There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

No matter how the Script Space dealt with it, Xu Shuo's days went on just the same.

After leaving the coffee shop, Xu Shuo first had dinner and then bought some snacks and drinks to treat the employees at Mystery City.

As dusk fell, two employees were changing shifts at the front desk on the second floor, with the previous lady having already left for home. On duty now was Ji Xiaoxia.

However, she sat listlessly at the front desk, her complexion looking a little off.

"What's wrong?"

It was only when Xu Shuo approached and asked that Ji Xiaoxia jolted back to attention.

She quickly stood up and apologized, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I must not have rested well after going home last night. I accidentally dozed off, I'm sorry!"

Although this minor issue wouldn't get her fired, Ji Xiaoxia still felt somewhat uneasy.

Xu Shuo smiled and said, "It's fine, we're bound to be busier after just opening, you've been working hard. I bought some snacks over, you can distribute them to everyone later."

"Thank you, boss!" Ji Xiaoxia hurriedly stepped out from the front desk and carried two large bags inside.

The three hosts at Mystery City didn't have shifts to change—they worked all day, ready to host players as they arrived, and rested outside when there weren't any players. So they were sometimes quite busy, and at other times, extremely free.

It was one of the busier times now. Mystery City could be considered the first board game store in Yangcheng that mainly operated Scripted Murder Games, and many players had come hearing its fame in the circles.

Xu Shuo wandered around the three themed rooms, finished his routine inspection, and then prepared to leave.

The girl at the front desk still looked somewhat melancholic. More than having a poor night's sleep from working the late shift, she seemed to be preoccupied with other thoughts. But since she didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't pry.

As long as it didn't affect her work, that was fine.

Ji Xiaoxia watched the boss leave and then took out a packet of cucumber-flavored potato chips from the snack bag, tearing it open and starting to eat morosely.

She had been feeling very bad lately.

Ever since she emerged from the script "Green-Faced Fangs," she hadn't been the same, because her investigation revealed "Green-Faced Fangs" was a level one assessment script, yet she was already a level one player!

Moreover, the peculiar gaze of the monster in that script grew more terrifying the more she thought about it!

With such uneasy feelings, Ji Xiaoxia had entered a Scripted Murder Game again last night after her break.

And then she encountered a Mutant Script.

And she was chased by a monster again!

The Abyss Creature this time was more terrifying than Qing from "Green-Faced Fangs." At least Qing looked normal during the day and just liked to stick close to her.

But this time the monster swarmed her as soon as it saw her!

Ji Xiaoxia was so frightened that her scalp went numb; the entire script involved either running for her life or being on the way to do so.

She couldn't understand why they were chasing her.

There were six players present, but those locust-like creatures all flew towards her, resulting in her spending the whole time tucked away at a safe point, daring not to go out. Naturally, she didn't score many points for her performance.

Ji Xiaoxia was close to depression now.

With her break coming up next week, she had been optimistic after entering the Script Space, but now she felt like she was facing the gallows.

With so many monsters, she couldn't possibly keep running away forever; sooner or later, she would be caught.

Moreover, next time it would be her level two assessment!

It was bound to be even more dangerous!

Ji Xiaoxia felt an urgent sense of anxiety. She kept eating the potato chips to relieve stress while staring into the void at those level one scripts with many monsters.

She had already gone through all the physical scripts in the store. After learning about the upper limit of the boss's online games, she immediately downloaded the APP and became a member to browse through all those scripts.

Which is why she had stayed up all night.

Deep down she knew that such behavior might not bring her much information, but people are always hopeful. After a first taste of success, that hopefulness only grew stronger.

Ji Xiaoxia's choice to work at the Scripted Murder Game store was actually to read more about the real-world scripts and familiarize herself with the patterns within.

Not only did she analyze scripted murder games, but she would also look at criminal cases, trying to keep her thinking about mystery cases as active as possible.

If she had been this committed to her studies back in school, she would definitely have been accepted to Beijing University!

But now the stakes were different; it was about her own life. Even if she didn't want to make the effort, she had to force herself to!

Thinking about the next game session, Ji Xiaoxia sighed with a sense of gloom.

Live in the moment, cherish the present, for she might not have the chance to enjoy these snacks ever again.

...

Night had fallen.

The streetlights had already been lit at dusk, and now that it was fully dark, the flickering neon lights became even more dazzling.

Heiyu District's internet-famous tourist street was built for cultural tourism and thus was extravagantly decorated. Colorful light signs hung between the buildings, shimmering with radiance that reflected off each other, turning the whole street into a mist of neon colors.

As Xu Shuo walked toward the parking lot, he looked back at the street, vaguely seeing that dark yet splendid future world.

People always liked to adorn the dark night with lights; the darker it got, the more magnificent the lights would be.

He suddenly found himself very fond of these colors.

On the surface, he had only spent about ten days in that Script World, but in reality, Xu Shuo's consciousness had experienced more than a thousand years of time.

Watching that world struggle in despairing darkness, being rekindled with hope by the Pioneers, and finally as the scorched Wasteland was adorned with a riot of colors once more, the revival of civilization was always touching and magnificent.

Xu Shuo snapped back to reality, rubbed his forehead, and turned to continue toward the underground parking lot.

He suddenly understood why some actors, after getting into character, often found it hard to get out.

Xu Shuo had not invested his emotions, but Alpha's feelings for that world and its humans were extremely intense, and when a Character Card's own emotions were too strong they could affect the host.

Not to mention a thousand years of such emotions.

Thinking of this, Xu Shuo found his car, sat in it, but didn't start the engine. Instead, he surveyed the dimly lit underground parking lot, his gaze unclear.

Suddenly, his phone beeped twice.

It sounded like wind chimes stirred by a breeze, not very loud, but the metallic clinking had a strong penetrating power.

Xu Shuo quickly came to his senses, picking up the phone to read the message from Xu Xi. Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire

Xu Xi: [Bro, do you think there are ghosts in this world?]

Xu Shuo: ???

He was completely unprepared for such a question and was momentarily stunned, then his gaze suddenly sharpened!

Why would Xu Xi ask this out of the blue?

According to Themis, signs of the Abyss's corruption had also appeared in his world, and although any items related to Script Space could not be taken out before, some can be taken out now.

Does that mean the nature of this world has changed?!

So have things like ghosts started to appear?

Xu Shuo frowned in contemplation, but his reply was swift.

[How could there be ghosts in this world? Why do you ask that, did you encounter a problem?]

...

Normal University Affiliated High School.

Xu Xi hesitated for a long time before finally daring to send a tentative message to her brother, and now, staring at the reply on her phone, she sank into thought.

How should she tell her brother that she had also encountered that unseen blonde man?

Wait, if both she and her brother could see him, could it be that their family had a gene for spirit communication?

But did her brother know the man was invisible to others?

There were no other people or cars on the road at the time, so he probably couldn't judge whether the man was visible based on the reactions of others, but then the man got into her brother's car afterward, so did they know each other or had they just met?

Wait a minute!

When she went back for the National Day holiday, she felt that her brother had changed somehow, but couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Could it be... after discovering he could communicate with spirits, her brother was doing a similar job?!

Xu Xi stared blankly at the textbook in front of her, then reached out to touch the sea-blue bead hanging around her neck.

The bead was cool to the touch but gave a very comfortable feeling. The moment she touched it, she felt a sense of ease in both body and mind, and her thoughts became clearer.

It didn't feel like an ordinary item.

Xu Xi then furrowed her brows immediately; she didn't like this feeling—if her brother was hiding something just so she wouldn't worry.

She didn't like this feeling at all.

...