Survivorship Bias

Chapter 15: Are you crazy, I only have one health bar!

No matter how Yang Ming thought, he couldn’t have anticipated that the one who would be attacked would be him.

He lifted his head, feeling an immense heaviness, with only a solitary health bar remaining above his head.

“How could this be?” Yang Ming muttered in disbelief, “How could it be me…”

In just a moment, numerous possibilities flashed through his mind, but hatred and anger had already obliterated his ability to think, instinctively giving birth to an answer. Yang Ming grabbed An Wujiu’s collar aggressively, “Was it you? It must be you!”

An Wujiu just smiled, just as he did on the first day when he was threatened by Yang Ming, even more arrogantly this time.

“I wanted to kill you too.” An Wujiu shrugged, furrowing his brows slightly, intentionally putting on an expression that appeared wronged after being accused, “But I can’t enter your room, and I’ll be forcibly put to sleep at night. How could I kill you while you’re asleep?”

An Wujiu’s words momentarily deflated Yang Ming’s anger, causing his grip to loosen slightly.

Seeing him like this, An Wujiu smiled again, “There might not even be any cultists, you know. Think about it, if he really had to kill seven people alone, the difficulty of that task would earn him so many points, right? It wouldn’t be easy to kill even someone like Shen Ti cleanly.”

Shen Ti shrugged without saying a word.

It was Zhong Yirou who spoke up, “I think so too. The note didn’t specify. Maybe the task isn’t about killing everyone, but taking one life1 each; after all, everyone’s health bar values are different.”

She was still looking in the mirror, speaking while doing so, “And now that someone has lost their health, it’s even more certain that there really is a cultist.”

Liu Chengwei was unconvinced, “How does that prove anything?”

Zhong Yirou put down the mirror, giving him a reproachful look, “Can’t you see? If there was no cultist, then there’s only one way to lose health, and that’s through dueling. But dueling requires going to the dueling threshold.”

“But after midnight last night, we were all forcibly put to sleep; even the victim Yang Ming was in a sleeping state. How could anyone go to the dueling threshold?”

Ueno suddenly thought of something, “Then the sound of dragging heavy objects last night was someone dragging Mr. Yang away?”

Zhong Yirou walked over to Yang Ming’s side, looking at his clothes. His suit jacket showed no signs of wear and tear, and there was no dust either, as the floor was covered in carpet.

“Even if that’s the case, what about the person who dueled with him? Where is that person?”

Ueno immediately pointed to Wu You, “Him, isn’t he immune to the effects of the sleep gas?”

Before Wu You could say anything, Zhong Yirou spoke first, “The key is, even if he didn’t sleep last night, he still couldn’t have opened Yang Ming’s door. That being said, someone could have opened Yang Ming’s door last night, but we were all forcibly put to sleep, so who could have dueled with him?”

Zhong Yirou was right; these were the rules, and unless there really was a special player, no one could break those rules.

The matter of losing the health bar during the night had become baffling, and the group fell into a stalemate.

“…Indeed, without a cultist, none of us here could have caused Yang Ming to lose health,” Lao Yu said.

Yang Ming also couldn’t figure it out. If there were no cultist, after midnight, everyone except Wu You had to be asleep, and Wu You couldn’t have opened his door on the first night either.

For Wu You, his room was a sealed chamber after midnight. How could he kill someone from a distance?

Moreover, when he woke up in the morning, he was lying on his bed just fine. The first person he saw outside was Ueno Taisei.

“Who could have entered my room last night?” Yang Ming asked.

Lao Yu pondered and then said, “According to the rules, the only ones who could have entered your room last night are me, Zhong Yirou from Room 2, and…”

An Wujiu answered for Lao Yu, “Room 8, your good—companion—Liu Chengwei.”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Yirou blinked her eyes and immediately clarified, “I didn’t go to your room last night.”

“Is that so?” Yang Ming’s lack of trust in Zhong Yirou was evident, “If I die, you, Zhong Yirou, would become the player with the highest survival value in the game.”

In case the object of her curse happened to be him, she might end up being the first in this round of the game.

“Just based on this, you’re suspecting me?” Zhong Yirou sneered, “Why don’t you ask your dear brother, Ueno Taisei? He’s only one point lower than me, but his combat power is significantly higher. I’m sure I won’t outlast him.”

