On a sidewalk outside a local restaurant, Alice leaned against a signpost and scrolled through her SNS. Shun later appeared and asked, "What are you so focused on?"

"Looks like Ace and Lync have joined the treasure hunt too. Ace posted a video online and tagged Lync's account. I'm still intrigued that Mister Big reserved a table here for all the participants."

"Who else is attending?"

"As far as I know—me, you, Baron, Soon, and Runo..." Then she checked her messages. "Those three are running late due to traffic."

"In that case, let me show you this. My mom obtained a license from the Council of Archaeology that authorized her to find and excavate artifacts. I found all the paperwork in her office."

"Wow... I had no idea. Maybe that's why she had one of Stoica's ship flags."

"I asked the Council of Archaeology if they knew about that flag. They said that Mom suspected she found eighteenth-century pirate treasure after she took the flag to some laboratory for analysis, hence the lab report."

"But did she find any valuable treasure besides the flag?"

"Not sure. The council reached out to her, but she never answered because she later disappeared." Shun looked behind Alice and saw the others running over. "Those three came just in time."

Once the quintet entered the restaurant lobby, the redhead asked the receptionist, "Is there a table reserved for a treasure hunt today?"

"Not just a table. It's a whole VIP room. Follow me!"

After the waiter led the group to the reserved private room, Alice entered the doors first and saw a man with spiky blond hair sitting in a chair. "You must be Mister Big."

The blond man glanced at her once but looked away again. "No, I'm just one of the participants."

"Oh... Just like me and my group, then."

After the quintet sat down around the table, a tall woman with permed lavender hair later entered. "Is this room for Mister Big's treasure hunt?"

"Yes, but he hasn't arrived yet," the assistant professor replied.

"So, we're all participants, then. My name's Annie, and I work in public relations. What about you?"

Baron did the honor of introducing everyone. "My name's Baron! I'm a first-year student at Bayview International University. Soon is my classmate. Professor Alice is our instructor and research supervisor. Shun is her department secretary. Runo is a graduate student and our friend."

"You're all from BIU? What a huge advantage!"

Shun began pouring tea for everyone and reached the blond man next to him last. "I couldn't help but notice that you're wearing camouflage but also rather quiet."

"Just call me Sid."

Next to Annie were three empty chairs. "Are we still missing Mister Big and two other people?"

"Sorry for being late!" The next two people to enter the room were Ace and a young man with spiky pink hair. "Nice to see Alice and Shun here. Baron, I didn't know you had time for extracurriculars."

"Isn't that Lync?" whispered the raven-haired secretary to his professor.

"I think so." The redhead poured tea for the two guests. "And I just remembered that both Ace and Baron are from Vestal."

"You know these people?" Lync asked his friend.

"Alice was a classmate from Professor Shiori's folklore studies class. Shun is Professor Shiori's son. Baron used to live down the street from me in Vestal. I don't know the rest—"

"Can we order food already?" Sid interrupted. "Let Mister Big pay the bill later because he's late!"

"I mean, I guess..." Soon replied.

After eating for an hour, everyone's phones suddenly beeped. "Mister Big sent us notifications on the app," Shun noticed. "He's not coming here then."

The treasure hunt starts now. You'll receive a hint in a few minutes. Follow each hint to the appropriate checkpoints and scan the QR code within the specific time limit. Then you'll get the next hint for the next checkpoint.

Runo checked her wristwatch. "It's 2:30 PM right now, but shouldn't we pay the bill first before leaving?"

"But I didn't bring enough cash!" Baron cried.

"Don't worry about it." Alice gave her credit card to the waiter. "I dragged more than half of you into this treasure hunt, so I'll pay." Shortly after the waiter left, everyone's phones received notifications again.

Here's the first hint: "GATHER AT THE TRIDENT THAT I PLACED IN THE EARTH ABOVE WATER." This QR code is valid from 3:00-4:00 PM.

"What does that mean?" Sid complained.

"You don't know?" Ace remarked. "It's from the cryptic poem that Stoica left behind for his descendants to locate his buried treasure."

"What cryptic poem?" Annie asked. "Who's Stoica?"

The redhead signed the receipt and explained. "He was a famous pirate from the eighteenth century who—"

"This is supposed to be fair play!" All eyes faced Lync, who hadn't said a word since he sat down. "You can't just give hints out like that. Use your brain!"

The mint-haired student began packing his belongings. "This is exactly why I can't leave you unsupervised."

Everyone left the restaurant and eventually arrived at the nearby beach near Sangokoi Strait. "I think Lync is overreacting," Baron commented. "We all arrived at the same place anyway."

