This move by Single Prism had been planned all along

It's obvious to anyone with eyes that if Xu Shu was hinting at something, Zeng Lai's move was a direct and targeted attack.

It's likely that only the top-ranked major powers would be willing to directly send teams to fight, completely abandoning the chance to recruit a desperate-level opponent.

The comments section was just filled with speculation, but now that Zeng Lai has pointed it out, not many people dare to continue speaking.

On one hand, viewers are trying to recall what Han Zichuan was like in their memories, attempting to connect that gentle and polite young man with the seemingly weak and Fallen Path. As for manipulating ghosts, it's not the privilege of the Fallen Path, but when he could have killed Qu Xuanqing, which is completely unlike what a Righteous Path would do.

On the other hand, viewers are also wondering, which force could have cultivated such a level of despair?

That's right. There must be a powerful force supporting the mysterious Despair level. It would have been fine if he had been discovered from the beginning, but he was discovered after hiding for who knows how long. He must have been covered up by the same force.

When it comes to the Despair level of the Fallen Path, the first thing that comes to mind is either Midnight Guild or Single Prism. Of course, there are other factions that might follow, but these two are the most powerful and can best support a Despair level hidden faction.

But Xu Shu, who just hinted at Han Zichuan, is from the Midnight Guild. Although the higher-ups of the Midnight Guild have their own conflicts, under Medusa's absolute rule, no matter how much infighting occurs among the members, there is one guild rule that must never be violated: harming guild members is not allowed.

If you are dissatisfied with a member's actions, you should report it up the chain of command, and the vice president of the guild will "judge" to decide and punish that person.

Unless Xu Shu is using Han Zichuan as a shield to exonerate someone who is truly desperate, then the Midnight Guild must be ruled out.

There's practically no chance of a wall blocking them, since Yu Jing is from the LSP Foundation, and there's no reason for someone to help late at night.

Hmm... After thinking it over, the only candidate seems to be Han Zichuan! And Han Zichuan is very likely from Single Prism!

During this highly-rated live stream from the Fear Hospital, everyone worked together to uncover a degenerate, despair-level Fallen Path Righteous Path?

This idea excited many people, but then a comment on the screen poured cold water on their enthusiasm.

[The Flower Seeker: Hahaha, you guys are really something! Don't forget, this "Despair-level" could have stayed hidden forever. He deliberately used his Despair-level ability in a place with a live stream view! What, you guys can call this something you uncovered? Wow~ Impressive, impressive~]

Comments with names are invariably initiated by celebrity enthusiasts.

The comments that used titles instead of real names... could only be done by a current level of despair-level deduction expert!

A despair-level deducer can blur others' impressions of their real name, and from then on only appear as a title or even a self-chosen code name, just like Lingren. Everyone guesses that the Lingren's Persona Mask shouldn't be called "Lingren," but something else entirely.

In short, if a poster appears in front of the bullet screen without using their real name, they must be a powerful figure you can't afford to offend—the kind of person who would receive the highest level of treatment in any faction.

And the Flower Seeker... is the strongest and most feared member under Lingren vice president of the Single Prism, whom they just mentioned with great enthusiasm.

What to do? The people from Single Prism came out immediately.

Strangely, although the man seeking flowers spoke with a mocking tone, what he said was actually true.

If that desperate-level being wanted to hide properly, they wouldn't be here speculating and gloating.

Someone boldly replied:

[So... what does the Flower Seeker mean...?]

The person searching for the flower is clearly protecting that desperate-level character; does this mean they've claimed them?

[The Flower Seeker: A bunch of idiots, I meant... Han Zichuan, one of ours~]

Wow!

[He really is Single Prism type, admitting it outright.]

The audience was stunned by the flower seeker's direct attack, and it seemed that Single Prism had no intention of hiding anything.

Considering that Han Zichuan deliberately exposed his strength in places where the live stream cameras were on, it means that Han Zichuan originally planned to publicly admit his identity as Fallen Path during this highly anticipated live stream!

But... why did he do this? What did he want to do?

Instantly, a sense of foreboding arose in the hearts of some who hadn't been guests.

Zhao Ruru sat up straight, looking at the ongoing identification segment on the live stream, her expression solemn.

Xu Shu, who was standing next to her, pulled out a human head from somewhere and started playing with it in his hand. Seeing her expression, Xu Shu asked, "What's wrong?"