Ueno kept distancing himself. Yang Ming continued to stare at Zhong Yirou. Every word he spoke was laden with a heavy intent to kill, “So what were you doing last night?”

“Me?” Zhong Yirou seemed quite relaxed and not at all threatened by him. She touched the single braided rope of hair hanging over her left shoulder, and with a slight tilt of her mouth, she locked eyes with him, exuding a charming demeanor both in posture and tone.

“Sleeping, of course. What else could I be doing? No one came to my room.”

With these words, Ueno, residing in Room 3, blushed and didn’t dare look at Zhong Yirou.

He indeed didn’t go to Zhong Yirou’s room.

“Don’t give me that bullshit!” Yang Ming was very dissatisfied with her playful attitude, “What time did you enter the room, and what did you do after entering?”

“Why so fierce? Not elegant at all.” Zhong Yirou complained in a coquettish manner, “Last night… I entered my room at ten o’clock and didn’t leave afterward. If you don’t believe me, ask others. If anyone saw me outside after ten o’clock, then I’d be lying.”

Though her tone still sounded playful, she spoke with certainty, acting as if she wasn’t afraid of being contradicted. Afterward, she retrieved her game panel, opened the points redemption page, entered a code, and a scrolling background record appeared on the right side.

“Take a look,” Zhong Yirou used two fingers to scroll through it and pushed it in front of him, “This is the record of my activities on the redemption page last night, including the time and details.”

Yang Ming furrowed his brows as he looked through the record she brought up. Zhong Yirou had been browsing the points redemption page until midnight.

“Do you need to look for so long?” He raised an eyebrow skeptically.

“I’m a girl. I’m always picky when buying clothes,” Zhong Yirou lightly tapped her cheek with her fingers, “Even though there aren’t many beautiful cheongsams here.”

After saying that, she crossed her hands behind her back, revealing a playful smile on her beautiful face, “With my suspicion cleared, shouldn’t we interrogate Liu Chengwei thoroughly now?”

Suspicion suddenly converged on Liu Chengwei. He took a half step back, his face showing clear panic, “Nonsense! What does it have to do with me? I didn’t do anything!”

Wu You sneered, causing Liu Chengwei to feel uncomfortable, but he didn’t dare to retort. Zhong Yirou added, “You were acting suspiciously last night.”

Ueno’s timid eyes began to show a hint of doubt. He glanced at Liu Chengwei, then at Yang Ming, attempting to keep silent and distance himself from the situation. Unexpectedly, Shen Ti, who had been silently sitting aside all along, spoke up.

Lazily reclining on the soft leather sofa on the porch, in front of him was the redemption page. His fingers slid across it, selecting several pairs of glasses. “Is the bread delicious?”

After saying that, he picked out a pair of glasses from the ones suspended in front of him, tried them on, and suddenly seemed to recall something. He took out the candy from his mouth and emitted a whistle that couldn’t produce any sound toward Zhong Yirou. Finally, he called her, “Meimei 2, hey, meimei…”

Zhong Yirou turned around in bewilderment, seeing Shen Ti waving at her while wearing a pair of glasses, resembling a blind beggar trying to deceive people in the black market. She pointed at her own nose and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yes, it’s you; come here.” Shen Ti smiled charmingly, pushing his glasses up his nose, “Extend your hand out for me to use as a mirror.”

Zhong Yirou: “…Fine.”

And so, she became a rather inelegant human mirror.

“How can you redeem things again?”

“I haven’t redeemed anything for several rounds; I saved them all up.”

Shen Ti took off the glasses and replaced them with a pair of sunglasses with red lenses, and the corners of his mouth that were previously curled upward straightened down. “Didn’t you hear me speaking?”

He looked at Ueno, raised an eyebrow, and asked, “Is the bread delicious?”

Ueno froze, his forehead nearly breaking out in sweat. He realized that Shen Ti was indeed asking him a question.

Facing his cursed target, he felt a bit anxious, solely focused on how to eliminate his own suspicion. He voluntarily chimed in, “I… I was eating bread and talking with Liu Chengwei, but then, I, I went to the restroom afterward, and we separated. I went back to my room, really.”

“What time?” Yang Ming asked with a sidelong glance.

