Thinking Forest Mansion (10)

At Deng Tianyu's words, everyone else turned to look at Gu Rui.

Gu Rui's face instantly darkened. He sneered. "How would I know? I'm curious too. Why was your teammate affected last night while you were fine?"

Yes, why?

The players all turned their gazes toward Deng Tianyu.

Deng Tianyu smiled. "Didn't I already say? I wasn't feeling well yesterday, so I skipped dinner."

The "abuser" flew into a rage at that, pounding the coffee table with loud bangs. "Well, well! He was right after all! It really was that Cook's doing!"

He shot to his feet, his face flushed red with anger.

Ji Xun frowned deeply. Something was off about this man.

He was right? Who was he?

As though he simply couldn't swallow his anger, the man stormed toward the kitchen, intending to confront the Cook.

"Are you crazy? Don't provoke the Cook!" His two teammates desperately wanted to distance themselves from him, but they still couldn't bear to leave him without a warning.

Gu Rui also tried to stop him, but the man seemed possessed, insisting on barging into the kitchen. Not only that, he slammed the kitchen door shut, blocking the players' view.

"No amount of good advice can save someone hell-bent on dying." Gu Rui's expression was grave as he exchanged a glance with Ji Xun.

They didn't know what happened inside the kitchen, but everyone heard the system notification ring in their ears.

[Ding-dong-]

[Players remaining: 16]

After the notification sounded, the Cook hurled Xu Xingfa's corpse out of the kitchen, cursing all the while.

His face was furious. "Damn him! He actually accused me of murdering the mistress!"

"Could it be because he gave the wrong answer to the main quest?" Fang Rui asked.

"Xu Xingfa... that name sounds so familiar." Tang Cha racked his brains, but still couldn't remember.

"He was the murderer sentenced to death two years ago for killing thirteen people during robberies. He was in the news back then." Fang Rui lowered her voice. "His case caused quite a stir. Apparently, while he was committing those crimes, the locals were afraid to go outside after dark."

"No wonder. Scum," Lu Jiancheng spat.

Deng Tianyu let out a long sigh and looked at Ji Xun. "It's already the fourth day. We don't have much time left."

Then he looked around at everyone and spoke earnestly. "There's no competition between us in this instance. If you discover anything, please share it right away. After all, none of us knows who'll die next."

The player who had been hung outside the window yesterday raised a trembling hand. "Um, I heard from the Butler that he once happened to catch the Maid arguing with the Male Host. Does that count as a clue?"

"Arguing?" Deng Tianyu asked. "Did the Butler say what they were arguing about?"

The player said, "He heard the Maid say something like, 'Watch yourself, or I'll expose all your secrets.'"

"The Maid has something on the Male Host?" Deng Tianyu frowned, looking thoughtful.

Tang Cha's first thought was that the Maid had threatened him over their affair. He looked at Ji Xun, hoping to get his opinion.

Instead, he found Ji Xun poking a plump rat on the windowsill with his finger. Man and rat were having a wonderful time, apparently paying no attention whatsoever to the conversation.

When Tang Cha looked over, Hei Hei shyly burrowed back into Ji Xun's pocket, leaving a pair of beady eyes peeking out to study him curiously.

At lunch, the players wore a variety of expressions, but none dared eat as freely as they had over the previous few days.

The Butler looked puzzled. "Is the Cook's cooking no longer to your taste? He even invented a new dish today."

He was referring to the bowl of noodles set before each person.

But Tang Cha had warned everyone beforehand, and no one dared touch their noodles.

The Butler went into the kitchen looking disappointed. Shortly afterward, the gloomy-faced Cook entered the dining room carrying a cleaver. "Do you have a problem with my cooking?"

The players' hearts leaped into their throats. They all saw the bandages wrapped around the Cook's left forearm,

and the blood still seeping through them.

Could these meatballs be...

Their stomachs churned, and one player couldn't stop himself from dry-heaving.

The Cook sneered and walked over to that player. "You'd rather eat your own fingers than eat my noodles?"

He was speaking to Liu Jincheng, who had gone mad and eaten his own fingers the night before.

Liu Jincheng shook his head frantically in terror. "No, I just..."

"Then you don't need your fingers anymore. That way, you can eat my noodles." He grabbed Liu Jincheng's hand, pinned it to the dining table, and swung his cleaver at the remaining fingers!

Suddenly, a hand caught his cleaver arm. The Cook looked up to find Ji Xun wearing a disapproving expression.

"You think my noodles taste bad too?" the Cook asked sinisterly.

"Yes." Ji Xun looked utterly untroubled, then clicked his tongue twice. "Not to criticize, but you ought to take a good look at yourself first. Why won't people eat your noodles? Because your cooking is bad, obviously. Instead of wasting time chopping off people's fingers, why not work on improving your cooking?"

Tang Cha chimed in from behind Ji Xun. "Exactly. You can't force a cow to drink by shoving its head down, and you can't force-feed someone beep-just because they won't eat your noodles."

His comparison was so disgusting that even the players who hadn't felt like vomiting began to feel queasy.

The Cook's face turned gloomy. He withdrew his cleaver and returned to the kitchen in a fury.

Ji Xun: Correct use of manipulative tactics (√)

Liu Jincheng was drenched in cold sweat, his face bearing the relief of someone who had narrowly escaped death. He looked at Ji Xun with nothing but gratitude.

"Thank you." His voice was slightly choked.

The meal was a lost cause. Tang Cha generously shared the fruit they had gathered, giving everyone just enough to stave off their hunger.

The game seemed to have reached a dead end. They didn't know what to do next, or how to avoid an ending that led to death.

It was as though a dark cloud hung over the players' heads.

Deng Tianyu spoke. "Ji Xun, what should we do now?"

"Go back and rest first. There should be a hidden room in the kitchen. Come in with me this afternoon and take a look," Ji Xun said after a long moment of thought.

"Me?" Deng Tianyu looked slightly surprised. He hadn't expected Ji Xun to ask him to act alone with him.

Ji Xun nodded. "After all, you're the only one here with plenty of experience."

Flattered, Deng Tianyu nodded solemnly.

Once they returned to their room, Gu Rui looked anxious. "Deng Tianyu clearly has ulterior motives. It's too dangerous to go with him."

That man nearly turned everyone against me this morning. How could Ji Xun trust him so easily?

Ji Xun said, "I know."

"Then why are you still-"

Before Gu Rui could finish, Ji Xun interrupted him. "The Cook is always guarding the kitchen. I need you to help lure him away. I don't trust the other players' abilities."

Gu Rui was speechless. He hadn't expected Ji Xun to have such high expectations of him.

A subtle sense of pride welled up inside him. Then he looked at Tang Cha and the others. Ji Xun trusts me so much. I hope his teammates won't be upset.

To his surprise, Tang Cha solemnly patted him on the shoulder. "You've got this. The organization believes in you."

Gu Rui: Oh. I was overthinking it.