There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

The white-collar woman took the lead as the two of them walked around the side path of the building and came upon the eerily gloomy backyard.

The backyard was much smaller than the front yard, and the visitation guide mentioned it only in one sentence—besides that, do not engage in any behavior unrelated to opening the door and leaving.

Fortunately, the moonlight was strong, and they could see clearly with its cold white glow the layout of the backyard.

The backyard had two separate lawns on the left and right sides, each extending about thirty square meters. Besides the neatly arranged rows of low shrubs, there were two trees, an orange tree and a camphor tree.

Since both sides of the Qiming Building led to the backyard, there were three stone paths paved with bluestone tiles, which converged to the central gateway.

The back door was the same as the front door, an iron fence gate, albeit narrower.

What deserved attention were two waste bins placed at both ends of the gate.

One red waste bin and one blue waste bin, appearing to be those regular large classified bins seen on the streets. Experience tales at My Virtual Library Empire

"Quite symmetrical," was the white-collar woman's first remark upon surveying the backyard.

Old Wang rolled up his sleeves and said, "I'll go check it out first."

As he spoke, he was already walking forward, and the white-collar woman didn't object, watching from the right side path.

This was the tacit agreement of cooperation between the two: Old Wang, with his thick skin and substantial Health Bar, was suited to scout ahead, and if they split up, one could make plans if the other ran into trouble.

That way, they wouldn't all be caught in one fell swoop.

Old Wang had reached the vicinity of the back door. He took a look at the two waste bins, standing guard like door deities, and then approached and touched the iron fence gate.

After a while, nothing out of the ordinary happened.

He continued to examine the lock on the gate but was unfortunate to find it secured by a thick padlock; the back door couldn't be opened.

Also, the space outside the fence was a silent pitch black, and it was impossible to see what lay beyond with pupil power. The unknown felt like an abyss that had been waiting forever with its massive jaws open.

After surveying the area, Old Wang turned around and returned, not continuing to explore those two waste bins.

After all, the rules in the visitation guide stated—do not engage in any behavior unrelated to opening the door and leaving.

Naturally, he wasn't about to tempt fate.

"No key, no way out," Old Wang said upon safely returning.

"If we need to unlock it, then could the key be on that police auxiliary?" the white-collar woman frowned slightly.

After all, before they entered, the police auxiliary had hinted that their street office was specifically in charge of the orphanage, so it made perfect sense for them to have the key.

Old Wang said, "Actually, we could probably pick the lock. The lock head looks simple enough, although I haven't tried yet."

Upon hearing this, the white-collar woman nodded and said, "Let's not try for now. Let's focus on the main task first."

Their main objective was to find the girl with the mission doll and then... take the doll from her.

The backstory for their characters, a married couple, was simple: the white-collar woman had latched onto a wealthy man for her career advancement, and then, successful in both her career and love life, she wanted to find the daughter she had abandoned.

Previously, as an unwed mother, she raised her daughter until the age of four. Then one day, she took her daughter to the park, told her to wait right there, and then left without looking back.

Later, having attached herself to a wealthy man who loved her deeply, she disclosed to him that she once had a daughter.

Since they were childless after their marriage, the wealthy man had no objections to bringing her daughter back, so they inquired around and finally deduced that the child who had gone missing on the streets three years before was being cared for at the Qiming Orphanage.

Children grow quickly, and after three years, it was likely that everything had changed.

The white-collar woman could only rely on her memory to locate the child.

When she had abandoned her daughter, she had left her with a beautiful doll, a birthday present for her fourth birthday.

Checking the children's photos posted by the Qiming Orphanage, she was shocked to see that the doll was still held in the child's arms.

Upon finally finding her child, the white-collar woman wept with joy!

Unfortunately, she didn't get a chance to claim her.

That very evening, the Qiming Orphanage caught fire.

And the next day, officials sealed off the area.

On the third day, the SOA organization directly listed the place as a sealed space, forbidding entrance to non-special personnel. It took over a month to complete the investigation.

