Lin Yu flipped through the tablet quickly and soon finished reading the overview compiled by Order.

All I can say is...

The members of this organization really do include a large number of police and military personnel. Their report is concise, tidy, even almost aesthetic.

The useful information was laid out in neat order on the tablet, accompanied by images that helped Lin Yu sort through every detail.

The deceased was Radish from the Player Mutual Aid Association, that much Lin Yu had already confirmed earlier.

He had arrived at Haicheng South Station by express train at four in the morning last Friday, then, under the guidance of the auction staff—who were actually Operators from the Hunters' Association—checked into a five-star luxury hotel in Haicheng West District.

As the founder of the Player Mutual Aid Association, Radish received high-level treatment and was assigned to the top-floor, highest-grade river-view executive suite.

The suite had two bedrooms and a living room. This trip Radish had two members of the Player Mutual Aid Association with him: one was a Third Tier Enforcer with the codename Lotus;the other was a Second Tier Craftsman with the codename Cassia.

Under the Hunters' Association arrangement, Radish was originally supposed to occupy the suite's master bedroom, but after Lotus and Cassia spoke up, Radish felt comfortable staying in the secondary bedroom alone and offered them the master instead.

Although the two did not entirely agree, they reluctantly accepted due to Radish's insistence.

The Player Mutual Aid Association also seemed aware that the item Radish was carrying this time was particularly dangerous, so they were cautious.

Although nominally attending the auction, they had actually arranged a buyer through the Hunters' Association before the event—a non-official Order affiliate similar to Tycoon and Furbollo. Though not formal Order members, their long-term cooperation provided a degree of credibility.

That buyer went by the code name Zhurong, and his profession was also Farmer. He hailed from Lancheng in northwest Long Province.

The item Radish truly intended to sell would not go through the auction process;the auction was only a cover.

That summarized Radish's reasons for coming to Haicheng.

In short, Radish stayed at the hotel for three days and his activities were normal every day.

His routine was stable: wake at six for morning exercise, have breakfast, handle organization business, watch TV dramas in the afternoon, then after dinner at around ten he would wash up and go to bed.

Until Monday night—yesterday—around ten o'clock, Cassia and Lotus switched shifts.

Cassia, who had kept watch all day, was ready to wash up and sleep, while Lotus stayed on guard in the living room.

When the two switched shifts, Radish—who should have been getting ready for bed—acted strangely and came out holding his phone to make a call on the balcony.

Lotus observed for a moment;the call seemed not to go through, and Radish then returned to the room.

At the time Lotus just assumed Radish's call to family failed. Seeing that Radish's demeanor seemed normal, Lotus did not pry into his privacy.

Until two fifteen in the morning, Lotus suddenly woke up on the living room sofa and realized he had inexplicably fallen asleep.

According to Lotus's recollection, the last conscious moment he had was scrolling short videos on his phone at about one forty.

In other words, he had at most been unconscious for thirty-five minutes—something Lotus found odd.

He went to wake Cassia in the master bedroom, only to find Cassia already awake, reading in the room.

After Lotus told Cassia he had fallen asleep inexplicably, Cassia took it seriously, and the two decided to check on Radish.

Not wanting to disturb his sleep, they quietly opened the secondary bedroom door and peeked through the crack.

Although Radish lay peacefully on the bed...

the room was unnaturally quiet;they could not even hear breathing, which made Lotus uneasy.

Ignoring Cassia's objections, Lotus pushed the door open and walked in, calling out as he approached to wake Radish.

Then...

When he got closer, he confirmed it: Radish had already lost vital signs.

Breathing and heartbeat had completely stopped, and his body temperature had dropped to the minimum.

After discovering this, Lotus and Cassia immediately summoned the Hunters' Association leader and Order members who came to assist—one of whom was a Doctor whose real-world identity was indeed a chief physician at a top-tier hospital.

After attempted resuscitation, Radish was confirmed dead.

The preliminary estimate for time of death, assuming no external tampering or distortion, was between one fifteen and one forty.

This coincided with part of the period Lotus described as being asleep.

Radish's corpse showed no obvious external injuries;his expression was slightly pained but lacked signs of violent struggle.

A surface-level examination suggested a sudden cardiac-related death.

But although Radish was elderly, his bodily functions had remained healthy and he had not been overworked recently, which made this conclusion very suspicious.

Moreover, a deeper inspection found residues within his soul consistent with a kind of "curse" ability.

There was no doubt this likely involved a player.

At the same time, investigators discovered that the crucial item Radish had been carrying was missing—making motive clearer.

After Lotus explained the situation to the Order members and made a request,

the Haicheng branch of Order immediately took over the case and sealed off information.

"That is the full course of events."

Reading the final line of the document, Lin Yu silently closed the tablet.

"Huh... this really is a troublesome case."

It was an atypical locked-room murder.

Why atypical... not only because the guard, Lotus, had slept briefly.

More importantly, surveillance and the top-floor windows held little significance for high-level players.

Although Order had not yet discovered traces of item usage, they could not rule it out completely.

"I've understood the basic situation. In short, before we go to the scene to investigate further and talk with Furbollo, I have one question."

Lin Yu looked at Li Hua.

Li Hua nodded. "Ask."

"What kind of missing item would make us this nervous?"

"Liangye only said that the thing might, at worst, cause tens of thousands of deaths, but I need something more specific."

Upon hearing Lin Yu's question, Li Hua nodded.

"To avoid unnecessary trouble and prevent leaks, we have intentionally not mentioned it directly in any written, especially electronic, reports."

"But I can tell you in person."

"The missing item is called the Super Transgenic Carrot."

Hearing the name, Lin Yu was taken aback. "Huh? That thing... has that much power?"

Li Hua nodded again.

"This thing is a carrot that can proliferate infinitely. As long as you supply it with energy, it can controllably expand and split."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Lin Yu said, puzzled, "you even said it's controllable."

"No," Li Hua sighed. "Its growth and proliferation are controllable, but... it has extremely, extremely potent addictive properties."

Li Hua took a breath.

"It is tens of thousands of times stronger than any addictive drug known in our world... and this addictive nature affects most living beings."