Secretary Liu was the first to know about the boss changing his profile picture. With just one glance, he could guess who had taken the photo. He opened the gossip group chat, where clueless colleagues were still speculating wildly.
"Hmph." He turned off his phone and glanced toward the corner, where a little black cat was curled up asleep in its bed. Such an important secret—why would he share it with anyone else?
"Brother Chao, there's something I need to tell you."
Brother Hu had been quiet the whole way, only speaking up after stepping into the courtyard where Chao Musheng lived. After confirming no one from the Chen family was around, he lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I suspect something's wrong with the Chen family."
As a player, he couldn’t reveal the plot of the game scenario to other in-game characters, but he was genuinely afraid a dark deity might suddenly descend, turning innocent NPCs like Brother Chao into its nourishment.
"Hm?" The look on Little Hu’s face reminded Chao Musheng of their time on the Moonview ship, when he had similarly whispered secrets with that same mysterious expression.
"Do you remember the wooden building Chen Er-shao wouldn’t let us near yesterday?"
Chao Musheng nodded.
"Early this morning, I saw someone come out of that building." Brother Hu’s voice dropped even lower, hushed and secretive. "His face was deathly pale, his steps unsteady—like he’d been drained of blood. I barely managed to help him to the gate before he collapsed. Later, I asked around—turns out he’s a distant relative of the Chen family, goes by… Chen Er."
What a lazy name. If he had an older brother, would he be called Chen One?
"Chen Er?" Chao Musheng frowned.
"Brother Chao, do you know him?" Brother Hu pulled out his phone. "Here’s a photo I took. Doesn’t he look terrifying?"
In the picture, Chen Er’s cheekbones jutted sharply, his face hollow, his eyes unfocused—like a man on death’s doorstep.
"I just saw him last night." Chao Musheng found it deeply unsettling. "He wasn’t like this then."
Chao Musheng mused, "The difference is so drastic. Could he have messed with something he shouldn’t have?"
Brother Hu hesitated. "Brother Chao, do you think Chen Manor might be haunted? Maybe you should move out for now?"
After speaking, they both froze, staring at each other in stunned silence.
Brother Hu thought, Wait, Brother Chao’s literally an NPC in a supernatural scenario—how is his logic so completely detached from the supernatural?
Chao Musheng sighed. "Little Hu, watch more Approaching Science and fewer horror novels. They’re rotting your brain."
Brother Hu: "…"
Bro, we’re literally in a supernatural scenario, and you’re telling me to watch Approaching Science?
…What even is Approaching Science?
"You got drenched earlier. Come inside and take some medicine to prevent a cold." Seeing Little Hu standing there dumbly, Chao Musheng led him into the house and rummaged through the medicine cabinet, which held several types of cold remedies.
"Looking for something?" Secretary Liu glanced at the burly man sitting obediently in the corner, hands on his knees. "Is he sick?"
Chao Musheng shook his head. "No, but he got soaked. I’m just getting him something to ward off a cold."
"Then give him banlangen." Secretary Liu pulled out a packet. "Isn’t banlangen supposed to cure everything?"
"Brother Chao, I’m tough. I don’t get sick that easily." Sitting in the lavishly decorated antique-style room, surrounded by towering bodyguards, Brother Hu’s voice had shrunk several decibels.
"Mr. Chao." A bodyguard emerged from the kitchen with a cup of brown sugar water. "This gentleman caught a chill. Brown sugar water works best for that."
"Thank you." Chao Musheng put the medicine box away and handed the cup to Little Hu. "Drink up."
Brother Hu stared at the steaming cup in his hands, his chest tightening until he could barely breathe.
He’d dropped out of school in his teens, scraping by as a street punk, a delivery guy, then a mechanic. When he was hot, he drank cold water; when he was cold, he just threw on more layers. Neither he nor anyone else had ever thought getting drenched was a big deal.
