This Character is Suspected of Cheating! [Unlimited Flow]

"That's right. During the group discussion this morning, before Ling Buchen even had a chance to speak, the guards came to gather everyone together."

Because of that, none of them knew what Ling Buchen had done the previous night.

At first, everyone had instinctively ruled him out as a suspect. His blanket had been found on Annie's bed, and surely the killer wouldn't leave behind such an obvious clue.

Everyone had a motive to kill Annie. There was no reason for Ling Buchen to conceal his information.

If he was only revealing it now, then there could be only one explanation—

He was the killer.

Ling Buchen froze for a moment before smiling bitterly.

"I never got the chance to say anything."

Everyone looked at him expressionlessly.

Qu Wu's eyes were full of suspicion.

"According to the background story, you ended up in prison because of Annie. You were sentenced to ten years, while Annie only got five. He's about to be released while you're still locked up. Out of everyone here, your motive is the strongest."

Ling Buchen sighed helplessly.

"Didn't you all wonder why I was so firmly on He Yu's side? Because the memory fragment I received was of He Yu taking my blanket... to kill Annie."

Everyone: "!"

Did that mean He Yu had been last night's killer?

The others continued staring at Ling Buchen suspiciously, knowing he hadn't finished speaking.

"But when he took my blanket, he woke me up. I made a sound, and he immediately backed off and returned to his own bed. I did want to kill Annie, but since He Yu was still awake, I didn't make a move. That's where my memory fragment ends. Whether anyone acted afterward... I don't know."

His expression was completely sincere. There wasn't the slightest trace of deception.

But he'd spoken far too late.

That alone was a serious problem.

Duan Yuchen turned toward He Yu.

"Is he lying?"

He Yu looked at Ling Buchen.

Their gazes met.

Ling Buchen's eyes remained warm and gentle.

He Yu's were unfathomable.

After a long pause, He Yu answered calmly,

"He's not lying."

—No.

He was lying.

Everything Ling Buchen said sounded genuine. His words and tone revealed nothing unusual. Even He Yu couldn't determine whether he was lying from his delivery alone.

If it had been anyone else, He Yu would have believed them.

But He Yu knew Ling Buchen too well.

This man looked ordinary and almost invisible.

In reality...

...he was frighteningly intelligent.

His reaction.

The fact that he waited until now.

The content of what he'd said.

Every detail pointed He Yu toward a single conclusion.

Ling Buchen was lying.

—Only...

...He Yu chose to lie as well.

Ling Buchen turned toward the others and shook his head.

"You can't suspect me because of this. My blanket was on Annie's bed. I assumed everyone would trust me, so I wasn't in a hurry to speak."

That fit his personality perfectly.

He was never someone eager to talk.

Because of his lack of presence, he often stayed silent, and people naturally overlooked him.

Logically...

...it all made sense.

Duan Yuchen's eyes darkened.

"So He Yu returned without killing anyone. That leaves only you and Eugene. Since He Yu was awake, you didn't dare act. Does that make Eugene the killer?"

Eugene sneered.

"Although Annie was standing while Qu Wu was lying down, Qu Wu didn't die. I had absolutely no reason to kill Annie. According to the background story, I have no grudge against him. Even if I fought him because of Qu Wu, I'd only beat him up. Annie's body doesn't have any obvious injuries."

Ling Buchen replied calmly,

"According to the background story, Annie had no grudge against Wanrenzhan or Zhen Xing either. Our daytime selves influence our Chaotic Night selves. Annie wanted to kill He Yu. It's entirely possible you killed Annie in order to protect He Yu."

Siya fell into thought.

"Then... Wanrenzhan seems pretty suspicious too?"

Qiong shook her head.

"We can't treat people who aren't even here as the killer."

Qu Wu nodded.

"Exactly. Instead, we should eliminate as many suspects as possible, and then—"

His voice stopped abruptly.

Both Eugene and Ling Buchen turned to look at him.

Their expressions were blank.

Their eyes...

...ice cold.

Qu Wu: "..."

