Song Zang’s shout of “Yin Chen!” drew the attention of every guest, but they all looked confused.
As Song Zang ran, he pretended to wipe away tears. Using his sleeve as cover, he quickly swept his gaze around the room and confirmed that no one genuinely knew what had happened in the kitchen.
Yin Chen reacted quickly. The moment he heard the commotion, he strode over and asked warily, “What happened?”
“D-dead… someone’s dead…” Song Zang choked out a couple of sobs before throwing himself melodramatically into Yin Chen’s arms with deliberately exaggerated acting.
Yin Chen caught him securely. At a glance, he spotted the flecks of blood on the soles of Song Zang’s shoes, and his eyes instantly turned cold.
Pat, pat.
Then he heard the brisk sound of slippers moving across the floor. He immediately pulled the fruit knife from his pocket, gripping the handle in reverse with the blade pointing downward.
Xu Meng followed them out, covered in blood and looking utterly bewildered.
“Mr. Song, why did you run away… President Yin?”
The sharp kitchen knife was still dangling from her hand, swaying as she walked.
What exactly had happened to Xu Meng?
No one knew, but right now, she was extremely dangerous.
Xu Ji Dong had already raised his camera and accurately captured the sight of her approaching with the knife raised… then immediately shifted the lens onto Song Zang’s pale, pitiful face.
—Mainly because without video evidence, it would be much more convenient for Yin Chen to kill someone.
Yin Chen met Xu Ji Dong’s gaze and gave a slight nod before advancing expressionlessly with his knife.
Shnk—
In the blink of an eye, the fruit knife pierced straight through Xu Meng’s heart.
Yin Chen moved so quickly that Song Zang had not even seen blood emerge before Xu Meng’s smile froze on her face. Her sweet eyes widened, and she crashed heavily onto her back, never moving again.
A blue game panel appeared, flashing a notification.
【Clear Requirement: Identify every impostor on the show. (1/?)】
Sure enough, at some unknown point, the usually inconspicuous Xu Meng had already been quietly replaced.
Yin Chen put away his knife. Instead of immediately examining the corpse, he turned toward Song Zang with a cold expression and checked him from head to toe for any sign that something was wrong.
“I-I’m fine.”
Song Zang leaned against him and sniffled softly, anxiously biting his lip as a faint flush reddened the corners of his eyes.
“Good.”
Yin Chen’s expression eased slightly. He settled the still-trembling Song Zang onto the soft sofa, then pulled out a tissue, lowered his eyes, and carefully wiped the fruit knife clean before returning it to the inner pocket of his suit.
Just then, the stunned production staff also rushed in as a group, equally overwhelmed by the sight before them.
Seeing someone die through a surveillance camera was nothing like personally looking at two bodies lying on the floor. The visual impact was on an entirely different level.
They crowded around the corpses, speechless, staring helplessly at one another like a swarm of headless flies.
Only when Chang Mei Jiang hurried in on her high heels did someone finally take charge. “Nobody go any closer! Don’t contaminate the evidence! Medical team, check whether Xu Meng is still breathing. If she is, start emergency treatment immediately. I’m calling the police.”
Frowning, she took out her phone and tried to dial the emergency number, only for the chief director who had followed her inside to grab her hand and stop her.
Chief Director Liu Ming Tao—the NPC Song Zang had identified with his special ability—did not look particularly well either.
His lifeless sanpaku eyes drooped as he demanded, “Xiao Chang, have you lost your mind? If the police come, how are we supposed to keep filming? If news of these deaths leaks out ahead of schedule and the broadcast gets postponed indefinitely, are you expecting everyone here to live on air?”
Chang Mei Jiang could not understand him. “How could something like this possibly be covered up?”
“Everyone here signed a one-month closed-filming contract and an extremely strict confidentiality agreement. The breach-of-contract penalty is over a hundred million,” Liu Ming Tao said with complete confidence. “As long as everyone abides by the contract, no one outside will know what happened here before the show airs.”
