Chapter 370: The First Identification

Even among these murderers, Tian Teng was an anomaly.

His motive was entirely different from the rest. I wasn't about to judge him from the sidelines, nor was I going to put myself in his shoes to understand him.

Everyone in the world had some degree of psychological illness. It was just that Tian Teng's sickness was severe, and he simply didn't realize it.

Over at the Electric Chair, Tian Teng had finished his story. The way everyone looked at him had changed.

After yanking hard twice, Tian Teng finally pulled the helmet off. His eyes were buried in fat, and an inexplicable smile hung on his face, as if sharing these experiences with others was a pleasant thing.

Twisting his massive bulk, Number Five Tian Teng left the Electric Chair. Panting heavily, he sat down beside Number Four, Wang Yuchun. "Scared me to death. I could've sworn I heard the crackle of electricity right by my ears just now."

He raised a meaty hand toward Wang Yuchun's shoulder. "Let's start the voting. Once my vote is done, we won't be involved here anymore. We can just head back to our rooms and wait for the final results."

With her shoulder in his grip, Wang Yuchun's face stiffened, but she said nothing.

"It's my good fortune to meet all of you here, and I hope everyone will give me their votes." Tian Teng cracked a shy smile that bared his jagged teeth. If that smile had been on any ordinary high schooler, no one would have thought it inappropriate, but on a psychologically crippled pervert, it was simply unacceptable.

Half a minute passed. Not a single person around the round table voted for him. Everyone, Wang Yuchun included, sat in silence.

Sensing something was wrong, Tian Teng tightened his grip on Wang Yuchun's shoulder. "Number Four, we're an alliance. I already gave my vote to you. What are you hesitating for?"

"You're hurting me!" Wang Yuchun shoved Tian Teng away with all her might. She bolted from her seat and dropped into the vacant Number Two seat. "I never agreed to give you my vote! Think back to our conversation—I never made that promise! You're just being delusional!"

With all pretenses dropped, Wang Yuchun no longer bothered to hide the disgust in her eyes. She vigorously rubbed the spot Tian Teng had touched, looking as if she wanted to scrub the skin right off.

"Bang!"

His chair slammed onto the floor. Tian Teng still seemed unable to fully believe it. Standing by the table, panting heavily with his chest heaving, he smashed a fist onto the round table. "Number Four, I'll give you one last chance. Give me your vote!"

"Keep dreaming! This vote is my key to surviving tonight. I would never entrust my life to your hands." Wang Yuchun undid a few buttons at her collar and looked toward the participants with the later numbers. "If any of you are willing to give me another vote, I'm willing to offer both my vote and my body to you! I promise! I'm a celebrity, and I'll use everything I've learned to serve you! Furthermore, if I make it out alive, I'll pay you an extra one million as a reward once we're out!"

Wang Yuchun spoke with absolute conviction. Beauty, money, and a reliable follower—these three points were tempting enough to sway even me. 'This woman is not simple,' I thought. 'First she exploited Tian Teng's ignorance to secure one vote. If she can get another, she is guaranteed a spot in the top five. She can also use her own vote to recruit a strong enforcer. In this sealed hall, her beauty is an alternative form of capital. Add in the promise of a one million cash reward if she survives, and every step links together perfectly. What a brilliant scheme.'

"Wang Yuchun! Give me the vote! Don't force me to kill you!" Every ounce of fat on Tian Teng's body trembled. He was on the verge of exploding with rage.

However, no one paid him any mind. There wasn't even a trace of pity in everyone's eyes—only mockery.

I shook my head and said nothing. I had no intention of interfering in their affairs, but trouble found its way to my doorstep regardless.

My calf was bumped, and a soft sensation traveled up my leg. At some point, Wang Yuchun had pressed her thigh against mine. Her eyes were slightly hazy. "Number Twelve, let's ally. Tonight, I'm yours. My vote, and my body."

"Don't you dare!" Tian Teng's small eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. He snatched up a chair and swung it right at Wang Yuchun.

"Save me! Help me!" Wang Yuchun shrieked, her voice pitching out of tune.

"Not interested." I had no intention of intervening. It wasn't the time to declare a stance yet.

"Don't look at me. I can't help you," Number One Wang Shi also cleanly rejected her.

