Ke Xun and Wei Dong stopped in shock, staring at Mu Yiran in disbelief.
Mu Yiran also stopped, turning to look at them intently. "To put it simply," he said, "the world within the painting doesn't allow any day to be without death. However, due to the randomness of events in this world, zero-death situations often occur. In such cases, the world within the painting mandates that someone die to fill the void left by the previous day's zero deaths. This spot is chosen by a vote of the survivors."
Ke Xun's mind was still blank from the extreme shock of this event. He asked, his voice slightly unsteady, "And then what?"
"This person will die within one minute, in a manner consistent with the style and content of the painting," Mu Yiran said, his tone calm to the point of cruelty.
Ke Xun knew this cruelty was merely a reminder that this world was far more brutal than he had imagined.
What kind of terror would it be to be voted out by everyone to die?
"So what do you think that old man wanted us to come to his house at eight this morning for?" Mu Yiran glanced at him, her tone softening almost imperceptibly. "If no one died last night, then the first activity we did at his house wouldn't have been breakfast, but a vote to choose someone. Only after the vote would we get food." "
...They...they even give us food! How humane..." Wei Dong cursed, his face contorted with grief.
Ke Xun sighed and looked up at Mu Yiran: "It is quite cruel. So you mean, if we team up with everyone, we might be partners one day and turn into infighting the next? Thinking about it that way, there's really nothing more messed up than this."
Mu Yiran suddenly smiled again, though there was no real amusement in her eyes: "You're still being too naive. If everyone votes to choose one person to die, who can guarantee they won't be chosen by the majority?"
"...So?" Ke Xun's eyelids twitched.
"You must understand, human nature is the most difficult subject to comprehend in the world." Mu Yiran gazed intently at Ke Xun's eyes. "—Some people, fearing being chosen, will preemptively kill someone."
Ke Xun's breath hitched, and he paused before speaking: "So, whether it's an election or a preemptive one-on-one killing, as long as someone dies, it fills the void of zero deaths from the previous day. If someone is killed in a one-on-one fight before the election, then there won't be a vote that day, right?"
"Yes," Mu Yiran replied.
"Therefore, some people, fearing being chosen by the majority in the election, will preemptively kill someone to avoid the risk of death." Ke Xun finally understood Mu Yiran's intention.
No wonder the atmosphere among those who didn't seem like novices was somewhat strange; besides indifference and numbness, there was also alienation and mutual distrust.
This also meant that in this world within the painting, it was impossible to form deep friendships with others. No one could guarantee that, when faced with a life-or-death choice, the person standing beside them and their own humanity would be an angel or a devil.
Mu Yiran calmly observed the person before him.
After explaining the rules of the painting, he had been observing the changes in the man's expression and mindset.
This person wasn't the first to seek cooperation, and all those who had previously tried to collaborate with him, without exception, chose to be wary, cautious, and immediately distance themselves after he explained the rules.
If this person made the same choice, Mu Yiran wouldn't feel any anger.
After all, that's human nature.
"I agree to your conditions," Mu Yiran heard him say. "While I'm not particularly clever, I'm not foolish enough to try to exchange sincerity for sincerity in this situation." Mu
Yiran continued to observe him calmly, waiting for him to continue.
"However, I also have something to say upfront," Ke Xun looked at Mu Yiran with clear eyes. "Whether you believe it or not, I can guarantee I won't betray you. If it really comes down to a vote to choose who dies, I definitely won't vote for you. But—if it's a matter of life and death, and I have to choose between you and Dongzi to live while the other dies, I will choose Dongzi to live. I'm stating this first, and I hope you can understand. Of course, if it comes down to a matter of life and death, and you choose to save yourself and sacrifice the two of us, I will absolutely not blame you. What do you think? If you can't accept it, then just pretend I didn't say anything, and we'll go our separate ways."
Mu Yiran's eyes flickered slightly, and she nodded: "I accept."
"Deal." Ke Xun extended his hand.
However, Mu Yiran didn't bother to shake his hand, and still walked away with her noble and aloof demeanor.
Ke Xun: "..."
Wei Dong: "Ke'er, you're so good to me. I want to hug your leg and cry. You're truly my childhood friend. From now on, my dad is your dad, my mom is your mom, my son is your son, and my wife is your sister-in-law."
Ke Xun: "...Get lost. You want me to raise your dad, mom, and son? You wish! Why don't you let me raise your wife?"
