Her self-introduction wasn’t exactly good—in fact, it could even be called bad.
“Before I introduce myself, I…” Player #10, the uncle, exhaled the last puff of smoke. Using his left hand’s index finger and thumb, he forcefully extinguished the still-burning cigarette, seemingly unfazed by any pain. He slowly stood up, fixed his gaze on Player #2, and continued: “#2 is lying.”
Reactions varied—some were shocked, others schadenfreude-filled, and some indifferent.
Just as #2, Zhang Huiran, was about to defend herself, #1 cut her off and looked at the disheveled man. “What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what I said—#2 is lying. Let’s recall her self-introduction. She claimed she’s a model, was doing an outdoor shoot, suddenly got pulled into the game, has been here twice, and is a civilian. Am I wrong, #2?”
The uncle exuded a lazy aura, like he hadn’t fully woken up, yet somehow, his presence made #2 feel afraid.
“Yes… that’s what I said,” Zhang Huiran nodded nervously, clearly uncomfortable under the scrutiny of others.
“Do you feel uneasy under everyone’s gaze?” the uncle suddenly asked an off-topic question.
She nodded instinctively, without taking time to think it through.
“You say you’re a model. When you’re working or doing a shoot, is there only one photographer around? Why are you uncomfortable with people watching you, then? Why would their gaze bother you? That’s the first issue. Don’t interrupt—I’m not done yet.”
The uncle halted #2’s attempted rebuttal and went on: “There’s another question. Let me ask everyone here. We all know there’s a 72-hour protection period.
After that, when you know you could be pulled into the Dark World at any time, what were you all doing? Personally, I stayed home.
I mean, wouldn’t you be afraid of being summoned while swimming at the beach in your underwear?”
Everyone began murmuring to one another, while #2’s face visibly beaded with sweat from the tension.
The uncle’s words had a powerful guiding effect—like a leader giving a speech at a meeting: I think everyone here is very smart and hardworking.
No one would stand up to contradict that.
What are you going to say? Actually, I’m a moron?
His reasoning might’ve been a little far-fetched, but it was compelling enough to plant the idea that he was correct.
Even if others had also made the same “mistake” he accused #2 of, no one would choose to confess now.
This only made the uncle’s “deduction” seem more accurate, and #2 appear more suspicious.
“Let me guess why you’re hiding the fact that you were prepared for the Dark World.
You must’ve received some kind of warning before being summoned, didn’t you? Otherwise, why would you prepare in advance and try to hide it?
Look at me—no secrets.
After being summoned, I just sat in front of my computer browsing the shop and even bought a week’s worth of cigarettes.
I’m sure many others here also made some preparations after being summoned.
And yet no one else tried to hide it.
So why are you the only one pretending you didn’t?”
His “deduction” pushed #2 Zhang Huiran into a corner.
People naturally follow the crowd.
The uncle subtly aligned himself with the group and cast #2 as the outsider.
He was clever enough not to make a direct accusation.
He didn’t outright label her a “killer,” but everyone had already drawn their own conclusions: she was either a killer, or a cop.
It was a masterful move.
The killers might now suspect she was a cop, potentially assuming “cops get early warnings before the game begins.” If they were foolish, they’d kill her the first night.
If they were smarter and didn’t kill her, she’d probably get voted out the next day anyway.
So with just a few lines, the uncle had pushed Zhang Huiran to the brink.
“No, I…” she tried to explain, but was interrupted again.
“Let me introduce myself now—it’s my turn.”
The uncle lit another cigarette.
His expression remained unchanged, as if what had just happened was utterly trivial. “My name is Liu Qingzhu.
I’m a professional troll. I specialize in finding flaws in novels and tearing them apart. If any of you need someone to flame people, I’m your guy—whether it’s a Nobel Prize-winning author or a casual essayist, I can roast them to a crisp.
As comrades, I’ll even give you a discount. This is my third time here, and I’m a civilian.”
“It’s not true, I admit… I admit I did prepare beforehand…” Zhang Huiran muttered weakly, her attempts to clarify only digging her hole deeper.
Even if she confessed now, it would only make her position seem even more suspicious—and validate the uncle’s “deduction.”
