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Chapter 19: From a kind angel when you first arrived, to someone who can be so ruthless so quickly?”
“You guys!”
Zhong Yirou quickly picked up the book from the ground and held it to her chest, looking incredulous. “It’s only the third day…”
Why are they all so fixated on the number of days?
“Yeah,” An Wujiu replied softly.
“Yeah, what?” Zhong Yirou walked up to him and suddenly noticed something, scrutinizing An Wujiu’s face, then turning to look at Shen Ti. “What did you do to him last night? He’s back to normal!”
How did she notice?
An Wujiu also turned to look at Shen Ti.
“Guess,” Shen Ti deliberately extended the hand he had shackled, pulling An Wujiu’s left hand along with it.
Zhong Yirou raised her hand to pinch her philtrum but realized her nails were too long and it would hurt, so she gave up.
Seeing her reaction, An Wujiu belatedly understood something and began to explain slowly, “You misunderstood…”
Shen Ti interrupted An Wujiu’s words with a smile. “It’s not what you think. Between us, it’s pure innocence, really.”
Originally, the misunderstanding wasn’t that big, but it seemed to get worse after the explanation.
“I believe you, I believe you,” Zhong Yirou forced a dry laugh and tried hard not to let her imagination fill in the gaps of what they didn’t say.
“Oh right, I almost forgot the main business.” Zhong Yirou tossed the book onto the couch in the corridor and said to them, “I came to call you. They’re waiting in the conference room.”
An Wujiu immediately asked, “What happened last night?”
Zhong Yirou led them out, walking ahead, and turned to say, “So far, it’s Christmas Eve; it depends on you two.”
In the meeting room, people gathered around an oval table, each with a different expression, and the heaviest of all was Yang Ming.
An Wujiu noticed that Liu Chengwei, who was suspected to be involved with the cult, was not here. Perhaps Yang Ming thought he didn’t deserve to be present, or perhaps he was afraid that the other party would meet An Wujiu.
After the three of them entered, Yang Ming’s gaze remained locked on An Wujiu, and he naturally noticed the handcuff connecting him and Shen Ti.
“What’s going on with you two?” Yang Ming’s tone was unfriendly.
Shen Ti raised the hand connected to An Wujiu, casually explaining, “I went to his room last night.”
Yang Ming frowned, “Why did you go to his room?”
“What else could I do?” Shen Ti smiled and held An Wujiu’s hand openly on the table. “About this cult thing, the more I thought about it, the scarier it seemed, so I wanted someone to sleep with me.”
“My room was Room 7, so last night I could only go to An Wujiu’s Room 5 or your Room 1. I thought about it. If I had gotten to your room, you would have thought that I was a cult member coming to kill you, which wouldn’t be good, so I went to An Wujiu’s room.”
His words were extremely unserious, and Yang Ming didn’t believe a word of them.
But An Wujiu spoke up, “It was my request.”
Although he didn’t know why he had suddenly become so strange, like a complete villain, since he had already given others a bad impression, politely returning to his previous self might only increase suspicion.
Having come this far, he had no choice but to continue.
So An Wujiu tried hard to portray himself as he was before, fearing stuttering, and could only slow down his speech, giving the illusion of confidence.
“I don’t know why Shen Ti suddenly ran to my room, probably he had suspicions about me, afraid I might make some noise at night, so he exchanged for a pair of handcuffs. He was still worried, so he shackled us together. But this system is really unkind; the keys have to be exchanged separately and are out of stock, so we can only be bound together like this.”
“It’s just that simple.”
After he finished speaking, Shen Ti immediately turned to stare at him.
Learning how to go bad so quickly, huh?
But An Wujiu didn’t look at him and calmly looked at Yang Ming.
Yang Ming remained skeptical.
No one spoke, and Wu You took the initiative to talk about what happened last night. “I kept an eye on Liu Chengwei last night and only dozed off for a while in the early morning. When the hypnosis gas came out, he didn’t close his eyes at all; he kept struggling. I don’t know if you could hear his voice; the hypnosis gas had no effect on him. Do we need to check now? There should still be traces of struggling on the sofa.”
“No need,” Yang Ming said in a deep voice.
Ueno said quietly, “By the way… should we check the health bars of Shen Ti and An Wujiu?”
An Wujiu didn’t say much and directly opened the health bars that were hidden by default from the panel. The bars quickly appeared above his head. He hadn’t lost any of them.
Shen Ti was the same.
Zhong Yirou saw it, raised an eyebrow, leaned back in her chair, and said, “Doesn’t this prove that our tactics last night were effective? No one lost health bars, and it seems like Liu Chengwei is indeed a cult member.”
