Chapter 1 Somber

After entering the room and closing the door, Feng Bujue's expression immediately became serious.

"Not good..." he muttered to himself, "It really is Zuo Yan and Vidocq..."

Clearly, Brother Jue knew the man and the cat.

"Although I know that the script sometimes randomly generates based on the player's memories and various images or written products existing in the real world, but..." Feng Bujue leaned against the door and continued, "To encounter characters from the novel I wrote... this is a bit subtle..."

That's right, Zuo Yan and Vidocq, who appeared before Brother Jue, were the protagonists of his book *Second-Rate Detective and Cat*. That's why, the moment he saw them, he felt a sense of familiarity, yet also a sense of never having met them before.

"So the question is..." Feng Bujue muttered, walking towards the bed, "With these two around... how can I survive until chapter thirty-three..."

This was indeed a very serious question, because each case in *Second-Rate Detective and Cat* was only about fifteen to twenty thousand words long. Converted into *Terror Paradise* chapters, even if each chapter was very short, it could only last for eight or nine chapters at most.

"Or..." In the few seconds it took him to walk from the door to the bed, a bad idea had already formed in Brother Jue's mind, "...should I try to capture Vidocq first?"

As the author, Feng Bujue had a great advantage, which was that he knew his characters inside and out. Therefore, the first idea he came up with was to take care of the "cat" first.

Brother Jue knew very well that Zuo Yan wasn't much of a threat. After all... this kid was just a "second-rate detective."

But Vidocq was different...

When Feng Bujue wrote this character... no... cat-character, he didn't just give him the name of the "King of Detectives" (François Eugène Vidocq was a real person, a true legend, and many famous detectives in later literary works drew inspiration from Vidocq's image). He also went to great lengths to imbue this cat with plug-in-like detective abilities... In fact, the character Vidocq was originally created as a "plug-in" for the protagonist, Zuo Yan.

This British Shorthair cat was basically the "apex of detectives" in terms of setting. He was a master of infiltration, a tracking expert, a lie detection master, and he was proficient in criminal psychology, forensic anthropology, forensic science, and many other specialties... In short, he had reached the grandmaster level in all the knowledge and abilities that were helpful to the profession of "detective." If he lived in the DC universe, Batman would probably have been exposed, arrested on the spot, prosecuted on multiple counts, and ultimately thrown into an asylum to serve his sentence.

If you were to ask him why he was so ruthless to Bruce Wayne, he would answer you, "Because I am the greatest detective in the world, meow."

"Anyway, as a cat... his weakness is obvious." Feng Bujue sat down on the bed, and at the same time, he conveniently took a can of tuna out of his coat pocket and began to examine it. This can was something he had swiped from a roadside stall this afternoon while collecting information on the island. Without a doubt... it was a can produced by Herbert Corporation. "Use this as bait to catch him..." While pondering, Brother Jue's gaze shifted to the small refrigerator in the room. "Then lock him in the refrigerator, unplug it, and lock the door... As long as I leave a little gap for him to breathe, he shouldn't die."

His plan seemed simple and crude, but in reality, it was still highly feasible, but there were still some technical problems.

For example... how to lure Vidocq away from Zuo Yan, and how to ensure that Vidocq wouldn't be discovered after being imprisoned?

According to the novel's setting, among humans, only Zuo Yan could communicate with Vidocq in a "spiritual dialogue"-like manner. Although this communication had a distance limit, apart from distance, their dialogue wouldn't be affected by other "factors that hinder the transmission of sound."

For example, if Zuo Yan and Vidocq were placed in two soundproof rooms, with only a wall between them, they could still have a normal conversation. But if the distance between the two was increased to the point where ordinary people would need to shout to hear each other, then even if there were no obstructions between them, mental communication couldn't be established.

"Hmm... ignoring the walls and doors, the net distance from the refrigerator to the corridor is only about five meters." Feng Bujue quickly realized the problem. "If I were Vidocq, after being caught and imprisoned, I would immediately start shouting for help using 'mental communication', and keep shouting, anyway, it wouldn't strain my throat... Considering that Zuo Yan lives on this floor, he will inevitably pass through the corridor outside the door. At any moment, as long as he approaches this room, he will hear the cries for help."

Thinking of this, Brother Jue's "refrigerator plan" was basically overturned.

"Or... I could take him to a place further away, to make sure no one can find him before I complete the script..." Feng Bujue then muttered, "Or... just get rid of him..." At this point, he shook his head almost instinctively, "No, no, that's just too low..."

What he was talking about "getting rid of" at this moment was naturally killing Vidocq. This would be easier than imprisoning Vidocq. Even if it was exposed, killing a cat wouldn't constitute a criminal offense. At most, the police would make him pay money to the cat's owner.

Objectively speaking, killing Vidocq was indeed a simple, extremely effective strategy that could help Brother Jue clear the game smoothly.

But... this was also a strategy that Feng Bujue would never implement.

No matter how this world defined it, in Brother Jue's heart, Vidocq wasn't a cat, but a detective. He was one of the two most challenging opponents Brother Jue had ever encountered in the realm of intelligence (the other being Woody), and also one of the very few characters who could make Feng Bujue put himself in the position of a "weakling" to devise strategies.

Right now, Feng Bujue already possessed the advantage of being the "author," had a lot of information about the other party, and had gained the upper hand. Under this premise, if he were to further exploit his physical advantages, plan with a clear mind against the unsuspecting, and kill Vidocq... the victory gained in this way would be even more unsightly than losing for Brother Jue. It could even be said to be a great insult.

"Heh... as expected... let's just forget about it..." Thinking this, Feng Bujue simply rejected the plan to imprison Vidocq as well, and revealed an eager expression, softly saying, "The opportunity is rare, let me use my full strength, drop all my principles, and use all my skills... to face you two head-on and decide the outcome."