Before Chang Mei Jiang could respond, Xiao Xiao became angry. “Director Liu, then tell me what you plan to do with the bodies. Are you deliberately going to destroy the crime scene? Do you know that’s a criminal offense?”
“Ms. Xiao, don’t worry. Even if the police pursue responsibility afterward, I have the ability to protect every one of you from the consequences. As long as the show airs smoothly, you’ll still receive the new drama opportunity promised in your contract, along with the guaranteed publicity and discussion. You won’t lose anything.” Liu Ming Tao smiled, trying to brush the matter aside as though it were nothing.
“You… Is this about a contract? This is a matter of principle. A moral line!”
“Ms. Xiao, you’ve been in the industry for five years now, haven’t you? There have been plenty of deaths in entertainment over the years, but only people who understand how this industry works manage to last.”
The two continued arguing over whether to call the police, alternating threats and inducements. Even Xia Zhi Zhi eventually stepped forward to help Xiao Xiao negotiate, completely ignoring the frightened, helpless staff surrounding them.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the living room.
The players maintained a tacit silence. Their concerns were exactly the same as Song Zang’s.
—If the police arrived and filming could no longer continue, the entire premise on which their Main Mission depended might simply disappear.
If their luck was even worse, the system might instantly determine that the mission had failed and kill every player on the spot.
Besides, the way “Xu Meng” had killed, her mental state, and her movements were all profoundly abnormal. She had managed to kill an experienced Infinite Game player with a single slash, which meant this case had already gone far beyond anything ordinary police could handle.
Chi Yan had remained silent the entire time, eyes closed as she pressed a hand to her forehead, because she also had a persona to maintain. Two of her friends had suddenly died, so she needed to display an appropriate degree of shock and grief.
Song Zang was acting even harder. Still supposedly “overwhelmed by fright,” he had wrapped himself into a ball inside a blanket, leaving only the top of his black hair and half of his pale, exquisite face exposed.
Yin Chen took out his soft, expensive handkerchief and silently wiped away Song Zang’s tears.
Apparently, he had developed the habit in the previous instance. He even voluntarily warmed a cup of milk for Song Zang and told him to drink more so he could calm his nerves.
The contrast between the domineering CEO and this tireless caretaking was immediately captured by Xu Ji Dong, who delighted in recording anything entertaining. As the camera-crew leader, he had a duty to hold up the production at critical moments!
Ten minutes passed. The medical staff confirmed Xu Meng had died instantly, while Xiao Xiao and the others remained locked in a stalemate with Liu Ming Tao.
Then, without warning, a scream came from outside the house. Countless more shrill screams and pleas for mercy followed one after another, plunging the area into chaos.
“Fuck, who died now?!”
For the first time, the nearly broken Xiao Xiao swore aloud.
Bang—!
The front door was kicked open, and a young man with hair resembling a bird’s nest strode inside.
It was Lu Xing You.
Chi Yan visibly relaxed and took Xiao Xiao’s slightly trembling hand to reassure her. “It’s fine. That’s the Lu family’s young master. He likes hitting people when he hasn’t gotten enough sleep.”
That was right. Lu Xing You was genuinely furious.
He had been sleeping perfectly well inside his family’s RV when a large crowd of panicked people suddenly barged in and insisted on shaking him awake on the spot.
The rage of being forcibly awakened made Lu Xing You explode instantly. He indiscriminately beat up everyone present.
Fortunately, he still exercised enough restraint not to actually kill anyone.
“What are you yelling about? Why is everyone making so much noise?!”
Still furious, Lu Xing You stormed into the villa and looked around aggressively. Then Chi Yan expressionlessly flicked him hard on the forehead, instantly freezing him in place.
“Young Master Lu, calm down. Two female guests are dead.” Chi Yan knew his temperament extremely well. Folding her arms, she briefly explained, “Director Chang and Xiao Xiao want to call the police right now. Director Liu doesn’t. They’ve been arguing.”
Lu Xing You held his forehead and closed his eyes for a moment. First, he made himself an enormous mug of double-strength black coffee and glug-glug-glugged it down. Only then did he finally become alert enough to obediently follow Chi Yan and inspect the scene.
