Hearing Su Ming’an’s words, the others’ gazes sharpened.
"You’re saying we’re all ’Ghosts’?" Yuriklu was the first to object.
"Stop pretending," Su Ming’an looked at him, "Throughout this ga, there has only ever been one ’Person’—."
"Impossible! I can see my own identity clearly," Yuriklu imdiately retorted.
"Enough with the act, it’s not like I’m asking you to die," Su Ming’an said indifferently, "’Ghosts’ disguise themselves as ’People’ for two reasons, one is to hide their identity to avoid exile. The other is to gain the ’Person’s’ trust and then kill them for the victory."
He spread his hands, "But now, there’s only one ’Person’ in the whole ga—, and you can’t kill , so the latter goal is unattainable. Why not lower your aims and try to achieve the forr? Am I right... Fuer?"
Fuer wanted to refute, but, seeing the murderous look in Su Ming’an’s eyes, he hesitated for a mont and then clamd up.
Su Ming’an had seen him kill other Players and was sure he was a ’Ghost’. If Fuer objected again, he probably wouldn’t last long.
He suddenly realized why Su Ming’an had chosen to talk to him first.
Because... only by siding with Su Ming’an did he have a chance. There were five of them now, and Su Ming’an had already secured the vote from Yamada Machiichi. With him onboard, they could control the ga.
He realized what Su Ming’an was planning.
"I agree, I accuse!" Fuer caught on and imdiately switched sides, starting to slander indiscriminately, "I saw Yuriklu find an Oracle but not submit it, he must be a ’Ghost’!"
"You’re talking nonsense!" Yuriklu roared back, quite sincerely, "There are no other Players near , you’re framing !"
"Don’t be in such a hurry," Su Ming’an said, "Yuriklu, let’s cast a vote for you then, shall we? As we’ve analyzed before, ’People’ should try their best to pretend to be ’Ghosts’ in the eting room to gain a Strength boost. You seem to have exposed yourself a bit here."
Yuriklu fell silent.
He suddenly realized that Number One Player had trapped him in a no-win scenario.
... As soon as the other side was convinced that he was the only ’Person’, they had already taken control of the situation.
"Or perhaps, Erwin, would you like to give it a try? Let’s cast a vote for you? You wouldn’t mind receiving a 100% Strength boost, right?" Su Ming’an looked at the silent Erwin.
"..." Erwin knew it was a probe, but he really didn’t dare agree. He understood the current situation.
Number One Player was clearly playing an open strategy.
The other party was confirming whether everyone really was a ’Ghost’.
"Alright, so I’ve said it all," Su Ming’an looked at their reactions, not at all surprised, and sat down, "... Stop pretending."
It was after that question that he really confird that, of the five people present, apart from himself, all were ’Ghosts’.
Or rather, of the original sixteen, apart from him, they should all be ’Ghosts’.
...
[The ’Person’s’ victory goal is to survive until the end of the instance, or until all Ghosts are exiled.]
[The ’Ghosts’’ victory goal is to kill all ’People.’]
...
The reason why the victory reward for this instance was a whopping four Silver Stars—higher than that of the instance where the altar was painted—was because of the trap set with the identity distribution.
If he wanted to win, he had to overco the pursuit of the other fifteen and survive until the end of the instance. If the others wanted to win, they had to kill him.
For both parties, the difficulty was considerable.
"What do you want?" Yuriklu cald down and asked.
"It’s simple," Su Ming’an said, "I have a perfect thod."
"..."
"Give up on this instance," Su Ming’an suggested, "Wait until tomorrow, when the instance automatically ends, ’People’ will automatically win, and you ’Ghosts’ won’t die. You just won’t get the Silver Star reward, that’s all."
The group didn’t argue, but rather fell into silence.
In fact, upon learning that the only ’human’ was Su Ming’an, and that his Strength had been boosted by 100%, they realized they stood no chance. Instead of continuing to engage in intrigue, it was better to just give up.
"So, this round, we..." Yamada Machiichi said in a low voice.
"Vote for ," Su Ming’an said with a smile.
The others looked montarily stunned, then quickly realized a very frightening fact.
The rules... didn’t seem to prohibit ’humans’ from being voted for consecutively...
"Why should we vote for you?" Yuriklu said. "Even if I vote for myself and get eliminated, I won’t die. Why should I give you a 100% Strength boost?"