Alice pointed to the small lighthouse built on top of a rock formation. "If we stay close to Sangokoi Strait, then this is the only beach with a lighthouse nearby. Unlike most cylindrical lighthouses, this lighthouse has a triangular pyramid shape, hence alluding to a trident on earth above water."

"Doesn't this hint sound too simple?" Shun asked.

"Never mind that." Runo pointed at Lync, who pulled out a laminated card from some rocks. "He already found the next QR code."

Everyone else came over to scan. "The next hint says, 'Scatter gold dust on the ground for new life to prosper'," the assistant professor read. "This QR code is valid from 4:00-5:00 PM."

The raven-haired secretary asked again, "Now, do you think that these hints are way too simple? That's the third line from Stoica's poem."

"I have an idea! Why don't we split up and search?" the mauve-haired student suggested.

"Not a bad idea," his professor answered. After watching her three colleagues run off toward the rest of the beach, Alice whispered, "Gold dust could refer to all the sand on this beach, but I hope the next card isn't buried in—"

"Give me a moment." Shun ran toward Lync, who was busy searching through the trees and shrubs that grew on the border between beach sand and concrete pavement. "I thought you'd be looking for clues with Ace."

"We're on our own, remember?"

"Then why did you register for the treasure hunt with him?"

"Because he asked me to. Don't you have better things to do?"

Further down the beach, Baron held his phone while trying to take photos of Runo. "The trees, sunlight, and sand make an impressive nature-themed background. What a perfect place for a photo shoot!"

"If only Dan took photos as aesthetically as you."

Soon sighed deeply. "Just take the picture already and move—" At that moment, Lync sprinted over and saw something shiny in a tree. "That guy found the next QR code!"

Everyone else ran over to scan the laminated card hidden in the tree's branches. "I'm heading out first!" Baron announced.

After the others left, Shun and Alice were the last to scan the QR code. "This hint says, 'Teach your descendants to continue the legacy of the ancestors'," the secretary read. "This QR code is valid from 5:00-6:00 PM. It's only 4:15 PM right now, but this isn't as obvious as the first two hints."

"That's the final line of Stoica's poem." The redhead opened a map of the area on her GPS app. "I think the next checkpoint should be nearby. Since we have time, do want to get something cold to eat or drink?"

"Works for me."

The assistant professor led the way to an ice cream shop on the beach. "Hello everyone! I never would've expected to see Soon, Runo, and Ace here together."

"We're taking a break because we're lost," the bluenette admitted. "We haven't figured out where to go next."

After the quintet finished buying ice cream, they sat down on rock benches under some trees. "Where did Baron go?" Alice asked.

"I have no idea, but Lync also walked off on his own," Ace scoffed.

Suddenly, the mauve-haired student walked by as Soon called him out. "Where did you go? Your forehead is drenched!"

"Sorry, I got carried away... What are you guys doing here? Don't tell me you gave up!"

"No, but we can't scan the next QR code until 5:00 PM," the assistant professor answered. "We can leave five minutes before."

"How did you figure out where the next checkpoint is?"

After everyone finished eating, Alice led the way while explaining. "Since we're looking for treasure in the immediate area near Sangokoi Strait, the hint must refer to something that Stoica wanted his descendants to never forget." The crew arrived at an empty shrine, where the front entrance had a canopy with several spiral incense hanging above. "Stoica always made offerings and prayed to the gods before and after each raid. He wanted his successors to preserve this shrine so that they would continue to prosper when he was no longer here. See, the QR code is on the side of this donation box."

"And because Stoica took this shrine very seriously, historians assumed that the treasure would be in here or close by," Ace added. "Alright, it's 5:00 PM... The last hint says, 'The treasure is located somewhere that you haven't been to yet'. That's not helpful."

Shun pointed to a smaller line of text underneath. "See this? 'If you don't know the answer yet, then you can take a break at the vacation rental below. You'll find a more obvious hint there.' Does that mean this QR code isn't the last one?"

"Let's go to the rental house and see," Alice suggested. "I'll reveal the answer to the hint when we get there."

After much walking and other detours, everyone arrived in front of a house with an external gate and a key hider lock. Once inside, they began searching the entire house for the next QR code. "Professor Alice, can you please tell us the answer?" Baron begged.

"In case you don't remember, here is Stoica's entire poem..."

Gather at the trident that I placed in the earth above water,

To watch the carp leap over stone gates to reach higher.

Scatter gold dust on the ground for new life to prosper,

And teach your descendants to continue the legacy of their ancestors.

"The hint at the shrine must be referring to the second line because we haven't heard about it yet," Runo concluded.

"But that still doesn't narrow down our options. There's a rock quarry on our side of Sangokoi Strait. On both sides of the water, soldiers built several stone bunkers and forts during wartime. All of these could allude to 'stone gates'."

