“Can you see the contents inside?” the woman in uniform asked with a smile. “You may click on the person you wish to eliminate. However, simply clicking on them won’t remove them; only the individual with the most votes will be eliminated.”
‘If I were to directly say, ‘Eliminate me,’ or express fear, the assassin would instantly deduce my identity and swiftly kill me.’
Truly, I was caught in a dilemma. If I continued to stall, I might be discovered; yet, acting too obviously would also be detrimental. His blatant declaration of identity was likely a ploy to trap me into making a fatal misjudgment.
After a moment of thought, I decided to let nature take its course. The marking phase was next, but who should I mark?
“Alright, time’s up,” the woman in uniform announced, her smile beaming. “It’s time for the results!”
We all watched the screen, but the atmosphere was far from as relaxed as the uniformed woman’s expression. Everyone felt a sense of trepidation; perhaps, among all present, only the blond man remained truly calm.
“Let’s see everyone’s ‘scores’,” she said, deliberately referring to the votes as points. “First up is—” She playfully stuck out her tongue, building suspense. “Miss Jiang Yue, zero points. What a pity.”
I let out a long breath. Fortunately, she hadn’t called out my real name directly, or it would have been game over. A pity? For me, perhaps it was a bit of a pity indeed.
The woman in uniform glanced at the clipboard in her hand once more, her bright smile unwavering. “Kane, Cecil, Lavitt, Damon, Lin Han, Gerard, Miding, Lake—you all received zero points. How disappointing! Were you completely crushed?”
Every person whose name was called let out a collective sigh of relief, completely disregarding the uniformed woman’s teasing. ‘Who cares?’ they seemed to think. ‘As long as we’re not eliminated, it’s fine.’
“Oh!” The uniformed woman feigned surprise. “Wilson also got zero points! That’s rather perplexing. What could have happened?”
This outcome was actually within my expectations. After all, no one had communicated with each other about voting for Wilson. While common sense suggested everyone would vote for him, what if no one else actually did?
In such a scenario, Wilson’s attention would naturally shift to me. If I inadvertently made a move that led him to misjudge, wouldn’t I be directly sealing my own fate? Thus, it was understandable that no one voted for Wilson, and it was precisely this realization that kept me from voting for the person I most wanted to eliminate.
“Oh, oh, now only two contestants remain!” the uniformed woman declared, her face alight with smiles. “Let’s see who the ultimate victor will be! Hmm… first, before congratulating the winner, I regret to inform you, Charles, that you only received two votes. You’ve lost.”
Charles, the blue-haired youth whose name was called, was so overjoyed he nearly leapt. The sensation of surviving such a close call was truly exhilarating.
The other “victor,” however, looked utterly ashen, staring blankly at the screen.
“And so, the final person is today’s winner! It is Mr. Warren! Congratulations!” the uniformed woman announced with a smile, addressing Warren.
The dark-haired Warren looked around frantically. “Hey, you’ve got to be kidding! I didn’t do anything and I’m eliminated? Did you all even think this through?”
This outcome was entirely predictable. When no one knew exactly whom to eliminate, they would naturally lean towards removing someone who simply annoyed them.
For some unknown reason, this fellow possessed an inherently disagreeable aura. His elimination in the first round was, therefore, quite expected.
Still, I hadn’t voted for him. After all, at least on the surface, I didn’t particularly dislike him before. If I had voted for him directly, it would have made me seem like a manipulative schemer.
Thus, the two votes Charles received had come from Warren and me.
“Congratulations, victor,” the uniformed woman said with a radiant smile. “You may now leave this place.”
Warren, his face etched with indignation, glared at everyone around him. “You scoundrels! You good-for-nothing fools!” He then turned his gaze to me. “You useless idiot!”
‘I’d been cursed at… yet, I was rather pleased. Let me be clear, I’m no masochist. It was because his insults, calling me foolish, would give others the impression that this little girl was truly stupid, which in turn would help me evade the assassin’s scrutiny.’
Slowly, Warren’s figure began to fade, gradually disappearing from the room.
“Alright, let’s look at everyone’s votes,” the uniformed woman announced. “This round of voting was quite simple! Only Miss Jiang Yue and our recent victor voted for Charles. Everyone else cheered on the victor!”
“Oh, and everyone, please return to your rooms now. Soon it will be time for your free activity period. Tonight, every friend who didn’t receive a single point will get a small consolation prize!”
With the exception of Charles, everyone’s eyes lit up with delight, for this prize might prove crucial to their own victory.
Charles, meanwhile, glared at me with an expression of pure resentment.