An old PA speaker was powered on, emitting a strange rasping sound, followed by a sudden, piercing screech of electrical feedback.
Since A9 was floating right near the loudspeaker, it covered its ears and plummeted rapidly, cursing softly, What the hell is that?
“I mean no harm, everyone.”
An ambiguous voice seeped from the broadcast, strangely distorted by deliberate modulation to sound completely emotionless.
“I apologize for bringing you all here in such a manner, but the hatred in my heart cannot be quelled. Over time, my rage has only burned hotter.”
“My younger brother was murdered by a brutal serial killer. Because of this, I am furious.”
The voice spread through the broadcast, echoing again and again through hidden speakers in every room and hallway of the dilapidated manor. Lin Mo could even hear the repeated words echoing through the poorly soundproofed walls.
“According to my investigation, the killer moved to where you all live not long ago. However, they hid themselves too well for me to confirm which specific person killed my brother. Therefore, I have brought everyone who falls under suspicion here.”
“Please forgive my rudeness. I sincerely beg of you: find the killer and kill them!”
“Only the killer's blood can appease my wrath. When that time comes, I will naturally let you leave. Otherwise, everyone will rot here together.”
The voice suddenly volume-boosted, “Of course, there is a time limit, as this manor contains no food or water.”
The voice from the loudspeaker paused for a second. “You had better act quickly. I don't wish to wrong innocent people either.”
After a sharp burst of electrical noise faded, the world returned to silence.
【...Wait, there's even an unlimited flow setup?】 Listening to the broadcast, A9 was utterly prostrate with admiration.
Wasn't this plot distribution a little too unfair? It had never been in charge of such a thrilling storyline before.
Talk about favoritism! This world was engaging in blatant favoritism!
Sensitive to malice, it offered a kind reminder: 【The person who organized this event has no idea who the real killer is. Aren't they afraid everyone will just gank one person together? Do they not care if the wrong person gets killed?】
A spark of inspiration hit A9, and putting on its detective hat, it grasped the truth.
【They won't let anyone leave. It's just sweet talk—they're probably planning to make sure all of you die here.】
【Looks like you've gotten yourself into huge trouble,】 A9 deduced based on Lin Mo's previous experiences. 【Moved here not long ago... serial killer... isn't that talking about you?】
Following this train of thought, it rapidly scanned through the people Lin Mo had killed to find the most likely suspect's family member.
Wudong wasn't dead, nor did her gender match. Besides, if she died, her existence would be erased. Thus, the only person whose death could trigger such a massive uproar had to be that Chief.
A9 shot Lin Mo a disapproving look, nursing a massive headache. 【I think the broadcast made things pretty obvious. I told you not to kill the Chief, told you not to kill the Chief! It seems his method of death altered the events, and the butterfly effect spawned another branch.】
【See? Ignore the advice of your elders and you pay the price immediately. Right now, there's a high chance his relative came to get revenge on you. This world isn't as simple as you think, yet you insist on going your own way. Do you know who to listen to now?】
It fluttered around the room like a moth flaring aimlessly. 【Too fast, too fast! Why are these crises packed so tightly? Our location was exposed way too fast!】
Since it wasn't speaking in her subconscious but muttering to itself out loud in the air, Lin Mo didn't hear a word it said.
However, upon hearing the broadcast demand that everyone identify the killer, she also instinctively latched onto the worst-case assumption—believing that the killer the mastermind had in mind was herself.
If the other suspects in this manor found out she had killed someone, what would happen...
Would they suspect her? Would they band together to ostracize and hurt her?
Terrible. So scary.
Since they had to butcher each other anyway, why not speed up the proc—
The door was locked, but because the house was so old, kicking it twice loosened the lock.
With a bang, the wooden door was kicked open, crashing heavily against the wall and scattering a cloud of blinding dust.
“Ah, my god!” A panicked voice cried out from behind the door. She seemed to have followed the sound over, only to be startled by the swinging door, recoiling and collapsing to the floor.
Chen Xijian groped backward in terror, her hand catching on a decayed wooden railing. Giving it a light push made it groan under strain, prompting her to snap her hand back immediately in fright.
“Lin Mo!” Seeing the familiar figure inside the room, she was so emotional she didn't know what to say.
Sitting on the floor, Chen Xijian's face was still swollen from crying that morning. Upon seeing Lin Mo, fresh tears spilled from her eyes. “Did you hear what the broadcast said? Do you know? You know, right?! My brother is missing!”
She messily wiped away the wetness on her face, sobbing, “What do we do? If there's a murderer living where we stay, then my brother... wouldn't he... What do we do, Lin Mo? Is he still alive?”
“He's so young! If—if we really find the murderer, will we be able to bring my brother back?!”
