“Which one?” Liu Lan walked over and followed Jiang Qi’s pointing finger, accurately identifying “Mask Club.”
“This is the Exclusive Edition I just mentioned.” Liu Lan smoothly took the script from the shelf and placed it before Jiang Qi.
Jiang Qi picked up the script box, opened it, and counted its contents: six character scripts, one host manual, and two stacks of clue cards.
Jiang Qi flipped through the top character script—the paper quality was good, the texture pleasant, with the distinct ink scent of a new book. Only the cover was somewhat unattractive: an almost pure black background featuring a man’s silhouette, beside which were nine large characters in Song typeface—”The Taciturn Dark-Haired Man.”
Jiang Qi continued browsing. Each script had a similar cover with blurred silhouettes—some frontal, some profile. The host manual showed a group silhouette of all six characters, each wearing a mask, resembling a group photo.
“This is an Emotional Script,” Liu Lan remarked.
“Emotional Script?” Jiang Qi picked up the box again for a closer look. The dark cover didn’t seem at all like a romance-focused Emotional Script. “Why would my sister buy an Emotional Script? Just last night she complained to me that Emotional Scripts are like gatherings of simps, swearing she’d never buy one.”
And yet here was an Exclusive Edition Emotional Script right before him.
Hah, typical sister.
“Sister Bing said this script didn’t cost anything—something about promotional trial use. I’m not clear on the specifics.” Liu Lan pointed to the publisher section on the box. “Probably an Exclusive Edition from a new publishing studio. I couldn’t even find this studio online.”
“But the script quality is decent. Jiang Qi, if you have time now, you could take a look first. We’ll need your help with the performance later.”
“Good thing we have you. This script definitely requires male performers. Without the performance elements, this script would lose its charm.”
Jiang Qi followed Liu Lan’s pointing finger to where the publisher and author names were squeezed into a corner, the tiny font as if afraid of being seen.
Produced by Card Game Studio.
Written by Mr. X.
The name alone made it seem like an unprofessional studio.
Jiang Qi wasn’t particularly interested in reading the script. The system still hadn’t prompted him about store activation. Based on his years of experience, the way to activate the store was to walk around the premises.
He hadn’t even been upstairs yet.
“Are all the rooms upstairs for running scripts?” Jiang Qi asked.
Liu Lan nodded: “Yes, there are five script rooms. The restroom is upstairs too. I can take you up.”
“No need.” Jiang Qi stopped Liu Lan. “I’ll go check it out myself.”
With that, Jiang Qi went upstairs.
Upon reaching the second floor, Jiang Qi discovered it was considerably larger than the first floor. By rough estimate, the two floors combined might total nearly 400 square meters. The second floor contained seven rooms: one Japanese-style room, one European-style room, two modern rooms, one ancient-style room, one storage room, and one changing room.
After Jiang Qi had even checked the restroom in the corner, the system panel’s Murder Mystery Store status changed to “Open for Business.”
No other new elements appeared.
Jiang Qi returned to the first floor where Liu Lan was sitting at the front desk sending voice messages to friends, seemingly discussing some lion dance examination, leaving Jiang Qi completely bewildered.
Since Liu Lan was so engrossed in her conversation, Jiang Qi didn’t want to interrupt. He simply took the script box and went to sit on the sofa to read.
Jiang Qi picked up the first script and carefully examined the silhouette on the cover.
A taciturn black-haired man.
Jiang Qi turned to the first page.
‘Your name is John, and you are from Country Y.
Since childhood, you have lived in a dysfunctional family—a deranged mother, an eccentric father, and much older siblings. Such an environment shaped you into the reticent person you are today.
Almost every morning in your childhood, it wasn’t the alarm clock by your bed that woke you, but your mother’s piercing screams and hysterical sobs.’
In a daze, Jiang Qi seemed to hear a sharp female voice.
“Fuck off! You son of a bitch, get out of my house! I don’t wanna fucking see you again!”
