Chapter 29 - Killing Desire

“Du Lanlan and Xia Guo died so horribly; who among us could have managed that?”

“I think the Beheading Demon is haunting us; he might have intentionally used a smoke bomb to confuse us, to make us slaughter each other first!”

“You’ve forgotten, those who touched the Beheading Demon’s statue would be cursed, and it just so happens that Xia Guo, who died tonight, doesn’t that prove something?”

Huang Junjie and Yuan Yao subconsciously glanced at Xu Huo, only to hear him say, “It seems like Du Lanlan didn’t touch it.”

“So what?

The Beheading Demon just killed two birds with one stone.” Liu Yuanyuan, fiddling with her fingernails, said indifferently, “Discussing logic with a murderer, you bunch of big men really have too much time on your hands.”

“Did any of you pay attention to Du Lanlan’s movements?” The rich second-generation looked around at everyone before his gaze settled on Wan Zhikang.

Wan Zhikang, wiping sweat from his forehead and seeing others staring at him again, frowned, “Why are you looking at me? seaʀᴄh thё Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

I’m not a voyeur, how would I know what she did!”

Everyone else shook their heads, and suddenly the yard fell silent.

“If that’s the case, then let’s split up.

A few of us will take care of Du Lanlan’s and Xia Guo’s bodies, and the rest will go and fix the electric line.” Huang Junjie ended this round of mutual suspicion and volunteered to deal with the bodies.

The other players looked at each other, their faces betraying nothing, but their minds were each turning with their own schemes.

Eventually, Zhang Xiong and two others, along with Wang Wei, went to fix the electric line, while Xu Huo and Yuan Yao stayed behind to help.

The rich second-generation and Liu Yuanyuan also left, and the college student sat alone to one side, not moving.

Since Du and Xia were headless, it wasn’t easy to just bury them and they couldn’t be left by the hot spring, so Xu Huo and Yuan Yao lifted a mattress and placed the bodies on the wooden boards, then covered them with sheets.

Turning to see the college student wiping tears on the threshold, Xu Huo frowned, “What are you crying for?”

“Why does everyone target me?

Am I really that easy to bully?” the college student retorted angrily, “I only hid a knife to survive, I didn’t kill or harm anyone, why does everyone have to bully me?”

Yuan Yao, empathizing, patted his shoulder, “What can we do, we’re just weak.

The game is so cruel, one careless move and your life is gone; it’s normal for others to be cautious.”

The college student glanced fearfully at the bloody sheet on the bed and said no more.

Huang Junjie called Xu Huo out to the yard and asked right away, “How can you be sure it wasn’t the Beheading Demon’s doing?”

Xu Huo stared at him without speaking.

His silence lasted too long, drawing the attention of Yuan Yao and the college student, who then followed his gaze to Huang Junjie.

Huang Junjie suddenly realized, “You suspect me and Yuan Yao!”

“Brother Xu!” Yuan Yao exclaimed in shock.

“Don’t panic.” Xu Huo took out a lighter but didn’t get a cigarette, “I do trust Yuan Yao.”

Yuan Yao breathed a sigh of relief and immediately stood behind Xu, glaring at Huang Junjie with a common enemy in mind.

Huang Junjie clenched his teeth, “Then asking him should tell you, I didn’t have the time to kill anyone.”

Xu Huo grinned, reaching out to pat his shoulder, but accidentally hit his wound instead, causing Huang Junjie to reflexively shove him away, his pale face filled with wariness.

“I was kidding.” After confirming that his injury was genuine and had not been healed using any special potion, Xu Huo continued, “What do you think about the Beheading Demon’s strength?”

“Of course, he’s very strong.” Huang Junjie said, “More familiar with this estate than anyone else, he appears and disappears like a ghost, killing people without a sound…”

His words trailed off, and he suddenly looked at Xu Huo with a complex expression, “So that’s how it is.”

Yuan Yao, scratching his head in frustration, said, “Brother Xu, what exactly do you mean?

The Beheading Demon is strong, so what?”

“If it’s the Beheading Demon, there’s absolutely no need to tamper with the electrical box,” Huang Junjie explained.

“The first power outage wasn’t an accident, either.

Everyone had a big reaction at the time, and they all left their rooms to meet in the lobby immediately.”

“The second time the power went out, we also first thought it was a trip in the circuit, and we waited for a while before someone came out.

Then we gathered near the storage room until we were drawn to this room by a noise.”

“Exactly,” Xu Huo nodded, “The biggest danger in this copy is the Beheading Demon, and it’s not surprising for someone to die at its hands.

There’s simply no need to prove its existence.

The power outages and pulling down the shelves were just to show that a certain player stayed together with the others.”

“Isn’t that overcomplicating things!” Yuan Yao smacked his forehead.

“Who do you suspect?” Huang Junjie quickly asked.

Xu Huo turned to the college student, who had been listening intently and jumped when he met Xu Huo’s gaze, “It really wasn’t me!

I had the knife before the power went out, if you don’t believe me, ask Wang Wei.

I went out while he was showering, and when I returned to the room he surely heard me, I even waited to leave the room with him!”

“Did anyone see you hide the knife during the day?” Xu Huo asked.

The college student looked hesitant, “I’m not sure, everyone was looking for food at the time, would they have let me take the knife if they saw me?”

“You suspect Wang Wei?” Huang Junjie felt that the timing didn’t add up, after all, the college student had already returned to his room during the blackout, and Wang Wei was also in the room at that time.

“I’m not sure.” Xu Huo then said, “But someone is killing in the name of the Beheading Demon and deliberately gathering all the players together.

The goal is to divert attention, making the other players think the danger is external, not among them.”

This method was actually viable; in the context of the copy, when players saw a body, they would naturally assume the Beheading Demon did it.

Even if the players later suspected others, the shared experience of seeing the body would temporarily bridge this gap.

Players would not easily turn on each other, and by the time someone realized what was happening, several players would have already been lost.

If suspicion continued, it was uncertain whether any players would survive.

But if the assumption was that the Beheading Demon was among the players, then every player would be under suspicion, and those who could corroborate each other’s alibis formed a group.

In an atmosphere of mutual mistrust, it would be very difficult to attack an isolated player.

Therefore, the next time the Beheading Demon made a move, he would either appear in groups or take on several at once.

Regardless of the situation, the state of affairs would become clearer, at least making it not so easy to kill from the shadows.

“There’s another problem,” Xu Huo said, “Some might guess that the Beheading Demon is among us.”

“What’s the problem with that?” Huang Junjie was taken aback, then said, “Wait, are you saying that there is no Beheading Demon?”

“That’s impossible,” Yuan Yao said, “The description of the copy said the Beheading Demon has been here for dozens of years.”

The college student, holding his head, looked bewildered, “What are you guys talking about?”

“The Beheading Demon is very likely a player,” Xu Huo said, spinning the lighter.

“If you knew this, what would you do to complete the task of the copy?”

Huang Junjie opened his mouth but then fell silent.

“Exactly.” The lighter clicked and ignited, illuminating Xu Huo’s face, casting a sharp divide between light and shadow, “I would kill all the other players.”