Global Survival: I Got the D-Rank Personnel Simulator

Underground Arcade

After a brief exchange, Lin Ye followed the two students toward Ephesus’s residence.

The situation was slightly different from what Lin Ye had anticipated. Ephesus was a middle school student living nearby, and the girl who came with her was named Susie, her classmate. Lin Ye wasn’t actually a detective, but an unemployed man who had read too many detective novels. The female secretary he mentioned was a university student from a nearby college who had recently been looking for a quiet place to study and worked for him part-time.

The family member Ephesus mentioned was a black cat named Little Black. Little Black truly was her family member—when she was very young, her parents were often away from home, and Little Black had always been there to keep her company.

”Detective, the door was closed at the time. Little Black wouldn’t just leave the room on its own. Someone must have stolen it.”

Ephesus spoke seriously as she led the way.

”Do you have any suspects?”

Lin Ye asked just as seriously.

Throughout this process, Susie kept staring at Lin Ye like he was some suspicious character.

”Yes. When the incident happened, a few classmates came to my house to find me. I closed the door and went downstairs to chat with them for a few minutes. That process took about ten minutes. When I returned to my room, Little Black was gone.My grades are excellent—I’ve always been first in my grade. I suspect it was the second-ranked student. He probably wanted to affect my exam results through this method.”

Ephesus recalled as she shared her deduction.

”That’s certainly possible. But before we find concrete evidence, we can only treat the second-ranked student as a suspect. Otherwise, we might reach the wrong conclusion.”

Lin Ye said calmly.

”You’re right.”

Ephesus led Lin Ye to a two-story building with a courtyard. Her home was just a few streets away from Lin Ye’s office.

Lin Ye first walked around the yard before following Ephesus upstairs and into the crime scene.

Ephesus’s room was clean and tidy. Lin Ye carefully examined the window.

”The window was locked at the time. I think someone pried it open and took Little Black.”

Ephesus looked at Lin Ye with hopeful eyes, wishing he would support her theory—that was the only way she might get Little Black back.

”No. There are no signs of the window being pried open.”

Lin Ye walked around the room and answered casually.

Ephesus felt deeply disappointed. She had thought this ”Detective” would be different from others.

Lin Ye suddenly crouched down like a cat and glanced at the window.

Susie stared at him like he was some kind of danger.

”Did you lock the door back then?”

Lin Ye hopped to the side and touched the floor’s surface.

”...No. I just pulled the door shut. Did you find a clue?”

Ephesus asked excitedly.

”Yeah. After you went downstairs, someone climbed up to the second floor using a ladder, then entered the hallway through an open window in the corridor, made their way into the room, grabbed Little Black, and left with it before you came back.”

Lin Ye spoke with absolute certainty.

”Who?!”

”How do you know all this?”

Ephesus and Susie exclaimed simultaneously.

”I found traces of a ladder in the yard. The person roughly cleaned up the evidence but didn’t do a thorough job.

The hallway window wasn’t locked. Someone must have been opening it frequently for ventilation.

There were no footprints left behind, which means they took off their shoes before climbing in. I found traces of mud on the windowsill from where the shoes were placed.

I also found marks of Little Black struggling on the floor. Based on those marks, I can tell the person entered the room from the hallway.”

Lin Ye first answered Susie’s question before turning to Ephesus:

”The culprit is about one meter eighty in height, weighs over eighty kilograms, has short black hair, is right-handed, and was wearing a white T-shirt. They have a vehicle capable of carrying a ladder—most likely a bicycle.”

”Could it be Simon? But I have no connection with him at all?”

After hearing Lin Ye’s deductions, Ephesus quickly thought of an older student. A middle schooler of that height wasn’t common.

”Wait a minute. You looked around and you already know who the culprit is?”

Susie interrupted the conversation. She felt Lin Ye was the type of scammer who just made things up on the spot.

”There are too many traces left behind. I can even simulate the entire crime process in my head.”

Lin Ye didn’t mind Susie’s attitude—that was just how normal people reacted.

”Detective, can you help me get Little Black back?”

Ephesus looked at Lin Ye with eyes full of hope.

”I’m a detective. Since I’ve accepted your commission, I’ll see this case through to the end.”

As for the outcome, that was beyond Lin Ye’s control.

The culprit went through all this trouble to steal an ordinary black cat, and the cat’s owner had no connection with them—this didn’t feel like a simple prank.

”Thank you so much. What do we do next? Today is a rest day. I don’t know where Simon is.”

Ephesus had only heard of this person; she had no idea where to find Simon.

”Do you know any student who has connections with Simon? If not, we can go to the school first. There should be Simon’s home address on file.”

Without being able to use his special abilities, Lin Ye had to rely on traditional methods to track the person down.

”...I’ve heard he often goes to the arcade. There should be people there who know him.”

Susie suddenly spoke up.

She still didn’t trust Lin Ye, but she didn’t want to withhold information that could help Ephesus.

”Do you know which arcade?”

Lin Ye turned to Susie and asked.

”I can take you there.”

Susie sighed, unsure if she was doing the right thing.

Under Susie’s guidance, the three soon found the entrance to the arcade.

It was an old staircase leading underground, dimly lit below—it didn’t look like a reputable place.

”Wait, you can go down here alone, right? I’ve heard this place is pretty rough.”

Susie grabbed Ephesus. She didn’t want her to go into such a dangerous place.

”No. I’m going down. What if Simon is down there?”

Ephesus wasn’t about to wait upstairs for Lin Ye to come back.

”You’re both coming down with me. I’ll handle anything that comes up. I’m not leaving two middle schoolers in a place like this.”

Lin Ye didn’t want to return and find his client gone.

The three descended the stairs into the underground arcade. The stairs connected to a dim hallway, where a very young couple with dyed yellow hair were pressed against the wall, making out.

At the end of the hallway was a double door similar to those found in small supermarkets. Lin Ye pulled the door open, and a complex smell mixed with cigarette smoke and heat rushed at him.