Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1401: Chapter 1400: Fang Zheng’s Deductive Reasoning (Had Guests at Home and Didn’t Sleep Well)

”Alright, we’ll leave this to you then.”

Fang Zheng gestured to the blond delinquent.

”I’ll go find the others.”

”Wait, I’ll go with you!”

”You?”

Fang Zheng was taken aback, looking at the eager blond.

”You mean, you want to leave with me, leaving the two girls here?”

”No, it’s just that...”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, the blond suddenly remembered that there were still two women here, including Teacher Yui and Suzumoto Mayu...

”We’ll be fine.”

At this point, Shishido Yui also stood up, reaching out to place a hand on Suzumoto Mayu’s shoulder, looking at Fang Zheng. However, Fang Zheng clearly saw it differently.

”I can’t say it’s fine. You know, the ghosts here are tough to handle. I’m not too concerned for myself, but what about you? If a ghost comes to bother you while I’m away, I won’t be able to make it back in time. Or do you have some way to deal with the ghosts?”

”This is...”

Faced with Fang Zheng’s questions, the three were speechless, at a loss for words. As Fang Zheng mentioned, they were just ordinary people with no special abilities. If they encountered a ghost, running away seemed like the only option. In this situation...

”Then, can’t we go with you?”

Obviously, the blond knew how to cling to someone useful. He was smart, indeed, as Fang Zheng said. If they stayed here, they might encounter another ghost attack. So why not cling to someone who could protect them? After all, this person had just demonstrated the ability to easily deal with ghosts in front of them. If he protects them, their chances of survival would surely increase!

”Hmm...”

Fang Zheng pondered the blond’s suggestion for a moment. To be honest, he didn’t really want to bring along a few deadweights. But on the other hand, they might be the ”protagonists” of this instance. Perhaps bringing them along could trigger a few main events, ending this troublesome trip sooner.

”Alright.”

Ultimately, Fang Zheng nodded in agreement. Frankly, if he had a Divine Artifact or could use spells, he would prefer to leave them here and set up a barrier to ensure their safety. But right now, Fang Zheng could only rely on the Primordial Fire, and this classroom wasn’t necessarily safe.

Moreover, leaving them here reminded Fang Zheng of the plot in previous games he played—where the protagonist went alone to face enemies, leaving the NPCs to guard the base. The protagonist succeeded, only to return and find their base ransacked by the boss, with all NPCs captured. This led the protagonist to go on a rescue mission again...

I mean, what’s the point of rescuing those NPCs? They don’t help during sieges, don’t assist during boss fights, and even when facing a heavily guarded sanctuary, they only cheer while the protagonist charges in alone to take down the cult leader.

After braving countless trials, how dare they claim it’s ”everyone’s victory” when the protagonist returns?

Bah!!!

If not for game mechanics preventing it, Fang Zheng would’ve wanted to shoot those bastards right on the spot, sending them to accompany the boss!

Hmm... thinking like this...

”Let’s go.”

Fang Zheng immediately changed his mind.

Having a few more to take hits is better than just being remote cheerleaders!

If they must cheer, isn’t it better to do it live?

As for whether having more people would be an issue... that’s a joke. With Fang Zheng watching over them, as long as they don’t do anything stupid, everything will be fine, right?

”But I need to lay down some ground rules first.”

Of course, thinking is one thing, but Fang Zheng needed to set some ground rules.

”You must follow my instructions completely. Without my orders, don’t run around or do anything else. Stay by my side, and if you want to do something, report to me first. Got it?”

”This is...”

”No problem!”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s demands, the blond seemed a bit troubled, but Shishido Yui quickly nodded. She understood that in a situation like this, a leader was necessary. She initially thought of being that leader, but clearly, in such a crisis-filled environment, protecting her students alone was impossible.

At the moment, Haruno’s demonstration of power far exceeded their expectations. Only by sticking with him could they survive. Under such circumstances, who would complain?

The blond and Suzumoto Mayu might feel a bit too proud to admit it, but for Shishido Yui, as a teacher, she would do anything to protect her students!

”Then let’s get ready. We’ll go find Shizaki Ayumi first.”

Earlier, Fang Zheng and Shishido Yui searched the entire main building but found no one. Now, he could only hope that Shizaki Ayumi was also a protagonist, able to ”trigger” some EVENT.

The other three naturally nodded in agreement with Fang Zheng’s suggestion. They were already worried about Ayumi. When she ran off earlier, the blond wanted to chase after her, but Ayumi ran too fast, so no one knew where to look for her now...

So, Fang Zheng led the three deadweights out of Class 1-A, heading in the direction Ayumi had left in.

They walked and stopped along the way, but there was no sign of Ayumi. However, these protagonists were indeed ”handsy,” always able to find clues in various places. Based on these clues, Fang Zheng managed to piece together the whole story behind this instance.

According to legend, thirty years ago, there was a Tenjin Elementary here. Of course, initially, everything was harmonious. But then accidents happened. First, a teacher died unexpectedly, followed by the mysterious disappearance of four children. Eventually, during the investigation, the police discovered the kidnapped children and the suspect, the principal’s son, in the basement of Tenjin Elementary.

