Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 83

In the afternoon, there’s a thin layer of clouds in the sky. The strong sunlight fluctuated with the mountains of varying heights. Inside the living room, the air conditioning was turned up high. Technically, it wasn’t sweltering, but after Zhou Qian answered Ruan Mei’s question, Ke Shi’s back was layered with sweat. It wasn’t long before his shirt was completely drenched, as if it had been washed with water.

Ke Shi was waiting. He was waiting for Ruan Mei’s response and also waiting to see if the system would send any prompts. The scythe of Death was already hanging in front of his neck. It all depended on whether Zhou Qian’s guess was right and if he had won the bet.

In fact, it wasn’t until last night, after Zhou Qian explained the rules to him, that Ke Shi realized how terrifying this scenario was.

Then, he and Ke Si, as instructed by Zhou Qian, checked both the front and back yards. After their round, Zhou Qian joined them for another round before returning to the living room.

Zhou Qian leisurely sat down on the sofa. Both Ke Si and Ke Shi looked at him, letting out their long-held question. “How does the death judgment of this instance work? Why did you make us check so many times?”

“Ruan Mei can only kill under certain conditions, that is, she won’t be seen by her husband or others as the murderer,” Zhou Qian began. “So, she needs some objective conditions to mask her killings as ‘accidents’. You know this. But what you know is just part of it.”

Zhou Qian continued, “From another perspective, the key word of this scenario is ‘murderous intent’. If the objective conditions meet Ruan Mei’s criteria to kill the child, she will harbor the intent to kill. Once she has this intent, she will succeed, and the system will judge us as dead.”

“The system’s judgment is based on Ruan Mei’s subjective will. That’s the biggest challenge in this scenario.”

Hearing this, Ke Si couldn’t help but interject, “That’s too overbearing! It’s not reasonable!”

“It might be overbearing, but it is reasonable,” Zhou Qian replied. “In Ruan Mei’s eyes, we aren’t ‘players’; we’re children. You must understand—real children wouldn’t know in advance that Ruan Mei is a killer.”

Zhou Qian looked at Ke Shi and Ke Si’s expressions and further explained, “For example, if Ruan Mei pulled out a knife in front of a child with the intention to kill, it would be too obvious. The child isn’t stupid and would surely hide.”

“Plus, if she did kill the child with a knife, covering up the crime would be harder. She’d have to come up with an excuse like ‘an intruder broke into my house and killed my child with a knife’, which would leave too many inconsistencies.”

“For these reasons, Ruan Mei won’t kill this way. A knife won’t satisfy her conditions for murder, so it won’t trigger her murderous intent. Under these circumstances, the system won’t declare death.”

“But conversely, if Ruan Mei plans ahead, whether she smothers the children in their sleep or tricks them into a car to poison them with carbon monoxide…”

“As long as the objective factors align with what Ruan Mei believes she needs to commit murder, her intent to kill will be activated, and the system will judge us as dead.”

“That’s why I said that the system’s judgment depends on Ruan Mei’s subjective wishes.”

After pondering for a moment, Ke Si and Ke Shi seemed to have understood. They whispered amongst themselves for a bit before looking eagerly at Zhou Qian.

“We know what to do!” Ke Si exclaimed. “By your logic, something like a knife won’t trigger her intent to kill. So, can’t we just confront her with a knife? Even if we don’t have skills, can’t use aggressive items, and our strength is comparable to children, can’t the four of us overpower her?”

However, Zhou Qian replied, “No, you can’t just do that.”

“Why?!”

“Once Ruan Mei realizes our intentions, it will be even more unfavorable for us. Because we would be immediately deemed dead.”

“Why? Based on what?!”

“It seems you didn’t fully understand what I just said. Think carefully about the logic in it.”

After a while, seeing the expressions on Ke Si and Ke Shi, they apparently didn’t get it. Zhou Qian continued, “You forgot the most crucial sentence I said earlier—Ruan Mei’s subjective will determines how the system judges.”

“The example I gave earlier about the ‘knife’ is under normal circumstances. Once there’s a change, causing Ruan Mei’s subjective will to change, the ‘knife’ might trigger her intent to kill.”

“For instance, if Ruan Mei sees us trying to kill her with a knife, alarm bells will go off in her mind—”

“’Did the children find out everything I’ve done? Are they trying to kill me? In that case, I can’t set up so many traps. I have to kill them quickly!'”

