There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

The budget grocery store and the surrounding area indeed hadn't changed much; what it was like yesterday, it remained today, with just some hidden, subtle differences between the Illusory Realm and reality.

Before going for grocery shopping, Xu Shuo first took a look in the underground garage.

Then he discovered that the electric vehicles parked at exit B were all gone, and even the entrance of the passage was spotless. The walls, which were peeling and yellowing before, were now white.

Hmm, perhaps this was also one of the differences.

From this, it was evident that other places in this area wouldn't be completely the same as before; Themis's Illusory Realm could only be very similar, not identical.

On his way to the market, Xu Shuo casually opened the Player's Handbook to reply to all the messages of with the little red dots.

Last night, aside from friends calling him in reality, Luo Kai had not only called but also sent several consecutive messages through the player information.
Enjoy new chapters from My Virtual Library Empire

Xu Shuo briefly explained to him what happened last night, including the Abyss Rift, Judgement, and the fact that the Hetai Intersection area was now an Illusory Realm, which he didn't hide.

The only thing he kept secret was that he blamed everything on Themis!

Xu Shuo: [Look for him; it's his doing.]

Luo Kai: [...]

Luo Kai, feeling worn, lit a cigarette.

...

Xu Shuo bought groceries for two meals and returned home, indeed, having just had breakfast at 10:30, he started preparing for lunch at 11:30.

But if the three meals aren't taken care of on time, the whole biological clock would become messed up afterward.

So even if I'm not hungry, I still have to eat!

However, Xu Shuo only made two simple dishes for lunch, and both of them didn't eat much.

"There's nothing much this afternoon; you can read at home, or if you get bored, you can go to the studio to study with Ziwen. Just try not to go out elsewhere for fun," Xu Shuo said while washing the dishes.

"What will you be doing today?" Xu Xi asked curiously.

"I went to bed too late last night, so I'm going to take a nap soon and also sort out the studio's recent plans."

"What time did you come back last night?"

"Around half-past eleven, there was a bit of traffic in Huangmu District. When I got back, I saw you asleep on the sofa." Xu Shuo looked at her calmly: "Didn't I tell you to go to sleep early if you can't keep up? Lying in the living room can easily give you a cold."

Xu Xi paused: "Sorry..."

Her head slightly bowed, her hand fiddling with her phone, she repeatedly turned the screen on and off again.

"I'm going to take a nap now; if you go out, remember to tell me."

"Okay."

...

After washing the dishes, Xu Shuo returned to his room, closed the door, and checked the mobile phone placed on the desk.

There was a message on the phone that clearly wasn't sent by him, dated to after he was unconscious, and the recipient of the reply was Xu Xi.

At the time, Xu Xi must have been attracted by the explosion at the shopping center and thus had sent an inquiry message.

The person who helped him reply was very tactful. They must have realized that he was hiding his actions from Xu Xi and guessed her mindset when sending the message. So they used the reason he had left earlier to help him extract himself from the incident.

Overall, the wording did not seem like something the straightforward Themis would come up with.

So, was there a third person present while he was unconscious?

But in Themis's account of the aftermath, there was no mention of this person.

Xu Shuo slightly furrowed his brows, pondering who that person might be while navigating the phone system to change the lock screen password.

Afterward, he lay down on the bed in a comfortable position and closed his eyes to enter Script Space.

...

It was a good time to refresh his recent grinding schedule at home while Themis was away, and to test his new powers and replenish his strength.

Xu Shuo sat on the sofa and sent Hong Rao a message.

This time, however, he did not receive an immediate reply from the other side, so Xu Shuo opened an online forum and browsed threads for a while.

Browsing always made time fly; by the time he came to his senses, more than half an hour had passed and Hong Rao still hadn't replied.

Huh?

Could she be in the middle of a script?

No, that's not right. Hong Rao had mentioned before that she would never enter a script until one of her students graduated.

Xu Shuo sent out a curious inquiry, but still there was no response after a long wait.

Given the situation, she must be busy with something more important. Otherwise, she wouldn't even have time to glance at the little red dot in the upper right corner.

If that's the case...

While the instructor isn't here, let's sneak in a random selection.

From what he observed, the randomly selected scripts were mostly those with variable elements, and the concentration of the Abyss was quite high, perfect for opening player permissions and letting him try out the new skills he mastered.

So Xu Shuo wasn't going to earn resources this time, but purely wanted to familiarize himself unrestrainedly with the abilities he currently possessed.

Originally, he wanted to ask Hong Rao to organize a script or simply take him to the Abyss Battlefield, feeling a bit embarrassed for standing her up so many times before, but since he couldn't summon her now...

A random selection should be justifiable, right?

...

...

Click.

[You have entered the theater.]

[The Scripted Murder Game, "To My Lovely Angel," will begin shortly. Please prepare, players.]

Xu Shuo opened his eyes and, while listening to the script's foreword in his mind, took stock of the place he was in.

Just as he wondered if this was a script from The Holy Side and if he had entered the wrong one, his main mission refreshed and popped up.

[Main Mission: Prevent any child from leaving the orphanage.]

What kind of orphanage is so strict?

Xu Shuo flipped open the character information to take a look.

But the next moment, he suddenly turned his head, his dark pupils intently staring at the navy-blue curtains in the office.

"Come out," Xu Shuo said coldly.

"..." There was no movement from the other side.

"Children who don't behave will be punished," Xu Shuo softly said with a small smile curving his lips.

After a long while, the curtain trembled slightly.

A little girl, looking about seven or eight years old, timidly peeked out from behind the curtain and whispered, "I'm sorry, Mr. Director, I didn't mean to hide here on purpose."

Xu Shuo watched her expressionlessly, then stood up and walked over, squatting down to meet the little girl's line of sight.

As he approached, the little girl recoiled in fear, her neck shrinking back and her tiny hands gripping the curtain tightly, appearing somewhat uneasy.

Xu Shuo smiled, speaking gently, "Then what were you doing hiding here before?"

"I was playing hide and seek with Elizabeth, I... I just ended up hiding here," the little girl said, with her head lowered, not daring to look at him.

"I see, but you know you can't just come into the director's office, right?" Xu Shuo said as he reached out to touch her head.

"I'm sorry, I'll leave right now!"

The little girl quickly dodged his hand and fled from the curtain, her face filled with panic. The heavy navy-blue curtain swayed slightly, and the next moment, she vanished behind it.

Xu Shuo's hand paused mid-air.

After entering so many Abyss scripts, it was rare to see something so frightened it couldn't wait to get away from him.

Well, indeed a lovely child.

...

[Where do the abandoned children live?]

[They live in an orphanage that never lacks delicious food, fun companions, or happiness.]

[They are angelic children, and the benevolent orphanage will always shelter these cute little ones as long as they don't want to leave.]

[Because to the outside world, they are far too dangerous.]

...