If the situation allowed it, Shen Zuixing would definitely throw Jiang Weimian down from his back right now. 

Who hit his nose!? Wasn't it Jiang Weimian himself?? What was he pretending to be an innocent bystander for?!

Wang Dabiao was also surprised by Jiang Weimian's shamelessness. While rushing along the road, he glanced at him and said, "You're the one who punched Shen Zuixing's nose, aren't you? How could you forget so quickly?"

Oh...

Jiang Weimian knew immediately that his old problem had flared up again. He turned his head, avoiding Shen Zuixing's gaze, his face devoid of emotion. His eyes were half-closed, and he lazily said to Shen Zuixing, "I'm sorry, but I have selective amnesia. I can't remember why I hit you, but..."

Shen Zuixing thought Jiang Weimian was about to apologize, but he wasn't going to accept it unless Jiang Weimian let him punch him in return.

However, before this thought could fully form, Jiang Weimian continued in Shen Zuixing's ear, "But I never hit someone without reason. Since I hit you, there must be a reason."

In other words, he deserved to be punched.

A silver-gray car whooshed by them, lifting countless leaves into the air. Shen Zuixing regretted not throwing Jiang Weimian into the middle of the road for a car to run over. He angrily said, "Get off! I'm not carrying you anymore!!"

"No can do."

Jiang Weimian was weak now, and he used one arm to wrap it tightly around Shen Zuixing's neck. His voice was deep and magnetic, tinged with a lazy tone, and he said, "I remember in the last level, I carried you. So, carrying me now would be fair."

Shen Zuixing had met his nemesis for the first time and was furious. "Why isn't your amnesia selective this time?"

Jiang Weimian said, "Selective amnesia. Do you know what that means? It means I forget selectively."

When a person is angry, they can go into a rampage. Shen Zuixing was now in this state. Originally lagging behind He Man and the others, he was now walking at a furious pace.

The sanitation worker on the side of the road dragged his broom, walking unsteadily, ready to start sweeping.

Upon seeing this, the group couldn't help but increase their speed, not even having time to check the time. However, when they arrived at their destination, they found that the game interface's clock pointed directly to 10:13 PM.

The victim had already died.

He Man directly sat down on the ground, too exhausted to even speak. "Oh my god..."

Shen Zuixing, who had been carrying the weight, was even more tired. He leaned against the wall and gently let Jiang Weimian down. He bent over, supporting his knees with his hands, and said intermittently, "We were 12 minutes faster than last time..."

The world in front of him went black, and he stumbled due to his exhaustion, falling into the embrace of a stranger with a chilly aura.

Shen Zuixing instinctively glanced at Jiang Weimian, and their eyes unexpectedly met. Shen Zuixing was captivated by Jiang Weimian's eyes, which always had a hint of subdued emotions, making him feel a little itchy. He smirked and quipped, "You do have a conscience. You even know how to help me up."

Like a puppet with no bones, he relied on Jiang Weimian for support to stand upright.

But as soon as Jiang Weimian steadied him, he immediately withdrew his hand, walking swiftly towards the crime scene deep in the alley. They had saved twelve minutes compared to the last time, and perhaps the killer hadn't had time to escape yet.

Shen Zuixing seemed to have the same idea, and without pausing for rest, he immediately turned and followed. However, when they rushed to the crime scene, they found Lin Xiaoke's lifeless body lying there peacefully, with no one in sight.

Shen Zuixing leaned against the wall and muttered, "The killer is pretty fast."

Jiang Weimian, upon seeing the body, didn't look too pleased. He let out a slow breath and said, "Let's go. Let's check out the entrance to the alley. It's only been ten minutes since Lin Xiaoke's death; the killer probably hasn't gone far."

He turned to leave the crime scene, and Shen Zuixing followed. However, at a crossroads, they spotted a young man with dyed yellow hair leisurely walking towards them.

He had a somewhat avant-garde slanted haircut that covered one of his eyes. His skinny frame seemed to have no flesh on it, and he was wearing a black vest with a skull pattern. His loose-fitting jeans seemed to be falling down, and he constantly pulled them up, tightening his belt.