“Call the police. Right now.”
After speaking, Lu Xing You paused and looked toward Li Jun and Xu Ji Dong, who seemed to have objections. He calmly explained, “It’s fine. Yin Chen and I have more than enough money. As long as we spend enough, everyone here can stay with the production, and we’ll still make the original broadcast schedule.”
The moment Liu Ming Tao heard that Lu Xing You was willing to inject more money into the production, his eyes lit up and he immediately changed his tune.
“Xiao Chang, did you hear that? Hurry, hurry! Call the police!”
Chang Mei Jiang glanced down at him contemptuously. “I already called while all of you were arguing.”
“Good job, Director Chang,” Xiao Xiao said quietly.
＊
The villa where the deaths occurred belonged to Yin Chen. In this world, it stood in an exclusive upper-class neighborhood with excellent security, where not a single criminal case had occurred in more than ten years.
Now that two people had suddenly died there, the police naturally took the matter extremely seriously and arrived with astonishing speed.
Yet, to everyone’s surprise, the forensic team had barely entered the scene and finished checking Xu Meng’s condition when the lead examiner’s expression suddenly became extremely ugly. He quickly hunched down and hurried back outside the cordon.
He approached one of the detectives and whispered several words into his ear. The detective’s expression changed instantly. He grabbed his radio and ordered, “All personnel, evacuate the scene immediately. Do not touch either body. Repeating: evacuate immediately. Do not touch the bodies!”
“Officer, what happened?” Chang Mei Jiang sensed something was wrong and hurriedly asked.
The detective cautiously looked her up and down before replying in a low, strained voice, “We will not take custody of the bodies, and we will not seal off this scene. You can contact a funeral home or a professional cleaning service. You can even continue filming your show.”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t call the police again. No one will come to handle this, and filing complaints won’t change anything.”
After leaving behind those cryptic, incomprehensible warnings, the detectives packed their equipment and turned away despite everyone’s attempts to stop them.
They switched off their sirens, stepped on the gas, and sped away.
The forensic team fled even faster. They did not even bother taking down the police tape before disappearing.
The players and NPCs inside the villa were left behind alone… falling into silence and staring at one another.
“Something’s wrong. Something is definitely wrong. What are they afraid of?” Xiao Xiao was the first to speak, her voice trembling. “Liu Ming Tao, you said deaths happen in the entertainment industry all the time, right? Did the police act this strangely in those cases too? They’re actually leaving two dead bodies behind and abandoning us here?!”
Liu Ming Tao remained silent for a long while. Then he lifted those strange eyes with too much white showing and looked at Xiao Xiao. “How about this, Ms. Xiao? Let’s change the show’s format. We’ll pivot from a slow-living cohabitation dating show to a horror-themed dating show. What do you think? It’s fresh enough, isn’t it? Once it airs, the ratings will explode!”
The more he spoke, the more excited he became, frightening Xiao Xiao into stumbling backward.
“You… Have you gone insane?!”
“Then what do you suggest, Ms. Xiao?” Liu Ming Tao gave two creepy chuckles. “The police won’t handle it, and the forensic examiners won’t handle it. That leaves us no choice but to uncover the truth ourselves. We’ll film the entire investigation from multiple angles and create the entertainment industry’s first celebrity detective while we’re at it. Solve murders while falling in love—how exciting is that? How much material would that give us?”
Even the players could no longer stomach such ridiculous words.
Li Jun reacted especially violently. With bloodshot eyes, he went straight to Yin Chen and once again began muttering neurotically. “Kill him. Kill Liu Ming Tao! And Song Zang too. He was at the scene. The first person to discover the bodies is suspicious too. Hurry up and kill him!”
Song Zang: ?
How did this somehow circle back to me again? So annoying. Exactly how much does Li Jun hate me?
He lightly bit his lip, reached up to tug Yin Chen’s sleeve, and refused to be outdone as he pleaded softly, “I’m scared…”
Bang—!