[Bullet Screen: "HAHAHAHA I'm dying. Qu Wu was about to say they should eliminate all the suspects, then remembered both suspects can actually fight."]

[Bullet Screen: "If Eugene and Ling Buchen teamed up, they'd wipe out everyone here."]

[Bullet Screen: "...Ahhh, I've got a really bad feeling. Most of the contestants are going to die in this instance..."]

Ling Buchen looked toward the wall beside them.

"Our time is limited. Right now the suspects are Eugene and me. But we're both strong enough that none of you can kill either of us before 23:00."

After a pause, he added,

"Besides... have any of you considered another possibility?"

"Who?" Duan Yuchen frowned.

"Annie."

Several people frowned at the same time.

A thought surfaced...

...yet none of them dared believe it.

Ling Buchen continued,

"The premise of everything that happened last night is that He Yu used the Prediction Card and saw Annie trying to kill him."

"We all have motives for killing Annie."

"But what about Annie?"

"Why was he trying to kill He Yu?"

According to the instance background, Annie's enemy was Ling Buchen.

So why would he attack He Yu?

Realization flashed across Siya's face.

"Annie could have been the killer!"

Duan Yuchen sank into thought.

"If Annie was the killer... then whoever killed him last night wasn't the killer at all. They were just protecting He Yu? Or settling a personal grudge?"

Qiong looked around.

"So... does anyone have an answer? We only have three minutes left. We have to decide."

She turned toward He Yu.

"Ling Buchen has proven you weren't the killer. Annie was trying to kill you, which also means you probably aren't the killer."

"You're the person I trust."

"You're also the only captain willing to lead everyone out alive."

"He Yu..."

"What do you decide?"

It was obvious.

Qiong had handed the decision over to He Yu.

Whoever He Yu suspected...

Whatever decision he made...

She would support it.

This wasn't shifting responsibility.

Handing life-and-death decisions to someone else while your own life wasn't at stake—that was shifting responsibility.

But now...

She was entrusting him with her own life.

Throughout the entire history of the Top Talent Show, almost nobody had ever willingly given someone else such enormous authority.

Because only by holding the choice yourself...

...could you survive.

Yet now...

Qiong was willing to trust He Yu.

Ling Buchen remained silent, simply looking at He Yu.

Duan Yuchen and Qu Wu wore conflicted expressions.

"Whew—"

Suddenly—

Eugene attacked Ling Buchen without warning.

His chainsaw swung straight toward him.

The ancient zither instantly rose before Ling Buchen.

A sharp note rang out, blocking Eugene's attack.

At the same time—

Behind Ling Buchen—

Siya quietly raised her weapon and smashed it toward the back of his head...

—They all suspected Ling Buchen.

—And they were worried He Yu would protect him.

Duan Yuchen exchanged a glance with Qu Wu.

The two attacked Ling Buchen together.

The zither's melody became increasingly frantic.

Qiong didn't move.

But she understood exactly why they had.

Ling Buchen was simply too suspicious.

And without question...

He Yu was biased toward Ling Buchen.

Being emotionally biased toward someone would inevitably affect his judgment.

If they killed Ling Buchen now...

Then no matter whom He Yu later identified as the killer...

...it wouldn't matter.

Their odds of success would only increase.

The rules of this instance required everyone else to die eventually anyway.

Killing just one person now...

...wasn't a psychological burden.

Qiong looked at He Yu.

If he wanted to save Ling Buchen...

...surely he'd say something.

He Yu said nothing.

His gaze became unfocused.

His mind spun furiously.

Then—

He suddenly looked up at the people locked in battle.

His hoarse voice echoed through the room.

"I've figured it out."

"Tonight..."

"None of us are getting out."

The moment he finished speaking—

He turned around and threw the club everyone had given him for self-defense straight at the wall.

The instant it touched the wall—

It exploded.

At the same moment—

A voice echoed inside everyone's mind.

