Chapter 56: The Scheming Team-Up Phase (15)

There was no need for further exploration.

He Yu had already figured out the situation in this stage.

Of course, he had no intention of telling the others yet.

There were still some things he needed to accomplish here.

If the <Who Is the Undercover Agent> instance were compared to Werewolf, then in a game containing only villagers and a single wolf, the wolf wasn't actually at an advantage.

Nine villagers and one wolf.

Now there were seven villagers and one wolf left.

In this stage, the wolf had to eliminate at least one villager.

At the same time, another villager would be eliminated once this stage ended.

After the fourth stage, only the fifth stage and one final voting opportunity would remain.

He Yu had to ensure that he survived until then.

And he also had to ensure that when that time came, he wouldn't be voted out.

He already had an idea for avoiding elimination in the fourth stage.

What he needed to do now was—

Eliminate a “villager.”

Originally, his target had been someone else.

But now, he had changed his plan.

The contestants in this stage could clearly see not only illusions but also reality.

As for who could see reality...

Even they themselves probably couldn't tell.

And nobody else certainly could.

This stage existed to give the undercover agent a chance to act.

However, every action the undercover agent took could potentially be witnessed clearly by someone else.

As long as that person distinguished truth from illusion, the undercover agent would be exposed.

Right now, nobody understood how the stage worked.

That was why He Yu had managed to bluff his way through earlier.

But once the others figured it out—

He would no longer be able to bluff.

Therefore...

Qiao Yuan couldn't be left alive.

As for how to kill Qiao Yuan, He Yu already had a plan.

He pulled out his notebook and glanced through it.

Every illusion each person had witnessed was recorded clearly inside.

After reviewing it one more time, He Yu closed the notebook and put it away.

A meaningful smile curled across his lips.

Everything followed patterns.

Even the illusions everyone believed to be false followed patterns.

And patterns...

Were passwords.

Passwords that unlocked the truth.

And passwords that allowed him to achieve his goals.

—

Qiao Yuan entered the fourth stage again.

The surroundings were almost identical to what he had seen before.

The only difference was that last time, he had heard He Yu and Earlie talking and had vaguely seen figures in the distance.

He hadn't dared approach, so he never got a clear look.

This time, however, he saw nothing.

Qiao Yuan proceeded cautiously.

During their earlier discussion with Duan Yuchen and the others, they had reached a conclusion—

As long as you didn't attack first, the illusions couldn't harm you.

The reason Wanrenzhan had been injured was because he attacked the illusionary figures.

Anything you did to an illusion, you did to yourself.

His attacks had landed on his own body.

After realizing this, Wanrenzhan had immediately stopped fighting and simply allowed the illusion's attacks to pass through him.

The illusion disappeared afterward, and he left.

Looking at the thin rope tied around his wrist, Qiao Yuan wasn't particularly worried.

As long as the illusions couldn't hurt him, he didn't care.

At worst, he would gain nothing and return to the starting point.

With that thought, he continued forward in search of clues.

After walking for a while, he heard movement.

Qiong suddenly appeared and lunged at him with a blade.

Qiao Yuan instinctively prepared to counterattack before stopping himself.

—Fake.

Both he and Qiong came from Chaos Planet.

They had known each other before entering the competition.

And long ago, they had made an agreement.

Until the finals, neither would attack the other.

Normally they acted independently.

When necessary, they cooperated.

That was why they had stayed separated during the preliminary rounds and the first elimination round.

Only during the second round, when trust was scarce during team formation, had Qiong invited him.

She trusted him.

Compared to the temporary teammates around them, Qiao Yuan trusted Qiong far more.

—Until the finals, Qiong wouldn't attack him.

So he calmly faced the attack.

The threads and needles passed directly through his body.

As expected, Qiong vanished.

Qiao Yuan exhaled.

So everything was an illusion?

Qiong was an illusion.

The He Yu and Earlie from before had been illusions too?

But...

Why did the two experiences feel different?

Frowning, Qiao Yuan pondered.

Then suddenly—

“Ugh!”

Clutching his neck, he flashed aside.

His eyes widened as he stared at where he'd just been standing.

He Yu stood there calmly, a small knife in his hand.

[Bullet Comment: “The long-lost ordinary little knife!”]

“He Yu? An illusion?”

Qiao Yuan's voice was hoarse.

But immediately afterward, he realized something was wrong.

Lowering his hand, he looked at his palm.

It was covered in blood.

Pain surged from his neck.

Qiao Yuan's eyes widened.

“Real?!”

His instinctive reaction had been to dodge rather than counterattack precisely because he'd assumed it was an illusion.

But the blood in his hand and the pain in his neck told him otherwise.

This was probably real.

He Yu smiled.

“You noticed. You're quite sharp. Why did you react so quickly?”

Qiao Yuan's livestream exploded.

“Is that really He Yu?!”

“I can't tell what's real anymore!”

“Holy shit, it's real! I just checked He Yu's stream. It's the actual him!”

“How did He Yu find Qiao Yuan?”

“What is he trying to do?”

...

Qiao Yuan stared at him.

“How did you find me? What are you trying to do?”

Then realization struck.

His eyes narrowed.

“The thing I saw last time was real!”

No wonder the two experiences had felt completely different.

The first one hadn't been an illusion at all.

Given enough attempts, Qiao Yuan would eventually learn to distinguish them.

Unfortunately, this was only his second visit.

One reality and one illusion.

There still wasn't enough data for comparison.

He Yu tilted his head.

“That's right. Which is why I can't leave you alive.”

“Originally I wasn't planning to kill you. But since you've become suspicious, I have no choice.”