Yin Chen knocked Li Jun unconscious with one punch. Blood poured from his nose, and at last, he fell silent.
Yin Chen looked impatient. He pulled out a tissue and carefully wiped the blood from his knuckles while a violent urge to hack someone apart surged through him.
Of all things in the world, Yin Chen hated people who talked too much. That was precisely why Zhang Ming Shen, being mute, had been recruited under Yin Chen’s command so early. Since Zhang Ming Shen never spoke to Yin Chen, he had continued living an exceptionally carefree life to this day.
Song Zang rubbed his temples and sighed helplessly. Somehow, he could tell exactly what Yin Chen was thinking at a glance.
He definitely wants to kill someone again.
To keep the situation from escalating any further, Song Zang caught Yin Chen’s hand and gave it a little swing as he complained softly, “The kitchen smells like blood. It stinks. I’m going to have nightmares tonight.”
Their fingertips gently tangled together. Song Zang’s cool, delicate fingers slid quietly across Yin Chen’s palm, leaving behind a faintly tingling sensation.
Yin Chen froze for a long moment, then suddenly gripped Song Zang’s hand tightly and said thoughtfully, “I like this.”
And after saying that, he refused to let go. His fingertips pressed a little harder as they slowly moved upward from Song Zang’s wrist, stroking and kneading experimentally again and again… like someone who had just discovered a fascinating new toy and, once he had caught it in his mouth, refused to give it back.
Watching Yin Chen’s unusually focused expression, Song Zang awkwardly looked away, feeling that something about this was not quite right.
Especially while Xu Ji Dong was still standing there with his camera!
What the two of them were doing right now somehow seemed even more inappropriate than all the murder.
“How about we deal with the bodies first, then hold hands afterward? You can hold my hand as much as you want,” Song Zang quietly coaxed.
“No.”
Yin Chen rejected him instantly, completely impervious to persuasion.
Song Zang could not understand what was so enjoyable about holding hands, much less understand… the restless unease stirring deep inside himself at that very moment.
He knew Yin Chen was unlike ordinary people, so he sometimes indulged all sorts of physical contact from him. But Song Zang had only lost his memory; he had not become stupid. He knew perfectly well that holding hands had already gone far beyond the normal social distance between good friends.
Right now, the villa was in complete chaos. They had no role-playing need to act like a pair of “ex-lovers,” so continuing to hold hands was absolutely inappropriate.
This can’t continue, Song Zang told himself.
So he frowned. “If you insist on doing this, then I’ll never team up with you again.”
“…”
Yin Chen abruptly lifted his eyes and stared at him, his gaze as cold and sharp as a hunting falcon. He said nothing.
“Yin Chen, I’m serious,” Song Zang said more softly.
Their tightly intertwined hands abruptly separated.
Yin Chen remained silent, thin lips pressed firmly together as he turned and walked toward the kitchen.
He put on two layers of gloves and, recalling how the forensic examiner had behaved earlier, used the tip of his fruit knife to prod at Xu Meng’s stiffened face.
Her pupils had not dilated. That was wrong. Her tongue coating was somewhat thick, and its color was darker than normal. Her upper canines were unusually well developed, resembling two cute fake vampire fangs.
No. Xu Meng loved smiling, but whenever she smiled before, she never showed canines this prominent.
Yin Chen examined both bodies and ultimately found only those tiny abnormalities.
—Xu Meng had been “replaced.” Wang Bao Zhu had not.
After confirming that, he called the villa’s housekeeper to arrange cleanup. Since the property belonged to him, it was much easier for him to organize people coming and going.
The bodies would first be transferred to a morgue for preservation, while a professional cleaning team would handle the bloodstains.
Song Zang did not simply leave to avoid the conflict between them. He remained nearby, quietly watching Yin Chen’s every move. Once Yin Chen finished the call, Song Zang voluntarily reached over and touched his hand again.
Yin Chen lowered his eyes without looking at him and replied coolly, “That’s enough. I don’t need it anymore.”
