My daughter has been possessed.

Chapter 18 Game Theory

Li Jiuhe stared at Li Yi in shock.

He also recalled that in the "Hunting the Terror Eaters" mission, the mission information indicated that the Terror Eaters were Level I Sequencers.

In other words, Level I should be the most basic Sequencer, while the World Destroyer Level that Li Yi mentioned is Level V, which should be a level marked with Roman numerals.

Unexpectedly, Li Yi in the future would be facing a Sequencer with such terrifying strength.

After listening to Li Yi's explanation, Li Jiuhe roughly understood what had happened to her.

Regardless of whether these experiences are true or false, they at least explained the most basic cause and effect, clarifying his long-standing doubts.

"Dad, you don't know much about Sequencers. You should know that humans aren't the only ones who can become Sequencers; everything in this world has the potential to become one!"

Li Yi continued, "Some Sequencers are completely devoid of humanity; their very existence is a disaster. Humanity is already under serious threat in this regard. Twenty years from now, I will be working at the Special Events Investigation Bureau, though not as an investigator."

"You also work for the Investigation Bureau?" Li Jiuhe stared at him with wide eyes.

"It seems you've already heard of the Special Events Investigation Bureau." Li Yi nodded. "But I'm not a Sequencer, so I can't become an investigator. Instead, I do intelligence gathering at the Bureau, though my workplace is at the Capital Headquarters."

"You just said that the combination of the Morning Bell of the Second Seventh and the Tongue of the Fear Eater can kill that powerful Sequencer in the future. So what role does the Morning Bell of the Second Seventh play?" Li Jiuhe asked.

Li Yi replied, "It can activate the Devouring Power of the Tongue of the Dead, dealing a devastating blow to that World Destroyer-level Sequence Being. Of course, it also needs to be combined with some other items from the future, but these two items are currently crucial, and I must bring them back."

"You said your life is threatened. Is that world-destroying sequence being targeting you?" Li Jiuhe asked again.

Li Yi nodded: "It's not just me, the entire headquarters in the capital has become his target. Currently, everyone in our headquarters is trapped. One of the investigators at headquarters has the ability to trace causes and effects, and he found a breakthrough with me. Now they are pinning all their hopes on me."

"What will I be doing at that time in the future?"

"You're also an investigator, but not at headquarters. You're on a mission somewhere else and didn't have time to return to headquarters to rescue us."

Li Jiuhe listened to Li Yi's explanation while pondering, nodding occasionally.

It seems that all the doubts have been reasonably explained, and this Li Yi really is his daughter from twenty years in the future.

My previous doubts about her did not take into account the fact that the butterfly effect could alter historical events.

Just then, Li Yi suddenly paused, as if she had remembered something.

She looked at Li Jiuhe suspiciously: "Dad, are you on a mission? This is... how many times have you asked me this?"

Li Jiuhe's heart skipped a beat. He knew that Li Yi was well aware of his abilities as a "task definer." She knew everything about him, even the most basic functions.

Therefore, it's inevitable to doubt oneself at this moment.

With a calm expression, Li Jiuhe shook his head, feigning surprise: "No, it was just a simple inquiry. I didn't intend to define this as a mission."

After saying these words, he felt a pang of guilt.

I never imagined that I would one day become so estranged from my grown-up daughter, and that she would lie to my face.

This made him feel very uncomfortable, but subconsciously he didn't want his daughter to know that he was actually on a mission at that moment.

The moment the thought crossed my mind, I quickly reset the task.

The scene before him changed instantly, and Li Jiuhe was back in the bathroom.

The tap was running, and he looked down at the gushing water.

Now that the objective has been achieved, there is no need to continue the task of confirming the daughter's true identity. For now, all that is needed is to ensure that the clever Li Yi doesn't realize he has already completed the task once after leaving the bathroom.

This long talk with Li Yi has largely resolved Li Jiuhe's doubts.

He can now hand over the Tongue of the Fear Eater to Li Yi.

Quickly composing himself and maintaining a natural facial expression, Li Jiuhe walked out of the bathroom carrying a small black plastic bag.

Li Yi's expression was indeed surprised, her gaze fixed on Li Jiuhe's face, as if trying to discern his thoughts.

"Look, this is the tongue of that ravenous creature."

The words appeared before my eyes immediately after I said those words.

[Your current actions have been detected as insufficient to ensure the task completes properly.]

[Warning: The mission has been forcibly terminated! You will not receive any rewards.]

Li Jiuhe understood that by voluntarily giving up continuing the mission, he had essentially made the mission a failure.

Therefore, he naturally did not receive any reward.

He tossed the plastic bag onto the coffee table and sat down with a grave expression: "This is the first time your old man has ever killed someone for you... and cruelly cut off that person's tongue."

He said this to cover up his unusual behavior after entering the house.

Li Yi carefully opened the plastic bag and took a look, then breathed a sigh of relief.

She then corrected him, saying, "If you've seen the photos of the people killed by those with cannibalism, you won't think you're cruel."

She then leaned over and gently placed her small hand on the back of Li Jiuhe's right hand: "Dad, it's okay. In the future, you were destined to be an outstanding special ability user. Taking down an unforgivable food-fearing person was just the first step. You've just taken that step ahead of time."

Li Jiuhe nodded slightly: "What are you planning to do now?"

Li Yi seemed not to hear him, and suddenly glanced at the clock on the wall: "Dad, what time did you get back?"

Li Jiuhe was taken aback, a slight sense of defensiveness rising within her. She replied naturally, "I've only been back for five or six minutes. I didn't notice the time. What's wrong?"

Li Yi smiled and shook her head: "It's okay, I was steaming egg custard in the kitchen, just worried it would go too long."

"Then go take a look quickly." Li Jiuhe nodded, got up and walked towards his bedroom.

Li Yi asked from behind him, "How many times did you reset to take down this food-fearing creature?"

"Fortunately, it was done in two tries." Li Jiuhe said without turning his head, "It's mainly because your Silver Erosion Dagger is so powerful."

He stopped, took out a dagger from his bag, and asked Li Yi, "Do you still want this dagger?"

Li Yi nodded: "Yes, this is the only one I have right now. My body is too weak right now, and I need to keep it for self-defense."

Li Jiuhe didn't ask any further questions, handed the dagger to her, and then returned to his bedroom.

"Dad, you've worked so hard!"

Li Yi put the dagger into her small cloth bag, glanced at the clock on the wall, and then subtly looked at her mother's purple wristwatch, paying special attention to the time on it.

Before long, she stuffed the tongue of the cannibalistic ghost, along with the plastic bag, into the small pink cloth bag, got up, and went into the kitchen.

Li Jiuhe didn't eat anything at noon, but went back to his bedroom and took a nap.

He felt very tired, not physically, but mentally exhausted, and it seemed like he was dreaming the whole time.

I dreamt that the police came to arrest me because I had killed someone. I also dreamt that someone with a phobia of eating, covered in blood, walked into my bedroom just like Yao Yujie had done, wanting to take revenge on me.

The person with cannibalism stood by his bedside, mouth agape, revealing a blood-filled, tongueless oral cavity, emitting terrifying screams.

When he suddenly woke up, he found that it was already afternoon.

I sat on the bed for a while to recover.

Li Jiuhe suddenly realized that the room was too quiet, and he couldn't hear a sound from his daughter.

Instead, a faint flute sound reached their ears.