Zhen Liu

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Zhen Liu (枕流) 4
Alias(es)	Doctor Zhen — his assigned role in the Class Reunion scenario 6
Species/Race	Human 1 2
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Twilight Mystery Club participant and contracted livestreamer 4
Occupation/Role	University student; student council vice president; café employee and part-time worker 1 50
Status	Alive 50
First Appearance	Chapter 1

Background

Zhen Liu was raised in a previously well-off family until his father’s business failed and his father died by suicide. Though he has no legal obligation to do so, Zhen voluntarily repays his father’s debts because he believes the people who lent the money deserve repayment for their kindness. He balances study with multiple jobs and lives frugally to meet that responsibility. 48 50

He enters Twilight Mystery Club to substitute for his friend Qian Xiaoqian and to earn prize money. Although he believes he is participating in a full-dive murder-mystery game, the club’s scenarios are investigations into cold cases involving people from other worlds. 1 2 3 48

Before entering his first scenario, he encounters Pao Hui, who pretends to be a junior from his university. Zhen immediately recognizes that Pao’s identity and familiarity are fabricated, exposing his lies without being drawn into the conversation. 2

Appearance

Zhen Liu is a tall, lean young man with a notably clean and cool presence. Even while cycling through extreme summer heat, he is described as upright, graceful, and almost untouched by sweat. 1

• Often wears clean white clothing and maintains a neat, composed appearance. 1
• Has a slim waist, straight posture, and an unusually light, quick gait. 1 2
• Can shift into an impeccably warm professional smile when livestream cameras are active. 5
• His polished, gentle service manner contrasts with his normally aloof demeanor. 50

Personality

Zhen is disciplined, punctual, and emotionally restrained. He does not indulge strangers, social pressure, or manipulative appeals; Pao Hui’s attempt to force a friendship earns only an indifferent “Oh.” 2 He is similarly guarded in the game, avoiding unnecessary disclosures and refusing to reveal that he is a beginner to more experienced players. 6 8

His practical focus on money stems from responsibility rather than greed. He treats prize money as necessary for debt repayment, yet refuses Lucien’s offer to clear his debts because accepting it would merely replace one creditor with another. 24 48 50

Despite his bluntness, Zhen values fairness and evidence. He resists scapegoating Lawyer Jin, distinguishes role-driven hostility from genuine guilt, and pushes the group to share information when survival requires it. 24 40 Romance has little appeal to him; he abandons a one-point love-related side quest and consistently redirects Lucien’s advances back toward the investigation. 6 25

Abilities & Skills

Lie Detection

Zhen has an innate sensitivity to lies and can tell when someone is being untruthful. This ability makes him exceptionally difficult to deceive, though it does not automatically reveal the full truth or replace the need for evidence. 2 33

• Identified that Pao Hui was neither a student at his university nor someone he had previously met. 2
• Detected that Second-generation Zhao was lying about his knowledge of the villa’s secret chamber. 17 33
• Uses suspected deception as a lead rather than immediately exposing it, allowing him to investigate motives and evidence first. 33 46

Deduction and Forensic Reasoning

Zhen rapidly understands unfamiliar game systems and approaches investigations through timelines, physical evidence, motive, and spatial reconstruction. 3 14

• Identified that Ying De had suffered several independent attacks and that the fatal injury had to be distinguished from the others. 14
• Noticed the lack of blood spatter, altered object placement, and signs that the victim’s room had been searched. 14
• Reconstructed the villa’s layout from memory and used his phone to create a three-dimensional floor plan, leading to the discovery of the secret chamber. 17 31 33
• Correctly questioned convenient theories, including the claim that the group’s phones could have had their time altered. 31
• Deduced that Professor Lu’s medicine bottle contained lethal poison and used the outcome of the final confrontation to confirm it. 45 46

Strategic Scenario Play

Zhen adapts quickly to the commercial and social aspects of the game without losing sight of its mechanics.