By this point, looking deeply into Ke Si and Ke Shi’s eyes, Zhou Qian seriously said, “In such situations, Ruan Mei’s subjective intention and mindset change, and the objective factors triggering murderous intent change accordingly.”

“For us, this situation is the most unfavorable. Not only can things like the ‘knife,’ which wouldn’t normally incite her murderous intent, become something she could use to kill, she might not even need any tools to kill us.”

“Let me give you an extreme example. If Ruan Mei directly grabs a child and throws him violently to the ground and then covers up the act afterward, theoretically, could it all be disguised as an accident?”

“She wouldn’t need the so-called trap and designs anymore. Once the urge to kill arises, she directly throws the child to death, then she can pick up a toy gun and shoot a toy bullet into the child’s eye.”

“Afterward, she can claim that the children were playing with the toy gun, shot each other in the eye, and the one who got blinded accidentally fell down the stairs and died… This is also a type of ‘accident,’ right?”

“Therefore, once we confront Ruan Mei, she will immediately become murderous.”

“In such cases, ‘killing us’ is the top priority, and the illusion of an ‘accident’ can be remedied afterward. In her subjective will, as a mother, she could totally throw her child off a cliff…”

“Once she has this thought, without any additional tools, the system will make an immediate judgment, and we will directly die.”

By this point, Ke Si and Ke Shi were pale faced.

They finally understood Zhou Qian’s meaning—

Under normal circumstances, Ruan Mei wouldn’t choose to directly stab or throw a child to death because the success rate was low, the risk was high, and there would be more loopholes, making it harder for her to evade guilt.

Ruan Mei would prioritize the easiest method for her to kill. Based on that, if she could minimize suspicion, it would be even better.

But if situations became “abnormal,” Ruan Mei wouldn’t care anymore. Her primary goal was to kill, and concerns about evading guilt would only come afterward.

When the thought “I can kill now” emerged in Ruan Mei’s mind, the system would declare the player dead.

On the surface, it looked like players could directly confront Ruan Mei with a knife. But in reality, they couldn’t. In this scenario, players truly had no advantage.

No wonder… so many players failed in this instance.

Ke Si and Ke Shi felt utterly hopeless about clearing this challenge.

The two finally understood why Ke Er and Ke San decided to run. Those two realized this aspect and thought that staying far away from Ruan Mei was the real solution.

Unfortunately, they missed one point—they didn’t realize that the last two bodies in the exhibition hall died because of a “car”. They didn’t expect that Ruan Mei wouldn’t stay in the villa to kill the other children but instead drive after them.

After a long while, Ke Si, having thought of something, asked Zhou Qian again, “Can’t we just hide? If the four of us restrain each other and play hide and seek with Ruan Mei, leading her here and there, and then just pass the remaining time?”

Ke Shi added, “Or, simpler, can’t we just avoid all the traps? Go to the lake? No. Swing? No. Basically, just refuse whatever she suggests!”

Zhou Qian decisively replied, “Neither of your suggestions will work.”

Ke Si and Ke Shi: “Why?!”

Zhou Qian said, “Actually, the logic is the same as what I just said. If all the traps and plans of Ruan Mei are evaded by us, that’s also an ‘unconventional situation’. If her designed methods to kill can’t be used, she can only resort to the simplest and crudest means. She might think, ‘might as well just throw them off and kill them’. Once she thinks this way, the system will immediately determine us as dead.”

“The game of hide and seek is the same. If she can’t find someone, her mentality will change. For instance, she might think, ‘might as well burn down the whole villa’.”

“To sum it up, once Ruan Mei’s mentality changes, her criteria for killing also change. Once her ideal conditions related to killing become flexible, we are more likely to be directly determined as dead.”

Ke Si and Ke Shi felt a shiver down their spines. The more Zhou Qian explained, the more they felt doomed. This wasn’t a strange game; it was directly designed to kill the players.

In the afternoon, under the advice of Ke Er and Ke San, they carefully checked the toys, envisioned all possible traps related to killing, and tried to avoid them. But it turned out they could only hide temporarily. If they managed to dismantle all of Ruan Mei’s traps, she would resort to brute force.

Ke Si even said, “I might as well commit suicide. Who knows what Ruan Mei would do to me? What if she lets me suffocate in a car? Isn’t that torture?”

Ke Shi earnestly looked at Zhou Qian and said sincerely, “Qian Ge, what should we do? We are relying on you! Without you, we would probably die here.”

