There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game
Chapter 968: 780: The Affected Emotions_2

Chapter 968: Chapter 780: The Affected Emotions_2

So, the campus isn’t very large, and the tall trees here aren’t as abundant as those at the Normal University Affiliated High School. As a result, when looking into the distance from a higher vantage point, one can vaguely make out the outlines of distant buildings.

The moonlight on this night isn’t particularly bright.

The late summer breeze in Yang City is still stiflingly warm, brushing past the balcony and lightly lifting the hem of a beige nightgown, playing with the strands of silky black hair that draped over the girl’s shoulders.

Xu Xi stared blankly in that direction for a moment.

Suddenly, it seemed as though a streak of golden-red light flashed across her vision.

She froze in surprise.

But in just the blink of an eye, the light was gone, and the tall buildings remained silent, standing steadfast in the dark. What she’d just seen might have been nothing more than an illusion.

Xu Xi furrowed her brows slightly.

“Meow~”

At that moment, a black cat let out a soft cry.

Its tail swished, patting her arm, before flicking in the direction of the dormitory as if urging her to hurry up and go back to sleep.

Xu Xi snapped out of her reverie and reached out, gently pinching the cold ear of the cat.

The black cat flicked its tail again, a gesture of resignation.

Xu Xi glanced once more at the Art Building, then decided to return to her dorm. As she turned, her peripheral vision caught the sight of several black SUVs speeding down the main road on the other side, heading in their direction.

But the limited view from the dorm didn’t let her see much; she could only watch as those SUVs disappeared in the direction of the West Gate.

It was unclear whether they merely passed by or were heading here.

“What was that just now?”

Xu Xi murmured softly.

“Meow~”

The black cat urged her again to go to bed.

“Okay, okay, I got it.”

This time, Xu Xi truly turned around and headed back to the dorm.

She quietly shut the back door and climbed onto her bunk. As she did, the sound of steady breathing filled the dormitory, occasionally interrupted by someone on the opposite bed grinding her teeth.

Lying down, Xu Xi pulled the blanket over herself.

The black cat curled up at the foot of the bed.

It wasn’t unwilling to sleep near her at the head of the bed—but given the narrow width of the bed in such dormitories, the cat had stopped doing so ever since Xu Xi accidentally rolled over and crushed it for an entire night.

Now, it curled into itself, slipping into a light resting state.

Meanwhile—

Unable to immediately fall asleep again, Xu Xi quietly reached for the phone she’d left by her pillow. Cocooned in her blanket, she turned on the screen and began to browse the news online.

The black cat twitched its ears at the foot of the bed.

Its tail swished once in mild exasperation.

…

…

Dongshan District.

At the swimming facility in Shengcheng Garden’s recreational area—

“What time is it now?”

Xu Shuo suddenly frowned.

He lifted his right hand, which was smeared with a black substance, to check his watch, only to find it covered. Annoyed, he reached into his pants pocket, pulled out his phone, and checked the time.

1:00 a.m.

Playing on your phone under the covers this late at night? Don’t you have to wake up early tomorrow?!

Rebellious!

“What the hell!”

Pei Sheng wailed from behind him, “Come on, dude, can you not check your phone in the middle of a fight?!”

From the corner of his eye, Xu Shuo caught sight of a twisted, pale monster screeching as it sprinted toward them. A flicker of agitation flashed through his gaze as he swung the dark green Bamboo Joint Cane in his hand.

In an instant, a radiant burst of light erupted!

“Boom!”

A small monster was immediately blown to bits!

But countless other monsters swarmed them, ceaselessly attacking and cutting off every route of escape.

On the ground, small white paper men were repeatedly stained black, only to quickly divide and send out fresh ones to continue their predecessors’ tasks of sketching out the Spirit Guarding Arrays.

Though the completed arrays couldn’t last long—

They were enough to keep the troublesome Pei Sheng unharmed within their boundaries; otherwise, the paper men wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble.

Xu Shuo abruptly pressed his hand against his aching forehead.

How strange.

Why was he suddenly feeling so irritable?

Irritable to the point that even the “Radiance” power he wielded was barely under control. He clearly didn’t need to waste so much stored light to stall and slay monsters, but he instinctively failed to conserve his strength.

This wasn’t right at all!

At this rate, he’d quickly run out of spiritual power, unable to sustain such ceaseless consumption.

In that brief moment, Xu Shuo processed his thoughts.

Then, he abruptly turned to look at Pei Sheng behind him.

“Wh-why are you looking at me? Is there a monster on my face? Watch for the monsters!” Pei Sheng stammered and shouted, flustered.

