Who Told You He Was the Host?

Having listened to Kolk speak all the way to this point, Lu Ce still had not said a single word. The expression on his mask changed rapidly and constantly, like a Sichuan opera face-changing performance, leaving the viewers dazzled.

The red light in the corridor behind them flashed faster and faster. By now, the entire hallway had turned blood-red. It was no longer even flashing; the light had merged into one continuous crimson glow, creating an oppressive atmosphere!

Kolk said nothing more. His hawk-like eyes remained fixed on the Red Mask before him as he waited for his reaction and his next move.

"Heh... heh..." A low, hoarse laugh came from beneath the red mask, like rotten wood scraping against a saw.

"Looks like there was nothing wrong with what I thought..."

"The red light has been flashing for five minutes..."

Lu Ce finally spoke, but his words seemed completely unrelated.

He did not respond to Kolk's accusation at all!

:"Thought?" It was hard to believe that verb could apply to him.

:Bro, you can still think? Though I do think this foreign guy makes sense. Could Mask Bro really be the host?

:If Mask Bro is the host, why can we still watch the livestream from his perspective? Isn't this supposed to be a player's livestream?

:Tch, this is a little troublesome. My brain can't process it. And what's with those players who've been locked in there for years? Is that real?

:Every time I consider entering the game to try it out, Hell Mode's difficulty makes me give up on the idea.

What Lu Ce said did not spark any discussion. Everyone had grown accustomed to a madman's ramblings.

No one intended to analyze anything from a madman's words.

Blank: I suggest you all watch carefully from here on out.

Blank: Last game, when everyone thought this big shot was crazy, he was actually the clearest-headed one.

Blank: I'm looking forward to what he does next.

:Huh? Big Shot Blank? Why are you so late this time...

No matter how the viewers judged things, Jiu Tian, who had spent an entire day with Lu Ce, could clearly sense that something was off.

There was something mysterious and intangible about people, called presence—an aura.

For instance, when you stood beside certain people, you would unconsciously feel afraid, because their aura overwhelmed yours and placed you in the weaker position.

And Lu Ce's aura right now was the most chaotic and unstable it had been since entering the game, carrying an intense pressure, like a child facing a heavyweight boxing champion.

Yet the words he spoke also seemed to be the clearest and most rational things he had said since entering the game.

This Red Mask's mind seemed to have cleared up somewhat...

"What did you think of?" Jiu Tian took the initiative to ask Lu Ce. Up to this point, he did not really agree with Kolk's speculation.

Although there did not seem to be any major flaws in the logic, Lu Ce had a business card!

At the start of the game, he had watched Lu Ce pull that golden business card out from his crotch. This was one of their own brothers!

Could that be part of some conspiracy too? That was a little hard to believe...

"I'm thinking..." Lu Ce said, then let out a burp as if he had eaten too much. "I'm thinking, where's the punishment?"

Everyone was stunned by his words, unable to understand what he was doing.

"What punishment? Didn't the game say that if you don't enter a hospital room while the red light is flashing, something bad will happen?"

"So why... hasn't anything happened? Hahahaha."

A hoarse laugh came from beneath Lu Ce's red mask. Its expression finally settled into a deranged grin as he looked toward Tom, who had been standing motionlessly to the side.

"What do you think? Why isn't there any punishment?"

Tom:?

Tom's already mechanical body seemed to stiffen even further, but he said nothing.

Kolk continued:

"You're already the final target. What punishment would there be?"

"Whether you're really insane or just playing dumb, it's over..."

Just as he was about to continue, Lu Ce suddenly turned his mask toward him for the first time and said with a smile:

"Hehe, brother, you smell so good."

"I agree with your judgment, your explanation, and your analysis of this game. There's nothing wrong with any of it."

"At a time like this, considering a possibility that all the previous players failed to consider—there's nothing wrong with that either."

"The blind spot right under our noses, no problem."

"The answer to this game's riddle has always been written in the riddle itself—no problem there either..."

"But you keep saying we need to break free from convention, break free from convention, yet you're still bound by the rules."

"Who made you think... he!"

As he spoke, Lu Ce slowly raised his hand and pointed at the tin robot Tom, who had been standing there silently all along.

"Who told you he was the host of this game?"

As Lu Ce's crazed voice fell, it felt as though a heavy hammer had slammed down in Jiu Tian's mind.

Jiu Tian was not among the most brilliant minds, lacking quick wit, but he was not stubborn. More often than not, a single hint was enough for him to understand.

His feet subtly shifted a few steps backward.

Kolk frowned as well, then suddenly laughed and said:

"You've really lost your mind. He's the host of this game—it was made clear from the very beginning."

"Oh, was it?" Lu Ce smiled. "Think again. Who said that?"

A confident smile rested on Kolk's face. When it came to crucial matters, he could remember everything after a single glance!

Every detail of the game, every...

As he recalled it, Kolk's smile suddenly froze on his face. He remembered...

At the very beginning of the game, a tin robot had entered the room and said to everyone...

—"I am the host of this game. You may call me Great Tom."

He! Said! It! Himself!

Kolk swallowed, his gaze darkening as he suddenly felt that things had developed beyond his own judgment.

Looking at the man across from him, who had been insane for two whole days, he said:

"Stop talking nonsense. If the host didn't say something like that himself, then who would?"

"And weren't the game's rules, background, and methods all given by him?"

The smile on Lu Ce's face gradually widened as he asked in return, "Were they?"

Kolk: ...

Damn it, his astonishing memory was making his thoughts utterly chaotic at a time like this!

The moment he finished speaking, he recalled it again!

The rules of the game had not been spoken by Tom, but by a disembodied mechanical voice!

The words... had appeared on the walls of the starting room...

Kolk swallowed. Before him stood the Masked Man, bathed in scarlet light, wearing a strange smile across his face.

Beside him stood Tom, the tin robot, silent and grim in the darkness.

Cold sweat began to pour down Kolk's face...

For the basis of this chapter, you can look back at Chapters 28–29. There were clear hints.

In fact, there had been clear hints throughout the entire dungeon.