The Untrustworthy

A con artist...

He knew I was a con artist?

No, that was wrong.

Before everyone introduced themselves, they hadn't known each other's professions.

The sheriff was testing me.

He was guessing!

Qin Shang adjusted his expression. He didn't want to die at the hands of another player.

Although he still hadn't figured out why con artists were the enemies of everyone, it wasn't hard to tell from the sheriff's expression that he seemed to instinctively reject con artists, even harboring hostility toward them.

Qin Shang kept his face unchanged and said calmly;

"You guessed wrong. I'm a priest!"

"A priest?"

The sheriff didn't dismiss his earlier guess just because of a single statement.

Just because you said you were a priest, that made you one?

"Then produce some evidence to prove your innocence. Without evidence, how can you claim that you're a priest just by saying so?"

At the same time, the other people's gazes all fell on Qin Shang.

At a time like this, saying he wasn't nervous would have been a lie.

Qin Shang controlled his expression, then pointed toward several rows of seats at the very front of the train car. His finger then moved toward the darkness.

In theory, other than a priest with Night Vision in the darkness, no one else could see the newspaper blocking the window.

The next moment, Qin Shang spoke with absolute certainty;

"The newspaper pasted to the window beside the seats on the left side of the second row is about Jack the Ripper, a madman who was active in London, England, in the late nineteenth century. I can't read the rest."

"After all, I'm only a priest, not a teacher. I can see things at night, but I can't decipher them."

"My education is limited, and I don't know much English. I only know how to spell the name Jack the Ripper!"

At those words, the others were all slightly stunned.

The sheriff frowned deeply and looked toward the Elder Priest who had spoken first;

"Is what he said true?"

The old man nodded;

"Yes. The newspaper is indeed about Jack the Ripper."

"Judging by this, the story's setting should be exactly as the instance said: London, England, in the late nineteenth century."

Hearing this, the sheriff paused, then finally revealed a relieved expression.

"Sorry, kid. In this kind of environment, it's normal for us to be on edge."

"After all, the lives of everyone on this train are at stake. We can't afford to be careless. I misunderstood you just now. Please forgive me."

At that, Qin Shang secretly wiped away a cold sweat while relaxing inwardly.

That was close!

He wasn't really a priest, so he naturally couldn't have Night Vision.

He knew what was written on the newspaper pasted to the window beside the left-side seats in the second row because he had paid attention to his surroundings when he first entered the instance.

The first half had been a bluff, but he really hadn't lied about the second half.

The name Jack the Ripper was famous enough to thunder across the world. When Qin Shang saw the words "Jack the Ripper," the notorious killer who had been active in modern history involuntarily surfaced in his mind...

However, the sheriff's expression didn't improve much after Qin Shang's suspicion had been cleared.

His thick brows remained tightly knitted together.

"If that's the case, then the mission ahead is going to be troublesome..."

"There must be a con artist mixed into the group. That means two of us have lied. No, to be precise, one person has lied, while another thing that isn't human has deceived us."

At those words, Qin Shang narrowed his eyes.

"Something that isn't human..."

The sheriff had cleared Qin Shang of suspicion. Facing the confused gazes of those around him, he adjusted his emotions and explained in a grave tone;

"Since this is a game, we'll definitely encounter NPCs in the instance. That's normal. Sometimes, to complete an instance, we even need the NPCs' help."

"However, God Slayers are an especially unusual type of NPC!"

"They are NPCs formed from players who died in the instance."

"God Slayer. You can probably guess what that means just from the name."

"That's right. They're people who kill players on the divine road. They're extremely familiar with the instances, so there have been many cases where God Slayers infiltrated player groups, deliberately led them astray, and caused every player to die."

Hearing this, Qin Shang's expression immediately turned solemn.

This sheriff knew quite a lot about the divine road...

At the same time, the others' expressions also grew considerably more serious.

