Volume One, Chapter Seventeen: Respecting the Fates of Others

On the other side, Qin Shang suddenly thought of something. From a dropped delivery package on the ground, he retrieved another item.

Inside was an old mobile phone.

This was sent together with the con artist role card.

It must have been sent before his wife disappeared…

He skillfully plugged it in to charge and waited for it to power on. During this time, he also prepared a pack of instant noodles.

While in the Divine Path, he felt nothing, but once outside, the fear and urgency hadn’t entirely faded.

Yet his hungry stomach immediately protested.

The role card and the phone were sent after Jiang Qiqi disappeared.

Initially, it was Jiang Qiqi’s colleague in Yanjing who first reported her disappearance to the Public Security Bureau, which then filed the case.

Later, they discovered a package in transit addressed to “Fierce Licking Cockroach’s Jade Foot.”

The officer reasonably suspected that Jiang Qiqi’s disappearance might be related to this parcel.

So they detained the shipment.

The contents were less like Jiang Qiqi’s “remains” and more like clues she left behind for him.

Yes, clues…

Qin Shang didn’t believe his wife died in the Divine Path.

Even though he had already experienced the perilous Divine Path game once.

In the previous round, if Qin Shang hadn’t broken up the team in time, there might have been deaths.

Still, he didn’t think this game could stump Jiang Qiqi.

Because…

His wife was a detective enthusiast and a fan of deduction; her logical thinking far surpassed that of ordinary people.

In arguments and quarrels, Qin Shang rarely won.

“In the last round, it was thanks to my wife that I wasn’t suspected as the con artist from the start.”

Qin Shang had no interest in foreign films before.

For the first twenty-two years of his life, being introverted and solitary, he barely interacted with the outside world.

Later, after serving two years in prison, he became even more detached from society, completely unaware of who “Jack the Ripper” was. If not for Jiang Qiqi’s lively and sweet nature—and her passion for detectives—he might never have recognized the name.

All of this was truly thanks to his wife’s influence.

Jiang Qiqi’s presence was like a beacon that illuminated Qin Shang’s life.

The two years they spent together outweighed the previous twenty-plus years of his life.

“Hmm!?”

At that moment, Qin Shang noticed the phone on the table had powered on and hurriedly grabbed it.

“According to the officer, when a player dies, the Divine Path automatically reclaims the role card, so the con artist card I have can’t be Qiqi’s.”

“Besides, if my wife really died in the Divine Path, how could she have mailed me the role card?”

Therefore, the card and the phone must hold useful clues related to her disappearance.

Please enter the password!

The first major obstacle after powering on appeared.

Qin Shang’s expression stiffened.

Jiang Qiqi had many hobbies, but her identity as a deduction enthusiast was unchanging.

She would slack off at work, send text messages with coded language to complain about colleagues, and even change the electronic lock on their home security door using Morse code—a series of eccentric, rebellious, and childish behaviors.

Such things were perfectly plausible for a high school girl obsessed with detective stories.

But what was her phone password?

Her birthday!?

Unlikely.

She grew up in an orphanage, and Qin Shang knew her history.

Abandoned outside the orphanage’s gates with only a name and no other clues, Jiang Qiqi had tried to find her birth parents.

Even with Xu Mingyang’s help over the years, there was still no lead.

“The orphanage kid’s birthday isn’t her actual birth date, but the day she was adopted.”

“So to Jiang Qiqi, the date of birth on her ID card held no sentimental value.”

So…

Was it my birthday!?

Qin Shang tentatively entered a four-digit number.

Password incorrect!

His face darkened.

“Should I translate my birthday into Morse code or binary? Or use the coded language to get numbers?”

He tried another string of numbers.

Password incorrect!

“Our anniversary?”

Password incorrect!

The corner of Qin Shang’s mouth twitched as he looked at the screen: “You have two attempts left.”

His expression was complicated.

Damn it, normal people’s passwords at least left some clues.

How am I supposed to guess the password of a chuunibyou girl!

Jiang Qiqi, are you messing with me?

Don’t you know how bizarre and complicated your password style is?

“Maybe I should just get a hacker to crack this phone!”

“Detective Jiang Qiqi, your assistant Qin Shang is really out of options…”

He stared blankly upward, his handsome features clouded with defeat.

He had thought he found a clue; surely his wife had left something inside the role card and the phone.

