Olive blocked his path before Fei Ming could slip away with that blank expression on his face. His voice came out low, edged with irritation. "I saw what you did."
Fèi Míng slowed. His eyes shifted to Olive, gliding over his posture, the tension in his jaw, the dust on his sleeves. He held the stare for a moment too long, replying. "If you had worn the town crier's costume," he muttered, "you would have been dead by now."
Olive froze, the muscles in his shoulders locking. When Fèi Míng moved to walk past, Olive grabbed his arm and yanked him back. His face twisted as if the words tasted awful.
"That wasn't what I was talking about, dimwit. You— you knew Dot was the freaking psycho killer from the beginning. Don't play dumb. Maybe it was luck, or pure coincidence, but somehow you figured he'd strike the two closest players besides him…"
'It was obvious. A timid boy like him wouldn't have clear targets.' Fei Ming stared at Olive's stern expression. 'I don't know if he's pretending not to know or just stupid.'
However, the two both knew what details he was hiding.
On the two dead bodies, there were three major stab wounds. Both had messy sloppy knife injuries, with a fatal blow on the nape.
One dying messily, trying to press down on his own wound till he passed out, while the other collapsed cleanly.
Olive swallowed. "No one noticed it, but only one of those wounds was even lethal. And that blood on your face? From where you were standing, it wouldn't hit you unless you were… closer."
'Very nice accusations. But not efficient.'
"I was right, wasn't I?" Olive asked quite loudly.
The Mayor had buried the secret well, but Olive's guess brushed dangerously near the truth.
The real sequence unfolded sharply in Fei Ming's mind.
When the blackout hit, Dot lashed around blindly, stabbing at anything near him. Nyx's cheek had been clipped by a wild swing— the very proof that Dot just attacked whatever brushed against him.
One victim had been half-alive, clawing at the floor. The other had already lost their fight. This meant Dot had only one sloppy kill. The other was just a correct calculation of his. It was easier to pin the other death on Dot that way, and the poor boy didn't even know.
It was such a shame that Fei Ming couldn't enjoy his precious death expressions. Although, he could still feel the light tremor run through his veins when the attacked player was fighting for his life.
However, he had managed to absorb the Cores of all three deaths he caused, taking advantage of the blackout. Unfortunately, the Hanging Man's death was not fully orchestrated by him. Pinboy had done it voluntarily, pulling the trigger. He couldn't absorb that Core, but the others were easy to eat.
He licked his lips to savour the sweetness of eating the Cores.
But would the first death count as a win since he ordered it anyway? Even though Pinboy shot the man, it was still carried out under his order as the Mayor.
Fei Ming took a look back at the stage, then back at his system.
[Congratulations! You have won a prize!]
[Item: Sword of Justice!]
'Justice?' He frowned.
[We truly appreciate fulfilling the duties of your role: 'The Mayor'.]
[Death Quota: 5/5.]
[All acts were… breathtaking!]
'Oh. The Hanging Man's death really counted for my role. It was a roughly calculated output. I need to learn more about my Path. To think the secret I had to bury was directly connected to me as a player. I didn't want anyone knowing I had a Path.'
The final death the Mayor needed. A neat execution disguised as justice.
All Fèi Míng had to do was turn his back, expose Dot's real purpose to the entire hall, and let the system rip him apart for violating the rule: puppets do not tamper with their strings. Dot lost control, and pulled too hard, triggering the system's punishment. A satisfying end to a sloppy killer.
But none of this was anyone's business.
Least of all Olive's.
Fèi Míng's expression remained calm. He met Olive's glare and spoke.
"Think whatever you like."
Then he walked away.
Olive stood there, a bit stunned about what just transpired. 'He looked like a naive young guy when I first saw him. I never knew he wasn't a lost baby chick…' He dragged a palm down his face. 'He's a monster. I'm even more curious about his scars.'
****
Ding!
[Welcome, Dear Players To The Last Mini Game: Circle of Lies!]
