In Virtual Reality 88 ☆ The Hydrangea Park (12/33)

Celestial Master's mind went blank at the mention of a bounty. He only agreed to participate in the beta test because Excelsior was involved and didn't care much for the other players. "What's going on?" he asked the fish-headed man, quickly grabbing his arm to stop him from leaving. "Who's the bounty for? Excelsior?"

The green fish's head turned to him with a dead fish's gaze. "Yeah, Excelsior," he said with a tongue click. "Who knows what that guy is thinking." He shook off Celestial Master's arm and began to move past him. "Move over; I'm going to find someone."

Celestial Master couldn't stop the man; he shook off his arm and took a few steps forward. However, the iron door before him slammed shut just as he was about to pass through it.

The fish-headed man was taken aback and muttered, "…."

After a moment of contemplation, he began to try to climb over the railing with his bare hands.

Celestial Master watched as he climbed halfway up when the iron door flashed with electricity. Quickly, with a crackling sound, the red and green fish-headed man was electrocuted to a crisp. He fell back into the sea of Hydrangea flowers, unable to get up for a long time.

Celestial Master watched in shock. "..?"

【Is that, is that a piece of braised Fish?】

【Old Attorney! Why are you so miserable, Attorney!】

【The immersion is too fast in the beginning, isn't it? He hasn't even died yet!】

【But who made this game? They even thought of players climbing over iron fence.】

Celestial Master had a hunch, "I have a rough idea of who it is..."

Who else but Excelsior would think of this?

After a couple of minutes, a green fish head emerged from the pink hydrangea, its skin slightly blackened from the electric shock. If it were any darker, the shadow on Old Attorney's face would have been a dead giveaway that he was the killer, just like the cold-hearted fishmongers at Da Run Fa who had been butchering Fish for a decade.

He exhaled a puff of black smoke, his lifeless fish eyes conveying the brutal reality. It was too much for even Celestial Master to bear, and he averted his gaze, focusing on his task.

"Where's the fragrance agent?" he muttered, recalling Excelsior's instructions to find a white hydrangea before leaving.

But as he glanced at the outer ring, the sea of pink flowers swayed in the wind, making it impossible to distinguish white from pink.

A hand landed on his shoulder, and Old Attorney's dead fish face loomed on the chat screen, "What are you looking for, young man?" he asked softly.

**

Xu Jin Yi sat perched atop a small pavilion nestled on the verdant mountain, peering through a telescope with eager eyes and watching the game unfolding before her. "Old Attorney met Celestial Master," the device shifted, scanning the Wutong forest before settling back on the front gate. "【Lone Wolf of the Apocalypse】 journeyed there with Wang Jin Long... and then suddenly reversed course?"

Xu Jin Yi wracked her brain, recalling the intricacies of the game's design. Near the front gate was a rudimentary topographical map of the park, all its marked locations carefully accounted for. Where could they have gone? She squeezed her eyes shut and mentally retraced the map and NPCs, her furrowed brow deepening with each passing second.

"Could it be," she mused, leaning against the telescope and training her gaze on a specific section of the park, "that he aims to head towards the broadcasting station?"

Nestled in the park's southeast corner, the broadcasting station was the quickest and most efficient way to convene all players. If he sought to find "Silence," it was the best route. Xu Jin Yi chuckled to herself, almost forgetting that Wang Jin Long intended to locate "Silence" to glean some insight.

Currently, 【Madam】, 【Asmodeus】, and 【Fox Snap】 wandered alone in the game. 【Lone Wolf of the Apocalypse】 and Wang Jin Long, who professed to be a do-gooder, traversed towards the broadcasting station. 【Master in Tribulation Crossing】 and 【 Opponent's Attorney, Please Interrogate】 had gotten themselves trapped in the Hydrangea Flower Sea.

She scanned with telescope once again, searching for the two remaining players. To her surprise, they had yet to make an appearance throughout the entirety of the game. Their absence was most unusual. Nevertheless, Xu Jin Yi refrained from making an entrance, taking advantage of this opportunity to hum to herself and enjoy the tranquil setting.

When Wang Jin Long finally publicizes his new identity, and all players learn that he is 'Silence', that will be the game's highlight.

**

To the north of the park, a young woman donned in knight's armour remained still, her fingers tightly clasped around the hilt of her lengthy sword.

【Why isn't BGM playing?】

【Come forth, the light of righteousness!】

【I heard that there's an Excelsior in this closed beta; I yearn to witness the modelling of Excelsior, hehehehe.】

【I, for one, desire to witness the clash between Old Attorney and Excelsior!】

After a few intermittent messages, the audience in the live stream room noticed that the broadcaster, the protagonist of the event, had yet to make a move. Gradually, they commenced diverting the discussion to the streamer.

【Why isn't the streamer moving yet? Did they disconnect?】

【By the way, how many streamers are there in this closed beta live stream? Once the game starts, you can't leave the live stream room. Can anyone update us?】

【I had a brief glimpse earlier and noticed six or seven of them.】

【 There's a total of ten streamers; some of the closed beta streamers haven't initiated their live streams yet.】

Subsequently, with the streamer motionless, the audience in the live stream room initiated a game of cards in the barrage area.