Discovering that Chen Xijian was here as well, Lin Mo froze with her raised foot suspended in midair, slowly lowering it.
She said, “I heard it, but I don't know what happened either.”
A9: 【...She's about to die herself, yet she's still worrying about her brother.】
It checked Lin Mo's expression. This was someone who had grabbed a knife to chop a guy up just because her brother had bad grades; she ought to empathize deeply with Chen Xijian.
【Though Lin Mo, you didn't actually lay a hand on her brother, did you? Why? Isn't the most annoying guy that burglar-alarm recording guy?】
It narrowed its eyes in suspicion.
Such was her reputation.
Lin Mo's mind was in total chaos; any information fed into her brain turned into a tangled mess, preventing her from sorting out the sequence of events.
This time, A9 spoke directly within her subconscious.
She replied, “I didn't.”
A9 was thoroughly baffled. 【It wasn't you? How strange. I thought this was Murder on the Orient Express, but turned out the script is And Then There Were None.】
And Then There Were None was about ten guilty people mysteriously invited to an isolated island, subsequently dying one by one according to the prophecy of a creepy nursery rhyme.
The narrative structure of it likely fit the mastermind's plan quite well.
Lin Mo blurted out her dialogue with A9 out loud. Her pale face and incoherent rambling made Chen Xijian think she must be terrified from suddenly ending up here.
Dumping negative emotions onto others would only weigh them down, so Chen Xijian wiped her tears and stood up.
“It's fine, it's fine, don't be scared. As long as we find the killer, we can get out of here and save my brother,” she sniffled. “Let's go find the others. Maybe... maybe my brother is among them!”
Because the windows were completely boarded up, save for a few slivers of leaking light, the chandelier flickered; the instant that solitary glow dimmed, nothing was left but pitch blackness.
Though they said they were going to look for the other unfortunates brought to this manor, by the time they reached the flickering hall, they were already the last two to arrive.
Lin Mo had a decent memory. Some faces were unfamiliar while others were recognizable, but she had crossed paths with almost all of them at least once.
The breakfast vendor, the old lady who raised cats, the middle-aged junk collector, the butcher she had been repeatedly warned not to approach... and the burglar-alarm recording guy.
How were there people of every age group?
Lin Mo noticed that the bakery boss was surprisingly among them as well.
The boss was here too.
Right, she had fainted inside the car together with her, so it made sense for her to be here.
She had only worked a quarter of her shift today, so she probably wouldn't get paid either.
The bakery boss, Zhang Qiumin, was sitting next to the breakfast vendor. In the gap between the flickering light, she spotted the slight figure of Chen Xijian walking out of the shadows. Her lips parted, wanting to say something to call her over.
But at that exact moment, the flickering light plunged into darkness.
And right behind Chen Xijian, Lin Mo's face—covered in extensive burns stretching down to her neck—was revealed inch by inch by the relit light, looking like a terrifying ghost.
Zhang Qiumin's expression instantly turned into pure terror.
Extending a trembling finger, she pointed at the newcomer. “You... It's you! You're here too! The person mentioned in the broadcast—you killed him, didn't you?!”
Chen Xijian turned around in surprise, but looking at Lin Mo's completely blank face, she turned back and said angrily, “Don't slander her!”
“Ask her! Ask her and you'll know if I'm slandering her!” Zhang Qiumin stood up, looking at the people around her, desperate to prove her words. “I got into the Security Bureau car with her! Halfway there, I don't know what kind of madness took over her, but she strangled the Security Bureau worker to death!”
As soon as these words came out, everyone's expressions turned quite colorful.
Lin Mo struggled to digest what she said. Sensing the numerous gazes directed at her, she realized she should say something. “If you were going to the Security Bureau, then why are you here?”
The boss's torrent of words faltered for a moment, but then she seized upon another clue: “Doesn't that prove that even if you're not the killer, you're the mastermind who brought us here?!”
Lin Mo didn't know what else to say. She had never liked arguing with people.
“That's just your guess. Don't pick on the poor girl,” said the breakfast vendor sitting beside the boss.
“You don't know anything!” Zhang Qiumin gritted her teeth, looking down at him.
If anyone else had been in the same car with Lin Mo, sitting right beside her, and personally witnessed her strangling the man in the driver's seat to death through sheer brute force, they wouldn't sit there comfortable and unbothered, making flippant remarks!
Had she not made herself clear enough?! That man didn't die of asphyxiation—his cervical spine had been snapped in half!
Even now, she could still recall that crisp, loud snapping sound before she fainted, like bamboo splitting apart.
With a terrorist like this sitting among them, were they seriously not terrified?!
Rate on N.U.
