There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

Apart from surveying the places where Abyss Creatures had appeared, Shi had also spent the entire night running around every part of this world where the atmosphere seemed somewhat off!

Consequently, when he returned to Yuhua Dam in the middle of the night, he found that the place was still heavily guarded by a group of people.

Shi: "..."

Looking around, he still felt it was best to set up a defense line here.

But what to do if these people wouldn't leave? Coming out in the open would surely bring a lot of trouble, and trying to communicate properly might bring even more issues.

He just wanted to set up the defense line quickly.

Forget it, might as well knock everyone out!

After all, it's not like he hadn't tried this method before...

But, since his image had been surveilled before while he was with that person, would his tracks being discovered by the people of this world lead to unwanted connections to the past?

And that person seemed to have a rather bad temper.

Umm... Shi furrowed his brow, deep in thought.

...

Thus, the next day, early in the morning.

Six o' clock.

Roused once more by the noise of Xu Xi getting up stealthily for a morning run, Xu Shuo, who had planned to continue sleeping in, had his gaze inadvertently drawn to the red dot in the upper right corner.

Xu Shuo, lying in his blanket, opened the Player's Handbook.

After reading the information, Xu Shuo instantly awoke.

[Just three Abyss Creature incidents are considered a serious situation already?]

He typed and asked with a frown.

The reply from the other side came quickly.

Themis: [Usually, it wouldn't be considered serious, but these three incidents have happened in a very short span of time, so we can deduce that the space beyond the world's barriers must already be infested with the Abyss. If a defense line isn't set up, things will get much more severe later on.]

Xu Shuo: [But wouldn't setting up a defense line make it easier to be targeted by the Abyss?]

This was the aspect Xu Shuo found puzzling.

After coming out of the penal script, Giant Fortress, Hong Rao had given him a rundown on the knowledge regarding "defense lines".

In her words, worlds with defense lines are generally those heavily afflicted by the Abyss.

Likewise, worlds with defense lines find it virtually impossible to eradicate the Abyss entirely.

Themis: [Although this downside exists, the Abyss will also face restrictions when trying to invade, which can, to some extent, reduce its erosion. Plus, if the situation in this world becomes severe later on, we can provide emergency support through the defense line.]

Like when in Giant Fortress, neither the players nor Judgement need to go through Script Space approval; they can make use of the "defense line" to get there in one step.

In a way, defense lines are also there to reinforce the world's spatial barriers and stabilize the order of the world.

Themis: [I've already obtained permission to set up the defense line. The suitable location is right under that bridge. It's secluded, and the natural energy here is pure, but there are just too many people.]

Xu Shuo: [I can recommend someone for you, you can ask him to negotiate with the officials. He should have already been paying attention to you.]

While saying this, Xu Shuo sent over Luo Kai's information.

Upon reviewing it, Shi suddenly realized:

[It's him! This guy greeted me before!]

[Yes, and you ignored him.]

[I thought he was a fan.]

[How did he greet you?]

Shi shared a screenshot.

Luo Kai: [Hello, big shot! I've heard so much about you!]

Xu Shuo: "..."

And there was no follow-up. Actually, Shi had seen this greeting but had not responded.

Players who aren't mutually following each other have one chance to greet, which is to send one message to the other party. Only after a reply can they continue to interact.

Some fans, after watching a script, might like a player and try to make contact with their idol after following them by using this approach.

Similarly, if a player sees an item of another player they are interested in buying, they can attempt to communicate this way as well.

This one-time greeting option also prevents harassment.

Making it quite valuable, most players cherish the "greeting" function with strangers since, if they waste it and need it someday, they'll have to find another way.

Moreover, when greeting, players typically state their intentions in one go, to avoid confusion and missing out on the opportunity.

Like Luo Kai, this unfortunate soul.

...

After being woken up, Xu Shuo checked the time and couldn't sleep anymore, so he had to get up half an hour earlier today.

By a little after seven, Xu Xi had already returned from her morning run.

"I never used to see you running in the mornings before?" Xu Shuo said while expertly mixing a cup of protein shake with extra ingredients and handing it over to her.

