Strange tale: Close Your Eyes.
The game continued.
Players remaining: three.
NPCs remaining: three.
Ma Junzhe's mind went blank. He had no idea what to say in the coming round.
The situation was far too strange. So far, every time a player died, an NPC had vanished as well.
Was there some connection between the two?
Ma Junzhe racked his brains, searching for an answer before the third round began.
This was challenge mode, which meant the players before them had gone through a similar game. If the previous group, who had all been wiped out, had experienced the same things, then his group would have to do something different to survive.
But what exactly had the previous players done?
Or had everyone made roughly the same choices up to this point because they couldn't communicate with one another?
If that was the case, the previous game might also have killed one real person and one NPC each round. If that continued to the end, it would inevitably come down to a one-on-one situation: one living person and one NPC...
Wait!
A thought flashed through Ma Junzhe's mind.
NPCs couldn't vote. If the deaths continued like this, leaving one living person and one NPC at the end, the last living player could only vote for the other one. In other words, the NPC was the ghost.
But every player in the previous game had died!
If they really had reached the final round, with only two participants left, then the sole surviving human player must have had no other option.
With only himself and an NPC left, logically, the other participant had to be the ghost.
He had no other choice. He had probably voted for the other participant in the end, but... the game had failed.
Multiplayer mode had turned into challenge mode. Everyone had been wiped out.
That meant that if the game continued until only two participants remained, they couldn't vote for the NPC player! They could only vote for themselves or someone else!
Could it be... the disembodied voice moving the game along?
It was certainly suspicious, but it didn't even have a number. It probably wasn't included among the players.
Then there was only one possible answer...
Himself.
The players themselves!
Once Ma Junzhe reached that conclusion, everything fell into place.
Right...
It's the players themselves!
That was why Xu Qianxing had been deemed to have broken the rules when he said he wasn't a ghost.
The "ghost"... the players are the ghosts!
But how should we vote?
Should everyone vote for themselves?
Ma Junzhe was stumped.
Among the remaining players, Fragrant Grass at Sunset, Xu Tingfang, had also realized this.
He was a veteran player, after all, and he had more information from his items than anyone else.
If he couldn't even figure this out, all his experience would have been for nothing.
First, the perspective fed back by the Wraith's Eye was utterly chaotic. It couldn't lock onto any one person at all, and the vengeful ghost's murderous intent flickered between targets, as though anyone could be the one.
At first glance, that was as good as no answer, but in fact, it was precisely the right answer!
The vengeful ghost's perspective was chaotic because everyone was a vengeful ghost. Its murderous intent targeted everyone because every single person could indeed die.
And Xu Qianxing's head had just exploded after he said he wasn't a ghost, which made Xu Tingfang even more certain of his theory.
We should vote for ourselves. Yes... as long as everyone votes for themselves, it'll be a tie.
But how will the game proceed if there's a tie?
The rules didn't say. That omission was a good thing for the players, because it meant they wouldn't be breaking any rules.
They would fulfill the game's requirement without voting anyone out, but... wouldn't that lead to a stalemate?
Or will the game end in victory once everyone votes for themselves?!
The possibility sent a chill through Xu Tingfang.
This game understood human nature far too well.
First, the player with the most votes would be voted out, and being voted out meant death. Even if someone pieced together all the clues and deduced that voting for themselves might be the way to survive, what about everyone else?
There was no way to communicate with the other players in this game. You might discover a possible path to survival, but the others wouldn't know about it. Differences in information could lead to all sorts of unpredictable judgments about the game as a whole. Once you voted for yourself, if even one other player also voted for you, you would be done for.
So... what should I do...?
While Ma Junzhe and Xu Tingfang struggled to find an answer, Xingqiu, Du Bi'an, was also thinking frantically. He was more anxious than anyone.
Because in the next round, it would be his turn to speak first.
He wasn't stupid, either. He had also realized what Ma Junzhe and Xu Tingfang had figured out.
But he didn't dare gamble on it.
If I vote for myself, and someone else hasn't caught on and votes for me too, what then? Wouldn't I be doomed?
The only option now was to use his statement in the next round to convey what he knew and hint at what the other players should do.
Wait...
Du Bi'an remembered a rule.
[Each round, players take turns speaking, stating one piece of information about themselves. Lying is prohibited.]
Can I use this rule to make everyone believe me?
First, whatever I say has to be true. So couldn't I just say, "I'll vote for myself in the next round"?
Du Bi'an had come up with a good plan.
But he quickly rejected it...
No. What if one of the others hasn't realized that the players themselves could be ghosts?
Have they... figured it out?
When they hear I'm going to vote for myself, will they vote for me too?
Doubt, speculation, uncertainty-all manner of suspicions played out in their minds. Understanding their companions seemed even harder than finding the vengeful ghost.
Just then, time ran out.
[Round three: descriptions begin.]
The light came on above Xingqiu, Du Bi'an. His heart pounded with anxiety. Should he trust the other players? Should he trust those two?
There's no time... I can't stall any longer!
He took a deep breath and said, "This round, I'll vote for myself."
At those words, Ma Junzhe and Xu Tingfang almost wanted to applaud Du Bi'an! Excitement surged through them both.
He figured it out!
As long as every player votes for themselves, this game will end!
The next light came on. It was Xu Tingfang's turn to speak, and he said without hesitation, "This round, I'll vote for myself."
Du Bi'an clenched his fists tightly. The tension around his racing heart suddenly eased, and he glanced at Xu Tingfang in excitement.
Everyone understands!
Thank goodness!
After saying those words, he had already committed himself completely. He hadn't expected the players accompanying him this time to be so trustworthy!
It was Ma Junzhe's turn. He, too, breathed a sigh of relief and repeated what the other two had said. "This round, I'll vote for myself."
At last, all three looked completely relaxed. We're ready... come on.
[Please confirm the seat number you are voting for.]
Picking up the markers and boards from the table in front of them, all three wrote down their own names, just as they had said they would.
[Vengeful ghost confirmed. Close your eyes.]
The terrifying voice sounded again. This time, it seemed to have changed slightly.
An icy current of air moved behind them. They could clearly feel something prowling around them!
This game is called [Close Your Eyes]. What would happen if I opened them now?
Horsehead with a Sword, Ma Junzhe, suddenly had that thought.
But he quickly dismissed it, because the voice sounded again the next moment:
[Verification complete. Vote failed.] [A tie has occurred. Spirit players reduced by one.] [When the number of spirit players reaches zero, a human player will be erased at random.] [The game continues.]
The room suddenly lit up. All three were unharmed.
But they could hardly believe it. Why?
Why hadn't the game ended?
They glanced around the table. Sure enough, one NPC was gone!
They were called spirit players...
So they really are a margin for error for the human players?
The three were close to despair. Why hadn't it worked this time?
Outside, dawn had already broken...
And the game was still going.
(End of chapter)