“Probably… around eleven thirty? I don’t know, I don’t remember,” Ueno shook his head incessantly, his whole demeanor screaming at Yang Ming that he really wasn’t the cultist.

“Then is it me?!” Liu Chengwei grew agitated, “You’re accusing me of being a cultist, do you have any evidence?!”

An Wujiu, who was standing in the outer circle, leaned forward, cupped his hand near his mouth, and acted as if he were whispering something very quietly, “Someone was acting suspiciously outside the room last night.”

“Yeah, why were you loitering around mine and Yang Ming’s doors?!” Zhong Yirou crossed her arms, retracting her hands from being used as a mirror. This sudden motion caused Shen Ti’s head to tilt and almost cause him to lose his balance.

Liu Chengwei’s neck turned red from anger, and he made strange noises that sounded like his throat was clogged.

“I…,” he struggled for a while, and finally, with frustration, gave an explanation, “I was peeping at you, so what! When you were going back in, didn’t you say you were going to change your clothes? I just wanted to take a look!”

“Pervert!”

If Liu Chengwei had said this on an ordinary day, it might have made sense, but now, it sounded somewhat weak.

Yang Ming furrowed his brows, his face showing a hint of difficulty. He signaled to An Wujiu to understand it clearly.

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you don’t believe it either.” An Wujiu walked lightly and slowly between Yang Ming and Liu Chengwei, placing a hand on the shoulder of each person. He spoke in a lively tone, “It’s alright, it’s just a health bar; you still have one left.”

He gave a somewhat provoking smile, looking at Yang Ming, “Just like me.”

Yang Ming was furious and pushed An Wujiu away, but at this moment, he couldn’t explode recklessly. He knew he wasn’t the same as before. He only had one last chance now, and he could die at any moment.

In just one night, the situation had taken an unexpected turn.

“It seems like you’ve forgotten someone.”

Shen Ti, who had been silently picking eyeglasses and trying them on, got up from the sofa. He chose a pair of tea-colored aviator-style glasses with a golden bridge connecting the lenses, radiating a mysterious light.

The green eyes beneath the tea-colored lenses grew deeper. He glanced at everyone present, finally meeting eyes with Lao Yu.

“You can move freely,” Shen Ti said lightly.

“I can move freely…” Lao Yu’s face appeared quite calm, and thus, his level of suspicion seemed to decrease as well. He pondered for a moment, “Indeed, I can enter any room without being restricted by the rules. However, I remember that last night, I entered a room with Wu You. He can vouch for me.”

Wu You, who was mentioned, also nodded, “That’s right, I chatted with Lao Yu for a while last night.”

Shen Ti glanced at him and smiled as he asked, “Little friend, were you the last two to go back?”

Regarding this title, Wu You responded with an annoyed look, but he still confirmed Shen Ti’s question, “Yes.”

“And in the morning?” Shen Ti continued, “You can move freely in various lounges until 5 a.m., right?”

Lao Yu nodded without denying it, “That’s correct, but the effects of the sleep-inducing gas last until 6 a.m. I couldn’t wake up.”

Once again, the clues led to a dead end.

For Yang Ming, this information was like a thick fog that refused to disperse over the ocean. It grew denser, making it impossible to discern anything within his line of sight. He found it increasingly difficult to know what was ultimately coming for him.

The silence of the group magnified the stifling atmosphere within the enclosed space, akin to an expanding black sphere.

It was ultimately broken by Wu You, who was cornered by the wall.

“Although the three people who can enter Yang Ming’s room all have their reasons and claim they were there after midnight, and everyone is forced to sleep,” Wu You, who was usually reserved, calmly spoke, “perhaps the cultist, like me, or even with stronger abilities than me, isn’t affected by the sleep-inducing gas after midnight and doesn’t need to sleep.”

“In that case, Lao Yu, Zhong Yirou, and Liu Chengwei all have the potential to be the cultist.”

Zhong Yirou wanted to say something but paused, only for Ueno to speak up first, “If the cultist has special abilities, why wouldn’t they be able to move freely?”

Although Ueno’s speculation could provide an alibi for himself, Zhong Yirou denied this possibility, “I don’t think so. First of all, the rules for the rooms are quite clear, even if one might say intricate, with numerous stipulations and conditions.”