“Mm, but thank you anyway.” Song Zang moved one step closer and lowered his voice. “Ex-Hubby, you were really dependable today.”
The subtle stiffness between them quietly dissolved.
While the two of them were busy acting out their own little drama, Liu Ming Tao had already successfully “persuaded” everyone else.
Perhaps “persuaded” was too generous a word. He used the dual threat of astronomical breach-of-contract penalties and an industry-wide blacklist to force Xiao Xiao and Xia Zhi Zhi to continue filming.
Xiao Xiao tried calling her manager and was scolded. She then attempted to expose the situation on social media, only to discover that her company had already changed the passwords to every one of her accounts, preemptively preventing her from making any public statement of her own.
“Sister Chi, you don’t object either?” With nowhere else to turn, Xiao Xiao finally looked at Chi Yan in disbelief.
After all, Chi Yan was an established award-winning actress. A mere Liu Ming Tao had nowhere near enough power to blacklist her.
“I want to uncover the truth behind Bao Zhu and Xu Meng’s deaths. I don’t believe Xu Meng would kill someone for no reason.” Chi Yan’s voice was heavy, and the emotion in her eyes looked exceptionally genuine. “The police won’t investigate, but they were my friends.”
“But… how can you cooperate with Liu Ming Tao and—”
Good question. Naturally, it’s because the Clear Requirement still hasn’t been completed. As for what might happen if we leave the villa…
Chang Mei Jiang did not support Xiao Xiao either. She only verbally tried to persuade Liu Ming Tao a few times before ultimately “compromising helplessly.”
“Ms. Xiao, Mr. Xia, calm down first and get some proper rest. Once the kitchen has been cleaned, we’ll immediately resume filming.” Chang Mei Jiang sighed. “Camera crew, come with me for a meeting. All guests, go freshen yourselves up so you don’t look disheveled on camera.”
Xiao Xiao was too shocked to speak and looked ready to pick up a chair and fight Liu Ming Tao. In the end, Xia Zhi Zhi quietly persuaded her and pulled her away.
“Bear with it for now. You can’t even get a cab out here, and Liu Ming Tao is watching us. We can’t leave right now anyway,” Xia Zhi Zhi whispered while dragging her upstairs. “Wait until everyone’s asleep tonight. If we get a chance, we’ll figure out how to escape.”
“…Fine.” Xiao Xiao gripped his arm tightly and struggled to steady herself. “Mr. Xia, I thought there was seriously something wrong with you before. Sorry. Looking at things now, you actually seem to be the only fucking normal person here.”
“What can I do? I need to make a living. Queerbaiting and sucking up to rich women are both part of the job. Sister Xiao, once this is over, let me ride your popularity a little too, okay?”
“Get lost. Go find your costume-drama boyfriend. I’m afraid your ship fans will lose their minds and break into my house to assassinate me.”
Surrounded by an entire group of unreasonable lunatics, the two unfortunate NPCs unexpectedly bonded over their shared misery.
Under Chang Mei Jiang’s persuasion, everyone temporarily returned to their rooms to rest.
The only exception was Li Jun, who was still unconscious and had to be carried back to his room by Xu Ji Dong.
On the surface, no one communicated at all. In reality, the players’ group chat was already exploding with discussion.
Song Zang closed the curtains over the terrace doors, curled up on his bed, and scrolled through the new messages.
【Yin Chen: Memorize everyone’s facial features and body shape. Don’t overlook even the smallest change. If anything is abnormal, kill them immediately.】
【Lu Xing You: 1】
【Chi Yan: Today’s password—When does smoke come out of all seven orifices? Answer—during cremation.】
Elio’s Notes: 七窍生烟 literally means “smoke coming from the seven orifices” and is an idiom for being extremely angry. The password turns the expression into a literal joke by answering “during cremation.”