Yet the first person to care about something so trivial was an NPC inside a game scenario.
The brown sugar water carried a faint ginger taste—not exactly pleasant.
Brother Hu tipped his head back and downed it in one go, his rough hands gripping the cup tightly. "Brother Chao… thank you."
"Why thank me for something so small?" Chao Musheng noticed his discomfort. "The Chen family doesn’t treat their staff right. If you don’t want to work there anymore, just find another job."
What kind of people turn on the sprinklers without checking if anyone’s around or even giving a warning?
On a hot day, having wet clothes stick to your skin is miserable—but people like the Chens wouldn’t spare a thought for ordinary folks. Maybe they didn’t even see them.
"It’s fine. Sister Juan and I are just helping out a friend. We’ll switch jobs in a few days." Brother Hu avoided Chao Musheng’s gaze, unable to meet his sincere, kind eyes. "Brother Chao, how long are you staying at Chen Manor?"
"Old Master Chen’s 69th birthday banquet is in two days. We’ll leave after that." Seeing Little Hu grip the cup tighter, Chao Musheng gently took it from him. "If you run into trouble, call me. You have my number."
With the cup gone, Brother Hu clutched the hem of his pants instead, his rugged face twisting in conflict. "Then… be careful at night. Don’t go out alone."
"Meow."
A black cat sauntered over, stopping in front of Brother Hu. It stared up at him for a long moment.
"Mo Tuan, you’re awake?" Chao Musheng scooped it onto his lap. "This is my friend."
"Meow." Mo Tuan licked its paw, finally breaking its gaze.
A black cat?
Brother Hu remembered the butler’s warning when they first entered the scenario: If you see a black cat in the manor, kill it on sight. Do not hesitate.
Yet as he looked at this cat grooming itself on Chao Musheng’s lap, he saw something above its head—a golden-green halo, radiating power and righteousness.
Using his special ability, he could see auras: red for evil, pale yellow or green for ordinary people, deep green for the just. Golden-green was rare. After countless scenarios, this was only the second time he’d encountered it.
The first had been in a highway chase scenario, where a blood-red killer hunted players until an elderly female police officer stopped him.
That officer’s daughter had been the killer’s victim, and she’d spent the rest of her life pursuing him.
Players who survived the first six days would see her arrive on the seventh and clear the scenario.
When she appeared, her eyes streamed blood, her back bent with age—but the golden-green halo above her head shone like a divine presence.
Back then, Brother Hu had only felt relief at surviving. Now, seeing that same halo above the black cat, he realized something chilling: every time that highway scenario reset, countless players would die, and that NPC officer would relive her grief, chasing the killer over and over.
Do NPCs have feelings?
Brother Hu looked at Chao Musheng standing before him, who was gently brushing a kitten's fur with tender movements.
Perhaps there was something... maybe?
If there weren't, why would he worry about him getting sick from the rain?
Brother Hu stood up, flustered, and said, "Brother Chao, I should get back to work."
He took two steps but then turned around, placing a talisman he had gotten from Sister Juan into Chao Musheng's hand. "Take this with you."
"Thank you." Chao Musheng was momentarily stunned, but Brother Hu had already dashed to the door.
"Meow." Mo Tuan pawed at the yellow talisman folded into a triangle.
"This is a gift from someone. Don't ruin it," Chao Musheng said, holding it up high to keep it out of the cat's reach.
Mo Tuan: "Mew~"
Just a stupid piece of paper—it didn’t even want it!
Mo Tuan jumped off the sofa and sauntered back to its cat bed.
Though superstition wasn’t good, this was Brother Hu’s kind gesture, so Chao Musheng carefully put the talisman away before grabbing two cat treats. "Here, something tasty."
Mo Tuan immediately opened its eyes and pounced to his feet.
Fine, since the human knew how to behave, it wouldn’t hold a grudge.
Secretary Liu glanced at the cat happily munching away before approaching Chao Musheng. "The boss’s profile picture—did you take it?"
