Chapter 0 Side Quest Completed

[Special Script Additional Reward: 2% of Current Level Experience Points]

As San Zang and his party were being escorted away by Officer Inu, Feng Bujue and Wang Tanzhi heard the system notification in their ears.

They opened the game menu and glanced at it. The item [Assist Usami in Solving the No-Corpse Murder Case] had already been checked off. Judging from the results, the reward for this side event was experience points, not the skill points from the main event; Kuma Yoshi's hatred level did not increase as a result of solving the case.

"Very good, this mission is much easier than the main one," Feng Bujue commented as he looked at the game menu.

"But... Brother Jue, you're really amazing. At a time when the situation was rapidly deteriorating, you used a simple instigation to reverse the situation," Xiao Tan added.

"Well... because I have a decent understanding of the original work, I can probably figure out... how to deal with the characters in this 'Hiyori Universe'," Feng Bujue said in a deep voice. "Apart from a few characters with relatively normal IQs and values... like Sora-kun (Kawai Sora), Hirata-kun (Hirata Hirao), and Imoko (Ono no Imoko)... most of the other characters have a certain degree of comedic buffoonery." He explained seriously, "In other words... when necessary, as long as you subtly hint at something, they will say or do things full of flaws."

"The so-called comedic role instinct..." Xiao Tan's expression also became inexplicably serious.

"That's right, it's like that urge to 'step on a banana peel and fall down in an exaggerated way'..." Feng Bujue continued, "Most of the characters in this world have this attribute, including Usami... She often makes requests to Kuma Yoshi without any concern, such as 'There haven't been any cases recently, why don't you jump off the building for a bit?' And her 'staring expression'... these are all characteristics that create flaws in the character. She herself is not aware of the existence of this attribute, nor can she change it."

"Oh..." Xiao Tan nodded. "I think I understand a little... why Kuma Yoshi commits crimes so frequently and gets arrested so often..."

"Neko Saburo, Hayabusa Taro, get ready to go."

Just as the two were communicating, Usami, Nyami, and Kuma Yoshi had re-equipped themselves. At this time, Nyami, who was closest to them, turned her head and called out to them.

"Oh, coming," Feng Bujue replied loudly, and then walked over with Xiao Tan.

"Eh? There's no scene transition this time..." Wang Tanzhi said softly as he walked.

"That means... something else is going to happen..." Feng Bujue replied softly.

............

Thirty minutes later...

The five companions arrived at a scenic (in the style of this world) spot.

Here, hundreds of flowers were in full bloom, the water and mountains were beautiful, the breeze was warm, and the birds sang sweetly. It was indeed a good place for a picnic.

The five had been walking for so long that they were a little tired, and it was a good place to rest on the grass and have a meal.

"Ah! Oh no! I was running too fast to catch up with everyone, and all the honey in my bag spilled out, making everything sticky!"

As soon as Nyami spread the picnic cloth on the ground, Kuma Yoshi couldn't wait to open his backpack, but... the moment he opened it, he said this line with a look of frustration.

"What an idiot," Usami looked at him condescendingly, "Don't expect me to share my food with you."

"Eh--" Kuma Yoshi said aggrievedly, "That's... that's too cold, Usami-chan!"

"Alright, alright..." Xiao Tan saw that Kuma Yoshi was pitiful, so he patted the latter on the shoulder and said, "I'll share some of my food with you."

"Ah! You're such a good person!" Kuma Yoshi immediately looked at Wang Tanzhi with grateful eyes.

[Kuma Yoshi's Hatred Level towards you -2%] At the same time, a system notification sounded in Xiao Tan's ear.

"Oh? So this is how I can reduce his hatred towards me..." Xiao Tan thought to himself, "Although I still don't know what the meaning of this 'hatred level' is, it feels like... the lower the better."

While he was thinking, he had already squatted down on the picnic cloth and took off the backpack from his shoulder (after the last scene transition, Xiao Tan and Brother Jue had backpacks on their shoulders. Before they met San Zang and his disciples, the two had checked each other's bags, and they were filled with very ordinary food).

