Apartment.
After returning home, Gao Mo slept from morning until afternoon.
His neighbor and the supermarket manager had been murdered one after another.
One culprit was dead, the other taken away by the police for investigation.
It had thoroughly exhausted him, who had only just been resurrected.
He yawned after waking up. Gao Mo subconsciously picked up his phone and, upon discovering a string of new missed calls, his drowsiness instantly vanished.
"You've got to be kidding me?"
Carefully opening the last email, Gao Mo's mood went on a rollercoaster ride.
It wasn't about a case, but it was worse than a case.
Clutching his messy, bedhead hair, he crawled out of bed, dazedly opened the refrigerator, took out the last bottle of ice-cold cola, and only managed to slip on one slipper halfway.
He had thought he might lose his job, but he hadn't expected it to come so quickly.
It wasn't just him; the entire batch of people working that day had all been fired. It was simply brutal.
The reason for dismissal was "particularly complicated romantic relationships, affecting the company's brand positioning." A group of people were now trying to protest, but the results weren't promising.
Most of them were part-timers; even if they could get compensation, it wouldn't be much.
"Gulp!" Gao Mo rinsed his mouth with ice-cold cola.
Heaven knows, that Saiko was just occasionally flirting, there was never any further development. The manager who got slightly more involved also got himself killed.
He was the most innocent of the innocent.
He had only worked for one day and had no energy to think about romantic relationships.
Was this a Death God mark, or a bad luck mark?
Gao Mo looked reluctantly at his large, three-bedroom house.
10,000 yen wouldn't last many days, only enough for about a dozen bowls of ramen.
Subsequent utility bills, the seemingly distant apartment management fees, property taxes...
If he opened a detective agency, there would also be a large funding gap.
He couldn't really stoop to selling the house.
Absolutely not... The house was his bottom line, and it wasn't like he couldn't survive.
In his previous life, he had dreamed of owning an apartment like this.
Besides, his neighbor had just been killed; it would be difficult to sell in the short term. Whether selling or renting, it would be very troublesome...
He missed his cashier job for a minute... Now that he thought about it, standing all day wasn't so bad. In an environment with widespread layoffs, it was practically a godsend of a job.
"Let's look again."
Frustratedly ruffling his hair, Gao Mo sat down in his favorite spot on the sofa and scrolled through his phone's contact list.
The newly added Amuro Tooru (Furuya Rei), and along with him, Takagi Wataru.
Looking further back, it seemed only Okino Yoko still maintained contact.
The entertainment industry was very realistic; most connections were superficial. After leaving the circle, no one bothered with him anymore.
Thinking of Okino Yoko, Gao Mo quickly focused his attention to check the system text.
There was still no news about Furuya Rei's part-time job offer. He could try to develop his actor profession first.
He just needed to finish reading Green Tea Guide to level up.
He was also very curious about the effects after leveling up.
Even without considering future supernatural aspects, improving his profession would also help him earn money now.
Gao Mo took a sip of ice-cold cola to refresh himself, sat up straight, and casually picked up an entertainment magazine as a projection medium.
Like his Has-Been Idol, Green Tea Guide was also about his female colleague's personal experiences.
Probably...
Skipping the tragic family background at the beginning, Gao Mo's expression became increasingly strange as he read on, especially when he saw himself appear later.
The sense of immersion was very subtle.
"Three stars. I'll get three stars after reading it." Gao Mo endured the discomfort and quickly skimmed through.
Divorced parents, a sick younger brother, emotionally manipulated by a rich second-generation heir... Why did this feel so familiar?
Her private life was a mess.
Gao Mo shifted into a more comfortable position.
The female colleague's full name was Matsumoto Aya.
She had indeed been his fan for a while, but the kind of fan who hoped for his downfall...
He didn't know when she had become so psychologically twisted. The female colleague had fantasized countless times about the glamorous idol falling from grace, experiencing the cruelty of fate together, going to hell together.
It was also this woman who had introduced the has-been idol to the supermarket job, through an anonymous letter.
At that time, the female colleague seemed to have already had conflicts with the bald manager. No matter what means she used, she couldn't get the bald manager to marry her. The murderous intent had been brewing for a month.
The reason this crime failed could be said to be entirely due to his death and resurrection, his personality having almost completely changed.
Not only did he step forward to overturn the phone call testimony, but he also happened to encounter the murder case next door, blocking the female colleague's escape route. She couldn't even try to shift the blame...
Otherwise, the manager's wife would probably still be under investigation.
"Hah!"
Gao Mo let out a long breath and remained dazed for a long time.
The projected text had disappeared at some point, and 3 stars automatically entered the storage pool.
It was called a green tea guide, but it was more like a murderer's biography.
