There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

The female journalist threw an ordinary marble onto the floor and then fixed her gaze on the girl next to her.

Under her watch, Xu Shuo, with a smile brimming with meaning, tossed the marble in his hand, and only then did the journalist click her fingers in satisfaction.

"Bang! Bang!"

There, now it felt like two people were getting up to no good together.

When the two marbles exploded, scorching flames burst forth, blazing fiercely but extinguishing just as quickly.

However, according to rule number fifteen, this act was already a violation.

The next moment, the air in the corridor became moist and chillingly cold, and the light in their field of vision seemed to dim considerably, with Dark Matter seeping out from the cracks in the corner of the walls.

Immediately after, they heard the sound of footsteps running behind them.

The female journalist spun around sharply, but there was nothing in the hallway behind them, though the running footsteps swiftly passed by their side, heading towards the front.

A cold chill swept over her body, causing goosebumps to prickle all over her skin.

The female journalist hissed in irritation, unable to help herself from muttering softly, "Does she have to run back and forth like this every time she appears? Is this the rule?"

Xu Shuo didn't know what to say: "..."

But as soon as her words fell, the running footsteps in front ceased abruptly, and then the black fog condensed, revealing Lily's figure as she turned around and looked at them with a sinister gaze.

Because the journalist had already faced her directly once, she wasn't as nervous and frantic this time.

Her expression steady, she calmly asked, "Lily, can we talk properly now?"

She wanted to test if the girl still retained her memory from just moments ago.

Lily coldly scrutinized the two of them, and behind her, a huge shadow surfaced, a tall and slender monster rising from the floor, standing behind her like a guardian.

Seeing this, the female journalist frowned and shifted slightly, adopting a defensive stance.

Lily's mouth curved into a malicious smile, "My dear caregiver sister, my servant is hungry. Can you offer your arm as a meal for it?"

The female journalist, startled, reflexively wanted to refuse, "I——"

But as soon as she began to speak, she froze abruptly, as if her brain had been struck by a heavy blow, and her immediate reaction was to unhesitatingly draw a dagger and slash at her own arm!

Thud!

The dagger landed on a hand that suddenly reached out.

Xu Shuo had grabbed the blade, and with a slight and skillful movement, he disarmed her of her dagger.

But the female journalist's motion still continued, and when her fist forcefully struck her own left arm, she snapped back to reality amidst the agonizing pain.

Thinking back on her own action that had bypassed all thought, the female journalist turned deathly pale.

"Are you alright?" the female journalist turned to the blind girl.

Xu Shuo spread open his hand to her.

There was a shallow, turned-out white line on the outer layer of the skin, which wasn't particularly noticeable against the girl's already pale complexion.

Since the journalist's motion lacked any intent to attack, Xu Shuo had only coated the blade with a thin film of Dark Matter.

But because he had little time to react and his control over the skill wasn't perfect, he still suffered a slight nick to his epidermis, and as time passed, a small bead of blood seeped out.

Such a minor injury wasn't even worth healing with the violin in the Sea of Consciousness.

However, the lanky, dazed monster behind Lily suddenly turned its head in his direction!

A sense of danger spread over them.

Watching the monster's reaction, Xu Shuo lifted his hand and swayed it from side to side.

The monster's head followed the movement of the hand from which the small beads of blood had emerged, its body becoming increasingly hunched as if mimicking the posture of an animal arching its back before charging.

But the next moment, Xu Shuo smiled and, in front of the monster, brought his palm to his mouth and gently licked off the blood beads with his tongue.

It was just a small amount of blood from the capillaries, easily stopped by the saliva, so there were no more beads forming.

Afterward, Xu Shuo waved his clean palm again in front of the monster.

This action, it was as if to say—

Gone! You can't have it!

The scene suddenly fell silent.

The female reporter didn't know what to make of it: "..."

The monster couldn't speak: "..."

The monster also retracted its charging stance, it glanced at the two people over there and then looked down at Lily by its side, repeating these actions two or three times.

Lily, however, completely ignored its reaction, her eyes that had regained their azure hue glanced at the blind girl who posed no threat, and then at the female reporter.

In the end, she fixed her gaze on the female reporter, sneering, "Sister, did you just agree to my request?"

Hearing this, the female reporter opened her mouth but was completely at a loss for how to respond.

Her involuntary action just now had made it clear to her that the second rule imposed on her, [Employee], had been exploited.

The employees of the orphanage cannot refuse any request from a child.

And Lily actually wanted her to harm herself!

How could such a request ever be agreed to!

The female reporter frowned tightly, her gaze subconsciously drifting to the door of Room 313 nearby.

Rule Six of the Qiming Orphanage Employee Handbook: If you receive a request that you cannot fulfill, you may attempt to return to the caretaker's room to rest.

However, before she could finish her thoughts, Lily's voice rang out again.

"Sister, are you tacitly agreeing?"

What? Silence counts too?!

The female reporter hadn't recovered from her shock when she involuntarily took out a dagger and slashed towards her own arm!

Xu Shuo didn't try to block it this time, but as the dagger was halfway there, the female reporter also stopped her movement dead.

If it was excusable to be influenced without preparation the first time, but if she still lacked this awareness the second time, then it really meant there was no hope for her.

The female reporter was covered in sweat, and her right hand trembled violently from exertion.

She desperately wanted to stop her action, yet her body was completely out of her control!

To the female reporter, the arm that was about to strike didn't feel like a part of her body, nor did the hand that swung the dagger seem like her own.

It was a very strange sensation, as she observed, from the perspective of a bystander, her body undergoing execution!

But the pain was very real!

As her body's strength gave in, the dagger's blade came closer to her arm, the sharp edge slicing through the skin and continuing to penetrate deeper.

No good! This rule was completely irresistible!

Heart pounding with fear, the female reporter turned her head and stared intensely at the blind girl by her side.

Xu Shuo, however, didn't even look at her, casually lifting his cane with a relaxed posture, the end of the cane tapping lightly yet erratically on the floor, the sound crisp and clear in the quiet corridor.

Lily was drawn by this sound and turned her head subconsciously.

Then, as if she remembered something, she stepped back half a step warily, but then, perhaps thinking of something else, she stepped forward again angrily and glared in that direction.

"It seems you haven't learned your lesson?"

Xu Shuo arched an eyebrow and chuckled softly, "Then perhaps a few more times would help?"

After all, in the Investigator's diary, Lily had annoyed him countless times, had been killed by him numerous times, yet she tirelessly continued to harass him.

However, Lily most likely wasn't truly unafraid of being killed; considering her reaction after recently seeing the headmaster, she really had been beaten into fear. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

So this was just the simple stubbornness and defiant spirit of a little girl at play.

Killing her a few more times might just bring her into line.

...