Chapter 88

The camera zoomed in on the paper Su Xingyao had just outlined.

The black text, with the words he had highlighted in red ink, was now clearly visible to everyone.

He pointed his pen at the description of the passionate and righteous poor student and asked Luo Yiyuan, "Yiyuan, what's your character today?"

Luo Yiyuan, who had just proudly announced his identity to everyone, immediately replied, "A rich second-gen."

Su Xingyao didn’t respond, just nodded, then pointed at the next paragraph with the words "fair and incorruptible" and asked Wu Ningning, "How did you die when we checked the body earlier?"

Though Wu Ningning was timid, she vividly remembered her death scene tonight.

She frowned, holding a prop bill between her index and middle fingers, and raised it to the camera, saying bitterly, "I was killed by greed."

The identities and deaths described by the two were the exact opposite of what Su Xingyao had highlighted.

At this point, even the slowest person would instantly get it why they felt so uncomfortable when they heard the story written by Gu Feiyang.

Because Gu Feiyang's novel exaggerated everyone's descriptions.

Or rather, it was completely contrary to reality.

A rich second-gen was portrayed as a righteous poor student in his novel.

A judge, whose body and even mouth were stuffed with money after death, was depicted as fair and incorruptible in his writing.

Xie Jin immediately chimed in, "So the truth back then might not be what Gu wrote in his book at all."

Wu Ningning nodded in agreement, "No wonder Gu Feiyang was clutching this book and kneeling on the keyboard in repentance when he died... Everything in his book was likely just made up."

With these words, Luo Yiyuan suddenly remembered the four-character password Su Xingyao had told him when they unlocked the secret door in Gu Feiyang's room.

"Spreading lies?"

Luo Yiyuan had a lightbulb moment and finally got the meaning of these four words.

"So this novel is just Gu Feiyang spreading lies and writing nonsense."

Su Xingyao nodded and shared a small clue he had discovered with everyone.

"The four extra letters in Gu Feiyang's room, arranged as 'bnsf,' stand for 'spreading lies.'"

"And Judge Wu Linlin, who died surrounded by money, died from greed."

Then he looked at Wu Ningning, "And the room of Xie Jin we found earlier."

Wu Ningning remembered the creepy black-and-white room with mirrors, the scene where they had to turn the clock backward to unlock it, and the fact that her tongue had been cut off...

Suddenly, four words came to mind.

"Twisting the truth!!"

Wu Ningning was a bit excited, "In Gu Feiyang's novel, she was depicted as kind and virtuous..."

"But in reality, as a lawyer, when she defended Luo Yiyuan, she twisted the truth, turning the perpetrator into the victim..."

Wu Ningning thought this truth was too harsh.

"Oh my god, this is absolutely horrifying."

"So the actual situation should be that Su was the one truly bullied, while Luo, the spoiled rich kid, bullied him and even injured him. Later, for some reason, the incident escalated, and he used his daddy's money to bribe the judge and hired Xie, the lawyer who’s known for twisting the truth, to defend him. In the end, only Su was left injured without justice... and years later, someone like Gu wrote a book cashing in on his suffering."

"Su really got the short end of the stick..."

After this analysis, everyone instantly understood why the corpses looked so messed up when they were discovered.

It turns out these were all carefully staged by the killer, using their deaths to expose their dirty laundry.

"Twisting the truth, driven by greed, turning black into white..."

After reciting these phrases, Luo Yiyuan asked with some confusion, "What about mine? Why is 'Game Start' carved on my body? Shouldn't it be 'Evil Incarnate'?"

Gu Feiyang gestured like it was a no-brainer, then spoke, "Aren't we all dead? Your body was the first to be discovered. For the killer to kick off this justice-seeking game, shouldn't it start with you?"

"Take you out first, and then the killing spree begins..."

Su Xingyao nodded in agreement and took out what looked like a ballot box that he and Wu Ningning found on the third floor.

He dumped out the papers inside.

There were five papers in total, four of which had the name "Luo Yiyuan" written on them, and the other one had "Chu Zi'an."

Luo Yiyuan leaned over and carefully examined the votes, "What is this?"

Su Xingyao coolly replied, "Death votes."

