Chapter 74: Chapter 74: A Well-Developed Camera
The original inhabitants of the Dungeon Plane have ominous work habits, preferring to work late into the night.
What if a cargo ship docks in the dead of night, and how do you handle loading and unloading? Do the mailmen ever sleep?
Fortunately, his Will is high enough that going a few days without sleep doesn’t affect his mental state. For an ordinary person, even if the dungeon were not dangerous, working thirty nights straight would still lead to mental exhaustion.
The mailman’s mailbag can restore Will, possibly designed for working late hours.
However, Wu Chang quickly realized he had misunderstood the post office’s cargo ship.
Not because the ship had its own workers, sparing the mailmen from working overtime.
But rather, the guys on the ship had no intention of loading or unloading cargo at all.
Looking through the eyes of True Self, he saw two burly men appear on the ship’s deck. They lifted a wooden crate, shouted "one, two, three," and casually tossed the crate overboard.
The crate landed upright on the beach, half of it soaking in the water.
Like throwing away garbage, the cargo ship left the harbor without pause.
It’s as if the island of Briff has something dirty, and staying one second longer would result in contamination.
Seriously, is this how careless your planar deliveries are?
Such violent handling, the complaint system is useless, isn’t it?
It’s just as well that they left quickly. If Matty’s group saw such actions, they’d turn the ship’s crew into blood eagles and send them flying one by one.
Wu Chang arrived at the port and dragged the crate out of the water.
The crate was well-sealed, with no water inside. It wasn’t small but contained only three packages.
The recipients were: Mayor Harrison, Sheriff Morena, and grocer owner Matty.
All heavyweights.
As Matty mentioned earlier, the packages had arrived, and it was time to fulfill the predecessor’s Blood-Colored Will.
On his return, while passing by the beach, he saw Sword Star and the assistants standing together. Spirit Fox noticed him and waved in greeting.
Seeing them, Wu Chang remembered that Sword Star mentioned upon entering the dungeon yesterday that they’d meet daily to verify information.
Among the Management Bureau group, he was the last to arrive.
After him, the Ranger and Bald Head of the Iron Armor Corps arrived, weighed down with some concerns.
After waiting a while, seeing no more arrivals, Sword Star began the night’s information exchange.
Apparently, the order was decided before Wu Chang’s arrival, starting with the assistant from Dongyang City.
"The profession I was randomly assigned is a kitchen back of house in a restaurant. The owner is a workaholic, constantly watching me, giving me almost no chance to rest or gather information."
"But during lunch break, I heard from the waitstaff that the owner is competing for a very important spot, so he must work hard enough."
The second to speak was Hamster.
As the incident rate on Briff Island was zero, her job as a trainee officer was quite relaxed.
"But I feel the island isn’t as safe as it seems. I secretly went through the case records, finding that in the past thirty days, four outsiders have committed suicide in unusual ways."
Hamster looked up at Wu Chang and Sword Star and said:
"For instance, the previous mailman died by self-inflicted letter opener injury. Besides suicides, there were also accidental deaths, such as the former reporter dying from heatstroke."
To note, Briff Island has a standard oceanic climate, mild in winter and cool in summer, with frequent rainfall.
Dying from heatstroke here is indeed a most unexpected accidental death.
Besides the two, others gathered little information.
Spirit Fox, having listened to Wu Chang, is staying put in the Great Cathedral, which rarely touches on outside matters, only organizing periodic prayers and listening to townspeople’s confessions.
However, she has yet to access any of these.
Gale’s profession is lighthouse keeper, undergoing a handover with the old keeper.
For the second level and above of the lighthouse, the keys remain with the old keeper. Only after a ten-day apprenticeship and passing an assessment can he formally become the keeper and access the upper areas.
Iron Face’s job is as a sailor, and he has it the toughest.
The sailors have a strict hierarchical system, with him being a newbie, spending a whole day scrubbing the deck without a break.
The worst part is the old employees aren’t even on board, leaving him no chance to eavesdrop for information.
Overall, these novices find just completing their jobs challenging, collecting little useful intel.
When it came to Wu Chang’s turn, he simply pulled out the leftover clippings from the previous mailman, offering bits of the Dungeon World’s general background, which thoroughly satisfied Sword Star.
Before Sword Star could speak, the Ranger, who had been listening silently, couldn’t help himself. Staring at Sword Star, he said with unusual seriousness:
"These trivial details are no help to us. We need truly useful information, the intel you’re withholding."
Sword Star frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Cold Stone, who entered with us, is missing. You warned us multiple times upon entering the dungeon about its importance; you must know something, right?"
The Iron Armor Corps trio is close-knit. For Cold Stone’s sake, the Ranger’s tone turned hostile, suggesting that if Sword Star remained silent, it might lead to a confrontation.
For Sword Star, clearing the dungeon is paramount. Not knowing what tricks the Evil God followers lurking in the shadows might play, he must seize every opportunity for Power.
After a brief hesitation, he revealed the matter of the Deep Water Society.
However, to prevent Wu Chang and other rookies from becoming too despondent, he downplayed it, saying it was a regular dungeon strategy group, not a B-Level exploration team entering the dungeon.
As for crucial details about professions and work, they stemmed from two mentally unstable, now-contained Deep Water Society players.
The word they repeated most was work.
Due to two malicious incidents, the Management Bureau traced back the threat to the Peaceful Town, sounding plausible.
Sword Star even mentioned the specific name Deep Water Society, adding credibility to the information.
Coupled with their task of advising Cold Stone not to work temporarily aligning with Sword Star’s repeated emphasis on work, the Ranger questioned while expressing doubt: "So you’re suggesting Cold Stone’s disappearance is due to his lack of effort?"
At this point, the assistant from Dongyang City raised a hand and softly said, "I’ve seen your companion."
The Ranger stepped forward immediately, "Where? When?"
"At dusk, in the restaurant."
The assistant recounted the happenings in the restaurant, listening to which, the Ranger remained silent for a while, then left the beach with Bald Head.
Once they were far away, Wu Chang muttered loud enough for everyone to hear:
"Are they freeloading on the information?"
Sword Star wasn’t concerned and started sharing the intel he’d gathered once they left.
He opened a wooden box, like a small travel suitcase, from his portable space. A thick lens protruded from the front of the box, with a heavy tripod fixed below.
He shared the item’s description with everyone.
「Item Name: Fully Automatic Camera.」
「Item Type: Dungeon Items.」
「Artifact Level: D.」
「Item Skills: Snapshot.」
「Skill Description: As a matured camera, it will dig out big news on its own, capturing unexpected photos. However, sometimes the photos may bring bad luck to the user.」
「Note: Although this camera is only for journalists, it acts on its own to complete its work, sometimes losing control and snapping everything it perceives.」
Sword Star took out more than twenty black-and-white photos, with tiny annotations stating the shooting locations on each bottom corner.
"This camera is the journalist’s exclusive tool, capable of capturing supernatural photos unseen by the naked eye. I suspect these photos hide critical clues. Have a look, try to remember them."
Wu Chang flipped through the photos, casually asking, "Are these all the abnormal areas on the island?"
Sword Star smiled wryly and said, "Not even close. This set is just a small part. Each time the camera shoots, my temporary Inspiration cap increases by 0.5. Just taking these almost made my Inspiration go haywire."
Wu Chang, keeping a calm demeanor, reviewed the photos. When turning the page over a photo titled "In Front of the Great Cathedral," his gaze paused.
In his eyes, this photo was in color.
To be precise, in red.
A red filled with resentment.