[Act Two Begins]
The words flashed across the system interface. Based on the structure of a three-act play, the instance was already one-third over. With two more deaths, they would be close to clearing it.
Years of research by the theorists on the game forums had refined instance-clearing into a formulaic process: players gather, introduce themselves, a bunch of them die, and the survivors clear the stage. All in all, it was a predictable and steady progression.
The world view? A True End? Apologies, but apart from a few outliers with an untimely obsession for completion, most players had no real attachment to either.
Following the logic that one act equaled one day, it should now be early morning.
Qi Si folded the script fragment in his hand into a small square, tucked it into his pocket, and pushed the door open as if nothing had happened.
Before him, the stage set was identical to Act One, still saturated with lights so glaring they were almost blinding.
The round table sat silently in the center, and the five chairs were neatly back in their places. Hansen's No. 2 seat appeared to have been thoroughly cleaned; the flesh and skin were gone, its surface polished to a mirror shine.
The paper and pens on the table were also new, placed squarely before each chair, corresponding to each seat.
"Has everything been reset?"
Qi Si mulled this over as he walked directly to seat No. 2, tentatively reaching for the paper and pen before it.
Just like in Act One, the moment he was about to make contact, his hand was blocked by an invisible barrier. His fingertips hovered in the air, unable to advance another inch.
It was still early and the other players hadn't arrived yet. Qi Si repeated the process with the other seats and discovered that, aside from his own No. 1 seat, he couldn't touch anything at the others.
It seemed the number "1" was destined to be with him for the entire instance.
The doors to the rooms opened one after another, and the remaining players emerged in silence, taking their respective seats.
Four people. No more, no less.
Just as Charlie had said, once the Sins had filled their bellies, they ceased their killing. Even if the players had encountered ghosts in their dreams, they had merely suffered a scare and woken up completely unharmed.
—Vote someone to their death in exchange for a peaceful night for the others. The plan was entirely viable.
"Did any of you have strange dreams last night?" Dong Xiwen was the first to speak.
Before anyone could respond, he continued with lingering fear in his voice, "I dreamed of an old man last night who kept chasing me, insisting I take part in his play. I was so worn down by his pestering that I agreed, and he nearly turned me into a puppet... I don't know if this is a plot point everyone goes through, or if I triggered a special event because I found a key item."
"A key item?" He Hui looked at Dong Xiwen curiously. "What is it? May I please have a look?"
Without a hint of suspicion, Dong Xiwen took several sheets of inscribed papyrus from his pocket and laid them flat on the table. "It looks like a half-finished script. Can I just say, this thing is incredibly boring? It put me to sleep last night..."
The script didn't contain much text, but what was there was written in an extremely messy scrawl. It wasn't any language within Qi Si's knowledge; the most he could tell was that it was an alphabetic script.
Fortunately, he only needed a single glance before the relevant information refreshed on his system interface, thoughtfully translated into his native language.
[Charlie: The king has banned my new play again...]
[Puppet: Sir, you said the same thing before you wrote the last one...]
[...]
It was more or less the same as the script fragment Qi Si held. This one also detailed a conversation between "Charlie" and "Puppet," telling a story of how Charlie's plays were unpopular, so the puppet picked up his pen to write for him.
They had the characters, and now they had the script. They already knew the theater had once burned down, and Charlie was now trying to stage one final play...
Qi Si analyzed the situation impassively. "The script most likely points to the instance's world view. I suspect the Charlie we've met isn't the real Charlie, but the puppet in disguise. There are probably more script fragments scattered around this theater. If we want to piece together the complete world view, we could try to collect all the pages."
An obvious conclusion leading to a reasonable inference—it was an easy argument to believe.
He lowered his gaze at the right moment, his tone turning bitter. "You've all probably realized it by now. The simplest way to clear this instance was revealed to us last night. Sacrifice one person each act, and the rest can remain unharmed. We only need two more people to die, and two of us can walk away from this instance alive."
"But I don't want that. I've always loathed the utilitarian principle of sacrificing one for the good of the many. It's too dull, too inefficient. Only the incompetent would build their victory upon the misfortune of others. I would much rather find a different path to clearing this, one by deciphering the world view."
Dong Xiwen listened to the long, pompous speech and was at a loss for words. There were just too many things to ridicule.
Weren't those his lines to say? Trying to save as many people as possible was the right thing to do, but these words had no business coming from a psychopathic killer like him. Dude, talk about breaking character!
Cynthia laughed. "Zhou Ke, forgive me for being blunt, but that doesn't sound like something you would say. Weren't you the one who proposed getting Hansen eliminated yesterday?"
Qi Si noted the sting in Cynthia's words. He could almost guess how horribly she must have been tormented by the Sins-turned-ghosts last night for her stance to take such a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree turn.
He had anticipated this. Beneath the mask, his eyes curved into an irrepressible smile as he let out a soft sigh. "I'm sure you all remember what Hansen said yesterday when he was trying to rally votes against me. I knew that if another vote was held, I would undoubtedly be the one sent out."
"I don't want to die. I have to save myself, and the appearance of the script offered me a glimmer of hope. Naturally, I had to seize it—it's as simple as that."
The players recalled the desperate, hoarse shouts of the first man to die so tragically—
‘If the most threatening person deserves to die, then you’re the one who should be out! A psychopathic killer like you, spouting all these grand principles... no matter how I look at it, you’re the most dangerous one here!’
