There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

"Although Abyss Fiends possess some degree of self-awareness, they cannot escape their inherently chaotic and evil nature. You saw that monster earlier, spouting lies and disguising itself in every conceivable way, didn't you?"

Luo Kai folded his arms, wearing a sullen expression.

"Don't worry. I probably understand better than you what can be used and what absolutely cannot be used," Xu Shuo said calmly.

"Understand?!"

Luo Kai raised his eyebrows. "I have my reservations about that claim. Do you know what happened to that experimental lab in Kyoto? The researchers there said something almost identical to what you just said after ignoring my advice!"

The teenager's tone was sharper than usual.

Xu Shuo tilted his head to look at him.

Then his gaze lowered, settling on the crown of Luo Kai's head.

"Later, why not let that researcher draw some blood samples from you for study? Maybe they'll end up creating something like 'APTX4869,'" Xu Shuo spoke with a surprisingly serious expression.

"... You actually watch cartoons?"

Luo Kai was momentarily caught off guard.

He scratched his hair. "Forget it, I can't control what you think anyway. I'll go back to rest."

Being small is really not a great condition.

With Xu Shuo's gentle reminder, Luo Kai quickly realized his current state—a more volatile emotional response compared to his adult form.

He hadn't considered this before.

The Ruby's vitality drain actually resulted in this condition.

He had initially assumed he would age prematurely.

But for High Rank players in Script Space, aging was never a real concern.

After all, there were plenty of ways to replenish vitality.

Since Luo Kai frequently had to draw his own blood, he had amassed even more methods to restore physical vitality. In urgent situations, he would indiscriminately use whatever items he had on hand.

Who knows where things went wrong during that process.

He planned to go back and investigate.

...

The teenager in his adolescent phase had finally been convinced to leave.

With some quiet finally settling in, Xu Shuo looked at the dark alley, where faint traces of azure silhouettes and an eerily fervent pair of eyes still seemed visible.

He pulled out his phone to check the time.

4:30 AM.

Unknowingly, it had already gotten this late.

After the summer solstice, daylight usually broke quickly. At 4:30 AM, it was the darkest hour before dawn.

By nearly 5:00 AM, the morning light would begin its first glow.

Work started at 9:00 AM.

Hmm, there was still a chance to sleep a little more.

With that thought, Xu Shuo pocketed his phone and drove directly to the office building near the overpass to rest.

Neither he nor Luo Kai cared about what would happen afterward.

This night was half-filled with silence.

The other half remained loud and bustling throughout.

...

...

Morning.

A sunny, radiant dawn.

The office building near the overpass was truly not an ideal place for sleep.

But it wasn't until the commotion of the office door opening reached his ears.

That Xu Shuo woke up of his own accord.

Apart from the two receptionists, only department managers had access to office keys.

Listening to the occasional sounds outside the office, Xu Shuo picked up the phone from his desk and lit up the screen to check the time.

8:30 AM.

Ugh...

What a punctual time.

And whoever came to open the office this early.

It must be Li Ziwen, who had been swamped with work lately.

Yawning, Xu Shuo stepped out of his office and, as expected, saw Li Ziwen checking his work schedule. The latter seemed to notice the movement, turning his head abruptly to look over.

Their gazes met.

Li Ziwen looked somewhat bewildered. "What are you doing here?!"

"Good question."

"..."

Seeing that Xu Shuo looked slightly disheveled, Li Ziwen quickly snapped out of his confusion, adjusted his glasses, and said, "You've been here all night?"

Xu Shuo answered faintly.

He moved closer to glance at Li Ziwen's schedule.

Originally the technical department head, Li Ziwen had later also taken charge of the planning department, the operations department, and even the customer service department due to a shortage of qualified managerial staff.

After staffing improved and didn't require him to fill in anymore.

He became the project manager and the CEO's assistant, which somehow made him even busier—especially since yesterday he inherited Pei Sheng's project.

You could truly say he was busier than ever.

Xu Shuo noticed that his schedule even included visits to offline stores.

"You're really busy, huh," Xu Shuo couldn't help saying.

"Yes, really busy,"

Li Ziwen replied expressionlessly.

Who knows which capitalist arranged this mess.

It was truly foolish of him to have boarded this pirate ship in the first place.

Li Ziwen and Xu Shuo had known each other since middle school. Their equally excellent grades led them to attend the same local prestigious high school and end up in the same honors class.

This resulted in the two having a certain competitive relationship.

While they didn't know each other well, during high school, Li Ziwen became secretly motivated, planning to wow Xu Shuo by quietly working harder!

However, in high school, Xu Shuo—chasing scholarships—

worked even harder in secret.

Thus, when the rankings were announced, Li Ziwen stared at the gap, finding himself dropped to 18 places below Xu Shuo, and fell into existential contemplation.

Coincidentally, Xu Shuo passed by the bulletin board at the time to check the rankings.

He casually muttered:

"Huh? Why did you fall so much?"

It was just the sort of ordinary chit-chat classmates have.

——Weren't you in the top ten before?

——Why are you at one hundred now?

Li Ziwen: "…" Inner implosion!

Since that day, their invisible competition subtly transformed into overt competition, fostering mutual improvement.

In a way, you could say—

They wound up bonding through rivalry?

Good students do tend to attract each other.

Originally, Li Ziwen had planned to turn the tables during college entrance exams, but Xu Shuo didn't even take the exam, thereby robbing him of the chance to claim a victory.

After graduating university, Xu Shuo then seemingly drafted Li Ziwen into his entrepreneurial venture, complete with a studio, project plans, and funds—a setup that fired up a group of young men!

Li Ziwen impulsively agreed.

Which eventually led to life being like... this.

Li Ziwen ran his fingers through his hair.

...

...

"Still…"

Xu Shuo suddenly asked, "If you weren't this busy in the future, what would you want to do?"

Li Ziwen paused.

He didn't answer the question.

He just calmly said, "Does this have anything to do with Pei Sheng's temporary resignation? Also, I heard most of Heiyu District was locked down last night for reasons similar to those in Peace Street earlier."

Xu Shuo smiled at him. "Still as perceptive as ever, but we probably won't get involved in those matters anyway. So why not give some thought to what you'd do in the future?"

Li Ziwen replied placidly, "If we're not involved, there's nothing I feel particular about doing. Getting things done in the present comes first."

"Like what?"

"Like payday at the end of the month. You need to issue wages, don't you?"

"…"

Luo Kai wasn't the only one who could throw Xu Shuo off his rhythm—Li Ziwen had a knack for it too.

At month's end, a mountain of tasks awaited him.

Plus, the arrangement of holidays for both Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day.

This period.

Might also coincide with the official Abyss announcement.

Which meant none of the staff would likely be in the mood for regular work afterward.

Xu Shuo checked the corporate and personal accounts.

Hmm. Even if there's no revenue for the next year, the company should still stumble along poorly but survive somehow.

However.

If everyone started avoiding going outside.

Online gaming might see some promising growth then?

"Capitalist, aren't you taking less leave today? At least help share some of my workload, would you?"

Li Ziwen gestured at his overflowing work schedule.

Xu Shuo offered what seemed like a sincere apology. "I'll have to see how things go today. But here's a recommendation for you: Los, from Pei Sheng's team. You should just let him help manage the project, and if things get too busy, you can pass the planning over to him completely."

8:50 AM.

Los, who had just walked into the office: "?"

...