"Mountain Inn": The Woman with Glasses Was Killed Because of Xu Xi

"This inn has no electricity. You can tell from the candlesticks on the reception desk that the inn has candles, but there wasn't a single candle in the guests' rooms, where they were needed most."

Ji Yang took a sip of water, his tone meaningful.

"That proves the innkeeper knew candles would attract something, so he refused to provide them to the guests and supplied flashlights instead. Not to mention that the flashlights seem to have some kind of effect."

[Is this what a smart person's brain is like?]

[Your brain and mine don't seem to be the same]

[It had been less than two seconds since Boss Xu Xi saw that thing, right? He figured that out in such a short time, holy shit]

[Who the hell is saying Boss Xu Xi cleared the instance through luck? Just look at how fast he snuffed out that candle. Nobody can match him]

[I always thought Boss Xu Xi was cold and indifferent. I didn't expect him to warn his teammates. I misunderstood him. Boss is just a bit of a loner]

[+1. Earlier, I thought this instance wasn't like the road instance, where he was tied to his teammates, so he'd stand by and watch if anything happened to them]

[But how long has the instance even been going? They've already lost someone]

[But doesn't anyone think... the woman with glasses died because Xu Xi set her up?]

[???]

When Ji Yang saw the comment saying the woman with glasses had died because Xu Xi set her up, he paused briefly in the middle of taking a drink.

He raised an eyebrow and said, "I didn't expect one of you to have the same suspicion I did."

[Ah, streamer, you think so too?]

[I didn't see how Xu Xi set her up. Didn't the woman with glasses die because she was holding a candle and didn't put it out immediately after hearing the warning?]

[Exactly. Boss Xu Xi was kind enough to warn them. It's their own fault they didn't believe him]

Ji Yang didn't get angry at being questioned. Instead, he thought about how to phrase it and shared his opinion with the viewers in his stream.

"When the five of them split into two teams, they went to the reception desk and lit another candle. The refined man handed the candle he was holding to the High-Ponytail Woman, while the burly man gave the second candle they'd lit to the woman with glasses."

[You know, those two men were pretty devious. One gave the other team a candle that had already burned down almost halfway, and the other deliberately handed his to the woman with glasses so she'd lead the way]

[It's only human, but it was pretty shady]

[No wonder those two teamed up without a word. Birds of a feather flock together]

Ji Yang smiled and continued, "When they parted at the stairs, the candle was still in the woman with glasses' hand, and she was walking in front."

"After that humanoid thing appeared, Xu Xi figured out within two seconds that it had been attracted by the candle. He quickly put out the candle in the High-Ponytail Woman's hand, then warned the three people on the second floor. By rights, he didn't need to do anything else. All he had to do was wait and see what happened next."

"But he just had to turn on his flashlight and shine it at that humanoid thing."

"That thing was actually moving very slowly, but when the flashlight's powerful beam hit it, it went berserk. It's true that it was afraid of the flashlight's bright light, but at the same time, the light also agitated it and made it much faster. It even teleported directly in front of the woman with glasses."

"The refined man said they hesitated for a moment after hearing the warning. If Xu Xi hadn't shone the flashlight at that thing, judging by its speed, the three of them would have had enough time to decide whether Xu Xi's warning was credible before it crawled up to the second floor."

"But it was that very instant that caused the woman with glasses' death."

The comments fell silent for a moment, then began scrolling frantically.

[Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit. Looking at it that way, it does seem true]

[So Boss Xu Xi was getting revenge for having his clue snatched earlier? Turns out it wasn't that he wouldn't get even, but that the time hadn't come yet]

[That's kind of scary. He got a player killed without anyone noticing, and none of his teammates even realized anything was wrong]

[How could they have noticed? Even we have an omniscient perspective, and we didn't think anything was wrong]

"But this is only my suspicion. Most importantly, I don't actually have any evidence." Holding his cup, Ji Yang continued, "All of this hinges on Xu Xi turning on the flashlight and shining it at that thing: whether he did it deliberately, and whether he knew the flashlight would agitate and drive that thing away."

"I'm still more inclined to think he knew and did it deliberately. The timing was just too much of a coincidence. If any of you have a different opinion, you can post it in the chat, and we can discuss it together."

[I have a question. Couldn't Xu Xi just have kept quiet instead of warning them? The woman with glasses would have died anyway. The only difference is two more people would have died]

[He snuffed out the candle in the ponytail woman's hand so quickly, which already proves he knew the candle had attracted that thing. Even if the ponytail woman didn't realize it right away, that doesn't mean she wouldn't have figured it out later. What do you think she'd think if her only remaining teammate was a cold-blooded person who disregarded life?]

[Who cares what she thinks? You make it sound like Xu Xi would care. If he cared what the other players thought, he wouldn't have acted like that]

[...Fuck, that actually makes sense]

Ji Yang pondered for a moment, then stared at the young man on the screen and slowly gave his analysis. "Either the other two are still useful to him, or he was simply going along with the situation."

Xu Xi had no idea he'd once again been labeled as someone with deep schemes by the outside world. He was still wondering how to explain why he knew the candle was the culprit that had attracted that damned thing.

There was no reason. If anyone asked, it was because he'd died once.

Xu Xi absentmindedly waved the flashlight in his hand. Just as he was about to follow his approach from the previous instance and gloss over it, he heard the refined man suddenly say, "I understand now."

"?" Huh? Xu Xi wondered what he understood.

The refined man pulled a flashlight of the same design from inside his clothes and looked intently at Xu Xi. "You noticed there were no candles in the rooms long ago, didn't you?"

As soon as he said that, the burly man and the High-Ponytail Woman thought it over and immediately understood.

"So that's how it is." The burly man came to a sudden realization, and a trace of something strange entered his gaze as he looked at Xu Xi.

"..." How is it? Don't stop halfway through what you're saying!

Xu Xi's mind raced as he tried to work out what the refined man meant.

The other three, however, saw the young man glance at them indifferently before looking away without a word. It was as if he had warned them merely in passing, and their subsequent attitudes were actually of no importance to him.

The burly man had a quick temper. He admitted that the taciturn young man had some ability, but the way he disregarded them really rubbed him the wrong way.

As if they weren't worth paying attention to.