I Raise My Wife in a Supernatural Story (Infinite) - Chapter 56

In a daze, Qi Yan suddenly snapped her eyes open. Her heart rate had skyrocketed due to the dizzying vortex of entering the storybook, leaving her in extreme discomfort. She took several quick, deep breaths, desperate to bring her pulse back down to a normal rhythm.

Propping herself up with her arms, Qi Yan surveyed her surroundings and realized she was in a hotel room. The decor was exquisite and luxurious, featuring a king-sized bed in what appeared to be an executive suite. Even the glass-walled bathroom visible from the bed looked massive.

A large, comfortable luxury hotel. This starting point is actually quite nice.

Qi Yan recalled the rickety minibus from her beginner’s trial and the literal face-plant onto the ground in The Carnival. At the very least, it seemed the starting locations were getting higher in quality as she progressed through the trials. However, this was only the beginning; there was no telling what kind of miserable place she might end up in next time.

Qi Yan rolled out of bed and looked down. She was currently wearing a sheer silk nightgown with a black lace pattern. It was a mature style that left little to the imagination.

Bai Qing suddenly emerged from the ring. Having entered the storybook world, she had changed back into her silver-threaded, cloud-patterned long robes. She crossed her arms and scrutinized Qi Yan for a few moments before saying, “It looks good on you.”

Qi Yan’s face flushed. She tugged awkwardly at the hem of the gown. “I need to change. This is not practical for moving around.”

The clothes available for her were in the wardrobe in the outer room, located within a small walk-in closet in the foyer. Qi Yan marveled once again at the hotel’s luxury. In her twenty-two years of life, she had never stayed in a place of this caliber. As a college student, she usually opted for budget travel and could never afford such high-end accommodations.

Looking at the clothes in the closet, the setting of this storybook appeared to be late autumn. The wardrobe was filled with warm trousers, trench coats, long skirts, and knit sweaters. Judging by the cuts and materials, these were high-quality trousers, silk shirts, and expensive leisure wear reserved for the wealthy.

Qi Yan picked out a set of trousers and a shirt to change into before heading to the bathroom to wash up.

“We entered this storybook as a team, so we should contact the others soon,” Bai Qing said, sitting on the bed as she waited for her. “You are the only one in this room.”

The implication was clear: the others were elsewhere, though it was uncertain if they were even staying in this same hotel.

Just as Qi Yan finished washing her face and prepared to open the system to contact her teammates, she was struck by a sudden, violent wave of dizziness. Bai Qing acted quickly, rushing forward to catch her before she could collapse onto the floor.

“What happened?”

Bai Qing’s usually cold voice sounded uncharacteristically urgent. Her display of anxious concern made Qi Yan feel warm inside. She reached out and hugged Bai Qing, leaning her weight against the other woman and mumbling, “I feel dizzy.”

“Why the sudden dizziness?” There was no one else in the room, not even a ghostly shadow. Why would she suddenly feel faint? Was there an underlying physical issue?

Qi Yan shook her head in Bai Qing’s arms. The dizziness faded as quickly as it had arrived, and as it receded, new information flooded her mind.

Introduction:

Welcome, Player, to the storybook The Developer. In the coming days, you will play the role of the heir to a major investment group. You are currently in charge of the group’s investment risk control. You have come to Zhucheng to evaluate the company’s latest real estate investment project at the invitation of the project developer. You have seven days to experience the story and complete the tasks issued by the introduction. Tasks are assigned randomly; different roles will receive different tasks and quantities. A special reminder: be cautious during the experience. Do not die.

Helpful Tips:

There are two ways to successfully leave this world:

1. 1. Find the “Eye” of the world and exit through it.

1. 1. Find the “Heart” of the world and defeat it to clear the stage.

The total duration for this storybook is seven days. A final tally will occur after the seventh day. Players who do not meet the criteria will be judged as having failed. Please be aware. Below are the basic file for your character and your initial task.

As the voice of the introduction faded, a character script was delivered to Qi Yan’s hand. This served as an in-game prop that could be stored in her temporary backpack after use.

“Let me see. Character biography. Hello, Player. In this storybook, you are playing the role of Shi Jian, the heir to the X Investment Group. (Note: The name used is the nickname the player entered upon joining. To enhance realism and prevent players from being easily identified, nicknames that do not sound like real names will be automatically modified by the system to something similar.)”

Qi Yan squinted at the text, reading it several times. She pointed to the script and said to Bai Qing, “It looks like there will be NPCs mixed in among the players this time.”

Bai Qing read the passage and nodded in agreement. Names like “San Shui” or “Wu Shuang” were obviously nicknames that would allow players to identify each other immediately. By modifying these names to sound like real people, the system made it so that a player’s identity could not be easily deduced.