Zhou Qian said, “Once we see through the way the system determines death, it’s not hard. Ruan Mei’s mindset has two stages.”

“First, in the regular state, she would choose a more secure method, making everything look like ‘accidents’, harming people without a trace, to absolve herself.”

“Second, in an unconventional extreme state, she would kill in a crude way. Once this state is triggered, we’re likely to be directly judged as dead.”

“What we need to do is simple: prevent her from reaching the second state.”

“To achieve this, we should follow three points.”

“First, do not confront her directly. She shouldn’t find out we intend to kill her.”

“Second, don’t just play hide and seek, as she might get angry if she can’t find us.”

“Third, don’t reject all her suggestions, even if we know it might lead us to death.”

Ke Si asked, “I understand the first and second, but what about the third? How do we judge that?”

Ke Shi continued, “Yes, actually I understand the previous points. For example, the first night, there were children in the room, no other adults, there were pillows, which can be the three factors for the system’s judgment.”

“Last night, Ruan Mei was able to drive the children to the supermarket alone, and objective factors also made her feel she could kill.”

“But this situation in the villa is more complicated! There are no adults around now, and the factor of no witnesses already naturally exists! Those toys, swings, and such naturally exist. The reason why the system didn’t make a judgment is because…. Because…”

Ke Shi suddenly became lost for words.

Zhou Qian laughed and said, “Indeed, here in the villa, various factors that could provoke Ruan Mei’s intent to kill objectively exist. The system hasn’t determined it because there are too many ways to die.”

“If there are too many ways to die, the system wouldn’t know how to judge. So, when we choose a single ‘way to die’, we would immediately be judged as dead.”

“For example, if Ruan Mei proposes to go to the swing, once we agree, the system will probably determine that we are going to die immediately.”

Ke Shi exclaimed, “Oh god… I can’t see how we can survive at all.”

Zhou Qian replied, “If Ruan Mei makes suggestions related to the villa facilities or toys, we should decline, or we would be judged as dead. However, if she suggests going to the lakeside, we wouldn’t die.”

Ke Si asked, “Why?!”

Zhou Qian explained, “Agreeing to go to the lakeside won’t cause an immediate death. There are many ways to reach the lakeside, by car or walking. By car, we might suffocate; walking, she might push us off a cliff.”

“Understand? ‘Agreeing to go to the lakeside’ isn’t deadly, which is why we haven’t been judged dead in the villa because it corresponds to various death methods, and the system can’t decide yet.”

Zhou Qian concluded, “Staying in this villa, we might encounter fire, gas explosions, gas poisoning, deadly toys… It’s impossible to guard against it. But if we go to the lake, there are many ways to die, but at least they can be anticipated.”

“In addition, there are children who drowned in the exhibition hall. Going to the lake will definitely be one of Ruan Mei’s suggestions. As long as we agree to this, we won’t have to decline all her suggestions, forcing her to desperately kill us directly.”

“Overall, going to the lakeside is the best choice.”

Ke Si and Ke Shi were eventually persuaded. “Agreed to ‘go to the lake’, and then?”

Zhou Qian said, “After that, before we leave the villa on the way to the lake, before Ruan Mei thinks ‘all the factors deliberately creating the appearance of an accident are in place, I can now start killing’, we will quietly kill her first.”

After this, not only did Ke Si and Ke Shi start to imagine ways to assassinate Ruan Mei, but Zhou Qian was also thinking.

First, spread oil, alcohol, and flammable materials on the road in advance, and then set Ruan Mei on fire when the time comes. But this carried a great risk.

No one could predict the movements of other adults and Ruan Mei the next day. If the trap was discovered in advance, it was likely to lead Ruan Mei to harbor a direct and brutal intent to kill. If the fire didn’t completely surround Ruan Mei and failed to kill her instantly, if she approached and smelled something… all of these could cause her mentality to shift, deciding to directly kill and afterward disguise it as an “accident”.

In that case, the system would determine that everyone was dead.

Secondly, make a bow and arrow overnight, find someone to ambush on the road downhill to the lake, and shoot.

This was also unreliable. Not to mention that players couldn’t leave the villa’s restricted area without interacting with NPCs, the tools in their villa were very limited. It wasn’t easy to create a tool that could kill with one hit.

Now they were all just kids. If the arrow wasn’t shot accurately, or because of craft issues, the arrow wasn’t sharp enough to kill immediately… As long as Ruan Mei was still breathing and harbored the “intent to kill”, the system might still determine that the players were dead.

