“Everyone, don’t be afraid!” The man held a knife in one hand and the severed head of the person before him in the other, shouting repeatedly.
……
Are you kidding? How could anyone not be afraid!
“I only executed an unstable factor! He’s Syndicate!” The man tossed aside the knife and the head, raising both hands. “He would have killed every one of us! I had to strike first!”
Huh?
Seeing the man lower his guard, the atmosphere around them slightly eased.
“Everyone here must hate Syndicate with a passion, right?” The man sat down in grief. “There were supposed to be ten people today, but only eight showed up. Where do you think those other two went?”
Assassinated…?
“Looks like it’s not just us who were targeted,” Huang Xiao analyzed. “Everyone here encountered Syndicate people yesterday?”
“That’s right.” “Yes.” “Mm-hmm.” “Correct.”
“I didn’t.”
Ah.
All eyes instantly converged on one spot.
The woman lifted her chin and crossed her legs. “I doubt Syndicate would dare mess with me.”
[Who is she? Sounds pretty cocky.]
“Long Qingshuang,” Bai Xiaozhi squinted slightly, whispering an explanation. “She was a major celebrity before the apocalypse, and afterward, a blogger with influence rivaling mine… You should have heard her name.”
Oh, right! The famous Best Actress!
Even I, a second-rate otaku, have heard of her.
But I’m not interested.
Shrugging~
Paper dolls are still more appealing.
“Daring to avoid trouble with you? I don’t think it’s that simple,” a male blogger wearing a straw hat spoke up with a sarcastic tone. “Asen, how are you so sure the guy you just killed was Syndicate?”
“Of course he was Syndicate! I’ve seen his works— total trash— but his comment section is full of fake fans blowing smoke. His follower growth is abnormal, I’ve long suspected he’s backed by an organization!”
“……”
“That’s it? That’s your whole reason?” The straw hat guy asked in disbelief.
“What else could it be? Everyone here, except Long Qingshuang, has no faction or backing, just grinding out their own strength.
This guy has no background but so many fake fans—he’s definitely Syndicate!”
That’s not nearly enough proof!
“Idiot, he’s not.”
A calm, icy voice drew everyone’s attention again.
It was Long Qingshuang.
“His backers are the Sicily Family. Their head once slept with me—I know him.”
“……”
The Best Actress sure hasn’t lost her bluntness, leaving everyone unsure how to respond.
She knows this is a livestream, but it doesn’t faze her.
The innocent Best Actress image was torn down at the apocalypse’s start.
In this era, people want to see a wild flower on the edge of the road.
After a moment, the straw hat guy forced out, “Is there video proof? I want to see it.”
Long Qingshuang smiled charmingly and beckoned with a finger. “Come here.”
The straw hat guy flushed, gasping, nervously leaning in.
Long Qingshuang cupped his face.
“Snap—”
A crisp crack echoed as his face twisted backward, neck contorted like a twisted rope.
“……”
“Oh dear~ I went a little too hard~” Long Qingshuang spoke with feigned regret, “Luckily it’s the apocalypse, so I don’t have to worry about being sued for killing a loose-mouthed scumbag~”
Her clipped voice sent chills down the spine.
Wu Xiaomi: QAQ
It’s so scary outside, I want to go home!
“Uh… only six people left,” the attendant’s expression stiffened. “If more die, the game can’t continue.”
“Whether they die depends on their performance,” Long Qingshuang crossed her long black silk legs and lit a slender lady’s cigarette. “I was actually looking forward to the Black Boss showing up, but he’s disgusting— tried to grab my balls the moment we met. So I helped him get snipped and sent him straight to hell.”
“So you and him… nothing happened?” Asen hurriedly asked.
“Nothing. But why do you care? Men only focus on that stuff. Cute, soft girls are way better…” Long Qingshuang sucked in smoke, licking her lips as she stared at Wu Xiaomi.
Wu Xiaomi remained oblivious.
Bai Xiaozhi warily hid Wu Xiaomi behind her.
“I warn you, don’t set your sights on her.”
“Heh,” Long Qingshuang blew out a plume of smoke. “In this era, whoever’s stronger calls the shots. If you want to protect her, you’ll have to rely on your own skills.”
“Don’t make me kill you right now.” Bai Xiaozhi’s hand rested on her sword’s hilt.
“Relax~” Long Qingshuang withdrew her gaze and lazily leaned back. “I don’t want to break up your little team— that would stir public outrage. But… you better keep a close eye on her. If you leave her side too long, I can’t promise I’ll be able to hold back~”
【Are you Cao Cao or something?】 Wu Xiaomi poked her head out from behind Bai Xiaozhi and typed a sarcastic comment.
“Little one, don’t you know how to talk?”
“The last Siren Dance drained a lot of her energy; she got badly injured.” Bai Xiaozhi pressed Wu Xiaomi’s face back behind her. “No need for your concern.”
“Oh.”
The atmosphere grew awkward.
Two people had already died after just meeting.
The lounge was thick with the smell of blood.
Aside from the group of Long Qingshuang, Asen, Bai Xiaozhi, Wu Xiaomi, and Huang Xiao,
there was only one person left who hadn’t spoken.
An old man leaning on a cane.
“Killing among strategists isn’t protected by regional laws,” the old man stood. “Moreover, removing Syndicate’s lackeys before the game starts is necessary… Everyone, don’t let this affect your mood.”