Yang Ming remained silent and did not respond immediately.
Liu Chengwei’s crush was Zhong Yirou, and he was Yang Ming’s cursed target. For a full seven points, Liu Chengwei’s betrayal wasn’t surprising at all.
Even if Liu Chengwei was his “red line,” it was only a mere two points.
At this moment, An Wujiu was studying Yang Ming’s face.
He knew Yang Ming wouldn’t jump to conclusions so quickly. He was well aware that someone who had been insecure for years and suddenly gained power would have a strong rebellious mentality, scoffing at opinions imposed by others and holding their own thoughts as the ultimate standard.
“That’s not necessarily the case.”
But An Wujiu spoke up, his right hand’s fingers tapping on the table in a pretentious manner, trying to appear as he did before. He said slowly, “It’s also possible that the cult member saw everyone pointing their knives at Liu Chengwei and decided to turn the tables, framing him instead?”
Lao Yu thought about that day when he saw An Wujiu handing something to Liu Chengwei with his own eyes. He couldn’t help but furrow his brows. “For the sake of framing someone, you gave up the opportunity to kill?”
“So what?” An Wujiu’s expression was unnervingly calm, different from before, and it gave off an eerie feeling. “If I were a cult member, I might even choose to commit suicide on the first day. Killing someone is no big deal. As long as it stirs up chaos among the people here and makes everyone turn on each other, does the cult member need to act themselves?”
As these words came out, everyone at the round table involuntarily looked at Yang Ming.
“What do you mean?” Yang Ming’s gaze turned sinister. “You dared to shift the blame directly onto me to help Liu Chengwei clear his name? This is for your benefit?”
He clearly remembered the contents of that discarded piece of paper.
“It’s just an example; don’t be so nervous.”
Perhaps because An Wujiu couldn’t act as crazy as he did before, he spoke these words with an expressionless face, which made him seem like an extremely calm lunatic.
Yang Ming didn’t want to fall into the trap of An Wujiu’s words. He said to the others, “No one with only two lives would choose to commit suicide. This is such a basic principle; you should all know it.”
With that, he took the discarded piece of paper from his suit pocket and threw it in front of everyone.
“This is why An Wujiu is desperately trying to clear Liu Chengwei’s name. Take a look, everyone.”
As expected.
An Wujiu had prepared for this, or perhaps the public display of the note was part of his plan.
Fortunately, Yang Ming didn’t bring Liu Chengwei out; otherwise, it would have been a bit troublesome.
Zhong Yirou glanced at the note and then looked at Shen Ti, “Are you suggesting that An Wujiu wrote this?”
An Wujiu didn’t smile; he simply said, “How does this prove it’s me? Based on a piece of paper? You could probably write dozens of them yourself.”
“Besides you, who here would write with their left hand?” Yang Ming sneered.
“Okay.”
Sensing that Yang Ming was now completely convinced of Liu Chengwei’s guilt, An Wujiu stopped pushing further. He stared at Yang Ming, his deep black eyes fixed on him, and delivered what seemed like a self-abandoned conclusion, “Whatever you want.”
Timing the display of apparent helplessness could make the other party more deeply convinced of one’s point of view.
After all, no one could duel with him.
An Wujiu showed his dissatisfaction with Yang Ming by “storming off” and he also managed to pull Shen Ti away, who was looking at the note.
As they walked away, An Wujiu reviewed every step of his plan.
There were some deviations, but he had mostly achieved his goals.
In the end, he had done what he wanted and what he did not want to do.
Until Shen Ti grabbed him.
“Where are you going?” He stretched his neck and tilted his head to see a nearby room, the music room. “Take a break; I didn’t sleep well last night, I’m exhausted.”
He pushed open the door to the music room and pulled An Wujiu inside.
Facing Shen Ti, An Wujiu didn’t put on another facade; he was straightforward and even a bit cute.
“Why didn’t you sleep well? Wasn’t it enforced sleep?”
“I had something on my mind, woke up too early. How come you can’t wake up at all?”
He called An Wujiu a couple of times without any response. His forehead was covered in sweat, and Shen Ti thought he might not be feeling well. If he were really bedridden, Shen Ti would have to spend the whole day taking care of him.
Shen Ti walked to the piano, lifted the dusty piano cover with his free hand, and tapped a black key. The piano produced a melancholic and pleasant sound.
Watching the piano, An Wujiu also reached out to touch it and couldn’t help but sit on the piano stool.
Seeing that he seemed to want to play the piano, Shen Ti also sat down next to him, shoulder to shoulder.
