Alternate Dimension Game: Happiness is all that matters!

Why would such a great game be turned into an idle game?

I just can't figure it out.

Deep inside, Wang Hao felt stirred, and suddenly, a lightbulb went off, "Got it, the ultimate goal is still to lure players into spending money! You must purchase DCL to play, right? But since this is just a trial version, I can't spend money, so I just have to keep the game idling here."

"Forget it, I'll just spend points to buy a clue."

It's painful, my already not so well-off family is now hit with another blow.

[You have spent 500 points to buy a game clue. Your current point total is 1300.]

[Drawing 'clue', please wait…]

[The random event you drew is… Turtle Soup Game!]

[This event is located in the Main Material World 003241-23-1, Ideal Level, 3 stars. Scenario difficulty: 2 stars.]

[The final game deadline is: 4 hours, 34 minutes, 10 seconds.]

[Loading… Please wait…]

[Loading successful.]

[Main mission: Save the character 'Chen Xinyi' from the river of fate where her death is inevitable.]

Wang Hao perked up, another mission to save someone, and it's "inevitable death"!

This time the game also had a time limit to clear it, which added a sense of urgency.

As the scene gradually brightened, Wang Hao found himself in a small room, a simply decorated rental apartment.

About 30 square meters, one bedroom, one living room, one bathroom.

From the tight undergarments and lace panties hanging on the balcony, it seemed to belong to a young lady.

A narrator's voice echoed in his ears: [You are an average office worker, and in your mundane life, you've always felt something was missing. If the work is repetitive, day after day, year after year, then the world seems too passionless.]

[A month ago, you joined the 'Turtle Soup Game Group'.]

[After work, you often played Turtle Soup games with the group members.]

Wang Hao's eyes widened, filled with question marks. Turtle Soup game—what the heck is that?

This was the first time he had heard the term.

However, as the game progressed, he quickly understood; it was an improved version of a traditional puzzle game.

The person who sets the puzzle poses a question, while the solvers can ask various questions to gather information.

In response to these questions, the puzzle-setter can only answer with [Yes], [No], [Irrelevant].

The solver must use this information to deduce the true nature of the event.

With this introduction, the game officially began.

He opened up the character's Personal Attributes.

[Name: Chen Xinyi, female, 24 years old.]

[Profession: Journalist]

[Physique: 93 (Average, with the human mean level being 100)]

[Talent: Embrace Ether II. Your innately high Spiritual Strength allows you to "accidentally" see some weird things. You vaguely suspect the truth about the world but are frustrated by not finding the real supernatural circle.]

[Beauty: Your appearance is slightly above average, which helps in your social interactions.]

[Pathological Psychology: Masochist (Mild), fear and danger bring you an indescribable pleasure.]

[Spiritual Strength: 233]

[Ability: None]

That's it… that's it?

This person can't fight at all!

And what's with being a Masochist… is she an 'M'?

Wang Hao felt helpless and thought to himself, "The game probably isn't the type that's impossible to clear. Since this lady's physique is utterly unremarkable and she definitely can't beat monsters, does that mean this is a purely intelligence-based puzzle scenario…"

Just then, a message popped up on his phone.

"The Turtle Soup Game Group" had started playing!

The riddle was posed by an anonymous player.

Most of the members of this group were anonymous, which seemed very strange.

[In the middle of the night, you're suddenly extremely restless and can't sleep, so you decide to go to the balcony for some fresh air to relax. Just when you're feeling comfortable, you notice someone on the balcony of the building across from yours, stabbing somebody else with a knife frantically. At that moment, the assailant seems to have noticed you. They stop, and though it's too dark to see their face clearly at night, you can see they are gesturing towards you...]

[Why is this happening?]

Someone quickly asked, [Is this a "perverse soup" (referring to Turtle Soup content that contains blood, violence, etc.)?]

The poser of the riddle: [Yes.]

[Is there a change in form? (Events that wouldn't happen in real life, including superpowers, ghosts, and other supernatural phenomena)]

[No.]

[Does the killer know me?]

[No.]

"This is just like a brain-teaser, huh?"

"The quality of the game is dropping, eh? Even the setting is made so simple!"

Watching the back and forth in the group, Wang Hao almost found the answer; slightly bored, he typed on the screen: "It's simple. The gesturing is actually counting the floor I'm on; the killer is going to come find me soon."

"Got it right!"

"So that's the reason, why didn't I think of that..."

"It looks a bit shocking..."

Heh, only idiots couldn't guess this.

After all, for the 500 points he spent on the clue, Wang Hao had the patience to play a mystery-solving game.

But the next question stumped Wang Hao; he couldn't figure out what it was at all.

[Thump, thump, thump, the sound of footsteps getting closer in the stairwell, the door opens. It turns out to be Mom, I'm hiding under the bed, making eye contact with my mom, shaking with fear.]

(...after some questioning...)

When the answer was revealed, Wang Hao was startled.

"Damn, is it that scary? A seemingly bland riddle actually contains such terrifying implications."

I couldn't guess it at all.

The poser: [There's a young man whose house is separated from his neighbor's by a lawn. One late night, the man is woken by the noise of the neighbors' argument. Then he hears the sound of things being thrown, an axe chopping, and a cow grazing. After a while, he also hears someone banging on his door, but he ignores it all. The next day, he finds the wife of the neighbor dead on his doorstep...]

(...after some questioning...)

And again, he couldn't guess it.

After the answer was announced, Wang Hao was shocked.

"These people must be crazy..."

The answer was terrifying, speak it and it might get censored.

He was starting to find the game interesting; it was more complex and enjoyable than mere brain-teasers, no wonder people liked it.

The poser: [During the quiet of the night, Turtle Soup games are often initiated in the group. But for the past week, the number of active players in the group has been dwindling, with one less active player at the same time every day. We were discussing the group's gradual quietness when suddenly, I heard a "thump, thump, thump" of someone knocking on a door not far away, which seemed very urgent...]

Wang Hao began to use his imagination.

He pondered deeply, shaking his head.

Soon a question was raised, [Does it involve a change in form (supernatural)?]

[Yes.]

[Is it a "red soup" (involving dead people)?]

[Yes.]

At that moment, he heard the sound of high heels climbing the stairs in the corridor from afar.

The sound struck him as odd, but he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

With no time to think further, a rapid "thump, thump, thump" came.

The knocking on the door could be heard.