"Yeah." Chao Musheng pulled out his phone and showed Secretary Liu the original photo. "What do you think? Pretty good, right?"
In Chao Musheng’s eyes, Secretary Liu only saw admiration for his photography skills—not a trace of anything ambiguous toward the boss.
Secretary Liu glanced discreetly at the boss, who was pretending to read documents seriously in his chair, then smiled and nodded. "It really is great. If not for this photo, I wouldn’t have known the boss was skilled in tea ceremony."
Chao Musheng was surprised. "Even you didn’t know?"
"I’ve heard the boss is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but he keeps a low profile. I’ve never had the chance to witness it." Secretary Liu nudged Chao Musheng’s elbow. "You’re young—the boss must be more indulgent with you. Try to coax him into showing off his talents more often so the rest of us can enjoy them too."
"Secretary Liu, I feel like you’re setting me up here." Chao Musheng shook his head. "No way. I’ve got something important to deal with first."
Secretary Liu: "What is it?"
"What could make a person suddenly age several years overnight?"
"Got involved with something they shouldn’t have?"
As expected, Secretary Liu’s thoughts aligned with his.
Chao Musheng pulled out the business card Police Officer Cheng had given him the day before and dialed the number.
Whether it was true or not, he’d report it to the police.
As a law-abiding citizen with a proper education, he had zero tolerance for such things.
After receiving the call, Police Officer Cheng relayed the matter to a colleague handling similar cases. The colleague dropped his pen and rushed to the hospital. Two hours later, he returned—but his expression was strange.
"What’s with that face?" Police Officer Cheng, exhausted from working overtime on the Wangyue case, asked casually. "Back so soon?"
"When I got there, the hospital was about to call the police, but the family refused." The colleague tossed his briefcase onto the desk. "The case has been transferred to Unit Three."
Police Officer Cheng was surprised. "Not drug-related?"
Mr. Chao wasn’t the type to waste police time.
"The hospital found the victim had severe blood loss without any visible external injuries. They suspected internal bleeding, so they ran a full-body scan—but there was no internal bleeding either." The colleague gulped down some water. "Guess where the doctors finally found the bleeding point?"
"Where?"
"The left chest—right where the heart is."
"Wait, hold on." Police Officer Cheng was suddenly wide awake. "Are you saying someone might have taken his heart’s blood?"
He wasn’t a doctor, but he knew reality wasn’t some wuxia drama—puncturing the heart for blood would kill a person.
"Why didn’t the family want to report it?"
"Because during the time of the injury, the victim was at Chen Manor." The colleague pointed in a certain direction. "That Chen family—the influential one."
"How’s Unit Three handling this?"
"The Chens have too much power. Without solid evidence, it could cause public panic, so Unit Three sent undercover officers into Chen Manor. I don’t know the details." The colleague frowned. "I’ve heard the Chens have strict rules—hope our people don’t slip up."
At dinner, a servant from Chen Manor brought food to the courtyard.
Some dishes required last-minute preparation, and the one assisting Chao Musheng was a young man with a deep tan. Watching him fumble—nearly dropping the carving knife into the pot—Chao Musheng silently caught the handle.
The young man, who had been chosen for his good looks: "..."
Chao Musheng calmly returned the knife. The young man blushed, grinned awkwardly, and went back to struggling with the unevenly cut meat.
The moment the steward stepped inside, Chao Musheng took the knife and fork from him. "Let me."
"What’s going on?" The steward, seeing a guest handling the cooking, quickly apologized. "Mr. Chao, my apologies for the servant’s incompetence. I’ll dismiss him at once!"
"It’s not his fault. I prefer doing it myself." Chao Musheng asked, "Steward, what brings you here?"
The steward glanced at the mess of overcooked and undercooked meat in front of Chao Musheng and relaxed.
Ah, so Mr. Chao did this himself? Then it was fine.
