HP - Chapter 9
HP - Chapter 9
Embedded Files
Typhoon Night Murder Files 04
“The prologue is over. The game officially begins.”
“A full-scale murder mystery script game?” Ji Zhou could no longer laugh. He stared blankly at Luo Fang, who lay quietly on the ground, and suddenly asked,
“Was he eliminated and exited the game, or...?”
“He’s really dead.” Liang Qing cut in directly.
“Looks like this level is a murder mystery game. The difficulty doesn’t seem high. We can start investigating immediately. If Luo Fang died due to a peanut allergy, we just need to find the food containing peanuts, and that should give us a lead.”
“The rules say we have to wait for the ‘bell’ to ring before we can vote on which room to search,” someone added.
“We don’t even know what the bell sounds like. But in any case, we should be able to search the common areas first.”
“I think there’s a possibility,” someone else said. “Like maybe it was a seasoning with peanuts. I’ll head to the kitchen and take a look!”
The experienced players were already beginning to move. Liang Qing crouched down and began searching Luo Fang’s body.
Ji Zhou couldn’t help but say,
“He really died. How can you all be so calm?”
In those overly clear eyes, there was a pain and confusion that couldn’t understand how others were treating this so casually.
Liang Qing didn’t respond. From Luo Fang’s body, he retrieved a phone. It was password-locked, and unable to be opened for now, so he had no choice but to set it aside.
Cui Shuying, feeling grateful that Luo Fang had helped her carry luggage earlier, thought for a moment and then said,
“Veteran players have already seen too much to be surprised. Honestly, this level is... not too bad. Last time, I was with Qiu—oh, that’s Zhou Zhi’s character—we were in a battle royale-type game. You can see from his face, he hasn’t had decent sleep in days. I’m the same. That round had about twenty players. In the end, only four survived.”
Ji Zhou still found it hard to accept. He kept his head down, not speaking for a long while.
Cui Shuying stopped paying attention to him and headed into the kitchen to help with the inspection.
But aside from a jar of unopened peanut butter, none of the other seasonings had “peanuts” listed in their ingredients.
“I just remembered something,” Xu Shuangyuan suddenly said.
“When Luo Fang ate the strawberry pie, he said the taste was a bit strange.”
“That’s odd. I didn’t think it was strange at all… everyone else ate the strawberry pie too.”
“And it was baked by Luo Fang himself.”
“Could it be just his portion that had a problem?”
Everyone gathered in front of Luo Fang’s spot. On his plate, there was still half a slice of strawberry pie left.
Xu Hangquan leaned in and sniffed.
“I don’t smell any peanut scent.”
Just then, a hand reached across their field of vision — the person reached out and pinched a small, clean piece of the remaining pie.
“There are peanuts.” Zhong Xu licked the corner of her lips and gave her verdict.
"You... really didn’t have to be that brave."
"What if it wasn’t peanuts but some other kind of poison?!"
Zhong Xu wiped her fingers with a tissue. “Since it’s a mystery game, everything should follow logic. Luo Fang’s peanut allergy wouldn’t have been established for no reason.”
After a pause, she added, “Before we start searching for clues, I’m more concerned with the game’s objective: ‘If you’re not the killer, find the killer. If you are, hide your identity.’ Which means... the murderer is one of us.”
Everyone silently shifted away from the people next to them.
“So allergies can really kill,” Mu Xingchao muttered, his face pale as he glanced around. “Are there any flowers here? I’m allergic to pollen.”
Xu Shuangyuan reassured him, “Don’t worry, there are no flowers indoors. There are a few pots in the courtyard, but they’re all wilted.”
Mu Xingchao nodded, though his eyes remained wary.
At that moment, Xu Hangjia gripped her brother’s hand, mustered her courage, and suggested, “Since the killer is among us, there must be a motive. When we read our character info earlier, it probably said how we relate to Luo Fang. Why don’t we all share what impression we had of him?”
Liang Qing scoffed, “What’s the point? The rules never said we can’t lie.”
“Then the liar must be the killer,” Xu Hangquan said firmly, backing his sister. “Every lie will be exposed eventually!”
After a long silence, someone finally started recalling things about Luo Fang.
“Luo Fang’s family didn’t have much, but he studied hard. He was quiet, and I never once heard him complain or lose his temper.”
“I remember back in first year, his only winter coat was all torn up, but he never complained. Every day he braved the cold and was the first to get to class,” Mu Xingchao added. “I gave him a few of my old padded jackets from home. He wore them all the way through college. He was really frugal.”