He turned over the papers with names on them, and on the back, there was a small line of text written in cursive.

"Please write the name of the person you decide to kill tonight."

Seeing this, Luo Yiyuan scowled in frustration.

"I got four out of five votes, so I was the one voted to be killed on the first night..."

Su Xingyao corrected him, "No, it was a decision to kill."

It hit him that he might’ve been ganged up on. "No wonder I went out so badly."

He took a step back, "Didn’t anyone have a shred of pity for me..."

Gu Feiyang shrugged, "What can I say? No one wants to be the first to go..."

Wu Ningning chimed in, "And as the bully and the instigator, of course, you’d be the first on the chopping block..."

Learning that he was so unpopular in this setting, Luo Yiyuan put on a fake hurt look. He picked up the votes and looked at them one by one.

Originally, he just wanted to milk it for drama, but then he discovered a problem.

"Wait a sec, something’s off here. There are five votes in total, but there are six of us here today..."

Then he looked at Su Xingyao, "So is the killer Su Su? As the victim, now seeking revenge on us?"

After saying this, Luo Yiyuan shrugged, "Is it really that cut and dry..."

Xie Jin took the votes from his hand and rolled her eyes.

"There’s no way it’s that straightforward. Didn't you see the system didn't come out to say we found the truth..."

Luo Yiyuan scratched his head and chuckled, "Yeah, no way it's that simple."

Wu Ningning also nodded, "There's no way it's that straightforward. So far, we've only come across four bodies, and we haven't found Xing Yao and Zian's bodies anywhere in the villa."

Chu Zian, who had been silent all along, suddenly heard Wu Ningning mention him and could only smile and nod, "Yeah, I didn't even notice until you brought it up."

He'd already noticed the lack of his and Su Xingyao's bodies and clues.

But tonight's game had him too caught up, and he kinda felt like the production team was pointing at him. So even though he noticed, he kept it to himself.

But just as Chu Zian was brushing it off, Su Xingyao looked at him.

Su Xingyao was backlit, making his face look blurry to Chu Zian.

Su Xingyao's voice was cold and distant, almost ghostly in the quiet night.

He asked Chu Zian, "So, Zian, since you're here too, what's your role in all this?"

What should've been a simple question didn't sit right with Chu Zian.

He avoided Su Xingyao's gaze and stayed silent.

After Su Xingyao pointed it out, the guests also took notice of Chu Zian.

"Yeah, Zian hasn't been mentioned at all in this story..."

"But I voted for Zian too, so he's gotta be involved, right?"

"Wow, Zian, that makes you pretty mysterious."

Chu Zian awkwardly smiled, "I'm not really sure either..."

Gu Feiyang glanced at the uneasy Chu Zian and suddenly whipped out a photo from his pocket.

"Oh, speaking of Zian, I almost forgot. In the clues I just found, I saw that Zian went to the same high school as us."

He showed the graduation photo of the class of 20xx, with Chu Zian, Luo Yiyuan, and Gu Feiyang all in the same class.

Gu Feiyang's gaze shifted between his own face and Chu Zian's in the photo, "You must be a key player too. My novel wouldn't just leave you out..."

"And why's Xing Yao not in this photo?"

As Gu Feiyang muttered in confusion, the elusive Xiao Ai suddenly spoke.

A burst of laughter echoed from above.

"Hehehe, it seems that after a new round of friendly discussion, everyone has gained new insights into the truth~"

"But the information isn't fully collected yet~ To solve the mystery and leave here safely, everyone needs to work harder~"

"Hmm~~ But this is a bit boring right now. How about our distinguished guests regroup~"

As soon as Xiao Ai finished speaking, the table in the hall suddenly moved, and a hole appeared in the center.

Then, a treasure chest-like object slowly rose from the hole.

A few seconds later, the chest automatically opened, revealing six different colored jewels.

"Xiao Ai doesn't have much to offer, so please, distinguished guests, each take something you like~"

They were told to choose something they liked, but everyone knew it was the program team’s way of making them draw lots for grouping.

However, the items inside were all different and seemed unrelated. The guests, unsure of the program team’s intentions, hesitated on how to choose.

Finally, with Xiao Ai pushing them, everyone picked a color they liked.

