There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

[Congratulations on completing the task: Avoid being caught as the murderer.]

[The theater "Rainy Night Villa" has concluded, and you will soon leave this world. Please prepare yourselves, players.]

...

Xu Shuo opened his eyes again to find himself standing in the kitchen, holding a kitchen knife.

He looked around to confirm this was indeed his own kitchen and then lifted the lid of the pot next to him to check inside.

The water hadn't dried up yet, but the spare ribs seemed to have been steamed perfectly. Xu Shuo sprinkled the chopped green onions he had on the cutting board on top and then carried the bowl over to the dining table.

Xu Shuo checked the clock hanging on the wall—it was just past twelve-thirty, seemingly no significant time difference from when he entered the game.

Come to think of it, whether the game just now was a momentary trance or not was still questionable.

While pondering this, Xu Shuo, as if nothing had happened, hurriedly finished cutting the washed carrots and swiftly stir-fried another dish with chicken.

About ten minutes later, the somewhat old door to the rental apartment opened with a creaking noise, followed by scattered sounds at the entrance. The sound of footsteps gradually grew closer.

"I'm back," said the girl who walked in, wearing a red tracksuit, with low twin tails, and an expressionless face.

"Perfect timing, lunch is ready. Go wash your hands," Xu Shuo said as he poured kelp soup from the soup bowl to the dining table, completing the midday meal.

Xu Xi glanced at the dining table, then quickly went to her room to put away her backpack and soon returned. She sat down at the table with lowered brows and eyes, her expression rather indifferent.

"The spare ribs seem to have been steamed for a long time," Xu Xi commented flatly.

"No difference, they're better the more they fall apart," Xu Shuo said while cleaning the kitchen. He then asked, "How many days do you have off?"

"Three days," Xu Xi replied as she picked up the chopsticks next to her and tried to pick up a piece of spare rib.

"Aren't you guys busy with revision lately?"

"I'm back."

Xu Xi took a bite of spare rib, her gaze following Xu Shuo as he removed his apron, went back to his room to change into a shirt, and then sat down on the living room sofa to open his laptop.

The girl's eyes held a peculiar look as she stared at the young man who frowned slightly upon seeing some distressing news.

Feeling her gaze linger too long, Xu Shuo turned to look at her, "What's up?"

"Nothing much, I was just thinking, maybe you ran into a setback in business, and just now you went and killed a competitor and dumped the body," Xu Xi said indifferently.

"...?"

Xu Shuo paused for a bit, then smiled wryly, "What nonsense, have you been watching too many TV dramas? This is a society of law. Remember to wash the dishes after eating."

With that, he closed his laptop and stood up. Xu Xi, seeing this, asked, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I still have work at the company. I came back just to cook for you, and I haven't finished my tasks yet," Xu Shuo said while picking up the notebook from the coffee table and heading to the entrance to change shoes.

"You don't have to cook," Xu Xi said softly, but the sound of the door closing came from the entrance.

In the two-bedroom apartment, quietness descended immediately. Xu Xi ate quietly, and then, the phone in her pocket vibrated. She took it out to look.

It was a message from a friend: [Xixi! Let's go out and have fun!]

Xu Xi replied: [I just got back.]

[I guessed you would definitely come back today, so I timed it to invite you out! We haven't seen each other in ages, and there's a super popular offline game lately. Let's go play together!]

A game?

Xu Xi paused for a moment, not yet replying, when another message came through from the other side: "I've already reserved both spots, oh, and once it's booked, we can't cancel, it's so expensive~"

Immediately after, a screenshot was sent over.

This was practically putting the cart before the horse. Xu Xi opened the screenshot to see that it was from an escape room venue, but the project her friend had reserved was a game called Scripted Murder Game.

Since it was already booked, there was nothing wrong with going to play; she wasn't in a rush to review her textbooks anyway.

Xu Xi is a senior in high school, with the pre-college exams just one month away. Normally, the school wouldn't encourage seniors to take holidays at this time. After all, the exams were fast approaching, and if they were to take a break, it should be spent cramming at school.

But Xu Xi still came home, not even the head teacher could stop her.

Her friend didn't attend the same school; Xu Xi had met her during compulsory education in middle school.

It wasn't a very good middle school, yet Xu Xi had been admitted to a rather prestigious high school, albeit with slightly high tuition fees.

But back then, Xu Shuo said, "We can't take our choice of high school lightly," so he gave up on college early to enter the workforce, planning to earn enough to cover the hefty expenses of the key high school for Xu Xi.

Although she had said, going to just any high school would do.

However, Xu Shuo had countered, "Even if a guy doesn't have enough diplomas, he can still earn by manual labor, can you do that?"

Xu Xi replied, "I can too."

So during the summer break, she really did spend two months moving bricks on a construction site. When the school term started, she still ended up going to the key high school, somewhat at a loss about having saved up some pocket money for herself.

Three years had passed, and with the college entrance exams right around the corner, Xu Xi had already chosen her university.

With her current grades, she could get in without reviewing anyway.

After lunch, she washed up the dishes, changed into casual clothes, and went out to meet up, while also looking up on her phone how the game was supposed to be played.

Thanks to Xu Shuo, Xu Xi had played many games, but it was her first encounter with a Scripted Murder Game, an offline game.

...

In the bustling city with its towering skyscrapers, Xu Shuo took the elevator from the underground parking lot to the twenty-third floor. The corridor was a maze of crisscrossing paths lined with numerous small studios, one of which was the game development studio that he and his friends had established a year ago.

"Boss, you're finally here!"

As soon as Xu Shuo entered the studio, a voice called out to him, and turning to see who it was, he saw Pei Sheng running over, looking furious.

The studio wasn't large, with just six people including Xu Shuo, all of whom had been his high school friends.

The reason they even had money to start a business was that Xu Shuo had initially robbed Pei Sheng, a rich young master, and then recruited him into the team under the guise of "smooth sailing."

It was a real "literal sense" robbery.

Pei Sheng slammed a contract down in front of him and raged, "That detestable Boss Wang is threatening us—if we don't sell him our game, he says he'll make a pirated version to steal traffic! Boss, isn't this outrageous?"

Xu Shuo nodded, "Pretty outrageous."

Honestly, on the current gaming market, pretty much everyone was copying each other anyway.

As opposed to the other employees who were already desensitized to this sort of tactic, Pei Sheng, the rich young master, simply couldn't swallow this affront—especially since it was thrown so blatantly in his face.

"That old geezer actually dares to threaten us, Boss, why don't we just take him down?" Certainly, Pei Sheng showed an expression that was both Fierce God and Evil Fiend.

"What are you thinking? This is a society ruled by law." After reading the acquisition contract, Xu Shuo pressed the paper against his face.

Pei Sheng removed the paper, his face which had been filled with extreme anger suddenly broke into a mischievous grin, "I just meant to take down his pirated game, Boss, what are you thinking?"