Qiao Yuan sneered.

“You? Your Absorbing Star Technique and your formations don't seem usable when you're alone.”

[Bullet Comment: “Is He Yu going to use that move again?”]

[Bullet Comment: “Like when he scared Siya away with a lighter? Qiao Yuan is more rational. That probably won't work.”]

As the audience discussed the situation, another figure appeared in the livestream.

The comments instantly exploded.

“HOLY SHIT!”

“What am I looking at?!”

“My eyes must be broken!”

“How is he here?”

“He teamed up with He Yu?!”

“No way!”

...

A figure slowly approached from the distance and stopped beside He Yu.

Then looked toward Qiao Yuan.

—Wanrenzhan.

Qiao Yuan froze.

“You teamed up with He Yu?!”

“Is that not allowed?” He Yu replied casually.

“Qiao Yuan, you said I couldn't kill you alone. What about with Wanrenzhan?”

“Are you stronger than the Maze Monster?”

The Maze Monster's level was far beyond anything Qiao Yuan could match.

The combination of He Yu and Wanrenzhan was invincible.

Qiao Yuan couldn't possibly resist.

But—

He couldn't understand.

“Wanrenzhan, have you gone insane?”

“Why are you working with He Yu? He's the undercover agent! You'll lose this round too!”

“Why are you standing on his side?”

He Yu interrupted.

“Correction.”

“It's not Wanrenzhan standing on my side.”

“It's me standing on Wanrenzhan's side.”

Qiao Yuan: “?”

His pupils contracted.

In an instant, everything clicked together.

Wanrenzhan was the undercover agent!

He Yu had cooperated with Wanrenzhan.

That was why Wanrenzhan had forced Siya away and framed Earlie during the previous stage.

The two had covered for each other and successfully eliminated Earlie.

Qiao Yuan had seen the illusion connected to He Yu.

That was why they had come to kill him.

No wonder Wanrenzhan had been so eager to eliminate Earlie.

No wonder Wanrenzhan had actually protected He Yu throughout the competition.

They had been working together all along.

Staring at He Yu, Qiao Yuan asked,

“And what about you?”

“Why would you cooperate with Wanrenzhan?”

“Do you really think he'll spare you?”

He Yu shook his head.

“No.”

His expression remained calm.

“But if I don't cooperate with him, he'll kill me anyway.”

“My vote count is still short. Once I have enough votes, I'll leave.”

“The winner of this competition belongs to Wanrenzhan.”

“We have no chance of turning things around.”

Qiao Yuan immediately replied,

“If you reveal the truth, we still have a chance.”

If He Yu exposed Wanrenzhan after Maze Chaos ended, Wanrenzhan would be eliminated.

Then they could win.

He Yu's beautiful, cold features remained indifferent.

Adjusting his glasses, he said coolly,

“If I reveal it, will you protect me through the remaining stages?”

Qiao Yuan: “...”

No.

Once the undercover agent died, nobody would protect any teammate.

He Yu sneered.

“And the moment I expose him, he can kill me immediately.”

“With eight combat power, how exactly am I supposed to resist?”

“He can take me with him when he dies.”

“I'm not stupid.”

Qiao Yuan fell silent.

He Yu raised an eyebrow.

“Enough talking.”

“Qiao Yuan, you can surrender and wait for death now.”

“Together, Wanrenzhan and I are more than you can handle.”

Beside him, Wanrenzhan casually swung his axe.

He Yu slowly raised a hand.

Clearly preparing to unleash his terrifying “Absorbing Star Technique.”

Qiao Yuan took two steps back.

Then suddenly smiled.

“He Yu.”

“Do you know why I've been talking with you?”

His figure vanished from sight.

Only his voice remained.

“Because I've been waiting for my votes.”

“Two hundred thousand votes.”

“It's enough.”

“I'll leave first.”

“We'll settle this next round.”

Qiao Yuan disappeared.

Only He Yu and Wanrenzhan remained.

The comments in He Yu's livestream exploded.

“WHAT IS GOING ON?!”

“I know everything He Yu said was fake, but why is Wanrenzhan cooperating?!”

“I never saw them communicate!”

“When did Wanrenzhan even arrive?”

“Did I miss it while getting a drink?”

“This makes no sense!”

“But why lie to Qiao Yuan?”

“HE YU EXPLAIN YOURSELF!”

“WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!”

Then another comment appeared.

“EVERYONE GO CHECK WANRENZHAN'S STREAM!”

“WANRENZHAN ISN'T EVEN THERE!”

“HE WAS NEVER WITH HE YU!”

...

Back in the clearing—

The Wanrenzhan beside He Yu dissolved into countless specks of starlight.

Then vanished completely.

Only He Yu remained standing there.

Tall and straight.

Though physically weaker than almost everyone else, he possessed a unique strength that belonged solely to him.

His rimless glasses rested elegantly on his nose.

A knife spun between his fingers.

And he showed absolutely no surprise at Wanrenzhan's disappearance.

The audience froze.

“!!!”

That Wanrenzhan—

Had been fake!

They stared in shock as He Yu's lips curved upward.

Laughter danced in the corners of his eyes.

His eyes sparkled like stars.

He lowered his voice into a soft murmur.

Only the viewers could hear it.

The hoarse voice carried a smile.

“Do you know why I kept talking to you?”

“Idiot.”

“Because I was waiting for your votes to fill up too.”

At that exact moment, the familiar announcement echoed throughout the second-round competition grounds—

[Congratulations to Qiao Yuan for advancing. Remaining slots: 9009/10000]