Chu Zian specifically chose purple to avoid being in the same group as Su Xingyao.

But, as he feared, when Xiao Ai revealed the color pairings, his purple was matched with Su Xingyao’s yellow.

So, new guest pairings were set.

Xie Jin and Wu Ningning, both girls, were paired together.

Gu Feiyang and Luo Yiyuan, the bickering duo, were grouped together.

Chu Zian was forced to team up with Su Xingyao.

Hearing this, Chu Zian was completely devastated.

To make matters worse, their group was sent to investigate outside the manor...

The manor was later built by the program team.

Having been here before, he knew exactly what had happened near the cliff outside the manor gates...

For a moment, Chu Zian felt things were spiraling out of control.

Out of self-preservation, he was very reluctant to go out with Su Xingyao.

Looking at the dark night outside the window, Chu Zian’s heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of his chest.

Even though Su Xingyao called him several times, he stood still, unmoving.

"Chu Zian."

When Su Xingyao suddenly got close, Chu Zian screamed and stepped back.

"Don’t—don’t come near me."

"What’s wrong, Zian?"

Finally, Wu Ningning’s voice calmed the startled Chu Zian a bit.

Battling his inner turmoil, he forced his stiff legs to move and followed Su Xingyao outside.

Once the groups were set, the three teams split up to search for the final truth.

Xie Jin and Wu Ningning soon discovered a basement in the manor.

They found a set of exam results.

It listed the top ten students, with Su Xingyao first and Chu Zian second.

"Su Su did really well."

As Wu Ningning spoke, she spotted a computer nearby.

After a quick look, Xie Jin typed in Su Xingyao’s exam number.

This time, the locked computer was easily cracked.

Before they could even react in surprise, they saw two videos on it.

The content was pre-recorded by actors dressed as the guests.

Xie Jin opened the first video, showing a student being beaten by Luo Yiyuan in a campus corner.

When the camera zoomed in, Wu Ningning realized the victim was Chu Zian...

"Was Zian being bullied too???"

Before Wu Ningning could process the shock of seeing Chu Zian here, she saw Chu Zian being beaten without resistance. Su Xingyao stepped in to stop the bullying and protect him.

Interrupted, Luo Yiyuan snapped and made a threat.

But Chu Zian, helped up by Su Xingyao, gave him a strange look.

Frowning, Xie Jin quickly opened the second video.

As expected, the video showed Su Xingyao being beaten.

"See if you still want to be the hero."

"Think you're a hero? Top student or not, you’re still getting beat!"

"Stop meddling, stop meddling."

Luo Yiyuan violently beat the already bruised Su Xingyao, while Gu Feiyang egged him on.

"Boss, this guy snitched to the dean the other day."

"You actually snitched on us, huh!"

Hearing this, Luo Yiyuan got even angrier and shoved Su Xingyao’s head into the toilet.

"You’re dead to me, idiot!"

Nearly unconscious, Su Xingyao weakly muttered, "I didn’t."

No one listened. Luo Yiyuan finished the beating and walked off arrogantly.

Gu Feiyang, feeling smug, kicked the limp Su Xingyao.

"Who’s gonna believe you? Just take the fall..."

Unable to move, Su Xingyao whispered after they left, "Why did you lie to the police..."

The speaker wasn’t on camera, but their voice was recorded.

"Su Xingyao, you’re no hero."

At the same time, Luo Yiyuan and Gu Feiyang found a yellowed letter tucked inside a book.

*

"Let's go to the police together, Xingyao."

The letter was from Chu Zian.

This group hadn’t seen the video Xie Jin and the others found, so they were still guessing about the relationship between Chu Zian and Su Xingyao based on the info they had.

Before Luo Yiyuan could make sense of it, Gu Feiyang found three more folders.

The first one had medical records.

It showed Su Xingyao had been beaten so badly the day before the college entrance exam that his arms and legs were fractured.

The second folder had court documents.

The judge ruled Su Xingyao’s injuries were from a mutual fight and even sentenced him to prison.

The third folder was about the school’s recommendation spot.

It showed Su Xingyao’s name, originally top-ranked, had been crossed off the university recommendation list, replaced by Chu Zian, who was second.

