The fat man couldn't help but purse his lips upon hearing this, feeling that these colleagues were going too far. Either don't invite him at all, or don't kick him out after inviting him—what kind of behavior was that?

The young police officer revealed a hint of embarrassment. "At the time, Wang Jie had already arrived not far from the entrance of that shop, only to find out that he had been kicked. Then he saw a group of colleagues entering the shop. That feeling...you can imagine."

Jiang Cheng nodded. "Continue."

"Then Wang Jie stood near that shop for a long time before finally leaving. He probably went to a bar or something to drown his sorrows."

"Later, he came back, back to the shop where they had agreed to meet. He was already drunk then, reeking of alcohol, and walking with a limp. He went straight to the owner and said he was looking for his group of colleagues."

"The owner said his colleagues had already left, and they really had left. The owner wasn't lying to him!" the young police officer emphasized. "But he was still relentless, insisting on finding those people and clearing things up."

"Seeing that he was drunk, speaking illogically, and being insistent, the owner originally planned to call the police. But then he thought about it, those colleagues he was talking about were all regular customers of the shop. If this incident caused unpleasantness, it might affect business in the future."

"Besides, there were several tables of customers playing. If the police came, it wouldn't be easy to handle. So, after much persuasion, he managed to appease the drunken Wang Jie."

"The idea was to let him rest for a while, and then he would help him find the people. But that was just a delaying tactic, to wait until he was a little more sober and then persuade him to leave."

"Afterward, the owner found a staff member, and the two of them helped Wang Jie to a secluded spot, telling him to rest well."

"He also instructed the staff member to check on him every so often, so that Wang Jie wouldn't hurt himself when he was unconscious. Then the owner left."

Speaking of this, the young police officer paused and continued, "The next day, the owner came to the shop as usual, and Wang Jie was gone. The owner assumed that he had sobered up and left on his own, and didn't think much of it. But in the evening, Wang Jie came again."

"This time, he wasn't there to cause trouble. He was there to apologize and offer to pay the owner."

"The owner told him not to take it to heart, saying that he knew young people were under a lot of pressure these days, and life wasn't easy. He just reminded him to be more careful in the future. As for compensation...the owner said he couldn't accept it, since he hadn't provided any services to Wang Jie."

"But what he didn't expect was Wang Jie's next sentence, which shocked him." The young police officer said, "Wang Jie said he had a great time yesterday and thanked the owner for finding so many interesting players for him. It's just that he was dizzy while playing and didn't remember their names or contact information, which was a pity. He also asked the owner if he had their contact information, so they could team up next time."

"The owner was stunned for a moment before he realized what he was saying and explained that he hadn't done anything for him yesterday. He was drunk yesterday and fell asleep shortly after arriving. How could he have played with anyone?"

"Besides, even if he had woken up, it would have been late at night. Where would there be any customers then?"

"Hearing the owner say this, Wang Jie was also confused. He said he clearly remembered having a great time with a group of people in a not-so-large room. He was dizzy at the time, but he was sure he wasn't mistaken!"

"The owner was a little embarrassed and asked him if he was dreaming, that those things happened in a dream. He even gave Wang Jie a way out, saying that he had also been drunk before, and even after sobering up the next day, there were many things he couldn't remember clearly, which was normal and told him not to take it to heart."

"But Wang Jie insisted that it was definitely not a dream and asked the owner to call the staff member from yesterday!"

"The owner had no choice but to call the staff member from last night. According to the staff member, he checked on Wang Jie every so often."

"But later, he noticed that Wang Jie had slipped off the corridor seat several times, so he took it upon himself to help Wang Jie into a nearby private room. Seeing that there was no one inside, he let Wang Jie rest inside, so that no one would disturb him and wouldn't affect others."

"Then he fell asleep at the bar. When he woke up, he went to the private room in a daze and saw that there was no one inside. He assumed that Wang Jie had woken up and left on his own, so he didn't care anymore."

"Calculating the time, it was almost time for all the customers to leave, so he simply cleaned up, closed the shop door, and went home to sleep."

"But Wang Jie said that he was awakened by a sound of talking. When he opened his eyes, he found a circle of people sitting around in the room, and then someone pushed him and asked him to join them, and everyone played together."

"Wait." Jiang Cheng interrupted, "What kind of shop is this?" He hadn't heard any specific information about this for a long time.

"Oh, it's... it's a murder mystery game shop." The young police officer replied, "There are many such shops now, and young people like to play them. It's where a group of people, whether they know each other or not, gather together, and the shop provides a script. Each player plays a character in the script, like role-playing. Then, based on the information given in the script, they sort out clues, and then investigate the truth, find the murderer, and so on."

Seemingly worried that older people wouldn't understand, the young police officer explained in detail.

"Wang Jie said that after waking up in a daze, he saw a group of people around him, and they played a murder mystery game in the private room?" Zhou Tong repeated the previous words in a methodical manner, as if to make a final confirmation.

"Yes, Wang Jie... that's what he said." At this point, the young police officer was also a little nervous.

"Continue." Jiang Cheng looked into the young police officer's eyes and comforted him, "Don't be nervous, just tell me what you know."

"The owner saw that Wang Jie kept insisting that he wasn't dreaming, that it was real, and he was also a little unhappy. He felt that Wang Jie might have other motives, and that he might be trying to extort money."

"Don't be fooled by the nice words. If he were to accept his money, it would be equivalent to admitting that he had provided services to him last night. He estimated that Wang Jie had dug a big hole for him, such as getting injured while playing the murder mystery game or something, and demanding compensation."

"Thinking of this, the owner put on a stern face and prepared to clarify the matter with Wang Jie. He directly asked the staff member from last night, asking which private room he had finally arranged for Wang Jie to go into?"

"Because each private room has a theme, by confirming the private room, they would know which script they were playing."

"And every time a customer comes to play, there is a record in their shop's system, so that even if it really gets to the police, they have evidence."

"The staff member was newly hired and was not usually responsible for this aspect, so he stammered and couldn't explain it clearly, so he took the owner and Wang Jie to see."

"But when they arrived, all three of them were dumbfounded."