Chapter 1075: Target
"Wait a minute, let's rethink this."
Compared to Bohemia, who was all worked up and frantic, the Descartes Spirit appeared much calmer. "Stop running around the room; you're almost sparking fires on the floor!" it advised. "The game hasn't ended, and it must be because the ending conditions haven't been met. Let's think about the necessary conditions that need to be fulfilled."
The method of murder had been discovered, the secretary was dead and couldn't harm her anymore, and the last objective was to remain safe until the end of the workday. There were three objectives in total, and Bohemia had completed them all, so the game should have ended by now.
"Could it be that he didn't use disinfectant to commit the murder?" she asked anxiously while tapping the table.
"According to the clues provided in the game, the method of murder should be correct," The Descartes Spirit thought for a moment. "What did the Pocket Dimension host say? After satisfying all the objectives, Prison Storm would end..."
Its voice gradually lowered as it exchanged a few glances with Bohemia, although it didn't have actual eyes.
"Wait," Bohemia muttered, "He did say 'all objectives,' right?"
The Pocket Dimension host did not mention that the game would end after completing these three objectives. If she remembered correctly, he indeed said, "After satisfying all objectives." In that case...
"Some objectives were left incomplete earlier!" they both exclaimed almost simultaneously.
However, there were so many previous objectives; the question was, which one was not fulfilled?
"Let's start from the beginning," The Descartes Spirit was suddenly motivated and gestured for Bohemia to take out a piece of paper. "Write down every single objective—hurry up! Your character is way too evil. We must think fast! In case someone figures things out and tries to arrest you later, it's fine if you fail, but if it traps me here, that's a real problem."
"Did you forget that before we entered this game, you were eager to eat people?" She had no intention of being labeled evil by this mosaic of characters. freewebno(v)el
"That's different; I did it out of survival necessity. You, on the other hand, are just full of bad intentions."
As they bickered, they did their best to jot down every objective they remembered on the paper. The initial objectives were straightforward, like identifying the location, date, and their own identity. As they moved on to the mid-game objectives, the difficulty gradually increased, becoming tasks such as discovering and safeguarding allies. However, as they systematically reviewed each one, none of them seemed incomplete.
"Wait a moment, you were supposed to safeguard allies... wasn't Snake-Skin supposed to be your ally? He must have been, right?" Descartes initially perked up but then dismissed his thought. "No, safeguarding allies was an objective in one of the earlier stages, and Snake-Skin survived that stage, so it should count as completed."
So, what could it be then?
Bohemia sighed restlessly, feeling like she was sitting on a hot seat. As the Descartes Spirit mentioned, she had committed plenty of evil deeds, and while she could hide them for a while, they wouldn't stay concealed forever. If she were to get caught right near the end, it would be infuriating.
"Ugh, this Sandy Winters is something else. She could have been a great warden, but she chose to do all these behind-the-scenes deeds..." She muttered in frustration.
The mosaic floating above the A4 paper suddenly paused upon hearing this. It stayed still for a moment and then exclaimed, "I... I think I might have an idea!"
"What?" Bohemia asked.
The Descartes Spirit swayed back and forth, looking rather dizzy. "I... I can't be a hundred percent sure. Your comment just struck me as odd. Sandy Winters is indeed a difficult person to understand. Despite her great potential and her position in the judicial system, she privately destroyed all the laws she could, as if she didn't care about her own life..."
Bohemia widened her eyes, waiting for the Descartes Spirit to continue.
After a brief pause, it slowly said, "What if... you aren't actually Sandy Winters?"
"The name of the warden is clearly on the door, and I am indeed the warden," she replied.
"No, what I mean is... although you're the warden, is Sandy Winters your true identity?" the Descartes Spirit saw that she still hadn't grasped it and continued, "Do you remember those four bank statements? Each account belongs to a different person, right?"
Bohemia was starting to catch on.
"While you're the warden Sandy Winters in the prison, you become Emma Green at a certain bank. Who says that being the warden is your true identity? Maybe it's just one of many identities you have. Who are you really?" Descartes mumbled, swaying unsteadily. "We've completed all the stage objectives. In theory, the game should have ended long ago. But if your identity isn't Sandy Winters to begin with, then everything makes sense. You still have one objective left from the first stage – 'establish identity.'"
