Chapter 1

"Welcome to the Nai Bu Dong Ni Detective Agency. I am the DM for this session. During the game, it is forbidden to reveal your identity, self-destruct, or discuss the game outside of the session. If you have any questions, please raise your hand to speak."

The detective agency employee, wearing a cheap black suit, held a folder. He was round in shape and spoke with a somewhat non-standard, broadcast-like tone.

"Please, detectives, pick up the scripts on the table and read them carefully. After you finish reading, please ring the bell to call me~"

The DM picked up the service bell on the table, gave it a symbolic "ding-ding" shake, and then turned and walked out.

The moment the door closed, he stretched and glanced at his watch, exhausted.

To think someone would come to play a game at twelve o'clock; they really aren't afraid of having nightmares after finishing.

Forget it, forget it; he gets overtime pay anyway, so what is there to complain about?

Just as he was about to light a cigarette, his shoulder was tapped lightly. The DM was startled and turned his head to look.

It was a beautiful girl with a short, slim build. Her porcelain-white skin and light-colored lips gave off a sickly, fragile vibe.

Her deep eye sockets and wet, red, drooping outer corners—a pair of eyes that looked affectionate no matter who she looked at—were currently staring at him "sinisterly."

"Guest, is there something you need?"

Su Mian spoke expressionlessly, "Can I drop out of the game now?"

The DM's expression immediately turned troubled.

"Guest, this script is for five to eight people, and you are already at the minimum number. If you drop out now... what I mean is, it will be very difficult to handle."

What was even worse was that his overtime pay would also go down the drain.

"And I remember you joined a group session, which makes it even harder. If you said you knew each other, it would be fine..."

"That's exactly why."

Su Mian interrupted him, "My ex-boyfriend is in there."

That two-timing scumbag, Zhou Yichen.

The DM's mouth opened slightly. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation, and for a moment, he didn't know how to handle it.

Su Mian frowned slightly, her lips pressed into a straight line.

She was a script murder fanatic. All original scripts, especially horror-themed ones, held an extraordinary attraction for her.

Her roommates were doing cosplay, she was playing a script; her roommates went out to karaoke, she was playing a script; her roommates were grinding in the library, she was still playing a script.

Even the detective agency near the university Su Mian attended couldn't release scripts as fast as she could play them.

Maybe she forgot to check the almanac before going out today, to actually run into that trash.

But she had wanted to play the script "Orphan Grudge" for a long time, and with finals week coming in two days, she would be even busier.

Su Mian covered her mouth and coughed twice. She "tsk-ed" and said, "Forget it," then turned and walked back into the room.

There was only one script left on the table, with the two characters "Mi Guo" on the cover.

Clearly, this was the protagonist of this script.

She picked up the script and flipped through it casually.

The boy sitting across from her clearly recognized her too, but he wasn't flustered at all. He wrapped his arm around the waist of the girl with braided hair next to him and provocatively picked up the bell and shook it.

It was clearly intentional, not giving her time to read the script.

The DM soon returned to the scene to recite the opening remarks. Eager to get off work, he didn't feel like anything was wrong.

"I presume you detectives have already understood your identities. You are children who have just been admitted to the Sunshine Orphanage. Here, all the children have quirks."

He suddenly lowered his voice, leaned forward slightly, and an eerie nursery rhyme began to play from somewhere.

The girl with braided hair was so scared she burrowed into Zhou Yichen's arms. Zhou Yichen patted her soothingly, a flash of dark satisfaction in his eyes.

Yu Maomao was a girlfriend he had just started dating last week. She was obedient, sensible, and generous, but she wasn't very proactive, so he wanted to take Yu Maomao to play something exciting.

As a result, she refused to play escape rooms, so the two settled for playing a script murder game.

Who would have thought they would run into his previous girlfriend, Su Mian.

A sense of superiority suddenly surged up. He scanned the opposite side triumphantly, but only saw her lowering her eyes and reading the script seriously, completely ignoring him.

A boring, poker-faced person.

"The final goal of this game: Please find out who among the people present is the real orphan."

The DM spoke eerily. Suddenly, with a "pop—" sound, the entire room plunged into darkness, leaving only a few electronic candles, their yellowish light hitting people's faces.

Yu Maomao let out a gasp, and Wang Zhe across from her let out an excited monkey-like screech.

"Damn, this is good! It's so exciting right from the start. Will there be ghosts popping out to scare us?"

DM: "..."

To be honest, he hadn't expected the lights to go out suddenly, but out of professional courtesy, he could only bite the bullet and continue.

Maybe the store manager came back suddenly, forgot there was still a table of guests, and turned off the main switch when he got off work.

The DM guessed randomly, not knowing where the cold wind was blowing from, making his neck feel chilly.

"Now, please place your palms on the ink pad in front of you and leave your palm prints on the Orphanage Agreement."

Su Mian stretched her hand forward and placed it in the circular grid. Instantly, her palm was soaked in red. Her pupils trembled, and she immediately withdrew her hand.

The cold touch carried a faint, lingering scent of blood.

It wasn't an ink pad.

It was blood.

In an instant, all the electronic candles went out, and Yu Maomao's scream was swallowed by a hurricane.

"Damn, what's going on? Why is it liquid?!"

"Did you press it?"

"I pressed it, yeah... it's all the same, right?"

How could it be the same?!

Su Mian's heart pounded. She held her palm to the tip of her nose to confirm again.

It was blood!

This agreement could not be signed. Before she could think it through, Su Mian instinctively wanted to stand up, but unexpectedly, her wrist was grabbed violently.

That hand wearing a white glove pressed her down.

Was it the DM?

A cold wind hit her back. She swallowed her saliva and tilted her head slightly.

The same black suit, but the figure was tall and slender; it was clearly not the same person.

Su Mian's forehead was soaked in sweat. Her alarm bells rang loudly. She gritted her teeth and tried to pull her hand back, but she was no match for that person's strength.

Her wrist was held tightly.

Down, down.

The blood-colored handprint was finally pressed onto the agreement.

Su Mian gasped, her hand trembling uncontrollably. The "DM" pressing on her suddenly disappeared, and the eerie nursery rhyme gradually stopped.

The world returned to clarity.

The noisy sounds of children playing reached her ears.

They were very likely no longer in the detective agency.

Realizing this, Su Mian's muscles tensed.

It was as if it were a dream, without any warning, hair-raising.

She had appeared in a real orphanage.