly in response, without slowing his pace.
Naturally, some of them noticed Bai Ci following behind Chen Quan, though it didn't lead to any misunderstandings.
Seeing that she wasn't wearing an investigator's uniform and that her physical conditioning didn't look like someone reporting for duty, they understood that she was likely a party involved in some case.
Furthermore, the end of this hallway led to the testing department. It wasn't uncommon for investigators, especially those from the Special Investigation Unit, to bring someone who had personally experienced an anomalous event to the testing department.
The testing department was located at the end of the hallway. As they drew closer, they could clearly smell a faint scent of disinfectant wafting through the air.
The entire testing department was spacious and bright, filled with various kinds of equipment.
Some of the devices looked highly high-tech, with screens flashing cold blue lights.
Others, however, appeared remarkably mystical—such as peach wood swords and bronze swords resting in the corners, as well as jade pendants and stones engraved with strange runes.
The investigators in the testing department had already received notice and were fully prepared. Seeing Chen Quan and Bai Ci enter, one of them immediately stepped forward to greet them.
“Captain Chen, this must be Miss Bai? This way, please. The relevant testing instruments have already been warmed up.”
The investigator was a young man in a white lab coat, wearing a pair of thick, black-rimmed glasses. As he spoke, he turned and picked up a testing tray from a nearby table.
On it lay a blood lancet, test tubes, and some cotton swabs, all neatly arranged.
“First, we need to collect blood and hair samples from Miss Bai to test for any anomalous energy reactions in her body and determine the general type of that energy.”
Without hesitation, Bai Ci proactively extended her arm. The lancet pierced her skin, and blood slowly flowed into the test tube. She also cooperated as they snipped off a few strands of her hair and placed them into a designated sample bag.
After collecting the samples, the investigator pulled out a form listing questions about her birth details—specifically her Eight Characters of Birth—asking Bai Ci each one and carefully writing down her answers.
“This birth detail information is to coordinate with the subsequent metaphysical testing, to see if your destiny has been distorted. It will also help rule out whether any other curses or evil forces are clinging to your fate.”
Fearing that Miss Bai might misunderstand and become defensive, which could affect the accuracy of the test results, the investigator explained patiently.
Rate on N.U.
