Ever since they had arrived at the villa on the first night and eaten with Mrs. Caster the following day, they had not seen her again.
Although they knew Mrs. Caster lived on the third floor, they had not gone up to look for her without permission.
As a result, Mrs. Caster's presence had made far less of an impression on them than Xie Qi had.
Now that Phil had raised the question, the others turned their attention to the owner of the villa as well.
They had all assumed that Mrs. Caster must have known what the chef was doing. Otherwise, the servants would not have obeyed him.
But knowing and supporting him were two different things.
Phil wanted to make sure that if they got rid of the chef, Mrs. Caster would not be so angered that she would send people after them.
Xie Qi saw right through Phil's thoughts and, smiling, pronounced their death sentence:
"I'm the master's most loyal servant. I'd never do anything the master wouldn't allow~"
The six felt their hearts sink, knowing the worst possibility had come to pass.
Really, they should have guessed as much when they learned that the villa had the same name as the chef.
Yet it had taken them three whole days and the deaths of two companions to realize that, just as its name suggested, this villa ate sheep!
It seemed their plan to overpower Xie Qi together had fallen through, and the game was over too.
They had each asked the other side six questions. Whether the answers were true or false was ambiguous, depending mostly on whether they believed one another.
But since the game was clearly in Xie Qi's favor, he generously declared the six of them the winners. Without hesitation, he unfastened the key ring from his waist and handed it to Saul, who was closest to him.
Saul still found it hard to believe as he took the keys.
He could not believe that the chef, who clearly intended to kill them, would give them the keys to escape the villa.
After handing over the keys, Xie Qi bowed to the six, a satisfied smile curling his lips.
It was his reward for putting on a good show for his viewers.
His points had risen to 2,300. Many viewers had tipped him gold coins whenever he asked a question, adding up to nearly 500 points in all.
As the tools that had helped him earn those tips, Xie Qi did not want the six to die so soon. They had yet to explore all the villa's secrets, and some of them were still keeping things to themselves. Those were all sources of points for him.
And when it came to the fish in his pond, Xie Qi had spent years running a casino and had perfected his methods.
It was just like fishing. With gamblers, you could not let them win too much at once, but you could not let them keep losing either. They had to win some and lose some, keeping them hooked and eager to gamble on.
Once they believed they could win and sank deeper and deeper, until they finally went mad, it was time to reap their wealth.
For these six, the key ring was their reward, giving them the incentive to explore the villa's secrets and add more variables to the livestream.
After Xie Qi left, the six who remained looked at one another, none wanting to speak first.
With the keys in his hand, Saul naturally became the one with the most say.
The upright officer looked at the group, now reduced to six. Though he struggled with the decision and wanted to bring everyone in the villa to justice, he understood that they could not do it with the people they had.
They would be better off escaping as soon as possible, finding their lifeboat on the shore, and seeking help at sea.
Saul shared his idea, expecting the others to agree, but to his surprise, only Sofina did.
The other four looked grim. Bailey spoke up. "If we go out to sea now, we won't have drinking water or food. We'd just be drifting out there, and who knows when we'd be rescued? We might not die here, only to end up in our companions' mouths instead."
His words were unpleasant, but they were true.
They had all drifted at sea before and knew what it meant to have no food.
Saul gave up the idea of leaving immediately and asked the others what they thought instead.
Annie said, "We went to the kitchen last night. There wasn't any food in it, and we don't know where they get their ingredients."
Song Nan continued, "Didn't they say there's a farm behind the villa? Now that we have the keys, let's go take a look. The chef said the animals there were all bitten to death by wild dogs, but I don't think we can trust everything he says."
Song Nan's suggestion suited their current situation.
If they wanted to escape, it would be better to find some food at the farm to take with them first.
"But before that, shouldn't we explore the villa? Once we leave, I'm afraid it'll be hard to come back."
Annie suddenly offered the suggestion.
Her words drew objections from the others. "At a time like this, who cares what's going on in the villa? Don't tell me you're still trying to gather material even now?"
Bailey vented his displeasure at Annie.
Song Nan's stare made him uncomfortable all over, so he wanted to save face with this seemingly frail woman.
Bailey wanted to say more, but Phil cut him off. "Can't you use your brain? Do you think the chef gave us the keys so we could escape that easily?"
Phil's words made the people who thought they were about to escape feel their hearts sink. Sofina's lips trembled as she spoke. "W-what do you mean? Does that mean we still can't get out?"
"Heh, of course we can get out. But haven't you wondered why our movements in the villa haven't been restricted since the first day? It's almost as if they're encouraging us to explore. We've just been too careful and haven't looked everywhere. If we can find something to use against the owner of this villa, we'll have room to negotiate even if we're discovered escaping."
"But didn't the butler tell us not to wander around...?" Unwilling to be talked down by Phil, Bailey strained to recall what Sai Basi had said the previous night.
"That was because it was nighttime. During the day, aside from when the chef summoned us, haven't even the servants stayed out of sight?"
Phil had a point, but Bailey, Saul, and Sofina still preferred to open the main gate first and discuss the rest once they had made sure they could escape.
So the six first went to the place where they had entered. An old-fashioned copper lock hung on the tall iron gate.
They tried each key in turn, but none could open the lock.
The six were somewhat discouraged, until Song Nan remembered there was a small door behind the staircase that also led out of the villa.
They headed there immediately. Luckily, this time they did manage to open the door.
After three days, they breathed the outside air again at last. Even Phil could not resist taking a deep breath.
Now that they had a way out, the six were no longer in such a hurry. Thinking of what Phil and Annie had said, they decided to first take a look at the third floor, where Mrs. Caster lived.
Saul was assigned to keep watch at the staircase. They did not intend to disturb Mrs. Caster, only to search the two ends of the corridor separately for a study.