“A few days ago, he told me he was about to be promoted—his salary would go up by 30%...”
…
When it was Zhong Xu’s turn, everyone looked at her.
Zhong Xu: “...”
She remembered her information about Luo Fang quite clearly—because it was very short: Classmate. You despise his cowardice.
Great.
If she said that out loud, she’d probably get voted out immediately.
She began deflecting. “Does everyone remember another key character in the relationships?”
“Jiang Zhi, who died a year ago.”
Zhou Zhi fell into thought. “Could Jiang Zhi’s death be connected to Luo Fang’s? Was it revenge? Did they have any kind of grudge?”
The string of questions reignited discussions about Luo Fang.
“Luo Fang was always good-natured with everyone. We’d been friends for years and never had a conflict.”
“He was always tolerant.”
“After Jiang Zhi died, he even visited her parents. I only found out because I visited them too, and they mentioned it.”
As Cui Shuying finished her sentence, silence fell over the living room. Then Xu Hangquan asked, puzzled, “Jiang Zhi’s home was really far. Luo Fang went all the way there? Did he like her too?”
“I don’t have that kind of info,” Cui Shuying shook her head, then looked at Zhong Xu. “Right, you haven’t said yet—what was your impression of Luo Fang?”
Zhong Xu replied flatly, “I knew about as much as you all did.”
Just then, a pleasant bell chimed.
“The bell rang! We can vote to search a room now!”
Everyone followed the sound to the living room fireplace, where a row of angel-shaped bells sat. One of them was ringing clearly.
“Were these bells here before...?”
“Forget that—whose room are we going to search?”
Most people lowered their eyes, either uncertain or unwilling to be the first to speak. After all, suggesting someone’s room now would basically mean publicly declaring suspicion.
“How about Luo Fang’s room?” Mu Xingchao suggested after a short pause. “There are too many unknowns around him—maybe we can uncover something.”
No one objected to the suggestion.
Zhou Zhi picked up the angel statue bell and joined the others as they headed toward Luo Fang’s room.
[Search target for this round confirmed: Luo Fang’s room]
[Vote passed. Door unlocking.]
As the bell vanished, the door clicked open automatically.
They had already toured Luo Fang’s room earlier at noon—nothing about the furnishings had changed.
So this time, everyone’s attention turned to Luo Fang’s suitcase.
Each of them had one, and after selecting their roles, the suitcases had been filled with that character’s belongings.
"He really loved strawberry pie…"
Xu Hangquan pulled out a pair of boxers from the opened suitcase, printed all over with chibi-style cartoon strawberry pies.
"Bro! Why are you handling someone else’s underwear?!"
Xu Hangjia covered her face in embarrassment.
[Discovered — Strawberry Pie Boxers]:
It was Luo Fang’s absolute favorite—strawberry pie!
In order to win the favor of his friends, Luo Fang would bake strawberry pie at almost every gathering. This not only helped him fit in socially but made him a devout believer in the divine power of the Strawberry Pie God!
"This is key information—meaning that we all knew Luo Fang was highly likely to prepare strawberry pie for this gathering."
"Doesn’t seem like there’s much else… Are his clues really this sparse?"
Liang Qing said irritably, pushing the suitcase aside.
Zhou Zhi pulled the suitcase back toward himself.
He began searching through it with meticulous care—examining each item, then returning it neatly to its place. Calm and methodical, everything was kept orderly.
"There seems to be something inside this piece of clothing."
Zhou Zhi casually handed the garment to Zhong Xu, who had been idly standing nearby and doing nothing.
Zhong Xu took it without expression. Riiip—
The garment tore in two.
"…"
Zhou Zhi stared at her.
He looked at the shredded clothing, then at the now-empty corner of the suitcase. He shouldn’t have done it—shouldn’t have, a thousand times over, handed that clothing to her. And now, great—his obsessive compulsions were going to kill him.
"You’re… quite strong."
Zhou Zhi felt even more drained than before.
"Zhou Zhi gets credit—there really was something inside."
Zhong Xu pulled an anonymous letter from within the torn fabric.
Inside the letter were a photograph and a slip of paper.
The photograph showed a distinctive skull-pattern phone case and a man’s hand, wearing a wristwatch.
The note had a long string of numbers that looked like a bank account.
"Looks like… blackmail?"
