There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

Sometimes, scouring forums can be useful.

Although there are various conflicting opinions and even posts maliciously misleading newcomers, as long as one is shrewd, one can still extract quite a bit of helpful information—in fact, most newbie players learn about the Script Space this way.

After all, not everyone has a mentor, right?

Eventually, I found out that the method to upgrade skills was to use points.

Xu Shuo looked at his current balance, just over seven thousand points, of which seven thousand had been scrounged from Luo Kai.

There were many ways to earn points, from converting performance value, converting fan numbers, audience tips... among them, audience tips were divided into forum tips and video tips.

However, the exchange ratio was quite steep despite the various channels.

Xu Shuo thought about his current skills and then took out Doctor Chen Chu's Character Card.

[Upgrade: 1000 points.]

Xu Shuo tentatively clicked on upgrade.

'Chen Chu Character Card' instantly turned into 'Chen Chu Character Card I,' and the card's border rolled up with a red edge.

Thankfully, Doctor Chen and Doctor Chu didn't need to be upgraded separately; at most, they were just the front and back of the same card, but essentially the same card.

Doctor Chen's 'Time Retrospection' skill changed from rewinding one minute to two minutes, while as for Doctor Chu's One-Click Kill, I couldn't see any changes at all.

It was probably because his ability was tied to the player himself.

Then, the points required for the next upgrade became ten thousand.

Why don't you just rob someone!

Oh, you are robbing someone.

Xu Shuo used the remaining points to upgrade 'Dark Stealth' and the 'Staff of the Baseless,' and he decided to save the remaining four thousand points for the time being.

Although Xu Shuo had never used the 'Dark Stealth' ability, he felt it was still very useful and prioritizing its upgrade wouldn't hurt since Qiuzi's Character Card could only be maintained for ten minutes anyway.

Also, the blind girl's staff was extremely useful for scouting the surroundings, and after trying it in the Space, Xu Shuo found that the detection range upgraded from a thirty-meter radius to fifty meters.

As for other uses, there was no way to try them out in this empty space, but according to the system description, it was a magic staff, though right now it was just a walking stick.

After dawdling in the Space for almost half an hour, Xu Shuo exited the Script Space and opened his eyes back in the real world.

...

Running instances for a few seconds, browsing forums for half an hour.

Xu Shuo yawned, feeling slightly mentally fatigued as he hadn't napped and had been staying up late in the game, so he picked up his phone and ordered a cup of coffee from a delivery app.

The reason why he was declining Hong Rao's current arrangement for catching up on scripts was that he had a lot of work to do, and he had entered "Five-Star Hotel" early with the intention of finishing the script within the time limit to refresh his rest time.

So far, he had played seven scripts, and his current instance-running period had been refreshed to one week.

This week he had to get the studio project sorted.

Xu Shuo picked up the file beside him and concentrated on his work, as he had to go on a business trip tomorrow and needed to prepare all the necessary material in advance.

"Boss, your coffee?" After a while, Pei Sheng pushed open the door holding a cup of coffee.

"Why is it you?" Xu Shuo looked up and asked casually, "Where's Ziwen?"

Pei Sheng's mouth twitched in annoyance, "What about me, and isn't that mosquito temporarily assigned to the shop by you?"

Xu Shuo was taken aback for a moment, then lowered his head and rubbed his temple.

In that script, it seemed like not even a day had passed, but the continuous high tension had made him feel like several days had gone by, and it seemed his mind had not yet completely returned to the real world.

Sometimes, immersive gaming and reality can indeed cause a strong sense of disconnection.

Pei Sheng placed the coffee on the desk, crossed his arms and said nonchalantly, "What, did you sleep too comfortably just now and you're still dreaming?"

Xu Shuo didn't speak, opened the lid of the coffee, and took a gulp.

The extremely bitter taste of the unsweetened, un-milked coffee hit his mouth, which made him feel significantly more awake.

The air was filled with the bitter scent of the coffee, which Pei Sheng never liked much. After waving his nose and grumbling a few times, he turned and left the office.

Xu Shuo sighed contentedly, set down the cup, and continued working on the files.

After a busy day, the studio closed on time in the evening; it wouldn't do to leave a bad impression on the new employees.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

After all, as the saying goes, if a company often requires overtime, it's a sure sign that the workload assigned to each employee is unreasonable.

Xu Shuo's studio had only required overtime frequently in its early days; afterward, as things gradually got on track and everyone became familiar with the workflow, it became much easier.

After work, Pei Sheng knocked on Xu Shuo's office door again.

"Boss, are we heading to the store?"

"Wait a moment."

Xu Shuo gathered the printed documents, tucked them into his briefcase, and then brought his laptop along.

"Let's go."

...

The two of them would be away on business for a while, and as it happened, the studio had recently hired quite a few new employees, so Li Ziwen would probably start getting busy running between the studio and the store again.

Xu Shuo went to the store and gave him some instructions.

Mystery City was opening in just a few days; if they returned quickly, they might even make it back for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The store still had only one receptionist at the moment, while other employees were undergoing training on the Scripted Murder Game. Ji Xiaoxia, who had just finished distributing flyers, came back and awkwardly greeted the three bosses who were in conversation.

Xu Shuo smiled at her, "You've worked hard during this period; we will need to rely on you even more after the opening."

Ji Xiaoxia's expression froze for a moment before she bashfully waved her hand in dismissal.

Pei Sheng, who still hadn't obtained the receptionist's phone number, clicked his tongue and said in a low voice, "Let me tell you, miss, don't be fooled by this guy's appearance; he's actually a pervert. Not like me—I'm all sunshine. How about having dinner together later?"

"..." Ji Xiaoxia was quite embarrassed.

The young girl stood to the side, not knowing what to do, but fortunately, the three had finished what they needed to discuss. Xu Shuo, pulling Pei Sheng along, turned and left, with Li Ziwen following closely.

Ji Xiaoxia stayed behind to lock up, heaving a sigh of relief.

The new boss seemed easy to get along with; although the manager had a poker face, he was also very polite and easy to talk to. It was just the man who always tried to chat her up and ask her out to dine that she found a bit much to handle.

She had been selected by a strange game and, without having resolved her own safety issues first, Ji Xiaoxia had no plans to interact with others in the real world.

Choosing to work at this store was also a way to get more familiar with the Scripted Murder Game.

Speaking of which, she seemed to recall that one of the scripts in the store was quite similar to one in the game... Never mind, she would take another look tomorrow.

...

Experience exclusive tales on empire

The three who left the store ate together outside before going their separate ways; Xu Shuo returned to his small rental apartment.

He had to catch an early train the next morning, so he needed to sleep early. Pei Sheng didn't head to his own home either, but not wanting to cramp himself in Xu Shuo's small room, he booked a room at a nearby hotel instead.

Xu Shuo poured himself a cup of hot water and while drinking it, he opened his phone to send a message to Xu Xi detailing his upcoming travel plans.

It was supposed to be just a routine report, but this time Xu Xi's responses seemed a bit odd.

［You're going on a business trip again?］

Xu Shuo raised his eyebrows slightly.

Although he had been on business trips quite often recently, it wasn't anything new, especially during the early development phase of the studio.

［Yeah, I have a few collaborations to discuss in person. What's the matter, do you need something over there?］

［I'm fine.］

The reply came quickly, followed by Xu Xi's characteristic series of additional messages.

［Just asking.］

［Come back early.］

［Be safe.］

［Don't worry.］ Xu Shuo replied.

He put away his phone, took a sip of hot water, and then remembered the incident he experienced on the high-speed rail during his last business trip.

Surely there wouldn't be another Ghost Train this time, right?