【Hidden Rule Triggered. System Notification: The prison possesses superior defensive capabilities. Any prisoner attempting to escape who comes into contact with the prison's defenses will be erased by the prison's defensive system!】

The fighting stopped instantly.

The moment the rule appeared...

...everyone fell silent.

This instance contained hidden rules.

They had already triggered two before.

This...

...was the third.

And this one...

...changed everyone's expressions.

The rule itself was simple.

Anyone escaping the prison would touch the electric barrier.

Touching it would activate the prison's defenses.

The prison would erase them.

Erase.

Not attack.

If this rule belonged merely to the prison...

...they wouldn't have cared.

The prison wanted to kill them?

Fine.

As long as they prepared well enough...

As long as they became strong enough...

...the prison wouldn't succeed.

Just like the prison regulations from earlier.

They had violated them.

They had killed the guards.

Nothing happened.

Because those rules never involved the word...

"Erasure."

But this...

...was a System Notification.

Touch the electric barrier.

Trigger the prison defenses.

Immediate erasure.

The mission was prison escape.

Yet escaping the prison meant certain death?

He Yu's expression remained completely calm.

"In the <Species Collapse> instance, every one of us traded our lives for time. Without the Blue Eyes, the mission would've failed."

"In the <Money Game> instance, the System constructed a dead end for Cheng Zhao and me. We only found a sliver of hope because we tied, uncovered the truth, and forced the System to add another rule."

"In the end..."

"Cheng Zhao still died."

His expression never changed.

His voice remained perfectly steady.

"This instance is dangerous."

"It contains countless traps."

"But climbing from the ninth floor all the way here..."

"...has been far too easy."

"So this..."

"...was where the rule had been waiting for us."

"The instances will never become easier."

"They'll only become harder."

"The killing game prepared by the one behind the scenes..."

"...will become increasingly perfect."

"And the loopholes..."

"...will become fewer and fewer."

[Bullet Screen: "???"]

[Bullet Screen: "HOLY SHIT!! I thought the killer mechanic and Chaotic Night were already evil enough. They can actually do THIS?!"]

[Bullet Screen: "FUCK!! How's the investigation going? This is so goddamn disgusting!"]

Eugene retracted his mechanical arm and laughed.

"So that's the System's rule?"

"So what?"

"We're just supposed to sit here and wait to die?"

He was smiling.

But his eyes were ice cold.

Qiong's face was equally cold.

Her voice carried biting frost.

"The System's mission is prison escape."

"But escaping activates the prison's defenses and gets us erased."

"What an excellent rule."

"A perfect killing game."

Qu Wu completely broke down.

His combat power had been restricted.

He'd crawled all the way here through sheer perseverance.

Only to be told—

Go die.

There's no way out.

Who the fuck could accept that?

He grabbed his hair and collapsed into a crouch.

"Why...?"

"Why is it like this...?"

Duan Yuchen looked dazed.

Again and again, he stared at the rule.

He simply couldn't believe such an arrangement could actually exist.

In the previous instance, He Yu had experienced the infamous "total party wipe package."

Watching from the sidelines had already filled them with rage.

Now that it had become their turn...

...they finally understood just how crushing that suffocating anger and despair truly were.

Siya's eyes turned red.

Looking at the still-unconscious Zhen Xing lying on the floor, she murmured,

"The total party wipe package..."

"So we've been assigned a total annihilation ending too..."

When they first learned the rules...

...they hadn't felt this hopeless.

When they learned about Chaotic Night...

...they hadn't felt this hopeless.

Even when they devised a plan with only a three percent chance of success...

...they hadn't felt this hopeless.

But now...

Despair and fury nearly drowned them whole.

[Bullet Screen: "Fuck... I'm actually crying from anger."]

[Bullet Screen: "They struggled so hard to climb all the way here. Why do this to them?!"]

[Bullet Screen: "I thought the killer setting meant at least one person could survive. Turns out the rules want every single one of them dead?"]

[Bullet Screen: "@Top Talent Show If they all die, I'm bringing people to slaughter every last one of your production staff. Fuck!!"]

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