The fourth night

"Moqi Xinzhi's skill may be strange, but the facts are right in front of us now. All the evidence points to Earl."

Earl was the Bearded Man.

As Zhao Guojun spoke, he shrugged and put on a reluctant expression. "You and I may both belong to the Ares Guild, but... this is a game world. Family, love, friendship-they're all just empty ornaments here..."

His expression grew increasingly manic, making the others frown.

Yin Chao suddenly realized that he seemed never to have looked at Zhao Guojun's stats.

With that thought, he naturally kept his gaze fixed on Zhao Guojun. Before long, the system's voice sounded in his ears.

[Beep. Player: Zhao Guojun. Title: Betrayer. Level: 17

HP: 99, stamina: 1000, mental power: 88, intelligence: 88

Specialty skill: Fair-Weather Betrayer. When the user's HP is lower than the opponent's, their HP can be swapped. Duration: one hour.]

Swap HP?

No wonder he only had 99 HP. An ordinary player's base HP was 100, which meant that unless someone was seriously injured, the Betrayer's skill would work on any player.

Still, using a skill like that against a rookie like him would be a complete waste.

But if he came up against someone like Midnight...

Yin Chao turned to look at Midnight and discovered that, at some point, Midnight had been watching him all along.

A suspicion began to form in his mind, and he looked away.

The same thing had happened in the instance lobby last time. When he peeked at Midnight's stats, it seemed to put him on alert, too.

Zhao Guojun was still rambling, but most of what he said had nothing to do with the judgment.

His time ran out, and Moqi Xinzhi was next.

He adjusted the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose and began, "I don't understand why Mr. Yin Chao suspects that I used a skill, but there is no question that the evidence proving I'm on the good side is irrefutable. Yang Qi should know that very well."

Yang Qi was Square Face's name. At the mention of his name, he kept nodding.

"Of course, among the skills currently known to exist, none can last this long."

Moqi Xinzhi continued, straightening his collar. His unhurried manner made him look elegant and composed, lending considerable credibility to his words.

Yin Chao raised his eyebrows slightly. It seemed Moqi Xinzhi had held back some details about the skill he had publicly disclosed.

Placing inexplicable trust in a stranger in an instance like this was extremely dangerous. That was a very basic principle.

Even a novice like him understood it. There was no way the others present didn't.

Yet when the Monkey-Headed Man appeared, judging by his conversation with Midnight...

The idea that Moqi Xinzhi was the Prophet seemed to have been imprinted on Midnight's subconscious.

This seemingly passive skill reminded Yin Chao of the Dragon-Headed Man he had encountered before, and his continuous mental contamination.

Only Moqi Xinzhi's influence was subtler, and much harder to detect.

"There's no need for me to say anything more." Moqi Xinzhi calmly swept his gaze over everyone. "I'm sure you've all weighed up whose elimination will win us this game, and already have someone in mind."

There was little time left for him to speak, and just when everyone thought he was finished...

Moqi Xinzhi broke the silence with a cold snort. "Besides, tonight, as the Prophet, he's the one I checked."

He pointed at Huang Mao, who clearly failed to process it and sat there stunned for over ten seconds.

Then, as though something had occurred to him, Huang Mao revealed a somewhat confident smile.

Immediately afterward, Moqi Xinzhi adjusted his glasses again and said slowly, "He's a wolf."

The declaration came so abruptly that everyone present looked shocked, including Huang Mao.

His expression changed drastically, and he glared venomously at Moqi Xinzhi.

"I'll self-destruct!" Suddenly, Huang Mao raised his identity card and shouted, "I'm using the White Wolf King's skill!"

The broadcast sounded. "Do you wish to exercise your role privilege?"

"Yes! I'm taking him with me!"

The person he pointed at was Midnight.

The moment he finished speaking, flames engulfed them both.

Within that brilliant blaze, Yin Chao only had time to glimpse Midnight's dark eyes.

They were deep as ink, like the black reaches between stars in an endless universe, mysterious and vast.

That indescribable feeling surfaced again. Yin Chao frowned slightly and silently watched the flames burn fiercely, then die out.

The last person to speak was Square Face. Yin Chao wasn't in the mood to listen closely, but he could guess it was something in support of Moqi Xinzhi.

It was time to vote.

Of the seven remaining people, four voted for Earl, the Butcher.

In other words, everyone except Yin Chao, Luo Lingyue, and Earl himself had voted for him.

Fire flared once more. This time, it took Earl away.

He sat firmly in his chair, his eyes filled with despair, as though he had a thousand things left to say.

"Judgment concluded. Good luck to you all."

The broadcast sounded, but for some reason, its voice was much more cheerful than before, making their skin crawl.

Once again, Yin Chao was the only person left at the long table. A solitary light came on above his head, its piercing glare like a sharp sword suspended overhead.

Like the Sword of Damocles from ancient Greek mythology.

The light across the long table came on as well. Linmu sat opposite him, propping up his chin.

The two looked like opponents at a negotiating table, trading barbs while concealing murderous intent.

Only Linmu wore a smug, gloating smile. His lips curled, and his voice was light. "What are you going to do now?"

Yin Chao didn't answer. Linmu didn't seem to expect an answer, either, and continued talking to himself.

"This is a situation where you're certain to die. Nobody knows better than you that the next person exiled will definitely be you."

At that, Yin Chao suddenly laughed. The faintly mocking laugh did little harm, but it was deeply insulting.

"What are you laughing at?"

Linmu flew into a rage, slammed the table, and stood up. Any player with a good enough memory, or a thorough familiarity with everyone who had appeared before, would have found Linmu's demeanor strikingly familiar.

He resembled the dead Zhang Di.

Yin Chao fell silent again. Linmu's expression continued to change, this time becoming somewhat ingratiating. "Classmate Yin, tell your teacher. What are you laughing at? Have you come up with another plan?"

"Yin Chao, say something! Have you been scared witless?"

"Yin Chao, I'm not trying to force you. Please just tell me, all right? I know! You're bluffing! You must be bluffing!"

Within a minute, Linmu cycled through more than a dozen expressions and tones.

It looked jarring and unnatural.

The noise was starting to irritate Yin Chao. He stood and interrupted Linmu.

"Shut up. You're too loud."

Linmu froze in place as though struck by an immobilizing spell.

Before long, his body gradually became transparent. Yin Chao knew this meant he was about to let him leave the judgment hall.

At the very instant the surroundings began changing rapidly, Yin Chao suddenly called out to Linmu.

"Linmu, when you took Liang Chen away, you told him everyone was guilty, didn't you?"

Linmu's eyes abruptly widened. He stared fixedly at Yin Chao, like a liar whose secret had been exposed.

In the final moment before he vanished, Linmu heard him speak again.

"On the first night, you said you wanted me to help clear you of guilt, didn't you? Clear your guilt... or take the blame for you? We're innocent. Aren't you the ones who are guilty...?"