It wasn't just the manager; the has-been idol's suicide was also part of this woman's plan, though it was supposed to happen after the manager's murder.
When she was taken away by the police in the morning, what angered the female colleague in the end wasn't his sudden accusation, but that he hadn't followed the plan and completely headed for destruction.
It was as if she resented him for walking towards a new life alone.
Truly...
Compared to these people, Gao Mo felt like he was just a child who had just come to understand things.
If he hadn't read Green Tea Guide, he really wouldn't have known his female colleague had so many thoughts.
In a sense, it had also broadened his horizons as a two-lifetime singleton.
Whoosh!
Faintly glowing text once again occupied Gao Mo's vision. It seemed to have a calming effect on his emotions, and Gao Mo's mind quickly became clear and cool.
The upgrade conditions for the Actor profession were met. After deducting 10 stars, the surface of the magazine page shimmered and cracked, revealing the words "lv1."
[Current Actor lv1, new professional ability acquired—Rapid Immersion, Professional Role-Playing System successfully loaded.]
[Actor lv2 upgrade conditions: 20 stars, successfully play 4 roles.]
[Small tip: When hiding fails, a new death can divert His attention.]
[The Death God's mark will not only attract Him, but also those with malice, those lost souls.]
The glowing text continued to float on the surface of the magazine, and at the same time, a large amount of information flooded into Gao Mo's mind.
It was only then that he seemed to see the full picture of the Defier of Fate system.
The Book Badge could lead to the extraordinary, exploring the supernatural realm of the Conan world. Advancing the Book Badge currently required a level 5 profession.
As for professional advancement, it currently seemed to rely mainly on star ratings.
Star ratings were obtained through the mission system.
Missions required participation in cases... No, hiding oneself also seemed to require death cases.
Hiding in plain sight?
That aspect was actually fine; the Conan world was never short of cases.
But "malice" and "lost souls"... was he referring to people like Matsumoto Aya?
One was unbearable, and now there was a whole group...
...
The next tier for the Book Badge was the Silver Badge. It seemed each tier could grant a special ability.
Gao Mo became increasingly curious.
Compared to cases or work, he wanted to witness the extraordinary more.
What would it be like to ultimately achieve the extraordinary...
Would it shatter his worldview?
For now, these mysterious projected texts only affected him, like visual interference, which could barely be explained by science. They hadn't truly demonstrated anything supernatural.
"Eagle Eye Vision" was also just an auxiliary function.
He needed more of the extraordinary, the truly extraordinary, preferably something that could be used against the strange things lurking in the dark—that Him.
Gao Mo's peripheral vision glanced out the window.
He didn't know if it was because of the two murder cases or the Defier of Fate system, but that strange feeling had completely disappeared.
He didn't let his guard down because of this.
This Conan world definitely had problems.
He hadn't attracted "attention" now, but he would definitely face it in the future.
It was impossible to hide forever.
...
Grrrrumble!
After downing a bottle of ice-cold cola, his stomach finally couldn't help but protest.
Only then did Gao Mo remember that he had been hungry all day.
He couldn't rely on the supernatural for now.
He still had to figure out work and life problems himself.
Let's contact Yoko first.
Thinking that Okino Yoko might be working, Gao Mo sent her an email first.
Actor lv1 gained the Rapid Immersion ability. In this industry, it was somewhat of a divine skill. Making a living shouldn't be a problem.
"Send."
After pressing confirm, Gao Mo felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his mind.
Asking for help wasn't a simple matter, especially when the other person was a beautiful junior.
However, in relationships between people, sometimes owing a favor was actually a good thing. Gradually losing contact was what was truly bad.
...
After waiting for a while, there was still no reply.
Yoko seemed to be still busy.
The occasional two phone calls that came in were both sales pitches.
"No! No! I don't need insurance! And I'm not buying a cemetery plot! Do I look like I'm about to die?!"
Angrily hanging up the last call, Gao Mo rubbed his forehead wearily.
For some reason, these kinds of calls were particularly frequent; he couldn't even block them all.
He needed to change his number when he had time, a fresh start.
"Grrrrumble!"
His stomach was still growling.
"It's already so late."
Feeling that he wouldn't receive a reply anytime soon, Gao Mo looked at the time, temporarily put other matters aside, and got up to go out.
First, get something to eat, then go to the citizen's supermarket.
Before he had a new source of income, the 10,000-plus yen needed to be spent carefully. Coincidentally, the large supermarkets nearby all had discounts around this time, a late-night clearance sale, so he could buy some cheap food.
Later, if he couldn't find a job, he would try to sell those luxury items his idol self used to keep up appearances. They were probably worth a bit of money.
There was no need to pretend to be well-off when he wasn't.