Internal Strife

Life's ups and downs, the greatest ones, are like being worth hundreds of millions, marrying your beloved wife, and being in the bridal chamber, only to be woken up by your mom from a dream, urging you to go to school.

At least that's how Lone Supporter felt, except he didn't have to go to school; he had to go to work.

The feeling was similar to how he felt when the Exorcism Talisman disappeared from his hand before it even got warm.

With the disappearance of the Exorcism Talisman, Lone Supporter and Yimo became obedient again.

They cautiously and obediently leaned against the steel, their moods complicated.

After a moment of silence, Yimo glanced at Lone Supporter beside him, who looked somewhat kind.

Lone Supporter was gritting his teeth, his trembling legs shaking continuously, as if deep in thought.

He... was too nervous...

"Hey, brother."

"Does this game really kill people?"

Upon hearing this, Lone Supporter's legs finally stopped shaking. He put on the air of a veteran player, but then felt he couldn't pull it off. Shaking his head, he said earnestly to Yimo, "Kirito brother, since the game has started, don't doubt this any further."

"Otherwise, you'll definitely die!"

"At least, none of the newcomers I met in the first two rounds survived!"

Yimo looked at the earnest Lone Supporter and asked after some thought, "How... did you survive?"

Lone Supporter closed his eyes and said after a moment of silence, "I was lucky..."

"And... you should know that term, right?"

"Chuunibyou, I have a bit of it."

"I treated all of this as real from the start, and relied on my honest demeanor, so I wasn't targeted, and I survived in the end."

Yimo nodded. "Can't one just not participate?"

Lone Supporter opened his eyes and patted Yimo's shoulder. "Brother, if you can survive, you'll understand."

Yimo's gaze suddenly turned serious as he looked at Lone Supporter and said, "Only one person can survive this game, right?"

"Either you or me, or someone else."

"You and I... are adversaries."

Upon hearing this, Lone Supporter suddenly laughed. "Kirito brother, I knew you weren't simple from the start, and now I think you're very smart."

"You've actually seen a lot, you just haven't said it."

"Don't worry, until there are only the two of us left, you can trust me."

Yimo thought about it and said, "Actually, there's no need to ask, but I still want to ask."

"Is it because we have similar interests?"

Lone Supporter waved his hand. "No, it's because you're wearing slippers and your body is relatively weak."

"Compared to others, the odds of winning are higher if the last person you face is you."

Yimo's expression turned a bit bitter, and he didn't say much more, but he felt relieved.

Lone Supporter's words were sincere.

What did Yimo think?

Ding.

The Murderer hit the player holding the Exorcism Talisman. The Murderer died, and a new Murderer was born.

Players remaining: 8

Players dead: 3

And at that moment, someone else died.

At this point, besides that Murderer, there were only the four people hiding in the factory.

Lone Supporter didn't react this time, he just turned to look at Yimo. "Is it with you?"

Yimo shook his head.

It seemed his luck was truly terrible.

"Who do you think that Murderer is?" Yimo couldn't help but ask.

Lone Supporter said indifferently, "I just hope it's someone weak, but weak people wouldn't have survived this long."

"Let's go, stop them!"

Lone Supporter said, standing up, and shouted at the young woman and the high school student who had emerged from the pile of steel and seemed to be planning to leave, "Hey, where are you going!"

The high school student seemed hesitant, but the young woman was resolute. She pulled him, preventing him from speaking, and then said to Lone Supporter, "It has nothing to do with you!"

"Don't follow us!"

Lone Supporter gritted his teeth and roared, "How does it not concern us!"

"If you didn't follow me, you might be dead by now!"

"Besides the Murderer, there are only the four of us left alive, and the Exorcism Talisman is in your hands!"

"You guys actually want to leave on your own!!!"

"Don't you understand? The best way to deal with the Murderer is for the four of us to stick together!!!"

Hearing this, the young woman snorted, "Hmph, so you want him to kill everyone all at once?"

"You're just tricking the younger ones."

"Fatty, don't follow me, or I'll kill you first if I become the Murderer!"

The Lone Supporter was angry and wanted to retort, but he ultimately lacked the confidence. He watched as the young woman and the high school student walked away.

"She has a lot of prejudice against you," Yimo said, patting the Lone Supporter's shoulder as if to comfort him.

"Sigh... I'm used to it," the Lone Supporter spread his hands, not taking it too seriously. "It's pretty much the same at school and work. I can barely get by without people disliking me by working extra hard."

"Unlike you, you're good-looking and thin."

"Even if you're a bit short, it seems like your type is popular now."

Yimo didn't get angry at this, shrugging. "You're just too picky about height. While 1.74 meters isn't tall, with some height-increasing shoes, it's not that short."

"I couldn't help it, I didn't eat well when I was a child."

"Right, what do we do next?"

Ever since the game started, the Lone Supporter had been leading him. This time, he also intended to follow the Lone Supporter's opinion.

Hearing this, the Lone Supporter said, "What else can we do? Just stay here and wait to die!"

Yimo looked at the Lone Supporter's expression and knew he was joking. "That doesn't sound like you. I don't think you're someone who gives up easily."

The Lone Supporter nodded. "Of course, I won't admit defeat easily."

"I suspect the young woman took the Exorcism Talisman."

"Judging by her demeanor, she's not one to sit still. She definitely wants to confront the Murderer and try to kill it."

"After all, no matter who dies, the Exorcism Talisman will be passed on. If she misses this chance, she definitely won't be satisfied."

After speaking, a glint flashed in the Lone Supporter's eyes. "So, we'll just wait for them to kill each other."

"No matter who wins."

"We'll wait here and have the final showdown with the Murderer!"

"The Murderer has an advantage when there are many people, but it's not as strong when there are fewer!"

"This game is fair in a sense. Nothing is a guaranteed win."

"I just don't know what will happen when only two people are left."

Yimo nodded at this and silently opened the game rules interface.

At that time, the unrevealed rules will be made public, right...

And so, Yimo and the Lone Supporter felt much more relaxed than before, chatting about anime and manga.

However...

This brief moment of relaxation didn't last long.

About 10 minutes later.

Two consecutive system prompts shattered the peace.

The Murderer hadn't changed.

The young woman and the high school student.

Both were dead