"Something's not right." Zhao Ruru narrowed her eyes. "I roughly know what Zhao Mou is thinking. He and Yu Xing want to force Han Zichuan to expose himself during the live stream, and it would be even better if they could kill Han Zichuan. But... it seems that Single Prism anticipated this all along. From the very beginning at the Fear Hospital, Han Zichuan's pretense of following the Righteous Path wasn't genuine. He wasn't actually that eager to hide anything. The reason he didn't expose himself but instead slowly guided Yu Xing and Zhao Mou to continue setting things up... was that he was toying with them."

"You mean," Xu Shu said, somewhat surprised, after a moment's consideration, "That the current advantage in public opinion and in the deductions that Yu Xing and Zhao Mou possess are all intentional on Han Zichuan?"

"Now it seems so." Zhao Ruru glanced at the familiar face on the screen with some concern. She knew that Single Prism was not a place to be easily manipulated. Not to mention Han Zichuan, who could pretend to be on the Righteous Path for so long, there were also the Flower Seeker, the Lingren, and even the president who never showed his face and was completely out of touch with her.

Which of these people doesn't possess a shrewd mind?

The guest list was released in advance. After seeing the list, wouldn't the Lingren have known Yu Xing for a long time know what Yu Xing was up to?

The man behind Single Prism wants to make Yu Xing, Zhao Mou, and Qu Xuanqing believe they have succeeded, then suddenly destroy their joy and plunge them into hell.

Old tricks.

Even... Yu Xing and Zhao Mou thought it was important to expose Han Zichuan because they wanted Han Zichuan to die with his true face.

Does Han Zichuan really care about this? Whether it's dying directly or having his identity exposed, as long as the two cannot happen at the same time, then there is no loss for Han Zichuan.

Because Han Zichuan can openly return to Single Prism's embrace after his identity is exposed, and accept the fearful gazes of others as a desperate individual.

... Han Zichuan must be very confident that he won't die.

After Zhao Ruru fell silent, Xu Shu glanced deeply at the words "Seeker of Flowers" on the screen. He rarely saw any prominent figures from Single Prism speak, and every time they appeared, it meant someone was going to be in trouble.

Didn't you see Zeng Lai is silent? He's probably being covered up and held down by the senior Research Institute to prevent him from provoking him again.

Xu Shu only didn't understand one thing. "Why would Han Zichuan do something that brings him no benefit?"

Did they expose themselves just to provoke the audience and incidentally slap Yu Xing and Zhao Mou in the face?

"You know this is no good." Zhao Ruru turned to look at him. Even when they were drinking tea just now, Xu Shu hadn't taken off the hideous mask covering the lower half of his face. The rusty mask looked very real, but in fact, it was half an illusory mask, which didn't affect Xu Shu's eating or drinking.

The rusty mask fit Xu Shu's face perfectly, revealing only the upper half of his Xu Shu: pale skin, dark brown eyes, and soft hair.

"If you know this, how could Single Prism not know it? But they still did it." Zhao Ruru glanced at the severed head in Xu Shu's hand. The head was staring at her, its mouth slightly open, revealing a set of sharp teeth.

Zhao Ruru turned her face away with disdain. "This shows that doing this isn't without its benefits, but rather that we're unaware of them. Things might be worse than we think; this is a premeditated operation, and Zhao Mou and his group are probably in serious trouble."

"If you ask me, Han Zichuan's scheme is probably related to the truth about the Fear Hospital. Maybe... Single Prism sent Han Zichuan to this Fear Hospital event with Ren Yi involved to find out about the chaotic period after the truth came out. The Despair-level can crush everyone present, and Single Prism is a completely insane guild... Could they be planning to... have Han Zichuan carry out a massacre during the chaotic period, giving all the forces a big 'surprise'?"

Zhao Ruru was startled by her own guess, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt that it seemed to be the closest possibility to the thinking of those crazy people.

Xu Shu seemed to sense something and put the severed head away, his hands remaining clean.

He hesitated for a moment, his brows furrowing. "No."

"Yu Xing cannot die. Yu Xing dies, my contracted ghost will be gone."

"Still thinking about your contracted ghost?" Zhao Ruru almost laughed. "I've already told you, Yu Xing isn't a ghost."

"I know better than you whether he's a ghost or not. You clearly felt it when you were on the Death Parallel Line and reality." Xu Shu was very persistent. It seemed that he would agree with everything Zhao Ruru said to him, but only when it came to the matter of contracting a ghost did Xu Shu have a different kind of obsession. "The ghostly aura on him is so strong that no living person could withstand it."

"..." Zhao Ruru's eye twitched, and she fell silent.

Ever since meeting Yu Xing at the gathering of the Three Great Families, Xu Shu has been obsessed with Yu Xing, constantly nagging that he must make this "Yu Xing ghost" his contracted spirit.

