Chapter 603: Chapter 602: Shifting the Blame
From the speaker, Bai Zilan’s voice continues:
"The evidence lies in the content on Shi Guoliang’s drawing board in the third round of the game.
"’My company does not produce pre-packaged food.’
"This statement appeared in black font, meaning it passed the Lie Detection Mechanism.
"But doesn’t everyone find this strange? If Shi Guoliang is completely innocent, then why is he drawn into the game as a Sinner? If his company truly doesn’t produce pre-packaged food, why did this sentence appear on his drawing board?
"We already know the deceased was a Worker, and among the factors for sudden death, corporate oppression is a significant factor. Lu Bingjun and Shi Guoliang are respectively an executive and a boss, so many people instinctively confuse the two.
"But they apparently do not know each other, and the most crucial point is that each player should have different crimes, and the crimes associated with ’executive’ and ’boss’ should overlap.
"So, Shi Guoliang became a Sinner not because of his role as a boss, but because of what his company produces.
"That is pre-packaged food.
"I’m not a professional, so I can’t clearly speak to the specific harm. But clearly, a long-term diet high in oil, salt, and sodium is devastating to cardiovascular health.
"Moreover, for taste and shelf life, these pre-packaged foods often have additives that severely exceed limits.
"Despite being a company that produces pre-packaged food, this sentence passed the lie detection.
"The only explanation is that Shi Guoliang is the Disguiser, he modified the results of the lie detection, and of course, he can rest easy.
"Killing the Disguiser would immediately end the game.
"In this round of the game, according to the rules, I am still forcing all players to vote based on ’crimes.’
...
After hearing Bai Zilan’s words, Deng Xiao relaxed significantly, and looked at Lu Bingjun with a grateful expression.
Xu Guangxin’s plea for help was completely unexpected to him.
Because Wei Hongbing, from the same Community with Xu Guangxin, had already died, Xu Guangxin was relatively safe now, logically, he should save this plea opportunity for when he himself faced a critical moment of angina.
But as a result, Xu Guangxin’s plea for help to some extent assisted Deng Xiao.
Without a doubt, more than one player would sincerely believe that Shi Guoliang’s crime was heavier than Deng Xiao’s.
Moreover, all players eagerly wished to kill the Disguiser and end the game immediately.
Shi Guoliang’s skin was very dark, making it hard to discern much change in expression, but his slightly trembling hands somewhat exposed him.
He seemed to want to defend himself but was unable to speak.
Soon, everyone completed the voting again.
The sword in front of Shi Guoliang swiftly fell, stabbing fiercely into the corresponding area on the round platform.
Shi Guoliang groaned, clutching the fabric of his chest tightly, his body completely stiffened.
Deng Xiao certainly voted for Shi Guoliang, and seeing this scene, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.
However, as he habitually touched the heart sculpture behind the drawing board, his expression changed abruptly, all of his relaxation vanished.
In one of the aorta vessels of the heart, the lump seemed bigger than before.
In a bit of panic, Deng Xiao touched it again, he hoped it was just his illusion, but no matter how he felt, the answer seemed consistent.
The lump indeed grew larger!
If it wasn’t the game’s hidden mechanism causing it to enlarge naturally, then there’s only one explanation: a player still voted him a Sudden Death Ticket.
It’s not surprising, because Shi Guoliang couldn’t have voted himself a Sudden Death Ticket, and Li Hui and Shi Guoliang belong to the same Community, as long as he could pass the Lie Detection Mechanism, he would surely vote Deng Xiao a Sudden Death Ticket too.
It means Deng Xiao’s danger wasn’t completely eradicated.
He panickedly looked back at Lu Bingjun.
Lu Bingjun seemed to be contemplating, he neither shook his head nor nodded this time.
...
The game continues.
Due to two interrupted incidents, as the game proceeds, Li Hui still serves as the host.
The writing period ended, and the five players flipped their boards once again.
[Community 2 - Lu Bingjun: I’ve been deceived by my boss into long-term overtime, and the boss didn’t fulfill promises. (black)]
[Community 7 - Li Hui: I haven’t had a medical check-up in years, and my last check-up results weren’t good. (black)]
[Community 2 - Deng Xiao: I formulated exercise plans exceeding physical limits for members despite knowing harm. (black)]
[Community 7 - Shi Guoliang: I’ve had heart stent surgery. (black)]
[Community 11 - Xu Guangxin: I turned a blind eye to colleagues who had health issues due to excessive overtime. (black)]
Shi Guoliang spoke first.
He coughed twice, angrily saying, "My company does not produce pre-packaged food! That’s my truth, absolutely!
"And I’m definitely not a Disguiser!
"If I were the Disguiser, I would have chosen healthy options each time, then altered the lie detection results. That would be absolutely safe!
"Obviously, the Disguiser is someone else entirely!
"Furthermore, let me stress again, my company doesn’t produce pre-packaged food!
"I can’t guarantee these foods are completely healthy and harmless, after all, to you people, adding a little more salt and sugar is a crime, but I can guarantee they absolutely meet safety standards!"
Deng Xiao spoke second.
He felt his heart pounding, unsure if it was due to nervousness or the lump in his vessel causing blood flow issues, only able to endure discomfort to defend himself.
"I admit I did design unscientific training plans to better sell courses, but Tang Qing’s accusations are purely slander!
"The plan was poor, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it would cause death!
"I hardly knew other information about the deceased, his work intensity, sleep time, dietary habits, these I didn’t fully understand.
"I have so many members, how can I keep track?
"For healthy people, my plan is no big deal, my eyes aren’t X-rays, how could I know his heart condition was so severe?
"Moreover, I advised him to eat lightly, eat fitness meals, so I definitely didn’t mean to harm him!
"Instead, it’s these unscrupulous manufacturers producing pre-packaged food, who they harmed wasn’t just one, but perhaps millions, tens of millions!
"I’m just a regular fitness coach, how can my crimes compare to such people?"
Clearly, Li Hui deliberately placed Shi Guoliang and Deng Xiao first.
The further forward the position, the more disadvantaged they were. All three of them were in terrible condition, pushing Shi Guoliang and Deng Xiao out as scapegoats made Li Hui himself safe.
Xu Guangxin spoke third.
He sighed, "Everyone probably already sees, I indeed knew the deceased.
"Staying up late to work overtime, binge eating, excessive exercise... these I’ve seen.
"I’ve advised him, but he didn’t listen.
"The game’s initial sentence, ’47 minutes, much healthier than you,’ was what he said to me.
"I regret that if I brought him to the hospital earlier for a check-up, perhaps none of this would have happened.
"He always ordered from a chain takeaway called ’Healthy Village,’ but apparently, that wasn’t healthy food at all.
"Now I know, Shi Guoliang should be one of the executives or investors of this chain restaurant?"
Upon hearing Xu Guangxin’s words, Li Hui visibly relaxed.
His arrangement worked, successfully transferring the conflict onto other players.
Of course, other players were doing the same.
Shi Guoliang spoke first, his defense was inconsequential, even if he appeared extremely sincere, no player would believe him.
And the subsequent statements by Deng Xiao and Xu Guangxin all pointed the blame at Shi Guoliang, meaning Li Hui was safe.
—Though both were from Community 7, clearly, if saving himself, Li Hui wouldn’t mind pushing Shi Guoliang out as a scapegoat.
After all, in the first half of the game, Shi Guoliang always acted self-preserving, never reaching out to help Li Hui.
However, just as Li Hui thought he could safely pass this round, Lu Bingjun’s voice sounded.
"I must say, you nearly managed to clear yourself."