They had never expected that while exploring this map, they would also have to guard against a traitor who might emerge from the group at any moment.

In this instance, which was filled with unknowns everywhere, everyone's emotions were saturated with fear.

Everything here was utterly unknown to every player except the sheriff.

And this so-called God Slayer!

Qin Shang fell into thought for a moment.

The sheriff's reasoning was actually correct. There were indeed two liars mixed into the group.

One of them was naturally Qin Shang himself. He had lied about the profession on his Character Card.

However, among these six people, someone else had also lied about their profession.

That person was the God Slayer—the instance NPC aboard the Death Train, as the sheriff had called it...

Who was it?

Who could it be?

First, they should rule out the two priests who could see things in the darkness, right?

They both had Night Vision, and both had already been checked.

In this dark environment, it was practically impossible to make out another person's features from more than two meters away.

Yet these priests moved through this place as easily as walking on level ground. Clearly, they could see the layout of their surroundings.

Qin Shang subconsciously ruled out the old man and the other Girl in the pink dress...

"Didn't the sheriff say I would have a hidden clue?"

He had just muddled through it, but once they began exploring the train car, he could expose himself at any moment.

After all, he didn't have Night Vision.

That made it far too easy for him to be exposed.

Just as everyone was sizing one another up, Qin Shang exchanged glances with the old man.

The other man gave him a slight nod, seemingly expressing goodwill.

However, a thought suddenly flashed through Qin Shang's mind like an electric shock.

Hiss!

"No, that's wrong. I was thinking along habitual lines."

"The old man and the other harmless-looking girl, the two priests, might not necessarily be passengers."

"If they're game NPCs, they would naturally be extremely familiar with the instance. It wouldn't be difficult for them to know the map and the environment."

"Even without Night Vision, they could still move through the instance as easily as walking on level ground."

"What's more, according to the sheriff, God Slayers were once game players. In other words, they had explored the instance."

"So it wouldn't be strange for them to understand and be familiar with the instance to a certain degree. For NPCs, it doesn't seem difficult to casually state what's in the next train car!"

"Besides, no one can guarantee what abilities an NPC might have, so..."

Qin Shang's heart sank, and his expression turned ugly.

The two priests he had just cleared of suspicion might not be passengers after all.

They might be God Slayers!

No... that wasn't right. Even the sheriff could be a God Slayer.

Although I was a con artist, a profession that seemed somewhat different from everyone else's,

the sheriff was also rather special.

All of us were complete newbies with no experience on the divine road.

But the sheriff had clearly come to the divine road more than once, and his understanding of this place was far ahead of everyone present.

What about him?

Could he be a God Slayer?

If God Slayers only appeared in instances with con artists, as the sheriff claimed, did that mean the God Slayer's target might not be the other players?

But the con artist? Or perhaps they would deal with the con artist first?

Just like in Werewolf, where the werewolves would eliminate the seer first?

Because con artists could see hidden clues, they would greatly increase everyone's chances of clearing the instance. As NPCs that hindered players from clearing the game, God Slayers certainly wouldn't want the players to succeed.

So prioritizing the elimination of the con artist seemed perfectly logical!

The sheriff had proposed that everyone take turns reporting their professions.

Could his declaration about the special nature of the con artist's profession have been meant to probe for the con artist among us?

Qin Shang's gaze swept across everyone present, his brows furrowing tightly.

Could that loudmouthed noblewoman have been trying to throw off suspicion and conceal her identity?

Was that why she had pretended to be so flustered?

And what about the little thug...

When he had first entered the instance, he had been the most relaxed of them all. But after the sheriff explained the dangers of the divine road game, he had also revealed a nervous expression.

Could the God Slayer be him?

What about the Elder Priest?

The teacher and the doctor?

Qin Shang now had a rather complicated state of mind. Everyone looked like a God Slayer to him.

At the very least, he now had one clear conclusion...

With a dark expression, he thought: For now, not a single person here can be trusted absolutely!