"No wonder you needed to come here for additional hints." Ace took a seat and stretched his legs. "Professor Shiori wanted to take us to all the places you mentioned, but even visiting just one location took the whole day. Anyway, I need to clean my shoes in the bathroom."

Baron searched through a decorative shelf and found a laminated card. "I found the additional hint, but the time frame is 6:30-7:30 PM."

Why does this hint's time limit use the thirty-minute mark instead? "It's only 5:30 PM. Let's relax for now."

Shun looked out every single window in the living room. "I haven't seen Sid, Annie, or Lync since they left the beach. It doesn't look like they've been here yet."

"Maybe they knew that the last hint referred to the second line and went directly to the locations I mentioned."

"I should've followed Lync when I had the chance."

Alice lowered her voice and asked, "Did something happen on the beach? I saw you two talking briefly, but then he found the laminated card in the tree before running off."

"I noticed that Lync seemed way more obsessed with this game compared to Ace."

"I see... Once Ace comes outside, I'll ask him to call Lync." Shortly after, the mint-haired student exited the bathroom as Baron rushed inside. "Ace, can you call Lync and see where he went? I want to make sure he's safe."

"Yeah, sure." After three unsuccessful attempts, he gave up. "That's weird. I keep reaching his voicemail instead."

"That sounds bad. Maybe we should look for him once Baron finishes cleaning his shoes."

"And forfeit the entire game?"

"Lync's safety comes first. Unfortunately, we can't find Sid or Annie without their contact information."

After Baron came outside, everyone left the house and suddenly saw a bystander flag down some patrolling police officers on the sidewalk. "I need help! There's an unconscious guy on top of the hill!"

Ace suddenly approached the bystander and asked, "Does that guy look like the person in this photo on my phone?"

"That's him! His pink hair is unmistakable!"

"Let's go check it out," one of the officers ordered. The group arrived at a grassy hill and saw Lync lying down on the ground. The first offer checked Lync's wrist and neck. "He has no pulse. There's a lot of blood on his head and a possible snakebite on his neck."

"I'll call for help," the other officer replied.

The first officer then asked the group, "Do you know this guy or what he was doing here?"

"His name is Lync Volan," Alice answered. "We were all participating in a treasure hunt but got separated. I didn't expect to find him like this."

While the police officers began documenting evidence, Shun whispered to the redhead, "Do you think it's a coincidence that Lync also has a snakebite on the back of his neck?"

"No such thing as coincidences here... But how did he get separated from us in the first place?"

-x-x-x-x-x-

From his police station office, Dan started a video chat with Alice to discuss Lync's autopsy report. "I told the lab to prioritize this case like you requested. Now ask me anything."

"What was the cause of death?"

"We found venom from the red-necked keelback snake in his body. This venom prevents blood clotting, which leads to massive internal bleeding. Common symptoms include nausea and confusion, which likely led to Lync falling over from the hiking trail above. Internal bleeding plus blunt force trauma equals immediate death."

That's no different from what happened to Mira. "What about the time of death?"

"Sometime between 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM, when the officers called for help."

"I see... This treasure hunt required participants to scan QR codes during specific time limits. Does Lync's browser history show which QR codes he scanned?"

"According to the cyber department, Lync had three webpages open—'Scatter gold dust...', 'Teach your descendants...', and 'The treasure is located somewhere...'. Is this what you're looking for?"

"I received those hints too, but the last one is from the shrine and only valid from 5:00-6:00 PM. Will that narrow down the time of death?"

"One hour is better than two." Dan then answered an incoming call for a few seconds. "Sorry, Alice. Billy needs my help in the field."

"No worries. Drive safely."

After the pair hung up, the brunet drove over to the rock quarry near Sangokoi Strait. "Dude, it's super dark here. What's the emergency?"

"A dead body, as usual." The blond led the way to a female body on the dirt path. "Based on her bleeding forehead and the bloody rock next to her hand, she mostly likely died from blunt force trauma."

"Did you get ID yet?"

"Her driver's license says 'Annie Edwards'. She works as a PR representative at a local auction house."

"Who told you about this? I worked overtime to process Lync Volan's death and missed out on what everyone else was doing."

"That's the weird part. She called for help at 7:15 PM yesterday, but we couldn't pinpoint her location because the call was too short. I also couldn't find her phone anywhere nearby at all. But here's the recording of what she said..."

"Please help me! Sid wants to stab me and keep the treasure all to himself! I need—aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!"

"That's creepy... But who's Sid?"

"There's a participant named Sid Arkale in the treasure hunt that Annie, Alice, and other BIU people also signed up for. Annie might've been referring to him."

Dan stared at the victim before looking around at the rocks and water. "Based on the emergency call, it's possible that Sid killed Annie and stole her phone. Let's get an arrest warrant for Sid Arkale then."

