Chapter 182: Q&A Test

The murder mystery game began shortly after.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Shanghai Concession of 1932..."

After the twelve players entered, the game master delivered an opening line to set the era. He then asked if there were any beginners and proceeded to give a simplified explanation of the rules, saying things like, "This is a role-playing game. The murderer is among you, and the deceased is a fictional character."

This gave first-timers like Su Yuqing a better sense of immersion and a clearer understanding of the game.

"Now we will assign roles. You can choose to draw lots or take a Q&A test—for example, ’Are you better at lying or observing details?’ If you want a character that perfectly matches your personality or interests and don’t want to leave it to chance, you can also discuss it amongst yourselves and choose your own roles."

The game master smiled at the twelve players and spoke in a gentle, slow voice.

"What do you think? We’re fine with any method. It’s up to you all," Lin Ranhai said with a smile, looking at Chen Mo and the others.

"Let’s do the Q&A test," Chen Mo said after a moment of thought.

’I want to see if the game master will assign the murderer’s role to Lin Ranhai after the Q&A test.’

Although it wouldn’t prove anything, for Chen Mo, it would be another reason to be suspicious of him.

In reality, the worst thing the police can do is operate on a presumption of guilt—to see a person, lock onto them as the killer, and then start looking for possibilities and evidence that they are, in fact, the killer.

This is an extremely dangerous and improper practice.

However, in some cases, this method can be extremely accurate and effective. That’s why it’s so difficult for people to abandon the concept of presuming guilt.

But in legal practice, such an approach should be avoided as much as possible.

"Alright, then please enter the small room one by one for the Q&A test. I will secretly assign your roles based on the results."

The game master smiled, turned, and entered the small, dark room.

Chen Mo and the others began to enter one after another.

When Chen Mo went in, he easily completed the little observation and deduction test set up by the game master, demonstrating his outstanding powers of observation and reasoning.

The game master decided to cast him as the police inspector.

Having a capable person play the official representative might make the game more interesting.

This was because in this particular game, the murderer had a slight advantage.

Moreover, while some scripts are good on their own, the gameplay experience can vary depending on the players’ abilities.

Often, it takes a lot of guidance from the game master for the game to proceed smoothly.

But this frequent guidance can diminish the fun of the players figuring things out for themselves.

If there was a talented player who could sort through a large amount of information and solve the case on their own, the entire experience would be more immersive and enjoyable for everyone.

Soon, everyone had been assigned their roles.

The story was set in the Shanghai Concession in 1932. The renowned pianist Lin Qingyuan was hosting a charity concert at his private manor.

That night, a thunderstorm raged. The next morning, the butler discovered his master’s body hanging in the music hall, a torn half of a music sheet clutched tightly in its hand.

The twelve invited guests were now trapped in the manor...

The game’s character configuration was six men and six women.

This referred to the game characters, not the players’ genders. Players were free to cross-play.

For instance, a male player could play a female character, and a female player could play a male character.

[Core Character Group]:

Su Yuqing (playing Su Wanqing, female): A pianist who studied abroad, the deceased’s fiancée, carrying an engagement ring.

It was quite a coincidence that the character Su Yuqing was playing had a name so similar to her own.

Zhou Hao (playing Zhou Yanqing, male): A newspaper tycoon who once exposed a scandal involving the Lin Family, in possession of key evidence.

Zhou Hao was also assigned a character with the same surname.

Qu Danwan (playing Gu Mingtang, female): A blind fortune-teller who claims to have heard strange noises, holding a mysterious set of Tarot Cards.

Chen Mo (playing Lu Chen, male): A police inspector, the official representative for the investigation, issued a police notebook.

Suspect Group

Luo Lingling (playing Shen Zhaoning, female): A pharmacist whose medical kit contains a special reagent, had a debt-related relationship with the deceased (possible financial motive).

Lin Yu’an (playing Chen Mobai, male): A down-and-out painter with unpublished works hidden in his studio, had an unusual relationship with the deceased (possible crime of passion).

Chu Mengyao (playing Jiang Yumian, female): The top star of a cabaret who was once sponsored by the deceased, knows about a secret passage in the manor (possible crime of passion).

Huang Mao (playing Pei Jingzhou, male): An antique dealer who recently acquired the Lin Family’s heirlooms, holds a list of forgeries (possible financial motive).

Servant Group

Luo Yunxi (playing Cheng Muhan, male): The butler, holds the keys to the manor, has a burn scar on his left shoulder.

Lin Ranhai (playing Cheng Muyun, alias Yun Mucheng, male): The butler’s twin brother (hidden information), hired as a gardener three months ago, skilled in mechanics.

Xiao Yue (playing Lin Ruowei, female): The personal maid, holds the key to the study, knows the layout of the secret room.

Zhao Yuanyuan (playing Wen Xue, female): An intern reporter who snuck onto the guest list, carrying a miniature camera.

The roles everyone was playing more or less matched the personalities the game master had assessed.

This game master was clearly very skilled.

The murderers in this game were the Cheng Brothers, who used their twin identities to commit a three-part crime:

Cheng Muhan, as the butler, entered the music hall to create the locked room.

Cheng Muyun moved the body through the secret passage and faked the hanging scene.

The brothers swapped identities to evade investigation, using a mechanical clock pendulum to create a time discrepancy.

The code in the music sheet ultimately pointed to "twins" (the treble clef on the staff was actually a metaphor for DNA).

This was information known only to the murderers; the other players were unaware of it.

Suddenly being assigned an identity straight out of a TV drama, this kind of role-playing game felt completely novel to Su Yuqing and the others.

For a moment, they all found it quite interesting.

At the same time, they felt a bit lost, unsure of how to portray their characters.

Fortunately, the game master was very professional and slowly guided them along.

Soon, Act One, "The Stormy Invitation," began.

The game master distributed some initial clues: crime scene photos, a basic character relationship chart, and the torn music sheet.

After the players confirmed their roles and received their scripts, the game master gave them some time for private chats, allowing them to exchange disclosable information and establish a web of relationships.

During the idle chatter, Chen Mo noticed a key clue: the Cheng Brothers’ burn scars.

’Even though there are only four people in the Suspect Group, the real murderer in a game like this isn’t necessarily one of them.’

’The other eight people can’t be completely ruled out either.’

Of course, each player knew whether or not they were the murderer.

Therefore, the total number of people to suspect was eleven.

The private chat phase ended quickly, and no one could yet determine who was suspicious.

Most of the clues they gathered were not very useful; they had only managed to get a general idea of each other’s identities.

During the private chats, Su Yuqing, trusting Chen Mo completely, told him everything without a hint of suspicion.