Seeing this, the all-knowing audience pretty much got the picture.

"In the earlier video, Su Xingyao asked Chu Zian why he lied to the police, but here it says Chu Zian told Su Xingyao to go to the police together... So he did it on purpose, huh?"

"Su Xingyao saved a snake."

"Did Chu Zian stab Su Xingyao in the back just to snag that recommendation spot?"

"Saved a snake, got framed by a gossip, ended up bullied for no reason, got beaten so bad he missed the college exam, and then they bribed the judge to lock him up for years... Man, I’d lose it and come back for revenge too."

Just as the audience was feeling sorry for Su Xingyao, Luo Yiyuan and Gu Feiyang suddenly swore.

"Holy crap!!"

They’d found a photo.

The photo had two people.

They were grinning ear to ear, arms around each other’s shoulders.

And they both looked exactly like Su Xingyao.

Luo Yiyuan: "Are these... twins?"

Gu Feiyang: "So, Su Xingyao’s got a brother?"

Luo Yiyuan: "I think I’ve got it now."

"So, one of the brothers was the victim back then, and years later, the other brother found out the truth about how his sibling was screwed over, so he hunted down everyone involved in the bullying and unfair trial and is now getting revenge one by one."

Gu Feiyang nodded and added, "It’s the older brother out for revenge."

He pointed to a faint line of text at the bottom, "It says Su Xingyao’s the younger brother."

"So the older brother’s getting revenge, but where’s Su Xingyao now?"

——

Outside the manor, Su Xingyao and Chu Zian were silent.

Their recording outfits were thin, and the night wind blew in, soaking them in a deep chill.

"Where do you think my body might be?"

Su Xingyao’s sudden question made Chu Zian jump.

Especially hearing words like "body," it sent chills down his spine.

He lowered his gaze to the ground, playing dumb.

"What are you saying? I don’t understand."

Su Xingyao looked at Chu Zian and gave a faint smile, as if joking.

"Perhaps at the foot of the mountain."

Hearing this, Chu Zian stopped in his tracks and looked at him in horror.

"What do you mean... who the hell are you?!"

Despite having mentally prepared himself countless times, the lingering doubt—that Su Xingyao had fallen off a cliff yet miraculously survived—had always been in his heart.

In his rational mind, he knew Su Xingyao was alive.

But that mountain was so high... could anyone survive that fall?

The nightmares that haunted him night after night seemed to return at this moment. Chu Zian didn’t even realize how bizarre his expression was or how strange his question sounded.

Yet, Su Xingyao, standing opposite him, replied calmly.

"Perhaps it’s the Su Xingyao who’s already dead."

"Or... the twin out for revenge for Su Xingyao’s death."

Su Xingyao’s voice was barely audible in the night breeze.

Earlier, when he looked up at the mirror in Xie Jin’s room and saw his own reflection, he had already suspected a twin might be seeking revenge.

The guests were operating with different pieces of information.

Thus, the netizens, who had already figured out most of the truth, were shocked when Su Xingyao guessed the twin theory without having seen the clues.

"No way, Su Xingyao doesn’t know what the others found, does he?"

"His detective skills are off the charts."

"How did he figure it out?"

Netizens were buzzing with excitement.

However, Chu Zian didn’t realize that Su Xingyao was just following the script.

To him, Su Xingyao’s mention of a body and the foot of the mountain were loaded with subtext.

At this point, he was too scared to even meet Su Xingyao’s gaze.

His mind was consumed by the thought of a dead Su Xingyao seeking vengeance.

Chu Zian trailed after Su Xingyao, dazed.

Unnoticed by him, his surroundings started to look more and more familiar.

Su Xingyao followed the clues left by the show’s crew and found a phone near the cliff edge.

After entering the password, a video started playing automatically on the phone.

It clearly captured the moment Su Xingyao was pushed off the cliff.

His body plummeted from the cliff, straight as a stone sinking into water.

The one who pushed him was Chu Zian, his eyes wild with madness.

"What the...?"

"Holy crap...?"

"Chu Zian actually killed Su Xingyao."

"Oh my God, he actually pushed him off the cliff in the end..."

"This twist... Su Xingyao was right—his body really is at the bottom of the cliff!!"