Bohemia slumped into her chair, a look of concern on her face. "That's a problem... how do I find out who I really am?"
Descartes pondered for a moment.
"While you might not know, someone else might."
"Who?"
"Did you forget? The only one who had doubts about you, the one who secretly investigated you..." the Descartes Spirit, sounding somewhat gleeful, continued, "Isn't it Old Shoes?"
Trying to get Old Shoes to reveal her true identity seemed akin to courting danger. After staring at the four bank statements in frustration for a while, she decided to take a deep breath. "How do I get him to spill the beans?"
This question stumped the Descartes Spirit as well.
Perhaps because the objectives weren't met, the game persisted even when it should have concluded. As they puzzled over what to do, the phone suddenly rang, its shrill tone piercing the air and startling both of them.
They exchanged glances, and Bohemia swallowed hard before answering the phone.
"Miss Winters?" On the other end of the line was a voice she'd heard once before, low and trembling as if it was afraid someone might overhear. "I'm Nurse Dorie. I think there's something I must report to you... The prisoner who was shot today regained consciousness. The bullet didn't directly hit any vital organs, so after we administered first aid, his condition quickly stabilized."
Snake-Skin isn't dead?
Bohemia was initially taken aback but suddenly froze. The incident where Snake-Skin got shot happened this morning, and she had been preoccupied with dealing with Sandwich Secretary, thinking that Snake-Skin must have died, and the game would end. She hadn't inquired further. "Is it just now that he regained consciousness?"
"No," the nurse seemed a bit uncomfortable. "We've been observing him since noon. He... he regained consciousness about an hour ago. Initially, he couldn't speak clearly, but his condition has been improving." contemporary romance
"Why are you just telling me now?"
"It's because... the detective prohibited us from reporting it," she explained anxiously. "We hesitated as it violated the regulations to cooperate with him. But the detective got furious, saying he must privately interrogate the prisoner, and that it's crucial for an investigation. If we let any word slip, no one could bear the responsibility... But I thought about it, and at least I had to inform the warden..."
This nurse was amazing!
After the initial shock had worn off, Bohemia was nearly overwhelmed by joy. This was a stroke of luck!
Old Shoes, who had been investigating her, was quite sharp. She had barely instructed Snake-Skin to do something when he had detected traces of their connection. His prohibition against the medical department reporting Snake-Skin's awakening had only one reasonable explanation: Old Shoes had already perceived the connection between the two of them. What he wanted to extract from Snake-Skin was insider information about her as the warden.
Bohemia praised and encouraged the nurse, who reported this to her. After asking for further details, the nurse told her the Old Shoes and Snake-Skin were in an observation room. The room was on the second floor with a window facing the outside. Unfortunately, trying to eavesdrop beneath the window wasn't practical.
Ten minutes later, Bohemia crouched next to a waste bin at the rear of the medical department, with her head right below the observation room on the second floor. The observation room's window was tightly shut, and the sounds from inside couldn't be heard. However, when she looked closely, she noticed that the window's seams were blurry, creating a mosaic of sorts.
For the first time, Bohemia was incredibly thankful for the Descartes Spirit's presence.
Whenever there was conversation in the room, the Descartes Spirit repeated the dialogue, transmitting it into her mind. The game rules set by the Pocket Dimension host only restricted the use of evolutionary abilities and Special Items. Perhaps even the Pocket Dimension host didn't anticipate that a player would carry a Pocket Dimension like a pet.
"No matter what kind of partnership it is, you wouldn't risk your life for her, right?" The Descartes Spirit repeated. From the voice alone, it was impossible to discern the speaker's identity, but it was clear that it was Old Shoes asking this question. "She put you in danger without telling you. Furthermore, she's not a member of your gang, so there's no need to keep hiding it. Think about it; I can request a reduced sentence for you. Tell me, what has Sandy Winters done behind the scenes?"
Snake-Skin seemed to be silent for a moment. After a few seconds, the Descartes Spirit relayed his response.
"Sandy Winters hasn't done anything."
Just when Bohemia thought he wouldn't confess, the Descartes Spirit continued to repeat, "Because the real Sandy Winters died a long time ago."
