Chapter 1878: Chapter 1067: He’s a Good Man (Part 2)
"No way." Takagi Reina rejected Yamamoto Chunai’s request without hesitation, then turned to Yang Xiao and said softly, "Tonight, I’ll only sleep with Mr. Chu Xi."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Lin Zhengyan became anxious. He didn’t want to stay with the newcomer Yamamoto Chunai; the latter wasn’t better than him, and Yang Xiao was a veteran who survived four tasks. Following Yang Xiao, he believed his survival chances would significantly improve.
But Yang Xiao didn’t give him a chance to refute, directly agreeing that he would also sleep with Takagi Reina.
Yang Xiao was, of course, not someone driven by lust; he was recognized as a true gentleman. He also suspected that someone between Xiao Lin Zhengyan and Yamamoto Chunai had been replaced.
"Did you two separate at any point before or after encountering the ghost?" Watanabe Gou asked with a grim face, his eyes full of vigilance.
Under such scrutinizing gaze, the already emotionally unstable Yamamoto Chunai crumbled mentally, realizing she was about to be abandoned by the entire team. An overwhelming sense of despair swept over her like a tide, "No, I... I’ve always been here, please believe me, I really..."
"No, we’ve always been together; we didn’t leave this office until we ran out." Compared to the emotionally distressed Yamamoto Chunai, Xiao Lin Zhengyan performed much better. Having experienced a nightmare task before, he understood what everyone was worried about: they worried that a ghost had infiltrated.
"Did you also not separate when you ran out?" Hirano Yuuhi’s tone carried disbelief, eyes locked onto Xiao Lin Zhengyan’s, seemingly searching for flaws on his face.
"Not likely; the situation was so tense then, it was a life-or-death escape. Can you guarantee Miss Yamamoto never left your sight?" Suzuki Takashi also held skepticism.
"I don’t think so; back then, I was running in front, and Miss Yamamoto was right behind me. I could hear her footsteps and... her yelling."
Xiao Lin Zhengyan struggled to recall the scene, "We wanted to alert Mr. Chu Xi and the others, let them know something was wrong. The footsteps and yelling behind me persisted; it was Miss Yamamoto’s voice, confirming that I didn’t notice anything unusual."
When asked, Yamamoto Chunai had the same answer; she remembered being terrified at that time, only knowing to follow behind Xiao Lin Zhengyan, head down, sprinting, occasionally screaming along the way.
Seeing nothing could be extracted here, the group shifted their focus to the other pairing, Yang Xiao and Takagi Reina.
"Chu Xi, did you and Miss Takagi separate, or... did you notice anything unusual about each other?"
"Speak boldly; none of the four of you should be any different. If we can eliminate your individual suspicions, everyone can stay together," Yandeta Chiyoda coaxed.
Yang Xiao realized they were being prompted to accuse each other. If they could prove their innocence, they would be accepted back by the group.
But it was a bottomless pit or rather a trap because no one could prove their absolute innocence. They could only show their innocence by accusing others.
Moreover, Yandeta Chiyoda would absolutely not fulfil his promise, meaning that no matter what the four of them said tonight, nobody would want to stay with them. In the end, it would still be just the four of them.
"I am unclear about Mr. Xiao Lin and Yamamoto Chunai, but I haven’t split up from Miss Takagi. I can confirm she’s not the problem." Yang Xiao spoke plainly. Having honed his skills in nightmare tasks for so long, Yang Xiao was confident in this ability.
Of course, he could only confirm that Miss Takagi hadn’t been replaced by the ghost during the time she was alone with him. But if she was targeted by a ghost previously, even in a curse-like form, Yang Xiao wouldn’t know.
Since the reason why ghosts killed people remained uncertain, it was preventive rather than having defenses.
These were merely guesses. Hastily mentioning them now would not help clarify the situation; instead, it would draw unnecessary trouble for both Takagi Reina and himself, so he chose to stay silent for the time being.
"Haha, really? Didn’t you accompany Miss Takagi to the restroom? How did you stay together even when she was relieving herself?" Yandeta Chiyoda’s query was very sharp.
Yang Xiao admitted he started to dislike this old man, but now wasn’t the time to turn hostile. As he prepared to explain, another sweet voice sounded—Takagi Reina.
Tightening her body, a shy blush on her face, eyes bashfully glancing downward, Takagi Reina explained in a low voice, "Originally, I planned to close the door, but Mr. Chu Xi worried about my safety, ordered me to keep it open, and then... then he stayed outside with me. He’s a good man."
Yang Xiao: "???"
At that moment, Yang Xiao’s mind went blank. After a few seconds, he regained his composure. Although knowing Takagi Reina was talking nonsense, Yang Xiao didn’t dare refute, or their statements would conflict, leading to suspicion.
"Is that so, Chu Xi?" Yandeta Chiyoda gazed at Yang Xiao with unabashed disdain.
Taking a deep breath, Yang Xiao nodded firmly, saying nothing.
With Yang Xiao reluctantly acknowledging, several previously favorable women showed varying degrees of change on their faces. Mimura Kaori, the reporter, even rolled her eyes, clearly unwilling to associate with the opportunistic hypocrite.
Simultaneously, Yang Xiao received another gaze filled with an awe-struck respect from Suzuki Takashi—a young man who knew how to play.
Seeing Takagi Reina, dramatic, appeared ready to say more but was deterred by Yang Xiao’s smiling expression. Takagi Reina sensed a hint of danger, shivered, and promptly shut up.
Although the situation embarrassed Yang Xiao, he wasn’t afraid. In terms of strategy and wisdom, he might be slightly inferior to top experts, but when it came to scheming and shamelessness, he feared none.
Despite losing face, Takagi Reina’s tactic worked excellently, successfully shifting everyone’s focus. Of course, this preliminarily absolved them of suspicion.
The price was hefty; Mr. Yang’s reputation was ruined.
Nevertheless, it’s irrelevant; the mistake Chu Xi made is unrelated to Mr. Yang.
Over the years, Yang Xiao used so many titles that he sometimes couldn’t recognize himself; he was too complex.
Failing to uncover anything, as everyone prepared to give up, choose rooms, grab keys, and leave, a discordant noise suddenly erupted.
This unexpected sound startled everyone, prompting them to look towards it, seeing Kato Shinjiro standing by a table, fiddling with a recorder.
"A person’s mouth can lie, but a machine won’t. If any of you have the courage, we can test this," Kato Shinjiro lifted his head, his gaze calm and composed. His aura was increasingly elusive.
Seeing the recorder, Suzuki Takashi’s eyes lit up, "Right, why didn’t I think of it? We have a recorder!"
Previously, when Sasaki Sakura came, the recorder didn’t capture her voice. This time, if anyone’s voice turned out wrong, it meant that person was replaced by a ghost or at least targeted by one, and the ghost was right by them.
Notably, it was a sensible identification method, but exceedingly dangerous. At the very least, Yang Xiao wouldn’t rashly adopt it.
However, the situation differed now; Yang Xiao held no say in this matter. He was already among the suspected individuals. Any objection from him would solidify the suspicion that he was the ghost, causing every teammate to target him.
In tasks, it was hard for everyone to save someone. But if one person incurred everyone’s wrath, teaming up to trap and kill them was easy; the previous task with Hasegawa Hideji was a case in point.
"Which of you... will go first?" Kato Shinjiro straightened, surveying each of Yang Xiao’s group with an appraising gaze.