Jiang Weimian noticed faint bloodstains on the hems of his clothes and squinted at him, his eyes filled with suspicion.

Shen Zuixing looked very much like a rogue and said with a low voice, a half-smile on his face, "Look at how skinny he is, like a little chicken. Does he look like what you described, lacking in sexual prowess?"

Jiang Weimian glanced at him and replied, "You should try it if you think he matches the description."

Shen Zuixing smiled, which gave off an unsettling vibe. He drew out his words slowly, "I don't like that kind of thing. If I want to try it...it's not bad to try you."

Jiang Weimian didn't respond and continued to walk behind the young man. Wang Dabiao and the others were waiting at the entrance to the alley. Suddenly, they saw Jiang Weimian following a young man with dyed yellow hair. This took them by surprise.

He Man and Qian Duoduo exchanged a knowing glance and immediately realized what was going on. They observed the young man stopping cars on the roadside and nonchalantly approached him. They noticed that he was between 5'9" and 6'0" tall.

He Man was more observant and spotted a knife tucked into the young man's pants, causing her pupils to contract. She silently mouthed the words, "He has a knife!"

Jiang Weimian heard the warning and frowned, feeling like something was off, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly what. He lowered his gaze and contemplated, "He has a knife, there's blood on his clothes, his height matches, and his age does too, but..."

But something about his nose looked slightly different, and the silhouette of his profile didn't match that of the assailant.

Before Jiang Weimian could finish his last sentence, Wang Dabiao was already infuriated. He cursed and rolled up his sleeves, exclaiming, "Damn it! But what? I'm pretty sure it's him. Let's catch him first and sort it out later!"

Wang Dabiao had a quick temper. He charged forward and tackled the young man to the ground, starting a brawl with him. Jiang Weimian and Shen Zuixing were shocked but rushed forward to help. However, to their surprise, the young man, despite his slim appearance, was surprisingly strong, and the three grown men couldn't hold him down.

Shen Zuixing had an injury to his abdomen, and his strength had not fully recovered, so when he was pushed to the ground, he couldn't help but swear, "Damn! This stupid game always sets up virtual criminals with such high combat abilities!"

The young man kicked Wang Dabiao away and pulled out a machete from his waist. He cursed even more profanely, "I'll fuck your uncle! You want to die; I'll fulfill your wish!"

Jiang Weimian immediately approached to disarm the man and kicked him away, but it turned out that the young man had another folding knife in his pocket. He rushed towards Jiang Weimian with it. A small white pill bottle also accidentally fell from his pocket.

Shen Zuixing's expression changed slightly when he saw this. He quickly pulled a folding knife from his sleeve and hurled it towards the young man, striking him in the leg. The young man let out a miserable cry, stumbled to the ground, and Jiang Weimian, seeing the opportunity, rushed forward to pin him down. He Man and Qian Duoduo had found two brooms somewhere and started hitting the young man.

He Man shouted, "I'm going to beat you to death, you stinking thug! I'll beat you to death!"

Qian Duoduo used his backpack to strike a few times and said angrily, "Big Sister He, he's not a thug, he's a criminal!”

The young man with dyed yellow hair had finally stopped moving; he seemed to have been knocked out. Wang Dabiao, who was more of a problem than a solution, emerged cautiously from the chaos, covering one of his black eyes that had been bruised. He asked, "Does this mean we caught the killer? Why isn't the game reacting?"

Shen Zuixing sat on the ground, annoyed, and replied, "The lack of a reaction means he's not the killer. We've got the wrong person... But, that shouldn't be the case. He had a pill bottle on him, right?"

Jiang Weimian heard this and furrowed his brows. He picked up the dropped pill bottle from the ground and opened it, revealing a pile of small white pills. "It's not a liquid tranquilizer," he commented.

Shen Zuixing leaned in to take a look and, with a lack of energy, asked, "Could it be Viagra?"

Jiang Weimian found Shen Zuixing's reaction quite out of place, but he had saved him earlier, so he refrained from striking him. "Do you want to get beaten up again?" he asked.

Shen Zuixing sneered, "Jiang Weimian, you only know how to bully the weak."

Wang Dabiao, still confused, asked, "What's this Viagra you're talking about? What is it?"

