Ivy League Murder Game

Chapter 1

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Ivy League Murder Game Author: Aflyingfly

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The murder mystery game is a mental game played by 10-20 people. Everyone sits together, and then decides who will be the judge to preside over the game by drawing cards or other means, 2-3 people will be the murderers, and the rest are good people.

The game begins with everyone closing their eyes. Then the killers open their eyes and decide who to kill. The person killed is eliminated from the game. Next, everyone opens their eyes and discusses who the killer is. After a vote, one person is chosen, and then the suspect is executed, regardless of whether they are later proven to be a good person or a murderer. A second round then begins. If the killer ultimately kills all the good people, the killer wins; conversely, if the good people identify all the killers, the good people win.

The locations chosen for the "murder game" are generally: office rooftops, offices, the outdoors, karaoke rooms, and homes. Among these, the outdoor location is the most popular.

This game originated in Beijing and quickly swept across the country, even captivating countless white-collar workers in Guangzhou. It also spawned many variations, some incorporating police, others allowing the deceased to decide who to take to hell, and so on.

In short, this is a game that greatly enhances judgment, persuasion, and communication skills. Many people are captivated by its charm the moment they encounter it. Not long ago, the film "Close Your Eyes Before Dark," starring Wang Zhiwen and Wu Qianlian, was based on this game.

Please remember that once the game starts, you have to play it whether you like it or not.

Section 1

I am not home

Just in the ivy

Not in Ivy

On the way to the ivy

Ivy is a well-known coffee chain in Fuzhou, favored by urban white-collar workers for its charcoal-fired coffee and the memorable slogan mentioned above.

This is the Ivy League flagship store. It's located at the intersection of Hudong Road and Wusi Road, opposite Landmark Plaza and next to the Bank of China Tower. Even in this dark and starless night, a constant stream of cars still roars past.

The location was a small private room at Ivy League—actually just a tiny room partitioned off with wooden boards. The room contained a large sofa and a long coffee table, leaving practically no space; the ambiance wasn't great. We just couldn't find a more suitable place, so we had to make do with playing the "Werewolf" game here.

"It's getting dark. Close your eyes and drift into a deep sleep..." Judge Yan Xin said slowly and resolutely, placing his hands on the table.

Nine young people, squeezed into a large L-shaped sofa, closed their eyes in unison, pretending to be asleep, but in reality, they were all listening intently to the sounds around them.

"On this dark and stormy night, a shadowy figure appeared silently in the empty hallway and quietly disappeared into a room... Alright, assassin, come out and kill!"

"OK, the murder is over and they've gone home. It's almost midnight now, and the dedicated police officers have already started their patrols. Now, please have the police come out and investigate the killer."

"Understood. Now, please send the police back. It's dawn... everyone, open your eyes!"

The people on the sofa eagerly opened their eyes, sizing each other up and guessing which unlucky soul had been killed in the first round.

Yan Xin watched their reactions with satisfaction. As a referee, the greatest pleasure was knowing the truth of the matter before everyone else.

One morning, Ah Lei was carrying a basket of eggs into town when he encountered three burly men. The eggs jumped out and raped Ah Lei, saying, "You're always the ones who come, this time I'll have some fun too." Ah Lei was overwhelmed with shame and smashed his head against a tree, dying... Ah Lei, you're gone.

Before Yan Xin could finish speaking, everyone burst into laughter. The big guy, Lei, who was being teased, didn't seem to mind at all and joined in the laughter.

According to the game rules, the person who is killed can give a "last words" before dying, which can help everyone determine who the killer is.

Once everyone's laughter subsided, Yan Xin gestured for A Lei to speak. She then sat down, ready to listen carefully to everyone's remarks. A sudden wave of drowsiness washed over her, making her involuntarily cover her mouth and let out a long yawn.

Strange, how could this be? I was just so excited, not sleepy at all. I shook my head in confusion, just in time to hear the last few sentences of Ah Lei's speech.

"...Just now, when I had my eyes closed, I heard coughing coming from where Little Thief and Rain Dog were, right by the wall. I heard it very clearly, it was a man's voice. So, I suspect that one of Little Thief and Rain Dog is the assassin. Over."

Yan Xin found it strange because she didn't remember "seeing" or "hearing" Yu Gou and the others coughing, but it was also possible that she hadn't noticed. Sometimes, people with their eyes open can hear far less than those with their eyes closed.

However, the referee cannot say anything about what happens in the game, nothing at all.

Actually, she didn't need to say anything; the thief and Rain Dog, who were accused by the "dead" person, couldn't help but start talking all at once to defend themselves.

"Nonsense! I didn't cough at all, and neither did the dog. I'm a good person, don't try to frame me!"

"You must have misheard. I didn't hear any coughing either. Even if there was, it couldn't be me or the thief. It must be your wife, Xiaowei's, voice!"

"Quiet! Quiet!" The impatient referee hated this kind of rule-breaking behavior the most and immediately jumped up to stop it.