#11 waved away the drifting smoke in annoyance. He stood up cautiously and said, “I’m a high school teacher. Double surname: Xuanyuan. Name: Xuanyuan Najiang. This is my third time, and I’m a civilian.”
He kept his statement short, likely to avoid becoming the next target.
After all, the more you say, the more mistakes you make.
But he didn’t notice that Player #9, Hua Ru, was watching him closely with a thoughtful look.
Then it was #12’s turn—Lapis Lazuli, another member of the killer team.
His appearance was stunning—handsome enough to rival top Korean celebrities.
And with his lazy, elegant demeanor, he gave off the aura of nobility.
(Cantonese) “Tsui Hak-sze, Hong Kong journalist, third time, civilian.”
#12 Lapis Lazuli’s self-introduction was just as concise as Player #3 Qian Min’s.
And he spoke in Cantonese, which most people didn’t even understand—but no one dared speak up.
No one wanted to draw attention.
In her mind, Hua Ru began analyzing Lapis Lazuli’s performance.
It wasn’t especially good or bad.
She had expected him to say something arrogant, in line with his appearance—something like, “Let me be blunt: all of you are trash.”
But apparently, he had his reservations—probably because of Player #10, Dark Sovereign An Xuewu.
Despite the uncle’s sleepy, harmless look, his earlier remarks were razor-sharp and terrifying.
Could this uncle be a cop?
From a cop’s perspective, his behavior was far too dangerous.
Let’s recall the win conditions for the killers: they win if they eliminate either 4 cops or 8 civilians.
Meeting either condition results in victory.
Killers can only kill one person each night.
So to eliminate 8 civilians, they’d need 8 nights—but only 4 nights to wipe out the 4 cops.
Therefore, protecting the cops is crucial for the civilians.
If the cops are all killed, the civilians lose.
But… although civilians and cops are technically on the same team, civilians can’t see who the cops are.
Even if a cop figures out who a killer is, they can’t just kill them directly.
They have to persuade the civilians to vote that person out.
And here lies the problem—how are civilians supposed to trust a stranger claiming to be a cop?
For a cop to gain that trust, they have to speak or act in a way that’s convincing.
But doing so risks exposing themselves to the killers, which could get them killed.
So, the best move for a cop is often to lay low and avoid attracting attention.
But Player #10, Dark Sovereign An Xuewu, had taken a very aggressive and attention-grabbing approach.
He acted more like a killer than a cop.
Think about it: killers know who their teammates are, and every kill—cop or civilian—brings them closer to victory.
The uncle’s behavior resembled that of a killer, and that kind of visibility will make him a target sooner or later.
Hua Ru thought it through carefully and understood the logic.
#10 was using himself as bait to survive.
Precisely because his behavior seemed killer-like, the killers would want to keep him around to act as a scapegoat.
That’s right—as a killer herself, Hua Ru realized she needed to protect #10 as a human shield.
Under no circumstance should they kill him on the first night.
Furthermore, because of his suspicious behavior, the cops were very likely to investigate #10 on Night 1.
Whether he turned out to be a civilian or a cop, this would likely protect him during the next day’s vote.
However… if the cop team already confirmed that he was a killer, then they wouldn’t waste another investigation and would likely turn their attention elsewhere.
The smart ones might even set a trap like Hua Ru: “Whoever defends #10 is either a cop… or a killer.”
“I’m from Russia. My name is Yelena. I’m still in middle school. This is my second time here. I’m a civilian.”
It was Player #14 speaking now.
Her Chinese was passable—if you listened closely, you could understand her.
She had golden blonde hair and a soft, rosy face.
She looked quite young—visually, she really did resemble a middle school student.
After her introduction, her gaze lingered briefly—though not obviously—on Hua Ru.
Hua Ru didn’t dare meet her eyes, instead shifting her focus to Player #15, who was about to speak.
Her emotions were a swirling mess—sweet, bitter, sour, and sharp, all at once.
This killer team really was… bizarre.
A Japanese high school student (Player #7 Ragna), a Chinese otaku girl (Player #9 Zheng Wen, aka Hua Ru), a Hong Kong journalist (Player #12 Tsui Hak-sze, aka Lapis Lazuli), and a Russian middle schooler (Player #14 Yelena).
From a certain point of view, this was a team powerful enough to take on the whole universe.