There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

This might be everyone's reunion after having gone their separate ways.

In a daze, there's even a feeling of things and people being unrecognizable.

But in actuality, the time they had been separated was probably just over forty minutes, not even an hour.

"This couldn't possibly... be your doing, right?"

The female reporter pointed in astonishment at the office behind him.
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The office was still spewing thick black fog. Following its lead, the female white-collar worker who came out pushed Old Wang aside and away from the doorway.

Upon hearing this, the female white-collar worker smiled awkwardly and said, "We were trapped in the cafeteria, so we had to charge at the space here to get out."

"Which Rule Space trapped you?" the female reporter asked, fishing for information subconsciously.

"It wasn't one listed in the visitor's guidebook. We saw a child, then got lost in the cafeteria," the white-collar worker continued.

"Oh... wait, got lost in the cafeteria?!"

As expected, no one believed her words, but the white-collar worker noticed that the only one surprised was the reporter.

The social worker stood some distance away, as if avoiding something, and as for the young man in the bloodstained lab coat next to the reporter, she did not know him.

But he seemed easy to get along with.

At this moment, the female social worker suddenly asked, "The child you encountered, was it Emily?"

The female white-collar worker looked at her, "The one holding a doll?"

"Yes." The social worker nodded.

"Then it must have been her."

"Since that's the case, it's understandable that you got lost in the cafeteria."

The social worker mused aloud, "She seems to be able to make people lose their spatial perception. However, I heard that if someone takes her doll, her powers will be nullified. Didn't you have any countermeasures at the time?"

She had seen this in the Investigator's diary she found in the office earlier, which mentioned information about the child, Emily.

Hearing this, the white-collar worker felt a bit embarrassed, "My husband only saw the shadow of the child, and didn't manage to catch her."

If she had caught her, she would have definitely snatched away the doll, whatever the reason!

Old Wang chimed in, "The kid was originally hiding in a corner, and disappeared with a swoosh when discovered. Hard to catch."

"I see..."

While the three discussed a certain troublesome child, the reporter who didn't understand anything felt left out and couldn't help but glance at the young man beside her.

Xu Shuo caught her gaze, not reading what she was trying to express, and just agreed, "They're right."

The female reporter: "..." So, am I the only one who doesn't know anything?

The black fog seeping from the office was still spreading, distorting the entire corridor. The female white-collar worker kept vigilance around her as she swept another glance at their trio.

"Are there others?" she asked, puzzled.

Why were there only lone survivors from both groups, and even the police assistant was nowhere to be seen?

The social worker shook her head, "I don't know. When I reached the staircase, I was sucked into a 'Painting on the Wall.' Only they three continued upward. When I got out, I was alone."

She hinted at who had completed the side mission three.

At the same time, she was cautious, not yet disclosing the reporter's possible treachery.

The white-collar worker then looked at the reporter.

"We got sucked into the Black and White Dice in the stairwell on the third floor. After coming out, we were all scattered, so I don't know where the others went," the reporter said.

"And who is he?" the white-collar worker asked, gesturing to the young man beside her.

"Uh... he is..."

Suddenly, the reporter became somewhat guilty as she looked at Xu Shuo's smiling face, then slowly turned her gaze toward the social worker not far away.

When the social worker caught her eye, she exploded, "I told you I'm really a social worker!"

Previously, she had been attacked and forced into the office by the reporter who couldn't distinguish friend from foe. She had endured it then, but if the reporter was planning to sacrifice her again in front of another group, she wouldn't stand for it!

Of course, what's more important was that she couldn't handle being attacked by all four at once!

The social worker looked at the other two somewhat nervously, a bit worried they'd be deceived by the reporter and treat her as the enemy.

However, the white-collar worker was confused, "What else has happened between you all?"

But before they could continue to probe, Old Wang, who had been treating his wounds, suddenly grew serious, "They're here!"

Xu Shuo, who had been observing the office, turned to look.

The entire corridor erupted into flames with a whoosh!

Immediately afterward, two huge monsters emerged from the void ahead; they were quadrupeds with sharp, elongated ears and sharp teeth, resembling the shape of wolves or dogs.

