There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

Yin Banqian was playing a holographic online game for the first time.

However, he didn't need to register a new account because Cheng Can had a lot, a lot, a lot of alternate accounts—probably all once used to interact with his targets.

The game was called "Free Night," and it didn't have specific classes or a set way to play.

Players could choose to be a free mercenary exploring for treasure, or join the interstellar military for space wars, or even join the Insect Race armies!

Or for the more laid-back players, they could just be an ordinary passerby in "Freedom City."

The rich played this game as a second life, competing in the luxury of their gear and Combat Power Value rankings, while the poor mostly used the game to earn money to improve their lives.

"After selling the equipment, the in-game currency can be cashed out one-to-one, and besides that, you can sell ores, materials, clothes, houses, blueprints, almost anything can be sold, you could even sell your behind!"

It seemed like something weird was inserted there.

As Cheng Can explained to his buddy, he opened his friend list and, seeing the target online, called over with a team invite.

After a while, the other party tactfully expressed that they had already teamed up with someone else.

Cheng Can raised an eyebrow, no problem, he wasn't picky. After all, everyone was here to farm equipment for money—why not team up and earn together!

Another while later, the other party said they would ask their current teammate.

While waiting, Cheng Can visited the marketplace to pick out some equipment for Yin Banqian, vaguely remembering that this buddy seemed to like melee combat.

"Don't you have any normal weapons?"

Yin Banqian asked, looking at the mace in his hand.

Cheng Can refreshed the marketplace: "Most of them are guns, but I think this suits you. Don't underestimate this mace, it can shock and also give you a buff to resist poison!"

Yin Banqian was full of black lines: "You think my half-mechanical body character would get poisoned?"

He felt that the kid was just being cheap; he would rather have an Energy Gun to get a feel for the weapons of this world.

In the end, under Yin Banqian's strong protest, and considering that improving his teammate's strength was also beneficial for the whole team, Cheng Can shakily spent the last of his four-digit Gold Coins to buy a three-digit multifunctional nozzle for him.

So, the New An Bureau doesn't reimburse for this, huh?

During the time they were dillydallying, the target sent another message, stating that his current teammate agreed to add a new member.

Therefore, Cheng Can decisively pulled Yin Banqian to form a team and then teleported to the target's location.

This was an interstellar battlefield.

An Insect Race vanguard swung its sharp mouthparts attacking the battlefield, startling the two who had just arrived, and they found their target five meters away amidst the blazing gunfire.

The target, clutching a submachine gun and hiding behind some ruins, waved cheerfully at Cheng Can when he saw him.

"Number 18! Over here!"

Cheng Can's character name was the number "18," and the previous number was "17."

That's the account Yin Banqian was currently using.

The target glanced at this unfamiliar player curiously and asked, "Hey, are you guys part of some organization? You're 18 and he's 17?"

Cheng Can explained, "Nah, this is my buddy, it's his first time playing this game, so I lent him one of my old accounts to play on."

"So you have eighteen accounts?!" the target's eyes widened.

"No..." Cheng Can choked: "It's because I've dated eighteen girlfriends."

In a moment, the target grew respectful!

So, was it the ordeal of the Shura Field that forced him to switch accounts? Good grief, one account for each girlfriend!

Cheng Can touched his mechanical nose, slightly embarrassed, and shifted his gaze away, surveying the battlefield.

The interstellar battlefield is humanity's battleground against the Insect Race, and many players often come here to grind for experience and to loot materials for crafting equipment, but the danger is also quite high.

In this game, character death equates to deleting the account and starting over.

Because just as monsters drop equipment when defeated, characters can also drop their gear when they are...

After scanning the area, Cheng Can asked, "Arman, didn't you say you had a teammate with you for a team-up? Where is he now?"

Could he already be the insects' meal?

If he's gone, Cheng Can was planning to lure this target away with him directly.

Upon hearing this, the young man dressed in a standard battle suit hugged the submachine gun in his arms and pointed towards a warrior in a black and red battle suit in the distant starry sky, who was slaughtering left and right, and said, "Over there, farming equipment."

Cheng Can looked up to see limbs and chunks of insect carcasses falling from the sky like dumplings, amid flashes of blades, shadows of swords, gunshot echoes, and cannon roars, the explosion of vibrant colors was far more stimulating than the battlefield on the ground!

With this maddening rate of carnage, one could earn a fortune in just a day.

Cheng Can: "..."

He was stunned for a moment, his mind racing with thoughts on how incredibly powerful he needed to perform to successfully lure away his target, given the large figurative "legs" his target had attached himself to.

So, Cheng Can cast a meaningful glance at Yin Banqian, signaling for him to go out and show off as well.

After all, he had spent a big sum of money on equipping him!

But Yin Banqian didn't respond to his gaze.

He observed, not far away in the cosmic battlefield, a warrior who, relying solely on mechanical prosthetic limbs to glide around, was slaughtering the charging Insect Race army, leaving no one behind, with just a pair of blades. His gaze carried an unfathomable meaning.

Although the game magnifies human potential, to effortlessly navigate through the thick swarms of the Insect Race and to singlehandedly create such slaughter requires relying more on one's own consciousness and reactive abilities.

Therefore, in real life, this person must also possess certain skills.

"This person is really amazing. How did you get to know him?" Yin Banqian asked, looking down.

The target seemed cautious and timid. Although he said he came to farm equipment, in reality, he had been hiding in these ruins all along; the personality he displayed was entirely unsuited for the battlefield.

The other party likely didn't come here on his own initiative.

With an innocent face, the target said, "I met him by chance when I was running through the maps on Barren Star a while back, and then Que'er invited me to team up for dungeons. He's pretty reliable."

"Do you often come to this battlefield to farm equipment?" Yin Banqian asked further.

"Not really, the places we usually go are quite safe. The interstellar battlefield is too dangerous, I don't dare." The target shook his head frantically, holding his submachine gun tighter.

He was very poor, and if he died by accident, starting over with a new account would be too difficult!

But this time, for some reason, Que'er insisted on coming here to fight. He didn't dare to stop her and, worried she might get into trouble, had no choice but to follow along.

And now... while his teammate was on a killing spree up ahead, he was enjoying his peaceful moment behind the scenes.

Anyway, they would split the equipment evenly afterward, haha~

There weren't any special restrictions in this dungeon; players could kill any monster at will within half an hour, and rewards would be tallied after the half-hour period.

Since his teammate didn't mind his freeloading, he was happy to hide here and share the rewards. At worst, he would take a little less, but it was worth it since he couldn't get this level of equipment on an ordinary day!

After hearing this, Yin Banqian looked again at the figure in the cosmos, pondering.

Cheng Can quietly moved next to him: "Brother, why don't you go and check it out? I suspect he might be here to steal my person."

"I'll give it a try." Yin Banqian didn't refuse.

He threw out his Composite Gun-cannon, activated the thrusters under his mechanical legs, and flew towards the cosmic melee.

In the midst of being surrounded by the Insect Race army, the person in the black and red battle suit suddenly turned his head, and beneath the half of the mask, his lips curled into a strange smile.

...