The shrill roar, the slam of a door, and muffled weeping startled Jiang Qi so much that he jerked his head up. But there was no one around. The shop door remained tightly shut as before, and Liu Lan was staring at her phone without saying a word.
“Lanlan, did you hear something?” Jiang Qi called out loudly.
“Sound?” Liu Lan looked puzzled. “No, I didn’t. Was it my voice message that disturbed you? Sorry about that.”
No sound?
Jiang Qi glanced down at the script again. Had he been too immersed in reading?
That couldn’t be.
Scratching his head, Jiang Qi continued reading.
The script was quite simple—just a few thousand words recounting the unfortunate first half of John’s life.
John’s mother seemed mentally unstable, a literal “crazy beauty” who drank excessively and raged daily, surviving on government benefits and alimony from her ex-husband.
His father, Old John, wasn’t exactly normal either. A graduate of a prestigious university, he refused to work and only took a government-assigned street-sweeping job to afford a clean house in an affluent neighborhood. His own home was a mess, overrun with cockroaches and pests, yet he didn’t care. Aside from work, he spent his days reading at home.
Despite his abnormal parents, John and his elder sister turned out to be remarkable individuals—positive examples of self-reliance. John’s sister, Sunny, was a police officer, while John, left to fend for himself, relied on his sharp intellect to gain admission to a top university, where he studied biology.
Despite his wild and unrestrained lifestyle during his four years of college, John managed to graduate, landed a job at a major corporation, was assigned overseas, and soon found himself dating Mina, a beautiful and wealthy woman. Their relationship flourished, and they were on the verge of engagement, seemingly at the peak of his life.
Then, John’s fortunes took a turn for the worse.
First, his father died suddenly. Soon after, he was inexplicably framed as a corporate spy, with an overwhelming amount of fabricated evidence pointing to him, ultimately leading to his imprisonment.
During John’s time in prison, Mina stood by him unwaveringly, even cutting ties with her family and selling her luxury possessions to hire private investigators and lawyers to clear his name. After his release, John struggled to find employment and decided to start his own business to rebuild his life.
With the protagonist’s halo of luck, John’s business gradually thrived, growing stronger and more successful.
Then, misfortune struck him again.
The factory caught fire, the new beverage developed by the company suddenly faced food safety issues causing multiple children to suffer from poisoning, and his past imprisonment was dug up and sensationalized. Under these multiple blows, John broke down.
He began drinking heavily and soon became an addict. Despite this, Mina surprisingly stayed by his side. Knowing he had no future left, John felt he didn’t deserve Mina and started verbally abusing her, eventually driving her away.
After Mina disappeared, Lady Luck finally began to favor this unlucky soul. With the help of a lawyer, John reached settlements with the injured employees and the parents of the affected children. The money from selling the company was enough to cover the compensation, and he began detoxing with his sister’s assistance.
Everything was moving in a positive direction, except for the fact that Mina couldn’t be found.
Mina had vanished into thin air, and John searched everywhere without success. Just as he was in despair, he suddenly received a mysterious invitation letter, accompanied by a mask.
A club called the Mask Club invited him to attend a masked dinner party, stating that the club would grant one wish for each guest, who only needed to pay a small price in return.
In hopes of finding Mina, John decided to attend. He discovered that besides himself, there were six other guests at the dinner. Before the banquet, there was a storytelling session. The club’s host loved listening to the guests share their stories—the more captivating the story, the higher the chance of having their wish granted.
After reading the first act, Jiang Qi looked up in confusion.
What kind of absurd, melodramatic plot is this?
The final paragraph of the first act was the task.
Your tasks:
Finding Mina is your top priority. If this club can truly grant your wish, you must do everything to please the club’s host. Since the host enjoys listening to stories, generously share yours—the more captivating, the better. Keep it concise; no one likes long-winded nonsense.
Inquire about the club’s origins. Such a mysterious club couldn’t possibly be completely unknown.
Conceal the fact that you were once imprisoned. No one has a favorable impression of criminals.
After some thought, I decided to remove the book’s content from the main text and instead post the specific details directly in the comments section.