【Two of spades! Beat that!】

【Pair of twos, beat that!】

【Big Joker!】

【Where did the Big Joker come from in this game of "Running Fast"?!】

Then suddenly, the streamer's voice boomed through the speakers, startling the audience. "Hey, friends, I'm back!"

With his rough and excited voice, 【BGM of the Righteous Way】 exclaimed, "I just checked out the newly released promotional materials on the game website, folks! It's gonna be a lot of fun!" A mechanical keyboard tapping filled the room, and a screenshot of the game appeared on the live streaming screen. BGM pointed at it and said, "Look at this."

【Why is the BGM so scary? I was playing cards just now.】

【What is it?】

【Just a passerby here. Isn't the streamer's skin a young girl? What's up with this voice? Is this an old man pretending to be a girl??】

【 It's normal; it's just Old BGM, after all.】

【Hilarious, but the puns aren't appropriate.】

【Stop arguing, and look at the screenshot the streamer posted!】

BGM cleared his throat and read aloud," 'Waiting for all the players to come', blah blah here are some words left by Excelsior, the production team, and so on...But here is the kicker: " Excelsior at the end added" BGM paused for dramatic effect and then continued, "'I'm not targeting you guys; I mean everyone here is trash.' (laughs) Join the closed beta of Hydrangea Park, and I'll be waiting for you in the game." He then showed a picture of a werewolf card on the screen.

【Wow, so arrogant, but as soon as it's Excelsior, I suddenly like it, prprpr.】

【 What's this for? To increase the popularity of the game?】

【This Excelsior guy is so bad, let's just do something else.】

"No, no, no, it's not just that," BGM chuckled. "Now log into the game website and look at the advertisement section on the homepage."

【What a hassle. Can someone in the family send us a picture to look at?】

【The Ten-Year Good Samaritan is here with the picture! (attached image.jpg)】

【Wow!】

After viewing the picture, the onlookers flooded the screen with comments.

【Are they taking this game too seriously...?】

【Why are there so many official Excelsior-wanted notices on the game website?!】

【The previous commenter is trying to drum up hype for the game.】

【Wait, is Excelsior actually requesting so many officials wanted notices for himself???】

【I don't care; I just want to loudly express my opinion that Excelsior is complete trash!!!】

【Love it!!】

BGM: "..."

Expressionless, he spoke up, "Pick up your pants. This is a serious live broadcast room."

He removed the screenshot and tapped on his keyboard for a moment.

【BGM of the Righteous Way】 preferred traditional mechanical keyboards over holographic chambers for the tactile feedback they provide. And if he was playing with a female skin, he would rather appreciate it than experience it himself.

"Anyway, no matter what," he grinned, "I'll take on this challenge."

Excelsior's objective didn't concern BGM, but the closed beta provided an ideal opportunity to test his gaming prowess. The prospect of a surge in gaming traffic and interest made his pulse quicken.

Suddenly, the aggressiveness of the Star People was sparked.

"Let's start by checking our identity card, per the rules." He pressed the backpack button and retrieved the system-assigned card to showcase it to the live audience.

"..."

【 Let's kick off the BGM!】

【The glare of justice! Illuminates the land!】

【Old BGM's spoiling for a fight, but the system won't let him, hahaha】

BGM inhaled deeply, but the impulse was too much to resist.

"I'm giving the system a manual question mark," he said incredulously, "Do I really look like a good guy?"

【Undoubtedly, you're the poster boy for goodness.】

The 【Judge】 card gleamed on the screen, intensifying BGM's bitterness.

"The Judge can't kill anyone with this identity, can they?" He cast a cursory glance at the card explanation, "Only one chance to judge, and only the werewolf card can be tried."

【In Murphy's Playground, I recall the Judge could make three judgments. Have they weakened the Judge in The Hydrangea Park?】

"Yeah, oh, Excelsior is a Murphy fan, ah, and the name of the game, the knight is also a tribute to the amusement park," BGM said, thinking quickly. "If that's the case, there's another way. The Judge can also borrow a knife to kill."

So, they used an NPC's knife to kill the Werewolf card.

Most of the barrage area were old fans of the game website, so they quickly understood what he meant. Instantly, the screen was flooded with "hehe" comments.

BGM and his barrage area quickly reached a consensus.

"Alright, friends, let's go for justice!" The Knight girl raised her long sword and stepped forward fiercely - but a person over three meters tall stopped her.

【The night was over. It was now time for the voting during the day.】

【You had five minutes to decide. Each person could only cast one vote.】

【Reminder, players who survived last night: 10.】

BGM fell silent, bewildered. He turned to the live audience in the broadcast room, "What the hell, is it already time for the public vote? Why didn't the werewolves kill anyone? Are they cowards?"

【... Do you still remember that you are a just Judge?】

【What the heck is this welding wolf statement?!】

BGM, a righteous man, had a heart of a wolf.