"I'll call Chan right now."

-x-x-x-x-x-

Alice entered the School of Business building and saw Shun waiting outside a lecture hall door. "Why did you need me urgently with you here again?"

"I want to ask Ace a few questions, but I think it's better with you here since he knows you well."

"Is this about Lync's death? We both know it wasn't an accident but can't prove it yet. Dan even confirmed with me that Lync died from the same snake venom used to kill Mira."

"That's exactly why I want to ask Ace what else my mom's treasure-hunting group did back then."

Students began exiting the lecture hall. The redhead saw her former classmate and flagged him down. "Ace, are you free to talk?"

"Hey, Alice. I have no more classes today. What's up?"

After stepping outside, the assistant professor went straight to the point. "You already saw that Lync had snakebites on the back of his neck. Doesn't that remind you of what happened to Mira?"

"Alice, I don't want to talk about the past..."

"Then you wouldn't have signed up for this treasure hunt with Lync if knew this would bring back bad memories."

The redhead's counterargument left Ace speechless. "Okay... You got me. The truth is that Lync and I weren't planning to play to win. Mister Big sent us each a large amount of commission in exchange for sharing promotional posts on our SNS—"

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?!" Shun snapped. "If Lync was being paid to play, then why was he so obsessed about looking for treasure? How did Mister Big even find you two?"

"GeoFinding has been on-air for at least a year now, and Mister Big is the fastest-rising and most mysterious player out there. He usually doesn't befriend other players, but when I found out that he added Lync and me, we couldn't just say no."

"Then what's the point of spending so much time and money on hosting a treasure hunt?"

"Probably for more likes and followers."

"And what exactly happened during your treasure-hunting field work before it led to Mira's death?"

Ace sighed and stretched his arms. "Mira said her metal detector found a gold ring with a tanzanite gemstone etched with the letter 'S', but the stone was cracked, so she left everything in place. Since the ring's location was far from where we set up camp, Professor Shiori suggested sleeping earlier so that we could start earlier the next day. But later that night, we noticed that Mira was gone and went looking for her. Then the police arrived and said that Mira was bitten by a snake before tumbling down a hill."

"Did you ever continue looking for the ring's location?"

"I already told you that we disbanded after she died."

"And do you honestly think that Mister Big coincidentally finds a similar ring and records a promotional video for the treasure hunt?"

After a long pause, the mint-haired student screamed, "Am I going to die?! Is Mira's ghost back to haunt us?! Is this ring cursed?!"

"Take it easy," Alice suggested. "You have nothing to fear if you did nothing wrong." After checking an important notification, she ended the conversation. "You probably need to study for exams. We'll talk next time."

After Ace left, Shun asked, "Did something come up again?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Dan just told me that both Annie and Sid ended up dead."

"Aren't those the other two who never made it to the vacation rental?"

"Let's ask Dan to find out."

Back in her office, Alice initiated a video call with Dan, who greeted his guests with two reports. "Billy and I found Annie's body yesterday, and her emergency call suggests that Sid killed her, but we just found Sid's body in the seawater. There are several stab wounds in his chest, one of which punctured his aorta and caused massive internal bleeding. He was already dead before entering the water."

"Regardless of who killed whom, did you find any murder weapons?"

"Not exactly, because I was thinking... What if Sid sneaked behind Annie, but she saw and snatched the knife from him? What if Sid then grabbed a nearby rock and struck her on her head instead? I bet you didn't see that coming!"

"Dan, your job is to investigate, not to imagine. Where did you find each of their bodies again?"

"Annie was on a dirt path at the rock quarry, and Sid was floating in the surrounding water. Both crime scenes are within walking distance of each other. What are you thinking?"

"The rock quarry is a possible answer to the final hint, but how did they get there before us?"

"You think this has to do with treasure hunting?"

"I hope not... We don't even know if the ring that Mister Big found is authentic or not. Why would anyone kill three people over a simple game? Mister Big only mentioned this ring and no other significant treasure."

"Wait, I thought Lync's death was an accident."

"Absolutely not." The redhead explained the story of Mira's death and how it could relate to Lync's death. "I already told Ace about our suspicions. The most we could do is to tell him to be careful."

Shun wrote down every participant's name on scratch paper and crossed out the people who died. "Based on everyone's body language at the restaurant, I don't think Sid, Annie, and Lync knew each other before this game started. But how do three people just die like that?"

"You forgot about Mister Big."

"What about him?"

"He never showed up or revealed his face at all. I suspect he organized this event for the sole purpose of committing murder. The only people left are all currently at BIU."

Dan stretched his arms and breathed deeply. "I'll start investigating Mister Big immediately, but it might take more time than usual given how mysterious he seems."

"No worries. Keep us updated as usual."