There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

In the office, it was too dark to see one's hand in front of their face.

The view was filled with black fog that roamed everywhere, which became extremely sticky once it reached a certain density.

Moreover, taking even a slight breath, the lungs seemed to fill with an intense rotten stench that brought double discomfort to the mind and body!

But for the moment, there was no danger.

"Clang clang clang..."

However, vibration sounds came from all directions.

Although danger was not yet present, a crisis was brewing at all times. The doors of the office, including the walls, floor, and ceiling, were all violently shaking.

They were like being trapped in a box, with something outside crazily shaking it and attempting to pry it open!

The few people who had taken refuge maintained defensive postures and watched the door intently. After ensuring that it wouldn't easily be broken in a short time, they began to slowly relax their minds.

The female social worker took out a metal stick-like object from her pocket and shook it, emitting a glow that was enough to illuminate the surroundings.

This was a pseudo-natural light source with no elements.

Even though they were in the heart of dense darkness, the female social worker dared not use any elements that might provoke an uprising in the dark.

Taking advantage of this light source, everyone could also clearly see their surroundings.

Seeing that the office had not changed much since she left, the female social worker relaxed slightly. Then, as if remembering something, her gaze involuntarily shifted to the office desk nearby—the printer on the desk.

Next to the printer was a computer, and behind that computer, a strange young man sat in a swivel chair, swaying leisurely.

He seemed to be the most relaxed among them.

In fact, because the social worker was suspicious that the reporter had been enchanted by a creature's spell, she was very wary of anyone the reporter brought around.

So after glancing at the stranger and then at the printer next to him, the social worker chose to hold her ground.

"Hmm..."

Just then, the previously delirious female reporter suddenly murmured and struggled to rise from the ground.

In an instant, the other three in the room formed a triangular encirclement, reflexively drawing their weapons and surrounding the female reporter in the middle.

The female reporter rubbed her head as she got up, first looking bewildered at the pitch-dark surroundings. Upon seeing the wary expressions on their faces, she became even more confused.

Suddenly, she clutched her chest, her face contorted in agony, and she seemed in extreme pain as her eyes nearly bulged out.

She appeared to be struggling as she opened her mouth wide, seemingly about to expel something. Then, under the tense gaze of the trio, she suddenly coughed violently!

"Ugh!"

The female reporter spat out a pitch-black bead, her tongue still connected to a sticky black substance that tumbled from her mouth to the floor.

The trio's eyes immediately widened in shock!

Xu Shuo looked on with curiosity as he cocked his head to glance at the bead.

The bead, about three centimeters in diameter, resembled those she often tossed out, only now it was so black it did not reflect any light, and it continued to emit an ominous black fog. It was clearly not normal.

The reporter who could spit out such a thing was certainly not normal either!

That's what the other three thought.

However, after spitting out the eerie bead, the female reporter seemed to have recovered, the painful expression on her face eased considerably.

Gasping for breath, she waved her hand at them weakly and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine now."

The group exchanged looks, but no one echoed her words.

Not until the female office worker, after glancing at the black marble on the ground and scrutinizing the reporter, tentatively asked, "Are you a believer of 'Stars'?"

The female reporter looked up at her and, wiping the grime from the corner of her mouth, said, "Yes, but I've only just started learning."

"Oh, no wonder your sanity was so easily eroded. It's obvious you haven't mastered it," the female office worker nodded.

"..." the female reporter.

There was no need to come over and twist the knife.

Old Wang scratched his head, puzzled, feeling that his partner had just said something inappropriate for the situation.

After cleansing herself of the darkness, the female reporter stood up and looked around, frowning, "This office doesn't seem like it will hold up much longer."

As she spoke, her gaze fell on Xu Shuo.

Xu Shuo spread his hands, "Because of your destruction, all the Rule Spaces have now overlapped. The outside is a complete free-for-all, causing the office's magnetic field to be unable to support so many conflicting rules, so collapse is inevitable."

Old Wang and the female office worker exchanged glances, pretending they hadn't done anything as they looked around.

The female journalist suddenly thought of something and asked, "But, didn't you say some rules could cancel each other out? What about those outside now..."

"What I was talking about was before the rules changed," Xu Shuo interrupted her, "But now SOA-09 itself has become unpredictable, who knows what it's turned into."

The Investigator's diary said that SOA-09 was growing ever stronger.

And that was exactly what the Red Letter Dean worried about, if this drags on, it's likely they won't be able to contain SOA-09 anymore.

The female journalist choked up.

Indeed, the reason he approached her in the beginning was to use her to investigate those uncontrollable rules under the guise of her identity.

And now, it seemed like before they could even start investigating, an accident had occurred?

The female social worker quietly sized up the young man, her eyes flickering as if deep in thought.

It was at that moment, Xu Shuo suddenly yelled out without warning, "Everyone, close your eyes, hold your breath, and stay still!"

"What?"

Before the others could grasp what was happening, they saw him already leaning back in his chair, eyes closed, completely still.

In the next moment, a cat's meow pierced the silent darkness.

"Meow~"

"Do as he said!" the female journalist shouted with a change in her expression.

The others, following their sharp instincts, saw the black cat head poking out of the wall, and although they didn't understand what was happening, they decided to immediately close their eyes and freeze, controlling their movements.

Because even with their vision shut off, they could still manage to sense their surroundings.

The cat, with its black fur and blood-red pupils, walked out of the wall unhindered. It first inspected the office, tilting its head curiously at the several human statues it saw.

The cognition of the cat was not vast.

After becoming a monster, in its mind, those with a similar Qi were peers, and any different kind were alien, to be eaten.

And it identified these aliens by making eye contact with them, or by distinguishing their Qi.

This was the animal's common method of identification.

If it couldn't identify anything, it simply regarded it as an inedible object.

Thus, after sizing up the statues for a while, its attention shifted to the female journalist beside them.

The female journalist was still wearing the orphanage employee's uniform.

"Meow~"

The cat happily ran up to the female journalist, tilting its head and affectionately rubbing against her ankle.

Initially, the female journalist's body stiffened instinctively, not daring to move, but then she remembered something. Slowly, she crouched down and tentatively stroked the cat's head, then copied Xu Shuo's method and gently scratched underneath its chin.

It must be said, the feeling of petting the cat was indeed pleasing; it was soft and ice-cold.

"Meow meow~" The cat rubbed against her even more delightedly.

"Cat, cat, what are you doing here?" The journalist asked nervously as she saw the cat relax.

"Meow~"

"I'm cleaning."

"Meow~"

"He, uh..."

Hearing the question, the female journalist stealthily glanced toward the direction of the office desk.

She then noticed the person pretending to be a statue was signaling her with a very slight movement of the fingers, shaking them left and right.

With her heart in her throat, the female journalist pulled her gaze back and continued, "I've been cleaning around here, and he wasn't in the office when I arrived; I have no idea where he went."

"Meow~"

The cat responded, and after letting her scratch under its chin for a while, it sidestepped away from the journalist's fingers.

The female journalist watched its movements tensely and saw the cat stretch languidly, nodded at her, and then quickly ran toward the wall and disappeared right into it.

Only when the cat had completely left did the female journalist relax. She took a deep breath and couldn't help but feel incredulous. Explore more stories with My Virtual Library Empire

With so many people in the office, had they really managed to bluff their way through so easily?

...