……

After eliminating all other methods, in fact, only one method remains.

Zhou Qian spoke up, sharing his thoughts with Ke Si and Ke Shi. “This method is both difficult and simple. The ‘knife’ is a double-edged sword. I still hold my previous viewpoint. Under normal circumstances, it won’t invoke Ruan Mei’s intent to kill. Before she discovers everything, stab her with the ‘knife’. This is actually the most effective way to clear the stage.”

Upon hearing Zhou Qian’s words, both Ke Si and Ke Shi fell silent. Given the players’ current physical state, they were almost indistinguishable from real children.

It would be very difficult for them to kill an adult with a single stab. Furthermore, even if the knife pierced Ruan Mei’s heart, if she wasn’t killed instantly and realized what was happening, and harbored the intent to kill, the system, which judged based on her subjective intentions, might deem the players dead.

So, the person who would attempt to stab Ruan Mei must land a critical hit. Otherwise, not only would they be deemed dead immediately, all players would die with them.

Without any MP to use… who could confidently pull this off in the state of a child?

After both Ke Si and Ke Shi raised this concern, a voice responded, “I’ll do it.”

This time, it was Bai Zhou who answered.

Ke Si and Ke Shi turned to see Bai Zhou holding a bowl of shrimp soup, walking from the direction of the kitchen.

With a calm and gentle demeanor, he placed the bowl on the table in front of Zhou Qian. Without looking at Ke Si and Ke Shi, Bai Zhou looked at Zhou Qian and said, “You handle the preparations. I’ll take the final step.”

Zhou Qian scooped up a piece of shrimp and smiled at Bai Zhou. “So, you’re heeding my instructions now?”

Bai Zhou stared back. “It’s not about following your orders, but whether you trust me or not.”

According to Zhou Qian’s proposal, if there was the slightest error, everyone would die. This move required someone who could execute it flawlessly. With this in mind, Bai Zhou’s statement was really a question to Zhou Qian—whether he was willing to entrust his life to him.

“It’s said that a Rank God player is on the verge of entering the realm of the gods. If I were your Shepherd, you’d be my God, right?”

Zhou Qian offered the spoonful of shrimp to Bai Zhou and said with a mix of sincerity and jest, “Then this is my test for you, my God. Let’s see if you can pass.”

The conversation between Zhou Qian, Ke Si, and the others left the virtual hall spectators in shock.

“It’s over. If it were me, I’d definitely be dead.”

“Yeah, the answer ‘going to the water’s edge’ clearly leads to drowning. Everyone would think it’s a death trap! Who would think that it’s almost the only way out?”

“The game designer has a wicked sense of humor.”

“Do you guys feel that this 137 guy is getting weirder and weirder?”

“He’s especially weird towards Qian Ge.”

“Qian Ge is also a bit weird towards him. What did he mean by that? Usually, gods test humans, but he reversed it?”

“So what exactly is the relationship between this 137 and our Qian Ge…?”

……

Time returned to the present.

After Zhou Qian agreed to go to the lake, he looked at Ruan Mei and added, “We really want to go to the lake, but not by car. We want to walk down the mountain. There seem to be many butterflies on the path from the backyard, and we want to walk from there.”

Ruan Mei smiled at Zhou Qian and said, after a pause, “Alright. I’ll get some short T-shirts for you all.”

Hearing this, Ke Shi and Ke Si both let out a sigh of relief, completely relaxing.

Thus, 10 minutes later, Ruan Mei indeed changed the four “children” into short T-shirts. This almost entirely ruled out the possibility of players hiding anything on them.

“Let’s set off now!” Ruan Mei said.

Zhou Qian pointed towards the kitchen. “Could you get some fruit and a knife? We can eat some fruit on the way. I want you to peel an apple for me!”

When Ke Shi heard the word “knife”, his heart, which had just settled, once again rose in anxiety, every hair standing on end.

Last night, when he nervously asked Zhou Qian if everything was really okay, Zhou Qian emphasized, “I’ve said it before, as long as we don’t push her into an unconventional state, a ‘knife’ is fine. The risk of her using a knife on us and later being identified as the murderer is too great.”

“A knife, while looking dangerous and conspicuous, won’t provoke her murderous intent. So, we can use it to our advantage. It’s our key to victory.”