[Discovered — Blackmail Letter]:
A year ago, Luo Fang’s personal diary was accidentally discovered by Jiang Zhi.
He suspected she had taken pictures of its contents with her phone. Although he destroyed the diary afterward, he remained anxious that Jiang Zhi might tell their friends what she saw.
Shortly after, Jiang Zhi died in a car accident. Luo Fang then went to her parents’ home in Qiu City and secretly stole her phone from among her belongings.
Not long after that, Luo Fang began receiving blackmail letters.
The phone case in the photo was clearly Jiang Zhi’s—everyone in their friend group recognized it. The watch in the photo was one Luo Fang had worn for years.
However, after the photo was taken, Luo Fang stopped wearing that watch entirely.
"What kind of diary would worry Luo Fang that much?"
"There’s no diary in the suitcase!"
Everyone crowded back around the suitcase.
"I’ll smoke first…"
Seeing there was no space left around the suitcase for him to contribute, Lin Huaiping gave up and took out his cigarette pack, walking over to the window.
As soon as he opened it, a fierce gust of wind blew into the room. Leaves in the courtyard whipped violently, making a sound like wailing ghosts.
"Quick, shut the window—the typhoon’s here!"
At 8 PM, the typhoon made landfall in Xiangmeng City.
The wind howled, and the waves surged violently, as if the storm intended to swallow Buji Island whole.
剧本杀 (jùběn shā) – Scripted Murder Game – A popular Chinese murder mystery role-playing game where players solve crimes through character interactions and clues.
花生过敏 (huāshēng guòmǐn) – Peanut Allergy
草莓派 (cǎoméi pài) – Strawberry Pie
铃铛 (língdang) – Angel Bell – A magical item that unlocks rooms for investigation, blending gameplay mechanics with narrative.
台風 (táifēng) – Typhoon
敲诈信 (qiāozhà xìn) – Blackmail Letter
大逃杀 (dà táoshā) – Battle Royale – Referenced as a past game mode, reflecting survival horror tropes.
花粉过敏 (huāfěn guòmǐn) – Pollen Allergy
角色信息 (juésè xìnxī) – Character Info – Refers to backstory files given to players in the game.
Characters (Players)
终栩 (Zhōng Xǔ)
Role: Protagonist
Game Role: Later assumes the identity of 宋慕思 (Sòng Mùsī), the idealistic guesthouse owner with a hidden agenda tied to her friend’s death.
季舟 (Jì Zhōu)
Role: Self-proclaimed "萌新" (newbie)
老玩家 (Lǎo Wánjiā, Veteran Player)
Role: Experienced survivor
瘦弱男人 (Shòuruò Nánrén, Thin Man)
Role: Terrified newbie
眼镜男 (Yǎnjìng Nán, Glasses Man)
Role: Silent observer
~~~~~~
宋慕思 (Sòng Mùsī) – The protagonist; a quiet, introspective young woman who organized the friends' gathering and owns the 民宿 (guesthouse). Hides complicated past relationships.
江栀 (Jiāng Zhī) – Outgoing and sociable; Song Musi’s close friend (闺蜜) but also entangled in a love triangle involving Sang Long.
崔书颖 (Cuī Shūyǐng) – Another extroverted friend in the trio; makes Song Musi feel like a third wheel at times.
桑隆 (Sāng Lóng) – Jiang Zhi’s current boyfriend and Song Musi’s ex; their past relationship is a hidden source of tension.
骆方 (Luò Fāng) – A timid, cowardly classmate whom Song Musi dislikes. Later revealed to have a peanut allergy. [Dead]
徐杭泉 (Xú Hángquán) & 徐杭佳 (Xú Hángjiā) – Self-centered siblings; both are classmates disliked by Song Musi.
周至 (Zhōu Zhì) – A smooth-talking, socially adept classmate (possibly a surgeon); Song Musi finds him insincere.
梁青 (Liáng Qīng) – An insecure and overly sensitive classmate; another person Song Musi dislikes.
牧星朝 (Mù Xīngcháo) – A hypocritical rich kid (富二代) with a photography hobby; Xu Shuangyuan’s boyfriend.
许双园 (Xǔ Shuāngyuán) – Proud and arrogant; Mu Xingchao’s girlfriend, whom Song Musi resents.
Sevyn here ~~~
Enjoy!
There are so many characters, I think I'm going to keep track of who dies to make things easier :D
1 Ko-fi = 1 Extra Chapter
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