Xiao Wai thought things couldn't get any more hellish.
Her scripted murder mystery game shop was basically dead before it even opened, and now she just prayed that these fine ladies and gentlemen wouldn't end up brawling today.
She tested the waters: "Um... how about we split into two groups and I try to recruit more people?"
Xiao Qitang shook his head. "No need. Everyone's here, so let's just play. Bring out the scripts, we'll pick one. It's not like I'm scared to play."
Zhu Liuyue swept her gaze across the two Ye brothers. "Are you two scared to play?"
Ye Yunche's knuckles cracked audibly. "We play!"
Ye Yunjin curled the corner of his mouth. "Well, we're already here."
"Alright, let's just pick a script then." Zhu Liuyue smiled lightly at Xiao Wai, who could only feel the sweat trickling down her back.
After a "friendly" discussion among the group, they settled on a faction-based mechanic script.
The setting was Western fantasy.
All eight people had their own storylines, divided into two major factions: the Demon Lord's faction and the Warriors' faction.
Without revealing their identities, everyone had to make contact with their teammates and collect the most game currency—magic crystals—each round.
At the end, whichever faction held the most magic crystals won.
But there were also two spies: a fake demon in the Demon Lord's faction and a fake human in the Warriors' faction.
If the spies helped their faction win, it counted as a joint victory.
Of course, spies could also choose to win alone. In that case, they'd be the sole winner and take home all the rewards.
After Xiao Wai finished explaining, she handed out the character scripts.
"These are each person's character scripts, which include your identity cards. You must protect that information. After you're done reading, everyone will introduce themselves."
"Remember, only the spies are allowed to lie. The Demon Lord's faction and the Warriors' faction can only tell the truth—but they may hide information that works against them."
Zhu Liuyue opened her character's storyline.
Character: Alice, a dark elf from the Forgotten Forest, disguised as a simple little gardener living in the Alchemy City. Currently a member of the Warriors' faction.
So she was the spy—the fake human in the Warriors' faction.
Xiao Wai: "Has everyone finished reading?"
Everyone nodded.
"Okay, we'll go from left to right for self-introductions."
Zhao Wen: "I'm Alu the blacksmith, human, living in Alchemy City. My wife was killed by the Demon Lord, so I've always wanted to forge the ultimate divine weapon to avenge her."
Zhao Xin: "I'm Tanas the singer in Alchemy City. I love music and magic. I'm looking for magic crystals and a legendary divine instrument."
Tan Zhi: "I'm Ann, a traveler who woke up in the Forgotten Forest three days ago. After waking up, I went to the nearest town, Alchemy City."
It was Zhu Liuyue's turn. She withheld key information.
She said, "I'm Alice, the little gardener in Alchemy City. I know Alu the blacksmith and Tanas the singer—we've all been in the city for years."
She said this to back up her human identity and to toss out some goodwill to the others.
Xiao Qitang raised an eyebrow, put down his character script, and said with a grin:
"I'm Andre, the son of the Alchemy City lord. I've grown up here. Recently, I... have fallen for the little gardener Alice in town."
Zhu Liuyue was puzzled. "There's no story about you in my script."
Ye Yunjin: "He's making it up."
Ye Yunche: "He's making it up."
Xiao Qitang patted his script. "I'm not the spy, so I can't lie."
Zhu Liuyue shot back, "Maybe you ARE the spy."
Xiao Qitang shrugged, looking utterly smug.
"Liuyue, that's not nice. You can't bring personal grudges into the game. Just because I'm your ex-boyfriend doesn't mean you get to accuse me of being the spy."
Seeing the conversation veering off track again, the shop owner Xiao Wai quickly stepped in to mediate: "Alright, let's continue introducing ourselves in order. Next up, it's Yunjin's turn."
Ye Yunjin displayed a faint smile.
He put down his script.
Introduced himself: "I'm the bravest warrior in Alchemy City, and also the city lord—Zorro."
Then he looked at Xiao Qitang.
In a calm tone, completely devoid of provocation, he said: "Andre, my good son."
Xiao Qitang slammed the table!
Only two words came out: "Hmph, funny."
Ye Yunche frowned, staring at his script, growing more confused the longer he looked.
He couldn't help poking Zhu Liuyue's shoulder. "Liuyue, what do these lines mean? I can't understand any of it."
Ye Yunjin shot him a death glare.
Ye Yunche quickly retracted his hand and scratched his head.
"Hey, I really don't get it!"
Xiao Wai, ever considerate, said: "How about Zhu Qi introduces himself first, and Yunche goes last? Take your time reading the script."
Zhu Qi: "I'm John, a hunter from the forest. Three days ago, while hunting, I found a traveler passed out on the ground and brought her back to consciousness.
She said her name was Ann, a traveler searching for treasures across the Western Fantasy Continent, but she doesn't remember what happened before she lost consciousness."
Everyone turned to look at Ye Yunche in unison.
The only thing left was for him to reveal his identity.
Ye Yunche spread his hands, looking helpless.
"Ah, what do we do? How is everyone here human? Fine, I'll come clean—I'm the Big Demon King!"
Everyone was stunned: "...!!!"
Can you even play it like that?
Is there any sense of gameplay left?
Even Zhu Liuyue was starting to doubt Ye Yunche's intelligence.
A strategist with such low IQ—maybe she didn't need to put in so much effort after all.
She could just casually toss a couple of moves and max out his affection.
Ye Yunjin, knowing his younger brother best, cleared his throat and said:
"Alright, stop messing around!
Introduce yourself properly. The character profiles we've been given only include our names and early backstories. 'Big Demon King' is just a placeholder title—even if you were one, that title wouldn't appear right now."
Zhu Liuyue praised him: "How clever."
The corner of Ye Yunjin's mouth curved up slightly.
Xiao Qitang, unable to stand seeing him praised, sneered: "Ha? That counts as clever? Isn't that just common sense?"
Zhao Xin exchanged a glance with her bestie Tan Zhi, unable to hold back a giggle behind her hand.
She whispered:
"See what I told you? My cousin has never gotten over being dumped that time. It's been three years and he still hasn't dated anyone."
"What? No way—after only seven days of dating, he went into a three-year hermit mode?" Tan Zhi's volume was a bit hard to control.
Everyone in the room could hear her.
No wonder Xiao Qitang had been so passive-aggressive ever since he saw Zhu Liuyue—turns out it was because the shadow of being dumped back then was too deep. Even after three years, he still hadn't snapped out of it.
That was a little pitiful, honestly.
Xiao Qitang cared most about saving face. He shot a glare at Zhao Xin, that leaky windbreaker of a cousin.
"Cousin! You don't want me to tell Auntie about your secret online romance with that male streamer, do you?"
"No, no, no!" Zhao Xin waved her hands frantically in panic.
Xiao Qitang then turned his gaze to Zhao Wen.
Zhao Wen shook his head rapidly. "Bro, I didn't say a thing. That day at the racetrack, when I raced Sister Liuyue, I didn't even mention you once."
Xiao Qitang let out a light snort.
He really wanted to say: Why didn't you bring it up back then!
That night, Zhu Liuyue hadn't been engaged yet. Who knows—if she'd been reminded that she had a jilted ex-boyfriend, maybe she would've felt too embarrassed to go through with the engagement the next day.
