Lynch had mapped out two small goals for himself.
First, figure out the true cause of his death.
Second, get down from this rope hanging around his neck.
The second one was the priority.
He was currently kneeling perfectly straight on the floor with a white candle burning in front of him, the rope around his neck connected to something above.
The previous Lynch had proven that this position could indeed hang a person.
It was fortunate that his consciousness had momentarily cleared during the soul transfer, allowing him to straighten his body while clutching his aching neck.
Touching the deep ligature marks, Lynch felt a moment of bewilderment.
He only remembered floating in a red mist after dying on Earth, accompanied only by a red moon hanging high in the sky.
It felt as if he had been floating for a long time, so long that time itself had lost all meaning.
Suddenly, he woke up in this body.
A sequence of memories surfaced out of thin air.
Lynch Levive.
Living in an era where steam engines were just beginning to enter public life.
A down-and-out private investigator in Rhine City, Kingdom of Lande, on the continent of Middle Earth.
This place resembled the Victorian era of his homeland, yet in the shadows, countless unspeakable unknowns seemed to hide, spreading weirdness and mystery into reality.
As for what exactly weirdness and mystery were, Lynch had found them hard to understand before.
But now, he understood.
In his memories, he had received a commission to help someone acquire a strange statue.
After obtaining the mission item, the original owner of the body had eaten a big meal at the best restaurant nearby, ordered a bottle of fine wine to enjoy tomorrow, greeted every neighbor happily on the way back, and returned home in high spirits.
Then, with a highly ritualistic posture, he had hanged himself on the gas pipe.
Hm?
What was the reason?
Searching through his memories yielded no reason, as if this event were something that was simply supposed to happen.
There was no logic to it whatsoever.
Lynch felt a chill in his heart; he knew he had to figure out what had happened to him.
Otherwise, if it happened again, his hard-won second life would come to an end.
Feeling his way to the wall by memory, he pulled the switch on the wall.
The sound of gas flowing through the pipes echoed, and a dim, yellow light soon illuminated the room.
The yellowing walls were bare of any decoration, the old floorboards were dark and polished, the peeling wooden desk and the faded fabric sofa in the outer room, and the thin single bed in the inner room made the whole place smell faintly of rotting wood.
Several peeling gas pipes snaked along the walls, and the gas nozzle at the end emitted an orange flame, spreading light through a stained glass shade; the dim glow added a touch of warmth to the room.
So it really is the age of gas lamps, eighteenth century at best.
Is this my new home? It is completely bare.
Sighing softly, Lynch walked quickly to the desk in the outer room, where a red moon shaped pendant lay on the table.
That was the necklace he had worn since he was a child, which he had taken off before the suicide.
Habitually putting the pendant back on, Lynch felt a bit more at ease before pulling open the drawer.
The commission item obtained this afternoon was right in... hiss.
A chill crept up his spine.
The statue that should have been lying inside was gone.
The statue was as large as a palm; it was impossible for it to be covered by anything.
Lynch searched inside and out nervously, but found nothing.
What is going on?
In his memory, the statue was still there before the hanging; how could it disappear in just a few minutes?
Did someone come in? Or did the statue walk away on its own?
Lynch felt his throat go dry and quickly checked the doors and windows, which were still shut tight.
This is strange. Could this thing be what made me hang myself for no reason?
I am just a dead shut-in; am I supposed to face such weird things knowing absolutely nothing?
Could this thing be the weirdness and mystery of this world?
The ligature marks on his neck told him clearly that death was no joke, and for a moment, Lynch felt his heart descend into chaos.
【Yes, Awakened One, that is mystery.】
A gentle female voice suddenly rang out by Lynch's ear.
It was so abrupt that Lynch instinctively grabbed the fountain pen on the table, though he did not move rashly, standing in place while tensing his muscles and holding his breath.
However, he soon realized that it was not a real sound at all.
The so-called voice appeared directly in his consciousness.
It was soft and soothing, like a pleasant nocturne.
It did not use any language Lynch knew, including the five languages the new body originally mastered.
Rather than a language, it was more like a pure form of vocalization directly articulating a certain will; his brain simply could not understand this behavior and misinterpreted it as the concept of a 'language'.
And merely from the process of 'trying to understand', Lynch already felt his brain pulsing with sharp pain, as if it were about to explode, forcing him to abandon further investigation immediately.
"System?"
【You may understand it that way, Awakened One.】
"Then it is not a system. What exactly are you?"
There was silence in his mind for a long time.
Fine, don't tell me then. Lynch considered himself a very ordinary shut-in, well versed in games, movies, novels, and anime, so he accepted reality at top speed and pressed on: "Why are you in my consciousness?"
【I shall accompany you in this extraordinary world full of weirdness and mystery, witnessing your journey of awakening.】
"Just here to watch the show? Then what can you do to help me?"
【I will guide you to discover the mystery in your journey, understand their characteristics, and look directly at their essence. This is what I can do for you, at least for now.】
"Isn't that just a tour guide? Mystery hints and information appraisal, right? Only at the first stage. Feels very dangerous. Whatever, better than nothing. In a strange world, at least I have a companion."
For some reason, Lynch's chaotic heart suddenly calmed down. It was not the relief of having a trump card, but more like a habit, and he thought with interest:
"But after all that, what exactly is mystery?"
【Beyond reality lies the Dreamlands, which is the manifestation of the memories of living beings over tens of thousands of years. The filthy memories of the Dreamlands permeate reality to form mystery; mystery is the echo from yesterday.】
"So, the statue I came into contact with is... hm?"
Bang.
A loud noise suddenly came from the door of the outer room.
The door was kicked open, and a black figure rushed in.
In just an instant, Lynch felt the world spinning.
