The shopkeeper, Xiao Wai, cleared his throat and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He worked hard to steer everyone back on track.
This group of players was seriously difficult to manage.
“Yunche, why don’t you introduce your character?”
Ye Yunche lazily flipped through his character booklet again before speaking.
“I’m a bounty hunter named Oscar. I accepted a mercenary job to search for the Dragon King’s dungeon in the Forgotten Forest. A few days ago, the fog in the forest was too thick to enter, so I stayed in Alchemy City for a while.
“For now, I’m staying at the home of the little florist, Alice.”
Xiao Qitang bared his teeth. “You made that up!”
Ye Yunche shrugged.
With a bright, mischievous smile, he looked past Xiao Qitang toward Zhu Liuyue.
He said in a lazy, teasing tone, “Isn’t that right, Alice?”
Zhu Liuyue gave a small nod. “That’s right. Not long ago, I found an unconscious man outside the flower shop. After I brought him around, he temporarily moved into the back courtyard. But he has never revealed where he came from.”
The shopkeeper, Xiao Wai, finally let out a long sigh of relief.
He clapped his hands.
“Good. Now everyone has introduced their character and shared the information they know.”
“Let me summarize. Zhao Wen is Alu, the blacksmith. The information we know is that his wife was killed by the Demon King. Zhao Xin is Tanas, the singer. Tan Zhi is Ann, the amnesiac traveler. Xiao Qitang is Andre, the son of the lord of Alchemy City. Ye Yunjin is Zorro, the city lord. Zhu Qi is John, the forest hunter. Ye Yunche is Oscar, the bounty hunter. Zhu Liuyue is Alice, the little florist.”
“Now we begin the first round of the treasure hunt.”
The treasure hunt was very simple.
A map of the Forgotten Forest was spread across the table, and everyone had three chances to roll the dice.
Each square concealed information about one of the characters.
The first round ended.
Zhu Liuyue obtained hidden information about Ann.
[Ann: She isn’t suffering from amnesia at all. Perhaps she is searching for some treasure in the Forgotten Forest.]
The second round.
[Andre: He isn’t an easygoing young man. There are rumors that he doesn’t look much like the city lord, Zorro. Is he really the city lord’s son?]
The third round.
[Oscar: A notorious bounty hunter among mercenaries, Oscar ranks near the top of the list. It is said that for money, he would even sell his soul.]
No one knew whose character cards Xiao Qitang had drawn, but he kept laughing loudly.
The shopkeeper, Xiao Wai, reminded them, “You may now use the hidden information to guess which faction the others belong to and whether they are your teammates.”
“If you belong to the same faction, you need to cover for them. If you belong to opposing factions, you may use the cards as evidence during the accusation phase in the next round.”
“You have ten minutes to exchange cards freely. Trade among yourselves as you wish.”
The moment he finished speaking, Xiao Qitang smugly waved the three cards in his hand and said with a grin, “Liuyue, all three of these clues are about you. How about making a trade?”
Zhu Liuyue couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “Not interested.”
Ye Yunche tapped his fingers against the tabletop.
“I have cards about you too. What are you so pleased about?”
In the end, Zhu Liuyue traded one of her hidden cards with Tan Zhi and got one of her own hidden cards back.
[Alice: She is the most skilled little florist there is. She can even travel alone through the Forgotten Forest without encountering any danger.]
Although the card did not say it outright, it had already made it clear that Alice was certainly not an ordinary human.
As for Xiao Qitang—
He was being far too irritating.
Zhu Liuyue didn’t feel like dealing with him. She was actually rather curious to see whether he would accuse her in the next round.
Xiao Wai clapped his hands. “All right. We’ll now begin the first accusation phase. Please point out anyone you believe belongs to the Demon King’s faction or the spy faction.”
“An accusation must be supported by character-card evidence. A successful accusation earns ten magic crystals.”
(The murder-mystery portion of the game has been simplified here, along with many other stages. The main purpose is to move the plot forward.)
Zhu Qi asked curiously, “So does the person who gets accused leave the game?”
Xiao Wai shook his head. “Yes.”
Xiao Qitang muttered, “What if they’re wrongly killed?”
Xiao Wai replied, “Then they die wrongfully.”
Everyone: “…”
First accusation.
No one expected Ye Yunche to be the first to raise his hand.
“I accuse Xiao Qitang of being the Demon King.”
Xiao Qitang rolled his eyes. “Didn’t you just claim that you were the Great Demon King yourself?”
Ye Yunche replied, “I was only teasing you.”
Xiao Wai took control of the situation and reminded him, “You need to provide character cards as evidence.”
“Of course I have evidence!”
Ye Yunche confidently tossed two cards onto the table.
[Andre: A servant said that the young lord had been in a terrible mood lately, as if he had become a completely different person.]
[Andre: A servant saw him sneaking into the Forgotten Forest late at night. His behavior was highly suspicious.]
“I bet he isn’t human at all. Maybe he was already killed, and someone from the Demon King’s faction took on his appearance. The Andre we see now is a fake.”
As he spoke, Ye Yunche turned toward Ye Yunjin.
“Brother, your son has been replaced!”
Xiao Qitang snapped angrily, “You’re the son!”
Ye Yunjin nodded in agreement.
“I agree.”
He calmly produced another character card.
[Andre: Hidden deep inside his wardrobe was a black cloak. The hem of the cloak was stained with mud from the Forgotten Forest.]
Xiao Qitang looked at the card.
He felt deeply wronged.
“I’m really not part of the Demon King’s faction. I’m human.”
Zhao Xin asked curiously, “Then how do you explain the motives shown on these three cards? They’re incredibly suspicious.”
Zhao Wen chimed in, “Exactly!”
Xiao Qitang shot him a look.
Zhao Wen shrank back and said, “Bro, this is just a game. You have to show some sportsmanship. Don’t try to intimidate me.”
Xiao Qitang cleared his throat.
Then he couldn’t help sneaking another glance at Zhu Liuyue.
“The first card says I’ve been in a bad mood because I went to see the little florist, Alice, and discovered there was another man in her flower shop. So I went home and got angry.”
“The second and third cards are related to the same thing. I was worried Alice might encounter danger while entering the Forgotten Forest alone to gather flowers, so I secretly followed her.
“The black cloak was a disguise. I didn’t want her to notice me, so getting mud on the hem was completely normal.”
Zhao Xin and her best friend, Tan Zhi, exchanged a glance and said in unison, “Oh. He’s a lovesick puppy.”
Xiao Qitang: “…!!! It’s not me. It’s Andre.”
Zhao Wen said, “Bro, you need to show some sportsmanship and stay in character. You’re Andre right now.”
Xiao Qitang: “…!!!”
He was beginning to seriously suspect that his younger siblings had come here specifically to attack his weakest points.
The shopkeeper, Xiao Wai, clapped his hands. “All right, let’s vote. Everyone who thinks Xiao Qitang belongs to the Demon King’s faction, raise your hand.”
“Three, two, one…”
“All right.”
“Unanimous!”
Xiao Qitang puffed up with rage like an angry pufferfish. “...???”
What was this supposed to be?
He had genuinely been wrongfully killed!
