The death of a player acted like a catalyst, completely tearing apart the last shred of restraint that existed among the remaining seven.
Blood gushed uncontrollably from the recently deceased player, the faint sound of blood flowing seemed to carry the ticking of a clock, subtly hinting that the next possible random death was approaching.
Yan Wei took a deep breath.
The first to die was a member of Morning Star, but who would be next?
With every second that passed, with every minute that the situation remained unresolved, his friends could die in an instant.
Yan Wei suppressed the familiar feeling that this space had always brought him, his mind swirling with thoughts.
The two surviving players from Morning Star looked pale, one of them gloomily stared at Yu Feizhou and said, “The one who was swapped is you?”
Lin Zhen scoffed, “Why does it have to be him?”
“This ‘punishment’ came so quickly, my friend didn’t react in time and got hit instantly. Why did he dodge so quickly? I think it’s very possible that the ghost deliberately attacked itself with this punishment and then dodged, creating the illusion that it was attacked and therefore not the ghost!”
Zhou Tian frowned, “According to your logic, it could also be you. You proposed this viewpoint right away to show that you can’t be the ghost.”
“Hey, your friend didn’t have the strength, so he died. Just let it be. Look at how he’s bleeding, tsk tsk, it’s really not aesthetically pleasing.”
Yu Feizhou, on the other hand, appeared calm and did not lose his temper. He sighed, “When that bone attack hit me, I did notice it, but judging by your companion’s reaction, it seems he received a stronger attack than I did. You’re right, I could be the ghost, but I could also be the focus pushed out by the ghost. At this point, positive and negative logic is useless because without absolute loopholes, this kind of logic can be twisted in any way.”
Yan Mingguang had been watching silently the whole time, without speaking.
As Yan Wei walked around the six remaining players, he raised his hand, using his fingertip to wipe the blood off his cheek. His other hand tightly gripped the handkerchief as he walked slowly, lowering his head to examine the other six.
When it was pitch black just now, nothing had happened on his side.
He hadn’t heard anything except for the ghost and the building’s prompt. When he opened his eyes again, the eight of them had already formed a large circle and were seated.
He wasn’t sure about the two surviving players from Morning Star, but whether it was the always silent and calm Yan Mingguang, the unserious Lin Zhen in life-and-death situations, the rational Zhou Tian, or the gentle and good-natured Yu Feizhou, their words and actions were no different from his impressions of them. Although he couldn’t see their expressions, the scenes that had occurred from the start of the game to now flashed rapidly in Yan Wei’s mind, and he still couldn’t find any flaws in anyone’s words or actions.
But that “Student” said he was playing with everyone.
The building’s prompt was “Be careful behind you,” and at the moment he was thrown the handkerchief, the chilling sensation that swept over him made him react quickly and turn around, only to see a fleeting, pale, soulless ghost face.
Even in that moment, he instinctively thought the person who threw him the handkerchief was the ghost, and he subconsciously chased after them, only realizing after a few steps that this person had died.
Yu Feizhou was right; at this moment, whether looking at shared experiences to verify truth or analyzing positive and negative logic, it was all useless. If the ghost was mixed in among them, the previous verification was enough to show that the ghost could imitate all behaviors and memories, and positive and negative logic could be interpreted in any way.
The process and logic were impossible; the most important thing in seeking the truth was the result. The process could deceive, could be full of tricks, but only the result was the purest goal.
Yan Wei walked behind Yan Mingguang and stopped.
The handkerchief couldn’t be put down; there was no turning back. Yan Mingguang had his back to him.
Yan Wei whispered, “I trust my instincts, and I also believe your strength wouldn’t allow you to be swapped without any movement. It’s not you. Do you trust your instincts?”
The cold, low voice that responded was, “Not you.”
At this moment, Zhou Tian suggested, “If we catch the ghost, we can win. How about this: everyone takes a turn with the handkerchief and places it behind a chosen companion. Those who know they aren’t the ghost won’t run; only the ghost will run.”
