There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

Not only had it turned red, but it was also moving at super high speed!

The distance was rapidly shrinking: from 57km to 56km, 55km, 50km, 43km, 33km…

And the speed was even increasing!

Impressive, to move so swiftly despite being seriously injured. They must be using every ounce of their strength to flee for their life, right?

Xu Shuo raised his head, his gaze penetrating the forest of skyscrapers, through the crisscrossing aerial highways, and faintly discerned the distant city, shrouded in fog, as if it was struck by a tempest.

The fog was blown away, revealing the neon-flashing city intermittently under the bleak sky.

At this moment, the cat-illustration app on the electronic tablet trembled slightly.

Xu Shuo tapped into the app and poked the cat six times.

Tortoiseshell Cat: [I just received news that there's been a complication with the Delta mission. Preliminary judgment suggests it might be related to one of our teammates.]

Orange Cat: [I've just been asked to go support Delta.]

There was a moment of silence on the other side.

…

The student independent dormitory building.

Wei Ya sat on the soft sofa, staring at the reply on her tablet, deep in thought.

She had just obtained information from the network and had more or less understood what kind of world this was.

Though the Empire was unified, the economic lifelines of this world were controlled by seven major financial conglomerates, and behind the groups stood senators with their own agendas; the Senate had essentially turned into a puppet of capital.

The result of commercial monopolies led to vast wealth disparities, and in such an environment, many people's voices of rebellion had already emerged, with society in a state of turmoil.

What was worse, a group known as "New Human" had appeared out of nowhere. The only difference between them and ordinary people was that they possessed various bizarre superpowers.

These individuals claimed to be the evolved New Humans, the new pioneers for the Empire and humankind; aiming to overthrow the corrupt financial conglomerates plaguing the Empire, they engaged in illegal gatherings.

And inconveniently, the Derek Family was one of those conglomerates.

Even more inconvenient was that her character's identity was that of a New Human.

Wei Ya rubbed her forehead.

Among the four teammates, she had no recollection of the last young man; he must be the newcomer mentioned earlier by the mentor—coming in to leech some experience.

It was said this newcomer had just advanced to Level 2.

It was said that the Level 1 instances he played before were all ordinary.

Thus, after a moment of silence looking at the latest message, Wei Ya typed her reply on the electronic tablet with telepathy.

Tortoiseshell Cat: [I did not receive this mission, but let me go check it out. You just stay in school for now.]

Orange Cat: [Okay, thank you.]

The person on the other side did not theatrically refuse.

Well, at least they weren't a terribly difficult second-generation gamer to deal with.

Based on the information sent to her communicator, Wei Ya easily found the source; it was hundreds of kilometers away from Huai'an Industrial University.

Thinking of their team leader, who was the furthest away, Wei Ya pondered.

She changed into a nice dress, applied beautiful makeup, and then went out to meet up for a date with the young master of the Bray Family.

…

In the radiant sunshine on the school path, Xu Shuo sat on a bench, motionless, and nearly plucked the non-shedding golden gradation cat bald in his embrace.

But no matter how much he fussed with it, the cat stayed docile and obedient, not showing any sign of complaint.

Xu Shuo released the cat and picked up his own electronic tablet, where the software had just moved again.

Once he entered the secret chat room, he saw that Tortoiseshell Cat had sent a compressed file folder titled "New World Survival Guide."

It wasn't obvious that the calm and composed girl had quite a rich inner world.

The information in the compressed folder was educating him about this world and how to use various high technologies, including detailed information about the world background, the seven financial conglomerates, the rebels, and New Humans.

"New Human…"

Xu Shuo's gaze shifted slightly.

Actually, ever since he entered the Script Space, he always felt his mental state was very good; none of Professor Li's road idiocy or prosopagnosia manifested in him.

According to the script performance requirements, any illnesses of the embodied character were supposed to be shared by the player.

Just like how Patient No. 8 is prone to emotional outbursts, and Director Zhang is paranoid, these symptoms all manifest in the players themselves.

But, Xu Shuo is neither directionally challenged nor face-blind at all!

When he first arrived, he didn't recognize the way because he had no memory and truly couldn't identify the routes, but now, if asked to walk back to the dorm and then to the teaching building, he could do it without any issues!

Unless Professor Li is actually not directionally challenged at all.

Since the five of them are absolute allies, Wei Ya didn't hide any information from him, including the fact that she's a New Human and her code name is "Gamma".

Then, by extension, could Professor Li, who also has the mysterious code name "Jieta," be a New Human too?

The idea that the New Human organization is trying to overthrow the rule of the seven major financial conglomerates and is conducting secret activities isn't entirely out of the question.

Xu Shuo pondered as he glanced at the upper right corner.

On the team panel, Wei Ya was already tens of kilometers away and was still moving.

She must have left the school.

As for the red-named Yin Banqian, he might have already escaped to a relatively safe distance or he was sneaking around to avoid pursuit, as his speed had become very slow.

By contrast, Cheng Can's distance had changed as well, seeming to be closing in on the former.

After all, they were teammates acquainted within the Script Space, so if the distance was close, it was only right to try and rescue them.

Now here's the question.

The messenger shouldn't have been unaware that Professor Li was in Huai'an Industrial University, and at the time, both Wei Ya and Cheng Can were nearby, with Cheng Can presumably even closer.

But why did the person precisely choose to have Professor Li to rescue "Delta," rather than someone else?

He was over fifty kilometers away from Yin Banqian!

Even if we exclude the fact that Cheng Can is an external person, wasn't "Gamma" nearby as well?

Unless, he was more convenient for rescuing people than Wei Ya.

Seriously, does this organization only have this few people?

Xu Shuo pondered these thoughts in his mind, quickly scanning through the scientific document before closing the electronic tablet and vigorously rubbing the cat that was napping on his lap.

The compliant cat raised its chin for scratches, and Xu Shuo, while petting its head, pried open the cat's mouth.

"Here?"

"Meow~"

Present… or not.

The abrupt sentence that popped up earlier seemed more like an instant message, as after delivering the news, there was no further communication.

Xu Shuo wasn't certain whether all the cats in the school were tools like this one.

More importantly, how did the other party lock onto this particular cat in his hands?

New Humans…

Since they could be so sure that Professor Li could go and rescue someone, could his ability be...

Xu Shuo's gaze was intense as he stared at the distant neon-lit skyscrapers. Suddenly, his vision seemed to swirl, as flickering rooftops and signboards appeared but vanished in a flash.

When he came to his senses again, he was still sitting on a bench by the school path, with the cat lying on his lap.

Xu Shuo was taken aback.

After a pause, Xu Shuo stood up, set the cat down, and then stepped onto a scooter to leave.

He wandered aimlessly around the school for a while before finally turning into a nearby public restroom that didn't seem too revolutionary, nor did it seem crazy enough to fit with cameras.

Xu Shuo entered a toilet stall and closed the door.

He logged onto the school network and casually read a travel post by a student.

After memorizing the scene in a photo, Xu Shuo took off his glasses and set them aside on the shelf next to the electronic tablet. Then, he tore off a piece of tissue and held it in his hand.

Lastly, he closed his eyes.

A sense of vertigo washed over his brain, making him feel slightly nauseous, but the air around him began to change as well.

When Xu Shuo opened his eyes again, he found himself behind a three-dimensional billboard on the rooftop of a high-rise building, hundreds of levels above the ground, as the cutting cold wind whipped over.

Xu Shuo exhaled softly. Professor Li's ability was Teleportation.

...