“Did I ever think about killing you back when you kept whining?” Xu Shuo suddenly asked.

“…”

Pei Sheng choked on his words.

Then, he shook his head frantically. “No!”

Xu Shuo replied seriously, “Now I do.”

“Wait—”

Before Pei Sheng could cry out again, Xu Shuo struck with a swift knife-hand chop, knocking him unconscious in one blow and catching his collapsing body with ease.

He hadn’t knocked Pei Sheng out earlier—

Because people with conscious minds knew how to avoid danger on their own, unlike those who were unconscious and vulnerable.

Afterward, Xu Shuo draped a tattered black cloak over Pei Sheng.

He then released what appeared to be a clunky piece of ironware.

[Special Artifact “The Silent Guardian”: The Knight’s Soul has perished, but he left his armor behind to continue protecting you.]

A knight clad in thick, medieval-style armor and armed with a battle axe stood silently.

It might not have been terribly powerful—

But it still served its purpose.

Having done everything possible—

Xu Shuo turned his gaze toward the swarms of monsters pouring out of Pool 101, his lips curving into a chillingly wicked smile. His sharp, handsome features suddenly took on a wildly arrogant and maniacal demeanor as he donned a bloodied white coat covered in dark stains.

With a fruit knife gripped in his hand—

The young man charged directly into the horde of monsters!

Ssht—

The first pale monster to lunge at him was instantly sliced in two, disintegrating into a puddle of black substance.

[Chen Chu Character Card II: Transform into Doctor Chu to execute a One-Click Kill; skill strength scales with the user’s level of power.]

The reason Xu Shuo deployed the Chen Chu Character Card—

Was because he was gambling.

He’d already checked his radar.

[Current ID: EA1029392178.]

[ID Level: 1st Rank.]

[Abyss Level: 3rd Rank.]

[Anomalies exceeding the ID level detected in the player’s surroundings. Entering Emergency Mode to unlock maximum third-level permissions for the player.]

Currently, in a Third-Level Abyss—

It just so happened that Xu Shuo had recently advanced to Third-Level Player status.

Now, he’d test whether his current strength could annihilate these Third-Level Abyss Creatures with a single strike!

At this moment—

The countless nightmarish monsters surrounding him writhed and danced, their pale bodies oozing sticky black matter as their deformed features took on erratic, frenzied forms when they bared sharp fangs to attack.

It was almost as if they were worshipping something.

They surged forward, only to be sliced apart by the gleaming fruit knife, shattering into piles of darkness.

They came ceaselessly, without retreat—

As if reveling in this twisted, grotesque process. Shards of blackness sprayed into the air like blooming, sinister flowers.

“Hmph…”

Xu Shuo chuckled faintly.

The entire hall was so pitch-black that visibility was almost zero.

The only signs of life were fleeting glimpses of white against the shadows—

But by now, even the once-white coat was stained black, blotting out the crimson blood beneath. Against the backdrop of the dark, it gave Xu Shuo’s lithe figure an unsettling, ghostly quality—

As though he himself were part of this shadowed world.

Much like the monsters emerging from the pool.

These twisted gray-white abominations oozed black matter, drawing strength from it as their unhinged forms raged on.

The stark contrast of white and black painted a chaotic and grotesque tableau.

Splash—

A muffled sound of water disrupted the illusion.

Xu Shuo’s thoughts momentarily blanked out.

At that exact moment—

A streak of golden-red light sliced through the air, and Los, having removed his black glasses, snatched the youth charging toward the pool by the arm, yanking him back forcefully.

A sharp glint flashed in Xu Shuo’s eyes.

The fruit knife arced through the air, aimed right at the throat of the person who had pulled him.

But Los swiftly blocked it.

Then, Los raised his hand, clearly preparing to knock Xu Shuo unconscious with a blow to the side of the neck.

“I dare you.”

“…”

Faced with Xu Shuo’s chillingly sinister gaze, Los sheepishly withdrew his hand and instead escorted him out of Pool 101.

Unbeknownst to him—

Xu Shuo had already chased after the monsters, passing through that door and marching straight into the pool at the heart of their lair.

“I thought you’d lost control.”

Los murmured softly in explanation.

Xu Shuo let out a derisive snicker. “You weren’t wrong. Normally, I wouldn’t have gone in, much less squandered my energy so recklessly.”

“Since you know that, why still let yourself—”

“Because I wanted to.”

“…”

Los had no retort.

The audacity—they were so recklessly defiant that any arguments were meaningless.

Los concluded that Xu Shuo acted this way simply because they could.