“No way,” another player from Morning Star shook his head, “The ghost could also disguise itself as a player and not run, and no one knows if their chosen companion is a ghost. If I stand still and my target for the handkerchief is the ghost, and I turn around and get caught, who knows what will happen?”
Lin Zhen sneered, “This method is completely useless. We have no trust among us, and without trust, it’s impossible for everyone to cooperate to find the ghost. I think we should just play it naturally; anyway, as fewer people die, it will be obvious who the ghost is.”
“Don’t you care about your companion’s life? You wouldn’t be the ghost, would you, being the first to actively throw the handkerchief—”
“Then I’ll say I am; why don’t you try to catch me?”
“You—”
Yan Wei temporarily refrained from participating in the back-and-forth probing. He stood behind Yan Mingguang, bent down, placed the handkerchief behind Yan Mingguang, and quickly ran back to his original position.
The man turned around, unhurriedly picked up the handkerchief.
At the same time, he said, “The moment the handkerchief fell, I saw the ghost face.”
Everyone suddenly paused.
Yan Wei had run quickly just now, and now he sat in his position, panting, saying, “Indeed, this ghost thing is toying with us, making everyone who gets the handkerchief feel like they saw the ghost the moment they turned around. You all need to be careful when you get the handkerchief; don’t let it lead you away immediately.”
The crowd exchanged glances.
Yan Mingguang didn’t hesitate; he took the handkerchief and quickly ran, throwing it behind a Morning Star player before swiftly returning to his position.
That Morning Star player immediately reacted, picked up the handkerchief, and ran.
Thus, several people quickly rotated, and another minute had passed.
Yan Wei suddenly felt a sense of danger coming from behind!
This time, the randomly chosen person… was him.
He hesitated for just a moment, then didn’t move, allowing the sudden killing intent that appeared behind him to approach rapidly—he couldn’t dodge; facing him was Zhou Tian.
It seemed to be another piece of bone, and as it approached Yan Wei, it paused for a moment. This was a heart-piercing attack, completely blocked by Yan Wei’s immortality skill. The bone was halted for a moment, then made a turn, passing through Yan Wei’s left arm before completely disappearing.
The others couldn’t see what was behind Yan Wei and assumed he had been severely injured in the arm.
Yan Mingguang was about to break the rules and stand up, but Yan Wei hurriedly shouted, “I’m fine! Just injured.”
The pain delayed for a moment, then surged in, tearing at his nerves. He gritted his teeth and took a few deep breaths.
The Morning Star player holding the handkerchief immediately threw it behind him.
The moment the handkerchief fell, Yan Wei felt the chill on his back again, as if something icy brushed against his neck, the cold air blowing by his ear.
He instinctively shivered, turned around, and saw that fleeting, pale, soulless ghost face again.
Yan Wei ignored it, picked up the handkerchief, and glanced at the Morning Star player with a subtle gaze.
In this situation, everyone understood that as long as it wasn’t themselves who died, the more people who died, the greater the chance of catching the right one. The moment this person saw him injured, they threw the handkerchief to him; if the handkerchief was thrown to the ghost in this situation, it would be impossible to run faster than the ghost, and the likelihood of death was extremely high.
The handkerchief was already soaked with the blood flowing from his arm.
On the ground, the first deceased Morning Star player still lay with wide eyes, maintaining an expression of disbelief, blood pooling around him.
He pressed on his wound, holding the handkerchief, and slowly walked behind the Morning Star player who had thrown him the handkerchief, placing it down.
But Yan Wei didn’t move.
He stood there behind this person, watching as they turned to pick up the handkerchief, startled by the ghost face that everyone would experience, and then looked at him in surprise, “Why aren’t you running?”
“Why aren’t you catching me?”
The person choked.
“Want to try catching me? I was attacked but didn’t die; there’s a chance it’s the ghost’s trick. Do you want to try catching me to see if it breaks the game? The rules didn’t specify what happens if you catch the wrong person, but it did say you die if you catch the wrong one. Are you afraid I’m not the ghost and don’t dare to catch me?”
This person gritted their teeth, not daring to move.
