There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

At dawn, another piercing scream shattered the silence.

The girl, with severe dark circles under her eyes, ignored the noise rising in the village and painted on the white wall with utmost seriousness.

She had been painting from night till sunrise, her hand steady, not the slightest bit tired, and as the painting neared completion, her mood became quite excited and her mind was clear.

The pitch-black paint was splashed onto the wall by her, gradually tinging the white wall into an abyss, then, amidst the darkness, brilliant colors outlined lines, slowly forming a painting.

It depicted an adorable child with messy double buns, wearing tattered clothes, but with eyes that were clear and bright.

Behind the little girl in that dark abyss, monsters with bared fangs and claws dwelt amidst black and red intertwining distortions, the scene like a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, exceptionally terrifying!

The painter felt her thoughts had become uncontrollable, like a fervent artist who took the brush in hand as a weapon, treating the blank wall before her as a battlefield!

Her brain, operating at high speed all night, was still clear as ever, the girl excitedly adding dabs of color, finishing the painting with a beautiful flourish of ink!

[Congratulations on completing the task: Paint the true face of the "Green-Faced Fangs".]

It really was so!

The village chief had brought out that butterfly net last night, aiming it at the twisted black monster, and tonight, he did the same to the little girl!

Recollecting what the village chief had asked her to paint during the day...

In that moment, the girl who had witnessed the scene at the entrance of the shrine felt as if she had been enlightened, and she was so shocked and excited that she almost lost her mind!

She had rushed back to the village chief's house and retrieved all her paints; she was not very good at painting, but now she felt an endless stream of inspiration, her hands and mind uncontrollably completing this twisted painting!

This was the "true face of the Green-Faced Fangs"!

How absurd, from the paintings at the entrance of the village, depicted bit by bit, born from the villagers' prayers, this monster that murdered and arsoned without guilt, seen as a calamity—yet when its true face was revealed, it was nothing but an innocent, naive child.

Gasping for breath, the girl looked at this final painting, blinked slightly, and suddenly realized that it was daylight, that it was already the next day.

Then, another notification sounded in her mind:

[Congratulations, players, for completing more than 50% of the main mission. This theater will end in one hour, please prepare accordingly.]

... Chapter Read:

...

Xu Shuo sat in the shrine playing with the little girl, and upon hearing this system notification, he merely glanced sideways before turning back to the policemen in front of him.

"I don't mind doing that, but..." Xu Shuo pondered and said, "You're not planning to arrest everyone in the village, are you?"

"What...?" The officer was taken aback, his eyes widening at him.

"Could it be that every single person in your village is guilty?!" another exclaimed in astonishment.

The police had learned the full story from Old Li and the female reporter the previous night. If the monster had appeared because of the villagers, then they might as well hold a mobilization meeting and clearly state the truth!

However, even if the truth was told, the monster would still silently consume the villagers at night without anyone noticing.

The reason Old Li woke up last night was purely because the sense of crisis Old Zhang had brought him when attacking had subconsciously awakened him.

As a result, the first thing he saw upon waking was the monster brutally tearing a person apart, scaring him to the point where his soul was still not at rest.

Thus, the other idea the officers had was to arrest those in the village who were spreading rumors and committing crimes, hoping that at least it would purify the village a bit.

The words of the village chief left them speechless at this point.

Counting on his fingers, Xu Shuo said, "Actually, I guess the reason Old Zhang wanted to kill Old Li last night was not only because he stole his family's heirloom but probably also because he slept with his wife... and in fact, Old Zhang's wife also has an affair with the neighbor, Old Wang. Old Wang used to be a hooligan in his youth, often throwing his weight around in the village; I bet there are also quite a few people now who wish him dead. Besides, Cuihua at the entrance of the village was with that neighbor..."

"Stop, stop, stop!" the officer interrupted him with a dark face, sighed deeply in frustration, and said, "How about you just revere that 'Green-Faced Fangs' as a deity again?"

"Sacrifice to the mountain god, repair the temple, bear the incense offerings, and may it absolve your village of its sins."

Xu Shuo smiled amply, "Actually, I was thinking the same thing."

Officials were, after all, not too fond of these acts of seeking gods and worshipping buddhas, but they didn't have a solution for the issue either. The monster last night had killed one of their companions right before their eyes using mysterious methods.

Nobody would believe such a thing if it were told.

Xu Shuo continued, "So this matter..."

The police officer helplessly waved his hand, "I know, it's all accidents, the detective as well."

Upon hearing this, Xu Shuo laughed again.

...

The entrance to Old Li's house was in complete disarray, the door smashed to bits. Someone went in to investigate and discovered a scene similar to what had happened at Elder Huang's house the night before.

People in the village had died two days in a row, both times leaving no trace of their bodies, causing enough panic already.

Unexpectedly, the deceased was not Old Li this time. Early in the morning, Elder Zhang's wife was shouting that her husband had disappeared, until Old Li returned from the village chief's house, and the truth came out.

So the new question arose, why on earth was Elder Zhang at Old Li's house in the middle of the night?

Now there was plenty to speculate about.

People are only concerned with their own affairs; if it doesn't happen to them, they won't take it to heart. Villagers watched with a mix of fear and schadenfreude.

The three policemen who had just finished talking to Xu Shuo saw this and all wore dark expressions. A realization suddenly dawned on them. Could this village that nurtured a twisted monster like "Green-Faced Fangs" still be saved?

Although they appeared harmonious and friendly on the outside, they were probably already corrupt through and through.

Even their surface respect for the Acting Village Chief and his commands was merely because they benefited from it.

...

...

What happened?

Only one hour left until the game is over?

The female journalist, after being stunned for a moment, quickly reacted and remembered that she hadn't seen the painter return last night. She immediately packed her things and rushed to the mural at the village entrance.

The girl leaned against the wall, appearing very uncomfortable, dry heaving.

"What's wrong with you?" The approaching female journalist was taken aback, hesitating to come closer, but given that it concerned her mission, she still needed to ask clearly.

"I feel like some ghostly thing is forcefully cramming into my brain," the girl said, crouching on the ground, covering her mouth in discomfort, her voice muffled.

After she finished painting, she felt something was wrong with herself. The feeling of nausea in her mind became unbearable, like a person about to drown, feeling both suppressed and suffocated, her entire body was in extreme discomfort!

She feared that she had painted something dreadful!

The girl trembled with fear, but upon realizing that she hadn't thrown up anything, just pure dry heaving of stomach acid, she decided to grit her teeth and endure for one more hour.

However, upon seeing the female journalist who had come to find her, her eyes suddenly brightened.

"I've finished painting 'Green-Faced Fangs,'" the girl said shakily, extending a hand to point at the painting above, and looked at her hopefully.

"Green-Faced Fangs?" The female journalist looked up, then froze, "Is that her?!"

...