She tapped her black nails against her chin, “If the cultist could easily break these rules, what would be the point of writing down so many details? Additionally, regarding the issue of forced sleep, it’s just a minor detail that was briefly mentioned.”

“This note also contains a clue.” Yang Ming clenched the paper in his hand, “It says, ‘Midnight is a burning, fragrant pilgrimage, a pain I am immune to, a time of divine rest.’ Midnight signifies the time, ‘fragrant pilgrimage’ probably refers to the sleep-inducing gas, ‘immune’…” Yang Ming sneered, his five fingers clenched, crumpling the paper fiercely, “It seems they can indeed move at night.”

Ueno whispered softly, “It seems… we really can’t be sure who it is.”

Yang Ming cast a cold glance at everyone.

“Since that’s the case, why not have a duel in turns?”

Zhong Yirou furrowed her brow, surprised, “What are you talking about?”

“Duel in turns,” Yang Ming repeated, “All three of you have suspicions. Any two of you can enter the duel threshold and then come out, and we’ll switch participants.”

Zhong Yirou reacted the fastest, “Are you crazy? I only have one health bar!”

“You can find allies to help you, besides,” Yang Ming’s voice turned cold, “Aren’t you also capable of giving yourself an extra life?”

Confronted with Yang Ming’s words, Liu Chengwei was on the verge of breaking down, “I’m telling you, it’s not me!”

“With seven health bars, what are you afraid of?” Yang Ming’s tone was icy.

“Hah, yes, but now that you only have one health bar, why do you have the authority to command us?” Liu Chengwei’s anger surged, and repression and resistance often went hand in hand. The fresh anger made him forget the deferential attitude he used to show toward Yang Ming.

An Wujiu was laughing as if he was watching an outstanding comedy movie. He laughed so hard that he shook all over, walking between the two as if he were about to mediate, “Hey hey hey, don’t do this.”

“It’s odd.” Zhong Yirou stared at him, thinking that he was doing a good job of playing peacemaker.

“Don’t do this, don’t do this.” An Wujiu looked at them, “If you’re going to fight, just fight already. Why are you quarreling?” He waved his arms, “Fight! Fight!”

Wu You: “…”

He watched all of this unfold, but amid An Wujiu’s goading, he heard something. Following the sound, he realized that Shen Ti was watching the others while eating bread.

In such a tense situation, his face was just full of a spectator’s expression.

Yang Ming cast a malicious glance at An Wujiu, circumventing him to approach Liu Chengwei. His gaze was cold as he said, “Do you really think so?”

“Don’t force me to reveal who your curse target is.” His voice was low and hoarse, the dense air compressed the message in his voice, turning it into a small, hard stone pressing against Liu Chengwei’s heart. “If I kill your secret crush as well, even if you survive, how much value will you have left?”

“Two points… guess where you’d rank?” Liu Chengwei’s face visibly darkened.

Back when he joined Yang Ming’s group under the guise of trust, they shared their red and black lines and strategies. Now, it had become Yang Ming’s most advantageous leverage.

“Fine then.” Yang Ming turned around, a nauseating kind of sincerity appearing on his face, “Lao Yu and Chengwei, you can start the duel first; how about that?”

“Since you’re a lady.” He forced a smile, “We’ll leave you for later.”

As a result, the sequence of events continued to proceed according to Yang Ming’s instructions. One by one, people moved along the corridor to find their positions in the arena stands. The lights along the passage were lit one by one, like the final glimmer of light before a dead end.

Shen Ti walked at the end of the group. Once everyone had moved forward, he silently turned around and returned to the lounge corridor, where they had been arguing earlier. An indescribable feeling nagged at him as he looked down at the ground, each inch of the wooden floor covered by the reddish-brown plush carpet.

Taking slow steps, he seemed to be wandering aimlessly, finally stopping at the entrance of Room 1. He crouched down, his long fingers reaching up. The contrast between his white skin and the carpet’s color was stark. In the silent corridor, his fingertips brushed the flow of the carpet’s fur, following it and then going against it. He lowered his head further, getting closer, and finally picked out a golden strand of hair from the carpet.

Suddenly, he looked up, gazing at Room 6 in the distance.

And the carpet in front of its door.

Not long after, the system announced the result of the duel.

Zhong Yirou’s health points remained unchanged, still 1 point.

Liu Chengwei, like Lao Yu, had only 5 points left.