Even if they suspected Yan Wei, if Yan Wei just threw it down and ran, they might still chase after him. But now, Yan Wei stood boldly in front of them, and they didn’t dare to try.
Yan Wei’s face was slightly pale from blood loss, but in the dim light, no one could see his current weakness. His voice dripped with disdain, “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. The more people die, the higher the chance of survival for those who are alive, but if you keep helping the ghost kill, I have plenty of ways to make you the next target.”
After saying this, Yan Wei slowly walked back to his original position.
Fortunately, the flower ball, a tool unrelated to perception and physical stats, could still be used. He took out the flower ball and instantly healed the wound on his arm.
The Morning Star player temporarily didn’t dare to connect with Yan Wei, took the handkerchief, threw it behind Lin Zhen, and ran.
After a few rotations, another minute arrived. This time, the person attacked was Yan Mingguang. After Yan Mingguang dodged, the bone directly pierced through another Morning Star player’s forehead.
Another one died.
At this moment, only the Morning Star player who had been confronted by Yan Wei earlier was still alive.
Yan Wei scanned these people little by little.
A cool breeze brushed against his cheek and neck, the chill of potential death penetrating into everyone’s hearts.
Was the only one still alive that Morning Star player?
It didn’t seem like it; after being confronted by him, that person’s reaction was very genuine, unlike something a ghost could perform.
Yan Mingguang, his instincts were correct.
Yu Feizhou and Lin Zhen…
Actually, the handkerchief had floated to him at the beginning; it was Lin Zhen who stubbornly said it was fun and took it, bearing the risk. This kind of reaction couldn’t be imitated just by peeking into memories; he leaned more towards the idea that the ghost couldn’t mimic Lin Zhen’s unpredictable nature to the core.
The possibility of Lin Zhen being problematic was very low.
From the current results, the first person to throw the handkerchief was Lin Zhen, the first person attacked was Yu Feizhou, and the first player to die was a player from Morning Star. The second person attacked was himself; he exchanged his injury for this round without anyone dying. The third person attacked was Yan Mingguang, and the one who died was another Morning Star player.
Among them, Yu Feizhou, who was unharmed and from the first logic perspective, was excluded from suspicion, but precisely because of this, it was also possible that the ghost was Yu Feizhou.
Yu Feizhou’s gentle and good-natured personality was also the easiest to impersonate.
But…
Yan Wei looked at Yu Feizhou.
Yu Feizhou was relatively far from him; he couldn’t see the other’s expression clearly, but he could see him sitting cross-legged, back straight, even in this light, his obscure outline highlighted his gentle temperament.
There was nothing amiss.
Zhou Tian? Among these people, he knew Zhou Tian the least. Although he couldn’t see any flaws, Zhou Tian was the newest acquaintance among his teammates, and there were many places they hadn’t had time to mesh; was it possible—
Yan Wei’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted.
That ethereal, eerie ghost voice echoed again: “…Another minute has passed.”
A piece of skull bone, unknown from where it came, swiftly headed towards Lin Zhen, who was standing outside the circle holding the handkerchief.
Hearing the direction of the voice, Lin Zhen turned to respond, but Yan Mingguang suddenly stood up!
He yanked Lin Zhen aside, appearing in the path of the bone attack, raising his hand without any attempt to dodge.
In the next moment, this piece of skull bone, capable of instantly killing players, was firmly grasped in Yan Mingguang’s hand. He stood there, tense, his knuckles clearly defined, blood flowing from between his fingers, but the bone did not pierce through; instead, he held it tightly in his hand.
Everyone was stunned.
They hadn’t expected Yan Mingguang to fearlessly catch this ghost’s attacking object. The remaining Morning Star player was even more astonished: “Are you crazy? You actually caught it… You can’t be the ghost, right?”
Lin Zhen mocked, “Why would the ghost help me attack? Using reverse logic to make everyone think the ghost wouldn’t save people?”
“Maybe you are the ghost.”
“Fine, then I’ll catch you and send you on your way.”
“…”
Yan Mingguang completely ignored them, tightly gripping the piece of bone as he returned to his original position.
