Capítulo 5: Chapter 5 Mutant Script
While Zhan Qian was whispering with a group of players, Miss Painter, who had just been startled, did not join them.
She bent down and patted the shoulder of the young man who was sorrowfully facing Mr. Guo's corpse, seemingly comforting him.
The young man instinctively turned his head to glance at her but, in the next moment, suddenly widened his eyes, opened his mouth but quickly closed it again, and then lowered his head, continuing to shut down.
Xu Shuo, who was observing them, was fortunate enough to see this and slightly raised his eyebrows.
After a while, the departing butler brought over a servant who had some medical knowledge. Seeing this, Zhan Qian quickly stopped explaining the game mechanics to the players.
Originally, the players who were earnestly learning, also turned into drama queens, putting on a concerned and sorrowful expression.
The maid who had been pulled over looked very nervous. After putting on gloves, she knelt down and turned over Mr. Guo, who was facing the ground, and carefully inspected him.
Everyone was silent, quietly waiting for her verdict.
"That is, the gentleman has already... passed away," after a long while, the maid said softly with trembling hands, under everyone's gaze.
"What was the cause?" Zhan Qian quickly asked.
"Poison... poisoned..."
"What poison?" This time it wasn't Zhan Qian who eagerly asked, but Mr. Guo nearby.
The maid anxiously fiddled with her skirt and shook her head at him, "I'm sorry, Young Master, I can't determine the specifics."
The group felt a hint of disappointment, the butler directly wept bitterly, muttering in grief, "How could this happen, why would such a thing occur..."
Hearing this, Zhan Qian, who was pondering, changed her expression and hurriedly spoke up first, "Today, we came to the manor as guests, but we didn't expect such a thing to happen. Butler, I think we need to investigate this thoroughly."
The butler wiped his tears and nodded solemnly, "The master died of poisoning, this is certainly no accident—I'm not suspecting anyone, but before the truth is clearly investigated, I hope you all don't leave the manor, so as to avoid any misunderstandings."
"That's only natural," Zhan Qian nodded.
No player would object to this.
...
With the sudden death of Mr. Guo, the owner of the manor, the butler had a lot to deal with.
Although the elderly butler was very kind to the guests, when summoning the manor's servants for questioning, his angry face was quite intimidating, somewhat resembling Mr. Guo when he was stern.
The spacious living room felt a bit silent.
Because the body couldn't be moved before the police arrived, Mr. Guo laying on the floor was covered with a white cloth, and the few people sitting on the living room sofa could clearly see the scene in the dining area.
The butler had gone to check on the servants, and the distraught Mr. Guo had already been sent back to his room. At this moment, the living room truly only had the group of players left.
This was practically perfect timing for a script analyzing session!
"Who do you think the murderer could be?" Zhan Qian, as an experienced player, was the first to ask.
"The butler and Young Master definitely have suspicion because they are close, and of course, the servants might be possible, but there is also the most likely suspect..." the photographer started speaking and then looked towards the young man sitting opposite him, continuing:
"The chef."
Xu Shuo looked up at him and smiled, "If this were a game of Werewolf, I would definitely say I'm not a werewolf right now."
The photographer also returned an apologetic smile and did not say anything.
They were just making simple speculations at the moment.
"But all of us ate the meals, only Mr. Guo was poisoned to death," Tan Xiaohe said.
"Bowl," Miss Painter interjected indifferently.
"Wow?" Tan Xiaohe tilted her head.
"..."
Hearing this conversation, her boyfriend said awkwardly, "What the young lady must be referring to is the tableware. Did any of you notice during dinner that Mr. Guo's bowl had a distinct style, different from ours?"
Though it might be that the guest tableware is different from the host's, it still represented a point of suspicion.
At this point, Xu Shuo pretended to be lost in thought and said, "Speaking of which, when I was in the kitchen, I did see a servant taking out that particular bowl separately."
"Do you still remember what that person looked like? We can ask the butler to inquire later," the painter lady suggested.
"I have a rough impression."
As they discussed the suspects, Zhan Qian nodded approvingly, like a teacher praising a child, and then asked, "So, what do you think their motive for murder might be?"
"The butler seems to have been with Mr. Guo for a long time; he might have personal reasons, whereas Mr. Guo Jr. has a poor relationship with Mr. Guo, and the servant might be motivated by money," the quick-thinking photographer spoke up first. During gameplay, he appeared quite active.
"Well said. In typical detective stories, we can easily deduce the suspects and their possible motives, but there's one last thing that's the hardest part," Zhan Qian said with a smile, "Evidence!"
Without evidence, all speculation falls apart!
At that moment, Tan Xiaohe furrowed her brows and said, "Does that mean we can't finish the scripted murder game until we find the evidence?"
Zhan Qian looked at her, said nothing, but her expression was very assured.
Being the only experienced scripted murder game player here, this group of novices could only believe her.
However, finding evidence certainly wouldn't happen by just sitting around, so all eyes soon turned to the dining table nearby.
The butler had left them in the sitting room and did not assign anyone to watch over them, whether this was part of the game or they had another motive was unclear.
In any case, nobody acted rashly.
"We lack information now, and any more speculation is fruitless. Instead of sitting idly, we might as well search for clues elsewhere." After a moment of silence, the painter lady stood up, and after speaking indifferently, she turned and left.
The few watched her leave, and seeing that no one appeared from any corner to stop her, they exchanged glances.
"I think she makes a lot of sense. Do you mind if I check out the kitchen?" the photographer was the first to stand up, looking at Xu Shuo as he spoke.
"Go ahead," Xu Shuo said nonchalantly, waving his hand.
"Then I'll go check those dishes," Tan Xiaohe said with a smile.
"I'll go with you," Yang Ming, currently playing the role of her boyfriend, said.
After the four players had left, only Xu Shuo and the mysticist miss, with her air of proud elegance, remained on the sofa.
Zhan Qian looked at him, curious, and asked, "Aren't you going to investigate?"
"They're quite clear on their division of labor, and so proactive, so I've decided to win by doing nothing," Xu Shuo stretched lazily, comfortably leaning back on the sofa, and looked at the mysticist, "What about you?"
"Clues that are too obvious don't seem to be of much use, and I never do pointless work," Zhan Qian said with a smile lifting the corners of her mouth.
"I remember you said you'd lead us through the script with ease," Xu Shuo propped his chin, smiling ambiguously.
"Now is not the right time to explore."
At this moment, the proud mysticist miss, seemingly indifferent, picked up a glass of water from the coffee table and took a sip. Her dark, pure black dress gave off an air of profound mystery.
After a few more exchanges, they fell into silence, and suddenly the living room became so quiet that only faint noises from the dining area could be heard.
Zhan Qian paid no attention to the players causing the commotion and opened her Player's Handbook to read. She then fell into deep thought.
[Main Quest: Quest one, find the ghost wandering in the manor. Quest two, uncover the secrets hidden within the manor.]
That main quest one, the ghost...
Could this really be a Mutant Script?!
The mysticist miss, who feared mysterious events, held her composure on the outside, but on the inside she was so anxious she took several sips of water.
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