Qian Duoduo whispered to him, "Shh, it's a term for a drug."

Wang Dabiao couldn't contain his anger and smacked him on the head. "And you call yourself the future hope of our nation? You're a little yellow flower, alright?"

Qian Duoduo covered his head, looking helpless.

Jiang Weimian sealed the pill bottle and came to a conclusion. "It might be a recreational drug. He's just a regular thug who likes to fight. He's not connected to the murder."

So, who was the real killer?

The group of friends exchanged puzzled glances. They had worked hard to get to the crime scene early, and there weren't many people at the entrance of the alley. If not the young thug, then who could it be?

Jiang Weimian thought about this, and something suddenly flashed in his mind. He subconsciously stood up and looked ahead, only to see a woman wearing high heels, a cigarette between her fingertips, and a red suspender skirt reaching out to stop a taxi at the entrance of the alley in front, and disappeared in front of everyone in an instant.

Jiang Weimian said in a deep tone: "Is it her——?"

Chen Zuixing raised his eyebrows in surprise: "How is that possible? She is a woman."

Jiang Weimian raised his hand to visually examine her figure, trying to recall the woman's face: "She has a tall back, very strong, wearing high heels, and is just over 1.79 meters tall. She smokes, has a high nose bridge, and has a satchel in her hand where you can completely hide the knife..."

Chen Zuixing: "But how should she commit sexual assault?"

Jiang Weimian didn't know what to think of, and opened the murderer prompt picture on the game interface. He found that the murderer had orchid fingers curled up while smoking, and suddenly he had a guess in his mind: "Is it a transvestite?"

Jiang Weimian suddenly rushed back to the deepest part of the alley where Lin Xiaoke's body was still lying.

He lit up his phone to inspect the body closely. Suddenly, he noticed two different lipstick marks on Lin Xiaoke's lips, one leaning towards light pink and the other towards bright red.

Shen Zuixing, who had followed him, asked, "What are you looking for? Didn't they already examine the body?"

Jiang Weimian asked, "Do you remember where we found the cigarette butt in the previous game?"

Qian Duoduo, who was right behind them, raised her hand. "I remember!"

She turned on the flashlight on her phone and picked up a burnt cigarette butt from a corner of the alley. There were lipstick marks on it.

Jiang Weimian held the cigarette butt and carefully compared the lipstick marks with those on Lin Xiaoke's lips. "The lipstick marks on the cigarette butt are bright red, matching the lipstick residue on Lin Xiaoke's lips."

Shen Zuixing inquired, "But what if it's the same lipstick?"

Jiang Weimian replied, "It's not. Look at these two colors. Lin Xiaoke's original lipstick color should be peach, but there's a faint tomato-red around her chin. Could it be that the killer applied lipstick too?"

He Man, being more observant with makeup, took a closer look at Lin Xiaoke's lip and said in surprise, "You're right! Her original lipstick should be peach red, but there's a tomato-red shade around her chin. The killer applied lipstick!"

Jiang Weimian was perplexed. "But you said tomato-red is also bright red. Isn't it the same?"

He Man frowned and corrected him, "Bright red is bright red, tomato-red is tomato-red. Her chin area is tomato-red, not bright red. They're different colors."

Jiang Weimian found himself at a loss, unable to respond, while Shen Zuixing was leaning against the wall, looking smug.

Jiang Weimian's single conjecture had now been confirmed. He signaled everyone to gather in a circle and listened as he spoke. "The killer is most likely a cross-dressing male with a fetish for female clothing. During the sexual assault on Lin Xiaoke, he forcefully kissed her, leaving lipstick marks. We can now rule out the yellow-haired thug. The only remaining suspect is the woman in the red dress; she's very likely the killer."

Wang Dabiao smacked his head. "Damn, I was wondering why his waist was so thick; turns out he's a man!"

Shen Zuixing checked the game interface for the time. "But she's already taken a taxi and there are only forty minutes left until the game ends. Can we catch up with her?"

Jiang Weimian appeared calm and replied, "We can't catch up with her since we don't know the direction and don't have any transportation. So, we'll have to start a new round. But next time, we can't rely on walking; otherwise, we won't make it in time to save the victim."