Subsequently, monsters also crawled out from behind them.

The walls oozed with a thick darkness, like worms the substance kept dropping to the floor and crawling together, piling up in a way that made one physically uncomfortable.

"Thud, thud, thud..."

"Thud, thud, thud..."

In a room along the left corridor, the tightly shut door suddenly began to shake and quiver, accompanied by the sound of heavy footsteps pounding the floor.

It was as if something was trapped in the room, trying to burst through the door.

Faced with these changes, several people subconsciously gathered together, Old Wang even extended his hand to unfurl a translucent half shield.

While the corridor underwent its eerie transformation, the female journalist behind them leaned against the protective wall, her face pale and breathing rapid—her state looked increasingly odd.

Suddenly, she lifted her hand and stuffed a marble into her mouth, swallowing it.

Xu Shuo glanced at her, "If you can't hold on any longer, you can enter the office to hide."

"You want me to go into the office now, with this situation?" The journalist looked at him incredulously, "With the space connected, all the weird rules overlap, right? Are you sure it's still useful for me to go in now?"

"The office is the only safe place in the orphanage," Xu Shuo said.

"Even when it's like this, it's safe?!"

The journalist pointed to the office from which dense black fog was emerging, her voice rising slightly in disbelief.

The three beside her couldn't help but look over.

Xu Shuo paused for a moment, then stepped forward to the office doorway.

He looked inside while holding the doorknob, then turned back and affirmed, "Yes, the office is still safe for now."

Because the office is the "only" secure place in the orphanage, no matter which space one is in, entering always leads to the same office.

Even if it's now filled with Abyss Darkness inside, that's just darkness spreading from other spaces, still within those spaces.

Its magnetic field has separated the office from the orphanage, and it has not yet been eroded.

Otherwise, the group of office workers would not have been able to run out safely just now—it was because of the protection of the office.

However, saying the office is safe under the current circumstances seemed rather unreliable.

"Then go in now!" the journalist said through gritted teeth.

Hearing this, Xu Shuo shrugged and stepped directly into the office, leaving the four people in the corridor facing countless monsters in a quandary.

The journalist: "..." That was a miscalculation, this guy is the master of the office rules, it seems he really can go in without a problem.

At that moment, a series of four booms suddenly erupted from the left corridor!

They turned to look, just in time to see the doors of rooms 309, 310, 311, and 312 burst open, and four individuals wearing Qiming Orphanage uniforms rushed out.

Teal uniforms, identical to the one the journalist was wearing!

The three people abruptly turned to look at the journalist!

At this instant, she appeared dumbstruck, her eyes' whites faintly being overtaken by darkness, and she seemed to have lost all reason.

Suddenly, Old Wang, quick on his feet, grabbed her collar and swung her hard, hurling the journalist straight into the office!

"Bang!"

The journalist's body crashed against the half-open door and rolled into the office.

In the next moment, monsters from both sides and employees from the orphanage who resembled zombies charged at them!

"Go!" Old Wang shouted!

The office lady, in sync with him, had already followed closely behind the flying journalist, stepping quickly into the room and even managing to pull up the fallen journalist to clear the way.

The social worker was a step too slow. By the time she reached the doorway, the creature resembling a wolf dog had already closed in with lightning speed!

Bam!

The wolf dog slammed into the office door frame. The social worker, crouched down low, spun and kicked the beast away, then, without any hesitation, entered the office.

Old Wang covered the rear, his arm firmly bitten by another wolf dog that lunged at him.

So, he raised his right hand with the semi-transparent shield and struck the dog's neck, cleaving through its body and head as if slicing through clay, instantly splattering viscous dark matter everywhere.

Old Wang did not linger for a fight. Before the four orphanage employees could reach him, he turned and retreated into the office.

The office lady quickly closed the door behind him!

"Clang!"

The door shook violently once, as though something had crashed against it.

But seeing the sturdy door panel, everyone quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Shuo was sitting in the office chair behind the desk, lazily propping his chin with his hand, a smile brimming as he watched the survivors who had narrowly escaped death.

...