723 Second Round

After entering the theme park of life and walking through the maze of memory, eventually, they arrived at the hotel of despair. Every tenant here had their own identity, and they each represented something. They would follow the black boxs rules and select the last survivor. Everyone had the right to decide other peoples lives, but they had no right to decide their own lives.

Han Fei lowered his head, and blood leaked out of the corner of his mask. The fiery pain didnt disappear. His face appeared to grow into the mask.

What if we didnt choose anything? What will happen? Why should we listen to the order of a killer? The woman didnt want the party to be led by the killer, but the hotel owner interrupted. At least the killer got something right. The black mist is coagulating. Eventually, itll form a tide to swallow the hotel. If this place is ruined, well end up in the same state as those who were forced to leave the hotel.

Death? There were only two choices, either they followed the killers rules, or all of them would die. The wall clock ticked. With each passing second, the atmosphere became more oppressive.

How about we follow the killers orders for now? Based on his tone, the killers mind wasnt in the right place. Perhaps he imagined everything. The magician sat on the couch and played with his dolls. He didnt look at anyone. He seemed to be talking to the dolls.

No. The officer rejected it. He glared at the magician. Everyone, calm down. There is a poker card in the victims sleeve. The chance of the magician being the killer is very high!

Im a magician, not a clown. A joker poker card doesnt mean anything. He raised his head, but he didnt look at the officer. He stood up and walked towards the mute girl at the corner. The girl sensed that and shivered even harder. Im a kind person, and I love to be with kids. The reason Im a magician is to bring smiles to children. He knelt before the girl. He removed one of his dolls and placed it in the girls hand. Can you tell me your name? Ill write your name later so that you can leave here alive. The magician was facing away from everyone. They could hear his words, but they couldnt see what he did.

A few seconds later, the girl reached out to paint a small flower on the muddy wall. Is your name Flower? The girl nodded mechanically. The fear in her eyes subsided. They were replaced by confusion.

Alright. I understand. The magician touched the girls head. Children are our future and hope. If only one of us can leave here alive, I personally hope that its you. The magician appeared to have made his choice. Then, he returned to his seat.

The officers face darkened because the scriptwriter openly went against him, and the magician also ignored him.

When the clock showed 23:55, everyone could hear the rain dripping. The black rain became heavier like it was trying to wash away the hotel. The raindrops hit on the walls. The party looked out the window. The black mist mixed with the black rain. The world was collapsing on them.

Are you sure youre not going to follow the killers orders? Do you plan to die together? The magician ignored others. He removed the doll near his heart, picked up the pen on the table, and wrote down Flower on the doll. Hopefully, the black box can understand my thoughts. The magician tossed the doll into the box. I wish for her to be the last survivor. The doll fell into the box and disappeared silently. The other travelers looked at the magician in shock.

Giving others your vote was the only leverage to ensure ones survival. However, the magician used his vote without hesitation. It was like he really wanted the girl to survive until the end. After that, the girl stood up and walked unsteadily to the table. She slipped a paper into the box.

I dont think the girl voted voluntarily. None of us know the magicians real name, but the girl dropped her vote directly. I suspect the magician has hypnotized the girl to make her do something against her will. Mad Laughter narrowed his eyes. He was confident and sharp. He treated this as a real game. After the game was over, hed kill everyone.

Perhaps we dont need to know each others name. We can vote with the impression we have of each other. The magician pointed at his brain. If you dont believe me, you can try it. Once the vote is successful, youll have this feeling of tossing said persons soul into the abyss.

You know so much. The officer became more reticent but also more dangerous. The person we choose will receive a new life. Why would it feel like youve dropped them in the abyss? The scriptwriter was confused. He took out the paper and pen from his pocket. He scribbled a name and put it into the black box. When the paper disappeared, the scriptwriter was startled. Then, he turned around to smile at Mad Laughter.

Then, everyone else started to vote. After the scriptwriter was done, Mad Laughter walked to the table. He wrote down a name and dropped it into the box.

The hotel owner sighed. He and the worker walked forward together. They wrote down each others names.

Youll regret this. The officer said. But as more people cast their votes, he started to feel uneasy. He walked to the middle-aged woman and tried to persuade her to vote for each other. But the woman shook her head. She tossed the ball of paper she had into the black box. Han Fei walked to the table and voted for his wife.

The people who hadnt voted were the officer and the fugitive.