While waiting for Ruan Mei’s response and a system notification, Ke Shi could only reassure himself by repeatedly recalling Zhou Qian’s words. Fortunately, Ruan Mei soon smiled and said, “Alright, I’ll get the knife and fruits.”

Moments later, Ruan Mei, holding fruits and a knife in one hand and a picnic blanket in the other, led the four children to the backyard, planning to head down the mountain from there.

When passing the swing, she asked, “Do you want to swing for a while?”

All four firmly declined. Her smile slightly froze, but she continued walking.

Zhou Qian had a reason to choose the backyard route. The front yard led directly to the downhill path. If Ruan Mei wanted to push someone down, the players would be deemed dead the moment they stepped out.

The backyard, however, led to a large flat area. This area, probably planned by Ke Yun for a garden, hadn’t been worked on and was idle.

This space served as a buffer for the players, far from any steep slopes or potential danger points. Here, the only ways to kill were to throw a child forcibly to the ground or use the fruit knife. Both methods were too conspicuous for a sane Ruan Mei.

Her killing intent would truly be triggered closer to the steep slopes or at the water’s edge. Thus, this place became Zhou Qian’s chosen location to counterattack.

Leading the way, Zhou Qian turned back and signaled Ke Si and Ke Shi. Both, trying to suppress their fear, sat on the ground.

Ruan Mei looked at them. “What’s wrong? You can’t be tired after just a few steps?”

Ke Shi was afraid that their action might provoke Ruan Mei’s sudden intent to kill. But Zhou Qian walked to his side, patted his shoulder, and whispered, “We’ve already promised her we’d ‘go to the water’s edge’, so she can confidently proceed with her plan without any killing intent here. Stay calm.”

Ke Shi swallowed hard, trying to contain himself, and then smiled at Ruan Mei. “Mom, we’re suddenly tired and want some fruit.”

“Yeah.” Zhou Qian walked over and took Ruan Mei’s hand, leading her to sit on the ground. “Mom, you should rest too. You must’ve been so busy these past few days. We’re all worried about you. Can you peel some apples for us?”

With a smile, Ruan Mei sat down and, sure enough, began peeling the apples. Zhou Qian glanced at her and gave a subtle look towards Bai Zhou, who wasn’t too far behind her. Bai Zhou nodded in acknowledgment. Zhou Qian then turned and walked towards Ke Si and Ke Shi, who were sitting on the ground pretending to be too lazy to move, looking as though he wanted to playfully scuffle with them.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Qian suddenly fell to the ground and cried out. “Mom, come help me! It hurts so much!”

Always playing her part and ensuring the children had no suspicions, Ruan Mei immediately set aside the apple and knife, walking over to Zhou Qian and embracing him.

Her initial instinct was to stand up while holding Zhou Qian. However, each time she moved, Zhou Qian cried louder, so she could only remain seated, holding and comforting him.

Zhou Qian deliberately made Ruan Mei sit facing away from the fruits, the knife, and Bai Zhou to facilitate Bai Zhou’s subsequent actions. Given Bai Zhou’s current height resembling that of a child, it would be challenging for him to act if Ruan Mei stood up.

While crying in Ruan Mei’s embrace, Zhou Qian’s gaze passed over her shoulder, focusing on Bai Zhou behind her.

After a while, Bai Zhou picked up the knife, hiding it behind him, and moved silently closer, much like a ghost walking under the sunlight.

He quietly approached behind Ruan Mei and stealthily raised his arm. Seeing this, Ke Si and Ke Shi punched each other, immediately beginning to scuffle, attracting all of Ruan Mei’s attention.

Ruan Mei looked up, her gaze shifting from Zhou Qian to focus on Ke Si and Ke Shi. She immediately chided, “Hey, how old are you two now? Why are you still fighting?”

In the next moment, a hand wielding a knife quickly slid across her throat.

With one slash, her throat was slit. Ruan Mei choked and died instantly.

The moment blood spurted out, Ruan Mei was pushed aside by a hand.

A figure quickly rushed over, put one hand on Zhou Qian’s shoulder, led him sideways, and raised his other hand to cover his eyes.

After a while, Zhou Qian felt the palm in front of him move away. He looked down and saw not a single drop of blood on himself.

The sunlight, the mountain, the villa… All the scenery suddenly disappeared. Opening their eyes, the players returned to their adult appearance and returned to Hall 1 of Exhibition Hall A.

Unbeknownst to them, a figure flashed and appeared out of thin air in the location of Hall 7.

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