Wang Dabiao was the first to object, "Come on, we can't fly over there if we don't walk! As long as we catch the suspect, why bother saving the victim? Jiang Weimian, stop acting all saintly here. I don't have the time to play along with you!"

Qian Duoduo hesitated, "But Lin Xiaoke has also a life. If we can save her while completing the task, we should try to save her. We can restart the game as many times as we need..."

Wang Dabiao slapped his head again, "Have you looked at your battery? I just restarted the game, and now I only have two and a half bars left. Can I even survive another restart?"

The group of friends were shocked and checked their battery levels, realizing that they had all lost half a bar.

Qian Duoduo scratched his head, "With another restart, I'll still have two bars left. It should be enough."

Wang Dabiao grumbled, "I don't want to waste my battery, and I don't agree to saving her. Let's just catch the suspect. Why take the game so seriously?"

Shen Zuixing, who hadn't checked his battery, finally spoke, "The world is full of people who die. You can't save them all. But if you want to save someone, I won't object. After all, you're the captain, and I'll follow your lead."

He Man and Qian Duoduo had been moved by their sympathy and moral principles, but Shen Zuixing seemed to be driven by a desire to work with Jiang Weimian.

Jiang Weimian responded, "I never said I'm the captain."

Shen Zuixing smiled and winked at him, "I'm assuming you are, okay?"

He then turned and walked out, not wanting to stay in the dark alley. However, his wrist was suddenly pulled back by someone. When Shen Zuixing realized it, he found himself pushed against the wall by Jiang Weimian. His pupils constricted, and he asked, "What are you..."

Jiang Weimian hadn't said a word but, with a stern look, he pressed his hand against Shen Zuixing's shoulder and held onto his wrist. In the darkness, he slowly pushed up Shen Zuixing's sleeve.

Shen Zuixing's battery level had dropped by one bar, revealing a deep crimson red. Just like a phone running out of battery, it silently issued a warning.

Jiang Weimian's voice was low and intimidating as he finally spoke, "You've got a lot of nerve. With just one bar of battery, you still dare to follow me to save someone?"

Shen Zuixing maintained his grin, seemingly carefree. "What are you afraid of? People die every day. Even if I die, I want to go out in style. Isn't that how the line goes?"

Of course, that's not how it goes.

Jiang Weimian kept his eyes lowered and seemed lost in thought. After a moment, he started to press Shen Zuixing's right hand against the wall, fingertips brushing gently along Shen Zuixing's arm, almost like a snake slithering up.

Shen Zuixing hesitated for a moment, and his ears inexplicably turned slightly red. "Hey, hey, Jiang Weimian, are you trying to do something inappropriate in this alley? I didn't think you looked so serious, but it turns out you're also..."

Before he could finish, he heard a cold game notification sound in his ear, "Ding! Lifeforce transferred successfully!"

With the sound of the notification, Shen Zuixing's battery level silently rose from one bar to two, while Jiang Weimian's battery level dropped from three bars to two and a half.

Shen Zuixing observed the situation and couldn't help but wonder: what's going on? Could they transfer battery levels? Jiang Weimian just gave him a battery bar?

"Shut your mouth and don't say anything," Jiang Weimian whispered.

Jiang Weimian appeared calmer compared to Shen Zuixing. He had suddenly remembered that he had created this feature, although it had not been used in his writing. He figured that the game was based on his fictional world, so it made sense for this feature to exist. Shen Zuixing looks half-dead, so he generously transferred one bar of his battery to him.

As Jiang Weimian walked out of the alley, he noticed that the troublemaker they had knocked out earlier had disappeared. Wang Dabiao, He Man, and others had vanished too. He looked around and frowned, feeling an ominous premonition.

Just then, Shen Zuixing emerged from the alley, dragging his feet. He saw Jiang Weimian standing alone and asked, "Where are Wang Dabiao and the others?"

Jiang Weimian shook his head, intending to say that he hadn't seen them. But before he could speak, he heard the rapid footsteps behind him. He instinctively turned around and found a group of police officers had surrounded them.