"This story just got really creepy."

"No wonder Chu Zian’s brother sought revenge—he’s downright evil."

"This guy is terrifying."

After the video ended, Su Xingyao didn’t stop it—he played it again.

He looked at Chu Zian, pale-faced, and said calmly, "This is where it happened."

He asked, "Do you remember?"

Chu Zian froze, unable to move or speak.

Su Xingyao smiled, took his hand, and pointed to the nearby cliff.

"This is where you pushed me down."

Back at the scene, Chu Zian had none of the boldness or arrogance he’d had when he pushed Su Xingyao.

Now, Su Xingyao’s hand felt as cold as a ghost’s grip.

Even his voice sounded faint, almost inhuman.

It was time to reveal the truth. Seeing Su Xingyao fully committed to the role, the crew whispered in his earpiece to break the blood bag hidden in his jacket for added effect.

But Chu Zian didn’t know about this setup.

All he saw was a pale Su Xingyao, blood seeping from his chest and abdomen as he demanded answers.

Blood soaked his clothes.

Chu Zian’s legs nearly gave out from fear.

"Stay back, Su Xingyao... are you even human, or are you a ghost?"

Su Xingyao smirked faintly, "Now? I’m not sure."

He glanced at the cliff’s edge where he’d been pushed and murmured, "Maybe I’ve already died once."

After speaking, he calmly walked towards Chu Zian and asked him, "Why did you push me down that day?"

Everyone thought Su Xingyao was putting on an act with Chu Zian, but only Chu Zian understood what Su Xingyao was asking.

He shook his head and backed away, "I don't know," he said.

Su Xingyao locked eyes with him, "You know—"

After a few seconds of pause, he slowly spoke.

"Do you know how long it takes to fall off a cliff?"

Su Xingyao answered for himself, "It takes less than a minute."

"You will hit the ground hard, and countless branches will tear your skin as you roll down."

"Even... puncture your stomach."

Chu Zian's eyes couldn't help but glance at Su Xingyao's still bleeding abdomen, his scalp tingling intensely.

Yet, the other's voice continued.

"You will helplessly watch as your blood drains away."

"During that time, you might think of calling for help, but there's no signal at the bottom of the mountain..."

"There is no sign of any rescuers there."

"Only beasts that have been eyeing you... waiting for their chance to rip your flesh apart."

"And you can only watch all this helplessly, quietly waiting for your life to fade away."

"At first, your body will be in great pain."

"Then, it gradually becomes numb."

"Finally, your consciousness fades, and you wait unwillingly for death."

The audience in front of the screen felt a chill run down their spines listening to Su Xingyao's description.

"Su Xingyao's description really gives me the creeps."

"How does it feel like he really fell and suffered this? It sounds so painful."

"Is this part of the script? Or is Su Xingyao improvising and thinking of all this?"

In the frame, facing the speechless, Chu Zian, Su Xingyao asked him one final question.

"Chu Zian, why did you push me down that day?"

Just as the audience thought it was about to end, a scream suddenly erupted in the frame.

Chu Zian, whose mental defenses had long been broken, screamed and howled, his emotions spiraling out of control.

"Ah!!!!"

"Su Xingyao, stay away from me!! Are you human or a ghost?!"

"Just stop playing tricks in front of me!!"

After saying this, he picked up a branch from the ground and got into a defensive stance.

"I pushed you down once, and I can kill you a second time!!"

Watching the completely unhinged Chu Zian on the screen, the audience couldn't help but comment—"Chu Zian, if only you could act like this before..."

However, the audience had only halfway typed their comments when they heard a bombshell revelation.

"Who told Jiang Xunche to keep talking about you all the time."

"You damn seductress, you deserve to die!!"

"Seductive foxes like you deserve to die!!"

"You deserve to die!!"

"You had it coming when I pushed you down!!"

"You should’ve died at the foot of this mountain!!!"

Amid Chu Zian's frenzied shouts, Su Xingyao looked down without any expression.

He took out the show's phone and pressed three numbers on the keypad.

A few seconds later, the call connected.

Su Xingyao's voice was crystal clear in the open night air.

He said, "Hello, officer, I want to report a crime."