There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

The archive room door was ajar.

Xu Shuo leaned against the door frame, blatantly watching them.

He hadn't set the fire or caused an explosion, so the fifteenth rule couldn't lock down his current identity. What's more, he and the female journalist stepping out of the door were actually in two different spaces now.

Before the female journalist left the archive room, she was still under its rules.

If she could resist the influence of her subconscious, as long as she didn't leave, she wouldn't fall into Lily's rules.

Just like the first time she triggered the explosion on the third floor, the auxiliary police led them into the "Black and White Dice" rule space, thus avoiding capture by Lily's rules.

Lily couldn't find a target and naturally couldn't make a move.

After all, she couldn't traverse other rule spaces.

Xu Shuo stood by the door for a while but didn't see Lily even glance his way, not to mention her "servant" showing any reaction.

It seemed Lily's new rules weren't overreaching enough to enforce across spaces.

As the female journalist's expression grew more and more unsightly, Xu Shuo didn't continue to challenge her psychological endurance and took a step forward to leave the archive room.

And the next moment, Lily and the monster swiftly turned their heads to look at him.

Lily stared at her, curving her lips, "Sister, were you playing with fire just now?" Your journey continues on My Virtual Library Empire

Xu Shuo weakly shook his head, "It wasn't me."

"But my servant says it saw you playing with fire here." Lily tilted her head, saying the lines she had already repeated, with a tone devoid of emotion.

Afterward, the terrified female journalist discovered that the monster, which had been locking eyes with her intently, finally moved its head as if looking behind her.

In front of Xu Shuo, the monster copied Lily's action, tilting its head to the right, going all the way to a grotesque ninety degrees.

Xu Shuo pretended to ponder, "Could it have seen wrong? Look, there's no fire here."

"No?"

Lily seemed to hear a joke, her smile suddenly becoming bright. As her question fell, the walls and ceiling of the corridor started to ooze dark matter.

The next moment, the spreading darkness suddenly burst into flames, engulfing the entire corridor in fire in an instant.

But there was no sense of heat whatsoever.

The female journalist, on the other hand, felt cold, as flames from all directions licked towards her, even wrapping around her legs standing in the corridor.

But she seemed to have lost all sensation, no pain, no scorching heat.

The female journalist looked blankly toward the blind girl behind her.

The blind girl, leaning against the wall, had flames climbing her face, a fiery red reflection in her pitch-black, lifeless eyes, which seemed almost surreal and hauntingly beautiful.

But just like the female journalist's legs weren't roasted, even though the girl was enveloped in flames, she appeared unharmed.

This fire, it seemed to hold no threat?

Lily laughed merrily, blatantly lying, "Look, you've started a big fire! Our home is destroyed, and for such bad behavior, you should receive the severest of punishments!"

Xu Shuo remained unmoved in the fire, equally making stuff up, "What fire? I don't see anything, is there a fire?"

Female journalist: "..."

As she felt confused by their conversation, Xu Shuo turned his head to look at her, then blinked and smiled.

The female journalist stared at him in shock. Her vision seemed to blur for a moment because, in her current line of sight, the blind girl was not wrapped in flames at all.

Just now, it all seemed to be an illusion.

With this realization, the female journalist suddenly snapped to attention!

She understood!

The rule erosion targeted the mind, the will, and the cognition of the victim!

The flames might really exist, but if they don't exist in your perception, then they're not in your world.

After realizing this, the female journalist's body, which had grown so cold she lost all sensation, gradually warmed up, and then it got hotter... and hotter... until it was so hot she began to feel pain.

Shit! The fire was real after all!

Her legs were indeed being roasted!

The female journalist was suddenly seized with trembling.

Why had she just thought the fire posed no threat?

If she hadn't come to her senses, she would have let the flames engulf her, and without knowing it, been burned alive by the fire!

The journalist quickly bent down and hurriedly patted her burning feet, attempting to extinguish the flames.

When ordinary methods failed, she reached for a golden Holy Grail and poured the clear water inside over her head without hesitation.

Splash—

The Holy Grail, large as a basin, instantly poured out a bucket's worth of water, soaking the journalist through to the core.

The flames around her were also instantly extinguished.

The journalist took a refreshing deep breath, feeling clear-minded.

"It's too late to put out the fire now, why don't you all quietly disappear with this damned prison!"

As she let out a sigh of relief, a sinister laugh suddenly echoed from beside her.

—Prison?

The journalist hadn't had time to think deeply about those words when sudden trouble arose!

Lily's blue eyes were gradually invaded by a fiery red, becoming savage and terrifying. With a hideous laugh, her dress suddenly burst into flames, and even her hair turned into burning fire!

At the same time, the slender monster by her side spread its huge palm, its upright fingers like the back of a throne.

The furious Lily leaned back into the palm, sitting directly in the heart of the monster's hand. She crossed her legs, looking down from on high at the two people in the hallway.

"Annoying trash, start struggling."

Lily sneered coldly.

The journalist stood in a puddle of Holy Water, staring in shock at the girl consumed by flames, then turned to look at the blind girl.

Xu Shuo said weakly, "Sister, I said we can only beat her to death, right?"

The journalist whispered, "Is there really no chance of negotiation? I still wanted to ask her something."

"Didn't I just try that for you?"

"...Was that an attempt?"

Wasn't that just provoking her?

Oh, perhaps not, it seemed that what really provoked her was the bucket of Holy Water she poured over herself.

In fact, both of them had just been blatantly lying.

With a calm expression, the journalist pulled out a few marbles and, still hoping, tentatively asked Lily, "I want to know, was the fire at Qiming Orphanage really started by you?"

Lily looked at her and cocked her head without speaking, then abruptly lifted her hand!

Countless flames swarmed out in front of her, rushing towards the two like a tidal wave, filled with endless heat and destruction!

The journalist immediately threw the marbles from her hand!

Instantaneously connecting into a mesh of electricity, the shining lights barred the advancing tidal wave of fire.

But in the next moment, flames attacked from behind her, above, and on both sides!

The journalist powerfully stamped on the floor, causing residual puddles on the ground to be shaken up, with sparkling droplets of water floating in mid-air.

She turned and slapped at the droplets with her hand.

Splash—

Like a gentle rain, the water droplets scattered in every direction, snuffing out the majority of the approaching flames.

In the midst of the blazing flames, the journalist looked towards the blind girl's position.

"Where are you?!"

As her words fell, the journalist sensed a shadow flash by her side; the frail blind girl braved the burning flames and charged straight ahead!

After breaking through the firewall's encirclement, in front stood Lily, seated in the palm of the monster!

...