There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

[The theater event has concluded.]

After returning to a blank space, Xu Shuo didn't look at the refreshing settlement interface. Instead, he took two steps back and collapsed directly onto the only genuine leather sofa in the space.

He rested for a while, and it was probably because his consciousness from playing the game finally returned that Xu Shuo looked up at the settlement interface.

The rewards included performance points and the unchanging mental point bonus, as well as a Character Card, a special skill, an artifact, and a title.

Huh? Did something new appear?

[Special Artifact 'Staff of the Baseless': It may become your handy weapon, but in fact, it's only a mage's staff that sees through illusions (artifact can be upgraded).]

Xu Shuo: "?"

What does this introduction mean?

Curious, Xu Shuo took out the staff. It was different from the blind girl's. His was a dark green bamboo stick, slender and about a meter long, with a sharp end. Its handle was hook-shaped, and in the middle of the staff were a few spirals of a darker color.

Looking at the simple and unpretentious staff, Xu Shuo tentatively pushed it down, and it retracted into a ten-centimeter-long hook handle.

Quite convenient to carry around with him.

Xu Shuo flicked the handle to extend the staff again and then struck the ground forcefully with it.

Hum——

It seemed that a silent wave of sound spread out around him, colliding with the sofa and perfectly outlining its shape, which was presented in Xu Shuo's mind, including its internal framework, all crystal clear.

Is this what seeing through illusions is about?

Thinking of something, Xu Shuo suddenly lifted the staff and tentatively twirled it like a sword flower. The staff spun a few times in his hand before being securely grasped again.

Hey, it's not bad. It really is quite handy.

[Special Skill 'Hole Hearing': From now on, it seems like you can hear everything. But it's still an active skill, even though it enhances your organs, because we're afraid you might accidentally hear the voices from the Abyss (skill can be upgraded).]

This was the skill he had acquired this time.

For some reason, Xu Shuo always felt there was an eerie suggestive undertone to these skill introductions.

If it weren't for the artifact's description, he probably wouldn't have thought to use the staff as a close-combat weapon, and likewise now, he hadn't been the least bit interested in the Abyss!

[blind girl Character Card: When you transform into the blind girl, her weak, pitiful, and helpless self will increase your skill attributes by 10 percent points. It will also cause enemies to automatically overlook your dangerousness, the only pity is that you've gone blind.]

[Title 'Abyss Caretaker': It seems you have drawn the attention of the Abyss. Those creatures that crawl out of the darkness have started to like you, but you might find this affection a bit hard to bear. Don't worry, we've thoughtfully equipped you with this title.]

Xu Shuo: "???"

Well, thanks for your consideration!

He opened the Player's Handbook and saw that behind his name there was now a title with a golden background, 'Abyss Caretaker'.

Enjoy new chapters from empire

It seemed to be a passive skill. Clicking into it, he could not deselect the title, only choose to change it for another.

Stupid game!

At this time, Xu Shuo noticed a small red dot on the "Messages" feature at the top right corner.

He had thought it would be a message from Hong Rao, but when he clicked it was an invitation email from the Script Space, inviting him… to become a director?

Xu Shuo stared at the system panel, lost in thought.

It was supposed to be a simple script, but the bounty he received was excessively rich. Xu Shuo felt vaguely uneasy.

While he was pondering, a visit request from Hong Rao finally came.

Xu Shuo didn't refuse. A Light Gate unfolded in the space, and a bewitching woman in a black cheongsam, carrying her own tea, stepped out with a smiling expression.

"How was this script event for you?" Hong Rao sat on the sofa and asked while holding her teacup.

"It was good, just a little challenging," Xu Shuo said.

"Is this script difficult? If there are parts you don't understand, you can talk to me about them," Hong Rao raised her eyebrows slightly, sipped her tea, and sized him up from the corner of her eye.

Xu Shuo felt that this woman seemed to be probing him for something, but it looked like she had no malicious intent and was simply guessing.

What was she curious about?

…

Hong Rao was indeed curious!

Because after looking for a long time, she still couldn't figure out which script this guy was actually playing!

The other person had already given such an obvious clue, but no matter how hard she wracked her brain, she couldn't figure out which Character Card's traits matched, but would Hong Rao admit that?

She definitely wouldn't show weakness in front of a student!

"There is indeed a question," Xu Shuo looked at her sincerely.

"Hmm?" Hong Rao showed a listening expression.

"What is the Abyss?" Xu Shuo said, "I heard some players mention it in the script."

But he barely saw anyone discussing it on the forum.

Hong Rao took a sip of tea and said, "Oh, that. It's not strange that you've heard about it. Actually, those ghosts, demons, Evil Gods and such from mutant scripts are collectively referred to by us as 'Abyss Creatures.' To put it simply, it's a place that continuously produces indescribable monsters."

At this point, Hong Rao paused and then playfully winked at him.

"You might not have seen the term 'Abyss' on the forum because Script Space has listed it as a banned word, probably because they're worried our discussions might cause too much fear in new players. — You can't even curse the people in charge of the Space on the forum."

"… The Space has people in charge?" Xu Shuo asked.

"I don't know, but some rule-breaking comments do get deleted, and serious violators might even have their accounts banned."

"Do those Abyss Creatures affect the mental state of players?" Xu Shuo steered the topic back.

"Yes, and their essence is more or less the same, which is why the creatures in mutant scripts are all categorized together," Hong Rao nodded, pondering silently.

Was he asking these questions because lots of Abyss Creatures appeared in the script this time?

Otherwise, why would players from the same batch as him risk deducting performance points by directly saying that word in the game?

A character with extraordinary hearing who's blind?

And a lot of Abyss Creatures appeared in the script?

Damn it, which script is it?

Generally speaking, low-rank scripts don't treat new players too harshly, and widespread Abyss Creature attacks only occur in assessment scripts.

Although Xu Shuo was just a level 1 newbie, considering that he previously encountered bugs and ran into the wrong script twice, it was not ruled out that he had done so again, especially since he previously rejected the script she recommended.

She could only wait until his script was up to see.

Suddenly thinking of something else, Hong Rao expectantly asked, "As a blind character this time, is there anything you're not used to?"

Thinking it over, Xu Shuo said, "It's okay, it's just that finding clues is troublesome. I can't see anything and can only rely on what others say to piece together clues, never knowing if they're telling the truth or not."

Hong Rao nodded as if understanding deeply, about to continue probing when suddenly she heard the young man add,

"So towards the end, I got lazy guessing and just directly asked that NPC what caused her own death, and it actually worked."

"…" Hong Rao.

The task involved finding out the cause of one's own death?

The woman's face took on a strange expression as she strung together everything she knew, and she faintly guessed which script the young man had entered.

But… the blind girl is an NPC!