There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

The female officer looked over with an odd expression in her eyes, as if she couldn't believe she was still alive.

But Xu Shuo didn't think the killer was her.

If it were her, the first reaction upon seeing Qiuzi shouldn't have been to space out, but rather shock, and after zoning out for a while, she even realized the girl was changing clothes.

Now playing the role of an innocent who knew nothing, Xu Shuo curiously asked, "Did someone report a murder here? How did they find out?"

Officer Zhang, who was closely examining the girl, snapped back to reality, furrowed his brows, and said, "The caller used a public phone to report the crime, so we can't track a mobile number. I'll go back later and check the street surveillance cameras. But you—"

His words trailing off, Officer Zhang pointed at the girl's neck and asked, "What happened here?"

Xu Shuo touched his own neck upon hearing this.

Qiuzi had died from a twisted neck, and even though the marks were faint now, they were still somewhat noticeable against the pale skin.

But he calmly said, "The dance costume is tight, it just squeezed a bit when I was changing clothes."

Officer Zhang nodded, walked into the resting room as if inspecting the place, and after failing to notice anything amiss, finally said, "Maybe someone is playing a sick joke, you're fine which is good. Is it usually just you here by yourself?"

"Yes, the timeline is pretty tight recently, so I come back to practice at night, and it's usually just me." Xu Shuo lowered his brows and said, "At this time, I was planning to go back anyway."

"Since I'm here and it's late, I might as well give you a ride home," Officer Zhang said, checking the time.

"Okay, just give me a moment."

Xu Shuo didn't refuse, he stuffed his dance practice clothes into his backpack, took out his phone from the locker, and also picked up the water bottle he had left by the dance studio wall.

Meanwhile, the security guard kept complaining to the police about whoever was playing this scary prank.

The dance troupe seemed to be preparing for a performance recently, as the girl had been coming here to practice every night at seven for over a month with no incidents.

Officer Zhang stood quietly to the side, watching every move of the girl, and only after she had packed up did he follow her out of the dance studio.

As the lights were turned off and the door locked, the vast dance studio once again fell into deathly silence, where in the darkness it looked as if something viscous was slowly flowing.

...

The Player's Handbook contained basic information about the character; this time it wasn't as lacking, at least it listed Qiuzi's address.

The light rain trickled down on the ground, neon lights twinkling on the streets, but the old and shabby district was desolate without a spark of life, shining without any ambiance.

Officer Zhang drove the car, occasionally glancing at the girl seated in the passenger seat.

Perhaps due to her dancing, the girl's slender frame looked frail, her skin so pale as to appear somewhat ill, and the twisted mark on her neck had faded considerably.

Resting her chin on her hand, she faced the window as if watching the rain, her whole demeanor calm and indifferent.

Suddenly, the girl turned her head and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

Had she been too direct?

Officer Zhang quickly averted her gaze, feeling somewhat embarrassed, then said, "Do you practice this late every day before going home? Why don't you find someone to accompany you?"

Xu Shuo smiled, "The others have their own schedules, and I'm worried I might make a mistake, so I just have to practice more."

"What performance are you preparing for?" Officer Zhang inquired.

"..." Xu Shuo paused for a moment, then said apologetically, "I haven't been selected yet. The teacher said we still need to compete internally to decide on the lead role."

"That's quite strict."

Officer Zhang laughed teasingly and scrutinized the girl, and then, as if curiously, she asked, "How many of you are competing?"

"..."

Asking such detailed questions about minor things, could this fellow actually be a player?

Xu Shuo slightly narrowed his eyes, about to say something when suddenly the car shook, he lurched forward, then got pulled back by the seat belt.

Officer Zhang had slammed on the emergency brake.

Due to the rain, the police car wasn't going fast, but as they passed a side road, a dark figure suddenly dashed out from the right side, so fast that Officer Zhang didn't even have time to react.

She stopped the police car, and with a serious expression, she looked outside while unbuckling her seatbelt and said, "Stay in the car, don't come out."

"Okay," Xu Shuo obediently nodded, but when he tried to lower the window to see what was happening, he found the windows were locked.

The light rain pitter-pattered against the car windows, blurring the view, and the streetlights in the old town area were not very bright, not to mention they had now entered the bylanes of the urban village.

There wasn't a soul on the street, in the quiet black night, it seemed like the only sound was the muffled rain.

Through the front windscreen, Xu Shuo could see Officer Zhang get out of the car and crouch down, as if she had hit something. After a while, she stood up again, her expression obscured by the murky rain.

Officer Zhang turned around and walked back to the driver's side, opened the door, and sat down with a dampness about her, restarting the car.

Xu Shuo curiously asked, "What happened?"

"I saw it wrong, it was just a black trash bag that the wind blew over," Officer Zhang said calmly, and after starting the police car, they hit the road again.

"I see."

Xu Shuo did not ask further, he tilted his head slightly to glance outside the window, but all he could see was darkness, with the colors of the neon signs shining brightly above like the spreading aurora.

The police car pulled into the urban village and stopped in front of an old building—Qiuzi's residence.

This time, Officer Zhang did not suggest going up with him; instead, she hurriedly instructed Xu Shuo to send her a message when he got home before driving off in a hurry.

Xu Shuo stood at the bottom of the building watching the police car leave, then raised his hand to touch his neck.

...

In the light drizzling rain, the police car once again arrived at the side road where the incident had occurred.

Officer Zhang got out to check, but the black dog that had been hit by the police car was no longer lying on the ground, the rain washing away the bloodstains into the sewer.

Looking at the dark and quiet side road beside her, Officer Zhang frowned with a serious expression on her face, clearly not intending to investigate alone.

As everyone knows, lone figures in horror movies always end up 'getting the lunchbox.'

After taking a few pictures of the location and informing her superiors of the situation, she drove away directly.

On the way back, Officer Zhang was on edge, vigilantly watching her surroundings until she reached the station, where she could finally relax a bit. She quickly got out of the car and headed straight for the chief's office.

"I got your message," the chief said as soon as she entered, seated behind his desk.

"Whew, I was worried all the way that I might be targeted," Officer Zhang sighed in relief and collapsed on the couch, pouring herself a glass of water and gulping it down.

So, she thought to inform others in advance, at least if something really happened, there would be traces to follow.

The chief was working on files regarding missing persons. Lately, there had been many incidents of young girls disappearing in the city, along with other strange murder cases, causing widespread fear among the public.

And there was a common thread to those missing locations: dead black dogs, and a phrase:

"The darkness within is like a black dog, seizing any chance to bite and hold on to me, no one can escape."