People are always more willing to believe a conclusion they've deduced themselves. If Qi Si had been completely direct, they might have suspected him of plotting something sinister.
But by having them coax the reason out of him through roundabout questions, allowing them to construct the logic themselves, they subconsciously accepted it as mostly true.
"I tested it last night. Once a room has been chosen, others cannot open it. While I'm not sure if the room unlocks after its owner dies, it proves one thing at least: a player's death may lead to the loss of clues," Qi Si maintained a rational, objective tone, as if discussing someone else's life and death. Yet his words were exceptionally provocative. "Once I'm dead, you might never be able to open the door to room No. 4. You won't be able to clear this instance by deciphering the world view and will have no choice but to vote out another person. Perhaps I deserve to die, but among the three of you, have you decided who's next?"
It was a simple ploy to sow discord, yet remarkably effective.
A bad feeling crept over Cynthia, and she shook her head slightly. "We are all sinners. Keeping more people alive isn't necessarily a good option. Anyone who dies here could be considered to be getting what they deserve. A life for a life—that seems perfectly normal and fair to me."
Qi Si turned his face toward her and said coolly, "I can see you're confident you'll survive the voting. I'm curious where that confidence comes from. An item? A skill? Or have you discovered something you haven't shared?"
The implication was clear. He Hui and Dong Xiwen exchanged a look, a flicker of calculation in their eyes.
Someone had to die each act. Even if they voted out the more dangerous "Zhou Ke" first, they would still have to choose a sacrifice from the remaining three in the third act.
No one wanted to be sacrificed, and no one could guarantee they wouldn't be chosen. From any angle, deciphering the world view was the best plan.
Yet Cynthia opposed this plan. Did that mean she was certain she could survive?
And if she survived, didn't that mean one of the other two had to die?
Qi Si sighed again, his voice softening. "Of course, perhaps you simply want me dead. I don't know what grudge you have against me, but if it's merely because I pointed you out yesterday, then you're holding quite a grudge..."
Cynthia knew that some things only got worse with explanation, so she replied without a change in expression, "I'm not actually against deciphering the world view, it's just that it's too unreliable. I've seen too many examples of people giving their all and achieving nothing. I can't bring myself to bet all my chips on a possibility with an unknown chance of success. To invest everyone's energy into a guess that might be wrong, all for the sake of sinners, seems very unwise to me."
"But regardless, it's better than this absurd farce of a table of sinners sentencing each other to death by vote, isn't it?" Qi Si retorted with a smile.
He turned his face to Dong Xiwen and said unhurriedly, "Last night, I dreamed of Hansen. His soul was trapped in a cage, suffering the torment of hellfire. Even for someone like me, seeing such a tragic state was... saddening. Do the sins we've committed truly warrant that much suffering?"
"What right does a sinner have to decide the life or death of another sinner? Life is precious, and everyone has the right to fight for their survival. I believe some of you feel the same way. Otherwise, why would someone have abstained from voting yesterday?"
Dong Xiwen badly wanted to retort that most of the people at this table deserved to be shot for five minutes straight, but his mind inexplicably drifted to the diary he'd found while sorting through his brother's belongings.
‘I want to live, I don’t want to die...’
‘Is it okay to kill to survive? I don't know...’
‘Brother told me that no matter what happens, you must never easily take a person's life...’
The childish handwriting haunted his mind like a restless spirit. Dong Xiwen propped his chin on his hand and remained silent for a long time.
Cynthia gave a wry smile at the opportune moment. "Have you all forgotten? Charlie said that if there's a tie, everyone dies. We never had a choice. We have to vote someone out..."
"Ladies and gentlemen! We meet again!"
Charlie's booming voice cut through the players' discussion. His gaunt figure appeared abruptly in the center of the stage, clutching a handful of black slips of paper.
Qi Si glanced over and saw the golden patterns on the slips, immediately thinking they resembled the chips commonly found at a card table.
The rules for Act Two, he suspected, would be vastly different from the first.
Charlie placed three chips in front of each seat, including the empty No. 2.
Then, with a snap of his fingers, a face-down playing card appeared before each player.
"For this act, I have prepared many fun games for you! I hope you have a wonderful time!"
Charlie announced with great enthusiasm, his arms waving about stiffly.
"The first game is Catch the Fox! The rules are as follows:
"There are four identity cards: Tiger, Wolfdog, Fox, and Rabbit. The cards will be reshuffled each round.
"The Fox is hunted by everyone in the forest. You must hide your identity at all costs.
"The Wolfdog has a keen sense of smell. You must observe the others and identify the Fox. If you identify incorrectly, you will be killed.
"The Tiger is the king of the forest and is responsible for the final judgment. If the Fox is caught, you must choose whether to kill or spare him.
"The Rabbit is a clear-eyed observer. After the Wolfdog makes an identification, you may offer your own. If you abstain, nothing happens. If both you and the Wolfdog are correct, it is considered a draw. If the Wolfdog is wrong but you are right, you win the game. If you are wrong, you will be killed.
"The game ends as soon as there is a death!"
No one at the table was a fool; they quickly parsed certain information from the rules.
For instance, there was a sure-win method for everyone to survive, but the game would go on endlessly...
And, for instance, as long as one person died, the crisis of this act would be over...
As long as the fox was caught...
The players held their breath, shielding their cards with their hands as they carefully turned them over.
Qi Si saw a simple sketch of a curled-up white fox on his card.
And right beneath it, the word "Fox" was clearly written.