"Hmm? I think there’s a difference," Su Ming’an said. "This Strength enhancent will be removed when the instance ends tomorrow, and my Strength will return to normal... But if you refuse now, it won’t be good for you. Yamada Machiichi, I rember you have the Skill for tracking Players. Can you locate Yuriklu’s position?"
Yuriklu’s expression showed clear reluctance, but after a mont, he said, "I... understand."
Seeing this, the rest fell into silence.
Yamada Machiichi’s gaze trembled.
He looked at Su Ming’an, whose expression was calm, and suddenly realized... This control of the situation was all because Su Ming’an had used everyone from the beginning, casting a round of votes for him and granting him a 100% boost in Strength. And only when the number of mbers had sufficiently decreased did he strike, leaving the remaining three Players unable to fight back.
Otherwise, as the only ’human’ at this mont, Su Ming’an would have been in great danger.
— He had quietly completed an absolute reversal of the situation without anyone noticing.
"Su Ming’an," Yamada Machiichi asked, sowhat incredulously, "when did you realize that there might only be one ’human’ in this ga, you?"
Su Ming’an looked at him, fiddling with the pointer in his hand.
"Click." "Click."
Red lights illuminated, accompanied by a series of crisp sounds.
The pointer’s direction, once again, settled on the only ’human’.
"From the beginning," he said. "When I was arguing with Lv Shu about which layer he was on."
...
The eting ended.
Everything proceeded according to Su Ming’an’s plans, without any surprises.
Yamada Machiichi watched the entire process dumbfounded, watching as Su Ming’an obtained the desired double Strength enhancent, all unfolding like a scripted play.
After the eting ended, he was the first to leave, following Su Ming’an’s instructions, he sought soone out from the First Tribe. After a discussion, Migael decided to go with him to the Stone Fortress.
They rushed to the Stone Fortress, charging up the stone steps, when Yamada Machiichi slled a strong scent of blood.
...sothing was wrong.
Yamada Machiichi knew that Edward’s arrival through Teleport would certainly not bode well, and his first kills would undoubtedly be Xiber, who was close at hand.
...It was surely too late to save anyone now.
Yamada Machiichi grew anxious, the pace of Migael ahead increasing, his hands flickering with blue Energy.
But as they turned the corner, Migael’s figure suddenly halted.
Staring at the scene not far away, he was as still as a statue.
Yamada Machiichi quickly rounded the corner after him and also froze.
Blood was slowly streaming through the cracks of the stone tiles, touching the surface of his shoes. The thick sll of blood lingered around his nose.
A shade of crimson reflected in his pupils, as if about to burst into flas. In the blink of an eye, his gaze locked firmly onto the figure standing at the end of the corridor.
His vision dimd at this mont.
It was as if a black mist slowly engulfed him from all sides, and suddenly, a layer of blood-red clouded his sight.
He saw a scene he hadn’t anticipated before.
The figure at the end of the corridor was still alive, standing there.
She turned around, her white hair, snake-like, fluttering with her movent.
Edward lay beneath her, his body oozing a sanguine black sludge. This black, viscous substance gushed from his eyes, nose, ears, and even his fingernails turned black. The man had lost all signs of life.
He rotted and lted in the black mire.
Soft, pitch-black tentacles, like those of a sea serpent, spread from the person at the end of the corridor, twining around walls, floors, and even the burning candles, showing a lifelike animation distinct from inanimate objects in their movent.
Yamada Machiichi’s body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Through the bloody light in her eyes, he saw an infinite depth. The mont he t her gaze, he lost the ability to think.
Confusion erupted like lava from the folds of grey matter in his cerebral cortex, filling his skull.
Blood vessels uncontrollably crawled over his eyeballs. His consciousness gathered and drifted, as if sinking into the depths of the sea. The tentacles, as if alive, swallowed him up; within a breath, they had wrapped around his body and overtook his standing spot.
Atop the high-rise of the Stone Fortress, countless black tentacles erged from the crevices, crawling like streams over the entire building, turning the place into a silent land of contamination and death.
"What is... this?"
The three elders, Guang Li and Teacher Fang, standing outside the Stone Fortress, were utterly horrified. They backed away again and again, but the tentacles showed no sign of spreading out, instead tightly controlling the Stone Fortress.
