There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

At the entrance of the village, in front of the propaganda wall.

The girl stood again at the end of the white wall, staring blankly at a blank space on the wall.

She had seen the legendary "Green-Faced Fangs" the previous night, but she really couldn't draw.

She remembered the monster was pitch-black, as if it had many limbs and mouths, with the largest mouth on its belly and a pair of red eyes, but she couldn't remember at all how those things were put together.

Whenever she tried to recall it, her head would swell with pain and nausea.

She took out her phone to look, but the blackness inside had mushed into a blob, even blurrier than the image in her mind.

The girl rubbed her head, which ached with pain.

This morning was not peaceful; the fields were bustling with noise. The cacophony from all directions made it even harder for her to concentrate on painting, her brain felt like it was about to explode, her thoughts a tangled mess!

Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind and patted her shoulder, startling the girl back to her senses.

The cool breeze of the morning made her mind feel a bit clearer.

Turning around, she saw the village chief holding a little girl, a rough and burly man and a soft, cute little girl—an odd pairing.

"Village, village chief?" The girl exhaled, greeting him somewhat awkwardly.

"You just now..." Xu Shuo pointed to her face and said, calmly uttering something quite terrifying, "grew a mouth on your face, your hair turned into tentacles, and your body was emitting a black qi. Were you thinking of some strange things?"

"???" The girl's face was one of shock.

Frightened, she hurriedly touched her face and hair, only to find that nothing was amiss; her face was still smooth, her hair still sleek.

Xu Shuo then laughed, "Just kidding."

Girl: "..."

This was not funny at all!

The detective's death the previous night was vivid in her memory, spewing from his mouth the flesh and blood chewed by the monster. Just thinking about it made her feel sick. She had a psychological shadow over these strange and bizarre things!

Moreover, the village chief had saved her last night, and in return, she had betrayed a lot of information about the village to the female reporter. Now she felt a bit guilty.

The girl gripped her paintbrush tightly and asked with unease, "Did you want to see me for something, Village Chief?"

"This thing, you still don't know how to paint it?" Xu Shuo gestured towards the white wall behind him.

This wall was the village's way of promoting itself, and many tourists who came for the greenery liked to take photos and check in below it, almost becoming a trending spot.

The skills of the female painter were beyond doubt. Starting from the archway at the beginning of the village, the vibrant colors, twisted painting style, and fragmented images had already interpreted the grotesque nature of "Green-Faced Fangs" to the fullest, only the final step revealing its true face was left.

The original deadline was two months, just up at the end of this month, and the acting village chief had already paid the fee.

But she was stuck.

In the script, the character card that Xu Shuo had flipped to had only made a little progress so far, so he wanted to encourage the female painter to finish it faster and take a look.

In fact, the girl also wanted to speed up the process; she said distressingly right then, "I can't remember what the monster looked like last night."

Xu Shuo squinted his eyes, "Can't you just draw the statue in the fields?"

Seeing this, the girl adamantly shook her head, her gaze somewhat wary as she looked at him, even backing away two steps to protect the white wall behind her.

The task's meaning of "real" wasn't that simple. If she could just draw anything, would the task need to spell out two more words?

Xu Shuo rested his chin in one hand and pondered for a while, then leaned the girl he was holding forward slightly, smiling more softly, "Then how about, you draw her?"

The little girl, eating a lollipop, blinked curiously upon hearing this, her face full of wonder.

The girl's head throbbed again, but she insisted, "No, I have to draw the real 'Green-Faced Fangs'. Only this can't be taken lightly!"

Her intentions were clear, this was a task, and there could be no backing down!

"If you think I'm taking too long, then fine, I can return all that compensation to you!" she thought for a moment, then mustered her courage to say, "I don't want a single penny!"

It wasn't even her money, after all.

And if I give back the entire payment for the drawing, you surely can't threaten me with it anymore!

Thinking of this, the girl mentally applauded her own cleverness.

Xu Shuo looked at her amusedly and said, "Now you can't even remember what you saw last night. How will you draw it? Are you going to go and see it again tonight? I certainly won't accompany you."

The girl was taken aback. She thought about it more and more until her face turned pale; no, she really didn't want to encounter that eerie monster again!

And the truth was, she knew exactly what the monster looked like in her memory, but she just couldn't transfer it to the canvas. She didn't know where to start.

Xu Shuo moved closer to her, his deep eyes staring intently at the girl with a voice slow and low, almost bewitching, he said softly, "How about it, why don't you trust me this time and draw this little girl?"

With her mind in turmoil over her script task, the girl still held on to a shred of rationality and quickly shook her head, backing away.

"If you don't draw, then I will tie you up and draw it myself!" Xu Shuo suddenly threatened menacingly, "After all, this is my wall!"

"..." the girl.

Everyone here had been reasonable, except for you.

At this moment, two police cars drove up the main road leading to the village entrance. Even though the villagers were very reluctant to call the police, they did it anyway.

Xu Shuo's expression faded, and he spoke lightly, "Forget it, continue pondering on your own. But I suggest you not think too deeply, lest you follow in the detective's footsteps, because I wasn't joking with my earlier remark."

After saying that, he picked up the little girl and turned to leave.

The girl looked at the approaching police, then at the man's retreating figure. Slightly bewildered, she reflected.

The remark from before?

Following in the detective's footsteps?

Wait, the girl had a sudden realization and quickly touched her own cheek and then her hair, her heart pounding furiously.

She hadn't truly mutated just now, had she?

No wonder her head felt slightly swollen and painful; perhaps she had indeed been contaminated by that monster last night?

The more the girl thought, the more terrified she became, her face pale.

At that moment, the police cars came closer and stopped beside her.

The officer in the passenger seat, seeing a girl standing there looking distressed, couldn't help but show concern, "Hello, are you alright?" he asked.

The girl snapped back to reality, lowered her gaze, and shook her head, "No, I'm okay."

"This is Qingliu Village, right? You don't look like you're from the village," the officer continued to inquire.

"Um... I'm an artist invited by the village chief," the girl said with her head low, her slender figure in a floral dress looking slightly fragile and introverted.

"Oh!"

The officer had an epiphany and glanced at the dozens of meters long painting wall, then at the paintbrush in the girl's hand, saying appreciatively, "So you painted all these? Then you must be quite familiar with the happenings in this village. We received a report that someone had an incident last night?"

"Yes," the girl replied reservedly, pointing to the fields not far away.

The villagers also noticed the police cars by now and were quickly approaching, their expressions as if they were afraid she might say something.