Tian Teng's pea-sized eyes were locked dead on Wang Yuchun. "Give me your vote and I'll still protect you. Furthermore, I won't ask you for a single cent when we get out."

Clutching her chest, Wang Yuchun was too terrified to stay in her seat. She ran to the other side of the round table, her face torn with hesitation.

"Give me the vote!" Number Five Tian Teng was like a wounded beast. He was very fat, but his strength was not small either as he hefted the chair high into the air.

Wang Yuchun's pitiful gaze was enough to make anyone's heart ache. She was near despair. Just as she was reluctantly preparing to agree to Number Five Tian Teng, a man's arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into an embrace.

"Number Nine?" Finally saved, Wang Yuchun acted as if she had found her true love. She leaned against Number Nine's chest like an obedient little fox. "Thank you. With our alliance, everything I have is yours from now on. I only ask that you keep me alive."

"Fine." Number Nine was a man of few words. This was the first time he had spoken.

I swept my gaze up and down Number Nine. He wore ordinary clothes and had ordinary features—the kind of guy who would instantly vanish if tossed into a crowd.

Number Nine said nothing more, but Tian Teng's reaction left everyone puzzled. He trembled with fury, yet he didn't dare stir up trouble with Number Nine. Slamming his chair heavily onto the floor behind him, he sat back down in his original seat with a dark expression.

'Tian Teng doesn't dare provoke him? Could that person be the one with the strongest stench?'

'Is this completely ordinary, featureless guy the most dangerous among us?'

Hearing the murmurs, Tian Teng—perhaps out of revenge—glared viciously at Number Nine. "He has the third strongest stench among us. It's undoubtedly the stench of corpses, and it's entirely the stench of female corpses."

Wang Yuchun's face turned grim at his words. "Bullshit! As if there's a difference between the smell of a male corpse and a female corpse? You pervert!"

Wang Yuchun pointed at Tian Teng and cursed. Number Nine himself, however, couldn't care less. He simply held Wang Yuchun, lost in whatever thoughts occupied his mind.

The two of them were still arguing when, not long after, an alarm blared through the room.

I noticed that time had passed a bit fast, and I glanced down at my phone. 'There's still ten minutes to the hour. Why did the alarm suddenly go off?'

Everyone fell quiet and looked toward the Electric Chair. Behind the Electric Chair, in addition to the vote-tallying projection, another block of text had appeared: "The game has been running for nearly two hours. You now have ten minutes to determine who the killer is."

"According to the principle of majority rule, the identified person must sit on the Electric Chair to verify their identity. Regardless of whether this person is the killer or not, they will be subjected to electrocution."

"If they are the killer, the game ends, and everyone will receive the antidote, as well as the method to leave."

"If they are not the killer, the game continues."

"The verification period is only ten minutes, lasting until two o'clock. If no one sits on the Electric Chair, this identification opportunity will be voided, and the game will continue."

Everyone saw the words on the projection. The identified person had to sit on the Electric Chair to verify their identity, and regardless of whether they were the killer or not, they would be electrocuted.

This was actually a form of protection for the killer. Although the game rules stated the minority obeyed the majority, as long as the numbers weren't vastly mismatched, the accused party could simply rely on violence to refuse the Electric Chair.

That way, verifying their identity would be impossible. Therefore, as long as the killer wasn't too stupid and didn't trigger public outrage, they could evade identification.

The so-called identification phase was less about pointing out the killer and more about the organizers encouraging the participants to slaughter one another.

'This is an open conspiracy!'

I didn't speak up first, even though I really wanted to identify Number Six.

Number Six shot me a look as well. Everyone understood the principle that the bird that sticks its head out gets shot. He coldly snorted and turned his head away.

"There should be three chances for identification, at 2:00, 4:00, and 6:00 in the morning. After every four people finish confessing, there will be a collective identification. The organizers timed this perfectly," Number One Wang Shi voiced his opinion. He didn't want to waste this opportunity, but he was also afraid of drawing public ire and getting forced onto the chair himself, so he stopped talking after a few words.

The ten minutes passed in a flash. No one spoke. The first identification opportunity was wasted in vain, and the game officially entered the Second Stage.

At 2:00 AM, the alarm blared again, and everyone turned to look at Number Six.