Ren Yi was naturally unaware of the activity in the group chat and continued his narrative.
"Fortunately, the poison is an ability granted by the rules. As long as I'm face-to-face with an Anomaly, it's a guaranteed hit."
Ren Yi let out a sigh of relief, a hint of lingering fear visible on his face.
"I didn't hesitate to use the poison when it approached me. Once it took effect, the Anomaly began to shrink and warp, eventually taking on Player 8's appearance and turning into the stone statue currently in the hall."
"Many of you might wonder why I didn't use the poison on the first night when I was in the same room as Player 4 and we were attacked."
"It wasn't that I didn't want to; it's just that the teleporting Anomaly was too fast. It flashed by in an instant, and I didn't even have time to react before it vanished. I never had a chance to use the poison."
"Player 2 can vouch for me on this. He was peeping into my room at the time and should have seen what happened."
Ren Yi looked toward Player 2, his eyes holding a trace of a "look of appeal" that, combined with his expression, appeared exceptionally sincere.
Player 2 showed no sign of anything unusual.
Seeing this, a smile returned to Ren Yi's face. "Alright, that's it for the explanation. Now, let me state my position."
"I completely support the instructions of my dear Chosen Peeper. Wherever he points, I’ll strike!"
"Today, let's all work together to vote out Player 9."
Finally, he spread his hands. "But to be honest, I'm basically just useless dead weight without my poison now..."
"The poison was used on Player 8, so I'm currently unarmed and have no way to protect myself. Anomalies are welcome to come and kill me; I'm not afraid to die anyway!"
Everyone automatically ignored his nonsensical ramblings.
They all knew that as long as the Anomaly had half a brain, it would never kill this "clown" tonight.
The term "clown" here carried a double meaning.
Having finished, Ren Yi sat down composedly.
The candle flame moved again, this time settling in front of Player 5, the female teacher.
Player 5 slowly stood up. She wore simple clothes, and while her face showed signs of exhaustion, her eyes were exceptionally sharp. Her gaze drifted between Player 6, Player 1, and Player 10 as if she were deep in thought. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke.
"Since things have reached this point, I won't hold anything back. I'll claim my role now."
Player 5's tone was calm, without a hint of agitation.
"I am an Ordinary Civilian. I have no special abilities, and I've survived this long purely by relying on my own judgment."
After claiming her role, she began to methodically analyze the situation with a serious tone.
"Among those present, Player 9 is definitely an Anomaly. On this point, I agree with Player 2 and Player 3, so there's no need to say more."
"Aside from that, the remaining Anomaly must be chosen from the rest of us."
She paused and added, "Of course, if someone jumps out later to counter-claim a role—for instance, if someone says they are the real Poison Apprentice—then it won't be too late to eliminate suspects among the claimants."
"As for me, I am certainly not an Anomaly. I'm just an Ordinary Civilian with no motive or ability to kill."
Player 5's tone was firm as her gaze swept over Player 11, Zhang Qiuqiu, and continued.
"Player 11 previously orchestrated Player 12's death and successfully sealed that teleporting Anomaly. This is something everyone witnessed."
"Therefore, Player 11 is certainly not an Anomaly either."
"In that case, the only remaining suspects are Player 1, Player 6, and Player 10."
Player 5's gaze focused heavily on Player 10, her tone carrying a clear note of dissatisfaction.
"Personally, I lean more toward Player 10. His performance today really didn't seem like that of a good person."
"Furthermore, he was acting all chummy with Player 9, echoing his words. The two of them are acting suspiciously; it's hard not to be skeptical."
It was clear that the female teacher was a straightforward person who couldn't stand the behavior of Player 10 and Player 9, making no effort to hide her disgust and suspicion.
Just then, Player 5 reached out, her fingertips nearly touching the candle, clearly intending to extinguish it and end her speech.
But at the very moment her finger was about to touch the flame, she suddenly stopped.
Her brow furrowed slightly as if she had thought of something. She withdrew her hand and looked at the group again, her tone carrying a hint of hesitation and doubt.
"But actually, given the current situation, there might be one more problem."
Her tone became wavering as she slowly spoke.
"That is... Player 12's death seems to be based entirely on Player 11's one-sided account."
"At the time, only Player 11 said she saw that Player 12 was an Anomaly and moved to seal it."
"None of the rest of us saw it with our own eyes."
At this point, Player 5's gaze instantly sharpened, staring directly at Player 11, Zhang Qiuqiu, with a tone of testing and questioning.
"What if Player 11 lied?"
"What if Player 12 wasn't an Anomaly at all, but a good person whom Player 11 deliberately framed and sealed?"
These words were like a bombshell exploding in the hall. The originally relaxed atmosphere turned heavy once again.
What Player 5 said wasn't impossible; after all, there truly were no other clues to corroborate Player 12's death.
What kind of logic is this?
Ren Yi was momentarily stunned.
He understood that Player 5 was questioning whether Player 11 could be an Anomaly who had deliberately framed someone.
It was certainly possible, because the original Player 11's actions really had been a bit of a gamble.
She had most likely planned to wake up the next day and claim to be the Poison Apprentice to explain her previous actions, but her subsequent moves never actually materialized.
But now, Player 11 was a real Anomaly.
So, one could say that Player 5's logic was completely wrong, but her conclusion was spot on.
Ren Yi felt a bit helpless. He hadn't expected Lord Cha's final performance of crying out about an injustice to actually backfire.
If Lord Cha had just stood up, laughed three times, and said, "You're all dead," this wouldn't be happening.
Ren Yi thought to himself with some amusement.
There was nothing to be done about it; after all, this kind of reverse logic wouldn't have even been considered in the first two days.
Zhang Qiuqiu was slightly taken aback, then furrowed her brows, wearing a "what are you talking about" expression as her eyes filled with a hint of confusion and grievance.
Observing Zhang Qiuqiu's reaction, Player 5 shook her head slightly and softened her tone.
"I'm just speaking off the top of my head. I don't mean anything by it, and I'm not deliberately suspecting you."
She paused, her eyes clouded with confusion. "I just keep feeling like something is wrong. I can't say exactly what it is; it's just an intuition."
"So, just consider it a reminder to everyone, something to think about."
After saying this, Player 5 no longer hesitated and reached out to gently extinguish her candle.
"Pass."
Rate on N.U.