The lead officer showed his identification, and with a serious expression, he told them, "We received a report of an attack on pedestrians at the intersection of Huahai Road, where four men and a woman were seen carrying weapons. Please cooperate with the investigation and come with us."

Jiang Weimian: "???"

Shen Zuixing: "??!"

Was this game getting a bit too realistic?

Jiang Weimian then noticed several police cars with flashing lights parked not far from the intersection. He saw He Man, Qian Duoduo, and Wang Dabiao in the police cars, waving at him through the windows.

Qian Duoduo looked terrified, He Man was on the verge of tears, and Wang Dabiao had a gloomy expression.

Seems like they were the first to get themselves arrested while playing a game – they lived up to their team name:

Four Idiots.

Jiang Weimian sat in the interrogation room, frequently glancing at the game interface's timer. With only 15 minutes left, the time seemed to drag on. He tried to adjust his seating but couldn't move due to the chair's restraints. He sighed and gave up.

Sitting across from him was a middle-aged police officer named Officer Ye. It had been many years since Officer Ye encountered such a tough nut to crack. He had been asking questions for quite a while, but he hadn't extracted much information. He furrowed his brows, took a sip of his tea, and looked at Jiang Weimian. "Aren't you going to talk? Name? Age? ID number?"

Jiang Weimian sighed, repeating for the fourth time, "I'm Jiang Weimian, 27 years old, male. I forgot my ID number."

And he really had forgotten.

Officer Ye couldn't find any information about Jiang Weimian in the police database; it was all blank. He asked numerous questions, but most of the answers were "I can't remember" or "I don't know." Usually, he'd assume someone was hiding something, but Jiang Weimian didn't seem like he was lying.

Officer Ye had no choice but to skip that line of questioning. "So, what's your relationship with the other four people?"

Jiang Weimian replied, "No relationship."

Officer Ye frowned, "If you had no relation, why did you attack them in public?"

Jiang Weimian remained silent.

Officer Ye got up and handed him a photo of a female student, his tone more serious now. "Furthermore, we found a female corpse in the back alley of Huahai Road. Have you seen her?"

Jiang Weimian took a look and saw that it was a photo of Lin Xiaoke. "I haven't seen her, but I've seen the suspect."

Officer Ye's face changed slightly, "What are you saying?"

After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Weimian replied half-truth, half-lie, "I don't know if she's the suspect, but I saw a woman in a red strapless dress coming out of the alley. She was holding a 10cm-long knife in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She was covered in blood and didn't look like a good person. She had heavy makeup, bright red lipstick, a thick waist, and thick legs, like a man."

Officer Ye was about to respond when he noticed someone outside waving at him through the window. He paused the interrogation and went out to speak with the female officer.

The female officer handed a set of interrogation materials to Officer Ye, looking somewhat troubled. "Chief, we've received statements from the other four people, and none of them match."

It was common knowledge that no one would believe them if they claimed to be involved in a game like this. So, the other four people began to fabricate various answers to each question.

Police Officer: "What's your relationship with the other four people?"

Wang Dabiao quickly distanced himself, shifting the blame. "That guy surnamed Jiang is our big brother. He's behind everything bad we did. It has nothing to do with me. If you want to find someone, find him. Don't come after me!!"

He Man played it safe, saying, "We are friends, and we had planned to hang out together in the evening. We accidentally had an argument with that punk with blonde hair, which led to a fight."

Shen Zuixing offered a more reasonable explanation, "That thug took drugs and was in an altered state of mind, wielding a knife and attacking people. We were just a group of friends going out to have fun, and we were unintentionally injured by him. So, we fought back."

Qian Duoduo, being just a child, was threatened by the police who said they'd contact his parents and school teachers. He almost cried, "Uncle wuu wuuuu, I really don't know anything, I don't know anything. We're teammates and were completing a game mission. We didn't intentionally hurt anyone. Waaah..."

Police Officer: "Do you know Lin Xiaoke?"

Wang Dabiao shook his head nervously, "No... no idea..."

He Man asserted, "Yes, we do. There was a man in a red dress who killed her."

Shen Zuixing remained calm and denied, "I don't know."

Qian Duoduo told the truth, "I've seen her... but... I don't know her..."