“You don’t believe there is a cult member.” An Wujiu placed his injured right hand on the piano keys and played a few notes. “But you can’t pinpoint the reason for Yang Ming’s health bar deduction, so you have to start with the most suspicious suspect, which is me.”
It seemed like An Wujiu, who was now the kind side of himself, had a direct and sharp attitude that could cut through a person despite his current appearance.
Shen Ti didn’t directly answer his question; he lowered his eyes, placed his hand on the piano keys, and followed each of An Wujiu’s movements, pressing a key.
“You know how to play the piano?” Shen Ti asked another question, his thoughts jumping to a different topic.
An Wujiu wasn’t sure whether he should say yes or no. He had no memory of ever learning to play the piano, but the moment his hand touched the keys, he seemed to instinctively know what to do.
“You don’t know, do you?”
Although his question was thrown back, Shen Ti wasn’t annoyed and chuckled. “I’ve never touched it before; isn’t playing the piano just a pastime for people in high society?”
An Wujiu didn’t respond; he played with one hand, and his speed gradually increased. Surprisingly, Shen Ti also learned very quickly, almost keeping up with him.
The musical notes gradually merged.
If he wasn’t lying, this person’s learning speed was almost superhuman.
Shen Ti didn’t continue to ask further; he knew An Wujiu wouldn’t tell him the answer. Besides, he wanted to enjoy the pleasure of finding answers himself.
One piece followed another, and An Wujiu’s memories became increasingly blurry. So he played faster and more aggressively.
It wasn’t until the holy voice sounded that the piano abruptly stopped.
“Attention, player Wu You has challenged player Liu Chengwei.”
There was a moment of silence.
An Wujiu continued to play the piano as if nothing had happened.
“He only has three lives left, right?” Shen Ti teased An Wujiu. “Weren’t you the one who wanted everyone to survive until the end?”
“From a kind angel when you first arrived, to someone who can be so ruthless so quickly?”
An Wujiu didn’t stop playing the piano but calmly said, “Being kind at the right time is the key to survival.”
The music room was separated from the dueling threshold by a long corridor, and the sound of screams and curses mixed together, faintly audible in the gaps between notes. Merged together, it made An Wujiu feel a bit of pity.
However, those sounds gradually seemed to blend into the memories of when Liu Chengwei and Ueno had forcefully shoved bread into his mouth.
The memories of them beating him to near-death.
Indeed, only silent suffering couldn’t elicit sympathy.
An Wujiu’s fingers continued to dance on the piano keys, trying to drown out the sounds outside, so he played faster and faster. Whether it was an illusion or reality, those screams seemed to gradually fade away.
Until Shen Ti slapped the piano keys hard, producing a loud discordant note, which pulled An Wujiu’s thoughts back.
He stretched out a hand and placed it on An Wujiu’s chest.
An Wujiu looked at him in confusion.
“Your conscience is telling me that it’s a bit uneasy,” Shen Ti said earnestly.
After speaking, the hand on his chest patted him a few times.
“Stay calm and don’t jump around.”
What was this person doing? He was actually commanding someone else’s heart.
An Wujiu took a deep breath quietly, and got up.
The three consecutive duels didn’t take much time, and with Liu Chengwei’s injured condition, he couldn’t hold on for long in a one-against-many situation.
“This game is not role-playing,” An Wujiu looked at Shen Ti. “You’re not a detective. Finding the real culprit doesn’t make sense here because everyone here is a murderer.”
Shen Ti followed him as they walked forward.
“Who said it doesn’t make sense?”
An Wujiu stopped and gazed at Shen Ti.
“Do you really want to know the truth that badly?”
Shen Ti didn’t respond immediately, but his silence was already an answer.
This game was originally the last one in Shen Ti’s mind, and he just wanted to resist passively. He didn’t expect to encounter someone like An Wujiu, someone he wanted to compete with.
An Wujiu smiled lightly, “Good luck.”
Shen Ti was briefly stunned until An Wujiu pushed open the door to the music room.
Standing at the door was Wu You, who had just returned from the dueling threshold. There was blood at the corners of his mouth, and the sleeve of his old coat had been cut open, revealing a not-so-superficial wound.
Liu Chengwei had only one health bar left for the final round of duels, and he didn’t need to participate.
Shen Ti was about to ask if it was over, but then he heard the announcement from the holy voice.
“Player Liu Chengwei has died, health bars are cleared, game over.”
One of the parties, Wu You, remained remarkably calm. He raised his hand, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and looked at An Wujiu and Shen Ti.
“I’ll unlock your handcuffs, I’ll help you.”
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