Withered Wood Post Office (15)

“You can think of it as a baseless sense of responsibility on my part.”

Lin Wan's tone was serious, and her expression seemed completely sincere.

Of course, she couldn't be more sincere. Unlike the unlimited flow spaces described in novels, an Anomalous Infection didn't clearly provide main quests; everything required the players themselves to explore, think, and make decisions.

That being said, resolving those anomalous, unexplained events was always the right path.

Bai Ci looked into Lin Wan's serious eyes, pondered for a moment, and spoke slowly.

She didn't reveal the entire truth, only choosing parts she could share, her tone tinged with a hint of worry. “The reason I need these delivery addresses is because I've discovered something very strange.”

“It's not hard to notice. Regardless of how many letters a post office actually receives, it always sends out a fixed number of mail. That alone is highly unusual. It made me uneasy, so I went to check out Winston's Grocery Store, which is one of the businesses that signed an agreement with the post office.”

Lin Wan nodded. She and Chen Mo had also visited it, and not just Winston's Grocery Store—they had checked out the other ones too.

“The owner took over the shop three months ago. Every day, he has the post office deliver a large number of promotional flyers, but the grocery store is completely empty, with absolutely no goods for sale. On top of that, he took over three other shops in town, and they are all the exact same—no renovations, no inventory, just hiring people to watch over them.”

Exactly. Lin Wan put on a look of surprise while secretly agreeing. They had also investigated up to this point, though they were still only guessing that the four shops shared some sort of connection. Here with Lora, their suspicion was confirmed—all four belonged to the same owner.

“Hugo has a simple and honest nature. He works at the post office and has to deliver those promotional flyers every day. I'm very worried he might accidentally get dragged into these strange occurrences and find himself in danger. I don't want him to get hurt, so I'm trying to find a way to get to the bottom of this.”

“I've hired a detective. If I can get the delivery distribution points for all the mail from recently, I'll be able to secure more clues and take a step closer to the truth.”

Having finished, Bai Ci quietly looked at Lin Wan.

“I'm trying to find a way to get to the bottom of this” and “I've hired a detective”—Bai Ci had intentionally avoided using any conjunctions between the two sentences. Technically, they were two unrelated matters, but to Lin Wan's ears, they sounded like a single continuous chain of events.

Hearing this, Lin Wan silently cursed the damn rich in her heart. Her tone gradually grew serious. “Miss Lora, even though we are newcomers, we don't want to be kept in the dark forever, let alone get dragged into danger because of our ignorance.”

Without the influence of classes and items, in most instances, Anomalous Infections only provided players' identities with barely enough money for basic food and shelter. Some specific instances didn't even provide a single cent, making basic survival a struggle.

“If you find any other clues in the future, I hope you can share them with us. If there's anything you need our help with, you can tell us directly. As long as we can uncover the truth and live safely in this town, we're more than happy to help.” Lin Wan proposed a partnership directly.

Bai Ci nodded upon hearing this. “No problem. If I get any new clues, I will definitely share them with you. And if I need your help, I won't hesitate to ask.”

Both sides got what they wanted, and reaching a cooperation was undoubtedly the best outcome.

Lin Wan finally breathed a sigh of relief. The wealthy young lady before her was a relatively reliable type of NPC, and they might even secure financial backing from her.

She handed the paper in her hand to Bai Ci and said with a smile, “These are all the delivery addresses. I've organized them all. The recipient address, sender, and corresponding mail carrier for each letter are clearly marked. This should be useful to you.”

The next day, when Bai Ci woke up, Hugo had already left early. Before leaving, he had specially kept breakfast warm for her and left a note, reminding her to eat on time and not to wander too far alone.

Bai Ci's mind was in turmoil. If Evan's suspicion was true, then behind this plague lay a meticulously planned conspiracy. Hugo, the other unwitting mail carriers, and even the ordinary townsfolk were merely sacrificial lambs in this scheme.

She looked at the handwriting on the note, and as she thought of Hugo, a wave of tenderness washed over her heart. He was such a pure and sincere person; he shouldn't have to perish in a senseless disaster like this plague.

After eating breakfast, Bai Ci changed into a light dress and, as agreed, headed to Winston's Grocery Store at the end of the commercial street.

There were fewer pedestrians on the streets than usual. Whenever they occasionally encountered a pale-faced person coughing while covering their nose and mouth, the people around would instinctively steer clear. An invisible panic hung thick in the air.

“Is anyone here?” Bai Ci called out softly as she walked inside.

Footsteps soon echoed from the back room, and Evan walked out.

He was still wearing that same worn shirt, his hair a bit disheveled, with clear exhaustion under his eyes. It was obvious he hadn't slept well all night, but his gaze remained sharp. Upon seeing Bai Ci, his tense expression softened slightly.

“You're here,” Evan's tone was less guarded and aloof than before. “Did you get the addresses?”

Bai Ci nodded, pulled the paper from her bag, and handed it over. “They're all here. The sender, recipient address, and corresponding mail carrier for every letter are clearly marked.”

Evan took the paper, unfolded it eagerly, and swept his gaze quickly across the writing.

“Wait a moment.” After looking at the front, Evan didn't bother turning it over. He turned and went into the back room, returning shortly after with a rolled-up map of the town, a pen, and a bottle of red ink.

He flattened the map on the counter, using various odds and ends to weigh down its four corners and the middle of each edge. Then, pointing to the dense cluster of tiny marks on the map, he gestured for Bai Ci to look.

“This is the intelligence I gathered from the hospital over the last few days. I asked a nurse I know to write down the home addresses of all the diagnosed patients, and I've already circled them on the map.”

Bai Ci leaned in, examining the map closely.

There were roughly twenty to thirty black circles scattered across various areas of the town, mostly concentrated near the factory and the residential quarters, with a few stray ones on the outskirts.

“I already suspected that the spread of this plague was strange. It doesn't look like natural transmission, but more like it has a fixed transmission route.” As Evan spoke, he picked up a red fountain pen. “Now, let's take a look at these mail addresses you brought.”

Referencing the delivery addresses Bai Ci had provided, he began drawing circles on the map.

At first, the few red circles Evan drew didn't overlap much with the black circles. But as he drew more and more red circles, Bai Ci gradually noticed something was amiss.

More and more red circles were aligning perfectly with the black circles. Many black circles even had multiple red circles drawn over them, with only a few black circles remaining as exceptions.

“This one, this one... and this one.” Evan pointed at those few exceptional black circles. “They are all mail carriers.”