"You misheard, Lei! No, I coughed. Okay, okay, you're a dead man now, no more talking, shut up! Alright, now let's have our stunningly beautiful Xiao Wei speak. Just now your husband suspected you were a killer, and you still want a man like that..."

The referee's authority was beyond question, and Yan Xin's cheerful voice easily dispelled everyone's doubts, bringing their attention back to the game.

Only Ah Lei's gaze would occasionally sweep over that corner, and he felt a sense of confusion.

The murder mystery game is tense and exciting, requiring participants to use all their senses, especially the referees.

There was no more time for her to ponder; her eyes only occasionally caught sight of the exquisitely crafted red doll in the corner of the wall. It appeared to be carved from a coarse-grained wood like sandalwood, the carving technique being extremely skillful, the doll's features lifelike and vivid.

One time, her gaze swept over the doll, and suddenly it seemed to come alive, its dark eyes staring coldly back at her. A chill ran up her spine, her scalp tingled, and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop instantly; she almost cried out.

If you look closely again, it's clearly just a wooden doll; there's no movement at all.

Could it be that I've been too tired these past few days and my eyes are blurry?

Time always flies when you're in a game, and before we knew it, it was past 3 a.m. Although everyone was still excited, their bodies couldn't withstand the fatigue of the week, and yawns started to rise and fall. After playing two more rounds, we finally broke up.

After paying the bill and stepping outside, the air was exceptionally fresh, instantly invigorating everyone. People dispersed in twos and threes. Sister Yan, of course, went home with her husband, Lao Gao.

Before leaving, A Lei squeezed her hand, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "I know it wasn't you who coughed... That doll was a bit eerie, I don't know if you saw it... It had a very strange smile... like that."

He suddenly brought his face close to Sister Yan's, forcing a strange smile, which startled Sister Yan, who was already preoccupied, so much that she screamed and buried her head in Lao Gao's arms.

Ah Lei then burst into laughter and left triumphantly, his broad face no longer showing any trace of the eeriness he had shown.

Section 2

My name is Wang Buyuan, a man who can't be called successful, nor a failure. I'm not far from thirty, my face still looks quite healthy, but my belly has been quietly puffing up. I always think I'm still young, but I'm often startled by the unfamiliar face in the mirror when I brush my teeth.

I live alone in that old house on Wenquan Road. Every morning I walk to work at 9 a.m., and I barely manage to get home and fall asleep at midnight. I earn a decent salary, live off all sorts of set meals, and every weekend I go out partying with a bunch of buddies. That's my life.

The preceding text is a narration by Sister Yan. Actually, I was also one of the "nine people who were killed" that night.

At the time, I didn't notice if there was a cough, because a beautiful woman named Xixi had just left, and as soon as I closed my eyes, my mind was filled with daydreams—a bad habit of intellectuals.

At the time, the cough that A Lei mentioned didn't leave much of an impression on me, because when playing the murder mystery game, everyone's words were a mix of truth and falsehood. Who knows if the person who said that was deliberately muddying the waters?

As for that doll, I do remember it somewhat, mainly because that round of the game wasn't over yet—of course, no one mentioned the cough incident anymore—when suddenly the door to the private room was flung open with a "bang." Yes, flung open.

A woman dressed as a maid rushed in, like a mad tiger. Completely ignoring the astonished gazes of everyone in the room, she shoved the tall Sister Yan against the table with her left shoulder, and then bumped into me with her right shoulder, causing me to fall to the ground.

Her target was that child doll.

Being inexplicably knocked to the ground would make even a Buddha furious, just like me. My equally furious companion was Sister Yan's husband, Lao Gao. Although he wasn't even as tall as his wife, his love and care for her was no less than that of the towering and burly A Lei.

Just as our murderous gazes fell upon the waiter, our ruthlessness vanished, replaced by utter astonishment.

The waitress was pale, slender, with long hair draped across half her face, a pointed chin, large eyes, and skin as white as snow. She was absolutely a beauty. If she dressed up a little, in this city where there was no shortage of wealthy people, plenty of rich businessmen and young masters would be lining up to offer her luxury cars and mansions. Why would she be working as a waitress in this small café?

It was this skinny maid who nearly sent me and Sister Yan, both of whom are quite large, flying when she bumped into us.

At that moment, she carefully held the doll, caressing it with all her heart. Although I knew it was a wooden doll, the tender and loving look in her eyes, the murmurs she uttered, and the gentle movements almost made me mistake it for a real, chubby white baby!

Just as everyone was stunned for a moment and hadn't had time to react, the lobby manager of Ivy League appeared between us with lightning speed, his position perfectly blocking Lao Gao's and my view:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we apologize. We were just giving special training to our new employees to improve their emergency response capabilities in case of an emergency. Thank you for your cooperation. All purchases in this private room before midnight will be complimentary... Hanako, aren't you going to get out of here?"

To be honest, I usually have a very good impression of this lobby manager. She's presentable enough, her business suits are always spotless, she's slim, and she stands ramrod straight. She always handles our requests for discounts with great poise. Today, I learned that she's also incredibly capable of handling these kinds of special situations—it's the first time I've seen her react so quickly.