"I wanted to exercise a bit," Xu Xi paused, glancing at the protein shake before adding, "I already drank one before I left home."

"Oh, then have another one."

"..."

After Xu Xi had her breakfast with the protein shake, they left home together as usual.

Not long after they had left, Xu Shuo, who was driving, received another barrage of texts from Luo Kai.

Because this guy always sent his messages in bursts and liked to play coy, the notifications flashed very frequently, Xu Shuo gave them a cursory glance and ignored them.

Leaving everything to others is just so relieving!

...

But no sooner had they arrived at the studio and Xu Shuo not even gotten his chair warm, than Pei Sheng with dark circles under his eyes slapped a thick file onto his desk.

"All the project details are in here! Transfer the money!"

"Did you do this yourself?" Xu Shuo raised his eyebrows at the thickness of the file.

"Of course! ...No, I didn't."

Pei Sheng's previously uplifted demeanor suddenly deflated a bit before he quickly continued, "But I did go over it very thoroughly all night and made sure there were no issues before giving it to you!"

Xu Shuo flipped through the file.

The organized data were all about the production plan for the game project "Free Night," analyzing and arranging personnel, equipment, and financial aspects. Each step of the project was clearly outlined, with timelines specified down to the exact number of days.

This file clearly wasn't put together by Pei Sheng; he had squeezed it out of a new employee.

Given the plan's complexity, Pei Sheng had thought the new employee would take at least a week to come up with a detailed plan.

After all, they had only gone over the plan briefly before, and many aspects hadn't been discussed yet, not to mention the new employee would need some time to settle in.

But unexpectedly, they had come up with a plan that very night!

So a shocked Pei Sheng spent the whole night going through it carefully.

Despite being responsible for the project and wanting to slack off on the surface, Pei Sheng didn't dare truly neglect his duties.

Once assured there were no problems, he excitedly sought Xu Shuo out.

"For the preliminary stage, thirty million!"

Pei Sheng flashed an OK sign and smugly said with a smirk, "Shuo, this is just for the initial planning, you know~ If you can really pull together this fund for me, I'll start work right away!"

"As if you've got the manpower right now," Xu Shuo chuckled and shook his head. He picked up a pen, signed his name, and then firmly stamped it without hesitation, moving so fast that Pei Sheng didn't even react.

After tossing the file back, Xu Shuo leaned back in his chair and tilted his chin up, "Approved, go to finance."

Pei Sheng: "..."

Pei Sheng was frozen in his pose, staring blankly.

His bravado was purely because he believed Xu Shuo simply didn't have that much capital!

Even selling the entire studio wouldn't raise that sum of money!

After all, if Xu Shuo couldn't come up with the money, Pei Sheng certainly wouldn't have to continue with a project that could drive anyone to jump off a building at any moment!

So, after seeing how much investment was needed, Pei Sheng had come over brimming with excitement, thinking to quickly offload this hot potato!

But Xu Shuo had approved it!

He had actually given his consent!

Xu Shuo chuckled softly, leaned forward, rested his chin on his hands, and said with a smile, "Go on, I've already approved it for you, hurry up and start working."

Pei Sheng: Who am I, where am I, what am I supposed to do?

With a dazed expression, Pei Sheng carried the file out of the office and floated to the financial department, which was managed by three beautiful ladies.

"I'm here to withdraw funds for the project..."

The financial department took the file, checked the emails, and then with a sweet smile said, "Please wait, we'll process this now."

Hearing the lovely voice of the lady, Pei Sheng came back to his senses and sharply asked, "Does our company really have that much money for operations? Which account is it coming from?"

The three ladies paused, exchanged glances, and didn't answer.

But who was Pei Sheng?

After all, he was one of the bosses. He forced his way into the front office amidst the exclamations of the finance staff and then widened his eyes to read the information on the computer screen.

Indeed, someone had transferred funds to the company's account!

And that account was... damn it! It was Xu Shuo's personal account!

That meant he couldn't see who had transferred the funds to him!

Pei Sheng gritted his teeth; one day he was going to find out who was backing that guy!

...