Write! I need to see you write down my name! The officer who represented justice was also the first to resort to violence. In comparison, the fugitive did feel more like an officer. The officer beat the fugitive. He poked his fingers into the fugitives broken stump. After the endless torture, the fugitive was forced to write down the officers name. Please dont misunderstand, everyone. Violence is never the solution. Im forced too. The officer then wrote down the fugitives name. Before he found a new target, he needed the fugitive to keep him alive. Everyone had voted, but nothing changed. Just as everyone thought they had been tricking, the clock struck midnight. The two clock hands overlapped, and a strange sound started in the room. Everyone turned to the sound. Black mist unfurled from Lee Guo Ers skin. It looked like her skin had burst. Her fair skin turned black, and her body was soon enveloped by the black mist. Then all the black mist rushed to the black box. When the mist dispersed, Lee Guo Er was gone, like everything about her had been wiped away.

The hotel is built inside the brain. The people here should be in soul form. Perhaps theres still a chance for her to be awakened. Han Fei switched on masterful acting. Everything that happened here affected him. However, he couldnt show any flaws. He needed to survive until the end to make real changes. The black rain outside the window slapped like waves. The ten people watched the couch Lee Guo Er was lying on earlier. The person disappeared just like that.

The killer isnt lying. The person with the lowest vote will die. The magician walked to the couch and caressed the surface. No one could tell someone was lying there earlier.

Mad Laughter was not as confident after he saw Lee Guo Er disappear. Instead, the craziness in his eyes was invoked. It felt like he had been through this before.

The killer didnt do anything in the first round. Hes probably afraid of exposure. The officers tone changed too. If he didnt force the fugitive to write down his name, hed end up the same as Lee Guo Er. Everyone else had their own partners. The officer and the fugitive were forcibly bound together. There was no trust at all between them. It was too much of a risk for them to leave their lives in each others hands.

After Lee Guo Er disappeared, the mist outside the hotel faded slightly. However, 10 minutes later, the mist returned. The old hotel couldnt handle it for long. It was like a broken boat caught in a storm.

Bang!

One of the windows on the second floor was blown open. Black rain blew into the room.

Ill go close the window. The worker was about to leave when the scriptwriter said, You better dont leave our sight.

The magician also smiled, Didnt you realize it? The longer we drag this out, the harder the storm. The killer is urging us to pick the last survivor. He touched the dolls and walked to the mute girl again. This is so cruel. So many of us adults have to fight with a small girl.

Stop lying to the girl. The woman didnt know the girl, but she felt the magician had been using her. The girls eyes were different from before. It felt like she was slowly losing herself.

How am I lying to her? Im the only one protecting her. The magician walked to the girl again. No one stopped him. They didnt mind the magician using the girl as his insurance. The girl was very weak. Any adult could control her. If they couldnt control her, they could easily kill her. That was the reason shed be able to survive until near the end.

Wait. I suspect youre threatening her. The officer spoke. He hauled the girl from the corner and had her sit on the chair next to the dining table.

Fine. I wont touch her. Let her make her own choice. The magician shrugged. He wrote down the name Flower and then tossed the paper into the black box. The second round started. Different from last time, the officer felt very uneasy. When the black box took the vote, it was not based on the name on the paper but on whom the voter was thinking about when they cast a vote.

The magician purposely wrote the name Flower twice openly before everyone as if to prove that point. The name on the paper didnt count. The vote inside the voters heart was the only important thing.

Your turn.

The black mist caused the whole building to creak but the magician appeared to enjoy this moment.

The officer looked at the magician darkly. He knew that forcing the fugitive to write his name wont work anymore. The fugitive could think about someone else when he cast his vote. Violence couldnt change someones mind. As the note said, every persona and soul was equal. Last round, everyone had their partners, but what about this round?

The officer lowered his head to hide the murderous intent in his eyes. If he couldnt get others to vote for him, then how else could he avoid becoming the person with the least vote? The answer was simple. Kill all the competition before the voting phase was over.

There are ten of us. If we vote for each other, we can survive until the end. However, if theres an accident, the person who didnt vote for the victim is the killer. Then, theyd be the one not having any vote in the next round, so we dont need to worry for now. The scriptwriter said that purposely to stabilize the officer. Before the voting phase is over, we should investigate the hotel to find out the killers real motive. Perhaps we can find another solution.

You have a point. Mad Laughter and scriptwriter voted; the hotel owner and worker voted; Han Fei and his wife voted for each other.

Only the officer and fugitive were left. When they were thinking, Mad Laughter suddenly said, Cast your vote on the scriptwriter. He voted for me, and I voted for you. So if you vote for him, all three of us will survive.

If Mad Laughter was telling the truth, then the fugitive would die; if Mad Laughter was lying, then both the fugitive and the officer would die.

This was supposed to be a simple game, but it became so complicated due to Mad Laughters single sentence.