Wei Dong: "You're a man, and you like men. I'll give you my wife, and you'll want her?"
Ke Xun: "First, you need a wife. You're still single, don't think too much."
Wei Dong sighed: "I shouldn't think too much. With this kind of mess, I don't even know if I'll get out of here alive. What do I need a bicycle for?"
"Don't be too pessimistic," Ke Xun put his arm around Wei Dong's shoulder. "Once a person gives up hope, hope will give up on them. Do you trust my intuition? I have a gut feeling we can get out of here."
Wei Dong forced a smile that looked like he was about to cry: "You, a gay man, where do you get your intuition… But sometimes you're too intuition. You shouldn't have said those things just now. Even if you really think my life is more important than his, you shouldn't tell him. Who would be happy to hear that?"
"Don't worry, he won't mind." Ke Xun smiled.
"How do you know?" Wei Dong didn't believe him.
"If someone is willing to abandon their best brother just to cling to a powerful figure for survival, is that person trustworthy?" Ke Xun said, striding forward.
Walking side by side with Mu Yiran, Ke Xun turned to look at him: "Can we officially be considered a team now? Shouldn't you tell us about the clues you've obtained?"
Mu Yiran said calmly, "It's not really a clue, just a personal idea of mine. It needs to be verified, but the only way to verify it is to continue waiting for death, which is too costly."
"Don't feel pressured, tell us first, maybe we can help." Ke Xun reassured him gently.
Mu Yiran glanced at him, then looked away. "My first question is, why did the five people who died last night die in different ways?"
Ke Xun thought for a moment. "Because they were killed by different 'things'?"
Mu Yiran scoffed. "No matter what kind of 'thing' it was, weren't they all unnatural 'things'? Why were the three who kept vigil scared to death and had their eyes gouged out, while the two who dug up the grave were..."
Wei Dong quickly covered his ears. "Don't say it, don't say it!"
Ke Xun thought for a moment. "Because they encountered different kinds of 'things'?"
Mu Yiran said, "That could certainly be one explanation, but I'm more concerned about the manner of death of these two groups, whether it was having their eyes gouged out or being..."
Wei Dong covered his ears. "Artificial mosaic artificial mosaic artificial mosaic..."
Mu Yiran: "...The body retains its original outline after death. Both of these forms of death are highly formalized, or rather, have a certain ritualistic and symbolic nature."
Ke Xun: "That's true, but I still don't see what inspiration this can offer us."
Mu Yiran looked at him calmly: "You said you're a physical education student, so it seems you weren't lying."
Ke Xun: "...Although you're being sarcastic, I'm not angry."
Mu Yiran closed his eyes and continued coldly: "If a sports stadium has hurdles on the track, shot put on the grass, high jump mats, and long jump sandpits, and a group of students enters..." Ke Xun cleverly chimed in:
"Then the teacher will assign these students to different events. Some will run hurdles, some will practice shot put, some will practice high jump, and some..." "Long jump."
Mu Yiran continued, "So on this field, students performing each event will exhibit different states of motion."
Ke Xun suddenly realized, "It's like our current situation. Last night, some people were keeping vigil, some were in the woodshed, some were in the granary, and some were digging graves."
Mu Yiran's gaze turned cold, "The people keeping vigil had their eyes gouged out, and the people digging graves..." He glanced at Wei Dong, "...died into mosaics, just like hurdlers running, high jumpers jumping, and shot putters throwing."
Ke Xun and Wei Dong: "..."
Mu Yiran: "The key point is that the athlete, the track, the crossing, the hurdles, as well as the athlete, the turf, the throwing, and the shot put—these are the four elements in the forms of hurdles and shot put: the person, the location, the state of motion, and the markers that define the athlete's form of motion."
"To fit the current situation, we still need four elements:
'Characters'—the five people who died last night;
'Location'—the mourning hall, the wasteland;
'State of death (movement)—being scared to death and then having their eyes gouged out and…'
Ke Xunweidong: '...dead into a mosaic.'
Mu Yiran: '...So the question is, what is the marker that defines the form of death (movement) of the deceased persons (athletes)?'
Ke Xunweidong suddenly turned to look at Mu Yiran.
Mu Yiran looked at him as well, his voice calm and steady: 'If we find the 'shot put' and 'hurdles' in the two deadly matches last night, perhaps we are not far from the moment this painting is revealed.'
What determines the state of death of the five people who died last night?
'I already have a guess,' Mu Yiran said calmly."