Rose Manor [Mystery]

* Leans toward the bickering, verbal sparring style of murder mystery games. This niche story may not be to everyone's taste, so please check the content warnings below before reading. * Contains escape-room elements, suspense, deduction, an isolated-island setting, and an ensemble cast. * Please add the similar murder mystery novel Dinner Party [Suspense] to your collection! In the northern suburbs of the capital stands a villa halfway up a hill, called Rose Manor. Rumor has it that the house has terrible feng shui and brings ruin to its owner. Whoever buys it is doomed. The first owner lived in the villa for three months before dying of a sudden heart attack. The second owner moved in and, six months later, fell from the second-floor terrace and died headfirst on the ground. The third owner, who was also the most recent one, went bankrupt less than a year after buying the villa and then took his own life by overdosing at home. When Rose Manor was put up for forced sale by the bank, the nearby residents all shook their heads at the news. The villa's story had spread far and wide. Who would be fool enough to buy a haunted house? Yet no one expected Rose Manor to get a fourth owner within half a month. The new owner played along with the rumors and turned the villa into a live-action suspense and deduction escape room. The theme was called Rose Manor, and a single ticket cost 666 yuan. An escape room with a "haunted house" reputation was bound to attract attention. With a promotional campaign across the internet, it became the most anticipated escape room in the capital before it had even opened. * On the eve of Rose Manor's opening, seven players were invited to a beta test. Ye Ai, a well-known suspense novelist, was lucky enough to be one of them. On the day of the game, all seven players gathered together. They pushed open the moss-covered gate and entered the dim, mysterious hall. The game officially began. One more thing, players should keep in mind: anyone voted out... will really die. [Content warnings] 1. The story focuses on the main plot, with very little romance. 2. I haven't thought of anything else yet. I'll add more warnings if I think of any. Coming soon in my collection: The Final Cut [Suspense], blurb: * Onscreen and offscreen, a fake performance turns deadly, isolated-island setting, fair-play mystery. The low-budget Republican-era suspense drama The Strange Cases of the Republic is about to wrap filming, with just one last scene remaining. In the scene, the villainous boss swallows poison and takes his own life. The so-called "poison" is actually a vitamin pill prepared in advance by the props team. It's harmless, and even gives the actor a little extra vitamin boost. But no one could have expected that he'd swallow the fake poison and really die... * The production is filming at a mountain villa in the suburbs. On the day of the incident, a sudden rainstorm triggers a landslide and mudslide that blocks the only road into the mountains. With rain pouring down, the place becomes an island. Completed novel: The Perfect Partners [Crime Investigation], blurb: The Economic Crime Investigation Squad in the capital's Xiangyang District receives a report that a streamer with tens of millions of followers on a platform is suspected of large-scale fraud. After gathering the evidence, the squad is preparing to arrest the streamer. That night, he unexpectedly dies in his car. The Xiangyang Branch immediately forms a special task force to investigate the case, uncovering a vast and secretive chain of interests. * Jiang Huaixu, captain of the Criminal Investigation Squad at the capital's Xiangyang Branch, is one of the people leading the special task force. He is usually gentle and refined, unfailingly courteous in his dealings with others, and seemingly impossible to fault. Yet this paragon of grace and integrity always manages to hit the sore spots of his childhood sweetheart, Ye Yingshi, captain of the Economic Crime Investigation Squad next door. He just has to get under her skin before he's satisfied. Their colleagues all know they grew up together, but no one ever thought the two of them would end up together. After all, their relationship is all fighting and no loving. If they ever did get together, they probably wouldn't last more than a few days before breaking up. But gradually, their colleagues notice something different about the way they act around each other... Captain Jiang knows all of Captain Ye's tastes and preferences, and always knows how to make her comfortable. And whenever they run into danger on a mission, he risks his own safety to protect her. Sometimes the Economic Crime Investigation Squad can't even find their captain, but Captain Jiang always knows exactly where she is. More importantly, one day a colleague goes grocery shopping and spots Ye Yingshi and Jiang Huaixu picking out durians in the fruit section. The colleague hurries over and volunteers, "Captain Jiang, Captain Ye, need any help? I'm great at picking durians!" "Sure." Jiang Huaixu folds his arms and raises an eyebrow. "Help me pick one that's good to kneel on." The colleague: "?? Good for what?" Jiang Huaixu looks down at Ye Yingshi, standing beside him with a cold expression, and says with a laugh in his voice, "I made my girlfriend mad. I should at least be considerate and pick a durian to kneel on, shouldn't I?" "Never mind. You're single, so it's only natural you wouldn't understand." The colleague: "..." You kneel on a durian and somehow turn it into a point of pride? #What do you do when you get dragged into the captains' PLAY?# #Help, I'm waiting online!# Theme: People are good at heart.