"Well... let me see..." Xiao Tan took out the things in his backpack one by one. There were two bento boxes and two boxes of drinks. The drinks were all in cardboard boxes with straws attached. When Brother Jue helped Xiao Tan check his backpack earlier, he analyzed it... "Hayabusa Taro's" "wing hands" probably couldn't unscrew bottle caps, and his bird beak couldn't drink well through bottle openings, so... he could only drink this kind of packaged drink.

"I have two bentos, I'll give you one," Xiao Tan took out everything in his backpack, then casually picked one up and handed it to Kuma Yoshi.

"Too... thank you so much!" Kuma Yoshi said with tears of gratitude, taking the bento and saying, "I will definitely repay your kindness!"

"Heh... haha... no need," Xiao Tan replied with a dry laugh.

At this moment, he suddenly felt that, apart from various criminal acts... Kuma Yoshi was quite a cute character.

Of course... this brief affection would soon disappear.

............

Five minutes later...

"Ah, Usami-chan, you didn't even chew the fish roe properly, and you swallowed the whole herring in one gulp!" Seeing Usami's eating habits, Kuma Yoshi couldn't help but show a troubled look.

"You're eating other people's food, and you're still criticizing their eating habits?" Usami turned her head and glared at Kuma Yoshi, replying unhappily.

"Hey hey... Kuma Yoshi is eating my food..." Xiao Tan thought to himself, "Why does this guy's tone... sound like she's eating her stuff..."

"By the way... Kuma Yoshi..." Feng Bujue then said, "Since your backpack is all dirty with honey, why don't you go wash it by the little river over there? It's uncomfortable to carry it on your back when it's sticky, and it'll be harder to wash off the longer you leave it, right?"

"Ah, that makes sense," Kuma Yoshi was stunned for a moment, then nodded in response, "Then I'll go wash it."

With that, he stood up, picked up the backpack on the grass, and went to a small river a few meters away.

"Brother Jue... what are you..." Xiao Tan turned to look at Feng Bujue and asked tentatively.

"Minimize his contact with Usami and Nyami," Brother Jue replied in a low voice, "So he doesn't accidentally reveal any evidence again..."

"Yeah... good idea," Xiao Tan also replied in a low voice.

"Eh? Nyami-chan," Usami seemed to have discovered something and said to Nyami, "Why aren't you wearing socks?"

"Oh..." Nyami frowned and replied, "Actually... my house was burglarized last night."

As soon as they heard the word "burglarized," Brother Jue and Xiao Tan's expressions instantly became serious. Their first reaction was... "Kuma Yoshi did it, right."

"Is it a burglary... did you call the police?" Usami continued, "Do you need me to..."

"No need, Usami-chan," Nyami explained, "Only my socks were stolen, nothing else was lost."

As soon as these words came out, Usami's eyes became sharp again, "What did you say!" she said loudly, and suddenly turned her head to look at Kuma Yoshi in the distance.

Then... she got up and rushed towards the latter.

"Don't be impulsive!" Brother Jue and Xiao Tan reacted almost at the same time and took off in pursuit.

"You perverted bear!" Usami ran towards Kuma Yoshi, shouting loudly.

Kuma Yoshi, who was washing his backpack by the river, heard the sound and looked back, immediately startled, "Eh? What's wrong? What's going on?"

"A thief broke into Usami's house yesterday and stole her socks!" Usami said as she ran, and in the blink of an eye, she was in front of Kuma Yoshi.

"Hey... what does that have to do with me, why are you rushing towards me with that suspicious look on your face?" Kuma Yoshi asked with a lot of sweat on his face.

"According to my deduction..." Usami's eyes were shining with golden light, "Five hundred percent it was you, you stinky bear!" As she spoke, she stepped forward and grabbed Kuma Yoshi's arm, "It's in your hands, right! Hand it over!"

"No... it wasn't me... I didn't..." Kuma Yoshi struggled and retreated all the way as he defended himself.

Unexpectedly... a few seconds later, he slipped and fell into the river with a "plop"...