• Read his livestream contract twice before signing and accepted the arrangement only after confirming its financial value. 4
• Adopted a polished public persona for viewers while privately recording casting answers, assigned roles, and useful patterns. 5
• Chose written character biographies over videos or reenactments because he considered them the most direct expression of the writer’s intent. 6
• Openly allowed others to search his room because appearing too innocent would draw greater suspicion. 16
• Won Class Reunion with 9 points, surpassing Lucien’s 8 points. 47

Psychological Manipulation and Risk Assessment

When the scenario escalates beyond ordinary deduction, Zhen remains calm under direct threat. While inhabiting Doctor Zhen’s role, he confronts Brother Hao alone, bluffs him into dismissing his men, and uses the drugged humidifier to incapacitate him. 42 43

• Extracted Brother Hao’s kidnapping plan through a one-question-for-one-question exchange. 43
• Accepted exposure to the drug himself because it was the only reliable way to subdue Brother Hao. 43
• Used his simulated death and Brother Hao’s death to prove that Professor Lu’s supposed sedative was actually a fast-acting poison. 46

Game Resources

• AI Guide 333 — Zhen’s personal AI guide, which explains scenario rules, tracks character-card progress, and provides newcomer guidance. 3 4 26
• Livestream contract — Automatically broadcasts his future games from character selection onward, allowing him to receive tips and a salary. 4
• Mobile phone — Used to inspect game records, verify timelines, and map the villa’s internal dimensions. 16 31

Relationships

• Lucien — A god who enters Class Reunion as Professor Lu after using his status as a Twilight Mystery Club shareholder to assign himself and Zhen roles. Lucien pursues Zhen romantically, while Zhen recognizes and quietly outmaneuvers his attempts to win affection through staged devotion and money. 35 47 49 50
• Qian Xiaoqian — Zhen’s classmate and friend. Zhen substitutes for him in Class Reunion and later invites him to join the Snowbound scenario for its potential rewards. 1 3 49
• AI 333 — His enthusiastic, somewhat melodramatic guide. Zhen relies on its system knowledge but often disregards its audience-focused suggestions. 3 6
• Boss Qian — Owner of the Twilight Mystery Club branch. He respects Zhen’s reliability, gives him free water after his first clear, and offers food rewards for future perfect scores. 47 48
• Jin Zhuang / Lawyer Jin — An experienced player and intermittent investigative ally during Class Reunion. After the scenario, Jin Zhuang asks Boss Qian for a way to contact Zhen so they can run future dungeons together. 24 34 48
• Xiao Zhao and Xiao Qiao — Players who portray Second-generation Zhao and Basketball Qiao. They come to trust Zhen’s judgment, retain their memories after returning to life, and specifically choose not to forget his kindness. 44 48
• Pao Hui — A transmigrator who attempts to replace Zhen as the protagonist of Osmond. His first deception fails immediately against Zhen’s lie detection. 2

Story Role / Major Arcs

*Class Reunion*

Zhen enters his first murder-mystery scenario as a complete novice and is automatically assigned Doctor Zhen after refusing to reveal his preferences during character selection. He prioritizes information gathering over social performance, memorizing other players’ casting choices and studying his role through its written biography. 5 6

As Doctor Zhen, he investigates the apparent murder of Ying De while concealing his role’s own involvement. He uncovers the convergence of multiple attempted murders, the villa’s secret chamber, the participants’ conflicting side quests, and the instability of the group’s alliances. 14 27 33

Zhen prevents the group from sacrificing Lawyer Jin as a convenient culprit and persuades the survivors to cooperate against Brother Hao. He ultimately helps secure the scenario’s perfect ending by exposing Brother Hao’s kidnapping scheme and enabling the police to be contacted. 40 43 44

The final vote identifies Doctor Zhen rather than the actual culprit, Professor Lu. The vote is declared incorrect, but the scenario remains cleared because the group has achieved the perfect ending; Professor Lu is later revealed to have accidentally killed Ying De with a stolen fast-acting poison he mistook for a sedative. 45 46

Aftermath

Zhen leaves the game with first place and 9 points, securing prize money and livestream tips. His performance earns Boss Qian’s confidence and attracts Jin Zhuang’s interest as a potential teammate. 47 48

*Snowbound*

Zhen agrees to join a second scenario because its faction-based format may permit multiple winners. He invites Qian Xiaoqian to participate, continuing to view the game primarily as a practical source of income. 49

Lucien later approaches him at Zhen’s café job and offers to repay all his remaining debts. Zhen refuses, explaining that he will repay the people who helped his father himself rather than become indebted to Lucien. 50

Notable Quotes

“No, money is what matters most.” 24

“To me, owing these uncles money is no different from owing you money. So why should I owe you money?” 50

Trivia

• Zhen’s name is explicitly distinguished from similar-sounding names as the one meaning “pillow upon the stream, rinse with stones.” 4
• He has a private weakness for beautiful handwriting, which Lucien inadvertently notices while writing out deductions during Class Reunion. 36
• Although he presents himself as detached and practical, he deliberately allows Lucien’s scenario wish to be fulfilled while still arranging the outcome that gives Zhen first place. 47