The storybook had gone to great lengths to arrange this for a clear purpose: it did not want players to know who the other players were based solely on their names.

“Interesting. This feels a bit like a Murder Mystery game,” Qi Yan said as she flipped through the script. “It seems there are many characters. Our group alone has four players. At least we know each other, so we just have to be careful of everyone else.”

Bai Qing tilted her head, confused. “What is a Murder Mystery game?”

Qi Yan explained, “It is a popular game right now. You are given a setting and a background story. Each player has a role and a plot. You move the story forward based on your script and tasks to solve a mystery.”

“It is worth noting that these games involve a death. Usually, there is a killer. The goal of the players is to find the killer, while the killer’s goal is to keep their identity hidden.” She looked up at Bai Qing. Their eyes met, and they both thought of the same thing. “If this storybook is like a Murder Mystery, then someone will definitely die as the plot progresses.”

Of course, that was almost a given. When did people not die in these storybooks? However, this format was different from previous trials. Players had to immerse themselves in their roles, meaning they would likely have significant connections to the victim.

“I wonder if the one who dies will be a player or an NPC. It is hard to say.”

The character Qi Yan received was a top-tier “rich second generation” individual. She was not only wealthy but also highly capable, having entered the company’s management at a young age. Currently, the massive group was led by her grandmother, who was grooming her as the next successor.

“I am currently in the Risk Control Department. I came here on a business trip to investigate and evaluate project risks. My biography says that because the project is large and heavily supported by the government, I came personally to oversee it rather than delegating it to subordinates.”

The project involved the construction of a large-scale history-themed resort. It was supported by the local government of Zhucheng, developed by L Real Estate Development Company, and funded by X Investment Group. The government had even brought in historical experts to assist with the theme design. The project had generated significant buzz.

Zhucheng was located on the northwestern frontier. Aside from the city center, the area was comprised of vast grasslands and deserts. In ancient times, it was a borderland. Because it housed a famous fortress, ancient battlefields, and the royal hunting grounds of a Northern Dynasty from centuries ago, it was a popular spot for history buffs during tourist season.

Building a history-themed resort here would boost local tourism. Therefore, the government had approved the application from L Real Estate and provided heavy support.

“The hotel was booked by the developer. Most people related to the project are staying in this same hotel.” Qi Yan’s eyes stopped on a line, and she suddenly said with excitement, “Historian Jiang Shui and her assistant Tang Linlin. That must be Sister San Shui and Shanshan.”

Tang Shanshan’s chosen nickname was actually “Tangtang,” but the storybook likely found that too obvious and changed it. It was similar to how Jiang Miao became Jiang Shui. Both were rather lazy name changes by the system.

Qi Yan quickly scanned the rest of the script but did not find anyone who seemed like Yin Xin. She frowned with worry. “Sister Xin probably is not someone related to this development project. She is likely not staying at this hotel.”

In addition to the historian and her assistant, the hotel housed the developer’s lead, Zhao Ruibin; a famous classical garden designer, Meng Jiumo; an internationally renowned interior designer, Dai Qi; the owner of the construction team, Hong Jing; and the project’s promotion manager, He Xueyan.

Qi Yan counted them up. Including herself and Yin Xin, whose role was still unknown, there were nine people in total.

Nine people. Aside from the four in her own team, she did not know if the other five were players or NPCs.

What made Qi Yan frown was a specific task written in her script: Hide your identity as a player. Do not let anyone other than your teammates know who you are. Please immerse yourself in the story.

The storybook was clearly determined to make the players suspect and distrust one another.

Qi Yan sighed. “One of the reasons for forming a team was to reduce conflict between players, but it seems that is unavoidable. We have no idea which of the other five are NPCs or players, and stranger players cannot share their identities with each other.”

The story had not even officially started, yet Qi Yan already felt it was difficult, perhaps even more so than The Carnival.

But no matter how hard it got, she had to fight to survive. She had Bai Qing by her side, the life-saving Divine Wood Branch, and a mountain of points. She had confidence in herself.

As a side note, Qi Yan’s luck with draws had not been great recently. The reward cards from The Carnival resulted in two batches of points and one sketchbook. The good news was that she had plenty of points to spare for restoring Bai Qing’s spiritual energy. The bad news was that her only useful tool was still the Divine Wood Branch. The sketchbook had no special functions; it was described as being made of special materials that required a specific brush to create drawings.

Qi Yan had tried using a normal pen at home, but it would not leave a mark. No one knew what the “special brush” was, so the sketchbook was currently useless. Qi Yan felt a headache coming on whenever she thought about it, wondering if her streak of good luck had finally run out.

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