As soon as Phil finished speaking, the faces of the other six people in the villa, apart from Xie Qi, turned exceedingly grim.
They had still been absorbed in playing their roles, but now they all glared at him.
"What are you talking about?"
Bailey had been quiet all along, following the others' agreed-upon actions each day. Now, however, he shouted at Phil, visibly agitated.
"Ha ha! What's wrong? Disappointed because I stole your line?"
Phil sneered.
Hearing that, Bailey slammed a fist on the table, his eyes red.
"Don't think you can stay out of this. We're all in the same boat, so think before you speak!"
"What are you talking about? I don't understand."
Pretending not to understand, Phil tilted his head and leaned back in his chair.
He turned to Xie Qi, who was watching the spectacle with an amused expression. "Hey, doesn't that count as breaking character? Aren't you going to do something?"
Hearing Phil, Xie Qi said to Bailey with a regretful expression, "Dear guest, please return to your seat. Our game isn't over yet."
Then he went on to Phil, "All right, please continue playing your role~"
Everyone on the boat stirred at Phil's words.
Saul demanded, "What do you mean by that? Have you found somewhere with food?"
"Ha ha! Stop pretending, all of you. I don't believe you haven't thought about it. The food we can easily get right now is ourselves, isn't it? Ha ha ha!"
Phil burst into wild laughter, as if he were having an episode.
The others kept well away from him. Realizing what he meant, their faces darkened.
"Why isn't anyone saying anything? Do you want me to call someone out by name?"
Phil laughed for quite a while. Seeing that the others remained silent, he stopped smiling and stared at several of them.
"All right, then. Since no one's taking action, let me do it."
With a strange smile on his face, Phil pointed at the girl. "You'll be today's food."
"Stop!"
Saul couldn't take it anymore. He pulled out a pistol and pressed it against Phil's head.
"It's just a game. Why are you doing this?"
Saul broke character and questioned him across the long table.
"Yes, it's just a game, and I'm only eating people in the game. But some people eat people in real life to stay alive."
As soon as Phil finished speaking, not only Saul but the others turned to stare at him, as if they would tear him apart together if he said another word.
Their piercing gazes seemed ready to pin Phil to his chair. Even with his strong nerves, he felt a little shaken under the circumstances.
Just then, a voice rang out that made goosebumps break out all over anyone who heard it.
"Ah~ how scary~ how could you think of eating mutton?"
The others' faces darkened at Xie Qi's words.
But it also reminded them that an outsider was still present, so after Xie Qi said that, even Phil stopped making sarcastic remarks.
He withdrew his earlier action of killing the little girl and chose to continue fishing instead. The others repeated their previous day's actions like machines.
Seeing no reaction from them, Xie Qi looked bored. His eyes rolled around, and he spoke as if in passing. "I wonder what mutton tastes like. Could it be as tasty as the meat I cook?"
The comments, however, were stunned by Xie Qi's shamelessness.
[Seriously? You're a chef who handles mutton every day. How do you have the nerve to say that!]
[Right, right. You won't let anyone else eat mutton, so they should eat the mutton you cook instead?]
[666, that performance wasn't exaggerated at all. (Applause)]
[Seriously, if I could beat him, I'd really like to punch him in the face.]
[Have some confidence in yourself, commenter above. This chef is just a little stronger than average. Anyone who's been injected with the X-Drug could blow him apart with one punch. Remember, you're just not as much of a freak as he is. (Dog head)]
[Where did this rich guy above come from? As I recall, only Class B Citizens and above have the connections to buy the X-Drug, right? You make it sound like everyone can get it.]
[Even Class B Citizens have a hard time buying it. I heard the drug is practically exclusive to Prisoner Island now. I don't know how a bunch of prisoners are living better than we are.]
[Jealous? Then go in there and risk your life too. No one's stopping you from getting yourself killed.]
The comments began veering off into irrelevant topics again.
Brussels had been holding back for a long time, and this time he really couldn't stand it anymore.
He slapped the table and stood, glaring viciously at Xie Qi. "You want to know what mutton tastes like that badly? How about I let you have a taste?"
He had thought he would finally see the chef's expression change. He did see it, but it was completely different from what he had imagined.
"Really? You're really willing to let me have a taste?"
Xie Qi's eyes widened as he looked at Brussels in delight.
His eyes seemed to glow green, making even a two-meter-tall man like Brussels shudder.
Wasn't I threatening him just now? Why does he look so excited?
Could he be a masochist, fantasizing about me abusing him?
At that thought, Brussels didn't dare keep looking him in the eye. No longer caring about saving face, he hurriedly wrapped his arms tightly around himself, rejecting Xie Qi's desire to continue a deeper exchange with him.
The viewers in the livestream saw his every move.
When they saw him say that to a freak who loved cooking sheep, the viewers lit candles for him.
[I have to admire his courage. A dark warrior daring to challenge the evil dragon, fighting!]
[Go on, then! Why don't you dare do it now? You talked so tough, but the moment anything happened, you chickened out!]
[Looks like the chef is still at the top of the food chain. Judging by this group's reactions, they definitely hid something before, but they absolutely can't outplay Great Kani. (Blush)]
[This game is kind of interesting, but I still want to see the chef slaughter everyone. Who will tonight's victim be? Heh heh heh!]
With Brussels no longer picking a fight and Phil no longer causing trouble, the game proceeded smoothly.
But going smoothly meant there wasn't much drama.
Xie Qi also watched with a bored expression as the seven busied themselves with plans to hunt for food, fishing, catching birds, and so on. At least everyone survived to day fifteen.
Not seeing what he wanted to see, Xie Qi wore a blank expression, sending a chill through the people accustomed to his smiling face.
The final winner of the game was naturally Brussels, who had the highest health.
They still remembered that Xie Qi had said he would tell the winner about Stock's situation.
Only at the mention of this topic did Xie Qi perk up, a mysterious smile on his face.
"Since we have a winner, of course I won't go back on my word. It's just that the guest is a little shy, so I can only take someone to see him at night."
Hearing Xie Qi describe Stock as shy, the others looked ready to throw up.
"Can't you let us all go together?"
Song Nan suggested.
Xie Qi tilted his head, a finger against his lips, dark red blood in his lowered eyes.
"Don't rush, guests. One at a time."