Among the four children, three had already died. They had their tongues cut out, some even had their eyes gouged and half their heads removed—a truly gruesome death. Based on the account of the last surviving child, the police arrested the principal’s son, who was on the scene at the time.

The suspect’s mind was already unstable, but the police still apprehended him. After all, when the bodies were discovered, the principal’s son was in the basement. Moreover, he held a pair of scissors used to cut the children’s tongues, and with the surviving child’s testimony, the police arrested him as the culprit.

In the end, the judgment concluded the principal’s son committed the crime due to insanity.

After this incident, Tenjin Elementary closed; the principal’s son committed suicide, and the principal jumped to his death. Later, the area was flattened, and... that’s where the story ends.

It was supposed to be like this.

But now, with Tenjin Elementary, which was supposed to disappear, reappearing, things have gotten a bit strange.

Of course, according to typical deductions, it must be because the resentment of the three dead children has not been appeased, thus creating a Tenjin Elementary. But...

”What does this have to do with the happy Yukiko?”

Walking at the front, Fang Zheng observed his surroundings while mulling over and asking the question.

According to Suzumoto Mayu’s recollection, the two ghosts she encountered were called Kannoyuki and Tsujitokiko, both of whom were girls. The victims of the abduction reported were three girls and one boy, and Yukiko clearly couldn’t be a boy’s name. Although the victims’ names were reported as A-ko, B-ko, due to information restrictions, with a bit of thought, a conclusion could be drawn.

However, there was a contradiction in this.

”Shizaki Ayumi once told you the story of the happy Yukiko, right?”

”Yes.”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s inquiry, the blonde-haired person nodded.

”I remember Shizaki said that though Yukiko had long since died, as long as you have thoughts or worries about friends, she is willing to help you resolve them...”

”Has long since died.”

Fang Zheng turned down the corridor, continuing forward.

”If Yukiko is indeed the only survivor out of those four kidnapped children, according to the reports, she should have already left the city. However, the Spell Text of the happy Yukiko states that Yukiko had long since died... could it be that the last surviving girl eventually died in Tenjin Elementary as well? Then, how did she die? Who killed her?”

”This...”

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s question, the other three also started pondering. As Fang Zheng had said, if the information they gathered was all true, none of the four children from the Tenjin Elementary kidnapping case ultimately survived. But, who killed the last survivor?

According to the reports, the principal’s son, who was considered the perpetrator, had been detained by the police, with neither opportunity nor time to commit the crime. So, who could it have been?

Could it be that the person was merely a scapegoat, and the real culprit was someone else?

Or was it not a single individual’s crime, but a group operation?

However, to Fang Zheng, none of this mattered; his pondering was simply to pass the time.

After all, you see, there was nothing to do along the way...

”Aaaahhh!!!”

Accompanied by a scream, a blood-drenched ghost of an upper torso suddenly appeared hovering in the air, its bloodied eyes glaring fiercely at everyone. But before the ghost could do anything else, Fang Zheng flicked his fingers slightly, and the next moment a fiery serpent flew out, engulfing the unfortunate ghost in one bite.

”Phew...”

Fang Zheng yawned, glanced at the black shadow that had been reduced to ashes, and continued onward.

So boring...

”......”

Seeing this, the other three remained silent. In fact, since a while ago, they had been attacked by ghosts several times. However, those ghosts barely appeared before being completely incinerated by Fang Zheng’s fire before they could even showcase their abilities.

This made the three of them fully grasp what kind of powerhouse they had latched onto.

”Thud---!!!”

However, as they reached the third floor, a low collision sound suddenly echoed from afar.

”Listen! There seems to be a sound?!”

The blonde-haired person immediately grew excited, and the others quickly focused, starting to search for the sound’s source.

”Thud... thud...!!”

”Over there!!”

This time, Shishido Yui also heard the sound and quickly rushed forward. The group of four soon reached the far end of the third floor, where the women’s restroom was located. They quickly found a wooden door in the depths of the restroom flipping back and forth. As they entered, the sight before them left them astonished.

Inside one of the stalls, a short-haired girl in a sailor suit was hanging from a beam, her cheeks flushed red, eyes rolled back, struggling frantically!!

”Naoko!!”

Seeing the short-haired girl, Suzumoto Mayu screamed, and the other two also exclaimed.

”Nakajima!!”

”Nakajima! Hang in there!!”

While shouting, the three rushed forward, trying to rescue the girl from the beam, but they didn’t know what to do. Seeing this, Fang Zheng raised an eyebrow, and snapped his fingers lightly. The next moment, a flash of flame shot from his fingers, severing the rope on the beam with a ”bang,” causing the short-haired girl to fall to the ground with a groan.

”Nakajima, are you okay!!”

The group didn’t care about the dirty restroom floor, hastily lifting the short-haired girl out. After a moment, she sluggishly regained consciousness.

”Ugh... cough... cough cough!!”

She gripped the rope around her neck, coughing several times before catching her breath. Opening her eyes, she stared in disbelief at the people before her.

”Teacher Shishido? Mayu? I...”

She spoke, looking blankly at everyone.

”What on earth... happened?”