[The Final Winner Would Be Granted The Heart of The Carnival! Given To You By The Very Performer, Marrow Lass!]
[Hold Your Enemy Closer!]
The cold night air breeze hummed in every players' ears.
The Carnival lights drowned the sky in red and white colors, flickering yet reflecting off a massive Ferris wheel turning slowly in place.
Twelve cabins hung from it, each shaped like an old circus cage with iron bars polished to a shine.
The supporting beams creaked softly in the cold wind, and the lights outlining the wheel gave off a warm glow.
Fèi Míng stood still for a moment, letting the wind pass over his face. It was sharp, carrying dust and the faint smell of rust.
Pinboy came to stand beside him, his boots dragging lightly on the dirt. They had all changed out of their costumes, and back to what they wore before the previous game.
Pinboy stared up with him, unusually quiet. "Funny, isn't it?" he said, voice softer than usual.
"We all are here, fighting for our lives and entertaining these Forces for a favor." His shoulders lowered. "But deep down, everyone just wants to go back home, living without the thought of losing their lives any minute from now."
Then he snapped back up with a grin, clapping his hands. "Anyway! What's a Carnival without a big wheel, right? Round and round and down you plunge! I love it!"
Ding!
[Players! Prepare to enter your cabins!]
[Remember: Only one winner will earn the Heart of the Carnival.]
[4 per cabin please!]
Pinboy leaned over and whispered, "Hey, hey… the system said 'hold your enemy closer.' I'm no idiot. Not following you this time, dearie."
He gave Fèi Míng a wink and sauntered off to another cabin, humming. "I hope you will tell me your name when we're done! You're fun!"
Fei Míng stretched his lips into a thin line. 'Fun? He surprises me at times.'
Quickly, players shuffled toward the wheel in tense clusters, and the cabins filled one by one.
When the last few remained—Nyx, Eris, Olive, the man in the white suit who had cautioned Eris.
Fèi Míng turned, and four pairs of eyes stared back at him. All four hesitated.
"…Five," Olive muttered under his breath.
Eris glanced around, looking anywhere but Fèi Míng with Nyx clinging to her.
The man in white crossed his arm as he stared at the two ladies, back to Fèi Míng and Olive. "A cabin can hold us five just fine, kids. Don't panic."
A quiet, strained moment hung between them.
Then the door opened.
They had no choice.
All five stepped inside.
The cabin swayed under their combined weight. The floor squeaked lightly as the wheel began its slow rise before stalling—putting their cabin at the lowest point. The ground below them came into view.
Suddenly, they heard growling, and they all peeked out the window.
Dozens of beasts gathered under the Ferris wheel, jaws snapping, as some crawled with sharp claws. Their saliva dripped onto the floor.
Some beasts looked like wolves, their bones twisted out of the fur, leaning back and howling at the sky.
Their eyes fixed upward, gnarling at the Ferris wheel.
"What? Not those booth beasts again!" Eris cowered.
The Runic board lit up.
[Game Rules!]
Ding!
[Each full rotation, every player receives one question. You must ask the question to the target name displayed.]
[A lie will destabilize the cabin by one bolt with a limit of three lies!]
[However, the top cabin receives immunity to punishment for a round if a player lies. The bottom cabin is vulnerable to beast entry if a lie is detected.]
[The player with zero detected lies wins.]
[Don't fret, there will be survivors! The Game ends when two cabins are left!]
A soft chime rang.
The questions appeared on all their Runic screens.
Nyx inhaled sharply. Her hands shook as she touched her screen.
She turned toward Eris.
"Eris… my question is…" She swallowed, voice thin and horrified.
"…it says to ask you if you stood there and watched when the seniors cornered me in the washroom."
Eris's eyes widened in shock.
Olive's head turned sharply. "What?" He muttered under his breath.
'So this is how it would work…'
Nyx read it again, voice cracking:
"'Ask her whether she held the door shut while they forced your head into the toilet."