Because Lin Yu's acting skills were excellent and his appearance was quite good.
So, even though it was her first time meeting Lin Yu, Xia Yue's colleague developed an inexplicable sense of trust in him and almost unconditionally believed everything he said.
She instinctively told Lin Yu everything she knew about the circumstances of Xia Yue's death in complete detail.
"Xia Yue... passed away due to an accident."
"That afternoon, she was alone in the clinic seeing patients when the store owner received a client's call and went out to pick up a pet."
"According to the store owner, when she returned, she found Xia Yue lying in a pool of blood with a terrible wound on her neck."
"She had lost too much blood and fell into a coma... The store owner immediately called for an ambulance and sent her to the hospital."
"The doctors performed emergency treatment for a while, but she never stabilized."
"Finally..."
"Later the store owner called the police, and many officers came to the clinic. For some reason, the surveillance footage from that afternoon showed as corrupted."
"After investigation, it was concluded that Xia Yue had likely fainted due to low blood sugar and accidentally cut her neck on the edge of an iron shelf."
As Xia Yue's colleague reached this point, her expression once again showed complex emotions of sorrow and fear.
"Sometimes I feel... human life is really fragile."
"She died for such an absurd reason, when she was such a good person with such bright prospects..."
As she spoke, Lin Yu also sighed.
"Yes... but what's gone is gone. Please accept my condolences and take care of yourself."
"Well, thank you for being willing to tell me all this."
Saying this, Lin Yu stood up and left the pet hospital.
His mood was indeed somewhat heavy, and not entirely because of his acting.
This was another instance where Lin Yu directly witnessed the influence of the 'Death Game' in reality.
Although Lin Yu had died around midnight and joined the game, not only those who die at midnight can become players.
Anyone who dies at any time will enter the game at midnight that day—and if they win the game, they will revive after "midnight."
Even if the body no longer exists, the game can reverse cause and effect, essentially rewriting reality to make that person alive again while making everyone around ignore the fact that the player had previously died.
Just like how Lin Yu had clearly jumped off the building but returned to the rooftop.
For someone like "Xia Yue" who only experienced one game, her "death" would still be overlooked by ordinary people who aren't 'players'.
Lin Yu clearly knew that Xia Yue had died at the hands of Fluoxetine.
But...
Xia Yue's colleague actually believed this reason that even she found somewhat "absurd"—that her neck happened to get cut when she fell.
Lin Yu had reason to suspect that if he really died by Fluoxetine's hand, when his body was discovered the next day, the police wouldn't suspect gunshot wounds but would attribute it to some other cause.
From the moment they become 'players', they truly become lingering remnants of life, souls that shouldn't exist in this world.
However, Lin Yu's investigation and digging into Xia Yue's circumstances was still not finished.
He rode his bicycle to a residential community.
Taking a bag of freshly bought fruit and a box of milk from the bicycle basket, Lin Yu smiled and greeted the security guard, entering the not-too-strictly controlled community with the excuse of "visiting relatives."
This was a community with tall buildings and narrow spacing between them. In this era where "skyscrapers" no longer necessarily signify luxury and prosperity, this sufficiently indicated that this community wasn't the high-end expensive type.
In fact, this was indeed an area of "resettlement housing."
Lin Yu arrived in front of one of the buildings, opened the unit door, took the elevator, and went up to the fifth floor.
The layout of six households per floor made the elevator area quite cramped. Lin Yu carried the fruit and milk to the end unit 506 and gently knocked on the door.
"Knock knock!"
"Who is it? Coming!"
A clear response came from inside, then the door of the resettlement housing opened.
A somewhat haggard middle-aged woman wearing a blue floral print shirt looked somewhat surprised as she examined the tall, handsome young man before her, her eyes showing some confusion.
"You are..."
Looking at the woman who bore five or six similarities to Xia Yue but was older, Lin Yu showed a gentle smile on his face.
"Auntie, hello, I'm a friend of Xia Yue's."
When the woman heard Xia Yue's name, a flash of shock appeared in her eyes.
"Xiao Yue's friend? Please come in quickly! How should I address you?"
She quickly opened the door wider and invited Lin Yu to come in and sit.
"Just call me Xiao Lin."
Lin Yu smiled and nodded.
Then, Xia Yue's mother noticed what Lin Yu was carrying in his hands and quickly spoke again.
"Just leave those things by the door, auntie doesn't really need these."
Lin Yu walked through the door, smiling and shaking his head: "No, auntie, Xia Yue told me she has a younger sister at home. These are for the child."
"The fruits are dragon fruit and blueberries, good for brain development."
"The milk is imported too. Children need milk for growth."
"It's just a small gesture... please don't refuse, auntie. I already feel guilty for taking so long to visit."
With a few words, Lin Yu eliminated any possibility of Xia Yue's mother refusing again.
The thin middle-aged woman could only speak somewhat awkwardly: "I'm sorry to have you spend money like this..."
She bent down and took a pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet—women's style.
Xia Yue's mother looked up somewhat embarrassed: "This... maybe you don't need to change, we don't usually have guests."
"These are just what Xiao Yue used to wear..."
Looking at the clean tiled floor, Lin Yu changed into the pink plastic slippers that didn't quite fit and entered the room.
"It's fine, auntie. Slippers don't need to fit perfectly."
He walked into the room and placed the fruit and milk on the shelf by the kitchen door.
Then, Xia Yue's mother pointed to the living room sofa.
"Please sit first. I'll get you a glass of water!"
As she spoke, she hurried toward the kitchen.
Lin Yu nodded and slowly walked to the living room.
In the living room was a small memorial altar with two sets of black-and-white photos, spirit tablets, and an urn.
The one on the left was of an adult man, apparently placed there quite some time ago.
And the one on the right...
Was newly placed—a young girl with a lively, cute smile and gentle features.
This was naturally Xia Yue and her father.
The spirit tablets, memorial photos, and small table for offerings were all wiped clean, with incense sticks burning quietly in the incense burner.
Someone must have been carefully cleaning this area every day.
Lin Yu sat silently on the opposite sofa. Soon...
Xia Yue's mother came out with a cup of tea.
"I don't know if you're used to chrysanthemum tea. If you young people don't like this, I can go downstairs to the supermarket to buy some cola or something."
As Mother Xia spoke, Lin Yu quickly waved his hand.
"No need, auntie. I'm used to drinking tea."
He took the chrysanthemum tea and took a sip.
Xia Yue's mother sat on the sofa opposite Lin Yu, noticed he was sitting across from the memorial altar, and smiled silently.
"The space at home is limited, so we placed her together with her father."
Then, Mother Xia changed the subject: "So... Xiao Lin, your visit this time..."
Lin Yu nodded gently.
"I came to see how you're doing, but I also have a request that might be somewhat excessive..."
"Auntie, I'd like to see Xia Yue's remains or ashes."
"She's probably not here, is she?"