The maid named Hanako fell silent—she truly vanished. My supposedly quick-witted eyes only managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of her as she slipped out of the room.

The lobby manager bowed, left the room, closed the door, and revealed a strange smile.

Ding, ding, ding. The wall clock struck exactly 12 o'clock.

"Ah!" I sat up, covered in cold sweat.

Section 3

Was it something that actually happened, or just a dream?

The room was silent and dark. Sitting there, the distant sounds of cars and people outside seemed like a hallucination. I got up, threw on a robe, rummaged around for a bit, found a cigarette, lit it, stood at the window, looked at the brightly lit empty rooms of the Banghui Hotel across the street, and exhaled a long puff of smoke.

It was a very strange dream.

Only three days later, the details of that night were still vivid in my mind, but I just couldn't remember whether that part of the dream had actually happened.

I don't think I remember it. I played until after 3 a.m. that night, playing round after round of killing and being killed, there was simply no room to add such a detail. Yet, if I remove this part, it creates an irreparable gap in my memory. It's as if it was always meant to be there.

Think about it carefully. From the perspective of logic and probability, it's not difficult at all—although probability is the theory that Finance Manager Yan uses most often.

A murder game, coughing sounds, child puppets, strange gazes, eerie smiles... Gazing at the flickering light of the cigarette between his fingers, a sudden, electric-like numbness surged up his scalp, and a chill ran down his spine.

—I never smoke!

I've been allergic to cigarette smoke since I was a child and I have an extreme aversion to tobacco and alcohol. How did cigarettes and a lighter suddenly appear in my room, and how did I skillfully light a cigarette and enjoy smoking half of it?

An overwhelming sense of disgust welled up from the depths of his heart. He frantically threw the half-smoked cigarette out the window, then bent down to grope around on the desk where he had just touched the cigarette and lighter, wanting to throw both of them out as well.

A "snap" sounded behind me, and a dim yellow light shone into the room. I turned around and couldn't help but shiver.

The door was securely bolted, and there was no one else in the room except me.

Looking down at himself, he saw an empty desk with nothing on it.

There was nothing there. The cigarette I had just touched, the lighter I used to light it—all gone, as if they had never existed.

"Calm down, you must calm down." I told myself, then looked down at my nose, focused my mind, and used reverse breathing to concentrate on my dantian.

I learned this move from a book called "Complete Collection of Wudang Kung Fu" when I was in elementary school. At that time, qigong was all the rage across the country, and these kinds of secret manuals were sold everywhere. The one I learned was said to be called Zixu True Qi. The book described it as an introductory level internal energy cultivation method. When practiced to its highest level, it could abstain from grains, expel the six evils, and reach the realm of the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top and the Five Qi Returning to the Origin.

I practiced on and off from my teenage years until I went to college, but I didn't develop any real internal energy. The only effect I discovered was that when I practiced breathing exercises, my mind would calm down very quickly, and it was even effective when I was burning with lust.

I took nine breaths, and it was quite effective. Apart from my scalp still feeling numb, I wasn't so scared anymore—that was a physiological reaction, and psychological therapy wouldn't work.

Slowly raising his head, he saw that the state of "stopping the mind and focusing inward, leaving only a breath" had vanished. He felt cold all over, opened his mouth wide, but couldn't utter a sound. Fear, like a demon, had gripped and frozen his vocal cords.

In a dimly lit guest room across the way, a tall, stout man sat cross-legged at a candlelit dining table. The orange candlelight reflected on his oily, chubby face, revealing a gluttonous expression of unbridled greed, as if the teppanyaki grill in front of him contained the most delicious food in the world.

The man sawed at the iron plate with his knife and fork for a while, then picked up a piece of white, meat-like substance with his left hand and stuffed it into his mouth, crunching and chewing. Suddenly, he looked up in their direction. The distance seemed to shrink instantly.

I could see clearly that he was biting on a piece of an infant's arm!

What terrified me even more was that the man was my good friend Lei!

Section 4

"Ah!" I sat up, covered in cold sweat.

Damn it, another nightmare. It must be the recent work stress affecting my sleep; too many unattractive women at the company affecting my appetite; too few beautiful women offering me attention—no, none at all, seriously impacting my physical needs; and maybe I've dug too many holes in my coffers, and am being haunted by the vengeful spirits of those chasing after my manuscripts…

I sat there in a daze for a while, then suddenly remembered that the cigarettes in my dream tasted pretty good. So I got up and went downstairs to the 24-hour convenience store across from the Banghui Hotel, bought a pack of Shishi cigarettes, and sat on the street to smoke one before realizing that it actually tasted quite good.

During that time, three prostitutes flirted with me, two vendors came over to sell snacks, and a burly security guard loitered nearby, watching me warily. I glared at him without saying a word, silently counting "three, two, one," and then "three, two, one," he disappeared from my sight.