There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

[The session of "Green-Faced Fangs" has concluded and will now enter the script settlement interface]

[Mission One: Capture Green-Faced Fangs. Completed.]

[Mission Two: Sketch the true visage of Green-Faced Fangs. Completed.]

[Mission Three: Unveil the mystery of Green-Faced Fangs. Completed.]

[Mission Four: Find the missing Old Village Chief. Failed.]

The rewards this time were a bit scant, with only about a thousand in performance points, other than the Character Card, the only thing left was the unchanging "Psychic Power Boost of 10 points" prop card.

It seems, the lower the stage of the script, the fewer the performance points and rewards, with no special skills either.

So, after deducting the money spent on the Dreamcatcher, round it up and it's like he didn't earn a dime and even took a loss in this game!

Having browsed through the script information, Xu Shuo finally opened the Player's Handbook and eyed the "in production" sign next to the "Green-Faced Fangs" entry, feeling unusually anxious.

It shouldn't collapse this time, right?

He had already checked, the Acting Village Chief was indeed a mission character; this time he fortunately didn't end up in the wrong body!

The detective's mission was to[find the missing Old Village Chief], and upon his death, this mission was automatically eliminated from the game's main storyline, so after Xu Shuo and the painter completed their tasks, the game countdown began.

Neither the main storyline missions nor the game characters had any issues this time.

If he suffered another script collapse and added to the dubious level on his personal information, it would likely draw the attention of other interested parties.

Xu Shuo wasn't too fond of trouble, especially trouble unrelated to his real life.

Remembering that low-stage script production wouldn't take long, he decided to stay in the Script Space and wait, at least until he saw the trouble was gone before he could relax.

But after a while, before the script was completed, he received another visit request from Hong Rao.

Is this woman really that idle?

Xu Shuo raised an eyebrow; he had work in the afternoon, and if he got too immersed in chatting, he might lose track of time, so he directly declined.

Message me if it's important, otherwise, don't disturb.

...

On the other side, Hong Rao, who was rejected: ???

Why though?!

All she wanted was to maintain regular communication with her newly accepted student and ensure a stable relationship. It's been so long since she found a player willing to be her disciple without fearing death, and she had already decided to seriously take on the role!

Hong Rao nestled in her comfy sofa, staring at the rejection panel, feeling somewhat downcast.

It was her student's first time playing the script she picked out, and she wondered, did he enjoy it? Was he satisfied? Would he possibly rebel and leave the teaching mid-way?

Indeed, a student could forcibly dissolve the master-apprentice relationship by simply paying a price.

The more Hong Rao thought about it, the more distressed she became, seeing at a glance that this new student had good abilities but also wasn't easy to control.

Just then, the "in production" indicator disappeared from the players' script list, and "Green-Faced Fangs" was open for viewing, which Hong Rao couldn't wait to check out.

She wanted to see if the new student had fun playing it indeed!

...

Once Xu Shuo saw that the script was successfully open for viewing, he completely relaxed.

Sure enough, as long as he followed the standard procedure for new players, there wouldn't be a collapse; the second script he received was just bloody unusual!

And that led to the subsequent scripts being unusual too!

Thankfully, not many people were paying attention to him.

Leaving the Script Space, Xu Shuo opened his eyes in his office, immediately feeling a bit of a sore neck.

Sleeping on the desk was never the right posture; Xu Shuo rubbed his neck and turned on the screen in front of him to check the time.

About forty-odd minutes had passed, which was generally enough for a half-hour nap, but in reality, he felt no rest whatsoever!

He had slept, or so it seemed.

Xu Shuo propped up his forehead and rested for a while, then lay back on his seat to stretch his neck, but in the next moment, he suddenly sat up energetically and started working seriously.

Outside the office, Pei Sheng watched someone's neurotic behavior and silently stuffed a spicy strip into his mouth.

Then he walked in, offered a spicy strip, and asked, "Boss, want something to eat to perk you up?"

"No thanks," Xu Shuo glanced casually.

"I knew you wouldn't want it, so I was just asking for the sake of it. I wouldn't really give it to you," Pei Sheng said, not at all surprised as he took back the spicy strip, grinning.

"..."

Xu Shuo felt this guy really deserved a beating, full and bored with nothing better to do; no wonder he used to get cornered and beaten up by a bunch of people in the alleys. He truly wasn't innocent.

Without wanting to entertain him further, he changed the subject and asked, "Have you bought your train ticket yet?"

Pei Sheng didn't speak, instead, he looked outside at Li Ziwen, who nodded at him, and only then did he confidently answer, "Bought it!"

Xu Shuo, having successfully diverted the topic, no longer inquired and concentrated on preparing the work materials needed for the next few days.

During this time, he sent a message to Xu Xi.

[I'm going to Pengcheng on a business trip tomorrow, will be away for about three days, if anything comes up, you can come to the studio to find Ziwen.]

The reply came quickly from the other side: [Got it.]

A moment later, another message followed: [Take care on the road.]

Although the two of them barely met even when in the same city except during holidays, he still had to inform her about his trip and then continued to immerse himself in his work.

The day wore on and the sky gradually darkened.

The buildings started to light up with neon signs as each day in Yangcheng and every person there lived their mundane lives as corporate slaves.

Xu Shuo packed the printed documents into his briefcase, stood up, stretched, and turned to Pei Sheng beside him, "Alright, go to bed early tonight, we'll leave early tomorrow."

Pei Sheng saluted solemnly, "Roger that!"

...

...

The next morning.

A spirited Xu Shuo and Pei Sheng met up at Yangcheng South Station, checked their tickets and entered the boarding area uneventfully, and took their seats on the high-speed train to Pengcheng.

An hour's journey by train, Pei Sheng, unable to sit still, immediately started playing a game to pass the time.

The two sat in separate places, not together. Xu Shuo settled his luggage and glanced at the passenger sitting next to him.

It was a double seat, with his own spot on the inside by the window. The other passenger had boarded before him and had slumped into his seat immediately, a heavy scent of smoke emanating from him.

Fortunately, there was ample space between the seats, and he could easily squeeze through by turning sideways.

As Xu Shuo passed by, he heard the other person muttering under his breath, "I really want a smoke..."

Xu Shuo: "..."

This person's patience might be comparable to Pei Sheng's, one wailing about boredom as soon as he boarded the train, while the other contemplating stepping out for a smoke as soon as he sat down.

Meanwhile, passengers continued to board and disembark. The man clad in a black hoodie, half his face covered by the hood, looked sideways at the aisle, seemingly contemplating the idea of stepping off the train for a quick smoke.

A second later, he acted on his thought but just as he reached the door, he saw the conductor coming to close it.

So, he reluctantly returned to his seat.

Before long, the train began to move with a gentle shake, and the platform outside receded into the distance.

Xu Shuo, looking straight ahead, remained quiet and detached as he immersed himself in his own world with his phone, but the passenger next to him seemed to have restless leg syndrome and couldn't sit still for a moment.

The man in the hoodie, after idly shaking his leg, suddenly turned his gaze to his seatmate.