But now he realized he couldn’t even get past the phone’s password!

An ancient familiar verse involuntarily surfaced in his mind…

“The late emperor’s enterprise was half done before being cut off.”

After a long moment, Qin Shang’s gaze went blank, then he suddenly paused.

Wait, no!

“Jiang Qiqi, who can’t even remember her Taobao password, definitely knew her own password style was bizarre and unique. If I can’t crack the password, I can’t unlock the phone.”

“Since she left me clues, this four-digit code must be something I know. Is the password really related to birthdays or anniversaries?”

Wait, four digits…

Suddenly, the electronic prompt sounded in his mind…

“Ding! You are currently on the Death Train…”

“Number: 0927”

Right, the first Divine Path instance I entered was the Death Train.

Its number is exactly four digits.

Qiqi left the role card and the phone; these two items must be linked.

Smartphones don’t hold charge well, usually dying within two or three days.

She must have perfectly predicted my reaction when I received the package.

A dead phone screen and a silver card.

Normally, anyone noticing a phone without power would instinctively take out that small card, right?

From my experience in the Divine Path, others are probably the same.

The moment their palm touches the role card, they enter the instance.

So Qiqi was confident I would first enter the game, then investigate the phone for clues after coming out…

“My method of obtaining the role card is different. Others seem chosen by the Divine Path, granted the card. Mine was mailed by my wife.”

“And another thing—the naming process…”

“I didn’t have to name my character. Others usually pick their own IDs, like the little girl ‘Grandpa Niu cosplaying a maid to seduce Mom Zhuang,’ but mine was simply my wife’s Taobao account.”

Qin Shang frowned slightly.

“The moment I touched this silver card, my vision went black, and I woke up in compartment one of the Death Train.”

“If the only four-digit number related to the Divine Path role card is this…”

Next, his finger tapped the screen, entering 0927!

Please, it must work!

Otherwise, only one attempt remains. Though tomorrow he could find a skilled hacker on Xianyu to “unlock” it.

But not being able to unlock my own wife’s phone would be utterly embarrassing.

Besides, who knows what mischievous things my lively and playful wife stored in her photo albums.

Those hackers on Xianyu have no bottom line.

Otherwise, how do you think resources leaked by Mr. Qin and Mr. Liu in the domestic 91 zone came about?

Back then, Edison Chen and Cecilia Cheung suffered from this kind of trouble.

Of course, theirs was purely due to a computer repairman’s mischief!

“Click…”

The phone’s old-fashioned unlocking sound rang out.

Qin Shang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn’t understand why his wife used such an old phone to pass on crucial information.

But upon entering the main interface, Qin Shang noticed something odd.

First, the apps.

There were very few installed; his wife had deleted almost all system apps.

Only those that couldn’t be removed or took up memory remained.

One app called “Divine Path Player Official Forum” caught his attention.

However, Qin Shang didn’t open the forum first; instead, he opened the memo app.

Knowing Jiang Qiqi’s style, she must have left clues in the notes.

“Husband, I’ve found something interesting that could change your life. Your late-stage brain cancer is incurable. I’ve searched nationwide and found no cases of complete recovery. But where there’s life, there’s hope. That role card is your chance to turn things around.”

“This may be risky, but it’s the safest way. I don’t have time to explain much now, so that’s all. We will meet again.”

“Exploring the Divine Path depends on you alone. By the way, in the game, don’t trust anyone completely and respect others’ destinies…”

Signed, “Your dearest Qiqi.”

After reading the note, Qin Shang’s mind was a mess.

Is that all?

Nothing more?

Just a few words of advice?

The Divine Path is my chance to rewrite fate—what chance?

So the root cause of her disappearance was to find a cure for me.

Qin Shang’s heart sank, his expression complex.

Jiang Qiqi’s love for him was profound; sometimes he was even a little stunned.

She was a detective fan, a logical thinker, yet she fell head over heels for him.

But the chance to turn things around mentioned in the memo…

Could the Divine Path hide a secret cure for brain cancer?

His wife seemed especially knowledgeable about the Divine Path game. Unsurprisingly, Qiqi must have been a player herself!

So why had she never mentioned the Divine Path before?

And why, before disappearing, did she urgently send these things out?

Did she never have the chance to explain in person?

Or was this memo just to ease his mind?

Had Jiang Qiqi encountered danger at that time?