The other residents scread and ran outwards.
The previously peaceful atmosphere was shattered in an instant by this bizarre phenonon; even the Judges began to flee.
"The Jiu Shen has descended! The Evil God has descended!" they cried, their faces stricken with fear.
In the Outer City, Chang Sheng clutched a matronly woman, shaking like a leaf.
"Mommy, Mommy, the Jiu Shen is here!" he cried, his axe falling to the ground. His huge fra curled up like a child.
"Chang Sheng, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid..." The old woman stroked his head, whispering comfortingly, "Don’t be afraid, mommy will sing you a lullaby, the Evil God will die, don’t be afraid..."
...
"—Where’s Fengchang? Has the Young Tribe Leader not returned yet?"
The current ruler of Qiongdi, the Great Elder Fengle Zeven, stepped forward.
He focused his gaze on the Stone Fortress, now resembling a strange living beast wrapped in tentacles.
Guang Li shook her head in rapid succession, being primarily responsible for the education of young children, she was terrified by the grand scene unfolding before her.
"...I, I don’t know..." she said.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed.
People turned around and saw a figure all in white, holding the Black Blade, walking slowly towards them.
In this mont, his arrival was like that of a hero about to slay treachery and vanquish evil.
...As if he were a deity about to punish the wicked.
...
The sky gradually darkened into evening.
Due to the great distance from the First Tribe, even with his strength increased by 400%, Su Ming’an could not arrive before nightfall.
...The compass showed Xiber was not dead; even Edward couldn’t kill her, she really was not simple.
His Soul Stone was nearly burned out, and this was the third night of his travels.
He continued to run forward, the rice-grain-sized Soul Stone burning with all its might, sustaining the last of the light for a while longer.
Upon reaching the gate of the First Tribe, he heard a system notification:
"Ding dong!"
[Day 4 of the war has begun.]
[Entering the period of cataclysm. Qiongdi will experience a major disaster.]
[Player’s san value status will be affected by physical strength, cold, contamination, injury, etc. San value can be partially restored by sleep or killing others.]
[Displaying survivor information.]
[Day 4 of the war, current survivors: 54.]
[Player current san value: 71 points]
...
[Please note, at dawn at six o’clock, a "Malevolent Ones" eting will be convened to expel the malevolent players.]
...
Upon hearing the system notification, he imdiately felt a chill, a rotten sll spreading, causing even his throat to itch under the protection of the Soul Stone.
...The instance indeed wouldn’t be so simple.
He had said, if it were just about obtaining 12 Silver Stars, the difficulty wouldn’t be great. Only a disaster like a cataclysm, which is hard for humans to contend with, can cause massive death.
Given the warning signs, the current disaster was... related to poison or curse, right?
He coughed and teleported inside.
In the Qiongdi night, everyone stayed indoors, the streets deserted, the entire Tribe engulfed in pitch darkness, no lights burning.
He advanced with the Soul Stone in hand, as if stepping through a deep sea ford of mud, traveling all the way to the Inner City where he was stopped by a well-equipped Guard.
"—He’s here! He’s co!"
A voice rose from the darkness.
After Edward’s death, Su Ming’an’s appearance was restored, and he was imdiately recognized by the guards. From their stance, it seed they were not welcoming him.
He had a premonition, lifting his head to look at the towering stone structure. Enhanced by the strong addition of the Shadow State, he could vaguely make out tentacles, like black streams, clinging to the stone wall.
...That couldn’t be Xiber, could it?
What the hell had she turned into?
He rembered, at the beginning, Xiber had said if he dared to lay a hand on her, she would use the power given to her by the Jiu Shen to break his limbs and lock him in the basent.
So, it must have been... when Edward was about to kill her, she awoke and used the power bestowed by the Jiu Shen, turning into this monstrous form.
The Jiu Shen... is indeed an Evil God.
Looking at this terrifying form, she was almost no different from a monster.
He didn’t plan on wasting any more ti here, he pushed forward with one hand, and a ripple of force erged.
The Guard vomited blood violently, thrown several ters away.
anwhile, the room doors on either side, as if given a signal, burst open abruptly.
"Bang!" "Bang!"
One by one, the guards, as if prepared, kicked open the doors and sward around him like a tide.
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