Withered Wood Post Office (21)

“Suicide? Why?” Bai Ci asked, completely baffled.

From her perspective, it was completely incomprehensible. Zhao Yu seemed to have a devious mind and erratic behavior, while Zhou Kai, though quiet and taciturn, had always followed Zhao Yu around. Neither of them looked like the type of person who would easily commit suicide.

What was more, they had just shattered the statue, right when the truth was about to surface. How could they suddenly end their own lives?

Chen Mo suddenly stood up, his tone aggressive. “Who knows what kind of madness possessed them! Those bastards from the Malicious Outlaws—”

“Brother Mo!” Lin Wan called out loudly, cutting off his angry outburst.

She quickly reached out, pressing down on Chen Mo's arm with one hand to force him back into his chair. With her other hand, she picked up the glass of warm water and practically forced him to drink. “Drink some water. Come on, drink. Take a breather.”

Chen Mo couldn't resist Lin Wan and was forced to gulp down the warm water, wiping his chin haphazardly with his hand to keep from getting his clothes wet.

The warm water in the glass soon hit the bottom. With Lin Wan's interruption, Chen Mo's anger was suppressed once more, and he fell silent again.

“I'll go pour you both another glass. You've been busy all day without a moment's rest, so it's only natural to be thirsty,” Bai Ci said, offering them an easy way out of the awkward moment.

She turned and walked into the kitchen, leaving them some space for a brief private conversation. As she closed the door, she caught the tail end of Lin Wan's comforting words to Chen Mo, which seemed to mention terms like “accumulation” and “skill bar.”

By the time Bai Ci returned with the water glasses, Chen Mo had already calmed down. Only Lin Wan's hand was still gently patting his back, as if soothing a crying child.

“Thank you, Miss Lora,” Lin Wan said as she took the glass. “Let me tell you what happened. It all started this morning...”

Lin Wan had arrived at the post office right on time today. According to their usual routine, the other mail carriers should have arrived around the same time to begin the morning's sorting and packing.

But today, even after Lin Wan had leisurely finished the breakfast she had brought and prepared to start working, there was no sign of the other three. Aside from Chen Mo, who was with her, and Old Tom, who lived at the post office and doubled as the night watchman, no one else had shown up.

Zhao Yu and Zhou Kai could be ignored for now—they weren't on the same side anyway and weren't important. But Hugo, as a key NPC, didn't seem like the type to show up late.

Had Hugo run into some kind of accident on his way?

Was it Zhao Yu and Zhou Kai's doing?

It wasn't unreasonable for Lin Wan to think this way. After all, those two lunatics categorized under the Malicious Outlaws were capable of anything. Kidnapping a key NPC was a standard maneuver for them.

As Lin Wan organized her things, she kept an eye on the entrance, calculating in her mind that if the others still hadn't arrived in ten minutes, she would go look for them.

Suddenly, a strange buzzing sound echoed. It felt like the vibration of something right before it shattered, or perhaps like a low, deep chanting. It didn't seem to come from anywhere outside, but rather originated from deep within her mind, sending a wave of panic through her heart.

Despite hearing the sound from within, Lin Wan had enough self-confidence to firmly believe that this sound wasn't actually generated by her own mind. She quickly walked to the lobby entrance to see what was going on.

Just then, she saw Postmaster Byrne run out of his office in a hurry. His usual sternness and composure had vanished without a trace, as if some monumental emergency had occurred. He ran straight toward the stairs leading to the attic.

“Why would the postmaster go to the attic?” Lin Wan's confusion grew.

Postmaster Byrne had emphasized multiple times that the attic was filthy and disorganized, piled high with discarded junk and rejected letters. Except for mail carriers undergoing punishment, no one was allowed near it, let alone go up.

He himself had never set foot in the attic. Why was he rushing up there in such a panic today?

Lin Wan still remembered that when this instance first started, there were six players. Aside from her, Chen Mo, Zhao Yu, and Zhou Kai, there had been two others.

Those two were rookies who had only cleared one or two instances. Relying on their minimal experience and completely brainwashed by Zhao Yu's smooth talking, they didn't take the NPCs seriously at all. They ignored the post office's regulations, slacked off during the first day of training, and displayed an extremely arrogant attitude.

At that time, Postmaster Byrne's face had turned pale with anger. He immediately punished them by ordering them to clean the attic, warning them that if they dared to violate the rules again, they would be fired immediately.

But since then, Lin Wan had never seen those two again. When she privately asked Mrs. Ella and Old Tom, the answers she got were that they had been fired and their whereabouts were unknown.

Yet Lin Wan knew very well that in a bizarre instance like this, being “fired” was usually just an excuse. The two of them had most likely encountered some danger in the attic and met with an unfortunate end.

Therefore, she and Chen Mo, who always prioritized playing it safe in instances, had maintained a respectful distance from the attic, never daring to approach it lightly without finding concrete clues first.

Seeing Postmaster Byrne's panicked behavior, Lin Wan suddenly realized that this might be an excellent opportunity to seize and uncover some clues about the attic.

“Brother Mo?” Lin Wan looked back. Sure enough, Chen Mo had already edged closer. She gave him an inquiring look, asking if they should follow.

Most of the time, Chen Mo made the decisions for their team. When his rationality wasn't affected by his class skills, his decisions were always carefully considered. In contrast, Lin Wan would sometimes act on a sudden burst of intuition, following her gut completely.

In short, Lin Wan acted as a leash for Chen Mo—serving as both a restraint and a shield.

“Let's go,” Chen Mo said.

And so, Lin Wan and Chen Mo followed Postmaster Byrne, running toward the attic.

Along the way, they crossed paths with Old Tom and Mrs. Ella. The five of them rushed to the attic door together.

The attic door was slightly ajar. Postmaster Byrne was the first to push it open and step inside, with Lin Wan, Chen Mo, Old Tom, and Mrs. Ella following closely behind.

The moment they stepped into the attic, a pungent smell of dust mixed with a strange, fishy stench assaulted their senses, making them instinctively frown.

The lighting in the attic was poor, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the cracks of the dilapidated windows. They could barely make out the outlines of old letters and discarded junk scattered all over the floor. In the center of the attic, three figures lay motionless on the ground—Hugo, Zhao Yu, and Zhou Kai.

Scattered around them was a heap of greyish-blue stone fragments, shattered so thoroughly that their original form was completely unrecognizable.

“Quick, get them to the hospital,” Postmaster Byrne said, recovering his composure, his voice remarkably calm. “I'll cover the medical expenses. Here's some money, use it to pay upfront first.”

“Remember, do not speak a word of this to anyone outside. Treat it as an accident. If outsiders find out something like this happened in the post office, it will affect our reputation, and your jobs will be at risk as well.”

With that, he pulled a stack of banknotes from his pocket and handed them to Old Tom.