Without a Sense of Taste, You Can't Taste How Delicious the Ingredients Are

[Whoa—the cat's out of the bag now.]

[According to what that Black guy said earlier, they should all have eaten it, though who knows what they ate even after they came ashore... (doge)]

[I wonder if they'll tell the truth. The chef will definitely catch them if they lie this time!]

[I just switched over from that lawyer's perspective, and I've decided to stay right here with the chef! Watching the others always gives me this terrifying feeling that I'm about to be killed, but it's different here. It feels safe, like coming home. (shy)]

[Yeah, I just want to watch the chef toy with them. I don't want to be the one getting hunted down. (laughing and crying)]

The viewers in the chat were all enjoying the show. Aside from those who had stayed in the six players' streams and were still somewhat in the dark, most of the others had become fans of Xie Qi. Whether they liked him or not, they all felt safer watching from his perspective.

Occasionally, someone looking for a thrill would find Xie Qi's perspective a little dull and switch to someone else's, only to be immediately unnerved by the atmosphere Xie Qi had created. As soon as the time was up, they would hurry right back.

But the six people present had nowhere to run.

At first, Saul thought he had misheard, but when he saw the equally shocked expressions on the others' faces, he knew he hadn't.

"Wh-what are you talking about? How could we have eaten mutton..."

Bailey's voice trembled. Sweat on the bridge of his nose kept making his glasses slide down, and he kept pushing them back up.

Just as he was about to deny it, Phil suddenly spoke up and stopped him.

"Shut up."

"What..."

Bailey turned to stare at Phil in disbelief. They were on the same side now. What was he trying to do?

Even Song Nan looked up at Phil. Saul and Sofina were tense as well, panic written across their faces.

"Don't you want to get the key anymore?"

Before they could say anything else, Phil abruptly looked up at Xie Qi.

Xie Qi stood with his arms folded, watching the show with a smile.

Seeing how quickly Phil had caught on, he grinned and gave him a round of applause for encouragement.

"Wh-what does this have to do with the key...?" Bailey started to protest, but then something occurred to him, and he shut his mouth again.

Song Nan realized it too. She clasped her hands tightly beneath the table and said in a low voice, "Since the chef could ask a question like that, it must mean Brussels told him everything before he died..."

"In that case, there's no point in lying now. It would only give the chef a reason to declare that we lost the game."

When she finished, Bailey swallowed. Saul pressed his clasped hands against his head, while Sofina trembled, too afraid to look up.

Only Annie and Phil remained calm, making them stand out among the group.

The chat noticed this too, guessing that either the two hadn't eaten any back on the ship, or they were so inhuman that they could even accept eating mutton.

After what Phil and Song Nan had said, none of them wanted to give up their chance at the key, so they began admitting one by one that they had indeed eaten it.

In the end, even Annie and Phil admitted it, convincing the chat that neither of them was normal.

Once they had all finished, Xie Qi nodded in satisfaction and praised them. "Good, good. Honesty is a virtue. Eating mutton isn't scary, but doing it and being too afraid to admit it is far more unpleasant."

Having to admit his crime in public had already left Bailey on the verge of a breakdown. Hearing Xie Qi speak as though he had nothing to do with it, he lost control and shouted:

"Eating mutton isn't scary? Easy for you to say! Have you eaten it too? Is that why you're saying this?"

He spoke as if venting, as though he wanted to pour out all the fear he had bottled up.

But before he could come to his senses, Xie Qi's answer made him break out in a cold sweat.

"Is that your fifth question? Then the answer is, yes~ Though I don't have a sense of taste, so I couldn't taste anything. That's a bit of a shame, haha."

Xie Qi's laughter echoed through the room, a stark contrast to everyone else's silence.

A cold wind slithered up the backs of their necks like a snake, and cold sweat broke out all at once.

This was different from when they had admitted to eating mutton. No matter how much they resisted, they really had been forced by circumstances to eat it back then. Afterwards, they had all been forcing themselves to forget that memory so they could go on living without the burden of guilt.

But the expression on the chef's face told them that he hadn't treated it as a big deal. Instead, it was as though he had sampled an ordinary ingredient. Not only was his attitude flippant, but he even spoke about it like it was a joke?

Could it be that he was not only a murderer—

But also a...?

This time, even Phil looked tense, his hand unconsciously moving toward the spot on his leg where he had hidden a knife.

Saul discreetly surveyed their surroundings, looking to see whether the servants were there, so he could prepare for a possible fight.

None of the six dared meet Xie Qi's eyes. The arteries in their necks throbbed, and it seemed they could even hear their blood flowing.

But Xie Qi acted as though he hadn't noticed their movements. Shaking the bell, he said with some regret, "Next comes the last question for each side. Once those two questions have been answered, we'll know who the winner is. You don't need to worry, guests. I always follow the rules. Since I said I'd give you the key if you won, I won't go back on my word."

His words quieted the six of them, and their racing hearts gradually settled.

They realized that the chef really didn't intend to attack them now.

Besides, he hadn't attacked them during the day before, either.

So they decided to finish the game first, then decide what to do once they had the key.

"What should I ask for my last question...?"

Xie Qi seemed a little troubled, and the six suddenly grew nervous again, afraid he would ask something difficult to answer.

Soon, Xie Qi turned toward the seemingly calm Song Nan. The corner of his mouth curled up strangely as he murmured, "Right, that's what I should do. The person who stole my prey..."

His voice was so low that no one but the viewers in his stream heard him.

[Haha, the chef knew all along, just as I thought. It was her! She's the one who killed that fat guy before you could!]

[I wasn't watching that woman's perspective at the time, but I heard about it in another stream afterwards. I have to say, you really can't tell from her appearance how ruthless she is.]

[I wonder what grudge she had against that fat guy. They did have a conflict at the start, but surely that wasn't enough reason to kill him so ruthlessly?]

[There must be more to it than meets the eye. I watched the stream at the time. She acted swiftly and cleanly; you could tell she'd come prepared. There's no way it was a spur-of-the-moment decision.]

While the viewers in the stream were still discussing it, Xie Qi had already decided what to ask.

Feeling his gaze on her, Song Nan had an ominous premonition. As if to make it come true, a question issued from those thin lips:

"May I ask whether this lady captain is the murderer who killed our guest Stock?"