Chapter 600: Chapter 599: The First Victim
As Lu Bingjun finished his speech, the third round of the game entered the voting phase.
Everyone had already made up their minds and quickly completed their voting.
The sword on the central platform swiftly fell, piercing viciously into the sector corresponding to Wei Hongbing.
Her face changed dramatically, her body convulsing violently before suddenly going still again, clutching tightly at her chest, her reaction more intense than the previous time.
She remained frozen like that, unable to move.
Angina can indeed render people completely incapable of action, similar to what happened to Li Hui previously.
So at first, no one paid much attention.
It wasn’t until the next round began, and Wei Hongbing’s hands fell limply, that everyone realized something was amiss.
The sword on the platform did not rise again.
The first death case of this game had occurred.
...
Bai Zilan’s expression turned very grim.
She looked at the immobile Wei Hongbing on the big screen, almost incredulously muttering to herself, "Why? She and Li Hui both clearly occurred twice...
"I understand now."
Bai Zilan didn’t continue, but Lin Sizhi and Tang Qing quickly figured out the issue as well.
Deaths in this game aren’t calculated solely by the number of sudden death tickets.
This punishment directly affects the player’s heart, so heart health also influences a player’s tolerance in the game.
Bai Zilan stared at the screen showing Wei Hongbing a while longer, finally sighing quietly and leaning back in her chair with her eyes closed.
"...Should have asked for help a bit earlier!"
According to game rules, inner court players have one chance to ask the audience for help, after which the free-speaking time for the entire round will belong to the audience.
This can be regarded as a sort of ’super move’, potentially lifesaving at a critical moment.
However, Wei Hongbing died before she even had the chance to use it.
Clearly, she mistakenly believed that since Li Hui survived two episodes of angina, she would be fine as well.
But she ignored the differences in physical condition and ticket numbers between them.
However, Bai Zilan quickly calmed herself, taking a trembling sip of tea.
She looked over at Lin Sizhi, "Your community’s two selected players both have good overall quality.
"In such a game, it indeed gives them an advantage."
While some inner court players may remain in a daze, the three in the audience room were the smartest players from the community, and as observers, they saw things clearly.
Under such game mechanics, players from the same community can collaborate with each other.
The better they execute this, the more advantageously they can establish themselves early on.
Community 7’s Li Hui and Shi Guoliang, so far, have had virtually no cooperation.
This could be because Shi Guoliang received different information on the drawing board, posing the lowest risk, so he doesn’t want to make an active effort for Li Hui or share the pressure.
It might also be because their relationship within the community is rather poor, so they don’t want to help each other.
Community 11’s Xu Guangxin and Wei Hongbing fared slightly better; Xu Guangxin consciously tried to cover for Wei Hongbing, but amid attacks from other players, he ultimately couldn’t protect her.
Only Community 2’s Lu Bingjun and Deng Xiao exhibited the most seamless teamwork.
Regardless of who initiated an attack on other players, the other would quickly support the move.
Although this coordination wasn’t sophisticated, it was enough to give them an advantage in the current game.
...
In the Sinners’ room, the surviving players were all shocked, staring at Wei Hongbing’s corpse, none expecting death to come so quickly.
After a moment, Lu Bingjun was the first to recover, spreading his hands and looking at the others.
No one could speak, and naturally, communication was impossible.
But soon, the other players also understood his meaning.
"Why hasn’t the game ended?"
According to the rules, there are two conditions under which the game ends: first, when the Disguiser dies, and second, when all players except the Disguiser die, and the Disguiser agrees to end the game.
Obviously, Wei Hongbing was not the Disguiser.
And the real Disguiser unwilling to end the game.
Among all the players, Huang Mao Li Hui looked the most troubled.
Because he and Wei Hongbing were both punished twice, yet Wei Hongbing had died.
This might be because Wei Hongbing was older, in poorer health, or perhaps the number of tickets each received varied, leading to different levels of heart damage.
Nonetheless, Li Hui realized his situation was dire, possibly just a step away from death.
Even if he was young and healthy, likely stronger than Wei Hongbing, chances are slim he could withstand another round of angina.
This time, Li Hui was selected as the host.
But he was already flustered, unable to make a decision promptly.
Although, from previous experiences, assigning oneself to speak last as the host seems the safest choice, Li Hui had no margin for error left.
Everyone looked at Li Hui, who, as this round’s host, would directly arrange the speaking order.
However, Li Hui pressed the ’Help’ button directly.
[Li Hui used the ’Help’ function, allowing ’Tang Qing’ from the same community to speak on his behalf.]
[All originally planned round activities will be canceled, and the audience will take all speaking time.]
[During the voting stage, the audience could compel players to vote solely based on either ’Crime’ or ’Health.’]
This decision surprised many inner court players.
Because using the help button now seemed to waste the ’host’s’ privilege of arranging the speaking order.
Yet, on second thought, the decision made sense.
Because Li Hui had no room for error, even placing his turn last wouldn’t guarantee safety given his oratory skills.
Tang Qing’s performance in the preparation phase before the game started had already proved that he was capable enough to be the core player in Community 7, making this handover the best self-preservation choice.
In the Sinners’ room, everyone remained silently expectant.
Tang Qing’s clear voice resonated through the venue’s speakers.
"In truth, by now, the death cases and the entire scenario are clear.
"It can be assumed that the deceased was an ordinary worker who died suddenly due to heart issues.
"And the six inner-court players were the sinners responsible for his death, to varying degrees.
"As Wei Hongbing claimed, these six individuals were identified as the boss, executive, landlord, fitness coach, worker, and jobless drifter; they warranted blame for the victim’s demise.
"Previous attention focused entirely on the boss and landlord.
"But I’m here to highlight that the player truly accountable is someone else.
"That person is Deng Xiao."