The white-collar woman, having finally found but failed to retrieve her child, wept bitterly from joy to sorrow.

So this time, they were here to retrieve the belongings.

…

"I think this is a trap," Old Wang said on their way back to the Qiming Building. "Let me negotiate with that child later. Since you've abandoned her once, if you face her directly, I reckon we'd be in for a drama of maternal love and filial piety."

With her arms crossed, the white-collar woman walked ahead nonchalantly, "Of course, who else but you should do it?"

You've got more health, take the lead for me!

When they reached the main entrance of the Qiming Building, the iron gate blocking the stairs had already been opened, and the corridor inside was shrouded in deep darkness.

The female office worker glanced at the first floor, "Let's search each room. If we really can't find anything, we'll head to the third floor."

She felt that the third floor was the most dangerous place and preferred not to go there if it wasn't necessary.

Anyway, the game's countdown hadn't started yet.

However, the group had already completed three side quests, and if main quests were assigned to pairs, there should be three main quests still incomplete.

That meant as soon as one group completed a main quest, the countdown would start.

For a level three standard script, the countdown lasted half an hour.

If they were indeed falling behind, they could still desperately rush to snatch away a child's doll within half an hour... There should still be a chance.

The large hall on the left side of the first floor was the orphanage's cafeteria, furnished with colorful tables and chairs. It was so spacious that one could see everything inside from the doorway.

What was miraculous was that there was steaming hot food at the cafeteria serving window!

And it looked incredibly appetizing!

The female office worker couldn't help but swallow her saliva, longing for the delicacies laid out on the counter.

Old Wang glanced over and said, "Imagine those were stealthily made by monsters using durian."

The female office worker immediately retched, "Ugh!"

Old Wang: "..." Well, it's not that bad.

As the two approached the serving window, the tantalizing aroma of the food became even more alluring, stirring their appetites and causing their mouths to salivate uncontrollably, to the point that their stomachs started to growl with hunger!

The female office worker bit her lip, constantly hypnotizing herself that those were inedible trash!

Trash?

Damn, that roast chicken looks so delicious!

Perhaps because she was focusing so intently on the roast chicken, the female office worker suddenly felt as if she saw something.

There was a shadow that flitted past the roast chicken, snatching away a drumstick!

The leg of the roast chicken was torn off, revealing the oily tendons inside, and at that instant the delicious sensation became even more pronounced, continuously assaulting her sanity.

The female office worker swallowed her saliva again.

She fixated on that roast chicken, but soon, that swiftly moving shadow appeared again, this time tearing away the chicken wing!

Who the hell is eating in front of her?

"Old Wang!" the female office worker gritted her teeth and called out in a low voice.

"Huh?"

Old Wang, who was inspecting the surroundings, turned his head at her voice, and seeing her gazing hungrily at the food on the counter like a starving ghost reincarnated, he hastily ran over to pull her back!

"Calm down, you can't eat this stuff!"

"This roast chicken…it's not whole anymore..."

"You still can't eat it!"

"Something just ate the leg right in front of me!"

"That... huh?"

Old Wang suddenly froze, pulling the female office worker behind him and peered seriously into the kitchen through the serving window.

In the corner beneath the glass window, a small human head bobbed up and down.

Then, as if perceiving the scrutiny, the other party suddenly looked up!

It was a little girl about seven years old with braided pigtails, her black sclera with blue irises staring straight at him, her chubby hands still holding onto a chicken wing, which she was greedily devouring, oil dripping from her mouth.

Upon seeing him, the girl's pupils contracted, the blue irises shrinking to the size of pinpoints, appearing all the more terrifying!

The next moment, the little girl vanished abruptly!

"Wait...!"

By the time Old Wang reacted, there was no one left behind the window, leaving behind only a dropped roast chicken wing on the ground, suggesting the person had fled in fright.

But he had seen it!

In the girl's arms, it seemed she was holding a doll!

...