There's definitely something wrong with this murder mystery game

Prague Castle has always defied logic, declaring it's time for a banquet as evening falls, just as it proclaims midnight when night deepens.

Within a mere half an hour after the banquet was announced over, the entire Prague Castle had plunged into darkness, save for a single oil lamp emitting a faint glow in the corridor while the rest remained pitch-black.

The castle, now in stark contrast to the lively atmosphere from just moments ago, was eerily silent and unsettlingly empty.

The clock on the wall of the castle's great hall pointed straight to midnight, and then the chimes resonated through the darkness.

"Dong——"

"Dong——"

"Dong——"

Twelve chimes rang out, and the world was so quiet that not even the sound of insects or birds could be heard; it was as if the land held no trace of life.@@novelbin@@

There was now no one moving about in Prague Castle.

In a guest room on the second floor of the main building, a climber spread out a three-dimensional map in mid-air, deep in thought.

In another room, the archaeologist had shed her cumbersome and heavy attire, lying comfortably on the bed with a book open, analyzing the information she had gathered from the banquet.

In the adjacent room, An Lin paced back and forth restlessly, holding up the hem of her wide dress.

During the banquet, she had pretended to casually inquire with the butler about her missing classmate, but after a dismissive response that a search was underway, there was no follow-up.

Having left the banquet to return to her room, An Lin had even tactically attacked the maid who had escorted her.

However, there were no signs of anything unusual with the maid.

The people in the castle didn't seem odd in any way, but the abrupt appearance of Veronica Green had left a huge impact on her!

An Lin tried hard to recall; she remembered the mole on the collarbone of the female student who had lain beside her.

It was such a distinctive mark that the odds of it being a coincidence were incredibly slim.

Especially right after that female student had vanished?

Now that the banquet was over and everyone had returned to their rooms, An Lin had paid close attention, making sure no one had entered or left the neighboring rooms.

This meant that the female student had still not returned!

An Lin's face changed colors several times as this realization dawned on her.

Her unease stemmed from the possibility that the person might still be in her room, or even have disappeared right under her own watch!

How could she not be horrified by that thought!

She felt that this entire castle was nothing more than a carefully crafted cage, and they, caught in the whirlpool, were preys unable to escape, merely struggling in vain under the hunter's gaze!

Yes, they were being watched...

The darkness was profoundly silent, and in addition to her own breathing, there seemed to be other sounds emerging at this very moment.

Rustling and giggling, incessant murmurs echoed through, those people curved their eyes and smiled in the darkness, watching her with countless malevolent gazes, as blood-red hues began to fall from their eye sockets.

Curled up on the bed, An Lin suddenly clutched her head in terror!

She felt she was going mad!

Those disordered voices in her head wouldn't leave, and she even felt they were prattling right by her, as shadows closed in over her!

She immediately widened her eyes to look around; the oil lamp in the room flickered slightly, casting shadows of the rose reliefs on the walls.

Clearly, there was nothing here except herself.

"No, no, something must be wrong... I can't just sit here and wait to die!"

An Lin gasped for breath, grasping her head as she struggled to get up from the bed, but just as she stood, she was viciously tripped by the voluminous skirt!

"Damn it!"

She angrily and violently tore off the dress.

The opulent attire was ripped into shreds, scattering like the beautiful petals of withering flowers.

An Lin crouched amid the chaos, her breaths rough as her fists clenched until her fingernails dug into her palms.

Suddenly—she whipped around and raised her hand, her long whip appearing instantly in her grasp, slashing towards the attacking blood vine!

"Snap!"

The two whips collided in mid-air, and the blood vine that shot out of the standing mirror exploded in an instant!

Blood spilled onto the floor, staining the carpet red.

Her frantic gasps gradually subsided.

An Lin coldly eyed the vine that now lay on the ground, reduced to a pool of blood, held her whip and stood up, the torn strips of her dress hanging haphazardly, revealing her graceful figure.

She looked around the room, then turned to pick up casual clothes from the chair and put them on.

...

Within the castle's palace.

Xu Shuo looked at the scene reflected in the mirror, his eyebrows raising slightly in surprise.

It seemed he had underestimated his opponent, not expecting that even under the influence of the chaotic will of darkness, this girl could react so quickly to retaliate.

The Evil Witch's seductive seeds were indeed not as useful as the violent corruption of the Abyss.

However, there were countermeasures against players corrupted by the Abyss.

Xu Shuo clicked his tongue, commanding the castle's dark malice to surround that room, turning it into an airtight isolated island.

This person should not be let out if possible.

After isolating the female student, Xu Shuo waved his hand, changing the scene within the mirror.

The large floor mirror rippled like water, and the image that appeared next was of a climber, sneaking against his own room's door, eavesdropping and planning to sneak out.

Seeing this, Xu Shuo stepped back and sat down in his chair, lazily leaning back with his right hand propping up his chin, watching the screen before him with interest.

As if watching an intriguing play.

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...

...

The climber chose to open the door.

He first quietly opened a crack, and after not detecting any danger for a while, he slipped out of the room and silently closed the door behind him.

In the spacious corridor, only the lamp at the end emitted a faint light.

Beyond that was pitch darkness.

The climber looked left and right, then brought his hands together and pulled them apart, revealing a three-dimensional map in the palm of his hands, where a huge model of the castle glowed with a ghostly red light.

After determining his location, the climber stepped into the darkness and silently left the corridor.

...

Shortly after his departure, a nearby room's door cracked open.

A neatly-dressed archaeologist hid at the doorway, holding an ordinary book in his arms, thoughtfully looking in the direction the climber went before stepping out to follow.

The two almost left the corridor one after the other, except for An Lin in the neighboring room, who, after changing into casual clothes, tugged hard at the doorknob only to turn pale with the realization that it wouldn't open!

She swiftly moved to the arched windowsill, but all around was utter darkness; she couldn't even see the exterior wall structures that were within arm's reach!

Below her was even more so an unfathomable Abyss!

An Lin: "..."

She was indeed trapped in a cage!

...

They were told not to wander around at midnight, but now two people had left, and another was trying to leave.

In a third-floor room of the castle.

The Traveling Poet had not yet left his room; he was rummaging through his bags—during the previous gathering of information and packing, he remembered that his character's equipment included notes about the Prague Legend, which he hadn't finished reading.

After all, the character was a traveler and would have certainly prepared travel guides before coming.

But in his search for records related to the Prague Legend, he also found many travel memoirs and... poems written by the character himself.

The character wasn't called this for no reason; he truly was a poet!

Seeing this, the Traveling Poet temporarily put aside the Prague Legend documents, curiously flipping through the collection of poetry written by the character.

Flamboyant handwriting caught his eyes, and he couldn't help but recite the verses out loud:

——The nightingale's song, so tenderly repeated a thousand times over, a gust of wind passes, and with it soars over the blossoming roses.

——Where can one see such vibrant splendor, I burst into the courtyard, and with it comes a garden full of fragrance.

——The dark pine forest grows quiet, the nightingale's song fades, I see the distant stream softly singing.

——As night falls, all is silent, mother nature sinks into slumber.

——...

...These poems are indeed unconstrained by any single form.

[Congratulations to the player for triggering the character quest: Alex.]

The Traveling Poet looked puzzled: "..."

Writing weird and strange poems was one thing, but now his actual name was "Alex"?

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