The scrape of chairs rang out suddenly.
Saul and Bailey both lost their composure. Suspecting it themselves was one thing, but hearing firsthand that a companion who had come with them was dead felt completely different.
After the initial shock, though, they realized they were the only ones present who had been startled. Everyone else had merely looked up at them.
"Wait, why aren't any of you surprised? Sofina, weren't you always following Brussels around? Aren't you sad he's dead?"
Unable to understand, Saul questioned the blonde woman, who had kept her head down and her hands clasped together beneath the table.
Only when she heard her name did she look up at Saul.
"How could a selfish woman like her ever develop feelings for anyone else? Don't tell me you've been fooled by her looks too, and forgotten what she did before?"
Phil spoke to Saul with his hands clasped on the table, his face full of scorn.
Saul's expression changed at once, as though he too had remembered what Phil was talking about.
"Th-that was just so I could survive! Is it wrong for me to want to live?!"
Sofina suddenly cut in, glaring at Phil from behind her hair with a viciousness that belied her frail appearance.
But she quickly looked away and turned a pitiful, tear-filled gaze on Saul. "I'm heartbroken that Brussels is dead too, but shouldn't we find his killer and avenge him now? Phil is always picking on me. I'm just a woman. What else could I do if I didn't do that?"
Before Saul could speak, Song Nan said, "Enough!"
She folded her arms, clearly displeased that they had started fighting among themselves again.
Seeing that the others had fallen silent, she turned to Xie Qi, who stood at the front. "We're done asking our question. It's your turn."
Xie Qi, who had been stroking his chin with no telling what on his mind, raised an eyebrow at being called on and spread his hands. "All right, all right. Hmm, let me think. My second question is..."
He looked as though he were making it up on the spot, leaving the six people waiting for his question feeling he was somewhat unreliable.
"Ah, I've got it!"
Xie Qi clapped his hands, as if a light bulb had lit up over his head.
"My second question is, what exactly do I do at the villa?"
[Kill people!]
[Make people!]
[Both kill people and make people!]
[Is the person above speaking Mandarin? Why can't I understand it?]
[That question is really tricky. Who would have thought a chef wasn't in charge of cooking, but of making people? (laughing with tears)]
Most of the viewers in the livestream had watched the chef's perspective and knew he was the biggest boss in the villa. But from the six people's perspective, although they suspected he was a murderer and he hadn't seemed quite normal when playing games with them, they hadn't seen it with their own eyes.
Besides, Xie Qi had been reasonably friendly toward them, which was also why they hadn't attacked him immediately upon hearing that the two missing people were dead.
Of course, another reason was those servants who appeared and disappeared so mysteriously. Who knew whether they might suddenly swarm in and capture them all if they attacked without regard for the consequences?
Hearing the question now, they were a little baffled.
Could it be that the chef was trying to go easy on them? The first question had only asked for his name, and anyone with a decent memory could have answered it.
As for the second question, all they had to do was say what the chef did at the villa. Was such an obvious answer worth wasting a question on?
Those who thought more found it strange and, without realizing it, pondered it more and more deeply.
If the chef wasn't deliberately going easy on them, there had to be a catch to the question.
A chef's job was to cook, but what else did he do besides cooking?
The three who had been in the kitchen—Saul, Phil, and Annie—all involuntarily thought of the intestines they had seen.
Saul swallowed. Seeing that no one else was speaking, he braced himself and said softly, "Is it... c-cooking?"
As his voice fell, silence descended.
The six people's heartbeats overlapped, playing a chaotic piece of music in the silence.
Saul's heart leaped into his throat. He was afraid some horrifying answer would come out of Xie Qi's mouth.
Fortunately, as everyone waited in anticipation, Xie Qi produced a bell from who knew where. Its clear ring made them all flinch.
"Bingo! Congratulations, officer, that's the right answer~"
Saul abruptly let out a breath, his whole body going limp.
Only then did he realize that the back of his neck was covered in sweat.
He didn't know why either. It had clearly been an ordinary question, yet it had inexplicably left him on edge, as if he had just run a marathon.
It was also then that Bailey noticed something was wrong. The questions they asked were all things they currently wanted to know, and the answers were in the chef's hands. But the questions the chef asked were also all about himself, and he alone got to decide the answers to those as well.
This was a game in which, no matter what the other side said, they could never be certain whether the answers were true.
Didn't that mean the outcome of the game was entirely under the chef's control?
At that thought, Bailey suddenly understood why the chef had agreed so readily.
It was because, if things continued this way, he could easily win the game just by saying they had answered one question incorrectly.
As for the key offered as a prize, there would naturally be no chance of it being handed over to them.
A sudden realization struck Bailey, and he felt he had discovered the truth of the matter.
"Wait!"
The others had been discussing who would ask the next question when Bailey hurriedly slapped the table and stood up.
Under everyone's gaze, Bailey pushed up his glasses and looked around before pointing out the loophole in the game, as though he were about to expose Xie Qi's true nature.
"Chef, this game isn't fair. You only ask questions about yourself, and whether people like us who don't know you answer correctly or incorrectly is entirely up to you to judge. The final result is bound to be your victory. Is this kind of trick really what you want to play?"
Bailey's words made the others realize it too.
They began condemning Xie Qi one after another.
[You could call this glasses guy stupid, but he managed to think of that problem. Yet if he's smart, how come it never occurred to him that they're all just the chef's playthings, and he's trying to play a fair game with the house?]
[There was never any fairness to this game from the start. After all, they're the ones asking the chef for something, so they have to listen to whatever he says.]
[Seeking fairness in a game that was unfair to begin with—maybe that's just human nature for ordinary people. (smile)]
[The person above seems to be implying something. Watch your ID.]
Faced with questions from the six of them, Xie Qi remained calm. He merely nodded, indicating that he accepted Bailey's criticism.
"I was wrong. Next time, I'll ask something about the guests instead. We should get to know one another better too."
With that, he smiled and shook the bell in his hand again.
"All right, time for the next question."