【Lu Xing You: 1】
【Xu Ji Dong: Why won’t the police handle this? Aren’t you curious?】
【Chi Yan: It’s obvious. The police definitely know impostors exist too, and they can’t beat them, so they have no choice but to leave them alone.】
【Yin Chen: Agreed.】
【Li Jun: Kill everyone. Kill everyone and we’ll clear the instance! If they’re all dead, what is there left to fear? Better to kill the wrong person than let one escape!】
【Lu Xing You: Dude, this show has three episodes. Next week we’re supposed to go to a beach resort. If you kill all the staff now, who’s going to film the rest?】
【Li Jun: Kill the whole world!】
Song Zang: …
Both amused and exasperated, he closed the game panel without joining the conversation.
Li Jun was definitely neurotic, but there was one point Song Zang actually agreed with.
Some unstable factors really were better dealt with as early as possible.
For example—
Liu Ming Tao, whose mental state was equally concerning.
As chief director, Liu Ming Tao held enormous authority. After a string of absurd and horrifying deaths, followed by the police completely refusing to intervene, the production staff were already terrified out of their minds. Instinctively, they would look for someone capable of taking charge and holding everything together.
Liu Ming Tao had the position, nerve, and ambition, so the staff basically followed his instructions almost blindly.
His presence severely restricted Chang Mei Jiang’s authority. If he suddenly lost his mind, the players could easily be forced into an extremely passive position.
But an assistant director was still a director. The show’s itinerary had already been finalized, and the camera crews were ready to continue filming at any moment. As for the most important issue—the production budget—they still had Lu Xing You, the investor’s younger son, firmly on Chang Mei Jiang’s side.
In that case, killing Liu Ming Tao and letting Chang Mei Jiang take charge did not seem as though it would cause much trouble at all.
Fine. Kill him.
Once Song Zang reached that conclusion, he immediately took action.
He stepped onto the private terrace attached to his bedroom and unobtrusively confirmed the camera’s blind spots. Instead of leaving immediately, however, he lingered in view of the camera for a while and put on a performance.
With exaggerated affectation, he stroked the ivy growing along the railing and gazed melancholically at the surrounding wealthy neighborhood. Then he raised his phone, tilted his head slightly, and went on a wild selfie spree across every possible angle before sending a voice message to his manager.
“Ah, Ex-Hubby really is ridiculously rich. If we successfully get back together, do you think he’d put the house in my name? Too bad it’s become a murder house now. It probably won’t sell for a good price.”
As he spoke, Song Zang subtly moved toward the camera’s blind spot, continuing his fake lament. “The artificial lake is so beautiful too. I could stare at it forever…”
By the time he finished speaking, Song Zang had silently climbed over the terrace railing and jumped.
Dropping from the third floor had never been difficult for him.
He landed lightly, avoided surveillance all the way, and followed the base of the wall toward the shrubbery in the backyard.
The temporary director’s office, set up inside an RV, was parked on a private lane just beyond the backyard.
The rear door of the RV stood wide open and cigarette smoke filled the interior. Liu Ming Tao was enthusiastically rewriting the script, but the longer he worked, the more irritable he became.
“No, no! The moment we leave this villa, we lose all the buzz!”
“Director Liu, we could hire a few extras to play corpses. Next episode can be a beach murder mystery. How about that?”
“Idiotic! Can fake bodies compare to a real murder? They’re not even remotely the same level of publicity!”
“Then what are you suggesting…?”
Liu Ming Tao suddenly raised his head and took a deep drag from his cigarette. “More people have to die. We need several more deaths.”
The screenwriters sitting inside the RV fell completely silent, frightened speechless by what he had just said.
“Do you not understand me?!” Liu Ming Tao raised his voice. “Right now, decide who should die next!”
Just then, a dull thud sounded, immediately followed by the screenwriters’ bloodcurdling screams.
Liu Ming Tao’s head abruptly drooped and smashed heavily into the ashtray, where sparks were still glowing.
His greasy, damp hair caught fire instantly, giving off a strange burnt odor.
Hidden behind the cover of the shrubs, Song Zang widened his eyes. He looked down at the bamboo toothpick he still had not thrown, then back toward Liu Ming Tao, whose temple was pouring blood.
I haven’t even done anything yet… Who killed him?