His voice was calm and steady, still composed: “Three minutes.”
This was directed at Yan Wei.
Yan Wei immediately understood.
They had exchanged skill information; his skill was a half-immortality that had no upgrade space once entering the building, along with the reward skill of continuous Three Times Lifting the Building obtained this time, which heightened his perception.
Yan Mingguang’s skill was to live through death and short-distance group teleportation.
This person was currently in a state of living through death, stimulated by the attack of this bone, doubling his strength for three minutes, which allowed him to firmly hold onto this piece of bone. Each attack was from the same piece of bone, and now that Yan Mingguang held it, for three minutes, no one would continue to be attacked or die.
Yan Mingguang was buying him time, giving him three minutes to think about breaking the game without distractions, even risking the danger of his skill failing after three minutes.
Yan Wei took a deep breath, his gaze shifting away from Yan Mingguang. He slowly closed his eyes, in this environment of suspicion and doubt where crisis could strike at any moment, he focused on recalling all the scenes since the game began.
Lin Zhen had already picked up the handkerchief and started playing again. Zhou Tian and Yu Feizhou both appeared to trust Yan Wei completely, waiting for him to break the game, just like before. The last remaining player from Morning Star also looked at Yan Wei, seemingly realizing his position among these people, believing he could find the answer.
No one could see any particularly obvious problems.
In Yan Wei’s mind, scenes from the game after it started flashed by, from the first player’s death to Yan Mingguang blocking the bone…
Every living person had no logical flaws in their words or actions.
Yet the ghost claimed it was also participating in the game, and catching it was the only way to succeed in breaking the game.
As thoughts surged, countless details collided and intertwined, and various guesses sprang to his mind. He reviewed his memories, and more than half of the three minutes had already passed.
Yan Wei slowly opened his eyes, starting to scrutinize Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen, Yu Feizhou, Zhou Tian, and the last surviving Morning Star player…
Two Morning Star players had died, one pierced through the forehead, the other through the heart, their faces filled with terror—
Yan Wei’s thoughts suddenly halted.
He looked at the corpse of the first deceased player.
This person’s expression was one of shock, eyes wide, pupils constricted, clearly in a state of disbelief in the last moment before death. This was normal because the one attacked was Yu Feizhou; after Yu Feizhou dodged, this person died in shock and surprise.
The second deceased player, due to Yan Mingguang’s excessive reaction, didn’t have an exaggerated expression of shock. This person’s forehead was pierced, eyes vacant, lying on the ground with blood all over their face.
One had constricted pupils, the other had vacant eyes…
Seeing time was running out, he suddenly shouted, “It’s the first deceased player!!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the last Morning Star player, who had been watching, immediately stood up, flipping over to grab the corpse that had been pierced through the heart, triumphantly saying, “Thank you for your answer!! The reward is mine—”
His voice abruptly cut off.
A line of blood suddenly appeared on his neck, blood flowing out, the line growing larger and larger until it became a gaping hole.
The ghost’s eerie voice surrounded them from all directions.
“…You caught the wrong one.”
“You caught the wrong one.”
“You caught the wrong one…”
With a thud, the head of the Morning Star player fell to the ground.
The piece of bone in Yan Mingguang’s hand began to struggle, blood trickling and dripping from the cut in his palm.
Yet Yan Wei still stood up, first running towards Zhou Tian, who was currently holding the handkerchief, quickly saying, “Give it to me.”
Zhou Tian was taken aback for a moment but still handed the handkerchief to Yan Wei without a word.
Yan Wei grabbed the handkerchief and quickly ran to the corpse of the first deceased Morning Star player.
Lin Zhen was startled: “Didn’t you just say you caught the wrong one? Little pet, are you looking for death?”
Yan Wei shook his head, squatting in front of the corpse, one hand gripping the shoulder of the corpse, the other hand holding the handkerchief, taking a deep breath, and clearly stating, “I caught it.”
The surroundings instantly fell into a deathly silence.
The sound of the wind rustled through, and this time, the building’s prompt echoed in everyone’s minds.
[Congratulations, you answered correctly.]
