BE starts from the substitute - Chapter 4-Part 1
Chapter 4: Investigator (04)-Part 1
How to Clear the High-Risk Strategy Game with a Hellish Start?
The most important point is to survive.
Miss Rich has verified Capper’s danger through eight consecutive painful deaths. Chu Xia must create a reason why he can’t kill her.
That reason is the potion in her hand.
It is the key item in the game’s main storyline.
Yes, the game “Heartbeat” does have a main storyline.
Apart from the purely romantic [Civilian Faction], the other two factions—Chu Xia’s [Investigator Faction] and Capper’s [Organization Faction]—are more or less involved in this main storyline.
Taking Chu Xia’s [Investigator Faction] as an example, if she follows the official storyline, the plot develops as follows:
For some unknown reason, the underground world of this city has fallen into chaos. As a [New Investigator], the protagonist (also the official partner) investigates the matter under the guidance of the seniors. They discover that the focal point of the struggle is a potion rumored to have the miraculous ability to revive the dead.
Following the clues, the protagonist and the partner begin their investigation…
After a series of events, the bond between the protagonist and the partner continues to grow.
In the final ending, the two obtain the potion but are ambushed by assassins nearby. The partner takes the bullet for the protagonist, with the bullet hitting the center of the heart.
In despair, the protagonist injects the partner with the potion in hand.
Under the effect of the potion, the wound on the heart slowly heals, and the partner utters the famous line that serves as the game’s title, [“My heart beats for you.”]
The above is the most orthodox route of the game, also known as the “beginner tutorial level.”
If players choose the [Organization Faction], the official storyline is similar, with the mainline being “recovering the lost potion” for the organization.
Throughout the entire strategy route, Capper’s presence, aside from the initial surveillance video segment, is also felt at the end of the story.
It was still a segment of surveillance footage, but this time, the roles inside and outside the frame were reversed. The surveillance showed the scene of “the protagonist injecting the partner with the potion and the partner coming back to life.”
In the pitch-black screening room, the crimson fireworks flickered.
After a while, a voice full of interest echoed in the darkness: “The experiment… actually succeeded?”
The projection light illuminated the files casually thrown aside, and the partner’s information transformed into printed letters neatly arranged on the white paper. The annotation on top read—
[Subject TX-345xxxx
Name: Yin Han
Age: 27
Occupation: Alliance Investigator (Provisional Level One)
…
Status: Alive
…]
At the end of this detailed information series, the column labeled “Weakness” conspicuously displayed the protagonist’s name.
This potion, causing turmoil in the underground world, turned out to be an experimental prototype still in progress. Yin Han, who accidentally received the injection, became a rare surviving experimental subject, being secretly monitored and even plotted against, with the protagonist used as a means of control.
The plot delivered by the official source at the end was clearly a setup for a sequel.
However, it also indicated another point: surviving experimental subjects were extremely valuable.
The moment Chu Xia seized the potion, she quickly saved the game.
The main storyline information didn’t reveal the conditions for the potion to take effect, so Chu Xia could only gamble on Miss Rich’s god-tier account with a staggering 80 points in [Luck].
If this save didn’t work, she would have to repeat the save-scumming process.
As long as the player had enough perseverance, even a one-in-a-million random chance could be achieved through repeated attempts.
With the potion in hand, Chu Xia instantly became the focus of attention inside the private room.
Unlike the vigilance towards the “accident” when she was at the entrance earlier, the gazes entwining her now truly carried a thick intent to kill.
Chu Xia heard an extremely subtle “click” sound.
Behind the side sofa, the black-clad, strong man, who had been standing quietly, loaded his gun.
As this movement occurred, the previously four or five muzzles aimed at different lethal positions on Chu Xia were all retracted. Clearly, the people in this room had distinct levels.
The black-clad, strong man ultimately didn’t pull the trigger.
Before he could make a move, a hand was raised from the front to the side, with long and well-defined fingers. A beautiful hand, though not delicate, had some fine scars on the knuckles and the back, where calluses from guns and knives were visible.
The index finger raised slightly and curled, and behind him, the black-clad, strong man holstered his gun.
Someone with this aura and status could only be Capper.
Unlike the entirely black attire from that day in the alley, he was wearing a white shirt this time. The sleeves were casually rolled up to the elbows, and two buttons at the collar were undone, revealing a pendant hanging from a black cord around his neck. It looked like a plaque, but it hung deeper, making it hard to discern.
Chu Xia dared not scrutinize further; she feared her expression might give away something unusual.
“Becoming a passerby experimental subject” and “becoming an investigator experimental subject” were two different difficulty levels in the strategy. Chu Xia was currently trying hard to disguise herself as the former, immersing herself in her performance.
Facing this person, who seemed to have the highest status in the room, the woman, after the initial relief of being saved, quickly showed a mixture of fear and caution.
The young man with deep emerald eyes casually extinguished his cigarette and stood up.
He was broad-shouldered and tall, and as he stood up, he seemed even taller than the already-burly man behind him.
The young man took a step forward.
The sound of the hard sole hitting the floor was absorbed completely by the carpet, and although his movement forward was soundless, the approaching proximity brought an overwhelming sense of pressure.
The woman, who had already fallen to the ground due to the earlier incident, instinctively moved back, propping herself up with her arms.