He was swung around and pinned to the ground.
He heard a voice by his ear.
"Lynch Levive, I am arresting you for the illegal possession of dangerous items."
His arm was twisted behind his back, and his body was pressed tightly against the floor. The person behind him possessed immense strength, making Lynch feel that even moving was a luxury. His mind was blank, and before he could recover from his astonishment, he heard the other party shout again:
"If you want to live, hand over the statue you obtained immediately. Otherwise, I can guarantee that in less than five hours, you will die in the most bizarre way possible."
Hm?
They sound like a police officer, and they clearly know something. Although their behavior is rough, the emotion in their words carries clear goodwill, so I shouldn't try to struggle... but five hours?
Is this a bluff?
But having experienced the weird suicide by hanging, Lynch no longer dared to think the other party was fear-mongering.
Within three seconds, Lynch had made up his mind to close the distance with the other party first; at the very least, they could help him understand his situation.
He was not socially anxious in his previous life, so Lynch asked naturally in the original body's language:
"If I am already dead within five hours, will I come back to life and die again?"
"As long as you are not truly dead in concept, death will not stop... no, what are you talking about? Hiss..."
Lynch deliberately twisted his neck, exposing half of it to the other party's line of sight.
The deep ligature marks on his neck were shocking.
"It has already started?"
The other party quickly surveyed the area, their gaze lingering on the rope and the candle for a moment, before they released the hand pinning Lynch down.
"You, get up and talk."
As they spoke, a sheathed sword was extended toward Lynch, signaling for him to pull himself up with it.
This was exactly what he wanted. Turning from a suspect into a victim suspect made things easier.
Lynch breathed a sigh of relief. As he pulled himself up with the sword, his eyes focused on the weapon.
He guessed that he hadn't had the chance to observe such dangerous items carefully in his previous life, so he felt a bit flustered and couldn't help but look a few more times.
When his consciousness concentrated on the sword, Lynch saw a weird scene before his eyes.
A lonely figure in a trench coat and top hat was holding this weapon, fighting desperately amidst countless weird monsters.
【Mystery Relic, Judgment of Vigen, the weapon used by Judge Vigen to slay evil, until he accidentally wounded an innocent person.】
The image cut off, and the soft female voice appeared abruptly, causing Lynch to subconsciously look at the intruder. Seeing that the other party had no reaction, he slowed his movements as he climbed up, patting the dirt off his body while asking in his mind: "Can you provide more details? And what exactly is a mystery relic?"
【Mystery relics are the item category of mystery, possessing special functions. Some can be used, but they are considered very dangerous by living beings, especially lethal to ordinary people. By continuously touching the relic itself and paying a sufficient price, one can listen to deeper memories.】
It was a very distinctive internal experience, like someone whispering in his ear while he was half asleep. Soft, gentle, making one drown in it unconsciously, leaving one wanting more.
Forget it, I'll just treat it as a system for now.
Lynch withdrew his attention from his consciousness and took a serious look at the intruder for the first time.
It was a woman in men's clothing, wearing a blue trench coat and formal wear, carrying a top hat and holding a sword.
She had a tall figure, long legs, chestnut wavy hair, and a quite beautiful appearance, but her facial features were sharp, making her look a bit fierce.
Carrying a mystery relic and having such frightening strength, this person might be an extraordinary individual herself.
【Yes, a Soul Severer, a human who gains extraordinary power by alienating their soul.】
Lynch found that he had already gotten used to a voice suddenly appearing in his mind. He did not let it distract him at all, but looked directly at the intruder. He hated this feeling of knowing nothing, so he took the initiative to ask:
"I don't deny that I obtained a statue, and I am willing to cooperate, but I need to know what exactly happened, what that statue is, and why I only have five hours left?"
"At least you didn't play dumb and deny it."
The woman's expression softened slightly, but she still said impatiently:
"To ordinary people like you, that is knowledge beyond common sense, and you do not need to come into contact with it."
"But at least let me die knowing the truth. This is my life; I don't want to spend the last five hours in a daze."
"That is your thought; it has nothing to do with me."
"Whether I cooperate or not is also my thought; does that also have nothing to do with you?"
The woman opened her mouth, unable to say a word for a long time.
Meanwhile, Lynch had already taken a notebook from the desk drawer and sat on the sofa.
"You are wasting your own final moments, and the more you know, the faster you die. But since you insist."
Unable to refute, the woman simply sat down opposite him on the sofa and said with a straight face:
"Lynch Levive, born December 17, 1378 of the Fifth Era, twenty years old, graduated from the Rhine City Royal Secondary Vocational School, majored in natural history and archaeology, and became a private investigator looking for collectibles after graduation. This is you, right?"
Lynch nodded.
"We received definite intelligence that you obtained a..."
"You?"
"I am from the Watchers in the Wheatfield, a mystery hunter organization under the direct jurisdiction of the Lande Court. I am Officer Natalie Angel..."
"Wait, I must declare in advance that the statue is already gone."
Officer Natalie's expression darkened.
"Although it sounds like an excuse, I am telling the truth."
"I do not doubt the authenticity. Cases of relics going missing during incidents happen from time to time, although it is slightly strange that it went missing before you died. Disappearance is the most troublesome; it makes the problem very difficult to solve."
"What exactly is the problem? And what is this about five hours? Even if I am to die, I want to die with my eyes open."
"For some reason, you have established a connection with a dangerous item. There are currently seven known associates involved in this matter, and each died within eight hours of the connection being established."
The officer took out a pocket watch to check the time and cast a regretful look at Lynch.
May 13, 1399 of the Fifth Era, 19:15.
"Calculating it this way, you have four hours and forty-five minutes of life left, at most."
Rate on N.U.