“I side with the girls,” Long Qingshuang leaned forward, looking at the old man. “The two who died just now didn’t seem like Syndicate lackeys.”
“And the Ancient Burial District has no Syndicate presence. Their Syndicate people all died miserably.”
“As for Asen, he was the first to bring up Syndicate, which triggered this interrogation. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now. Whether he’s a lackey or not will be settled later.”
“So, you suspect me?”
“You’re the only one left, old man. Don’t say I don’t respect the old and young. I don’t want to get stabbed in the back during the game.”
“Foolish,” the old man shook his head. “No Syndicate here doesn’t mean no Syndicate influence. How do you know there isn’t a Syndicate member among the three girls? And you… Since you managed to link with the underworld and kill their boss without dying, you must have a powerful protector!”
“Even Syndicate people haven’t moved against you… Isn’t that proof enough? You’re the thief crying ‘stop thief,’ you bastard!”
“Me? Ha— Syndicate trash aren’t even worthy of working with me. If I were Syndicate, I wouldn’t have pussyfooted around until now. I’d have killed you all ages ago!”
Long Qingshuang’s fists ignited with frost flames.
The old man raised his staff, its tip shimmering with dangerous light.
“Arrogant!” The old man silently chanted a spell. “Then let’s settle this with our hands!”
Eh?! You… Asen…
The staff’s light abruptly extinguished.
The old man stared in shock and turned to look behind him.
Asen had somehow hidden his aura and crept behind the old man.
“Grand Mage Aiweihao, I’ve followed your works. Your strength is evident. If you cast a large-scale spell sequence, no one here would escape.” Asen pulled a knife from the old man’s chest. “To avoid collateral damage, I had to do this. Sorry, I want to live.”
“…You idiot.”
The old man collapsed.
His face quickly paled, body cooling.
The ten-person award ceremony suddenly had only five left.
“Miss Long Qingshuang,” Asen wiped the blood from his knife, flashing a flattering smile. “In return for helping you with a little problem, may I invite you to dinner?”
“Sorry, I don’t like backstabbers.” Long Qingshuang’s frost flames on her fists faded as she sat back down.
The tense atmosphere eased slightly.
Wu Xiaomi kept her Spirit Hunting Instinct active, frowning in thought.
After a moment, she pulled out a piece of paper.
[Everyone, do you think…]
[Maybe Syndicate doesn’t even exist?]
Everyone froze.
Wu Xiaomi continued writing.
[I personally wiped out Syndicate in the Mangu District, no need to doubt me.]
[Xiaozhi, as the President of Bi An, has her own faction and her achievements are the result of steady, hard work, clearly visible to all, with no ties to Syndicate.]
[Huang Xiao is a post-apocalypse news host with a reputation. She was also the first to release the Siren Dance video. Her success is self-made.]
[More importantly… she has always carried out missions alongside Xiaozhi and me. If she were Syndicate, she’d have stabbed us in the back many times.]
[Long Qingshuang is powerful and a former Best Actress. Syndicate, if cooperating with her, would have to worry about controlling such a wild card.]
[Asen was the first to raise the Syndicate issue, sparking this investigation. I can’t confirm if he’s guilty, but so far, he’s killed the most people and remains a suspect.]
[But think about it—what if Syndicate doesn’t exist at all?]
[What if the assassins’ attacks are just a gamble? Kill us, and they win big; fail, and they plant a smokescreen— claiming Syndicate members are among us.]
[How did you all learn that Syndicate members were present? Were the assassins interrogated too?]
“I don’t know.” Long Qingshuang shrugged. “And I don’t care.”
“I was assassinated during a live strategy session while soloing a Swamp Wraith. The assassin suddenly interfered, almost killing me! I barely survived by revealing my trump card! Many can vouch for this!”
Asen raised his hands again, showing he posed no threat.
“So it really might be like this little one says,” Long Qingshuang laughed loudly. “We were tested? Syndicate only sent a few dead men and spread some fake info to trick us into suspecting and killing each other?”
[Not necessarily. Maybe the real Syndicate is already dead.]
Wu Xiaomi felt a bit tired after using Lingyuan soon after recovering from illness.
She deactivated Spirit Hunting Instinct and reverted to her usual dumb self, leaning on Bai Xiaozhi’s shoulder.
“Actually, only one question needs to be asked to know if Syndicate is lying.”
Bai Xiaozhi spoke, looking at the attendant who had escorted everyone.
He was staff from the organizer.
“Excuse me, with five awardees dead, what will the official BoloBolo do? Will the prizes be split among the remaining five or will new winners be found?”
“Of course, the winners will be replaced in sequence!” The attendant looked surprised. “How could the prizes be divided among survivors just because some participants died? That would pressure the winners unfairly.”
“As expected,” Bai Xiaozhi glanced around at everyone present, including the corpses. “Sadly, everyone here believed Syndicate’s lies.”
“You all arrived early and never asked the attendants or organizers. One simple question would have revealed the truth.”
“Because you wanted to hide information— you wanted to hide the fact that you thought, ‘Others died, so the prizes are all mine.’”
“Then you sought an opportunity to fish in troubled waters, knocking out the competition in the chaos and taking all the rewards— you all think you’re hunters.”
“Or even if that information was false, you’d still profit by eliminating your competitors, right?”
Bai Xiaozhi shook her head in disappointment, took Wu Xiaomi’s hand, and turned to leave.
Leaving behind two sentences.
“There is no Syndicate here.”
“But it’s all Syndicate.”
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