Fu City, north side, an abandoned murder mystery game shop.
Ma Junzhe, Xu Tingfang, and Du Bi'an were on the verge of despair.
It hadn't worked. Even voting for themselves to force a tie hadn't worked. Where exactly had they gone wrong?
The game had gone through three rounds so far.
After the tie in the third round, one Spirit Player had been erased.
This made it even clearer that the Spirit Players couldn't possibly be ghosts. They existed to give the human players a margin for error; otherwise, this game would be practically impossible to solve!
Now, only two Spirit Players remained. Even if they forced another tie, they would only be buying time.
They had to find the real ghost within the final two rounds and vote it out. Only then could they end this terrifying game!
The fourth round... began.
None of the three could think of a solution. Besides voting for themselves, a Spirit Player, or another player, what other way was there to vote?
None... none at all.
Left with no other choice, the three chose another tie in the fourth round. They needed time to calm down, and even more time to think.
Playing a game at the same table as a ghost, watching the people around them dwindle one by one, was more than frightening. It was psychological torture.
Du Bi'an sat motionless in his chair. His body felt stiff.
Judging by the previous vote, everyone really had voted for themselves. This seemed to offer further proof that the surviving players were all living humans, not ghosts.
But that was also where the problem lay. Xu Qianxing had said he wasn't a ghost, only to be judged in violation of the rules. His head had burst on the spot, and he'd died without ever knowing why?!
Though this had left everyone silent and terrified, it had also provided a crucial piece of information.
They were indeed alive, but that didn't necessarily mean they weren't ghosts!
Could it be... Du Bi'an's gaze swept over the other two players, Ma Junzhe and... Xu Tingfang.
Could one of them be the real ghost without even knowing it himself?
No... that's not right.
If that were the case, what would it have to do with Xu Qianxing?
Unless... we're all ghosts, and we just haven't realized it?!
Du Bi'an startled at his own speculation, but soon, the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.
Meanwhile, Ma Junzhe was also desperately searching for a way to survive as the fourth round unfolded.
When everyone had voted for themselves only for the game to continue anyway, he had almost suffocated.
If even that wasn't the way out, then what was?
Other than voting for themselves or the other players, the only option they hadn't tried was voting for a Spirit Player.
Could it be... that it really is a Spirit Player?
Wait... A sudden flash of inspiration struck Ma Junzhe.
The Spirit Players... why are they blurry silhouettes? Why aren't we allowed to see their faces?
Is that a coincidence, or is it deliberate?
Ma Junzhe's mouth went dry. He felt he was closing in on the truth.
Could it be that...
These so-called Spirit Players... are actually our own ghost bodies...
Why else would there be exactly five Spirit Players?
Why was Xu Qianxing judged to have broken the rules and killed when he said he wasn't a ghost?
Could it be... that once we sat down at this game table, each of us was paired with the Spirit Player beside us...
So whenever a living player dies, a Spirit Player disappears!
This isn't a margin for error. It's... elimination, with both the human body and ghost body perishing together! That's the real rule!
But if all five Spirit Players are ghosts, wouldn't that be too easy?
No... it isn't easy.
Ma Junzhe had finally figured it all out!
Since we're paired one to one, a successful vote should require voting out both the player and that player's spirit at the same time!
Five people, five votes. We'd need two people to vote for the same Spirit Player, and two to vote for that Spirit Player's human counterpart.
And identifying each Spirit Player's human counterpart is another huge problem. Each Spirit Player sits between two people, so there's no way to tell whether it belongs to the person on the left or the one on the right.
Ma Junzhe's head swam from all the thinking.
Under the crushing pressure of life and death, his mind was already working at its limit.
How do we determine whose spirit is whose...
How do we...
The order!
Ma Junzhe's eyes suddenly lit up!
Yes, there's an order to the speaking turns!
The Spirit Player that comes next in the speaking order should be your own. Yes... that's right, it has to be! Besides, when Lemonade with Ice and Xu Qianxing died, the Spirit Players beside them vanished too.
The one that vanished after the third-round tie was... Du Bi'an's Spirit Player.
The one that vanished after this fourth-round tie was... Xu Tingfang's Spirit Player.
Wait, now that things have reached this point, doesn't that make it... really simple?!
There's only one Spirit Player left. That Spirit Player is the last ghost body, and its corresponding player is... me?!
Ma Junzhe's heart skipped a beat, caught between shock and delight.
He felt he might be right, yet he also felt there was something he hadn't considered.
But... he had no time left to think it through.
What should I say to make sure both my Spirit Player and I are voted out this round?
No... it can't be done!
Ma Junzhe abruptly snapped out of it. There was no way now to produce a tied vote that would eliminate two players at once.
Could it be... that I was wrong?
Or... will voting it out now end the game? After all, it really isn't a living human...
[Round five: descriptions begin.]
The light shone over Ma Junzhe's head once again.
He couldn't wait any longer. Taking a deep breath, he said, "This round, I'll vote for the Spirit Player."
Both of the others were shaken by Ma Junzhe's description. Had he discovered something?
They didn't know, but... the first speaker was pointing them in a direction. They could only follow. They couldn't let their votes scatter.
"I'll vote for the Spirit Player."
"I'll vote for the Spirit Player."
The two spoke in turn.
[Please confirm the seat number you wish to vote for.]
As agreed, all three wrote down the Spirit Player's seat number.
[Vengeful Ghost, confirm. Close your eyes.]
The terrifying voice rang out again.
At that moment, Ma Junzhe's heart suddenly trembled!
Wait... Vengeful Ghost, confirm? Close your eyes?
Does that mean we're supposed to close our eyes and wait for the Vengeful Ghost to confirm the result...
Or does it mean that, because the vote has selected the Vengeful Ghost, the person voted out is now being asked to confirm that they are...
Ma Junzhe suddenly recalled the rules that voice had explained before the first round began.
[The seats are numbered one through ten.] [Among the ten people present, there is one evil ghost. Each round, the players will take turns speaking, sharing one piece of information about themselves. Lying is forbidden.] [Based on the ten people's statements, determine who the Vengeful Ghost is, and each choose one person to vote for.] [After voting concludes, proceed to the eyes-closed phase.] [The person with the most votes will be selected as the ghost.] [The Vengeful Ghost will verify the result. If the vote is correct, the game ends, and the players win.] [If the vote is incorrect, the person with the most votes will die, and the Vengeful Ghost will execute one additional person.]
I understand!
Just as that thought occurred to Ma Junzhe, he suddenly... saw a familiar headless body sitting in a chair.
Blood gushed from its severed neck. Huh... that's...
His consciousness abruptly vanished. His eyes remained wide open, devoid of life.
[Verification complete. Vote failed.] [The game continues.]
Thank you to purej999, the cat that laughs at night, that coconut, liustea, the daydreaming cat, and FBI checking the water meter for your tips. Thank you, everyone!
Here's the second update. Good night! The "Close Your Eyes" game ends tomorrow. I've already made it pretty obvious, so don't hit me when you find out the answer...
(End of chapter)