It's become an obsession.

Sometimes even she gets influenced by Xu Shu, wondering if Yu Xing could really be a ghost. It seems possible, otherwise how could she be so powerful at such a young age?

"Yu Xing definitely won't die, according to my deduction," Xu Shu, who was usually as quiet as a mute, continued to mutter, "As a vengeful ghost that can infiltrate reality, appear in the sunlight at will, and even live in human society for so many years, a deductionist at the early stage of the Despair level definitely can't completely kill him."

Xu Shu's eyes suddenly lit up as if he had thought of something, "If he gets injured, I have the resources to nourish him. I'm the only one who knows how to heal a ghost. Tell me, if I wait at his doorstep, and he performs a divination, I can take him away and heal him. Wouldn't he be willing to sign a contract with me?"

"Did a dog eat your emotional intelligence?!" Zhao Ruru covered her face. "What you did in the attic last time was already incredibly tactless. You're lucky he doesn't hate you. What, are you planning to directly attack his headquarters this time and catch him off guard? I reckon Yu Xing will only want to tear you apart, not sign any of that bullshit contract with you."

Seeing Xu Shu's bright, sparkling eyes, Zhao Ruru felt obligated to help Yu Xing stop this show-off.

"Don't overthink it. Although I said that Single Prism had planned this all along, I didn't say that Yu Xing and Zhao Mou would definitely let Single Prism succeed." She smiled, revealing the composure she usually displayed in front of her cultivated spies. "It may be difficult, but I understand Zhao Mou. I have faith in him. He won't let himself... or his precious younger brother, fall into utter ruin."

She lowered her voice and murmured, "Even if it's just so his brother won't be left without any relatives to care for him in this world, that old fox will do everything in his power to survive."

Unrest outside the simulation ultimately cannot affect those within it.

Over here, Yu Jing realized that he and Han Zichuan were practically opposites, because everyone else was waiting for the passionate choice between the two, and he was also conflicted about whether to put Han Zichuan down.

He had collaborated with Han Zichuan on other simulations, and Han Zichuan was a really good person; he never discovered any ill intentions from him.

Etc.

Yu Jing's pupils suddenly contracted.

Isn't this exactly what those Fallen Path who pretend to Righteous Path are hoping to see?! Could it be that he's really been deceived by Han Zichuan?

Thinking of this, Yu Jing couldn't help but look at Han Zichuan.

Han Zichuan still wore a faint smile, as if he wasn't the center of attention. But it was this smile, exactly the same as always, that made alarm bells ring in Yu Jing's mind.

Something's not right.

If Han Zichuan were truly on the Righteous Path, his reaction wouldn't be like this.

"Han Zichuan." At this moment, Yu Jing calmed down. His social anxiety had made him very resistant to sitting here, and he had been shrinking back. Now, however, he overcame this and leaned forward slightly. "So it's you. What's your purpose in doing this?"

Han Yan couldn't answer that question anyway; it was more like Yu Jing was asking himself.

Yu Jing took a deep breath. "You've got Qu Xuanqing under your control, haven't you? I don't know how many other people you've subtly influenced, just like you've influenced me. Whatever I say now, they'll probably think I'm just being overly friendly and trying to divert attention."

He was right; the people sitting here looked at him with nothing but suspicion.

"I'll leave this time." Yu Jing looked at Han Yan, the Han Zichuan he considered a friend. "I don't know if you're with Single Prism, or who you're here to deal with, but it's definitely not me. So, I want to ask you for a favor: please don't let me die in the next round, okay? I'm just an innocent bystander who participated in this live stream without knowing anything. Just pretend I don't exist and spare my life, okay?"

As a celebrity predictor, it's beneath him to say such things.

But if the object of the action is at a level of despair, then no one can blame them.

Han Yan remained smiling, offering no opinion. Although silence was prohibited, he could still express himself through gestures. His current behavior made it difficult to discern his thoughts.

Yu Xing showed a doubtful expression at just the right moment, as if he had been persuaded by Yu Jing. He looked at Qu Xuanqing, but saw that Qu Xuanqing's gaze was indifferent and he was very determined to doubt Yu Jing.

So he had no choice but to "reluctantly" trust his "big brother's" choice.

When the dean announced the start of the vote, Yu Jing received four votes.

One of his votes was for himself, cast to curry favor with Han Yan.

Of the remaining voters, Qu Xuanqing, Yu Xing, and Zhao Yijiu all voted for Yu Jing, while Han Yan and Zhao Mou split the votes among themselves.

Only Shafuri voted for Han Yan.